- University of the Third Age

Transcription

In this issue
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Sources is published by: The Third Age Trust
19 East Street, Bromley BR1 1QE
Tel: 020 8466 6139 E-mail: national.office@u3a.org.uk
Sources is copyright and circulated only to U3A members
Nothing may be reproduced without permission
In the next issue
The theme of the next issue in June 2013 (No 49) will be
Photography, Imagery & Film. For Issue No 50 in
September 2013 the focus will be on Philosophy,
Psychology & Religion.
Contributions are considered for inclusion by an editorial panel.
For No 49 please submit them not later than 10 May – via the
national office or direct to the editor at:
Gelt Mill House, Castle Carrock, Brampton CA8 9NQ
You can send them by e-mail to tony.thornton@virgin.net
(preferred), on CD or cleanly typed suitable for scanning. Every
effort will be made to acknowledge them. Contributors are
advised to discuss their story with the editor before submission
or request a copy of our writers guidelines.
How to receive Sources
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ources is published in January, June and September. Back
numbers can be viewed online and printed. Visit the Third
Age Trust website at www.u3a.org.uk. You will need Adobe
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S
Feedback
f you have any comments on topics in this issue please write
to the editorial panel, c/o U3A National Office or e-mail the
editor at: tony.thornton@virgin.net Tel: 01228 670403
Note that the views expressed within are those of the
contributors and not those of the Third Age Trust.
I
n page nine there are
brief details about
three new online courses.
There is more information
on page eleven of Third Age
Matters (Issue 3).
I have been working as
editor with the three tutors
and can confirm that this is
an exciting development.
The courses are designed
for less mobile members
who cannot travel to regular
learning groups; for those
somewhat remote (even
overseas); or for those who
O
Sources Jan 2013 No 48
Front Cover Picture: Peter Whiteley
Storytelling: Stella Porter
Online Courses For Writers: Angela Gamby
Buckingham Writers: Susie, Thelma & Glenys
An Evening With... : Mike Cockett
Sharing Our Scribblings: Polly Feeley
DIY Book Publishing: Ruth Lesser
Resource Centre News: Susan Radford
Subject Adviser: Maggie Smith
Sir John Soane Museum SLP: Yvonne Zane
Imagination And Effort: Doreen Setchell
WRITING AT 10... Boinng! Reg Flavell
The Beholder’s Eye: Meg Jepson
Statement Of Significance SLP: Neil Stevenson
Bookbinding: Peter Whiteley
Knucker Dragon and Storybag: Arun U3A
Special Events
A Ménage à Trois: Stephanie Richards
We Just Talk About Writing: Doreen Mulholland
Grumpy Old Men: Ian Stevenson
The Fog Index: Tony Thornton
Sully Writing Group: Kathy Beach
The Story Tree: Hilary Tattershall
Helping Each Other: Marianne Piesley
Wimborne Wordsmiths: Gina Howarth
Storytelling Report: Stella Porter
A Book Starts With A Word: Thelma Wood
In my view
prefer to study in their own
time and at their own pace.
They begin in early Feb
so anyone interested should
visit the U3A website now
to enrol.
he theme of the next
issue in June will be
Photography, Imagery &
Film. I’m looking forward
to receiving lots of help and
advice for other group
leaders and some super
photos now that we’re fully
converted to colour.
I’m hoping that someone
Editor
will send me a belter for the
front cover.
am an official with the
George Formby Society
(GFS) and was delighted to
hear from a lady who is a
member of the Barnsley
U3A Ukulele Group. (The
Stringalongs!)
She is also a member of
the GFS and this is the first
time I have met someone
who belongs to both.
I
T
2
The craze for ukuleles
booms. U3A uke groups are
popping up everywhere and
so I am encouraging GFS
members to contact their
local U3As to start more.
My U3A in Carlisle has
just formed one and so I
quickly joined. There’s no
stopping us now.
Today Barnsley, tomorrow
the world!
Storytelling
O
ral stories continue to be
committed to memory and
passed from generation to
generation, despite the popularity of
written and televised media.
Modern storytelling has a broad
preview. In addition to its traditional
forms (fairytales, folktales, mythology,
legends and fables), it has been extended
to represent history, personal narrative,
political commentary, and evolving
cultural norms, and is also widely used to
address educational objectives.
Storytelling is a means for sharing and
interpreting experiences. Stories are
universal in that they can bridge cultural,
linguistic and age-related divides, and be
used as a method to teach ethics, values,
and cultural differences.
It is most effective when it takes place
in social environments and provides
authentic social cues about how
knowledge is to be applied.
Stories provide a tool to transfer
knowledge in a social context.
Human knowledge is based on stories,
U3A Online Courses
Angela Gamby : Stevenage U3A
Course Tutor
here are three U3A
online courses on
creative writing
and poetry. They are
accessed through the
U3A website by filling in
the online application form. This allows
free use of all untutored courses. Tutored
courses cost £5 payable by PayPal.
