The rise in our membership The membership numbers

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1 With the AGM yesterday s news and only a few days before the printing deadline for this edition of the Review, my thoughts are focused on the tasks facing the Committee in the year ahead. However, with fourteen years membership of Wrekin U3A behind me, of which eight have seen service on Committee, I have been reflecting on the changes which I have witnessed during that period. The membership numbers were around 60 when I joined so setting up the hall and providing refreshments for the 40 or so members who might attend a monthly meeting was not a problem.and we were all younger then! The rise in our membership is a reflection of the popularity of the U3A movement as a whole, but also indicates that we in Wrekin U3A are getting some things right. It also means that greater numbers give rise to a need for more structure in order to conform to the rigorous, politically correct standards set by those further up the chain of accountability. That is why we, as a Committee of a maximum number of 12 (actual number of 9 at the time of writing), with a membership of approximately 250 and attendance peaking at 151 at the February 2016 meeting, constantly repeat our requests for help from the membership. 1

2 It would give me enormous pleasure to be able to report at the May meeting that we have a full complement of 12 good men and true. In the Annual Report, the retiring Chairman highlighted the technological challenges facing us all and once again I am reminded of how far we have travelled along this route. With the exception of the record of AGM s kept by Pat Yarnell, which peter out at March 25 th 2003, and a general, historical note listing the Committee for 2003 / 4, it has come as something of a shock to me that, although I was coopted as Minutes Secretary in 2005, the earliest record saved electronically only dates back to So whilst records were being keep as hard copies, creating a paper mountain, filling up lever-arch files and taking up a great deal of space, it is only over a very short period of 9 years that we have acknowledged the enormous benefits of the technology, literally, at our finger tips. For some of you, the paper copies you receive, of this publication and the enewsheet, keep you informed. However, there is an untapped, boundless source of information out there where you can find the answer to any question you might ask as well as opportunities to learn about, or further an interest in, any subject imaginable. The information you receive in the enews and Wrekin Review is limited by the space available and associated printing costs. The Wrekin U3A web site offers so much more information, not only for visitors and prospective members, but for all of us. It is updated regularly. Why not visit it at I began with the tasks facing the Committee in the year ahead. The SWOC analysis findings, started last year, will be an ongoing challenge. In addition, a Policy Review, already begun within Wrekin U3A, has been brought into close focus through recent Workshops and an extremely comprehensive, and, I hope helpful, Reference File provided by the Third Age Trust. Our Constitution, written and adopted 25 years ago, needs careful appraisal alongside the more recent, Model Constitution favoured by Headquarters. I think that should keep us fairly busy. On behalf of the Committee, I look forward to your support in the year ahead. Jan Burrows, Chairman. 2

3 Are you an active member, the kind who would be missed, Or are you just content to know your name is on the list? Do you attend the meetings and mingle with the flock, Or do you meet in private and criticise and knock? Do you take an active part to help the work along, Or are you satisfied to be the kind to just belong? Do you work on committees - to this there is no trick, Or leave the work to just a few then talk about the clique? Please go to meetings often and help with hand on heart, Don't just be a member but take an active part. Think it over carefully, you know what's right from wrong, Are you an active member, or do you just belong? Limitations of space in our 25 th Anniversary edition meant that some items were held over for this edition, including these reminiscences of Jan Burrows from the turn of the century...or almost! The four-sided Wrekin U3A Newsletter for September 2000 boasted a membership of eighty-four and from the application forms it was learned that many had joined through a friend s recommendation. There were items relating to a video on propagation, watched by the Gardening Group; the History Group s visit to St Mary s Church, Shrewsbury and, rather strangely I thought, the Art & Crafts Group dip into photographic composition, too lengthy to reproduce here but perhaps worthy of a spot at a later date. The Minutes of the AGM held on March 27 th 2001 revealed that the fee for visitors was to be increased to 1.50 and the Annual Subscription raised to 7. Betty Barnes retired as Chairman and was succeeded by Joan Bowdler. Pat Yarnell was elected as Secretary and Rosemary Moore as Treasurer. Other Committee Members were Sue Yerman; Shelagh Nabb (now Shelagh 3

