BRIDLINGTON U3A NEWS January/February 2015 Issue no.46 Registered charity no. 1138214 www.u3abridlington.me.uk Chair: Lynne Stanley (01262 606545) lynnestanley181@btinternet.com 6, The Glimpse, Bridlington YO16 6ZA Acting Vice Chair: Dr. George Sheeran (01723 891893) george.sheeran@gmail.com Business Secretary: Christine Latham (01262 851313) christine.latham4@btinternet.com Treasurer: Pat Beales (01262 851813) patbeales10@gmail.com Membership Secretary: Paul Carroll (07969031002) paulu3a@the-seaside.net Flat 3, 45 Horsforth Avenue, Bridlington, YO15 3DG Centre and Assets Manager: Jennie Copley (01262 604729) jennifer.copley@talktalk.net Group Co-ordinator: Terry Buckle (01262 601551) terri.buckle@virginmedia.com Hunmanby Group Co-ordinator: Yanina Sheeran (01723891893) yanina.sheeran@gmail.com Committee members: Jill Carroll jill@the-seaside.net Sue Gollop (07577700042) sue.gollop@outlook.com Facebook: Bridlington.U3A@groups.facebook.com Website: wwww.u3abridlington.me.uk U3A Office: c/o The Community Resource Centre, 4-6 Victoria Road YO15 2BW (tel. 01262 670001) Letter from the Chair: A Happy New Year to you all. The Christmas festivities are over and the New Year is upon us. 2015 promises to be a notable year for Bridlington U3A because several of our founder members are leaving the committee after seven years of service, as you will know if you attended the AGM or the Christmas Concert. What a remarkable achievement to have grown our organisation from nothing to well over 800 members and 94 groups in that time. We can only applaud their efforts and offer them our grateful thanks for all the hard work and dedication that they have put in on our behalf. Presentation to retiring officers: Speaker Secretary Rosie French, Chair Sue Gollop, Secretary Wendy Brayshaw, Treasurer Christine Latham Inevitably things will change. They must, because their initial jobs have become so large and complex that we are splitting them between several members of the new committee. To make it easier for you to understand what is happening we have included details of the new committee, with their photographs, on the next page. So there are no excuses for not knowing who we are! Our plan for this year is to try to open up communication with our members because this is your organisation and we are running it on your behalf so we would like to know what else you would like to do. There will be a suggestion box at every meeting so that you can let us know what you have in mind - new groups, new trips and new activities. We are also hoping to recruit members to take part in various sub-committees and working parties and will be asking for volunteers for these as we set them up. Don’t expect things to happen immediately. Slowly and surely is out motto! I know that I speak on behalf of the new Committee when I say that we will do the best we can to move Bridlington U3A forward, hopefully with as much success as our predecessors. Lynne Stanley (Chair) INTRODUCING YOUR NEW COMMITTEE! CHAIR: Lynne Stanley. I spent most of my career working for the Dyslexia Institute in both administrative and educational roles, running the Hull Centre, developing teaching materials, delivering teacher training courses, liaising with local schools, universities and training agencies, fundraising for bursaries and supporting both pupils and parents in their fight to improve the quality of their lives and opportunities. ACTING VICE CHAIR: George Sheeran. I have been employed in teaching for most of my career. I have worked for the Workers Educational Association and, for the past 25 years, at Bradford University teaching architectural history, urban history and geography. I still maintain links with the university but as an honorary member. BUSINESS SECRETARY: Christine Latham. Christine is one of our founder members having held the post of Treasurer for two terms of office. She will be staying on the committee in a different role whilst also supporting Pat as she takes on the complex duties of Treasurer. TREASURER: Pat Beales. I spent the first 30 years of my career working for Lloyds bank in a variety of roles including admin and customer service. I left the bank in 2002 and worked for the Home Office for 6 years in a male prison, first in finance and then in the custody department, which involved working out sentences and parole dates. MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: Paul Carroll. I have spent my life in the building trade for most of the time running my own joinery business. I moved to Bridlington with my family in 2002. In my spare time I belong to a group that plays at gigs around the town. CENTRE AND ASSETS MANAGER: Jennie Copley. I began my career in nursing but a back injury forced me to change direction and so I trained as a dental nurse until leaving to have a family. Since then I have worked with the general public which is why I enjoy my job as Group Co-ordinator so much. I am now working with Terry to help him to take over this role. GROUP CO-ORDINATOR: Terry Buckle. I worked as an Environmental Health Officer for 40 years, specialising in food hygiene inspections, food poisoning investigations and monitoring hygiene in slaughterhouses and poultry plants. I then became a Health and Safety Advisor for a company specialising in residential care homes & retirement housing. I retired to Bridlington for a quiet life! SOCIAL SECRETARY: Gerald Ewing-Nicholls. After taking early retirement from British Telecom, I joined Channel 5's engineering department on a 12 month contract. This was followed by two years working at "Beside the Seaside" tourist attraction. Then I spent 10 happy years at Sewerby Hall. I now work at York racecourse, during the racing season. HUNMANBY CO-ORDINATOR: Yanina Sheeran. I have worked in various sectors of education: teaching, lecturing, teacher education, research and writing, and widening access to higher education. Latterly I was responsible for Access courses for adults preparing to go on to university. My main interest is in the social sciences. Now in retirement I am involved in local politics and tourism project work. COMMITTEE MEMBER: Jill Carroll. I grew up in Leeds and began my career in the fashion industry. However, I have worked for most of my life as secretary to my self-employed husband. We lived for a while just outside York and then moved to Bridlington in 2002. I run the monthly Coffee Mornings at the U3A centre and will be helping Paul in his role as Membership Secretary. COMMITTEE