The Creative Writing Fiction course is
for beginners and is a good starting point
for a new writing group looking for
ideas. When you have a user name and
password, how you use the materials is
up to you and your fellow writers.
It might be useful to work through
activities as a group or individually and
read through but leave out any that are
not appropriate to your needs. Discussion
of responses to activities is the key aspect
of using this material.
The Poetry course could be used in a
similar way. Both of these courses are
T
and the human brain consists of
cognitive machinery necessary to
understand, remember and tell stories.
Humans think in narrative structures
and mostly remember facts in story form.
Facts can be understood as smaller
versions of a larger story thus storytelling
can supplement logical thinking.
Stories are an effective educational
tool as the listeners engage and therefore
remember. They can imagine new
perspectives and experiences, reflecting
their lives.
Listening to a story can promote
innovative problem solving and foster a
shared understanding. The listener can
then imagine new possibilities. Together
the storyteller and listener can seek and
invent new solutions.
Stories tend to be based on experiential
learning, but learning from an experience
is not automatic. Often a person needs to
attempt to tell the story about that
experience before realizing its value.
untutored and were originally aimed at
students working on their own.
If you need a bit of motivation to get
writing or would like tutor feedback, the
Short Story course might be for you.
It runs for ten weeks in autumn and
spring and covers eight areas of fiction
writing.
You will need to submit a story of
between 1,000 and 1,500 words and will
receive a detailed tutor critique plus
feedback from fellow students.
There are eight units with activities to
complete and the last two weeks are
spent writing (or polishing) a new story
for comment.
Communication is by e-mail so work
can be prepared offline.
There is discussion (sometimes lively)
of points covered in the assignments or
arising from responses to these. The tutor
will supply various handouts to illustrate
different aspects of story writing.
It is assumed that you have at least
some experience of writing short stories
and will have read a reasonable number
of published authors.
3
Stella Porter
Storytelling Subject Adviser
Workshop at Stockton on Tees
In this case it is the listener that learns
and also the teller who becomes aware of
their own experiences and backgrounds.
This process of storytelling is
empowering. The teller conveys ideas
with accomplishments and taps into
existing knowledge that creates a bridge
culturally and motivationally.
In oral traditions, stories are kept alive
by being re-told. The material of any
given story naturally undergoes several
changes and adaptations during this
process, so let us not forget we humans
lead storied lives.
Summary of the Units
Unit 1: Ideas – where to get them and
how to use them.
Unit 2: What is a short story?
A look at story structure.
Unit 3: Who is in the story?
Developing characters.
Unit 4: How, who, where and when?
Point of view, setting, mood.
Unit 5: How do they sound?
Writing realistic dialogue.
Unit 6: What happens?
Various ways of developing plot.
Unit 7: What the writer says and how
well. A look at theme and style.
Unit 8: Writing is writing. Putting
theory into practice in a new story.
A fourth course is the excellent Writing
for Publication: a step-by-step guide to
getting your article published. It is
untutored and written by Tony Thornton.
I’d also recommend the U3A summer
schools as a way of sharing work and
ideas with like-minded people outside
your own group.
Susie Kelly & Thelma Shadbolt
Coordinator Susie Kelly
I
t is my responsibility to ensure that all 12 or so members of
our Creative Writing Group are kept informed of the details
discussed during our bi-monthly meetings.
These take place on a Monday morning and we start off
sociably over tea, coffee and biscuits. For convenience we meet
at the home of a valued member with mobility problems.
At the end of each meeting I suggest a title or a sentence to
include in our piece for the following one. This is merely a
suggestion on my part so our writers are free to write on any
subject they prefer.
Most do take up my suggestion and we are endlessly
surprised and amused at the variety of ways these are tackled.
We read out our stories in turn and each reader chooses the
next person to read. Our stories are also e-mailed to each other
which we see as the best way to save paper.
After each meeting I send everyone an e-mail with a few
comments about what we discussed, the subject and date for the
next meeting and any reminders about future events.
Everyone contributes 50p each time we meet to cover the
expense of an annual, formal workshop featuring a professional
from the literary world.
Just before Christmas we have an anthology printed which
includes three of each member’s favourite stories. We hold a
convivial Christmas Literary Lunch at our Catering College
restaurant.
One member of our group will volunteer to tackle the job of
editing the stories to produce an A5-sized book for printing. We
pay for this by buying the anthology for our friends and
relatives. It is often illustrated with our drawings and we are
proud to see our collected literary gems in print.
A New Member - Thelma Shadbolt
New girl: Note to the diary. Today I went to the Buckingham
U3A Creative Writing group for the first time. Didn’t know
what I would find.
Would they be superior beings who resented intrusion into
their cosy coterie – published authors jealous of new blood?
Everyone was sitting round a long table with biscuits and
coffee and I received a warm welcome. We chatted then read
our works. Each piece was so different and I was humbled to
hear the quality of writing.
