History Group

by WebmasterHistory GroupPosted on Comments are Disabled

The History Group always welcomes all U3A members. Our usual meeting place which is Central Methodist Church should be fully open, including kitchen, for our next indoor meeting on December 15th. In the meantime on November 17th we have a visit to Richard lll & Leicester Cathedral. Leave Hucknall 10.30am. Leave Leicester 4pm. Return Hucknall 5.30pm (ish). I searched back through the records and found the History Group visited Richard lll in 2015 – 6 years ago. We had quite a few disappointed members who have not made it on to the coach for the visit this year but if enough members would like to go maybe another tour could take place in a couple of years. Let me know.

A full list of meeting dates for the group with details of speakers and visits is available below and copies can be picked up at meetings.

The visit to Sharpes Pottery and the Magic Attic was really interesting despite a close call with Morrison’s supermarket. The Magic Attic reminded me a little of the storage areas of Nottinghamshire Archives office. Thank goodness the volunteers are being so professional in looking after all their archive material, especially the local newspapers, for the benefit of family and local historians.

A lot of Hucknall people must have connections with the area since so many miners families came over from Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire when local collieries opened. There were other similarities with Hucknall due to the mining industry and subsidence. I am sure members would like to thank all the people there helping who volunteered on a day when they are not usually ‘working’. Incidentally Hucknall newspapers, which are on microfiche, can be viewed at Hucknall Library and they include those printed before the Dispatch began in 1903. The newspaper archive for the whole country is now held at Boston Spa in Yorkshire – could you fancy a visit?

Bye for now, Maureen

MEETING DATES 2021
Meeting dates: 3rd Wednesday of the month – for this year only we include December.
Usual venue for indoor meetings: Central Methodist Church.
Time: 2pm prompt.

November 17th 2021 Visit to Richard lll & Leicester Cathedral. Leave Hucknall 10.30am. Leave Leicester 4pm. Return Hucknall 5.30pm (ish)
December 15th 2021 Friends of Bennerley Viaduct. (Kieran Lee) Coming to talk about this historic monument past and future.

MEETING DATES 2022
January 19th 2022 We hoped John Tedstone would come to tell us about the U3A High Street project but he has been called for jury service. It does depend on him being needed on the day but there is also a members Hucknall High Street project.
February 16th 2022 Malcolm Darroch is coming to talk about ‘When the Balloon went up’. (He says it is a fascinating story.)
March 16th 2022 Peter Godley from the Nottingham Historical & Archaeology Society is coming to tell us about ‘Archaeology in Nottingham’. Images, maps, etc on slides and artefacts from some of the digs will be on show.
April 20th 2022 Visit to Cromford mill. We will have a guided tour of the buildings. Plus the Arkwright Experience. Leave Hucknall 12noon. Leave Cromford 4.30. Arrive Hucknall 5.30 (ish) Cost £16.
May 18th 2022 Stephen Flinders is coming to tell us about ‘My Kind of Paris’. He says it is: What you may or may not know about Paris and what Paris has to do with Nottingham born dancer Dorothy Frettingham.
June 15th 2022 Much delayed visit to Doddington Hall & Gardens. Leave Hucknall 9.30 am Leave Doddington 4.00pm. Return Hucknall 5.30 (ish) Cost £20 Price cut to the bone.

No meeting July or August – Holidays

September 21st 2022 Denis Hill is coming to talk about Victorian Housing Conditions which is a century or so before most of the bureaucracy and health and safety rules came into being. It would cover the lifetimes of our great grandparents.
October 19th 2022 Visit to Derby Museum and Art Gallery. We will have a talk about Joseph Wright of Derby (Famous artist) then a self guided tour of the museum. Leave Hucknall 1pm. Leave Derby 5pm. Arrive Hucknall 5.45 (ish) Cost £10
November 16th 2022 Trevor Lee is coming to talk to us. He usually provides us with mind pictures of entertainers; sometimes even their voices. Lots of reminiscing at this meeting.

Watercolour Group

by WebmasterWater ColourPosted on Comments are Disabled

The watercolour group has now restarted following the lock down. Our first meeting was back in October and I am pleased to confirm the meeting was well attended. Lock down has given time to most of the members to continue painting in their own environment and what a wonderful array of pictures was displayed at our first session.

We are a group of like-minded people who enjoy creating paintings of all descriptions. We do it for our own enjoyment and if you feel you would like to join us, please contact the co-ordinator Rose via the contact form below.

We normally meet every first Monday of the month (except when it falls on a bank holiday) at Titchfield Court, Orchard Street, Hucknall starting at 2pm till 4pm, with a small break for refreshments. If you are a beginner, not to worry, Patrick our Tutor will show you how to go on. The group contains people of all abilities and everyone is welcome.

To contact Rose, please use the form below:-

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Your Message (required)

    National Trust Group

    by WebmasterNational TrustPosted on Comments are Disabled

    Visit to Calke Abbey – 20th October. 2021
    Everyone was waiting and ready to go as the coach pulled up at Hucknall Market ready for a 9.30 am departure. Unfortunately two members had to withdraw at the last moment but forty eight of us left on the coach. The weather forecast was very bad but we had a mainly dry day save for a huge downpour in the afternoon in which the majority managed to find some shelter.

    Over the day we toured the magnificent family house which was bought by the National Trust in 1981 and has been left untouched ever since. There was also the opportunity to join a tour of the gardens, visit the Church or enjoy the restaurant. There was also a network of walks to explore but the uncertain weather meant that most of the group did not venture too far from shelter. The book shop and gift shop proved popular before we left for home at 4.00pm.

