Year 2009/10 ENDING

BLOG
It's nice to be reminded that a number of you have missed the blog. I assure you I have not retired, or been off on holiday, nor even watching a so far pathetic World Cup. My only excuse is that I have been taking advantage of our spell of Global Warming in order to catch up on all the jobs neglected in the garden during last year's May and June's excursion to Bali/Lombok, and, have come in exhausted each evening. For our pains Joan and I have been rewarded by a daily incursion of sheep, something we thought we had cracked three years ago after forty years of pain, but now invading from the street and not Clyne Common. Anyone know a good manufacturer of made to measure 6 foot high gates! 

Remember a previous blog I offered a Laser dinghy for sale. Well some kind reader asdvised a friend and within a week it was on its way, releasing the untold luxury of garage space once more.

FRENCH GROUP
Has decided after a very successful year to take a summer break restarting mid September at a date yet to be decided. Thanks are especially due to Gilly Jordan who has been an excellent pro-active convenor and to Beryl Edney who has been an innovative tutor according to my spy, wife Joan. The group is currently divided into two with Gilly taking a 'beginners/refresher' course in French Grammar (taking advantage of the ability to divide the Craft Room into halves). The main group are operating at a single level, always difficult to achieve in U3A language classes.

Assistance to share the load with Beryl and Gilly whenever either is not available (holidays etc) would be most welcome. Surely we have some ex French Teachers out there who would be capable of part time tuition. You would be very welcome and might well enjoy teaching our enthusiastic adults in a low pressure environment. 


ITALIAN GROUP
Will be meeting again on on Monday 28 June at 10 am in Hazel Court. Current intention is to keep the group going weekly throughout the summer.

This group, whilst still too small, is jelling well around new convenor Patricia Morgan (207305) and four regulars with a similar not very impressive knowledge of the language. All four have taken a few years of adult education classes.

New members are welcome to turn up and try. Each week's class is different without the normally structured way of linear progression language learning. To give budding linguists a feel, last lesson she described in Italian her holiday in the USA, meeting cousins as far apart as Ohio and Texas, with descriptions of cousins, second cousins and children's large birthday parties, a rich cousin with a huge ranch in Texas, visits to El Alemo and fabulous restaurants. In her view the holiday of her life. 

We all understood the bare bones of her tale, so she then asked us to reconstruct what she had said. We were intended to do this in Italian but that proved too difficult so we pursued the detail in English and learned from her how to say some of it in Italian. A great deal of detail was uncovered in this way. Collectively we have the British failing of reading and even listening skills but pathetic ability to speak a foreign language. 
Come and try, we are a friendly group.

HISTORY GROUP TRIP TO LLANCHAERON 

SAILING TASTER on Llangorse Lake, Brecon.
Llangorse have a Sail Training School fully authorised by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) using four Comet Trio 3/4 handed sailing dinghies and some single handed Toppers and a few Flying Fifteen keel dinghies. They have a number of qualified instructors and people to man safety boats, many retired. The Organiser  our member Eddie Ramsden runs a similar school at Mumbles Yacht Club where they teach sailing in a Topper fleet. 

His idea for Llangorse is nothing more than to give a taster of the wonderful feeling of moving across a large lake using natural wind power. How green can you get?

I have been collecting names of those interested via using this blog and the slide show at the Wednesday lectures. Almost all the early volunteers had some sailing experience, one said he used to race small dinghies fifty years ago.  But then I went to the Jive Group and asked around and found that no less than 2/3 the group wanted to take part, so now I have 22 names all but 3 contactable via email.

(There is a lesson here, ask impersonally and no-one volunteers, but ask face to face and the response is stunning - that I remember is how I came to be enticed onto the committee. I think it explains  the main reason for what I regard as the poor take up in our various U3A group activities, given a growing membership setting a new record year on year. Now having reached 725 we ought to have difficulty in creating enough new groups to satisfy demand, but this year we are have been struggling to maintain sufficient attendance at some of the groups we already have. The first big challenge for next year is to replace the retiring Group Leaders (convenors) and to expand the variety).

