June 2025
This is a new, web-based format. Some people may have had a problem with opening and navigating the pdf file format which we have previously used. As a web document, the content should be more readable - especially on smaller devices like a smartphone or tablet. A web document is also more accessible for those of us who have visual impairment and should also work better using text-to-speech software.
We hope you find it better.
Welcome to the Spring 2025 edition of the Newsletter
What a fantastic start to the Spring this year - some wonderful weather. The warmer days certainly encourage us to get out and about more and engage in outdoor activities.
Why not get involved in the Walking group - varied routes are planned to suit different abilities. The Gardening group has already had a couple of interesting visits this year - with more planned. In July there is the Summer Social monthly meeting at Kingswood Trust.
Facebook
It's good to see more of our groups posting their activities on the Wolverhampton u3a Facebook pages. Well done to the Creative Writing, Foraging and Zentangle groups for keeping it current recently.
Can some of the other groups try to post regularly too?
Zentangle
This has really taken off since launching in April. To find out more about this fascinating activity, look at the information on the website Groups pages.
Wolverhampton Active Ageing Panel
Back in March, a couple of u3a committee members attended a meeting of the Wolverhampton Active Ageing Panel, organised by the City Council. A couple of good contacts were made:
Purposeful Active Living Charity and the Wolves Foundation. Both these organizations offer activities perfectly suitable for older people who want to remain fit and active. Take a look at their websites:
www.purposefulactiveliving.org.uk
foundation.wolves.co.uk
In this issue from the Groups:
Ruth updates us with the past activities of the GARDENING group and what's planned in the future. The JAZZ group has made some 'virtual' visits to jazz music venues. LATIN have been exploring texts describing life in Pompeii before the eruption and life in Roman Britain and Gaul. Frank Davis reports on how PICKLEBALL is progressing. Good to see all three of our PLAYREADING groups and POETRY APPRECIATION 1 updating us on their recent studies too.
u3a Christmas Lunch
This is planned for Thursday 11th December at the Bradmore Arms (WV3 7HX) from 12 noon to 2pm.
Seating is available for 40 people and customers will order and pay individually. There is a vegetarian option available.
If you would like to attend, please inform Sheila Garvin by 3rd November.
Sheila’s mobile number is 07307 871027 and her email address is garvinsheila373@gmail.com
Idea for a new Group
Bus pass? . . . . will travel. Go on excursions to a chosen venue using your travel passes.
On arrival, have a coffee or lunch - or discover what else is on offer in the surrounding area.
Any volunteers to set something up???
Round the Groups
Gardening
The Gardening group is a very sociable group with all our activities including refreshments and often shared lunches. Our programme combines visits to members' gardens (two or three a year) with visits to larger gardens and sometimes to interesting garden centres. Members can ask for advice on any issues with their own garden and share gardening experiences.
Last year, the larger gardens included Goldstone Hall, Trentham and Bridgemere, which has impressive medal-winning Show Gardens alongside the garden centre. At our October meeting, members like to visit an arboretum; last year we visited Bodenham Arboretum (photos below. The tree colour was magnificent and, although the ground was very wet, we managed to get round in the dry. Afterwards, we had lunch together. Our November meeting is always a planning session for the following year, where members bring suggestions for places to visit. There are no meetings in December and January, but our February meeting finalises the programme for the year - as always, accompanied by refreshments and much conversation.
So far this year we have visited a well-stocked garden centre in Shropshire which also has a small but interesting garden and a member's garden. Our May visit was to a garden and vineyard beside the Shropshire Union canal in Brewood which the owner opened specially for us, with proceeds from our visit going to a local dementia charity.
In June, we are making a private visit to a National Garden Scheme garden, also in Brewood, again making donations to charity. Our July meeting will be to a member's garden. In August we plan to visit Winterbourne Gardens, followed by John's Garden at Ashwood in September. This year's Arboretum visit will be to Arley.
Ruth Goodison (Group Coordinator)
Jazz Appreciation
The Jazz Group has continued to meet monthly, with a different member presenting a programme each month.
In the past year we have virtually “visited” places: a city (Los Angeles), and a specific club (The Village Vanguard in New York), as well as making an actual visit to Northamptonshire where a member now lives.
We have listened to soprano saxophonists, women pianists, the Blues and a programme of vocalists, as well as three individuals – a British saxophonist, Andy Sheppard and - rather unusually - in successive months, two drummers (Ed Blackwell and Paul Motian, pictured here).
As usual in December we had a retrospective of the year, a track chosen from each month, which always makes us realise how wide-ranging our tastes are.
