To read and be read aloud to. (Possibly for the first time since we
were
children.)
To share our love of prose and poetry.
To enjoy time with other people and bring back memories.
To express our thoughts on the world past, present and future.
To enjoy the companionship of like-minded people (with, perhaps, a
little dissent on the side).
Meetings will be themed in advance so you can bring your own choice
or just come along and listen if you prefer and join in with the
chat.
Linda Walker writes: We meet fortnightly in my home. At each
meeting we have a theme: sport, water, celebrations - anything
really that we agree on at the previous meeting. We each bring
several short items to read and share: prose or poetry (we have a
resident poet), articles from magazines including non fiction. This
usually gets us remembering the past or sharing our opinions, as we
are from all over the country it is interesting to hear how our
areas differ. At present we are full, our original 9 are a still
coming to almost every meeting. If you would like to start another
group let me know and I will help all I can.
Badminton
The numbers are growing slowly yet surely to about 12
people each week. Everyone is cheerful and getting fit and
trying to "out play" their opponents with drop shots! If
interest continues to grow, the possibility of extending the session
for an extra hour will be explored. Currently the group meets
on a Tuesday morning.
Bowls
The members ,who are mostly newcomers to the sport, seem to be
enjoying themselves. Up to the end of December, they are
having tuition by kind members of the Bowls Club and in the New Year
we hope to have games against each other.
Birdwatching
At last the winter wildfowl are arriving and looking more handsome
each week as they grow their breeding plumage. Teal and
Widgeon have been here for a few weeks but now the Goldeneye ducks
have started to arrive and are looking magnificent. Most of
the bird watching undertaken by the group is at Summer Leys nature
reserve (between Wollaston and Great Doddington) which has several
hides and is a pleasant mile and a half walk around the lake.
In early December, some of the group caught a brief glimpse of a
Bittern which is a very shy bird and beautifully camouflaged in the
reeds. Tufty ducks and Gadwall are permanent residents at the
reserve along with Coot and Moorhen. Herons are common and
Little Egrets are often seen with their big yellow feet which they
wriggle around in the water’s edge to disturb the small fish.
In the winter, Fieldfare and Redwing strip the reserve of its
berries – but that’s why they were planted for winter food for the
birds. In January the group will go to Stanwick Lakes in the
hope of seeing Goosanders and perhaps some Bullfinches and
Siskin. Then back to Summer Leys when in May, one of the
county’s leading ornithologists will give a master class on summer
warblers which breed on the reserve. In June, the group will
be going to Rutland Water in the hope of seeing breeding
Ospreys. Each season has its birding delights to offer.
No restriction on numbers for outdoor activities so if you would
like to come along, the group meets on the first Tuesday of every
month at 9 am.
Bridge
Tricia Drummond
writes: Our group of bridge beginners started learning bridge 18
months’ ago and have attended on and off for 43 sessions. We
meet on the second and fourth Tuesday each month at The Carriage
House, Higham Ferrers at 1.30 to 2.30 pm. The group has changed over
the months with some members leaving and new people joining, but all
enjoy playing four hands of Chicago Bridge and then changing tables
to play with other members. The group has now progressed to being
improvers, but beginners are still welcome to come along. We
are an informal group of relaxed social players but everybody has
commitments and cannot always attend. We also have a relaxed bridge
quiz each meeting – this is a new venture for us.
Canasta
We are a small group of people who enjoy playing Canasta – a card
game that is full of unexpected twists and turns. We meet
every 2 weeks on Monday
mornings
and just enjoy ourselves. New members are always welcome.
Chess
The Chess Group now has a group of ladies learning to play chess who
have a good afternoon with lots of fun. The Ladies are learning
fast...if there is anyone male or female who can play chess and
wants a game.....please contact the Group Leader.
Classical
Music Appreciation
We are a small friendly group who meet once a month to learn and
enjoy. Each meeting has a theme and we cover many aspects of
classical music. See group page for more information.
Come
Dine with Me
Trevor Warland writes: I would like to report that the "COME, DINE
WITH ME" group is going well; the guests seldom leave my house
before midnight, and no-one, to my knowledge, has yet been
poisoned! However, we do need new members, as some of the
present enthusiasts are dining too frequently and getting so
accustomed to my culinary evenings that they want to move in with
me! May I remind readers that these gastronomic evenings are
held on the last Friday of each month, and for the manageable cost
of £12.00 per person a choice of 3 starters, 3 main courses
and 3 sweets is offered, together with cheese and biscuits, wine,
soft drinks, coffee and liqueurs. There is also usually some
entertainment or a quiz with a small prize for the winner. What
better way to spend an evening with some else doing all the work and
having to get up on a Saturday morning to face a pile of dirty
dishes and cutlery!
Computing
We are a Learning Group within the Higham
and Rushden U3A. The reason we use the word ‘Learning’ is
that we expect all members of the group to take an active part in
helping others to Learn as well as Learning for themselves.
This is a fundamental aspect of the U3A Constitution and by
running the group this way we hope to satisfy members of all
levels from raw beginners to experienced.
Country
Dancing Group
This group is running well and numbers are holding up. The Group
recently held a garden party in Rushden. The heat put a few people
off but those who came along enjoyed the dancing. Light refreshments
were provided. The group will hold an end of term party on 18 July
with members from the Wellingborough dance group. Our new term
starts on 5 September. New members always welcome. No experience or
partner required.
