iU3A In The Local News
We were recently in the local Tribune newspaper. Anne Weyman had submitted an article for publishing which made it past the editor's selection. See it here (second article down).

Pub Quiz 2019
We held our annual pub quiz in February 2019 and for a change held it in the Canonbury Tavern. As always it was well supported with 58 members buying a ticket for the event. A number of members meet beforehand to eat at the Tavern and then we took up our team places upstairs.

Again we were using Jez Worsnip as our professional quizmaster for the evening. Jez designs the questions especially for iU3A and of course the judges' word is final! As always it's a great opportunity to test the grey matter and get to know other members.

Ten teams battled it out with mixed fortunes. The musical round had caused some pains to most teams and there was a clear leader. In the second half the favourites (Team: 'F' Word) lost some ground but were still clear winners. So another successful event enjoyed by all. Thanks to Anne, Ann, Mary, Kathryn and Christine for organising the event. We are all looking forward to next year's already.




Last Monthly Meeting
October — ‘The Catalan Crisis and its Links to Current European Politics’, presented by Professor Sebastian Balfour. The presentation was particularly topical in the light of the recent heavy sentences, against which there have been fierce demonstrations, imposed on nine Catalan politicians.

He focused on two aspects of the story, the process that led to a referendum, and the Catalan position from an international perspective: the roots of the Catalan experience date back to the early 1700s and many feel, even today, that they do not belong to Spain by virtue of their different history, language and culture. Catalonia was at that time part of the Mediterranean Empire, which stretched from Catalonia to the Duchy of Athens. A sense of separateness further emerged with the industrialisation of the rest of Spain and the growth of the middle classes, which failed to establish a sense of identity for the whole of Spain.

In the 20th century many Catalans saw autonomy as part of the struggle for democracy and Catalonia was given autonomy in 1932. However, at the end of the civil war in 1939 attempts were made to wipe out all expressions of Catalan identity including language and self-government, which compounded the Catalan sense of victimhood. It was not until 1977, two years after the death of Franco, that greater autonomy for the region was restored. This, however, was not without its problems: Catalans felt that other regions of Spain were given greater autonomy and more powers. In 2006 a new statute of autonomy was agreed for Catalonia.

The recession of 2008 led to a movement of popular protest as social fissures began to appear and there was much political corruption amongst the elite. A Catalan national assembly emerged: it argued that independence was the answer. But many Catalans, as had been the case for some in the past, were developing a strong sense of a dual identity and there was much immigration, both from other parts of Spain and from abroad, which made many feel they belonged to both Catalonia and Spain.

In 2012, for fear of losing electoral support, the Catalan national assembly jumped on the bandwagon of a separatist cause. A referendum for independence was held in October 2017. This was ruled as illegal by the Spanish Government and there was, as many saw it, a violent repression against a democratic exercise. Despite a low turnout, 90% of those who voted wanted independence. The Catalan government declared unilateral independence. Its MPs were subsequently arrested. A new referendum, organised in Dec 2017, revealed that 51% of Catalonia wished to remain in Spain and 45% wanted independence. Today there is no explicit programme for an independent Catalonia: there are fundamental differences over strategy, and deep divisions within the separatist movement. There is no process for a truth and reconciliation debate and there is a legacy of pain and sadness.

The movement, however, has had a ripple effect throughout Europe. The recession of 2008 and the austerity measures that went with it, have made people in many countries feel alienated from mainstream politics. This has given rise to national populist movements on the right and of the left.

For information about our previous monthly talks see here.

AGM
On 22 November 2018 iU3A held its AGM. The annual accounts were presented and five members elected on to the Executive Committee to replace resigning members. You can see all the subjects addressed here.

Open Day 2018
In October our Open Day was also our fifth birthday celebration. Again this proved very popular and enabled non-members to meet us and find out about all the things iU3A does. As in previous years there was an excellent turnout with over 200 attending (151 members and 50 non-members). Out of the 50, 23 joined iU3A on the day and many others took away forms, so we hope to hear from them again soon. The existing members who turned up used the chance to see what other groups were on offer and sign up to them. Everybody also enjoyed our delicious birthday cake and had a good natter. This year the 'star' who cut our birthday cake was our acting Vice Chair, Ruth Gee.

