Blog
TALK BY STEVE ETCHES
A full report on this fascinating talk will be posted soon!
BOURNEMOUTH WRITING FESTIVAL
DISCLAIMER: u3a is happy to help by posting this blog entry, but is not responsible for its content.
Taking place on the 26th, 27th and 28th April, there are over 100 free and ticketed writing events and activities to inspire people to write. From Writing Your First Full-Length Book to Writing a Synopsis and Digging for the Gold in your own Life Story, there is plenty on offer over the three days in Bournemouth Town Centre.
The Sunday evening finale showcases five local arts groups with spoken word performances, and our free poetry activities give lots of opportunities for everyone to get involved - whether a complete beginner or a more advanced writer. We have typewriters in the Bandstand, Writing on the Beach, a Literary Walk of Bournemouth and a “Poetry Machine” to get your own bespoke poem written for free.
All of the events and activities are priced individually (no festival-wide ticket) with most of the talks costing £8.50, with a few Pay What You Can.
All the details are on the website: https://www.bournemouthwritingfestival.co.uk/
TAT BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 2024
A summary of the board meeting is available from here.
ENGLISH OAK WINE-TASTING
Our January event took us to the award winning English Oak Vineyard.
Situated in the tranquil countryside on the edge of Lytchett Matravers, this boutique family vineyard was planted by its owners Sarah and Andrew in 2007. Since then it has developed and expanded to become an internationally recognised vineyard, producing top quality sparking wine made in the traditional methode champenoise.
Amongst its many awards, English Oak has achieved a gold medal at IWSC and been awarded silver by both IEWA and in the Decanter World Wide Awards.
Our wine tasting event took place on a bright sunny afternoon, a perfect day for such a pleasant experience. A small group of members enjoyed an interesting and very informative couple of hours, rounded off by sampling some very delicious wines.
Andrew began the afternoon by setting the scene. After explaining the background to the beautiful vineyard and how he and Sarah trained in viniculture, he took us through their journey, from an idea formulated on holiday in Cyprus, to the reality of owning 23,000 vines in beautiful Dorset.
Sarah then took us outside for a tour of the vines, explaining how they are planted, grown, pruned and harvested. It was then back to Andrew for the highlight of the tour, which was of course the wine tasting. Assembled in their comfortable tasting room, u3a members sampled the delights of four of their excellent wines, accompanied by Andrew’s explanation of the various wines and how the different grapes are blended to produce the individual character of the wines.
This was the second of our ‘visits’ to local places of interest, and we hope to organise more as the year progresses.
CHRISTMAS PARTY FUN!
What is the saying, ‘Christmas comes but once a year.’?
Well that may be so, but it doesn’t mean we can’t get started on festivities early, and that’s exactly what we did this year. Breaking with the tradition of pervious years, this season we held our Christmas Party at the end of November. Over sixty members turned up to enjoy an afternoon of eating, drinking and lively music ....
brought to us by the local rock group, The Scout Hut Band.
As well as the usual Christmas music, classic hits from the sixties and seventies soon got people tapping their feet, and some even took to the dance floor!
For those who didn’t wish to use up quite so much physical energy we also ran our ever-popular party quiz and Christmas raffle.
Making our annual Christmas Party a success requires not just a lot of work but also the commitment of our members who join in to help. As usual we are very grateful to all those who this year came forward to assist with the many tasks required. Enthusiastic volunteers helped us with preparing and decorating the hall, making the tea, running the raffle and much more. |We are also grateful to everyone who brought along lots of delicious food. Our Christmas table certainly looked very enticing, brightly decorated and with a lovely range of tasty treats to suit all tastes.
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE REX CINIMA IN WAREHAM
Illustrated presentation and talk by David Evans - October 2023
If your last cinema going experience was at a Multiplex, surrounded by popcorn-munching people, chatting incessantly, and if the whole experience has put you off going again, then fear not, it doesn’t have to be like that. Here in Purbeck we are fortunate enough to have a completely different kind of cinema experience available; it’s open 364 days of the year, and it’s practically on our doorstep. It’s the Rex cinema in Wareham, and this was the subject of our October talk.
This fascinating and colourful story was packed full of the twist and turns and many challenges the building and its supporters have faced throughout the years. Presented by David Evans, Chair of the Rex Cinema Charity, our October talk at St. Dunstan’s Church in Upton drew a lively and interested audience. This was the first of our 23/24 events season, and David’s excellent talk could not have got us off to a better start.