4 Davies); Lee Panter; Bessie Martindale and Laurie & Cecilia Norman. Moira Beatson had decorated a cake to celebrate the 10 th Anniversary. To many current members these names will be familiar. I remember paying my subscription to Rosemary Moore of whom I was somewhat in awe. We walked with Moira & Geoff Beatson as part of their Short Walks Group. Sue Yerman was also a walker and helped to man the registration desk at General Meetings. Laurie & Cecilia Norman organised some wonderfully relaxing lunches in local hostelries and I believe that Cecilia now lives in Hampstead, London. Pictured in the photograph of Betty Barnes last Committee Meeting are, from left to right, Myrtle Fitzwarine-Smith; Pat Yarnell; Sue Yerman; Val Robinson; Betty Barnes and Anne Hargreaves. Jan Burrows. To mark the 400 th anniversary this year of Shakespeare s death members of several groups have collaborated in creating a celebration in words and music called Brush Up Your Shakespeare for the April main meeting. To mirror this, our Spring 2016 edition of the Review contains some Shakespearerelated articles, ranging from a quiz to reminiscences of school Shakespeare. To those contributors, both to the celebration and the magazine, we convey our thanks and appreciation. 4

5 Ifailed my English Literature O-Level; this probably did not surprise my tutor and, if I m really honest did not surprise me either! However it did surprise my Mom; she had read to me daily when I was a small child and I was able to read well before I went to school. Although Dad was no great reader, our house did have plenty of books and I was never denied any book I wanted and have continued to be an avid reader. My first English tutor at secondary school was an inspiration, introducing me to new writers and novels. Sadly he did not continue to teach me at examination level, and this new tutor and I just did not gel ; I was totally UN-inspired and just went through the motions of reading the classics, including Shakespeare s Julius Caesar ; hence the failure! In later years I was re-introduced to this playwright and began to really enjoy his work; I attended the Ludlow Festival for a number of years and the first production I saw there was A Midsummer Night s Dream, an excellent first timer s play I think. The human actors were set in the 1930 s but the fairy world characters were punks and rockers, with an extremely handsome Oberon, very menacing in black leather biker gear, his queen Titania was a punk goddess with cerise pink hair and horrid little Puck was straight from the Sex Pistols! My husband, never a reader but, with encouragement had come to enjoy live theatre but definitely NOT Shakespeare why use 150 words when 15 will do? However I did persuade him to come with me to Ludlow, once. On reflection Macbeth was probably not the best play as an introduction and the production, at the time was quite controversial, the witches being played by three black men. Early on I could tell he was losing concentration, he kept looking at his watch and sighing! The end, for him came when during the second half he asked, Why are the witches now dressed as soldiers? They weren t of course, like most productions actors double up, they were just playing different parts! It finished him and me, no more Shakespeare until U3A, bring on Cymbeline! Janet Doody. 5

6 Why Shakespeare needed to understand Latin T he 16 th century was a time of expansion of physical horizons, but also of ideas, beliefs and discoveries yet Latin remained the standard language of administration, law, science, culture and knowledge. Official state and local records continued to be written in Latin. It was still the international language for communication and the sharing of ideas. The wave of English nationalism after the separation from Rome and the promotion of the English language in Anglican liturgy and prayers did not lead to a complete prohibition or disappearance of Latin: records, registers, and cartularies of Anglican churches and bishoprics continued to be written in Latin well after the break from Rome and committed Anglican thinkers wrote their sermons in Latin. Indeed, the sixteenth century coincided also with a time of revival and flowering of Latin, under the impulse of Renaissance and humanistic thinkers and writers, including in particular Desiderius Erasmus, a passionate advocate of the purification of Latin (Ad Fontes) from the alleged corruption of the Middle Ages. Though vernacular languages were gradually growing in prestige, important national writing continued to be published in Latin. These include Polydore Vergil s Anglicae historiae libri, a source for some of Shakespeare s history plays, and William Camden s Britannia, a historical and topographical survey of England, first published in Latin in At the beginning of the 16 th century, more than 75% of printed books were in Latin, while by the end of the century this had fallen to less than 50%. National authors were writing in English: including Foxe s Book of Martyrs and Holinshed s Chronicles. The widening variety of texts in English brought with them new words and phrases to explain those new ideas and experiences. The English language was flooded with new words, largely from Greek and Latin. Latin words include magnitude, stimulus, genius, agitator and Shakespeare himself introduced abstemious, accommodation, addiction, comply, discontent, frugal and many more; all of which had Latin origins, that he must have read and adopted, words brought back to life from Latin to become part of the new rich language that is English. Marilyn Higson, Latin Group. 6