With over 60 interest groups on display there were many great displays. Eight potential new groups were also being advertised to gauge interest and support. Visible and audible displays charmed the audience as they strolled around. All the existing Group Coordinators and their helpers did an excellent job of explaining what their group did and hence encouraged many to sign up. Hopefully this exercise also encouraged more members to be brave enough to volunteer to be Coordinators.

A special thanks must go to the sub-committee which organised another successful day, particularly to Sue Welsford, Diane Austin, Margaret Wearing and Isabel Dickson for coordinating the whole event. The Open Day is our major showcase for members and to the public who might be interested in joining.

Summer Party 2019
In June we held our annual Summer Party for all members. The venue was the Olden Gardens and it was looking its best — particularly the rambling rose. This tranquil haven is a glorious backdrop for our jolly party. This year we sold 108 tickets allowing us to just about cover the costs.

The weather forecast had threatened rain — again. However it held off, but it wasn't that warm.

The booze lasted well this year so all were happy, in fact the challenge was getting people to vacate the gardens at the end when our time was up.

Much socialising and milling around had been possible — to chat to friends and make new friendships. Thanks to Lesley Delacourt for again bringing the bubbly back from France at a very low cost allowing us all to benefit from the low ticket price.


Thanks also to Diane Austin and other volunteers for organising this event.




Group Coordinators
In April we held the annual Group Coordinators' meeting. As usual there was a full agenda and plenty of healthy debate. There was a good turnout with over 60% of coordinators attending. The Chair kicked things off with a welcome and then some feedback from recent surveys and initiatives. The full presentation can be viewed here.

In January (2019) we held a 'thankyou' lunch for all our Group Coordinators. 45 attended, a good majority of the total we have. They were all thanked for the efforts they provided in running their groups. Our activity groups make up the majority of what we offer in iU3A, so we are highly dependent on these volunteers. Unlike the annual Group Coordinators' Meeting this was not about training but merely a thankyou. However it still provided an opportunity for the Group Coordinators to exchange ideas amongst themselves and learn about other group activities. While the service was a bit slow the conversation flowed.



It was also an opportunity to put a face to a name on an email. All seemed to enjoy the event.

A big thank you to Sue and Judith for organising the event.
 
Results from the recent (June 2018) Group Coordinators survey can be read here.




iU3A Outings — Previous Visits
October 2019 — Bletchley National Computer Museum: the trip itself was excellent and the guides and experts were very helpful and informative. One deficiency is that there is no cafe at TNMOC — just a shop selling pre-packed sandwiches and drinks but it has a pleasant outside seating area. We had a good look round before our scheduled guided trip and a very informative tour — though two of us bailed out before the end (it had overran by half an hour and we still hadn't quite finished). One memorable bit was a conversation with a retired ICL engineer about the 2966 they have. They really need more power to the site so they can run the 2966 more often!

October 2019 — Margate:
This was another very successful iU3A Outing. See some of our members' comments about this visit here.





June 2019 (24th, Midsummer's Day) — Strawberry Hill House: “Horace Walpole’s Gothic Castle — a venue like no other” (https://www.strawberryhillhouse.org.uk/)
 
21 iU3A members enjoyed a visit to Horace Walpole’s country retreat, visiting both the house and garden. The weather was kind to us with only the slightest sprinkling of rain to cool us off from time to time. This midsummer’s day trip firmly establishes a precedent and we will now aim to have one of our outings on this day each year, to complement and contrast each year’s Christmas outing.

We assembled at the café just before noon and met our first guide Sandra who took us on a very interesting tour of the gardens. Various outbuildings, including a small crypt, were seen and a limited amount of tree hugging went on. In Walpole’s time the gardens were much more extensive, running down to the river. Sandra led a brief walk down to the Thames to see the small park and outbuildings, which remain from Walpole’s time. An 18th century garden was an incredibly important statement of one’s wealth and social standing, particularly in this stretch of the river known as the Arcadian Thames because of the large number of palaces and important houses fronting the river. Walpole, over his 50 years at Strawberry Hill House, developed his garden in the “structured informality” style of the English Landscape movement, with groves of trees and serpentine paths; this contrasted with contemporary rigidly formal gardens of France and Italy. Most of the original garden was sold and is now occupied by houses.

