History Group

by WebmasterHistory GroupPosted on Comments are Disabled

Our indoor meetings are always held at Central Methodist Church on Baker Street at the time of 2pm – 4pm (ish).  Usually it is £2 per person to cover the cost of a speaker and the hire of the room.

At the March meeting Robert Mee came to tell us about the History along the Erewash Trail.  He explained the trail was 30 miles as a round journey from Langley Mill to Long Eaton and back so in one hour we would have to move at 30mph to get the whole trail covered.  He thought that each town we passed could really have a talk of its own but he showed ‘then and now’ images as we went along.  Perhaps some of us could drive over to the river Erewash which isn’t very far away to see some of the sights he showed.  

The April meeting is a visit to The National Arboretum by Vallances coach leaving Ogle Street in Hucknall at 10.30am on Wednesday 15th April.  We leave the Arboretum at 4pm.

For our May meeting we are back indoors to hear David Speed telling us about ‘Beauvale Priory – Between Two Worlds’.

Maureen Newton

Social Sub Committee

by WebmasterEvents, Social EventsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Games Afternoon

 On Friday 27th March 72 members enjoyed an afternoon of friendly competitive games.

In Part One Teams of 4 competed against each other to play: Bar Skittles, Shut The Box, Executive Golf, Shuffleboard, Basket Toss Connect 4, The Bomb and Sticky Ball Darts.

At the break we enjoyed an excellent buffet provided by Cathy our regular caterer and tea and coffee were provided by Christine and John Berrill.

 During the break teams completed a silent quiz and it could have been the food or the quiz, but following a hectic playing session hush descended in the hall.

To complete the afternoon Melvyn led 2 card games of ‘Sticky 13’

When players started to declare ‘last card’ the tension was palpable.

A prize of a pack of Cadbury’s Cream Eggs was awarded to the winners of the quiz and Sticky 13 games.

For the Team Games two teams tied for 1st place a tie breaker game was won by

Kay Twells, John Twells , Marion Curran and Alan Curran

who received eggs and a golden cup.

The Social Sub Committee wish to thank all competitors, the staff at JGC and Cathy for supporting this fun event. A date for your diary is Friday June 26th Disco and Hog Roast.

Short Walks

by WebmasterShort WalksPosted on Comments are Disabled

The March walk was a route from Bestwood Country Park which included a circuit of Mill Lakes. Unfortunately, although the paths were drying out, we did find some mud along the way.

However, the weather was much improved with some sunshine and temperatures warm enough for David Wright to slip into his shorts.

April Walk

The April walk is on Thursday 16th

The walk, a mix of urban and countryside starts from the parking layby outside Greasley Church. It is a variation on a walk we have done before with the addition of a literary theme.

After the walk I can recommend a visit to the Parish Oven Tea Rooms behind the church hall.

Meet at 9.30am for a 9.45am start

Further details will be sent to the group before the 16th.

David Rose

Science

by WebmasterScience GroupPosted on Comments are Disabled
At our March meeting group member Jolanta Adamczewska gave a very interesting presentation about the life and work of Marie Curie who was a pioneering physicist and chemist.
Marie was renowned for her groundbreaking research in radioactivity. Born in Poland, she moved to France where she became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize—and the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields. Her discoveries, including polonium and radium, greatly advanced medical science and nuclear physics. Her dedication to research and education left a legacy, inspiring generations of scientists.

Jolanta also clearly explained the complexities of atomic structure, the types of radioactivity and their properties.

After the break Sue Tedstone described how she and her grandson assembled a lizard robot from a challenging electronic model kit. The robot had a stroll around the room cleverly avoiding obstructions along the way.

John Tedstone then gave a short history of the invention and development of model making and our finale was a 3-minute video created and narrated by Christine Vincent about the invention of tarmacadam (tarmac) with some additional information about current research aimed at solutions to make it better (at repairing potholes!)

Next month Friday 17th April

We have a guest speaker Sandra Hart who is a Notts u3a member with a talk entitled

‘City of Bees’.

After the break we will continue with the 3-minute talks about inventions.

David Rose

National Trust

by WebmasterNational TrustPosted on Comments are Disabled

Visit to Dunham Massey on Monday 23rd March

Seventy members of the National Trust group started out from Hucknall Market at 8.30 am to travel across to Cheshire to visit the Dunham Massey Estate.

Traffic was relatively light on the journey and we arrived within two hours. Both coaches arrived together and NT cards were soon checked and maps and general information given out.

First point of call for many was the café for a midmorning drink.

The Estate is one of the jewels in the National Trust portfolio and seeing everything in a day was a challenge!!!

The House itself reflected four hundred years in the life of the Booth and Grey families demonstrated over two floors. The parkland is extensive with a wide range of walks ranging from two miles and longer. Fallow deer roamed the grounds and the extensive gardens were a real highlight for many members.

Sadly, the Mill was closed but the roomy restaurants, ice cream parlour, extensive garden shop and gift shop were all open and popular.

Although the group had previously visited in September 2023 the group verdict was that this was one of the best estates visited.

As usual everyone was back on the coach by 4.00 pm and another good journey saw us back in Hucknall by 6.00 pm.

A lovely day to start this year’s visits.

Next month’s visit takes us to Upton House across in the West Midlands.