Finally I read my effort: Early Frost, which was the subject
for that meeting, which was met with encouragement from
everyone. I felt ten feet tall!
Thank you everyone, and thank you Bob, our kind host.
Speaking of Writing Groups : John Gleave
O
ur writing group has a one-day
workshop every year. We invite a
speaker and we’ve had some unusual
guests. We’re a mixed lot in terms of
background, experience and social class, so
pitching a talk must be difficult.
But: “Go through what you’ve written and
delete all the ‘ands’ and ‘theres’ was going a
bit far. Then: “Consider your audience. For
whom are you writing?”
You feel daft if all you can think of is: “I’m writing for you!”
One of our other speakers: “Whose voice are you using? Your
own, some omniscient narrator, one of the characters in the
story or several of the characters depending on the scene?”
Now that can get you confused! Similarly, another speaker’s
special: “What is the purpose of your writing?”
It’s okay when you’ve got a practical, concrete purpose:
giving instructions, making a case for a given viewpoint, or
describing a specific object. But how can you decide on the
purpose of a story, a work of fiction – or in other words, why are
you writing this?
Think of verse too. Our guest speaker, ‘explaining’ free verse
was reduced to admitting that some of it was poetry because the
writer called it poetry. Even within the group we’d done better
than that, agreeing that even if something rhymed and scanned,
it might not be poetry – consider limericks.
We’ve had ‘mystic’ speakers, too: “I light this candle. I snuff
it out. Write about what I’ve just done!”
Well, we went along with it and after we’d read out our efforts
he commented that we should think also of describing one sense
in terms of another. Synesthesia he called it: dazzling sound,
burning colours, golden taste, drowning in an aroma – that sort
of thing.
I exaggerate of course. These speakers made us examine our
writing more closely and even to improve it. But their
contribution to any improvement is at least equalled by the
week-on-week discussion of language, the regular practice of
writing and the joy of using words in the company of people
who share this enjoyment.
4
cont...
Glenys Warlow
Several have had stories printed in local newspapers and a
few have published their work for family and friends.
We are still waiting for a blockbuster but meanwhile each
year we produce an anthology illustrated to make an
inexpensive stocking-filler for our nearest and dearest.
It is four years since I nervously joined the group with my
first piece. (I hadn’t written imaginatively since school days
unless you count student reports.)
Everyone had such innovative ideas. I remember thinking,
why hadn’t I thought of that as I listened to prose and poems. I
hoped time would run out before it was my turn. I was
apprehensive, but when I read my story which received warm
comments, the ordeal turned into an enjoyable experience.
I relish the challenge of writing. Sometimes ideas flow easily
although at other times, to my chagrin, writer’s block means I
am writing late on a Sunday night.
Retirement and U3A have given me the impetus to take up a
great new interest. So, are you thinking of joining a Creative
Writing Group? From my experience you’ll find it rewarding,
challenging and above all, fun.
It is motivational and keeps the intellect from stagnating. It is
a great way to meet people and maybe it will be you who writes
the next best seller.
orborygmus, Ichthys, Talking Stones,
Wallpaper, Behind the Teapot, Empty
Chairs, Caduseus, Mr Fulbright’s Nose,
Surreptitious Sussurations.
Can you imagine such words used to
inspire stories and poems? At our fortnightly
Monday meetings these are some of the words our coordinator
chooses for the next piece of writing – used as a title or included
in the text.
I am amazed at the diverse ways the members use the words
and phrases. Are they written from experience, fact (sometimes
researched), or imagination run riot?
It’s not easy to decide. We never know where a piece will take
us. As we journey across the globe, through history and into
outer space, we encounter delight and adversity. We accompany
members and their families, meeting interesting characters.
Our work can be humorous, dark, mysterious, romantic or
sentimental. Some pieces are predictable, others have a twist.
Some stories link, however tenuously, to previous work.
What happens to this creativity? One member has written his
autobiography, another a book based on her working life. One
regularly contributes to a publication.
B
An Evening With...
A
rising from a casual discussion about future U3A
activities, it was proposed that there was room for
events coming somewhere between the monthly largescale presentations by external speakers and the largely
autonomous groups.
The idea formed of arranging a series of evenings featuring
the work of the groups but presented in an informal setting.
Redhill and Reigate Golf Club proved ideal with catering and a
bar available.
One of the evenings was to feature the work of the creative
writing groups.
The task was to find a way of selecting something from the
mass of material submitted, and a method of presentation which
would be coherent and entertaining. We arrived at a sort of
portmanteau theme: ‘Memories, Mysteries, Musings and
Melodies’ into which most things could be squeezed. There
were autobiographical items, poems comic and reflective, and
stories with surprising twists.
The more serious problem was how to make the evening
entertaining. We eventually hit on the notion of the format of a
radio programme. We had microphones and we selected sound
effects and music to dramatise and to introduce (Itunes was
invaluable here). The use of theme music as an introduction to
each section avoided the need for a linking commentary.
