Why not join us for a fun evening of games? Nothing too brain taxing of course!
We meet in a room at the rear of the Catholic church on Watnall Road on the third Friday evening of the month. We currently have vacancies so feel free to drop by. The meeting begins at 7.00 pm through to 9.30pm.
If you require further information please get in touch through the form below. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Group Leaders: Margaret Nunn and Sue Spolton.
The History Group always welcomes all U3A members especially new ones. Our indoor meeting place is Central Methodist Church on Baker Street: time 2pm – 4pm ish.
What did you think to Bassetlaw Museum at Retford if you went on the coach? I thought it was just brilliant so many memories brought back to life from mothers and grandmothers. The Pilgrim Fathers exhibition was very good and it was interesting to see people from the original tribe who helped the settlers who had come over the ocean and built a wetu in the garden. Retford itself was a lovely place to walk around with plenty of cafés and seats for a rest when needed. The journey was great as well – I will remember the bluebells as we passed Clumber Park.
Wednesday May 17th 2pm is the date and time for the meeting at Central Methodist Church when Mike Kelly will be with us. He will tell us about ‘The Fall of Saxon England, Christmas Day 1065 to Christmas Day 1066’ which is the most traumatic year in English history.
Kathy and Sue will be at the main meeting on May 10th to take bookings for our Visit to Ashby de la Zouch Museum on June 21st.
Maureen
The aim of this new group is to share different recipes that will give an alternative to meals with meat or fish and bring new ideas to menu planning.
The sessions will be a demonstration of a dish being prepared and then cooked, with comments and questions invited from the members watching. There will be time for socialising over a cup of tea or coffee and cookies before the dish is shared out and tasted by the members present.
The group will be limited to 40 members and will meet on the 4th Monday of the month, from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm, at St Peter and St Paul’s Church Hall on Ruffs Drive. There is car parking behind the hall or on Ruffs Drive.
Our April walk was at Attenborough nature reserve – starting at the main visitor centre car park, we followed a figure of 8 route, taking in much of the river path, as well as Attenborough village and the church yard.
This was an easy walk, and there were some signs of Spring approaching, although the weather was still a little on the cold side. We paused in the churchyard to look at the memorial for the workers who died in the Chilwell armaments factory explosion in 1918, not long before the end of the war.
We stopped at the picnic benches near the centre for our lunch break. Several of the birds were taking an interest in the sandwiches, in particular a persistent swan!
Our May walk will be a bit further afield at Calke Abbey, and will be led by Dave Kay and Kevin Varey. We are grateful to members who offer to plan and lead our walks, and more members are always welcome – use the Medium Walks tab on our website to get in touch via email.
John Tedstone
Sixteen NSGOM met with our guide, Shaun, for the start of a Minster tour that would collapse nearly 1000 years of history into 75 minutes. While seated in the Norman Nave what comes to mind is, how did they bring sandstone from quarries in Mansfield and then construct a three-story building featuring columns 30ft in circumference? It took 50 years (more than an average lifespan at the time) The Minster revolved around the needs of the people, stained glass windows were used to tell stories. The finest example, made in 1528, displays four biblical events, the colours are clear and vibrant and the scenes have perspective. Much within the Minster displays the skill of medieval craftsmanship; in the Chapter House there are countless examples of naturalistic carvings. One of our group had to find the hidden pig! The craftsmen carved what they saw around them; they saw the mythical Green Man and the ‘leaves of Sherwood’.
Next came coffee and cake, in The Refectory.
The Minster is near to the road that linked London to York, had extensive forest, deer, the Trent and 4 natural springs; an ideal stopping off point for, ‘progresses’ going to York; consequently, The Archbishop’s Palace was built.
In the afternoon our two guides Christine and Patricia took us into the State Chamber. We were given a short history of the lives of Cardinal Wolsey and James i. In the Bishop’s Garden, we were able to visualise how The Palace might have looked, built around a central courtyard.
The volunteer guides, who appreciated the interaction and banter with our group, displayed passion for, and dedication to, their work; intertwining history with anecdotes and concluded with a poem; making the day a memorable experience.
PS. The guides intimated that NSGOM was an erroneous description of those present.