CLUBS & SOCIETIES

ASHBOURNE U3A

WE often get enquiries about the wide range of activities that we organise and thought readers might be interested to hear about some of our new or smaller groups who would all be happy to have a few new members.

So here is a sample of the groups who meet on different days of the week, plus occasional Sundays.

Monday: The Guitar group meet fortnightly at Mayfield Memorial Hall. The group is for beginners to learn to play an acoustic guitar through learning chords, strumming patterns and songs. So dust off that old guitar and come and join them for some fun.

Tuesday: The Chess group meet fortnightly at Cornerstones cafe. The objective of this group is to enjoy playing chess. People with any level of chess knowledge, ability or experience are welcome. The group is also suitable for beginners or returners to chess

Wednesday: The Art Appreciation group meet monthly at Elim Church Hall.

At the next meeting on March 27, members who wish to, will speak informally for a few minutes about a work of art of their choice: why they like it and what it means to them. This can be something in their possession, an original work or a print, or a work in a private collection or gallery.

Members who wish to contribute but do not have a work to show can email the group leader giving the name of the work and the artist, and a photograph will be found and projected using Powerpoint.

There is no compulsion to contribute. If any member prefers they are welcome to simply observe the meeting.

Anyone who likes looking at Art and would like to learn more about it in an easy and painless way is welcome. No prior knowledge or expertise is required or expected.

Thursday: The Supper Club meet monthly at a local restaurant or pub usually on the third Thursday evening of the month.

They like to try out different venues and menus so they experience a variety of cuisines and perhaps try something they haven’t encountered before. This is a relatively new group but has lovely regulars who would be delighted to welcome new members.

Friday: The German Conversation group meet on the second and fourth Fridays of the month either on Zoom or in members homes. Their goal is to improve the standard of German conversation to enable them to understand and converse with native German speakers.

To achieve this goal, the meetings have three parts:

1. Conversations on topics chosen by each group member. The topic is presented by each participant then discussed in German as a group.

2. Video or audio recordings chosen by the presenting group member. After the recording, members discuss the subjects raised in German. Alternatively, the group member can choose an article taken from a newspaper, magazine or any other German language source. They read the article in turn then translate into English to check comprehension. This has replaced reading a set book.

3. Grammar: It’s study is important because it is the basis and forms the structure of the language. It is assumed that each group member already has a good knowledge of German grammar. The textbook used is German Grammar, Schaum’s Outlines, 6th Edition.

Two or three exercises are chosen from each of the chapters in turn for the purpose of revision. Members complete the exercises beforehand and then do a short review exercise at the meeting.

Sunday: The Weekend Lunch Group meet on the first Sunday of the month usually at a different venue.

Each member gets the opportunity to choose where to go, which results in a variety of interesting eating places.

So if members would like to introduce the rest of the group to their local pub or restaurant, that is great. Many of the group members are single or with friends and family some distance away and welcome the opportunity to join an event akin to a traditional family Sunday Lunch. Everyone is welcome and members certainly look forward to some new and exciting eateries.

For information about any of the 46 interest groups that we have please look online at the website which gives details of days, times, venues and possible costs for attending some of the sessions.

Anyone interested is entitled to a free ‘taster’ session before deciding whether to join the group more regularly.

Finally just a reminder to members of the Disco and Social Group that the next Disco evening is Friday, March 22, at 7pm and not the usual fourth Friday of the month because of the Easter holidays. The last disco before the group stop for the summer is Friday 26th April.

BRAILSFORD WI

EACH year we hold a Fashion Show which is extremely popular. For the past three years we have raised money for the mother and baby unit in Derby Hospital, the Young Carers of Ashbourne and the Ukrainian Refugees.

This year we are holding a Fashion Show and Pop Up Shop on 11th April at the Brailsford Village Institute. Tickets are £6 and proceeds will go to the Derbyshire Blood Bikes.

Tickets can be bought from Brailsford

Post Office or contact Caroline on 07792928248.

Don’t leave it too late as tickets are limited and are already going quickly due to the popularity of this event.

COURTNEY GALLERY BOOK GROUP

WHEN Polly Morland, author of A Fortunate Woman, was clearing out her mother’s house she found a book that would lead her to a remarkable figure living on her own doorstep: the country doctor who works in the same remote, wooded valley that she has lived in for many years.

