MemNewsNov2021

1 of 4 Website: www.flintshire-u3a.co.uk Phone:07546 094927 Volume 16 Issue 3 November 2021 Flintshire u3a Newsletter Making Christmas Happy In Lockdown A tale of John (Santa) and Lynda’s (Santa’s Little Helper) activities during Christmas 2020. Last Christmas, due to covid, we knew some children were upset in case Santa couldn’t visit. One of our daughters put a message on the Facebook page for ‘Flintshire mummys’ to say Santa would be visiting children at their home, bringing selection packs and spending time chatting with them. We had over 600 requests in 48 hours. Our phones pinging into the night. Our first visits began on November 28th and we stopped on December 23rd having only two days off. During that period we travelled from Gresford, Treuddyn and Mold to Buckley and Shotton, through to Holywell, Greenfield and Garden City. Even going to Little Sutton on the Wirral. John stood at a distance from the door to talk to the children. He had some of them singing carols to him. They turned around to have a photo taken with Santa waving in the background while they clutched their chocolates. My duty was to chauffeur Santa to all the addresses. “Thank Goodness For Sat Nav!”. We raised £1,000 for an Addison's disease charity as well as bringing lots of smiles to the children. In September this year we began getting messages, asking if Santa would be visiting again. John and I had a chat and decided, yes, he would. The charity we have chosen is for research into Crohn’s disease which our eldest daughter suffers. To date we have raised over £800 and hope to increase this. Lynda Tiplady Recruitment Drive On Saturday 27th November and Saturday 11th December from 11am until 12pm members led by Music Live will sing (circumstances permitting) Christmas songs on the bandstand in the Daniel Owen Precinct, Mold. This seasonal activity will promote the Fu3a and will be good fun for those who would like to take part. All members are invited to come along and join in. Fu3a promotional flyers will be available as handouts to passers by to encourage them to join up. Ddydd Sadwrn 27 Tachwedd a dydd Sadwrn 11 Rhagfyr o 11am tan 12pm bydd aelodau u3a o dan arweiniad Music Live yn canu (os bydd amgylchiadau'n caniatáu) caneuon Nadolig ar y bandstand ger Canolfan Daniel Owen, Yr Wyddgrug. Bydd y gweithgaredd tymhorol hwn yn hyrwyddo Fu3a a bydd yn hwyl i'r rhai a hoffai gymryd rhan. Gwahoddir pob aelod i ddod draw i ymuno. Bydd taflenni hyrwyddo Fu3a ar gael fel taflenni i'r rhai sy'n pasio heibio i'w hannog i ymuno. Colin Lewis 07598398701 chair@flintshire-u3a.co.uk Social Meetings ‘Meet in the Park’ has now become ‘Meet at Airbus Wings Club’ every Friday at 1pm. Address: Airbus Wings Sports & Social Club, Chester Road, CH4 0DR. Cost: £1/session 1

2 of 4 Chairman's Report As I write this message the clocks have been put back and we all face dark nights but there is always the joy of the following Spring. We now have a new constitution and also role descriptions for all officers of Fu3a. The website is being taken up by more members which is very pleasing and hopefully they are experiencing the benefits of the work input by the Group Leaders. Steven is going to start doing IT instruction again and I can only hope that members will take up this opportunity with the mindset “That I will give it my very best effort and then I will be able to share in the benefits“. Who knows you might be known as ‘Cool’ grandparents. New members are joining all the while and I would like to hear how they are finding the groups and members. Please contact me. I will listen and send you a reply as this is the only way that Fu3a might improve or find things are alright. May I share this little piece of Jo Cox wisdom with you all “We are more united and have far more in common with each other, than things that divide us “. Colin Adroddiad y Cadeirydd Wrth i mi ysgrifennu'r neges yma mae'r clociau wedi'u roi rhoi yn ôl ac rydyn ni i gyd yn wynebu nosweithiau tywyll ond mae llawenydd y Gwanwyn o’n blaen bob amser. Bellach mae gennym Gyfansoddiad newydd a hefyd ddisgrifiad rôl ar gyfer holl swyddogion Fu3a. Mae'r wefan yn cael ei defnyddio gan fwy o aelodau, sy'n braf iawn, a gobeithio eich bod yn profi buddion y mewnbwn gan yr Arweinwyr Grŵpiau. Mae Steven yn mynd i ddechrau rhoi cyfarwyddyd TG eto ac ni allaf ond gobeithio y bydd aelodau’n bachu ar y cyfle hwn gyda’r meddylfryd “Y byddaf yn rhoi fy ymdrech orau un iddo ac yna byddaf yn gallu rhannu’r buddion“. Pwy a ŵyr y gallech gael eich galw'n neiniau a theidiau “Cŵl”. Mae aelodau newydd yn ymuno trwy'r amser a hoffwn glywed sut maen nhw'n mwynhau’r grwpiau a'r aelodau. Cysylltwch â mi. Byddaf yn gwrando ac yn anfon ateb atoch gan mai dyma'r unig ffordd y gall Fu3a wella neu ddarganfod bod pethau'n iawn. Hoffwn rannu geiriau Jo Cox gyda chi sef \"Rydym yn fwy unedig hefo llawer mwy yn gyffredin i'n gilydd, na'r pethau sy'n ein rhannu\". Colin 2021 AGM Report Extracts Flintshire U3A Annual Accounts 1 January to 31 December 2020 Total Overall Gross Income £11,984.39 Total Overall Gross Expenditure £12,102.97 Surplus/-Deficit for year (£118.58) Total Cash Funds £17,864.61 Member numbers at the end of 2020 we had 811 members who had paid £8,149 in subscriptions. 