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Last month a choir member carried out our first sung greeting, to mark a birthday, using our new Ring and Sing service. Apparently it was enjoyed by both the recipient of the good wishes, and the singer. Well done to our brave first singer, it takes courage to sing alone into a telephone, to what could be an unknown U3A member. Feel free to request a greeting if you’d like it, or know someone who would, there is an email form for requests below (we would need to know a date, reason for the celebration, any greeting you would like conveyed, the recipient’s telephone number, and your ‘phone number would be helpful, for speed in case of queries). We would give the name of the sender with a greeting. It appears our celebrations may be quiet affairs for a while longer, so a friendly voice with a happy greeting could be welcome.

If choir members would like to practise something from our repertoire we have at least one very suitable song for the season, Autumn Leaves. We haven’t done it recently (for a long time before the lockdown) so perhaps we could all have a go. We can think of each other as we make plenty of noise singing alone. Take care, and we’ll see each other when we can. Nothing lasts forever, even if it begins to feel a little like it.

To contact Christine, the group leader, please use the form below:-

Because the Library was closed, we had not been able to pick up a set book to read during August so the suggestion was for another Classic book from our personal bookshelf. Those who chose to read a Classic again included the following books:-

Cider With Rosie – Laurie Lee; Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte; The Old Man & The Sea – Ernest Hemingway; Persuasion – Jane Austen and although not really a classic – Forever Amber – Kathleen Winsor, which was one of the first of its type many years ago.

This month, if the library is open, then we hope to read any Alan Bennett book or if not, our favourite crime writer. Reports on these next month.

Once again, even though the Creative Writing Group has now closed, I thought you might be interested in the following which was first written in February, 2016. We were told to choose a scene and write about it.

BLISS!
It had been a pleasant summer’s day, that Wednesday in July, not sunny but warm. The Hucknall U3A Lunch Group had had a lovely three-hour cruise and lunch down the River Trent on the Nottingham Princess Riverboat. It had been a much more relaxed lunch than our usual monthly event as, after the lunch itself was over, instead of disappearing home straight away, we all sat on deck and watched the world go by. We marvelled at the expensive looking homes built on the riverside and at the crudely made nests also built on the riverside. Cyclists waved to us from the Victoria Embankment, rowers scowled as we broke their concentration and swans and Canada geese quickly swam away from the eddies made by the riverboat.

Eventually it was time to go home, back to our usual early evening activities. I watched some television until it became dark and, being bored, flicked from channel to channel to find something worth watching. And there it was, a BBC Four programme called “The Canal Trip” which had been filmed in real time and contained no commentary, music or presenter and showed nothing more exciting than passing boats, changing scenery and the occasional passer-by in the distance walking along the towpath. I started to watch, wondering when the commentary would begin – but it didn’t. Surely something would happen soon, I asked myself?

I continued to watch, becoming mesmerised by this experiment in slow TV filmed down one of Britain’s historic waterways, the Kennet and Avon Canal. The programme, which switched from colour to black and white, featured facts about canal construction which appeared on the water in text, a very original idea which negated the need for a commentary. I checked how long the programme would be on for and was quite surprised that it would last for two hours. Two hours! Could I really sit and watch this programme for two hours? But I was so hypnotised by the sounds of the birds singing, the crunch of approaching cyclists’ wheels on the gravel, the wind rustling the leaves which overhung the canal and the slow-moving background and interesting facts emerging from the water that I just sat back and enjoyed it. It was such a lovely coincidence that we had been on our own trip on the water earlier that day.

Later I wasn’t surprised to find that thousands of other viewers had felt exactly the same way as I had about the programme. Apparently, the show fetched 506,000 viewers and had a peak of 599,000, well above the BBC Four slot average of 340,000. Britain has so much to offer, whether it be these canals, the Lochs of Scotland, the Peak & Lake Districts, or the Yorkshire Moors. Wouldn’t it be great if the BBC made a whole series of these films and encouraged people to visit places that might even be on their own doorsteps or just an hour or so away. No need to spend money on an expensive trip to Venice in order to visit the Grand Canal, not when the Kennet and Avon Canal is on your doorstep! With the help of films such as this and the hard work of the Canal Conservationists, it is hoped that the future of even the grottiest canal’s future is ensured for the benefit of all.

The festival runs from Wednesday 7th pm to Saturday 10th December at 11.30am in the Parish Church. It is a community event in which we are proud to be a part.
This year we have not got one of these:
As we are trying something different.
Coordinated by the Cycle group and thanks to the welding skills of John Gibson, the decorative skills of Sue Gibson and the creative skills of many group members we are submitting our entry called : ‘The Cycle of Life’.
We have had an amazing and wonderful response from the Interest Groups.
The ideas and creativity of the decorations have to be seen in 3 dimensions to be really appreciated. The photograph of the almost complete tree does not do it justice but conveys the idea.


More group decorations have been received since the photographs was taken and it is enhanced by white decorative lights.
Please take the time to visit the festival and if you think it deserves it vote for the Hucknall U3A Cycle of Life Tree.