Built in 1889, originally as a hall for local Oddfellows, the building has been in the business of entertainment throughout its history. In its early days it hosted traveling theatre shows, concerts and banquets, but it was after the Great War in 1920, that the hall really developed when it became the local cinema after the Garrison Cinema in Worgret closed. Called the Empire in those days, it was already well established when in 1927 the ‘Talkies” arrived, and the whole new era of cinema going really took off.
From this time on, the cinema was run by several different people until 1963, when it closed briefly for renovation. The 60’s was a heyday for the cinema, which was then running two full length feature films each night. By now it had also changed its name to the Rex cinema.
In 2009 the cinema was acquired by the Purbeck Film Charitable Trust. It became a non profit community cinema, run by local volunteers. Today the Rex still operates as a charity, funded entirely through donations and grants and run by around 45 volunteers who keep the show on the road every day but Christmas Day. With a bright interior, comfortable seating for 125, and with the addition of a bar, the Rex offers a unique cinema experience in a charming setting.
The Rex cinema in Wareham is a real gem, and as you will have gathered, it’s a cinema with a past, and what a past! We are grateful to David for sharing its fascinating history with us, and for providing us with what the Rex has always provided, fine entertainment. However, this wasn’t a fictional Hollywood movie, this was a real story, a tale about a truly iconic building, run by a group of truly dedicated people.
VOLUNTERS NEEDED!
07/10/2023 DISCLAIMER: u3a is happy to help by posting this blog entry, but is not responsible for its content.
Livability Millie College is based at Livability Holton Lee on the Dorset border.
Our site, spanning more than 350 acres of nature reserve, provides the perfect space for nurturing wellbeing, and enterprise opportunities
Using a skills-based approach linked to our enterprise curriculum, we support young people with barriers to learning and disabilities to access a range of work-based opportunities and enrichment, enabling them to develop self-advocacy.
We are looking for volunteers to support our areas of Enterprise here at Millie College.
We need volunteers in:
• Animal Care
• Conservation
• Horticulture
• Events
• 1:1 support for some of our Post 25 participants.
If you would like to help, please contact us by visiting our website:-
www.livabilitymilliecollege.org.uk
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
07/10/2023 DISCLAIMER: u3a is happy to help by posting this blog entry, but is not responsible for its content.
The Great Big Dorset Hedge (GBDH) initiative is looking for volunteers.
Is your bird-watchers group are interested in combining their bird-watching with some hedgerow watching?
Are there local U3A members who might be interested in volunteering with us?
We have 175 volunteers across Dorset and we looking to increase this to 400. We have various voluntary modes ranging from the outdoor leisurely active, through the socially frantic, to the computer-based static - something for almost everyone. Our existing volunteers have surveyed 250 km of hedges in year one and that just scratches the surface. There are four of us who have documented 90% of that effort for the whole of Dorset (and we desperately need more with an appetite to put their computer skills into action once again). All are welcome in whatever role suits them the best.
We are engaging with farmers where improved hedgerows are now assured and this will, in no small way, move those farmers towards net zero and towards enhanced biodiversity. Clare Lees at Post Green Farm is the first local farmer to embrace our support and we are continuing to survey at her farm this week.
If you watch the 8 minute video, you will have a glimpse of what is there to enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4tOs_1mYuw
For those in a hurry to sample a survey asap, you just need to sign up here and the first invitation will follow promptly.
https://www.dorsetcan.org/hedge/volunteer
27/07/2023 UPTON & LYTCHETT u3a - Much More than an AGM
It really doesn’t seem possible that I have come to the end of my first year as Chair of our u3a, but I have, and on 27 July I called my first AGM at the Village Hall in Lytchett Matravers.
Annual General Meetings aren’t known for their fun element. They are supposed to be about the business of the organisation, factual and informative, and it’s true to say that for the first hour, our AGM was just that. But just because they are formal meetings, I don’t believe that means they have to be boring, with endless monotone speeches and pages of indecipherable figures. Our u3a Committee are a lively bunch, we don’t like boring, so we decided to organise things a little differently!
With Committee Members elected, motions proposed and passed and Accounts presented, we quickly moved on from the business to a much more interesting agenda, the social agenda. After a rapid shuffle of the tables and chairs and with the ambience transformed, we broke out the tea and cakes, and got on with the serious task of what u3a is about, enjoying ourselves. Of course, there’s only so much tea and cake you can eat before that too gets boring, so we added a further element of light relief with an enlightening talk given by the gardeners of Carey’s Secret Garden.
Who wouldn’t be fascinated by the concept of bringing back to life a secret walled garden that had laid neglected and unloved for 40 years?. Even more so when you learn this is right on our doorstep, just down the road in Wareham.