Two stories were partly dramatised in the style of the BBC’s
morning story and the event was rehearsed. The programme,
performed largely by the authors, provoked smiles of
recognition, murmurs of sympathy and much laughter.
In the Evenings With... there was an interactive element, one
that encouraged discussion and invention. In this case one of the
dramatised stories was unfinished and the audience were invited
to offer the rest of the plot.
Mike Cockett
Reigate and Redhill U3A
It could be because this part of the evening
took place after the interval when the bar did
brisk business but the discussions were lively
and a range of imaginative plot developments
emerged. The story focussed on a family gathered after a
father’s funeral. The ‘cliff hanger’ concerned the character of
Max who was spoken of but who did not appear and whose
mention caused an emotional frisson.
The questions were: ‘Who was Max, and why did reference
to him cause such an emotional response?’ We learnt that Max
could be the family dog, the adopted son who now controlled
the family fortune, the dead father’s male lover or even a body
in the freezer in the garage.
We have attracted audiences of between 40 and 50 people to
each evening and there has been a clear demand for more next
year. The key to the success of the programme has been the
focus on making it as professional as possible, the effective and
appropriate use of technology and rehearsal.
5
Recently I became the leader of one of the two Creative
Writing groups in Northampton U3A. I was fortunate to
Polly Feeley
Northampton U3A
inherit an enthusiastic group with a functioning format.
W
e meet monthly, which gives us a chance to complete
a piece of writing on a given subject. We keep the
number of words to a maximum of 1,000 to enable
everyone to have a chance to read their work and for the other
members to have time to comment.
Before reading our project work however, we have a tenminute exercise of writing on the spot.
Writing on the spot can be intimidating. Suddenly your pencil
has to skim the paper with the instant inspiration of a single
word, a photograph, a number, a date, a line of poetry. It is
remarkable how quickly the little grey cells leap into action and
some members have wanted to continue to write a book from
this short exercise.
Nobody has written the book of course, but the intentions and
stimulus were there. Also remarkable is the diversity of stories
or observations that emerge after just a few minutes, given that
the prompting of the writing is identical for everyone.
After our coffee break which is important for catching up and
discussing the impromptu writings, we read our project work.
Depending upon the number of members present at the meeting
we usually have between eight and ten minutes each for reading
and comments.
We try to vary the projects as much as possible so that each
member has a subject which might appeal to them. As in the
ten-minute writings we have used postcards, prose extracts,
photographs, pictures from magazines, and single or multiple
words as inspiration.
A piece of work in which members were asked to include
three given words achieved writings so diverse that even we
were amazed. This also proved to me the need to provide a
variety of topics.
To achieve this variety, everyone in the group is asked to
write a subject or title on a piece of paper. These are then put
into a bag and a different one drawn out each month. Topics I
might never have thought of emerged.
One suggestion, for example, was to write a modern tale
based on an ancient Greek myth. This tested our memories as
well as our creativeness.
Another task was to write an article for a travel magazine.
This caused problems for one or two people who wrote about
their holidays – delightfully descriptive but not what the project
had asked for.
Which brings me to the hardest part of running a creative
writing group. We ask people to be creative. They create, so
have we the right to criticize? Professional critics seldom seem
to agree with my feelings about a book or film. It is difficult to
give a relevant critique when none of us is professionally
l-r: Polly Feeley, Mavis Jackson, Elaine Geeson
John Davis, David Cole, Howard Richardson
trained. Literature is such a subjective thing. We try to be
positive and encourage each other whilst at the same time
offering suggestions which might lead to improvements.
In the future I should like to set a long term aim for those who
wish to complete a book or an anthology of poems. I am hoping
to slot in an extra meeting every three or six months for the
people who would like to share and discuss these ongoing
projects.
Some members have begun such enterprises and the chance to
share them and get some feedback would be beneficial. It would
be lovely if more people were encouraged to start or perhaps
complete books for their grandchildren to enjoy before the
grandchildren have children of their own.
Exercises in building characters and dialogue also need
working on. I find it fascinating that everyone can talk but some
seem to find it hard to give a voice to a character. We wrote
monologues to help this but there was some discussion as to
what exactly constituted a monologue. I favour watching one or
two of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads as an inspiration for
characterization and dialogue.
Another aim of our group is to find a published author and/or
publisher to come and speak to us. Whether this might help or
terrify us is yet to be discovered. For now we are enjoying
writing and sharing our scribblings. Some of our stories have
been included in our Northampton U3A Newsletter so at least
we can boast we have been published.
6
DIY book
publishing
Ruth Lesser
Newcastle U3A
I
t was an article in U3A News that
inspired me. Our U3A (Newcastle) had
just published a compilation of our
childhood memories in wartime.
We don’t have a Creative Writing group, but just asked at our
monthly meeting if anyone would send in anything about their
memories. We had hoped to publish the compilation in
commemoration of the outbreak of the Second World War in
time for its 70th anniversary on 3 September 2009. And we did.
