Message from the Chair

Well what a month October was, so much rain, that my dog walking boots have got so wet they are soaked through, stuffed with newspaper drying out. One day after the storms we were walking the dogs, came to a huge puddle, decided to carry on through, and ended up wading halfway up our calves.

If you were fortunate enough not to get wet then, you were lucky.  I pity those that ended up with their homes flooded. There were quite a few places in Hucknall affected, Ogle St., Baker St., and the worst I saw was at the bottom of St Patrick’s Rd., the water so deep, just the tops of cars showing.   Our heart goes out to anyone affected, if you know anyone and can offer any help, then please do if you are able.

Halloween came and went, not sure what your feelings are, they differ so widely, personally I’m not keen, but still ended up carving a pumpkin for my granddaughter.

Trick and treat can be fun for children if managed correctly, but we all know this is not always the case. I suppose I’m being Mr Grumpy.

Our ‘one off’ History talk on Nottingham Castle, was well attended with 70 of us attending. Again, such a clear speaker talking mainly about the refurbishment and the  new set up of the various museum displays and an explanation of the recent problems since Covid. Again a few would have liked to hear more about the actual history of the Castle itself, but still found the talk uplifting and quite a few have said they will be visiting the Castle shortly.

Our Christmas Social on Monday, 4th December, is proving very popular, with only a handful of tickets left.  It will be first come first served at November’s Meeting.

Our preparation for the Eric Coates talk and Media Showcase is well underway for Friday 8th December.   Apologies about the date confusion, but this has now been  finalised, This is instead of our normal monthly meeting and is a free event.

We are still looking for a couple of Committee Members for the next AGM, please don’t be shy, step forward, we cannot function without a committee. If you are unsure, please come and talk to either myself or any committee member.

As always, I look forward to seeing you all at November’s monthly meeting, please try and remember to wear your name badges so that everyone knows who you are, and of course don’t forget to sign out if you leave early.

Melvyn Francis, Chair

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Fun with Languages

Our meeting in November went well with a good effort made by many to describe in French the Christmas they enjoyed in the past or the one they anticipate for this year! We then had a great rehearsal for our presentation song on 8th December at the U3A extravaganza afternoon. Thank you Ian for keeping us going with the guitar accompaniment!

We shall reconvene on Thursday 11th January, 2024 at 10.30 am in JGC and we shall start a new course on basic German. £5-00 fees needed please if you did not hand this in in November.

If you want to join the language group, you are most welcome and January will be a good time to start on a new language. Have a happy, peaceful Christmas and new year. Get well soon if you are ill!                                                                   

Ann and Liz x

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Long Walk – 7th November 2023

Our latest walk was to Lambley Dumbles, it was an 8.37 miles walk.  A great many thanks to the eleven hardy souls who accompanied me on our latest excursion, following the floods and rain we have had lately it was bound to be muddy and it did not disappoint.  It was more muddy than I’d hoped but less muddy than I feared.  But it was a good turnout; despite the mud it was a fine day and mostly the sun shone.

The Autumn colours were wonderful and it was a nice walk.  Everyone in good humour, we managed to find a dry spot for our coffee break and Picnic tables and benches for our lunch break.

We are a friendly group and walk at an easy pace, there is room in the group, so anyone interested or seeking information should contact me.

Mark

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National Trust – Charlecote Park

On an overcast morning on October 26th the group left Hucknall Market with a full coach to travel to Charlecote Park which lies close to the River Avon between Warwick and Stratford.

Arriving by 10,30 am  the group were met by staff from Charlecote and given time slots to enter the House. The house has been in the ownership of the Fairfax Lucy family for over nine hundred years.

The five enormous ground floor rooms were all furnished from the Victorian period, sadly we could not see the other floors as restoration work was being carried out. 

The outside courtyard housed a brewery, laundry, kitchen and a display of carriages.

The group was then blessed with a beautiful sunny afternoon during which members enjoyed walks around the extensive grounds where deer and sheep were roaming.. There was still time to visit the cafe, gift shop, plant shop and second hand book shop.

Everyone was then safely back to the bus for the return journey to Hucknall where we arrived safely at 6.00  o’clock.

Next month our final visit takes us to York for the day.

Barrie                                                                  

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Litter Picking

Despite the awful weather in October members of the litter picking group still managed to collect 26 bags of rubbish – but do you know what they do with it? Well, normally they leave the rubbish all correctly bagged up by the side of the council litter bins so that the bin collectors can take it when they empty the bins.

However, the council litter bins are gradually disappearing and despite messages to the council by various litter pickers no response has been forthcoming. We’re quite sure they’re not being stolen for scrap metal otherwise the contents of the bins and the bags of rubbish at the side of them would be left behind which they’re not, so if any of you u3a amateur detectives out there can shed any light on ‘The Case of the Disappearing Litter Bins’ I would be very grateful if you would let me know!

Val Gant

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