Let me tell you a bit about Careys Secret Garden - well actually no - it’s a secret garden, so to find out about it you’ll need to visit for yourself. www.careyssecretgarden.co.uk
For those of you who feel cheated because I’ve not told you anything about the business part of the AGM, such as who was elected to the Committee, and what Proposals were passed, this is for you.
Honorary Chair - Dawn Bason
Honorary Treasurer - Andy Jenkins
Honorary Secretary - Sharon Morgan
Group Co-ordinator - Gwyneth Harrop
IT Manager & Vice Chair - Bob Newnham
New Enquiries Secretary - Sarah Wall
Social Secretary - Sheila Twelvetrees
Co-opted Member - Peter Tipping
Co-opted Member - Temporary Membership Secretary - Riette Hodson
Co-opted Member - Health & Safety - Sarah Fleming
And the Motions proposed and passed were:
1. To increase the membership fee by £2.50 (10%), to £27.50 for the year 2023/2024
2. To re-charge members the cost of receiving a paper copy of Third Age Matters
magazine £3.60
3. To change the dates for fee paying periods from 3 per annum to 2 per annum
those being: 01.09.2023 - 31.08.24 and from 01.04.24 - 31.08.24
Dawn Bason - Chair Upton & Lytchett u3a.
DB/WSBlog/GD-Articles03.08.23
Upton and Lytchett u3a - VOLUNTEERS WANTED
Members with a passion for making things happen
We are actively looking for new people to work alongside us to take our u3a forward. We have lots of ideas and lots of things we would like to offer our members but we need people to help us organise and deliver them. This could be by joining our Committee either as a full or co-opted member, becoming a supporter or by just helping out with specific tasks regularly or now and again.
We are looking for people who have experience or skills in any of the following:
Research - Co-ordination - Graphic Design - Administration - Database Inputting - Marketing
Events Management - - Fundraising - Copy Writing - Photography - Telephone Liaison
Health and Safety.
Whether you can only offer a few hours now and again or would like to really roll up your sleeves and get stuck in on a regular basis, we would like to hear from you.
To learn more please contact Dawn Bason, Sharon Morgan or Gwyneth Harrop via the Contact Us page.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you. Dawn Bason Chair - Upton and Lytchett u3a
FROM IRELAND TO THE WILD WEST
Illustrated talk and presentation by Marcus Paul - February 2023
There is nothing like a Wild West adventure to capture the imagination and whet the appetite for learning more about the history of the mid-west of the United States. And our recent talk by Marcus Paul certainly did both of these things. Captivating his audience with historical detail, wit and humour Marcus brought alive the1870’s lives of two young people who set sail from Liverpool to settle in America.
Through the graphic account provided by Marcus, this richly illustrated talk, with original portrait photographs, maps and documents portrayed a fascinating true story of romance, faith, tragedy and hope.
Attended by a very appreciative audience of our u3a members and a number of guests, this truly was an afternoon to remember. We were even fortunate enough to have the grandchildren of the Kinnier Wilson family in the audience, including the present-day James Kinnier Wilson.
About the talk
The story is centred round the life and work of James Kinnier Wilson and his wife Agnes. ‘Ireland to the Wild West’ is a truly inspiring tale of a young man, James Kinnier Wilson, who left famine-stricken Ireland for Edinburgh where he met his future wife Agnes Hately. Together, as newlyweds, this intrepid couple made the dangerous Atlantic crossing to settle in New Jersey and expand the Presbyterian faith. While there, Agnes wrote intimate letters home about her children, the people around her, the church and the dangers of endemic disease. Called to travel further west, to what was then indeed ‘The Wild West’, Agnes, travelling alone with two small children made her way to Kansas. Her husband James was to join her later, to establish a farm for them to settle in and to found churches.
While alone in Kansas waiting for James to join her, Agnes through her writings revealed the harsh conditions of her lonely life on the frontier. Vividly documenting her impressions of American women, cowboys, servant girls and church goers her letters and papers provide a rich archive of what life was like in this hostile and very dangerous place.
Further information about Marcus Paul and his book Ireland to the Wild West can be found at: www.marcuskpaul.o.uk
WHY NOT JOIN US?
If you are interested in any of our future talks, why not join us. They take place at either Lytchett Matravers Village Hall or St. Dunstan’s Church in Upton. Look out for information on the Events page of our website, on other local websites and on Facebook.
Alternatively, for more information or to book a place contact our Social Secretary - Sheila Twelvetrees. A link can be found on our Contacts Us page.