It coincided with the AGM and Conference of the Third Age
Trust in Edinburgh and we offered it for sale there on the day.
It was a 56-page, A4 document in black and white, printed
locally with the maximum number of pages that could be
stapled on the spine. Twenty-seven of our members had sent in
their memories and we were fortunate enough to get Fay
Weldon (who has Newcastle connections) to write a foreword
for it which included her own memories.
Then I read Ed Tozer’s article. He had published a novel
through a subsidiary of Amazon called CreateSpace.com and he
sent me details. I contacted CreateSpace online and had a go at
converting our book to the new format.
The online service costs amazingly little (less than £30 when
I registered for it in 2011). It includes a free ISBN and has all
the advice and help you may need. The stages are clear, ordered
and explicit.
You can choose any size and number of pages. If you are
uncertain they suggest a typical one and provide a template.
Prototypes of various covers in colour are offered and you can
insert your own text and pictures. There is step-by-step
guidance for this. You do the text separately and can include as
many headings, pictures and tables as you like.
You can have the pictures printed in colour if you choose.
CreateSpace will take whatever is in the file you submit. The
file has to be sent in pdf format (there is free software available
to download for this such as Bullzip).
You get a calculation of what the cost would be per copy
based on the size and number of pages. You can then set a price
at which you want to offer it for sale and Amazon will include
it in their sale catalogue.
When you have submitted the text and cover you have
chosen, CreateSpace sends you comments. Advice may include
aspects such as, if you have used your own template, that it
overspills the margin space or that the quality of the photos you
have included will not print well. You make any changes needed
to your file, resubmit it, and then wait for your proof to arrive
in the post.
You can make any further changes when you have handled
the book and can send for further proofs until you accept it.
The one snag is that the printing is done in the USA and there
is a time lag due to shipping. You also need to allow for the
shipping charges in calculating the price for which you decide
to sell the book. For individual copies this can add half as much
again, but much less when ordering in bulk.
One of our members was so impressed with the ease of
publication that she produced her autobiography in this way.
Relatives in the USA saw it on Amazon, bought copies and got
in touch with her again.
This is our first ‘real’ book of wartime memories and was so
successful that we decided to do a sequel with post-war
memories to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year:
When the War was over: tales of a mid-century world.
The book has 36 contributors and follows their lives year-byyear from 1945 to 1960. As well as the Coronation, amongst the
vivid personal memories are: the end of the Empire; the birth of
the NHS; the discovery of the structure of DNA; invidious
discrimination against women; caning in schools; and free
spirits outside them. It includes contemporary photographs
illustrating events and objects from the mid-20th century.
Newcastle U3A decided to sell the 220-page book at £10 to
allow for giving a few complimentary copies (eg to the British
Library) and making a small profit. We sell it direct (£2 p&p if
needed) and, like our wartime book The Snoring of a Thousand
Men, it is also listed on Amazon.
For no further cost to us we have just published both our
books as e-books on Kindle – all part of the service!
7
The latest acquisitions
from manager
T
he latest news from the Resource Centre is that from
January we are having an extra opening day. We will now
have one person in the office on Mondays as well as our
current three days.
The hours will be the same, 9.30am to 4pm, although there
will have to be a half-hour closure for a lunch break. This extra
opening is on a trial basis until Easter and we will be monitoring
how much contact we have with our borrowers on the extra day.
We hope you will find this extra availability useful.
This edition of Sources is focusing on Creative Writing and
Storytelling and although we have tried hard to find resources
on this subject, it is not an area that lends itself well to our
media collection.
We do however have a few items. We have a DVD called My
Magic Box-Examples of Creative Writing which is an hour long.
This is produced by NIACE in Wales and consists of digital
short stories written by older learners and includes how they
learned to scan images, store them digitally and put script and
images together using movie editing software on a laptop.
Several of the authors had never used a computer before.
We also have an item called Ways with Words-a BBC Guide
to Creative Writing, which is an older item consisting of an
audiocassette and a booklet. We have recently added an audio
CD called A Conversation on the Writing Life-Ideas and
Inspiration for Anyone Who Wants to Write. It features two
authors, Julia Cameron and Natalie Goldberg as they discuss
aspects of the writer’s craft.
Also recently added are a few audio CDs from the British
Library, which consist of recordings taken from their Sound
Archive. One is called Writing Life-Authors Speak and features
well known authors speaking about their craft. It features,
among others, Howard Jacobson, PD James, Hilary Mantel, and
Michael Morpurgo.
Another is in the Spoken Word series entitled British Writers,
and has historic recordings of interviews with many famous
authors, including Coward, Ian Fleming, Pinter, Tolkien, and
Virginia Woolf. In the same series we already had two on poets
and two on writers and we have recently added one on Bernard
Shaw and another on WH Auden. We also have a selection of
biographies of writers on DVD and video.