The programme for the rest of the year is on the website, so if you would like to join us, perhaps for a “taster”, please contact John Sheard on jsheard696@gmail.com
John Sheard (group coordinator)
Latin
The original Latin group has been running for a long time, but this year we have experimented with offering two additional groups for beginners. These groups were intended to be suitable for people with no previous knowledge of the language but in practice all current group members did some Latin at school.
The beginners have been studying life in Pompeii in the weeks leading up to the catastrophic volcanic eruption which destroyed it in AD 79. We have looked at domestic life, shopping, the theatre, ghost stories, gladiators, sports centres, education and much else.
See the painting by Karl Brullov - The Last Day of Pompeii or alternatively ‘Saturday night in Pompeii after the pubs shut'
The advanced group have been looking at the attempts of the Romans to gain a foothold in Britain, attracted amongst other things by the valuable deposits of copper, tin, lead and even silver and gold. Meanwhile in neighbouring Gaul there is an uprising of the native population who hope to drive the Romans out by combining their forces and working together. Will fraternity bring them liberty?
We have also been exploring the struggles of Ulysses and his companions in their journey back home after the fall of Troy. Faced with storms and monsters Ulysses always seems to find a way through. But finally, Circe uses her magic arts to turn the crew into pigs. (Their table manners had left something to be desired!) Will the gods help him out?
See the painting below - 'Don’t drink it Ulysses!'
Michael Clement (group coordinator)
Playreading 1
We have read a mixture of plays including:
• A Public Mischief, a comedy by Kenneth Horne which we enjoyed.
• Two plays from a trilogy by Alan Ayckbourne
• Tom Stoppard’s Night and Day.
• Abigail’s Party by Mike Leigh, which we then went to see the Codsall local drama group perform it very well.
We are also supporting the Pattingham drama group and going to see Electric Rosary by Tim Foley.
Sheila Moore (group coordinator)
Playreading 2
We continue to meet monthly on Friday mornings (dates by arrangement) with playsets being shared with Playreading 1 and Playreading 3.
Over the last year, we have read a mix of 20th and 21st century plays, including comedies and thrillers. We started with "Warwickshire Testimony" by April de Angelis, based on oral histories. We read plays by well-known authors such as Tom Stoppard and Alan Ayckbourn, and two comedies written with a cast of older people in mind: "Last Tango in Whitby" by Mike Harding and Lynn Brittney's "The Luvvies".
Each Friday we have laughed, or been shocked, or intrigued by plot twists which kept us guessing, with a welcome interval for refreshments to discuss our reactions.
Stella Walsh (group coordinator)
Playreading 3
Ruth Byrne, the previous group coordinator, is hoping to move to a new area so has given up the role.
However, a group member has furnished us with a list of the plays read this year:
• The Marquise by Noel Coward
• The whole Truth by Philip Mackie. 1955 ( a Thriller)
• Down to Brass Tacks by Derek Benfield 1964 (A north country comedy)
• Something to Hide by Leslie Sands 1959 (a thriller in three acts)
• Loot by Joe Orton 1966 (a farcical? comment on society at the time)
Helen Currie (group member)
Poetry Appreciation 1
We have continued to meet over the last year with the majority of our 10 or 11 members attending regularly.
As usual we have had a varied selection of poems/styles/eras/topics etc. (usually two from each member) with additional information/discussion if we feel so inclined.
Some of the poems shared so far this year are - Laurie Lee, The Three Winds; T.S. Eliot, April is the Cruellest Mont; Carol Ann Duffy, You; Arthur Shaunessy, The Music Makers; Imtiaz Dharkar, Tow Path; Mervyn Peake; Two nonsense poems; Emily Bronte, Love and Friendship; Elizabeth Daryush, Still Life; Dunja Mikhail, The War Works Hard.
If you are interested to know more about joining the group, which meets on the first Monday afternoon of each month, please phone me on 01902 765567.
Marian Graceson (group coordinator)
Pickleball
Nearly six months ago, in the cold dark days of winter, we decided to set up the group. At that time none of us knew what to expect. Personally speaking, I did not know the rules, had no relevant court experience, had not set up a group before and had a natural tendency to sloth. So obviously I was the natural choice to be the Group Coordinator.
Since that time, we have had some gains and a few losses. We have gained an understanding of our interpretation of the rules. We have lost a few paunches and gained a level of agility that means we can have longer rallies in the games, while still being able to welcome new members, who find it easy to fit into the group, no matter their experience or lack of it.
We continue to have a lot of laughs. In fact one member told me that they come along for the socialising not necessarily for the exercise. I am still trying to work out if this is a compliment or a criticism!
When anyone new joins the group one of the first things that they nearly always say to me is I am not sure if I will be able to play because of my ankle / knee / hip /shoulder / elbow etc. The answer to this is easy, we are part of u3a; to date I have not had any contact from the LTA asking if any of their scouting staff can visit us. I am unsure that if we took all the fully functioning parts from the group as a whole, we could make one perfect player. However, the ailments do seem to improve during our games and it is not unknown for flagging members to take a rest if required.
