News

The latest news from our groups…..

Members are invited to participate in our “virtual group”. Below are the photos chosen for March. Others may be found in the newsletter.
Please email me ONE snapshot you have taken on your phone, or digital camera, sometime before a general meeting. I will compile an informal slideshow of the results and show them at the next general meeting. There are no themes, no prizes, no meetings, just a monthly picture gallery.
Select wisely, remember only ONE snapshot.
No people snaps! Not every one wants to be plastered all over the village hall screen and I would feel uncomfortable with personal data. So please stick to – animal (not human), vegetable and mineral please. Snaps will be deleted after 1 month, ready for the next gallery.
Let’s give it a go. What could possibly go wrong?
My special email “snapshot gallery” address is:
snapgallery21@gmail.com
Ian Hibbert

Book Group

– The Orphans’ Letters by Glynis Peters

Set during World War II, this book tells the story of Kitty Patterson, a Red Cross nurse who is in high demand for her valuable work. On the verge of collapse from fatigue and mental stress, Kitty’s best friends Jo and Trixie intervene to persuade her to make much needed changes in her duties so that she may take better care of herself. As a result of these changes, Kitty finds herself posted all over Great Britain and involved in a series of events that include managing an orphanage, taking charge of an entire hospital floor, and participating in a rescue mission in France, all the time managing to stay in touch with her friends and her fiancé, a Canadian doctor serving with the British army. The book has an emotional ending and although classed as an historical novel it was more of a love story and not one of the group’s favourites.

Betty Foster

Hobbies

This group covers several hobbies at present but we are always on the lookout for more!
Please come along if you want to have a go at any hobby or craft. We meet on the 3rd Monday, 2-4pm at the Rainworth Methodist Church Hall.

We knit squares that are made into blankets and donated overseas, this is our latest contribution, three beautiful blankets crocheted by Linda and  squares by other members.

Some of the beautiful cards being made in February’s Card Craft group.

Why not join us – all materials are provided to make the card.  We meet on the 3^rd Monday of the month at the Methodist Hall on Southwell Road, at 2.00pm.  Interested?  Contact Jill  07719165800

Garden Visits

We chose the Festival Gardens at Springfields near Spalding and how lucky we were, it was the warmest day of the year so far!
We had a lovely walk around the grounds, then lunch and checked out the spring flowers in the garden centre.

Ann Mills

Margaret Cavendish, – Mad Madge

Duchess of Newcastle, Royalist, writer, romantic, a woman ahead of her time: a talk by Derbyshire archivist and historian Danielle Burton.
Margaret Lucas married William Cavendish of Bolsover and Welbeck in 1644.
He was the grandson of Bess of Hardwick, was 31 years older than her and was a Royalist general in the Civil War.
Margaret had entered the court of Queen Henrietta Maria and gone with her into exile in Paris, where she became William’s second wife.
She had had a very liberal upbringing for a girl at that time, and she continued her quest for knowledge supported by her husband.
She wrote poetry, plays, philosophy, and the first acknowledged work of science fiction about an alien world or utopia. The works were published under her own name, which was exceptional for a woman at the time.
She was the first woman to attend the Royal Society and was quite critical of the work done there by men. (Women were not admitted to the Society as members until 1945!) This led Samuel Pepys to describe her in his Diary as “a mad, conceited, ridiculous woman”
Although in Victorian times she gained the nickname Mad Madge, she was by no means mad. She was unconventional, dressed as she pleased in an eccentric fashion, and challenged the renowned thinkers of the day. A woman far ahead of her time.
Diane Hibbert.

Next month (April 24th) we hope to visit a new exhibition at the Portland Gallery, Welbeck. This explores the Cavendish family collection and includes portraits and collectibles.

Strollers

Our Strollers group were photobombed by a curious Canada Goose!

It was a lovely warm and sunny day to walk round Rufford Lake, view the wildlife, explore the sculpture gardens and buy some plants.

Diane Hibbert

     Our next stroll on Monday 27th April will be a brand new one. We are going to follow ‘The Yellow Brick Road’, not to see The Wizard of Oz! But to reach The Archer Pub for drinks, alcoholic or non alcoholic.. the choice is yours. Who knows if we might encounter the Scarecrow, the Tinman or the Cowardly Lion, unfortunately we don’t have a member called Dorothy (as far as we are aware). Also there could be some dog walkers around with their four legged friends, maybe we’ll find a Toto. We will be meeting in the small car park off Warsop Lane (B6020) just after the Jerry Green Dog Rescue Centre, Rainworth, for leaving at our usual time 10.30am.

         Andrew & Susan Goodison

A Song for Marion is a film about a grumpy old man (Terence Stamp) who wants nothing to do with joining his wife (Vanessa Redgrave) in a local OAP singing group – the OAPZ.

This, of course, could not happen in real life!! Or could it?

Who knew that Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave, could actually sing, which they do to audition for a singing competition!

There are trials and tribulations on the way, plus some feel-good rehearsals for the competition with their young musical director Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton).

The choir are a joy, but do they win? That would be telling!

This is a touching and heartfelt story with some humour for balance.

Ian Hibbert.

Our last visit to the Odeon for an event was in February when a few of us enjoyed a ballet “Woolf Works” based on Virginia Woolf. It was in three pieces, very modern and included recordings of Virginia Woolf. The music was a bit weird and the first and third acts better than the second. A Piece called The Waves included children which was most enjoyable. The dancing throughout was amazing and very athletic. However the stage was unlit and just the dancers in the spotlight so somewhat dark.