We also have a few CDs on Storytelling by Taffy Thomas.
Taffy is a storyteller from Grasmere in the Lake District and is
the first to hold the honorary position of Laureate for
Storytelling as well as being patron of The Society for
Storytelling.
We have five recordings entitled Tales from the Storyteller’s
Garden, Legends of the North, Ghosts, Fairy Gold and
Favourite Tales from the Tale Coat. For a list of our material
including the above, please contact us for our Literature or
Biography lists.
We continue to add items we hope will be of interest to groups
such as a new series called 100 Greatest Discoveries, which
reveals the 100 most significant breakthroughs in the history of
mankind. It is divided between four DVDs: Astronomy and
Chemistry; Evolution and Earth Sciences; Genetics, Biology
and Top Ten; and Medicine and Physics. In a similar vein we
have a DVD called 101 Gadgets that Changed the World.
For languages we have three new Italian films: Loose
Cannons, Padre Padrone and We Have a Pope (Habemus
Papem) and have branched out with a new BBC course, Talk
Mandarin Chinese.
We have long had all of Shakespeare’s plays on DVD but
have recently added three new Jacobean plays: Marlowe’s
Doctor Faustus, Webster’s Duchess of Malfi and Jonson’s
Volpone.
Two other new films are: Primal Fear-What Are You Afraid
Of? which examines the history, psychology and science behind
what scares us most; and Manufacturing Consent-Noam
Chomsky and the Media which explores the political life and
ideas of the controversial philosopher and activist. Also just in
are: The Lost World of Tibet; China: Dynasties and Mysteries;
Ken Burns’s The Dust Bowl; and Rulers of the Ancient World.
Please contact us for further information on any of these titles
or if you would like the latest subject list for your group.
As always please note that our material is provided for
educational use in U3A groups and not for personal use or
entertainment and is only for loan, not for sale.
Susan Radford
Resource Centre Manager
The Third Age Trust
19 East Street, Bromley, Kent BR 1QE
Tel: 020 8315 0199
resource.centre@u3a.org.uk
Open Tues-Thurs 9.30am – 4pm
8
From Network Coordinator to
Adviser in ten rewarding years
hat is the purpose of U3A Subject Advisers? We were
warned at this year’s AGM not to offer unsolicited
advice.
U3A has many experienced and published writers and I’m
aware that U3As are capable of surviving without outside help.
We are asked to produce start-up leaflets, answer questions on
setting up a group, offer ideas and possibly materials to group
leaders. For some of us it means much more.
I spent years working in management development and career
counselling and wasn’t satisfied with meeting U3A members
only on the phone or through letters or e-mails.
I have written books on early retirement and mid-life career
change and took the advice I offer others: when a career no
longer exists, find somewhere to use the most rewarding
aspects. For me it was working with groups, motivating people
and watching them develop confidence. What more could I ask?
Ten years ago I took over the role of National Creative
Writing Subject Coordinator (they insisted it be called ‘creative’
to avoid any confusion with calligraphy) from Margaret
Holman, unaware how enriching it would become.
A year or so earlier I’d been to a Creative Writing Study Day
in London. I was then living in Yorkshire and decided the
capital was not the only place for National Study days. With the
help of Harrogate U3A Writers and National Office, plus a grant
from the Third Age Trust, we ran a full-to-overflowing day with
Sources editor Tony Thornton as one of the speakers.
That was the first of many varied study days: national,
regional, U3A groups, or several groups working together. I
tutored the Online Short Story course for several years and until
2010 tutored at National Summer School, when I thought it time
to offer someone else the opportunity.
In August 2013 I’ll tutor for the third time at the Northwest
W
Maggie Smith
National Subject Adviser
for Creative Writing
residential school – three days in the Lake District can’t be bad!
I live alone and love travelling so it’s no problem. Last year I
went to South Wales (third time) and the East Midlands Region
and will be in Bridgwater, Harrogate and Stockton this year.
Advisers claim expenses from the organisers and I’ve had
some wonderful times: a Study Day in George Eliot’s old
school; a visit to the American Museum in Bath, staying in a
seafront hotel in Porthcawl and dinner with the group, (dinner
with a host group is a regular perk!); a parting gift of homemade Welsh cakes; and love spoons from Swansea.
In 2008 I compiled a Handbook for U3A Creative Writing
Groups, attempting to put under one cover everything about
starting and belonging to a U3A writers group. At £2.50 inc pp
it sells well but unfortunately pays no royalties!
Three times a year I publish Network News, an eight-page
newsletter. I persuade groups to send news of their activities,
reports of Study Days, useful websites, etc, which I add to.
Writers enjoy writing so there’s sure to be enough material.
The Newsletter is mailed, or e-mailed by National Office to
almost 300 groups or individuals, and like all Adviser
Newsletters it can be downloaded from the U3A website. Every
group is asked to have an e-mail contact. Most new members
are computer literate or can learn in their U3As.