7 DID SHAKESPEARE WRITE SHAKESPEARE? What do Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, Christopher Marlowe, Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke, and William Stanley, Earl of Derby, have in common? The answer is that at some time claims have been made that one of them was the true author of the works of William Shakespeare. There are nearly fifty others. A great deal of printer s ink has been used in publishing books to propagate such claims, now estimated to be over five thousand. The argument goes that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon, who became an actor and partner in a London theatre company, but whose personal life is largely obscured from history, could not have been the originator of such great works of literature. How could a boy who would have left school at the age of 14 and without a University education have developed such virtuosity or shown in the plays so much expertise about, for example, law, medicine, statesmanship, court life, military affairs, history and antiquity? It is an intriguing question and has been the driver for numerous attempts to show that the plays were written by someone else. To assert this, however, does require you to accept, it seems to me, that Shakespeare himself, his family, his fellow actors, collaborators and his eventual publishers were involved in what Bill Bryson, in his breezy, but scholarly book, Shakespeare, describes as the greatest literary fraud in history, without the benefit of anything that could reasonable be called evidence. Moreover, it requires that everyone in the know somehow managed to keep it to themselves. Even so, the claim that William Shakespeare lent his name to someone else s works has been supported by, for example, Mark Twain who wrote So far as anybody actually knows and can prove, Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon never wrote a play in his life. Not exactly remembered for his lack of intellect, Twain s view has been echoed by the American author, Henry James, Nobel Laureate, John Galsworthy, and Sigmund Freud, not to mention various academics, such as the mid-20 th century Dean of Science at the University of Liverpool, Arthur Titherley. 7

8 What all of these proponents assume, I would argue, is that Shakespeare s provincial background makes him an unlikely author of such a diverse and extraordinary body of work, so unlikely, indeed, that the plays must have been written by someone else with superior credentials. Isn t it far less complicated and more likely that Shakespeare was a gifted genius? Had the anti-shakespearean tendency applied the principle of Occam s Razor, which states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected, their misplaced ingenuity might have been avoided. ( Do I hear the sharpening of pens?) Barry Stimpson. SECTION 1 1. What is the generally accepted date of Shakespeare s birth? a) 29 April 1544 b) 25 April 1554 c) 23 April 1564 d) 21 April Which monarch was on the throne for most of Shakespeare s life? a) Edward VI b) Mary I c) Elizabeth I d) James I 3. What was the name of Shakespeare s wife? 4. What was the name of his son? a) Benedict b) Henry c) Hamnet d) Clement 5. What did Shakespeare leave his wife in his will? a) His second best horse b) A silver gilt bowl c) 20 cattle and a bull d) His second best bed 8

9 SECTION 2 6. Which of Shakespeare s plays was the first to be performed? a) Romeo and Juliet b) The Merchant of Venice c) Henry VI Part 2 d) King John 7. Which of these Dr Who actors was cast as Richard II in the RSC November 2013 production? a) Peter Capaldi b) Matt Smith c) Tom Baker d) David Tennant 8. Which was the last play written by Shakespeare? a) As You Like It b) Two Gentlemen of Verona c) Henry V d) The Tempest 9. Which theatre did Shakespeare part own? a) The Swan b) The Globe c) The Rose d) The Hope 10. Which play has the smallest cast? a) The Taming of the Shrew b) The Comedy of Errors c) Two Gentlemen of Verona d) Much Ado About Nothing SECTION 3 Insert the missing words: 11. A. by any other name would smell as sweet Romeo and Juliet 12. Now is the of our discontent Richard III 13. Once more unto the. dear friends, once more Henry V 14. Is this a which I see before me Macbeth 15. As to wanton boys are we to the Gods King Lear 9