Day Trips
I am sure this will be remembered
by many of the 48 members who enjoyed our coach outing to Lincoln on
the 26 May. This delayed our return home by almost two hours. We
arrived at Lincoln bus station at 11 am during one of the frequent
showers that punctuated the day, and all went our separate ways to
visit the many attractions this city has to offer. One member used
the opportunity to meet up with a friend who lives in Lincoln, no
doubt to reminisce about times past. I am sure that most visited the
magnificent Cathedral, and some of us actually located the famous
Imp, although with some difficulty. The more able of our members
negotiated "Steep-Hill", myself being one of them, albeit in the
direction of gravity. Being a county town there are a plenty of
shops to visit, ranging from large well known stores, to small
individual ones, and most of us came home with something purchased.
Although we spent nearly five hours there I am sure some of us would
contemplate an individual return visit. P.S. if you would like an
explanation of the title, please contact anyone who went. Picture
taken by Jack Lee
On the evening of 22 June, 18 members enjoyed a performance of Jane
Austen’s "Pride and Prejudice" at Tolethorpe open air theatre. We
had intended to meet up beforehand for a picnic, but as the weather
forecast had predicted rain it was decided to forego this pleasure
for a future date. The play itself is well known, but the actors
portrayed their parts very well, especially "Mrs Bennet" and "Mr.
Collins". The rest of the cast were up to the usual high standard of
the Tolethorpe theatre company, also the ubiquitous scene shifters
introduced an element of comedy performing their tasks. All in all a
very successful evening one which I hope to arrange for next year.
CANCELLATION OF NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM TRIP
Brian Shelton writes: Unfortunately I have had to cancel
the trip to the National Memorial Arboretum on 29 September due to
lack of interest. As at the end of June, I only had 16 names
down, and even allowing for another 16 it would still not have been
a viable proposition, as 32 people on a coach would have meant a
cost of around £19 which I think is not feasible. My
sincere apologies to those who did express an interest.
CHEESE AND WINE EVENING AT WAITROSE
A Cheese and Wine evening, combined with a look behind the scenes,
has been arranged at our local Waitrose store on Monday 26
September. Time 7.00 pm. The cost is £5 per head and there is
a maximum number of 25 places. The 'cut off' date for this is 1
September (payment on booking please). Brian Shelton
Digital
Photography Group
Mick
Aldridge writes: So far we have held two field trips, one to
Wellingborough Embankment where 20 of us spent a couple of happy
hours becoming familiar with our cameras. Help was forthcoming from
the attendant at the water splash who allowed us to use the
facilities to try to capture some "water action". The success of
this led us to setting up a sub-committee to arrange regular field
events the second of which was held at Olney Market on 9 September.
14 members attended on a fine sunny morning and we all enjoyed it
very much.
We have also started to use the regular meetings to try out aspects
of camera use. For example on 1 September we decamped to the
local Spencer Park where we tried taking action photographs. The
locals were quite bemused by senior citizen snappers giggling like
schoolchildren and throwing hats in the air, riding on the swings
and charging up and down on a bicycle. Afterwards we returned to the
hall for coffee and to review the results.
From its fledgling beginnings Digital Photography has begun to
sprout wings. We have a core membership now of around 24 and we hope
to increase on this now we have found our feet and are expressing
our visions for the future. We are a self help group and like to
gain knowledge through mutual assistance.
Discussion/Debating
The Discussion Group held its first discussion and has set a list of
interesting topics. Each month, a different member will select a
subject and go on to chair the following session at a different
member's home. This means that all members are aware of, and can
therefore prepare for, the next meeting. We aim to strike a
balance between a stimulating and serious approach and a casual,
chatty get-together - probably with more emphasis on the former -
but not too scary!! We are a small group and would welcome
more members.
The numbers are growing slowly yet surely to about 12
people each week. Everyone is cheerful and getting fit and
trying to "out play" their opponents with drop shots! If
interest continues to grow, the possibility of extending the session
for an extra hour will be explored. Currently the group meets
on a Tuesday morning.
Tricia Drummond
writes: Our group of bridge beginners started learning bridge 18
months’ ago and have attended on and off for 43 sessions. We
meet on the second and fourth Tuesday each month at The Carriage
House, Higham Ferrers at 1.30 to 2.30 pm. The group has changed over
the months with some members leaving and new people joining, but all
enjoy playing four hands of Chicago Bridge and then changing tables
to play with other members. The group has now progressed to being
improvers, but beginners are still welcome to come along. We
are an informal group of relaxed social players but everybody has
commitments and cannot always attend. We also have a relaxed bridge
quiz each meeting – this is a new venture for us.
Mick
Aldridge writes: So far we have held two field trips, one to
Wellingborough Embankment where 20 of us spent a couple of happy
hours becoming familiar with our cameras. Help was forthcoming from
the attendant at the water splash who allowed us to use the
facilities to try to capture some "water action". The success of
this led us to setting up a sub-committee to arrange regular field
events the second of which was held at Olney Market on 9 September.
14 members attended on a fine sunny morning and we all enjoyed it
very much.