From the subject Adviser list you can find out about any
interest you may have. I have made links with subjects close to
my own, such as Oral History.
You’ve probably gathered that I love what I do, but I’m
growing older, albeit not gracefully.
Please will someone offer to be my successor – but not until
after I’ve been to the Lake District!
Three new online courses
Maggie Smith is one of the busiest of our National
Subject Advisers and would be happy to help
anyone start a group. If you are interested in
creative writing you might be interested in other
topics dealt with by some more of our Advisers.
The Third Age Trust announces three new online
courses commencing in early February.
More details on the U3A website
Just Before Victoria by David Hopker
The units look at aspects of life between 1830 and 1837 when
Britain got to grips with the challenges thrown down in the
previous 30 years.
Three Viking Women by Val Bannister
Three women who had more freedom and power than any
others in Europe until the 20th century. The course is based on
the Icelandic Sagas, well-supported by archaeological and
documentary evidence.
The Great War - Home Front by Verne Hardingham
The course is about women’s involvement, wartime supplies,
shell-shock, war literature and poetry, conscientious objection,
medical care, propaganda, art, and the aftermath of war.
These are in conjunction with the four other online
courses for writers outlined on page three.
Creative Writing - Maggie Smith
Tel: 020 8699 0328 magu3a@talktalk.net
Drama & Theatre - David Morton
Tel: 01943 607826 davmort@blueyonder.co.uk
Humour - Ginette Dayan
Tel: 0191 456 0898 ginette@dayan.co.uk
Literature - Yvonne Oram
Tel: 01752 201219 yvonne.oram@robano-resources.com
Shakespeare - Ray Waterhouse
Tel: 07808 928826 ray.waterhouse@o2.co.uk
Storytelling - Stella Porter
Tel: 01903 713856 stellaporter@btinternet.com
9
Project Leader: Yvonne Zane
A Shared Learning Project
with the Sir John Soane Museum
T
he architect Sir John Soane’s house at 13 Lincoln’s Inn
Fields, Holborn is a fascinating museum. He designed
the house to live in but also for his extraordinary
collection of antiquities and works of art. The house and his
collections are unchanged since his death in 1837 and are now
open to the public.
The U3A was asked by the museum to take part in an
intergenerational project. This involved interacting with older
people from the community centre and with young people from
a local arts centre. The outcome was to be a number of 12-inch
articulated figures dressed in Regency costumes. These were to
be used in a short animation created by the young people. They
would subsequently be part of the museum’s handling
collection and for use with schools.
We met with the older people at the community centre and
discussed the work they did in Holborn when they were
younger. We found a fascinating range of jobs which we
translated back in time to the early 19th century. A London
Underground Manager became a Coachman and a Garage
Mechanic became an Ostler. A Cleaner became a Housemaid
and a Supermarket Cashier became a Street Trader.
The next stage was to research the kinds of clothing that
people wore to work at the time of the Regency. The costumes
of the wealthy are well-known, less so are the clothes that
ordinary people wore.
We learned about the intricacies of Regency underwear and
outerwear as well as the fabrics used at the time. Having found
our costumes we had to dress our dolls. We tapped into our
skills as needlewomen and our creativity as crafters. We used
tea and coffee to dye our fabrics, tubular bandage for stockings
and salt dough to mould accessories. We made wigs, hats, boots,
dresses and coats. There was no end to our ingenuity.
Alongside is a group photo of all the dolls.
Finally, we met with the young people and, during an
intensive week of one-to-one tutoring in sewing and modelling,
we helped them to make their dolls and to create the scenery and
furniture for the short animation.
We needed a storyline which would use all our figures. One
of our dolls was a famous Regency portrait artist so a story was
built around this character. You can see the final product on the
museum website or follow the link on the U3A national site. It
is surprisingly short considering the time it took to make, but
that, we learned, is what animation is about.
We were proud to see the film projected at the Bloomsbury
Festival in September. It was good to be involved in working
across generations, and rewarding to transfer some of our skills
to the young people. Our thanks go to Julia Cort and the Sir
John Soane Museum for the opportunity to take part in a
satisfying and successful Shared Learning Project.
The cast of the U3A members:
Sarah Crosby and Jill Leuw (Ostler and Coachman)
Angela Easterling (Covent Garden Trader and Actress)
Anne Gerrard (Housekeeper) : Marie Gibney (Nurse)
Janet Kelsey (Housemaid and Maid of all Works)
Barbara Prynn (Dressmaker) : Judith Ufland (Screenprinter)
Lana Young (Paper Mill Worker and Factory Worker)
Housekeeper (Job Centre worker)
nne Gerrard talked to Ivy
who had worked at a Job
Centre. Anne adapted this as a
Regency Housekeeper. Her doll
is a career lady who is proud of
her skills and her links between
the gentry and the lower
members of the household.