10 SECTION Which villain says If you prick us, do we not bleed?? a) Shylock in the Merchant of Venice b) Lady Macbeth in Macbeth c) Iago in Othello d) Demetrius in Titus Andronicus 17. Which character in Julius Caesar says I come to bury Caesar not to praise him? a) Julius Caesar b) Octavius c) Mark Antony d) Brutus 18. Which character in Hamlet advises Neither a borrower nor a lender be and whom is he advising? a) Polonius speaking to Laertes b) Polonius speaking to Hamlet c) Laertes speaking to Hamlet d) Hamlet speaking to Laertes 19. Which of Shakespeare s characters describes himself as more sinned against than sinning? a) King Lear b) Othello c) Hamlet d) Macbeth 20. Who said Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder? a) Falstaff b) Mark Antony c) Macduff d) The ghost of Hamlet s father SECTION Who is the shrew in The Taming of the Shrew? a) Bianca b) Cleopatra c) Katherine d) Matilda 22. Which play has the character Quince? a) Pericles b) King Lear c) Midsummer Night s Dream d) Cymbeline 23. Which ingredient was not in the witch s brew? a) Eye of newt b) Lizard s leg c) Nose of Turk d) Hair of rat 10

11 24. Which of these was not a fairy in Midsummer Night s Dream? a) Peasblossom b) Moth c) Dewdrop d) Mustardseed 25. What is the name of Hamlet s mother? a) Portia b) Gertrude c) Beatrice d) Cordelia Answers on page 16 Compiled by Reading Group 2. WDYTYA has been a very successful programme, sending a great many of us researching our family history and a good thing too! But it also can give the impression that with a couple of clicks of the mouse your ancestors will spring to life before your very eyes; or even worse that on a visit to the local record office the staff will produce all the original records you require almost instantly. Thankfully, yes really thankfully, this very rarely happens because it then would remove the wonderful opportunity of using original records or at the very least copies of original records. Researching or just plain finding out very often starts with a simple question, regarding your family tree, your house, a local building or perhaps the origins of a particular interest or hobby but where to start? The ease and convenience of your own computer is for most people the first port of call but remember DO NOT IMMEDIATELY BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU FIND ON THE INTERNET, use the information as a stepping stone on the quest for other sources to confirm the information. The next stop is generally the County Archives and local libraries; these together with private archives and libraries such as those held by museums, are a great source of information. Please do not be put off if you have never entered their portals, because of the (in the great majority of cases) imagined loftiness of these institutions, filled with academics and stern archivists ever ready to Shhhh you into submission. The vast majority (buildings & staff!) are welcoming to the genuine researcher and some, such as Shropshire Archives, often have specialist volunteers on a help desk ready to assist. In today s climate it is most important that these offices are used; very recently Shropshire Archives have to reduce their hours AGAIN, this time to just 15 hours a week. Our local libraries are also subject not only to the reduction of hours but HORROR OF HORRORS, to closure, and not just public sector ones, many private collections are struggling too. 11

12 Should you have any family history questions that need answering or you have the urge to rush out and begin researching some local history phenomenon please don t forget the local library. There are often all sorts of little gems in the form of local history booklets and such like stored within their portals. However before you do set forth with pen, paper and loads of enthusiasm, I recommend that you do your homework and prepare before any visits; most archives have a web site so check their opening times and whether you can copy or take photographs of documents; most offices also require you to have some form of identification. Libraries and museums are under threat everywhere; so please do visit them, I know it s an all too often used phrase but USE IT OR LOSE IT has never been truer! Janet Doody. Wrekin U3A has two thriving book clubs which provide an opportunity to read books as part of a shared experience, as well as introducing members to new books. It is in this spirit of sharing that short book reviews find space in our magazine. The Bear by Claire Cameron A family goes into the wilderness to camp and is attacked by a bear. The mother is injured and the father is able to place the children, Anna, 5 years, and Alex, nearly 3 years, in a cooler before he is attacked. After the bear has left the children are able to get out and their mother tells them to get into the canoe and paddle to an island. They experience a loss of parental support, hunger and isolation, but her imagination, memory and hope gives Anna the strength to cope. 12

