In this issue:
🟩 Monthly talks
🟩 Our first classical and folk music concert
🟩 Coffee mornings
🟩 Monday pub lunches
🟩 CEDu3a Supper Club
🟩 New interest groups
🟩 Interest group updates
🟩 Volunteering and current opportunities
🟩 u3a Future Lives Group online talk
🟩 Free and discounted tickets for Brandenburg Concerts
🟩 Members’ posts
If anyone has information on upcoming CEDu3a events that they would like to be listed in the next bulletin (which will be the December one), please send details to Vivien by 24 November via bulletin@cedu3a.org.uk.
🟩 Monthly talks
Our monthly talks featuring an invited speaker are held on the second Thursday of the month at Hornsey Moravian Church, Priory Road, London N8 7HR.
We start at 10.30am with u3a notices, followed by our invited speaker. We finish at 12 noon. Tea and coffee are available from 10am. Members are asked to bring their own cup or mug.
Advance registration is required. Further information and registration details for our monthly talks are here.
Thursday 9 November 2023. 10.30am
► Kathy Henderson: My disappearing uncle – how stories make us
Award-winning writer, poet and illustrator, Kathy Henderson will talk about her new book, My Disappearing Uncle: Europe, War and the Stories of a Scattered Family. Memoir, detective work and political history come together in this vivid and moving family biography told through the stories passed down by its undaunted women over two hundred years of European turmoil. It is a look at narrative and the way it works on us, the strange places stories lie and the accidents that bring them to the surface, how oral stories bring us the lives of the women before us, how they shape our understanding of the past and make us. Copies of Kathy’s book will be available for sale at a discounted price of £18 (cash or cheque only).
Thursday 14 December 2023. 10.30am
► Andrew Lycett: Conan Doyle: The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes
Biographer, author and broadcaster Andrew Lycett will talk about the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and the creation of the world’s greatest fictional detective. Questing was Sherlock Holmes’s business. He famously adopted the latest forensic techniques, channelled the Victorian passion for enquiry, kept abreast of the key scientific breakthroughs of his age, and conducted his investigations in an enigmatic and stylised manner. And the brains behind it all was, of course, the great Arthur Conan Doyle. In this illustrated talk, Andrew will discuss the contemporary influences on Conan Doyle, from the Victorian crazes for detection and séance, to contemporary developments in science and psychology, that helped him shape one of fiction’s most enduring and recognisable characters. Copies of Andrew’s new book, The Worlds of Sherlock Holmes, will be available for sale at the talk.
Thursday 11 January 2024. 10.30am
► Iwan Morgan: FDR – America’s Greatest President
CEDu3a member Professor Iwan Morgan will explore why Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (1933-45), merits remembrance as America’s greatest president. He examines his transformation of the presidency, hitherto a relatively limited institution, to deal with the two greatest crises that America faced in the first half of the twentieth century – the Great Depression and World War II, and looks at FDR’s legacy in the domestic and international realms. Finally, Professor Morgan asks whether history might have turned out differently had FDR not died suddenly in April 1945 on the eve of victory in Europe, after which the US-Soviet wartime alliance quickly descended into Cold War confrontation. Copies of Professor Morgan’s latest book FDR: Transforming the Presidency and Renewing America which will be available for sale at the talk.
Speakers organiser Liz Sich would like to thank members for all the suggestions for future talks. Please keep them coming by emailing ideas to speakers@cedu3a.org.uk. And if anyone would like to join Liz in helping to programme the talks, please do get in touch.
🟩 Our first classical and folk music concert
There are a few tickets left for this musical concert, which will take place on Sunday 5 November at the United Reformed Church (Pond Square Chapel) at Pond Square, Highgate N6 between 3 and 4pm, followed by refreshments until 5pm at the latest.
A selection of music will be played including Haydn, Debussy and Chopin plus Irish folk song arrangements for flute, oboe, clarinet and piano. All new members are particularly welcome to join in all our events. Members are welcome to bring non-members to this event (booking required). More information and booking here.
