The Social Sub-Committee will be placing a Suggestion Box at forthcoming monthly meetings in which they would like you to offer your suggestions for future social events.
Lunch Group Information
Names are now being taken for the U3A Lunch Group on 23rd March 2022 at 12 noon at the Ramsdale Golf Club;
2 Course Menu £11.95 3 Course Menu £14.95 Tea & Coffee £1.75
Names, £5 deposit and menu choices required immediately please. I shall be at the monthly meeting on 9th February and would be grateful if you could let me have your cash deposits then please. If you have friends going who are not on email could you please let them know. Thank you.
Menu
Starters
Homemade Dressed Tomato & Basil Soup (V)
Smoked Mackerel & Lemon Pate, Horseradish Cream & Melba Toast
Traditional Welsh Rarebit Salad & Pesto Dressing (V)
Mains
Roast Topside of Beef & Yorkshire Pudding,
Pan Roast Breast of Chicken served with seasonal Vegetable & Potatoes & Red Wine Jus
Baked Field Mushrooms filled with a Ratatouille glazed with Mozzarella, Spiced Cous Cous and Rocket (V)
Desserts
Chocolate & Raspberry Roulade (G/F)
Glazed Lemon Tart with Red Fruit Compote
Cheese & Biscuits a Selection of Cheese with Celery, Grapes & Homemade Chutney. (sup @ £1.95)
Tea/Coffee£1.75
Message from the Chair
A topic I try avoid in the monthly message is Covid. However I think this month we have reached a turning point. The Covid case rate was at its highest in the city and county on January 4, according to the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Resilience Forum on January 24th. Nottingham peaked at 1,770 per 100,000 on January 4. Cases in Gedling reached 2,250 on the same day and 2,228 across Ashfield. Figures have significantly dropped across the county since, with 873 cases being recorded per 100,000 in the seven days leading up to January 18. But health officials have still urged for caution.
This data indicates that the infection rate for Covid is now on the decline and for most people the risk to health after infection by the Omicron variant appears substantially lower than the risk from Delta. This is most likely due to a combination of immunity from prior vaccination and immunity from natural infection. However its increased transmissibility means more people can get it but less likely to get seriously ill. As the infection rate was rising through December and into early January it was wise of Interest Groups who meet indoors, where the transmission risk is higher, to postpone or Zoom their usual meetings. Masks and distancing were added to the monthly meeting to help minimise risk.
Hopefully we can now look forward to most group meetings resuming again. However at this stage it remains at the discretion of the group leader and group members. The risk outdoors or in large well aired spaces is much reduced and the cycling group have taken advantage of that.
You can read on this website about their inaugural crossing of the Bennerley Viaduct which has been restored and opened to walkers and cyclists.
At the December meeting the History Group welcomed a presentation from ‘Friends of Bennerley’ who were instrumental in saving this iconic structure for all to enjoy. It is worth a visit and a walk or cycle across if you can manage it.
David Rose Chairman
National Trust Updates
I have now managed to map out our venues for 2022, subject to any future Covid restrictions.Our full list of visits are set out below.
Wednesday March 23rd Nostell Priory near Wakefield. Coach Travel £8.50 pp
Thursday April 28th Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. Coach Travel £7.50 pp
Tuesday May 17thCanon’s Abbey in Northants
Monday June 13th Packwood House in Warwickshire
Wednesday July 20th W6addesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire
Thursday August 11th Nunnington Hall 0in Yorkshire
Tuesday September 13th Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire
Wednesday October 10th Gunby Estate in Lincolnshire
Please note that with increased fuel costs, an increase in driver wages and the cost of spare parts, prices will have to be slightly higher than last year but June at JB Tours has kept these to a minimum for us.
Most visits will depart from the bus stop on Hucknall Market place at 9.30 am and return from the venue at 4.00pm. The TWO EXCEPTIONS to this will be the visits to Waddesdon Manor and Gunby Hall when we will leave at 8.30 am to allow for the longer journeys.
To be fair to everyone I will accept bookings by email OR telephone one calendar month before each visit. So for Nostell Priory that will be on February 23rd and for Kedleston Hall on March 28th onwards. Cheques payable to Hucknall and District u3a can be sent to my home address at 3 Roughs Wood Lane, Hucknall, Notts.NG15 6SH.
Finally just to remind members that once you have paid for coach seats if you are subsequently unable to attend then it becomes your responsibility to sell your seat to another member. If I have a waiting list then I will of course try to help out. I look forward to a more normal set of visits this year!!!
Any queries, please contact Barrie using the form below:-
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Litter Picking Group
Does anyone know of anybody who has lost a crutch? This was one of the weird finds recently on a litter pick around the Butlers Hill tram stop area. Maybe someone got off the tram and was miraculously cured so didn’t need their crutch anymore and decided to dump it in the bushes!
The final total number of bags of rubbish collected by the litter picking group for 2021 was 159 and already 57 bags of rubbish have been collected this year which is a commendable effort by the group and an absolute disgrace that litter louts deem it acceptable to drop litter.
Finally, a big thank you and farewell to litter pickers Carol and Dave Insley who are moving to pastures new.
To contact Val Gant, the group leader, please use the form below:-