13 After being rescued Anna is interviewed by a psychologist who appears not to understand her response and the grandfather who had taken care of the children was too unhappy with the recent loss of his wife and now his daughter to be able to understand the internalisation of her experience. After a return to the scene with her brother, Alex, when adults, she finds that her mother must have seen their escape and we are left to feel that Anna will be able to manage her memories. The book is written in Anna's words as a five year old which gives a new approach to a horrific experience and which is an interesting approach. Jean Kerr (Reading Group 1) Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey Elizabeth is Missing is a novel told through the thoughts and memories of a lady in her eighties, Maud, who suffers from dementia. As such it gives a very vivid portrayal of the various aspects of this now-too-prevalent condition. Maud is constantly looking for her friend, Elizabeth, but she also in her reminiscences relates the story of the disappearance of her sister, Sukey, when they were young, and it is this investigation that holds the novel together. Elizabeth is Missing is well worth reading, particularly as it gives a first-hand account of the general conditions associated with dementia. Audrey Atkinson (Reading Group 1) N.W. by Zadie Smith This novel follows four Londoners who grew up on the same council estate in NW6 in the 80s. We see how they fare in their future lives by the choices they make and the dichotomy between what they are now in 2011 and where they ve come from, and the tension between the two. The novel gives a vivid snapshot of modern urban life with all its brutality, its complications, and its dazzling vitality. The author, Zadie Smith, has been likened to Dickens for her acute observation of London scenes. Some of the Reading Group found her writing style difficult and we acknowledged our lack of understanding of a culture so different from our own. Others found the writing dense where every word counts. Altogether an illuminating read. Gill Stimpson (Reading Group 1) 13

14 SPEAKERS CORNER A 1960's Business Woman in a Man's World (October 2015) I checked my membership card, speaker at the General Meeting to be held on 28 th October 2015, A 1960's Business Woman in a Man's World Well, I thought to myself, that should be really interesting and idly wondered what business the lady had been involved in. Perhaps she had been a steeplejack, a coal miner, or a bomb disposal expert in the army. But as no further information was supplied it was a question of waiting till the day to find out. So it was that I took my seat in Shifnal village hall on the 28 th October at 2.00pm waiting with mildly excited expectation to find out just what this lady had done in a man's world fifty or so years ago. Diane Mannering (above)) was a bright and breezy lady whose looks belied what must have been her years! Good start, I thought. She quickly grabbed my attention... and equally quickly... lost it! I seriously began to wonder if I was at the right meeting? Had I stumbled by accident into a meeting of the Family History Group? Richard III The last Plantagenet King & The Battle of Bosworth Field, 1485 (November 2015) I'm sure every member of Wrekin U3A knows something of Richard III and the Battle of Bosworth Field from history lessons at school. Nevertheless, they turned out in force to hear about this event that happened five hundred and thirty years ago, and listened enthralled to Justin Soper as he told the story. To set the scene, Justin cunningly disguised himself as a Burgundian mercenary of the period. He regaled the audience with details of clothing, of belts, of footwear, of harness and of a fascinating array of weapons of war and various types of protective armour (see photo right). There were arrows designed to penetrate chain mail, a pole axe 14