This doctor is a rarity in contemporary medicine, she knows her patients very well and their stories are deeply entwined with her own. Such is her dedication that the doctor at times finds herself trudging through deep snow to attend home visits.

(The book that the author found was A Fortunate Man by John Berger, published in 1967, which tells the story of Dr Sassall who was a lone practitioner working in the same valley).

The text includes beautiful photographs of the valley, and although not named, has been identified as the Wye Valley. The practice is split between two villages, one on the Welsh side at Trelleck and the other at St Briavel In Gloucestershire. It comes under the remit of the Welsh Health Service.

Everyone thought that this non fiction book was well constructed, interweaving the doctor’s cases with constructive criticism of the NHS and the modern transactional role of GP’S.

The doctor, who works in the beautifully described valley, remembers the time when she had time to really talk to her patients, to understand their circumstances and lifestyle. She was able to support a grieving widow and a single mother of three young children by introducing them; this successfully led to a long term support mechanism where both sides benefited. The doctor is shown as deeply involved with her patients, dedicated to their health and well being, especially when the Covid virus struck in 2020. The added pressures that this placed on GPS was tremendous.

Everyone thought that the NHS was underfunded and that the pressures of general practice were forcing young doctors to seek work abroad.

The unnamed doctor has the support of her loving family, and relieves work related stress by taking vigorous exercise which includes walking in the beautiful valley.

In a changing world technology is helping to manage work time more efficiently but we concluded that everyone has to take responsibility for their own health by changing lifestyles if necessary.

The next book to be discussed will be On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin.

ASHBOURNE WI

THE monthly meeting of the Ashbourne WI was held on Thursday 14 March 2024 at St John’s Church Hall. The meeting was chaired by the President Jill Smith, and we were pleased to welcome our regular members and three new members to our meeting.

Our speaker for the evening was Paul Newsham, a retired forensic scientist, who gave us a lively talk about the history of blue plaques in London.

Before the speaker we had a report from member Joyce Odell who was the Ashbourne Delegate at the recent Council Meeting. A most enjoyable event by all accounts.

Paul mentioned the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. An amenity society founded by William Morris and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive restoration of ancient buildings occurring in Victorian England.

Across the capital 1,000 plaques, on all types of buildings both humble and grand, honour the notable women and men who have lived or worked in them. They link the people of the past with buildings of the present.

Now run by English Heritage, the London blue plaques scheme was started in 1866 and is thought to be the oldest of its kind in the world. The scheme celebrates people throughout history who have made significant and positive contributions to human welfare or happiness.

To be eligible for an English Heritage blue plaque in Ashbourne London, the famous person concerned U3A must have been dead for 20 years or have passed the centenary of their birth.

The first blue plaque was awarded to the poet Lord Byron in 1867, but his house in Holles Street, near Cavendish Square, was demolished in 1889.

Other people awarded a blue plaque to name but a few: Freddie Mercury, John Lennon, Agatha Christie, Vivien Leigh, Tommy Cooper, Mozart, Margaret Rutherford’s home in Wimbledon, Richard Burton, Jimi Hendrix, Sylvia Pankhurst. The oldest surviving plaque goes to the last French Emperor, Napoleon III, whose plaque was installed in 1867.

There are no plans to remove a blue plaque for children’s author Enid Blyton, despite English Heritage saying her work is racist and xenophobic. The plaque outside her former home in south-west London was installed in 1997, 29 years after her death.

In September 1887 the Victorian artist George Frederic Watts wrote a letter to The Times suggesting a monument to be erected to commemorate everyday heroism. The monument was realised in 1990 with the unveiling of his Memorial to Heroic Self-sacrifice, situated in Postman’s Park in the City of London.

The short stretch of wall has 54 memorial tables celebrating 62 individuals who lost their lives whilst attempting to save another.

A vote of thanks was given by Secretary Lois Wilkes, thanking the speaker for such an interesting talk on a subject many of us knew little about.

Our April meeting will be held on Thursday, 11 th April 2024, at St John’s Hall, Auction Close, Ashbourne DE6 1GQ at 19h30. The speaker at that meeting we will be acclaimed author and ‘blind ghostwriter for the blind’ Simon Mahoney and the title of his presentation is ‘Winging it Blind.’ New members and visitors are always welcome.

You may attend up to three meetings as a visitor (fee £2 per visit) before deciding to join. For further information please send a mail to ashbournewi@yahoo.co.uk.