ILKLEY & DISTRICT u3a

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Issue  24-06 (15 March 2024)



Helping members to get online

To help members fully embrace the opportunities that internet access can provide, we have partnered with the charity Ability Net. They will offer IT advice and support to our members at a special drop in from 10:30 am to 12 noon on Friday 19th April at Clarke Foley.

Please email newsflash@ilkleyu3a.org if you want to take advantage of this opportunity including the sort of help you might need so that we can plan the support required on the day.

If you can’t make the drop in but would like support especially geared to our generation, select here for more information. There’s even a Freephone contact number.

For guidance on how to login to our u3a website, select this link. A printed version will be available to pick up at the talk this Saturday in Clarke Foley.

Opportunities to become more involved with u3a

Every so often it’s good for us to be reminded that u3a membership implies an understanding that members will share their skills and experience for the benefit of everyone in the organisation.  Learn more about our guiding principles and ethos on this link.

Please look at the following opportunities. If the cap fits, you know what to do!

Places on the management committee. New faces with fresh ideas required. Do you have skills to help shape the future of an organisation with 2,000 members and more than 100 interest groups?

The management committee meets monthly and its members are very supportive of each other. So don’t think you’ll be left to sink or swim. Email chair@ilkleyu3a.org to express an interest and for an informal chat. This really is a super opportunity to make a real difference to our u3a, something that others have found to be an incredibly rewarding experience.

Anne Morrison, a member of the committee, reluctantly had to give up her role earlier this month. This is an opportunity to thank for her valuable service.

A coordinator of short courses. These are becoming an established part of our programme of activities. Select here for a list of topics covered in recent months.

We now need administrative help to support members who want to run their own courses. Full training and mentoring provided. Duties include drafting information for the website and News Flash, helping to book venues and equipment, monitoring payments to online banking facilities etc. Email shortcourses@ilkleyu3a.org to express an interest.

Coordinator for u3a outreach programme to care homes. With declining mobility or mental stamina, care home residents rarely have the chance to participate in the stimulating range of activities available to members of u3a. (You might think of this as the 4th age.) The coordinator role is about aiming to change the status quo.

Our Singalong4Fun group already entertains residents of care homes and might provide the template for other groups who want to be involved. Read all about Singalong4Fun Group on this link. Group leader, David Hewitt, explains how they have noticed how many residents respond positively to music and song. It helps them to feel life is worthwhile and for some dementia sufferers restores them, at least temporarily, to something like their old selves.

However, the hope is to encourage all group leaders to think what contribution their group might make. Talks, arts and crafts sessions, assisting residents on trips etc. are all possibilities. Many groups have something to offer. This is where a coordinator working with our groups and local care homes can make a real difference.

If getting involved in this appeals to you, contact David Hewitt who will be happy to talk through his ideas on how to coordinate this approach to the benefit of all. Phone or text him on 07734-562428.

Anyone with knowledge of Artificial Intelligence? Our Science & Technology Group meets on alternate Wednesday mornings in Clarke Foley. They would like a presentation on AI in their autumn programme. Clearly a subject of great interest but beyond the expertise of a lot of our generation. So, if you know someone who might like to address an enthusiastic audience on this topic, please email Steve Waller (wallersj1@aol.com). Many thanks.

Clarke Foley still need our financial help

We all value this wonderful facility that is our unofficial HQ. They are doing their best to serve their whole community, expanding the café and providing impressive projection facilities in the large hall.

But it all takes money to keep the show on the road. So when you attend the talk this Saturday (details on this link), pick up a leaflet about becoming a friend of Clarke Foley for just £30 per year. To become a Friend of Clarke Foley online, select this link.

The latest short courses

The novels of Lawrence Durrell Think of this as a book club dedicated to the four novels of the Alexandria Quartet and the five novels of the Avignon Quintet. So, a book a month for nine months starting 2:00 Tuesday 19th March in The Flying Duck Pub on Church Street in Ilkley. Due to a cancellation, there is one vacancy. Select here to book your place.

Art of the Album Cover This four-week course is now available to book. Select this link for course details and to register attendance. The venue is close to Ben Rhydding Station and the course starts on Tuesday morning 9th April. Just £15.

Short courses provide an ideal alternative to running a full-time group The advice page has recently been updated. So if you have a passion for a subject you would like to share with other members, select here to find out how we can help to get you started.

New groups

Backgammon We hope to restart this group.  An initial meeting will be held 10 am Wednesday 27th March in Wetherspoons (Lister Arms) across the road from Clarke Foley. If interested, email establishedgroups@ilkleyu3a.orgWe have the kit to play. Just need the players!

Pickleball 2 The first group has proved so popular we are starting up a second group! Pickleball is a mix of badminton, tennis and table tennis played on a badminton court using a graphite or wooden paddle, about twice the size and weight of a table tennis bat, and a perforated plastic ball.