The next event booking now is

Tuesday 21st April at 6.45pm – Mozart’s Magic Flute £20

According to the printed programme it seems to be the last one for the year. Guess the next one will be in the Autumn.

Pam Berry

Would you enjoy tasting wine whilst sitting and chatting with friends – old and new?  Learning about different wines – learning from each other in a cosy and friendly place?  The wine appreciation group is a small group, and since its inception, has been full, but due to ill health, we now have a vacancy for new members.   None of us are experts, but we enjoy tasting new and different wines.  We taste from 4 bottles, – most of us are driving so we only taste a little of each – and the wines come from different countries and regions.  We taste blind and evaluate the wines according to a guide, and mark accordingly.    The bottles are usually bought from supermarkets e.g. Aldi, Majestic, Tesco & Sainsburys.   It is amazing how often the cheapest wine comes top in our evaluation.  This is a chance to taste wines you may never have had before and learn about the characteristics of different grapes and regions.  It gives us a chance to taste some unusual and expensive wines which we would never normally splash out on.  We meet on the third Wednesday of the month, at 7.00p.m. and have supper after tasting the wines.  Those who are not driving having second and third glasses to compliment the food.  We usually finish between 9.30 and 10.00p.m. and go home warm and happy after a lovely evening with plenty of laughs.   The costs are shared at £5 a head.

If you like wine, and would like to experiment and taste different wines, talk to Jill Pullan  07719165800

Ringtones

The Ringtones singing group is about having fun and performs at meetings and social events.
At our monthly rehearsals at the Methodist Church Hall in Rainworth, 10am-12pm, on the second Monday of each month, we plan for any future performances and enjoy a wide range of music. We have sung celebratory songs at our 10th anniversary celebrations, coffee mornings, Christmas parties, our AGM and  Garden Parties. New members are always welcome, no audition required!

THE RINGTONES- World Singing Day video project.

The Ringtones were one of the many choirs from across Newark and Sherwood to celebrate the joy of singing by sending in a short video clip of our recent Elvis coffee morning. This year, participants from 81 host locations in 18 countries took part from New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, the UK, Germany, and North America each holding their own singing event in celebration of World Singing Day. It’s amazing to know that our voices became part of that worldwide harmony. World Singing Day is a reminder that we’re part of something much larger not just a local celebration, but a global community united through song. Well done Ringtones for helping to make that vision come alive so beautifully here in Newark and Sherwood. See if you can spot us on the Rainworth u3a Facebook page.

The Ringtones flew the flag for our u3a at the Rainworth Methodist’s annual Christmas cake, coffee and carols celebration.
They performed their Christmas hits, which they sang beautifully.  I added a bit of flute and clarinet, and we were joined by the Minister on piano and the resident violin player.  Truly a musical feast.
The Methodist congregation are a lovely group of local people. They joined in our songs with gusto and served up delicious cake and Xmas cheer.
The selected Christmas readings and poems, both humorous and thoughtful, along with well-loved carols, gave us an uplifting countdown to Christmas 2025.

The collection in aid of “Action for Children” made £163 on that morning and a total of £443.57 after their weekend services. Well done, a great
result.

Ian Hibbert

Thirty four members attended the Christmas lunch at the Hostess restaurant and enjoyed the usual high standard of food, entertainment and service.

Several took to the dance floor to burn off the calories.

Breakfast Group

This week 14 of our members enjoyed breakfast at the Bakery cafe in Mansfield

Gordon Brown

Fifteen members went to The Hostess for afternoon tea. The tea was delicious and plentiful, we were all well fed. The singer, a young lady called Lily was amazing covering musical theatre, opera and songs from popular radio shows hosted by such as Elaine Page. Her voice range was incredible and she kept us entertained for an hour. A really lovely outing.

Jackie Massey

Indoor Games

Not quite so many this month but still enjoyable. The Canasta group is growing, Diane Hibbert won more games of dominoes than the rest of us, Colin Massey won his second ever game, Kurling was closely contested with the ladies coming out the winners. Card craft made birthday cards and the knitting ladies carried on knitting!

Jackie Massey

Canasta

Our Canasta group has also started and takes place in the Methodist Hall at the same time as Card Craft, Hobbies and Indoor Games, come along and join beginners at this card game with expert instruction from Enid. Three “newbies” had  mastered the rules by the end of the 1st session, another “learning curve” for our u3a!

Enid Thomas

Twenty of us went to the Sherwood for lunch after the last monthly meeting.

We were very grateful that they could accommodate us at such short notice as the Archer was having kitchen work done. As usual the food was tasty and served by happy smiling staff. Always a pleasure to go there.

Jackie Massey

Our numbers were a bit depleted at the last quiz night. As usual we did our best but didn’t win! If we look cold in the photo we were, the pub’s heating had broken down on the Monday, but hopefully will be fixed by the time we go again!

Jackie Massey

The last outing of the year was to Lyme Park near Stockport, a large mansion house with formal gardens and a deer park dating from the 1300s.

In 1995 the exterior of the house and gardens were used as a location for “Pemberley” in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The series was so successful that afterwards visitor numbers tripled. There are various quotes and references to Pride and Prejudice throughout the property including a dressing up room where Betty and Barbara had fun dressing up in Georgian costumes.

Ann Mills