78 members did not renew their membership in 2021 but we have gained a few new members despite most groups being unable to function, 735 members have paid their 2021 subscriptions amounting to £3,292. We currently have 217 members registered for Gift Aid. Next year’s Fu3a AGM will be held at Broughton Airbus Wings Club, at 10:00am Thursday 3rd March 2022 Membership Renewal The membership year commences on January 1st. The 2022 membership fee is £15. A couple living at the same address can apply as Joint Members and the combined fee is £25. The fee for a member of another U3A is £10.50. The fees will be reduced to half for people joining after 1st July 2022. Fees can be paid by cheque made payable to Flintshire U3A, BACS to The Flintshire U3A, Sort Code 30-99-08, A/C No 22725060 or post ( S.A.E. for the return of your membership card, which is also your receipt). Also, for the first time by Debit/Credit card payments on our website. Postal renewals can be sent to: Membership Secretary, Ridgeway, Sunnyside Close, Bagillt CH6 6JA. The Membership Secretary can also be contacted by email and telephone. Email: memsec@fintshire-u3a.co.uk Telephone: 01352 712039 You will be able to pay cheques in person at the coffee morning on Wednesday 29th December, from 10am, at St David’s Church Hall in Mold. If you would like a printed membership card sent to you, please bring a stamped self addressed envelope. 2

3 of 4 SOCIAL EVENTS DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Advent Christmas Concert Sunday 28 th November 2.30pm at Tyddyn St Church in Mold Songs, Music and Entertainment from Fu3a members Only £1 payable on entry Numbers understandably are limited this year so if you are interested please email or ring with your details to 01352 752844 / [email protected] If you change your mind or are unable to attend please let us know so we can allocate the space to another interested member. Seasonal Coffee Morning and Get Together Wednesday 29 th December 10am - midday at St David's Church hall in Mold Refreshments served and a chance to chat and exchange your news with other members. Also at the event will be Eric our membership secretary so an opportunity to pay your annual subscription for 2022 Free event, so pop in and out at any time and we look forward to seeing you there. New Year Lunch Thursday 20 th January at Highfield Hall in Northop £25 for a three course lunch including tea and coffee The menu and choices are available on our website or can be obtained by other means on request e.g. by post, committee members or maybe from group leaders who can obtain copies. Arrive at 12.30 for lunch at 1pm Again less spaces this year as under current advice as tables will be more spaced out than is usual. Cheques and completed menu choices send to Social Events committee member Lynne Ingman. All details are on the form. Open Meeting Subject : Past, Present and Future of Bailey Hill, Mold Date : 25th November 2021 at 10:00 -10:30 Speaker : Jo Lane Venue : Airbus Social Club, Broughton Jo is the Project Officer on Bailey Hill. Jo will talk us through the recent work and findings at Bailey Hill. Members can choose to attend in person at Airbus Social Club or take advantage of a video link to the meeting. A video call using Google's MEET will be made available only to members who have registered their email address. An email with the link will be sent for the meeting the weekend before the actual talk date. Please be aware that the call can only take the first 100 participants. Access to the meeting will be on a ‘first come’ basis. You will be able to join the meeting from 10:00am with the start time of 10:30am. Grumpy Cats During lockdown I took the opportunity to make some models. I have always liked making things, especially with wood. I thought members might be interested in one of my projects. I got the idea from the internet and thought I would make one or two. It is basically a grumpy cat in a box (not a real one!) that when you flick the switch on the front it lets you know in no uncertain terms that it doesn’t want to be disturbed. I gave one to my grandson for his seventh birthday. He was so thrilled with it. To see my boxes in action click/copy on the link https://youtu.be/NtcYcA9BUiM. I`m sure it will make you smile. John Hughes 3

