Message from the Chair

Hi, trust all is well with you all, our August Monthly Members’ Meeting was quite down in numbers as usual and expected, it was a pity really because our guest speaker Mr Graham Short talking on ‘My Life as a Micro Artist’ was very good and not only interesting but quite unbelievable the minute size of his engravings.

August has been a mixed mash of weather and I sincerely hope that none of you have had a wash out holiday if staying in the UK, or if in Europe keeping out of the sun and dodging the wildfires.

Due to the low turnout in August, we still have plenty of tickets for our September social gathering on Saturday 23rd Sept, at the John Godber Centre, it is a 60’s night with entertainment from a group called ‘Rocks and Frocks’ Tickets only £8, bring your own food and the JGC bar will be open.

May I remind you that three or four of our committee are leaving the committee having completed their full six year term, therefore we must have members willing to serve on the committee, please talk to me or any committee member if you are willing to consider joining us, it can be good fun and is of course essential as we cannot exist as a u3a without out prime committee members who are our trustees.

On another note we are looking for a new Group Leader(s) for both the Pub Lunch and Quiz Group and the Lunch Group. Sandra Green is regrettably having to step down from leading these two groups for many years due to personal circumstances.

Sandra has already prepared all of the Pub Quizzes for 2024, so that is one major task completed for the next leader. If you are in these groups please either volunteer or have a discussion as to who can take over as it would be a real shame for the groups to close. For further information, please talk to Sue Tedstone, our Group Co-ordinator.

As last year, we are having a stall on the Market Place at the Rotary Clubs ‘Hucknall Community Day’ if you feel that you can spare the odd hour to help and relieve on of the current volunteers, that would be great, please talk to me at the meeting. Last years event was very worthwhile, I would encourage you to visit on the day.

Look forward to seeing you all at September’s monthly meeting, please try and remember to wear your name badges so that all know who you are, and of course don’t forget to sign out if you leave early.

Melvyn Francis, Chair

Litter Picking Group

The Litter Picking group has now been in existence for 2 years and during that time members have collected a total of almost 600 bags of rubbish, 18 of which were collected last month. That is a lot of rubbish, none of which should have been discarded but thanks to the active members of the group it has been collected and disposed of in the correct manner.

Should anyone else wish to join this worthwhile group and ‘do their bit’ for the environment please contact me as per the contact form below. Equipment will be provided.

 Val Gant

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    History Festival – Nottingham Castle

    Nottingham Castle: Past, Present – and Future?’

    Monday October 23rdThe John Godber Centre 2pm to 3.30pm
    Nominal Entry Fee £1.00 payable on the door

    An opportunity to join a special event as part of the:

    The University of Nottingham History Festival 2023
    We are pleased to have a guest speaker Dr Richard Gaunt, an Associate Professor from the Department of History at the university. The talk is ‘Nottingham Castle: Past, Present – and Future?’

    Dr Richard Gaunt discusses his experience as Curator of Rebellion, working on the Nottingham Castle transformation project, in the context of the Castle’s 1000-year history as a Nottingham landmark.

    Short Walks

    The September walk is on Thursday 21st

    It is a gentle 4.5 mile (mainly downhill) linear ‘bus walk’ using the 141 bus to the Larch Farm stop.

    The route is part of the Robin Hood Way through Hagg Wood to Newstead Abbey.

    At the abbey we have the opportunity to use the toilets and cafe if needed.

    We then return via Papplewick to Linby Village.

    The main meeting point is the bus stop outside the Horse and Groom for the bus scheduled at 10.11am

    Other options: Papplewick Lane /Hayden Lane roundabout at 10.00am

    Ashgate Road Tesco at 10.02am

    David Rose

    Science

    We meet on September 15th at 10.00am in the main hall at John Godber Centre. I am pleased to report that we have a guest speaker, Isabel (Izzy) Ely, who is a postgraduate researcher at the:

    Centre of Metabolism, Ageing & Physiology (COMAP) Academic Unit of Injury, Recovery & Inflammation Sciences, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital Centre

    In her own words this is the rationale of study that she is currently undertaking.

    The loss of skeletal muscle mass (known as atrophy) is an undesirable feature of many disease and scenarios including ageing, cancer and reduced physical activity from illness, injury or increased sedentarism. One mechanism thought to influence age-related muscle mass loss is “anabolic resistance” which leads to a reduced muscle building ability in response to protein feeding and exercise. As such, the search for optimal exercise and/or nutritional strategies to combat this anabolic blunting effect remains a hot-topic in scientific research.    

    The study focus

    The study I am currently running is focused on a specific amino acid (the building blocks of protein) called leucine which is thought to be the most important amino acid for stimulating the muscle building process. We are investigating whether there is a dose-response of muscle protein building to “super whey” protein (a protein drink with a greater portion of leucine) at rest and during acute exercise.

    I have to admit to a vested interest as I am one of the ‘specimens’ being tested.

    David Rose