UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE NEWSLETTER

News for all members

Notices

Enid gave a report on the Network Event hosted by Ramsey & District U3A on 1 June 2016 (see the website for more details) and reminded people that we will be having a stall at Ramsey Carnival on 9 July. All were invited to let Nina have good quality items to be sold or to contact Nina who is happy to collect items from members.

Enid encouraged members to get their tickets for the Street Party on 12 July and to come along wearing red, white and blue.

John asked anyone interested in visiting Audley End on 22 July to get in touch with him as soon as possible and told everyone that a trip to the National Memorial Arboretum is being planned for October. A sign-up sheet was available in the foyer

Group News

Nina explained that the tables in the foyer had been rearranged to allow freer access to sign-up sheets and the notice boards.

A new group specifically for the men is planned. It is the Grumpy Old Men Group, a sign-up sheet was available and all men were encouraged to put their names down. An initial meeting will be arranged in due course and the agenda for future meetings and events will be set by those attending the group.

Andy Mudd-Wingham is happy to facilitate a Metal Detecting Group and a meeting was be held at The White Lion, Bury. All interested parties present at the Open Meeting were encouraged to speak to Andy.

Unfortunately, the Bird Watching Group has disbanded but thanks go to Val for her efforts to try and keep the group going.

Details of the groups at St Ives U3A were available should anyone be interested in joining those groups.

Nina concluded by saying that the Ramsey Gardening Club is planning a trip to RHS Wisley on 7 September and that there is a charity Brass Band Concert in Cambridge on Saturday 18 June. Details of both were available in the foyer.

 Open Meeting 14 June 2016

The speaker or should I say singer at the June Open Meeting was Andy Smith and he gave us a very entertaining talk entitled “Life in the Music.

Andy regaled us with amusing anecdotes about his life together with self-penned comedy words and music. In addition, he played and sang a number of songs by well-known artists such as John Denver, Don McLean and Ralph McTell.

We learned that Andy got his first guitar at age 11 and within a year was writing songs. As he grew up he was part of several bands and performed in many places including the folk club at the Dun Cow in Daventry where he often preceded famous names. He was always happy to sing there as he got in for free!

Andy brought with him several musical instruments including a semi-acoustic guitar which he called Elvis, a folk mandolin, an American electric guitar, a tenor guitar and a ukulele. He treated us to songs on each of these and along the way we heard about how he met his wife (at a hotel in Derbyshire where he had been dragged by his parents after his then girlfriend dumped him), the lullaby he wrote for his children and the song he has penned for his daughter’s wedding in a couple of weeks’ time.

We were encouraged to join in with Andy’s songs and we relived our memories as he sang, Leaving on a Jet Plane, Vincent and The Streets of London.

Andy answered questions but what everyone wanted was another song which he duly performed.

You can find out more about him at www.andysmithguitaristvocalist.eu

Competition

The winner was Eileen Wade with her ‘Jenga’ game, and the runner up was Pat Sutton with a jelly mould. The next letter is ‘K’

Future Open Meetings

Our next Open Meeting will take place on Tuesday 14^th July at the Community Centre, starting at 2.00pm. The event will be our “Indoor Street Party,” when we will celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 90^th Birthday.

BOOK SWAP Margaret Thornton will be operating a “Book Swap” A box will be available for members to bring books and swap them for others. No payment is involved but we would ask members not to bring lots of books at any one time. If books remain “unswapped” in the box for more than a couple of meetings, they will be donated to Charity shops.

And Finally

Music at the Rural Museum – Outdoor picnic concert featuring Ramsey Choral Society, Variante Brass Ensemble and Upwood Ukeleles. Saturday 16^th July, Gates open at 5.30pm, Music from 6.00pm-9.00pm. Bring your own picnic and drinks or buy light refreshments and soft drinks from the Museum Tea room. Tickets £10 in advance, £12 on the door, U16 free, available from Ramsey Rural Museum or 01487 813562.

Car Parking – Please remember to park your car considerately and use the car park adjacent to the Co-op store if you are able.

Jokes/Puns:

A magician was working on a cruise ship and as the audience was different each week, he did the same tricks over and over. The problem was that the captain’s parrot saw all the shows and began to understand how the magician did every trick.

He started shouting in the middle of the show: ‘Look, it’s not the same hat. Look he’s hiding the flowers under the table. Why are all the cards the ace of spades?’ The magician was furious but, as it was the captain’s parrot, he could do nothing. Then one day the ship sank and the magician found himself floating on a piece of wood with the parrot. They glared at each other but said nothing. Finally, after a week, the parrot said: ‘OK, I give up. Where’s the boat?’

Editor: Mike Lewis, with thanks to Sheila Gilbert-Hill