🟩 Coffee mornings
Coffee mornings, which take place in members’ homes on varying days of the week, are a great way of getting to know other members. New members are particularly welcome. The next two mornings – Friday 24 November and Tuesday 12 December – are currently fully booked, but you are welcome to go on the waiting list. The first 2024 morning will be in Crouch End on Tuesday 16 January: hosts are needed for the rest of 2024. To book for January, go on the waiting list for November or December, or offer to host in 2024 contact Jacki Reason here .
🟩 Monday pub lunches
The next pub lunch will be in the Mossy Well pub in Muswell Hill as usual, at 1pm on Monday 6 November, and the one following that will be on Monday 4 December. Any member wishing to attend should email John Wray on johnwray99@hotmail.com so he has an idea of the numbers, by 3 November or 1 December. Pub lunches are an opportunity for members to meet and chat in an informal and social atmosphere (paying for their own food and drink).
🟩 CEDu3a Supper Club
Dine out with the CEDu3a Supper Club! The first event will take place on Saturday 2 December, 6.30 for 7.00pm, at the United Reformed Church (corner of Fortis Green Road and Fortis Green), Queens Avenue, Muswell Hill, London N10 3NU. For u3a members only, 40 tickets @ ÂŁ30 available, so book early!
Enjoy a three-course set meal with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients (including vegetarian option), all prepared and cooked by a local head chef. Bring your own drinks (and glasses if possible).
A relaxed, enjoyable evening with food, fun and friends. Don’t hesitate to come on your own as you will be especially welcome. In the spirit of the u3a this is an opportunity to meet new members and make them welcome. Guests will be moved around between courses to give us an opportunity to meet new members. Parking is available in side streets. Wheelchair access.
Sign up through Eventbrite here. Booking closes at 2pm on 24 November. If you require the vegetarian option, please email susanpicano48@gmail.com AFTER you have booked and by no later than 23 November.
🟩 New interest groups
► New Testament in Ancient Greek Reading Group
This friendly literary group will be delighted to welcome anyone eager to explore the New Testament as it was written and brush up on their Greek. You need approximately O/A level Ancient Greek. They are currently reading The Acts of the Apostles, as its language is more accessible than the classical Greek texts. They are not a specifically religious group, the focus is rather on the original Koine Greek of the New Testament, studying it from a literary and historical perspective. They enjoy translating into English, reading the Greek aloud and discussing what is textually interesting. They are using a social science commentary rather than a religious one to inform. The group meets twice a month on Tuesday, 10.45 – 12.15, in group members’ homes, initially in Highgate. More information here
► Beginners Mosaic
A new Beginners Mosaic group will be offered after Christmas. The sessions will be on the third Tuesday of the month. Register your interest here.
► Beginners Feltmaking
There are also a couple of places on the new Beginners Feltmaking course starting in January. The sessions will be on the second Tuesday of the month. Again, register your interest here.
🟩 Interest group updates
From Groups Co-ordinator John Hemingway:
1. As we approach membership renewal time, we will be checking the groups information displayed on the website. In response to feedback received last time, we have tried to simplify the process, but we will still be asking for conveners and group administrators to help in ensuring their group page is accurate and up to date. Thanks in advance for your help with this.
2. There have been a number of instances in recent weeks where people who are not members of CEDu3a have submitted applications to join groups. As stated in the Handbook for Conveners, it is an aspect of the role of the convener to confirm the membership status of any applicants. If the application contains a membership number then status can easily be confirmed via Beacon. If the person concerned is NOT a member then they can attend one meeting, but will need to become a member if they wish to continue. Any convener who requires support with this is asked to contact the member of the groups team designated to support their activity. Latest designated list here: https://cedu3a.org.uk/handbook-for-conveners/interest-group-support/
► DĂ©coupage workshop
You may have seen our découpaged chairs for the upcoming Haringey Feast festival at Alexandra Palace and now you can try this colourful, simple craft at a short, free workshop in which you will have the opportunity to make decorations for the festive season. The workshop will be on Thursday, 30 November at 10.30am. Photos are available on Facebook here. To register your interest, please email Jacqui Osley at facebook@cedu3a.org.uk
🟩 Volunteering and current opportunities
Volunteering is at the heart of every u3a and at Crouch End and District u3a that is no exception. There are no paid staff, just us, the members who make it all happen.