We are all getting fitter. I do not know how this happens because it is not like a gym workout, it’s just fun. Now I can run up the stairs without even getting mildly out of breath - but there is still one problem: when I reach the top, I invariably cannot remember why I came up in the first place. Any suggestions?
Our current sessions are Mondays 2-3pm and Wednesdays 11am-12noon at Aldersley Stadium. We are still getting new members joining us, so if you are interested in giving it a go, we would be happy to see you or a friend at one of our games. Because we know that some people can find our times difficult, we are looking to add an extra session after the summer holiday season. We would be happy to receive suggestions as to when to hold these.
Frank Davis, Group Coordinator
Artificial Intelligence - Friend or Foe?
We've seen a lot about AI in the papers and other media recently and opinions differ as to whether we should welcome it or fear it, so I thought I'd have a go and see what it knew about the u3a.
I used the free version of ChatGPT. The only instruction I gave it was "Write a sonnet in the style of Shakespeare about the U3a". I didn't give it any information about the u3a or indeed about the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. This is what it produced a few seconds later:
Upon the dawn of age, when years do wane,
And youth’s bright spark begins to fade from sight,
A fellowship arises, free of chain,
Where minds are keen, and spirits still take flight.
The U3A, a bond of noble heart,
Where learning blooms, though time may slow its pace,
With wisdom shared, we each shall play our part,
And find anew in knowledge endless grace.
No age too late to seek what once was dear,
No dream too small to chase, no thought too bold;
In gathering, we cast aside our fear,
And grasp the joys that growing old doth hold.
Thus, age becomes a beacon, not a bind,
In U3A, where youth is redefined.
Should we be impressed or worried?
Geoff Williams
This year's summer social will again be held at Kingswood Trust (WV7 3AP) on Tuesday 22nd July. As usual, everyone who attends can bring a picnic lunch - but in addition, people will be given free cake and a hot drink as part of Nature Connections.
The hall will be available as an inside space in case of inclement weather.
Will Morgan - pictured here with accomplished accordionist, Ian Dempsey-Robbins - will entertain us. He is a regular host at Brewood Acoustic Music Club and has a great act, full of humorous, witty songs, monologues and a fine tribute to Jake Thackray.
Too early to talk about Christmas?
Not if you want to organise a Christmas Dinner for Care Leavers.
Christmas is a time for families and if you don’t have one you can feel very alone. Having been brought up in care myself, this is a project close to my heart. This year, with the help of the Kingswood Trust, I want to organise a Christmas Day for all those care leavers in and around Wolverhampton who would otherwise be on their own.
But I can’t do it alone. It is a big task - involving present donations, present wrapping, card writing, transport organisation, and quite a bit more. So . . . I’m appealing to fellow u3a members to see if you have any time you can possibly give me.
I’m expecting the project to really kick off in September and I would like to have a steering committee by then. But even if you don’t feel you have such organisational skills, you could still help by wrapping presents or writing cards. You might even have other family members or friends that would like to help.
Together we can make sure that no care leavers are left out in the cold at Christmas, that they will all have a lovely warm and welcoming Christmas Day of their own to look forward to.
If you think you can help, please email me and let me know what level of support you might be able to give.
And if you think you can actually attend on Christmas Day - that would be a bonus!
My email address is: mobyjosky@icloud.com
Josie Turner
Read Easy
Reading is a basic requirement of everyday life, and for many of us it is a skill we take for granted. However, there are roughly 2.4 million adults in England who find reading difficult. At Read Easy Wolverhampton, we offer a proven and confidential programme of free one-to-one volunteer-led reading coaching to as many adults in our City as we can.
We need more volunteers and are looking for local people to join us and become Reading Coaches or Coordinators.
Becoming a part of the Read Easy team is fun and fulfilling. You’ll be given lots of support and full training, meet a diverse range of people, and be part of a genuinely life-changing organisation. From experience, we know that learning to read really does change lives, and being part of that process is special.
If you would like to find out more please visit Read Easy UK’s website www.readeasy.org.uk or contact Louise wtonrecruiter@readeasy.org.uk tel: 07814 553104.
You could also contact u3a member Marian Graceson on 01902 765567 for an informal chat.
"Coughs and sneezes spread diseases"
Remember this slogan from the 50s and 60s? Just a gentle reminder that COVID has not gone away - so all members should continue to be mindful, stay home with symptoms and wear masks if uncertain.
Forthcoming Events
See the full list of events with details.
Your Committee
Meet the members of your Committee here.