Our second group meets at Guiseley Leisure Centre from 2 pm to 4 pm each Monday. To express an interest in joining, email newgroups@ilkleyu3a.org

Groups with vacancies

Local Landmarks and Lunch group A small friendly group that visits outdoor local landmarks and villages. We meet on alternate Tuesdays during the summer starting 4th June. Visits are researched and led by our members. Walking is limited to a total of three miles in a day. Access to email is necessary for details of arrangements. Select this link for more information and contact details to express an interest in joining.

From our social media postings

Our combined Facebook and Twitter (now X) postings reach over 1,000 people, many of whom are not members of our local u3a. So this is an ideal way to promote what we do and link with other local organisations. Send a few pictures of a group activity and a couple of sentences to Helen (helen@saltedit.co.uk) who will arrange everything. Thank you.

The following links open on our Facebook page. Anyone can access them. You don’t need an account.

Science & Technology Group Enjoyed a thought-provoking presentation by Gregory Radick, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds. A challenge to the way we think about genetics and its possibilities, past, present and future. Select here to read more.

Outside the Box One of our members is running the London Marathon in aid of this worthy local charity. Read all about it here.

Save money on postage stamps Buy before the increase in prices on 2nd April. Details here.

New content on our website

Otley Matters newsletter The March edition is now available online via this link. Page 3 features an article of u3a links with Wharfemeadows Bowling Club, which is also now on our website. Select this link.

The local paper archive This month we publish a volume of the scrapbook that covers almost a decade from 1989 to 1998.  Select this link to read about the demolition of the bus depot, a facelift at Ilkley Playhouse and a fascinating article from December 1989 about the introduction of bar codes at Tesco. The article explains that, eventually, this technology will allow everyone to pay by card rather than cheque. Also featured is the Ilkley Gazette’s own website on the ‘Information Super Highway’.

The Market Place select this link and then login to the website to read the latest entries. Click on the name of the poster to reveal their details and make contact. This is a member only facility requiring website login to access.

Post your own items. Just use the above link or look under the News Tab on the website.

Diary dates

Drop in 10:30am Friday 15th March (at Clarke Foley).

Saturday Talk10 am Saturday 16th March. Around the World with Nick Harding. Details on this link.  As regular attenders know, our presenters use microphones and there are speakers sited throughout the hall. So, the acoustics are pretty good.

However, Clarke Foley doesn’t currently have a hearing loop facility. They are looking to see if one can be installed. We hope that this doesn’t detract too much from this important part of our social calendar.

Do we need policies to limit flying and driving? Free public meeting 7:30 pm Wednesday 20th March at Clarke Foley. Organised by Climate Action Ilkley. Details and booking on this link.

The Great Escape: from Tsingtao to Skipton A talk that recounts the little-known story of two German naval officers who escaped from the POW camp in Fukuoka, Japan in November 1915 and spent a year on the run. They almost circumnavigated the globe before being recaptured by the Royal Navy to spend the final part of the war in Skipton. Clarke Foley 7:30 pm Thursday 21st March 2024. Select here for more information. Part of a series of lectures by the Olicana Historical Society.

The history of the Manor House Join Alex Cockshott 10:15 am Friday 22nd March as she explores the evolution of this centuries old building that sits in the centre of Ilkley. Details on this link. Advance booking recommended as space will be limited.

Steeton Male Voice Choir at Christchurch on the Grove. 7 pm Friday 22nd March in aid of ‘Give a Child a Hope’. Details here (opens a link to our Facebook page). There’s a bespoke ticket delivery service on our own Market Place using this link. (Website login required.)

Meet for coffee in Otley 10am Monday 25th March. Select here for details

u3a Annual Showcase will be held at Clarke Foley on Saturday morning 15th June 2024. Previously known as Meet the Leaders, this is an opportunity to explore new opportunities to enjoy all that u3a has to offer in the year ahead.

Some dog and cat jokes

Q. What do you get when you cross a cocker spaniel, a poodle and a rooster? A cockerpoodledoo.

Q. What do you call a dog magician? A labracadabrador.

Q. What happened to the cat who swallowed a ball of wool? She had mittens.

Q. How many cats can you put in an empty box? Only one. After that it isn’t empty.

Best wishes

John & Christine

Email: Newsflash@ilkleyu3a.org

Showing respect and courtesy.

It’s clear some members are joining groups, even paying a subscription, but then never turning up to meetings. This has been very evident when trying to get new groups established. There’s a rush of enthusiasm which evaporates once we ask members to organise meetings or do more than just turn up to be entertained.

If you no longer want to participate, please let the group leader know. If it’s a new group, email newgroups@ilkleyu3a.org. You could be denying a place in the group for someone else.

Respect and courtesy do matter. Thank you.

 



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