    A special thank you to our driver Philip who had left his home in Barnsley at 6.00am to come down to Hucknall to drive the coach for us.( Yes, there is a shortage of coach drivers)

    National Trust 2022
    Members of the group will receive a full list of dates in the January Newsletter and on the website so that they will have plenty of notice regarding the visits from March to October.

    Real Ale Group

    by WebmasterReal Ale GroupPosted on Comments are Disabled

    On Thursday 10th October, a few of us went to the Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival organised by CAMRA, held this year at Notts Cricket Ground, quite a bit to travel.

    I think it is fair to say that it was a very reduced affair compared to the last two years at the Motorpoint or indeed Nottingham Castle in previous years. However, there was a good if reduced selection of beers and cider on offer, allegedly 600 varieties, so we still had plenty of choice and a good time was had by all.

    We ended up at the Bibiana Indian Restaurant, in Hucknall, to round off a very enjoyable evening.

    Next month we will be going to Nottingham to sample the hostelries around Nottingham Castle, meeting at the Crafty Crow at 7.15pm on Thursday 18th November, or meeting at Hucknall Tram station just before 6.30pm to catch that tram.

    Pub Quiz

    by WebmasterPub Quiz with LunchPosted on Comments are Disabled

    We are looking forward to 8th November when once again our Pub Quiz re-starts; it will be interesting to see the refurbishment of the Nabb Inn. Then on 13th December we will have our Christmas Pub Quiz. Seating is limited to 32 members so please let me know if you would like to attend.

    Just to remind you, on arrival please make a note of your table number then order your lunch/drinks at the bar. However it’s not necessary to have a lunch if you don’t wish to eat. We start with a short table puzzle, then on to the main quiz. After lunch we get the answers! We usually have a small free raffle for which prizes would be gratefully received. There is a charge of £1 per head, the total of which (less expenses) is divided between the winning team and the runners up.

    Here are the answers to the October quiz.

    1. Which very wise and enchanting fictional character’s name is the Old English for any insect that flies with a loud humming noise? Dumbledore
    2. What is the most eastern E.U. capital city and what is the most western E.U. capital city? Nicosia (Cyprus) and Lisbon (Portugal)
    3. What kind of heavenly marriage is ‘Hierogamy’? A marriage between a god and a goddess
    4. There was literally peace on Earth at 06:00 UTC, March 23, 2001. Explain. The MIR space station hit the Pacific Ocean. MIR means ‘peace’ or ‘world’
    5. The four Beatles we all know, George, Paul, John and Ringo were all born in Liverpool. The other two, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best were not. In fact, both were born outside of England. In which country was Stuart Sutcliffe born and Pete Best born? Two answers
    a. Scotland (Edinburgh) b. India (Madras)
    7. Which six letter word describes both a rupture and the leap out of the water made by a whale? Breach
    8. What are the first four words to both the original and classic Hippocratic Oath?
    “I swear by Apollo”
    9. The following lyrics about money are from which song? “Always sunny in a rich man’s world” Money Money Money (ABBA)
    10. The title of which extremely popular film is the Hindu word for a god or goddess that comes to earth? Avatar
    11. Fruit flies were the first animals to do what in 1947? Go into space
    12. What was the name of the doctrine, jokingly coined by Mikhail Gorbachev in October 1989 as his Soviet Union ‘faced the final curtain’, that was seen internationally as Moscow giving permission to its allies to decide their own futures? The Sinatra Doctrine (The name alluded to the Frank Sinatra song “My Way” – the Soviet Union was allowing these nations to go their own way)
    13. Who wrote books under the pen name Eric Arthur Blair? George Orwell
    14. What do the following places have in common? San Marino, Colombia, Bolivia, the Philippines, Israel, El Salvador and Bermuda? All named after people: San Marino (Saint Marinus), Colombia (Christopher Columbus), Bolivia (Simón Bolívar), the Philippines (Philip II of Spain), Israel (Jacob, alternate name), El Salvador (“The Saviour”, Jesus) and Bermuda (Juan de Bermúdez)
    15. Which dated word meaning ‘nonsense’ stems from a combination of the Dutch word for doll and an old English word for excrement? (Nine letters) Poppycock. Pop is Dutch for doll, Cack is old English for excrement

    And here’s your November Quiz –

    1.The price of amber increased tenfold after the release of which 1993 film?
    2.In literature; Pemberley, Tara and Manderley are all examples of what?
    3.Influenced by the Latin word for “iron”, what is the name of the metal sleeve on a pencil that holds the eraser in place?
    4.What did the members of the early 20th century movement or school known as ‘Fauvism’ do for a living?
    5.Which Mr. and Mrs. live at number 4 Privet Drive?
    6.Which 1975 pop song is the biggest selling palindromic song title ever? (3 letters)
    7.What is the name of the Nike corporate trademark?
    8.What are the two most populated cities in Sweden?
    9.2013 the first year since 1987 in which there are no what?
    10.What is the largest land mammal in South America?
    a. Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloth b. Jaguar c. Screaming Hairy Armadillo d. Baird’s Tapir
    11.Lisbeth Salander is the unusual heroine in which 2011 film?
    12.What is the official national fruit in each of the following countries? One point for each correct answer.
    a. India b. Mexico c. Jamaica
    13.Which kind of dance style is mentioned in the Queen song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’?
    14.Which fictional Mr. had the rare blood type T-negative?
    15.What is the only absolute monarchy in Africa?