MEMBER: Sue Gollop. Sue really doesn’t need any introduction as she is one of our founder members, working tirelessly to make Bridlington U3A a thriving organisation. She will be staying on the Committee until Easter in a supporting role before resigning to devote more time to her various School Governor roles and to take up new studies. Success of Hunmanby Inaugural Wrangham Lecture An appreciative audience of 65 people, including many U3A members, came to the inaugural lecture held in honour of Hunmanby’s illustrious early nineteenth century vicar Francis Wrangham on Saturday 22 nd November. The public lecture was held at the community centre, where internationally renowned Professor Kate Pickett of York University, who co-authored the influential book ‘The Spirit Level’ with Richard Wilkinson, spoke about her research on the effects of inequality in society. She argued that once countries reached a certain level of Dr. George Sheeran welcomes Professor Pickett development, chasing increased output and wealth did not result in better levels of health and happiness. With evidence from numerous countries, Professor Pickett suggested that very unequal distribution of wealth within a society led to higher levels of discontent and social distress. Societies with greater equality such as Sweden and Japan showed better outcomes in life expectancy, social mobility, better mental health, higher literacy levels and had lower prison populations. When asked how unequal societies like the UK and the USA could achieve more equal distribution of wealth, Professor Pickett suggested that there were no simple answers. Countries did not necessarily have to take the same path. They could legislate to increase low wages or limit top salaries, or use taxation and the welfare system to try to reduce extremes of inequality. George Sheeran, who helps co-ordinate the U3A activities in Hunmanby, said: “We were delighted by the public response and the opportunity for people to meet Kate Pickett, who gave her services free for the event. The audience found her research and ideas very thought-provoking and there were lots of questions. It made an impressive start to plans for a yearly lecture on humanitarian and literary themes to honour the memory and reforming work of Francis Wrangham.” Note from our Membership Secretary We have just completed upgrading and automating the U3a database of members. Hopefully this will run smoothly. However as with all new systems we may come across some teething problems. If we have any of your details wrong, then please let us know! Paul Carroll Yorkshire and Humber Region U3A (YAHR) POETRY COMPETITION The competition is open to all the U3A members in the Yorkshire and Humber region. Members may submit up to three poems on any topic. Poems may not exceed 40 lines including the title. They must be original work and should not have been previously published. They should be typed and in English. The closing date is February 28th 2015. Entries should be sent to: YAHR Poetry Competition, Ivy End, The Green, Long Preston, Skipton. Christmas Concert 2014 What a splendid concert we had again this year. Great to see our newest dance group perform; The Folk Dancers. Well done to you all! GROUP INFORMATION SUMMARY Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Orchestra Short Walks Getting There in Italian Yoga Allotments Art Acrylics Family History Art Watercolours Trim Intentions Medium Walks Art Watercolours Art Portrait Painting am Knitting & Crochet Card Making Chantons! Let’s Sing! Pedal Pushers Intermediate French Spanish intermediate Folk Dancing Conversation Art Watercolours for Poetry Appreciation Spanish for beginners beginners Dinner Party Dishes Spanish for beginners Advanced Spanish Advanced French Conversation Medium Walks HUG Yorkshire Studies Longer Walks Sociable Strolls Canasta Music: learn to play French refresher Getting going in Italian Radio Play Writing pm Singing for Fun: Canasta Intermediate Spanish Getting Started in Play Reading The Entertainers Hearing Loss Progressive Whist Italian Recorder Group Art Acrylics Writing Memories Calligraphy Technical Discussion Carpet Bowls pm Computers for Let’s Make a Band Ballroom Dancing A Little More German Outdoor bowls all abilities Yoga Arts Appreciation Reading Digital photography Beginning German Paper Craft Wine Appreciation Ballroom Dancing Jazz Ensemble Elocution Canasta For Beginners Beginning French Intermediate German Meditation Dinner Party Dishes Fun Galore Board Drama Canasta for Beginners Games German for beginners Outdoor bowls Book Group Acoustic Guitar Intermediate Ballroom Dancing Literary Studies Beer and Bridge Living History Discussion Group HUG Write On Variable - BUGG GROUPS: Conservation Group, Geology, Wolds Churches, War Graves Research, Archaeology Group, Long Walks, Trips, Theatre, Silver Dream Bikers, Pub Lunches Monday Monthly Open am Meeting Music Appreciation Short Walks Spanish for beginners Discussion Group Knitting &Crochet Tap Dancing INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT PUB LUNCHES 2014! Average attendance was 45.88 people We have eaten more than 780 meals during the year We have paid over £8000 into the local economy We have consumed something like 1.3million calories! Pub Lunches will be on the LAST THURSDAY of each month in 2015, and it is hoped that we will be able to publish a list of venues and dates at the January meeting Next Pub Lunch: Ferns Farm Hotel January 29th Next Coffee Morning: January 29th Resource Centre 10.45am to Midday Come and meet old friends and find new ones! Spa Meetings 2015 10.00am to start 10.30am January 19th February 23rd March 23rd April 20th May 18th June 22nd July 13th Trips: Grand Opera House York Wednesday March 11th Matinee Performance Expressions of interest Jan. 19th ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ Cost = £25 for coach and ticket (£10 for coach) STOP PRESS: Following the success of the German trip, Ray is planning a 6 day trip to Amsterdam via Hull Ferry on April 23rd to see the tulip fields. Approx. cost = £420. Details and expressions of interest at the January meeting or contact Ray on 01262 673255 No previous experience needed! We are looking for a couple of volunteers to continue the wonderful work done by Bob Wood and Margaret Croft in fundraising for us by selling books at our monthly Spa meetings. If you are interested, please contact the Chair, Lynne Stanley
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