After the morning tour we reconvened at the café for lunch and then we met our afternoon guide Mark who was to give us a most incredibly informative tour of this most bizarre of houses, which has been extensively restored to its original décor. Developed from two modest cottages from 1747 onwards, Strawberry Hill House was built and decorated incorporating Gothic design details such as library bookcases based on a cathedral doorway and complex chimney pieces echoing medieval cathedral tombs. Wallpaper gives the illusion of carved walls and ceilings. Walpole bought medieval glass and placed sections in windows so that coloured light could illuminate the interiors. The largest room has gilded fan vaulting, and each room was a unique revelation. Horace Walpole was an avid collector of ceramics, paintings, enamels and miniatures, and one can only wonder about the thought processes which went into the creation of this “little Gothic castle” and its contents. 

We learned that Walpole and his housekeeper arranged guided tours of the house with over 45,000 people visiting during Walpole’s lifetime there. Walpole himself retreated to a cottage just across the road during the visits, lest he would have to socialise with the visitors. Coinciding with our visit the trustees had organized a summer flower show, with each of the extraordinary rooms full of summer blooms and their associated vapours. (Cressida Jupp and David McPhail)


 April 2019 — Highclere Castle: Twenty six of us enjoyed a day out at Highclere Castle, travelling from Paddington to Newbury by train and then by coach to the castle itself. We all visited the gardens and house and many of us also explored the Egyptian exhibition. The gardens are quite beautiful, with a variety of features including a wild flower meadow, Monks garden and secret garden. There is also a memorial to a plane crash in World War Two.

The fifth Lord Carnarvon was a sponsor of Howard Carter and there was an exhibition portraying the discoveries in Egypt that flowed from this, with a replica of Tutankhamun's tomb and the mummy itself the central features of this exhibition. Carnarvon died in Egypt shortly after the discovery of the tomb, lending further credence to the theory of a curse.

We also spent a considerable time in the magnificent house which is resplendent with paintings, furniture and other artfefacts representative of the history of its occupants. The castle is the third manifestation of a structure on this site. The first written records of the estate date back to 749 when an Anglo-Saxon King granted the estate to the Bishops of Winchester. Bishop William of Wykeham built a beautiful mediaeval palace and gardens on the park. Later on, the palace was rebuilt as Highclere Place House in 1679, when it was purchased by Sir Robert Sawyer, Attorney General to Charles II and James II and direct grandfather of the current Earl. In 1771 'Capability' Brown made plans for the alteration of the grounds, water and symmetrical Georgian house at Highclere for the 1st Earl of Carnarvon, the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon.

Travel back to London was “uneventful” and the Outing a great day out.

December 2018 — Christmas Market, Brussels: a group of iU3A pioneers enjoyed a wonderful day out in Brussels enjoying sights and sounds of this charming city, the Christmas market, and a very nice restaurant.

We took advantage of the very reasonable train fares offered by Eurostar (if one books a few months in advance) travelling to and from Brussels in just over two hours. The early afternoon was spent sightseeing, taking in parks and key buildings whilst meandering in the general direction of the Christmas market. One very important refuelling stop allowed us to sample the famous Belgian chocolate both as a drink and as a waffle topping.

We passed by the Manneken Pis, the Grand Place, the Hotel de Ville, the Eglise St-Nicolas, and the Museum of the City of Brussels finally arriving at the Christmas market. Rather bizarrely the market had a Finnish theme to it and several stalls were selling Finnish goods including whole smoked salmon. There was no shortage of things to purchase, eat or imbibe as one walked around this large market. The far end of the market had a Ferris wheel which offered excellent views of the city.


In the late afternoon we reconvened at the La Brouette restaurant in the Grand Place, enjoying a magnificent light show just before we went in to eat. The restaurant was full of character and the meal was excellent, as was the wine and beer. A five minute walk took us back to the local train station which was one hop away from the Eurostar station. A stress-free embarkation with all our parcels and we were whizzing back to London. We all had a really wonderful day out enjoying each other’s company and all that Brussels has to offer. We hope to offer more Outings to cities accessible by Eurostar, based on this very positive experience.