15 that would crack plate armour, there were shields, there were various types of sword and, indeed, a dazzling array of other rather nasty killing implements, oh, and I nearly forgot, a pole gun, the Devils Engine! The Wars of the Roses or the Cousins War lasted for approximately thirty years from 1455 to 23 rd August 1485 and the Battle of Bosworth Field. On that day Richard III became the last English King to die in battle. Justin presented his audience with a detailed family tree or, rather, trees of those involved in the war. I have to admit there were times when I found this a little confusing, so convoluted are the various relationships, who killed who and who would have liked to kill who! Details of dates and relationship being so complex I will not attempt to relate them here. Suffice to say Justin Soper was a great speaker whose enthusiasm for his subject captivated his audience who showed their appreciation with very generous applause. For me personally it awakened my interest in King Richard III and I intend to visit once again those long forgotten history books! Marian Cullen. From Rostrum to Roadshow Tales of an Auctioneer (February) Our speaker was Will Farmer and I say without hesitation one of the best speakers I have heard for a very long time. He was known to me, and I'm sure a great many other members, from his appearances on the Antiques Roadshow and other programmes of this nature. I was looking forward to an interesting afternoon, I was not disappointed. Antiques is a vast subject and I was curious to know how our speaker would tackle the subject. Would it be a very general talk about his life and experiences in this field, or would it be specific, or was there one aspect of the field that was his abiding passion. It was specific and none the worse for that! His audience were I am sure, as I was, astounded with his stories of the six most expensive antique items sold at auction to date. The delightful pearl earrings, what lady in his audience would not have been delighted to have those in her jewellery box, just a modest 1.4 million to buy in the sale room. The guide price had been ,000. Then two small panels that had hung in someone s kitchen. The panels proved to be the work of Fra Angelica part of a larger work and missing for a very long time. They are now back in their original position in a church in Italy. And the price paid in the sale room, just a little more than the earrings, at 1.7million. The sale catalogue guide price for a glass and silver gilt jug, modest enough price if you were looking for something like this, maybe as a wedding or anniversary gift. As it turned out you would have needed to write a cheque for considerably more to become the owner of this item. It transpired 15

16 that this jug, listed so modestly, was a very rare example of Islamic Art from the 10 th /11 th century. On the day in the sale room, if I could have written a cheque for a cool 3.2 then today this beautiful jug could have been sitting on my sideboard! An exquisite jade buffalo languished for many years in the vaults of a London bank and sold for 3.4million. Today the market in anything Chinese is hot and should it come up for sale again Will estimated that it might make as much as nine million pounds. The Chinese are very keen to recover precious items that over the centuries have left the country by various routes. The most insignificant of paintings can turn out to be something amazing. A small portrait nine and a half inches by six and a quarter inches and looking a bit like Rembrandt turned out to be a self-portrait of the artist, and fetched a modest 24 million. Time to check the attic! And finally a piece of 18 th century oriental porcelain that had been sitting in a box on top of a wardrobe for years. Once again the Chinese were in the market, but Will told us the Chinese play games and they certainly did on this occasion. The purchaser refused to pay the auction house commission on 43m offering half the amount. The auction house refused to back down, the seller withdrew his property and took it to another auction house where he made a tidy sum, enough to give him a comfortable old age. It was a great afternoon, the audience enjoyed the talk, Mr. Farmer happily answered questions and like I said, check the attic... you never know what you might find! Marian Cullen. Answers to the Shakespeare Quiz April Elizabeth I 3. Anne Hathaway 4. His second best bed 5. Hamnet 6. Henry VI Part 2 7. David Tennant 8. The Tempest 9. The Globe 10. Two Gentlemen of Verona 11. Rose 12. Winter 13. Breach. 14 Dagger. 15 Flies. 16. Shylock in the Merchant of Venice 17. Mark Antony 18. Polonius speaking to Laertes 19. King Lear 20. The ghost of Hamlet s father 21. Katherine 22. Midsummer Night s Dream 23. Hair of rat 24. Dewdrop 25. Gertrude THE COPY DEADLINE FOR THE SUMMER REVIEW IS 30 th June 2016 Our magazine provides a space for members and groups to communicate through the medium of the written word and to enjoy a broader vista of our U3A and all the activities that go on in it. If you have not contributed for a while, or would like to for the first time, please write to or (barry.stimpson2@btinternet.com) or, if you have any questions, telephone him on Wrekin U3A Making life-long learning a reality for all third-agers in the Wrekin locality The Wrekin U3A is an educational and recreational charity registered in accordance with the Charities Act 1993 (Charity No ) 16