CHRISTMAS PARTY - THURSDAY 8th DECEMBER 2022
12.15 for 12.30 p.m. Lytchett Matravers Village Hall.
CHRISTMAS TIME IS PARTY TIME FOR UPTON AND LYTCHETT U3A
Christmas is the time of the year for getting together with family, friends and likeminded people to have fun and that certainly applies to the members of Upton and Lytchett u3a.
This year in early December we held our Christmas party at Lytchett Matravers Village Hall. More than 50 people attended to share good food, lively conversation and an afternoon of song and celebration. Entertained by the very popular Frayed Strings Ukulele Band, a mind-stretching quiz teaser and a foam snowball fight, our u3a members enjoyed a very festive afternoon. The party was topped off with our usual Christmas raffle, and with more than thirty excellent prizes there were plenty of lucky winners.
Seeing so many of our members together, enjoying chatting and joining in the fun, was certainly testament to the party’s success and to the relevance of the u3a maxim Live, Laugh, Learn.
Organising a successful party doesn’t just happen, it takes hard work and commitment, and our very grateful thanks must go to those who contributed food for the table of Christmas treats, to the volunteers who helped organise things on the day and to everyone who donated prizes and other goodies. Of course our last word must go our members who came along and whose enthusiasm and good humour made the whole thing such an enjoyable occasion.
If next Christmas you’d like to join in the Christmas party fun, then why not come along. Attendance is free to all Upton and Lytchett u3a members. For further information on joining, please contact Sarah on 01202 054974, or by email using the link on our Contacts page.
Acknowledgment goes to Frayed Strings Ukulele Band, who very kindly donated their musical talents free of charge.
DB/04/03/23
SKITTLES - FRIDAY, 25th NOVEMBER 2022
The Clay Pipe Inn, Organford Road, Holton Heath.
This was so successful we are organising another one!
THE SIEGES OF CORFE CASTLE - FRIDAY, 4th NOVEMBER 2022
Illustrated Talk by Iain Dickie
Our November talk was the first in this year’s calendar of social and learning events.
There is a huge interest in local history within our u3a so we knew this talk would be popular. Many of our members have expressed interest in learning more about the history of this fascinating area in which we live. We were therefore not surprised that the talk was over-subscribed. With more than seventy u3a members and guests attending, we spent an enjoyable afternoon learning more about local history and the role the Bankes family played in defending Corfe Castle.
Presented by Iain Dickie, a well-known local historian, writer and author, the talk described the circumstances surrounding two sieges of Corfe Castle that took place in the 1600’s. Iain’s in-depth knowledge of his subject was evident and with the aid of illustrations, drawings and even a small working model of a siege engine, he gave a graphic demonstration of how the walls of the Castle were attacked. Describing how the hill-top position of the Castle gave the advantage to the small group defending the fortress, Iain explored the character of Lady Mary Bankes who endured the first siege and fought off the attacking forces.
About the talk
The talk focused on one of Dorset’s most iconic monuments - Corfe Castle. This impressive fortress has experienced a chequered history - in its heyday a centre of lavish wealth and grandeur, today it dominates its hill-top as a majestic ruin.
In 1635 the castle and its estate was purchased by Sir John Bankes. The Bankes, a local Dorset family, were immensely rich and influential, Sir John attending at the court of King Charles I. Sir John Bankes was an interesting character in his own right, but Iain’s talk only touched on Sir John’s power and standing, focussing mainly on the bravery of his formidable wife, Lady Mary Bankes. While her husband was away at court, Lady Mary and her two younger daughters resided at Corfe Castle. It was during this time, at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642, that the first attack on the Castle by Parliamentary forces took place. Lady Mary, determined that the Castle should remain Royalist, was left with little choice: surrender or fight. Choosing the latter, she was forced to defend her property. Outnumbered and with only limited weaponry, Lady Mary led a spirited resistance. The position of the Castle, the strength of its structure and the determination of Lady Mary prevailed, and after a lengthy siege the attackers withdrew.
By the time of the second siege a few years later, the political scene had changed significantly. Most of Dorset was by this time in Parliamentary hands and once again attention turned to capturing Corfe Castle. After a carefully planned attack the Castle finally fell to the Parliamentarians in 1646.
WHY NOT JOIN US?
If you are interested in any of our future talks, why not join us? They take place at either Lytchett Matravers Village Hall or St. Dunstan’s Church in Upton. Look out for information on the Events page of our website, on other local websites and on Facebook. Alternatively, for information or to book a place contact our Social Secretary - Sheila Twelvetrees. A link can be found on our Contact Us page.