4 of 4 Lockdown Vocabulary How many of us can clearly recall the events of lockdown - or even the ensuing months? For me, everything seemed to blur and merge in quite a surreal way. Some things stuck though. For instance, certain words and phrases we’d hardly even heard before, became commonplace and our language changed, as language does, to incorporate them into everyday usage. First known as the New (Novel) Coronavirus, the virus was soon named Covid-19. What started off as an Epidemic rapidly became a Pandemic. Although the words mean almost the same, it was explained that it was a worldwide phenomenon rather than one that was confined to the UK (and in any case, it sounded more dramatic and had greater impact) The word ‘lock’ meaning a fastening mechanism, is of German origin. To ‘lock in’ (a person in a chamber) or to ‘lock up’ (originally the chamber or door itself) dates from the 15th and 16th centuries, but lockdown is much more recent. In the 1970s it began to mean an extended state of confinement for inmates of prisons or psychiatric hospitals, and thereafter any period of enforced isolation for security. Furlough originates from an early 17th century Dutch word verlof, modelled on Verlaub, of West Germanic origin and related to ‘leave’. The first known use of the word in English was in 1631 by the Military as ‘leave of absence’. Although we understood Shielding as a measure to protect those at very high risk of severe illness by minimising all interaction between them and others, it was sometimes difficult to know whether people were referring to themselves or someone else in their household. Similarly, the term self-isolation could be misleading, as the purpose wasn’t always clear. ‘Quarantine ‘from the Italian ‘quaranta giorni’ (40 days) originated during the Black Death of the 1340s. Bubonic Plague wiped out an estimated third of Europe’s population during the 14th Century. Recurring outbreaks continued across the world until the 19th Century and ships’ crews were regularly inspected by a medical officer on arrival at port and quarantined as necessary. The 14-day criterion was based on the typical incubation period of Covid-19. Whereas previously restricted to the care sector, we now began to recognise and appreciate the true meaning of the title Key Worker as a public or private sector employee considered to be providing an ‘essential service’. This section would not be complete without mentioning a word that the majority of the population has finally learned to pronounce properly, if not to spell, because it has featured on a daily basis in news bulletins throughout the pandemic – unprecedented. In May 2020 Google Trends showed that “searches for the word ‘unprecedented’ reached a level far in excess of anything seen before.” Gill Clemens Groups With Vacancies Archaeology The group holds a varied programme with talks by guest speakers and visits digs and other sites of archaeological interest. Meetings are held monthly on the 4th Monday 10 - 12 noon in St David's Church Hall, Saint David's Lane, Mold CH7 1LH. £2/session. Julie Harvey Art Appreciation An artist, an art movement or a specific subject is the topic at each of these meetings. Instructive and enlightening, the range of subjects is inexhaustible from early art to the present day. An away day to a place of artistic or cultural significance is arranged once a year. Meetings are held monthly on the 3rd Tuesday 2 - 4pm at New Brighton Community Centre, Moel Fammau Road, New Brighton, CH7 6QX. Jon Payne Fun French A beginners group, to help people enjoy their French visits and holidays, learned in a fun, relaxed and informal atmosphere. Meetings are held on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays 10 - 12 noon at Rhosesmor Village Hall, Main Road, CH7 6PQ. Jenny & Michael Stelfox Grumpy Old Men Discussion of current news items of an irritating nature, with much grumpiness overlaid. Meetings are held monthly on the 4th Friday 1 - 2:30pm at the Beaufort Park Hotel and Conference Centre, New Brighton Road, New Brighton CH7 6RQ. John Hornby Swimming If you enjoy swimming then join other enthusiasts in an early morning swim. Every Saturday 8 - 9am at Jade Jones Pavilion, Aber Road, Flint, CH6 5BU. Jane Owen Welsh Conversation We meet once a month to chat informally over a coffee about.....whatever takes our fancy. Maybe you are learning Welsh, or maybe you haven't used Welsh since your youth. Here is an opportunity to practise speaking the language of heaven in a friendly atmosphere. Monthly on the 4th Wednesday 2.30-4pm. Venue to be advised. Diane Sauvage Editorial Team: Martin Hampstead, Helen Lloyd, and Muriel Vernon. Welsh translations by Jane Owen. Submit articles for inclusion in the newsletter to [email protected] 4