April’s outing was to the Whitepeak Distillery in Ambergate. After a presentation about the formation of the distillery and the history of the old wireworks factory in which it is based, the group were led on an interesting tour of the distillery, learning about the process of making whisky, gin and rum before returning to sample some of each. They were given an exclusive opportunity to “invest” in a limited, special edition bottle of whisky that went on sale that day and has now sold out!
This month on Wednesday 13th April at 2.00 pm it is our AGM. This will be the first half of the meeting and after the break we welcome our guest speaker, Bryan Gladstone, with an interesting and somewhat intriguing talk called ‘My mum was a GI Bride’.
The AGM or annual meeting is a requirement of our constitution and is a means for the committee to share information with the membership, review the annual accounts and when required to vote on any proposals or for membership of the committee.
This year six of the twelve members of the committee, who from 2016 have each served the maximum time of six years allowed in our constitution, are stepping down.
On your behalf I would like to extend our thanks to:
Christine Berrill: Treasurer Siobhan Lee: Groups Coordinator
Dianne White: Speaker Seeker Philip Attenborough: Equipment Manager
Barrie Saunders (who was also Chair from 2018 to 2020) David Rose: Chair
This is quite a high turnover but it is balanced by the continuity of the remaining six committee members. Change can sometimes be threatening but I believe it is something that should be embraced rather than feared. Only with change will u3as be able to lay the foundations for future long-term success.
We are fortunate to have members who have come forward and volunteered to join the 2022 to 2024 committee. They are all willing and prepared to take on various roles and responsibilities. Please come along and cast your vote.
This year also marks the retirement of Geoff Cree as the scrutiniser of the annual accounts and we thank him for the many years he has done this. We are also fortunate that John Twells has volunteered to take over this role from Geoff.
One volunteer, who has served well beyond six years, as his position is outside the committee, is our Newsletter Coordinator, Steve Lawrence. We wish to thank Steve for his support and professionalism in transforming the individual contributions into our quality newsletter, all within a tight timescale, each month.
Thanks are also extended to Graham Daft from the Methodist Church for his long service printing the newsletter paper copies which are primarily for non email members.
Best Wishes to you all and we hope to see many of you at the AGM this month.
David Rose, Chair
In March we set off from the IKEA complex car park for a 4.5 mile walk which took us across the recently opened Bennerley Viaduct which is fast becoming a very popular local tourist attraction.
April 21st Walk
This month we are starting from the lower car park at the Gedling Country Park Spring Lane entrance (NG4 4PE). The Spring Lane entrance car parking area has recently been increased and is the main car park. The car park is near to the visitor centre, toilets and Cafe 1899. The turning is well signposted and is on the right less than a mile down Spring Lane.
The park which opened in 2015 has 580 acres of open space, footpaths and wildlife, with stunning views over the surrounding areas. We will be walking the ‘Low Hazels (Green) route’ which is a little under four miles but with some short fairly steep parts. The rewards for the uphill bits are the views and two viewing platforms which provide views as far as Lincolnshire and Leicestershire. Each platform has interpretation panels with information about some of the sights you can see, including Lincoln Cathedral, St Mary Magdalene Church in Newark, Gunthorpe Lock and Belvoir Castle.
Meet at 9.45 am for a 10.00 am start – car sharing/lifts arranged nearer the time.
David Rose
The staff and trainees at Rumbletums wish to extend their thanks to all members of Hucknall u3a for their valued support in the crisp recycling venture.
At our March meeting we had a presentation about the different types of defibrillators and how they work. When the John Godber Centre model arrives we will have a demonstration of how to use it in practice.
Bob McEwen then enlightened us with his interesting illustrated talk about flies. He explained that flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek for two and wings.
Bob explained that Diptera is a large order containing millions of species including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies and many others. Although they themselves are usually considered to be annoying pests he explained how they actually help to control a variety of pests. Many dipterans such as bee flies and hoverflies are also important pollinators of crop plants. Other types are scavengers and aid in the decomposition of dead animals and plants.
After the break we had a presentation about weather predicting and the different types of rainfall. Members then selected the name of famous and often unsung women scientists to report back with a max 2 minute summary at a future meeting.
Please note the next meeting is Friday, May 20th, as April 15th is Good Friday.