The probable date is Wednesday 14 July at Llangorse from 10am to 4pm. The charge made for the day by the Llangorse Sailing School is £10 per person intending to sail payable to me in advance, that is excellent value for a day's sailing and includes hire of boats, the tuition, loan of life jackets/buoyancy aids and the RYA recommended number of safety boats. If the weather is unsuitable the event will be postponed until the following Wednesday 21 July. I am now emailing the group to establish, availability of individuals, identify those with enough experience and confidence to sail Toppers without tuition, identify those prepared to drive and establish numbers of spare seats. Llangorse Lake is east of Brecon just off the road to Abergavenny, the AA give the journey time from Swansea centre as 90 mins which implies an 8.30 start. The drivers will expect others to share petrol costs.


Apologies for the clash with the normal Wednesday Jive Morning, but with the vast majority of takers from either Wednesday Jive or Wednesday Lectures (now discontinued for the summer) it seemed likely to be the easiest day to guarantee satisfactory turn out.

Those participating should take a change of clothing and a picnic lunch (there are changing rooms and toilets) . Jean Ramsden will set up arrangements for serving tea/coffee. As all must wear bouyancy aids it is not vital to be able to swim, indeed it is difficult to make much progress wearing such aids, though ability to swim may help with your confidence on the water. The advice in the case of capsize is always to stay with the boat and you will be assisted/picked-up by the safety boat. Others are welcome to join us, subject to availability of transport, and there will be no charge for them.  

YOGA GROUP
Talking of increasing the variety of U3A activities I now have two offers to run such  a group. Chris Bryan (301938) who is just completing a Yoga Teaching course is offering to run classes in the Exercise Room at Hazel immediately following Tai Chi at 11.45 on Fridays beginning on July 16 and running through until September. (You may recall this as the date the Tai Chi switches for the remainder of the summer from three to two sessions per Friday). People attending should wear Comfortable Clothing, a Mat or Rug, and a light Cover for relaxation. Please contact Chris at the above telephone number for more details.

Edna Jones, also a qualified instructor, has also expressed interest in running such a group next year. So we look to be well placed to run a Yoga Group independent of Tai Chi from next Open Day. 
I expect Tai Chi will revert to three classes with the new membership intake swelling their ranks from next October.

PILOT CUTTERS IN MARINA
Remember the Wednesday lecture which mentioned that five remaining Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters would be sailing into Swansea the very next day as part of their racing schedule. A few of us went down to view these magnificent boats. Built in the days of sail to win competitions by speed not for a sporting trophy like today, but to be the first out to the biggest and most lucrative incoming cargo boats. Once the deal was negotiated they went on-board and brought the big boats safely into harbour. Pilots were the real entrepreneurs of their day and the most successful became rich.

SWANSEA U3A is 25 next year.
It's not surprising to find that several of the long established groups have gone through crises as the original leaders are forced by age to give up, that happened the year before to for example the French Group and the Literature Group, both have been restored under enthusiastic new convenors and a significant influx of new blood from the general membership. The Research Group who work on the archives at Swansea Museum is also showing signs of renewal. 

Any ideas on a form of Celebration for our 25th anniversary?


GARDENING
Margaret Massey as been convenor of the Gardening Group for 17 years and following a scare in hospital with her heart complaint has felt it wise to retire. The Group is very well attended with over twenty five regular attenders, but it will fold unless enthusiastic convenor(s) are found to lead the group forward. Of course she is a difficult act to follow, the same daunting task as faces any-one taking over as Chairman from popular, thinking, innovating, hard working Bob Hughes. Ideally the new gardening leaders will come from the younger energetic age group as in the early days of Swansea U3A.

The Gardening Group meet monthly at Singleton Park. Many will be pre-arranged lecturers (I'm sure Margaret would be pleased to assist with contacts), some led by individual members, an annual group dinner and an outing of gardening interest say to Aberglasney or the Welsh Botanical Gardens. The new leader can be assured of the active support of a large pre-existing group and is encouraged to innovate.



Formal Gardening Group Meetings have finished for this year, but the tradition of a few members opening their gardens this summer will continue with visits already planned for visits to John and Val Day in Ammanford, Margaret Massey in Killay, and Joan in Mayals all scheduled for July. Group Members should contact Margaret 205028 for details of dates and addresses, they will be welcomed with tea, coffee, cakes, as well as flowers and vegetables to view and just maybe plants to take away. Any takers for my Elm Tree seedling?