Thanks to David McP for all the organisation of this very enjoyable Outing.

September — a large group of iU3A members headed off to Bletchley Park this month.See the full report with photos here.

Thanks again to David, Elizabeth and Judith for organising this outing.







June — Twickenham: this month our Outing was to two houses in the Twickenham area. A full report can be viewed here.

May — Kempton Park Racecourse: the sun shone on the 18 members who embarked upon their researches into the mysteries of the "Sport of Kings". The travel arrangements from Waterloo were, so I'm told, seamless. This set the tone for the day. The Panorama Restaurant, which overlooked the winning post and provided a menu, appealed to all. The opportunity to stand by the Winning Post was taken by many and the excitement enjoyed by the winners was truly infectious. Those few who claimed to be ingenues had luck riding with them; those who claimed some knowledge were deserted by "her Ladyship." As the card ended around 4:30 the journey home was in reasonable comfort. Those who attended all asked for the event to become a regular fixture in the iU3A calendar.

April 2018 — Eltham Palace has for centuries been a royal palace, and is now an unoccupied royal residence owned by the Crown Estate. Since 1995 it has been managed by English Heritage, who restored it in 1999 and opened it to the public. Internally, the Art Deco house is "a masterpiece of modern design". There is also a magnificent Great Hall, a survival from the mediaeval royal palace. There are 19 acres of beautiful gardens, with a rock garden, a moat crossed by London's oldest working bridge and a sunken rose garden. Full report and photos here. Thanks to Angela Treves and David McPhail for organising this one.

November 2017 — Boating Outing: eleven iU3A members enjoyed a narrowboat trip out of the Islington boat club. We were well looked after by our skipper, Amber, who steered us off in a Westerly direction. We very quickly negotiated our first lock and then headed directly to the Islington tunnel (more info here). 

Various members of the group took turns at steering the boat in a good straight line through the 960 yards of the tunnel. This was very much a highlight of the trip.

On reaching the Kings Cross side we performed a “u-turn” (a non-trivial exercise) and then went back through the tunnel to Islington. We then headed East for a while before returning to dry land at the boat club. Most of the group then enjoyed a drink at the Plaquemine Lock pub (more info here) where there was a live jazz band.

There was a lot of enthusiasm for an all-day trip, to include a picnic lunch, in the Spring. Watch the "What's On Page" for further info......


Theatre Visits
Help With Computer/Tablet/Smartphone
We've a few ways to help our members grapple with technology.

Firstly — our drop-in help sessions: these are a regular feature in iU3A now. These drop-in help sessions allow iU3A members with any query they have regarding their computers, tablets or smartphones to drop in and receive guidance from other iU3A members. They are generally held every two to three months with members requesting help with a variety of query areas. Some of these are simple (to some) and were easy to give guidance on, others were harder to solve with much cross-learning and use of Google search. All the "customers" go away very contented and with increased confidence to try things for themselves.

Thanks again to all the volunteers who came along to share their knowledge with other iU3A members. See the 'What's On' page for details of the next of these sessions (if there is one scheduled).

Secondly — our Help Line: If you can't make the drop-in sessions or need a quicker service then for any help with your computer, tablet or smartphone you could try our help line. Send your query with details to computerhelp.iu3a@gmail.com. We will share out between our iU3A experts and provide you with an answer, hopefully solving your issue.

Thirdly — Tutorials: we have a general tutorial on some points raised previously here. We also now have launched a programme of classroom style events under the Monthly Meeting, 2nd Subject programme. We will cover a variety of specific topics and cover the subject from a 'no-knowledge' to a more advanced level. Details of these forthcoming tutorials will be shown under the Monthly Meeting information. If you missed a previous tutorial you can find the materials covered here:
01. Mailto Protocols
02. Cloud Storage
03. Beacon Membership System
04. Links
05. Cookies, Cut & Paste, Backups

 
Fourthly — Tips: via the Bulletin we'll sometimes issue tips or advice on computer aspects. Such as — how to tell if it's a scam: take the test HERE.

Archive
Previously: To see more of our previous events and outings look here.