CLUBS & SOCIETIES
If reminisce therapy , laughter and a good old sing along are good for one’s well being , then Club members were very fortunate to enjoy the presentation from Janet and Paul Barrass.
Their theme, “Bygone Days” was a review of recent periods of history , the 1950’s and 1960’s, using a display of household goods, equipment and a linking narrative. Audience participation was welcomed and was forthcoming throughout.
Paul began with some observations on National Service, featuring polishing , pressing and aspects of drill. A black Bakelite telephone and an iron, plugged into a light socket were exhibited.
Television was highlighted a a massive influence on our daily lives, with the coming of colour well remembered by all present. Technical problems of the day were recalled as were the small screens.
A review such as this would not be complete without a discussion of changes in our daily food. Instant mash and the famous advert struck a chord , as did thoughts on the lack of nutritional value , or otherwise ,of some well advertised desserts.
Fashions of the day did not escape our attention , kinky boots, mini skirts and new materials such as “Crimpelene” drew gasps of horror and much laughter from the jolly audience.
Hair styles and hair dressings were influenced by famous figures of the day , not least The Beatles and other pop stars. A very fetching wig was modelelled by member Barry, and a “back pack” hair dryer was worn by our chairman, Wilfred , to much applause and hilarity.
A miscellany completed our fun. Elvis, Greenshield stamps, Tupperware and home remedies, such as Phyllosan rounded off a nostalgic and highly entertaining meeting.
Janet and Paul received profuse thanks , led by Wilfred in his avuncular manner.
Barry officiated with the raffle, always well received ,by a fun filled membership.
Ashbourne Camera Club’s first meeting early in the month was a talk by member John Riddy, who is a relative newcomer to photography and a more recent member.
John showed us a potted history of his photographer to date. He is a lover of landscapes and showed us some of his work along with those images he has shown us before in competitions, in which he has been very successful.
There were some more adventurous images in other genres which is is keen to master. It was immediately clear how much John enjoys his photography and to try other subjects which take him out of his comfort zone.
With Shrovetide clashing with the meeting on the 14th February it is always the custom to take the evening off and try some photography at the football match.
Next meeting was the Architecture competition. This has always been a difficult subject as some of the rules are quite complex, but the club members managed to get images together as prints or projected images. Again a wide variety of images were entered covering subjects from across the globe and locally. We had images from Canada, Portugal,italy and the Caribbean to name but a few. Some images captured the whole buildings and others had been selected more carefully to focus on one small aspect or part of the chosen subject.
Interesting compositions showed how old and modern styles had been photographed together in the environment.
The competition was judged by
Dave Hollingsworth, another local photographer, who had a more sympathetic style of judging, less critical but still offering useful insight into how the image might be improved. Projected image was won by Rob Sample with his image of the Cold War Jet Hangar and Frank Hobbs won the print with an image of Leon Cathedral,porto.
The last meeting of the short month was by former Chairperson, Mark Eden who showed us images from a trip to Canada.
His summer visit ventured into the cities and vast countryside showing the mountains,lakes and some of the wildlife. The images showed well and the talk gave quite an insight into a country that many have visited or would like too.
One bird caused a little head scratching as its name was not forthcoming. Other research on line found it to be a grey nutcracker! Not something to use at Christmas but very interesting.
Well, February comes and goes again. Again variety and a demonstration of the skill and presentations of our membership. The competition winners were I hope familiar to readers of these reports but special mention must go to Frank Hobbs for achieving a one, two, three in the print competition with Leon Cathedral, Spinnaker Portsmouth and San Idelfonso Cathedral, again in Portugal some outstanding and very accomplished images including more challenging night images. How does he do it? How does he afford the ink? Well done to all the club members again. Why not come and have a look at us on the next competition evening on March 20, at 8pm in the Catholic Church Hall on Belle Vue Road. We would love to show you what we do.
ASHBOURNE U3A
OUR Photography Group’s theme for March was ‘Up close,’ and it produced some beautiful images which can be seen online.
April’s will be ‘Rainy Days,’ very appropriate for the month best known for showers. If you’d like to come along and try out Photography or any other group you would be most welcome, please have a look at our website: https://ashbourne.u3asite. uk/groups/
It’s been great to hear that the Boardgames Group enjoyed their second meeting. They are one of our newest group and are currently meeting fortnightly at Ashbourne library on alternate Friday afternoons.
Eight people attended this week and enjoyed Ticket to Ride and Rummikub (which they now have two sets of, so can play with bigger groups). If you are interested in joining the group please look at the Ashbourne u3a website for further details.
It was lovely to see the Wednesday Petanque group on good form this week.
As our members play in different groups each week they give themselves various team names as a reminder who they are playing with / against. This week ‘The Sunshine’s’ were victorious although ‘The Darkness’ weren’t far behind before lunch at The Red Lion called.
We have three Petanque groups playing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There are currently places available on Thursday. If you need any more information please check out the Petanque pages on the Ashbourne u3a website.
The March meeting of the Wine Appreciation Group was a deviation from the usual format with a wonderful introduction to the world of cocktails and single malts.
Their “Cocktails du Jour” were wide ranging .... going from Poinsettia to Margaritas and Cosmopolitans then to Pornstar martinis, Pisco Sours and Espresso Martinis. Members learned about the origins ingredients of each cocktail and came away with recipes to try at home. They were total converts and had a great evening.
Alongside the Cocktail experience some members took part in serious research concerning “Uisge Beatha” ...the water of life. Those partaking in this study were treated to a range of single malts from all over Scotland. The origins were varied, as were the tastes, and the tasting notes demonstrated what makes each whisky so different.
Members had a great evening thanks to the wonderful hosts and their hospitality. The next meeting of this group will look into the range of wines from South Africa. Members share transport to ensure everyone can enjoy the evening safely.
The group is open to all members and there is no obligation to attend each meeting. We tend to meet in each other’s homes. If you are interested in joining the group, please contact the leader via the Ashbourne u3a website.
We have members who are interested in learning French, most have done some French before and want to improve but aren’t strong enough to engage in our current advanced group. We’ve tried to find a volunteer in our ranks and failed, so we thought we’d ask if there may be a volunteer locally who could help? u3a is for anyone in their 3rd age, when the demands of family and work have reduced to free up time that they can choose what to do with. There’s no age limit, most of our members are aged 60+.