When new volunteering opportunities arise, they will appear on this page on our website and in our monthly bulletin. Or if you’d like to be added to our volunteer list please contact Volunteer Co-ordinators Vicci Midwinter and Sheena Brown via volunteers@cedu3a.org.uk and they can notify you of any opportunity when it arises.
Current volunteering opportunities
► Treasurer
The Treasurer has overall responsibility for CEDu3a finances, including bank accounts, payments, setting and monitoring of budgets, production of the annual accounts and ensuring adherence to financial policies. They will also be an elected trustee of CEDu3a with responsibilities that go with being a Trustee, including preparation for and attendance at Executive Committee and officer holder meetings (every 2 months). Find out more about the Treasurer’s role and responsibilities here.
For further information, contact Peter Stachniewski (our current treasurer) via treasurer@cedu3a.org.uk
► Beacon Administrator
Beacon is the database that CEDu3a uses to maintain contact with its members, conveners and so on. It was devised by u3a head office which provides support to the administrator. The role will take up on average less than 1 hour a week and involves managing CEDu3a Beacon settings and user access and liaison with Beacon office at the Third Age Trust. All the work will be carried out online. Training is provided. For further information please contact Brenda Dardelin via beacon@cedu3a.org.uk.
🟩 u3a Future Lives Group online talk
The u3a Future Lives group is made up of u3a members across the movement. The group aims to share information and resources to inspire, influence and inform about how we can improve our future lives. The chair of the Group is CEDu3a member Janet Sutherland.
The next online talk, Protecting ourselves against fraud, takes place on Tuesday 21 November, 2 – 3pm. Neil Freebury, Head of Intelligence, The Insolvency Service (with close links with the National Crime Agency) will cover: the fraud landscape (types and protection against); Why is there a second pandemic of fraud?; What makes the u3a membership a key target?; How we can protect ourselves and each other against fraud. Sign up here
🟩 Free and discounted tickets for Brandenburg Concerts
Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, Brandenburg are once again offering a limited number of free and discounted tickets to u3a members to some of their Autumn concerts:
18 November at St Gabriel’s Church, Pimlico 19.30 – 21.30
24 November at St Margaret Pattens, EC3M 1HS 19.30 – 21.15
There are two levels of discount – 100% and 50%. To book, go to their website here and follow these instructions:
Choose your concert and click Book Now
Enter the number of tickets you need for Unreserved-u3afree (unless they are shown as sold out). The password for this is BETTY100
If no free tickets are available, move on to the Unreserved-u3a50% tickets – the password is BETTY50
Follow the booking process by clicking Next and then Checkout
You do need to click on a delivery method – etickets are free
🟩 Members’ posts
If any members have u3a-related info or news items they would like to share with other members please send details to bulletin@cedu3a.org.uk. The deadline is normally the 24th of each month.
From Paul Soper:
► Friday 10 November 2023 Carole King & James Taylor tribute concert
A very special tribute to Carole King and James Taylor featuring Rebecca Turner (vocals and piano), accompanied by Michael Goulding (vocals and guitar), Tony Hammond (vocals and bass), and Howard Tibble (drums) at Holy Innocents Church, Tottenham Lane, N8 7EL. Doors open 7.30pm. Tickets: ÂŁ7.50 (50% discount available for CEDu3a members) on the door or online via Eventbrite. Email cedu3a@protonmail.com for discount code if booking via Eventbrite.