BOOK GROUP 2 
Happy Eightieth Birthday Lunch - Eileen.

 

GROUP ORGANISATION
The majority of groups have a helper (typically handling such tasks as holding the attendance records, collecting the cash, and paying the room hire) as well as a leader or tutor. Both organise replacements between them to cover their holidays, which our age group understandably think of as the big bonus of being retired - none less so a nomad like me! 


Maureen Thomas has used a different model for her Calligraphy Classes, short courses running each week for a month. It suits her well and she is never short of enthusiastic support.


Most tutors are members who give their time free so the typical cost per session is £1 or £2 to pay for hire of the room. Tai Chi needs a teaching skill outside our scope so we hire a professional tutor and given sufficient support the cost can be kept to £3. Other specialities like Art Appreciation and Pre-Concert Lectures have also used paid lecturers. 


We have an ever larger, younger, membership so we need many new leaders to continue the U3A 'can do' tradition and take the group organisation forward and in turn they need the support of enthusiastic attendees. Very few active members stop at membership of a single group. Too many I think do not take any advantage of one of the major features of a U3A. Everyone's needed, so JOIN IN and you will find we are a friendly bunch. Your first appearance feels daunting but the reality is that we are here to enjoy life.

So often I'm told this organisation has been a personal lifeline, with so much activity on offer and so easy to make friends - let's keep it that way. If you have an idea for a  new group then please discuss it with me and together we will attempt to drum up the necessary. 

JAZZ
Yes I have been several times to Jazzland (St James Crescent) but I must boast that 'my own' group The Bryan Corbett Quartet were quite outstanding. I never realised how well (well what's in a y or an i) I could play trumpet so well with a full tone reminiscent of Art Farmer or 50's Miles Davis. Bryan hails from the Midlands like me so I must get one of the web experts busy proving the hereditary link, otherwise my only memoir will be an autographed CD. Like all the soloists coming to Jazzland he expressed gratitude at the support given by the Dave Cottle Trio saying 'I haven't played jazz for a while because to earn a living I do a real mixture of styles for film and TV etc, but they are forcing me to play Jazz tonight'


The next week was the upbeat Clark Tracey Sextet, very exciting, very precise in timing, polished slick professionals yet somehow less inspiring. 


Next was Tina May singing with Dave Cottle as recommended
in this column, in fact the U3A attenders were almost into double figures that night, instead of the usual five. But for me the highlight of that evening was a local quartet of pre-GCSE juniors, calling themselves The Tourists (such excellent playing is deserving of a more inspiring name). They played before the main act and so impressed international singing star Tina May that she dismissed Dave Cottle late on in order to do a couple of numbers with The Tourists, to rapturous applause, it really was quite an emotional moment as she encouraged each one in turn to play their best.

The Tourists are led by Tom Duggan on alto sax, with two brothers on keyboards and guitar Sam and Mike Vine and Dylan Goldring on drums. They will be playing at Noah's Yard a small wine-bar in Uplands at 9pm on Monday 28 June. I hope I heard all names correctly.

WHAT COUPs
So there we have it the moderation of the coalition politics, I believe in, producing the sharpest budget cuts ever. Do they have the guts to carry the 25% cuts through lower/middle UK whilst the rich whistle. One section losing their dignity, the richest and their accountants made to work harder for a smidgen less tax avoidance! Will it be counter productive? At least for the moment we have enthusiastic leaders, that at least is a step forward.

Meanwhile the Professional Footballers of the highest paid European Leagues join the ranks of the ridiculously overpaid. What a pathetic lot, one should not be surprised if the better value Germany or Netherlands leagues prevail to test their skills with the rest of the world and England and Spain follow France and Italy to an Early Bath.

LOCAL HISTORY
On 12 July at 2.30 in the Footlights Bar, Grand Theatre, Roy Davies will speak on Welsh Rugby.

Their Outing to Fonmon Castle on 27 July will now cost £15 for bus and tea. The bus will pick up at the following points.
9.25 Banana Island, Morriston
9.45 Surgery, De-la-Beche Road
9.50 Sketty Green
10.00 University Bus Stop (Student Village)
Details from Barbara Brimfield 203503