Anne gave her a lace mob cap
which shows her status as do the
lace trimmings on her dress. She
is also wearing lace-trimmed
pantalettes, a petticoat bordered
with lace and black leather
boots. Anne hung a chatelaine
complete with keys around her waist but felt she also needed a
phial of smelling salts to combat the ladies vapours.
A
Ostler (Garage Mechanic)
arah’s doll deals with toffs and works between the Inn and
the stables taking bookings.
He wears a knee-length coat
made of dark blue felt and a grey
cotton waistcoat with buttons
made from tiny, brass coloured
seed beads. Knee length britches
made from coarse white cotton
are tied below the knee with thin
grey ribbon.
His legs are clad in white
stockings and he wears black
patent leather shoes with buckles
cleverly fashioned from lingerie
fittings painted with silver nail
varnish. He has a black cocked
hat and carries a small note book labelled ‘Bookings’.
S
10
Imagination and effort
WRITERS at TEN…Boinng!
O
ur group’s most important resource is the
imagination and effort of its members. Each
writer’s piece of work contributes to our shared
enjoyment of the written word. There are seven of us so
we are easily accommodated in the group leader’s home.
At each meeting we discuss suggestions for a subject
Doreen Setchell
or theme to write about for our ‘homework’. We try to
Northampton U3A
vary the kind of writing so that each member has an
opportunity to do what they like best as well as attempting a style they
haven’t tried before.
Sometimes we might have an opening line to develop as we wish, at other
times a chosen topic. Poetry, mini sagas, articles have been included and
occasionally we do an impromptu piece of writing during the meeting.
Our two hours gives everyone time to read their piece of written work.
There is no pressure on anyone who has not brought anything along and
encouragement for those who have. We have devised a list of criteria with
which to appraise our efforts:
How did I feel about a piece of writing?
Did I believe in the characters? Did I feel the story flowed?
How did it leave me feeling: surprised, sad, amused, uplifted?
Was there enough use of the senses: sight, hearing, smell, sound?
Was the vocabulary and dialogue varied?
Would I want to read or hear the story again?
There are numerous sources of online information for would-be published
writers. Websites for publishing houses is one, and the hard copy of The
Annual Writer’s Handbook being another. Writers who would welcome some
teaching can find sites with details of local and national creative writing
courses and workshops.
Another suggestion is to meet with other writing groups and glean ideas.
Besides the internet there are hundreds of How To books on writing such as
Stephen Kings memoir On Writing. Good bookshops have sections on the
theory and practice of writing. Radio literary programmes can be
inspirational when they feature authors who share how and why they write.
Our U3A writing group provides a forum in which we can create, learn,
share, gain confidence and most importantly have fun.
The beholder’s eye
Meg Jepson : Sheffield U3A
tocksbridge U3A
group began 20
months ago by
Sheffield U3A.
At its inception a
collection of the curious,
the enthusiastic and the downright
suspicious collected together in a quiet
space by the library.
The first exercise, which was to
become central to future sessions, was
introduced to the group as an
‘experiment’. An air of embarrassment
accompanied the members as they left to
roam the locale and find a point where
the comings and goings of a small village
could be observed.
Writing equipment was not allowed.
The eye of the beholder was to be the
S
Reg Flavell :
Kingswinford U3A
ur Creative Writing
Group met for the first
time in September 2007 and
has been doing so every
second Monday morning in
the month – with hardly a break.
In musical terms at first we were a duo, which
became a quartet, then an octet and now it seems
to be a full-blown orchestra about to burst out of
its concert hall.
In the early days we spent time writing during
our morning, but now all the time is spent reading
our writings and laughing at what has been
written at home.
The topic for the next meeting is discussed and
it is usually no more than 400 words (assuming
that often less is more). There is no great concern
for grammatical accuracy. There is more focus on
being creative and an awareness of audience.
The idea behind each assignment is to develop
a particular skill to see the effect this has on each
person’s style: maybe writing in the first or
second person, present tense, or writing as an
onlooker, perhaps writing dialogue in dialect, or
maybe trying to employ the idea of streams of
consciousness… whatever. If entertainment is the
measure, it seems to work.
Now, overhearing conversations on the bus, or
sitting in the doctor’s surgery, or strolling through
town, becomes a new experience. For me the
second Monday in the month is always a surprise,
even though I know (or think I know) what the
topic is – and it’s always a pleasure.
O
central tool. After five minutes the
members returned and wrote about what
they had seen.
There is an art in this observation
which permits the ‘eye’ to be the recorder
whilst removing the other ‘I’.
During the subsequent months the
‘observation exercise’ became a joke, an
amiable pastime but a necessity. Those
who remained became their own
preceptors and found to their surprise
that a simple exercise led to the heart of
their expression.
A natural development led to the
keeping of a journal recording the events
of an individual life. The members
branched out and are now pursuing a
variety of written work including
assignments and their ambitions. If the
observation is clear without personal
thoughts and ideas the view is enlarged
and the watcher subsequently enriched.
11
At some point the members were
asked: ‘What is the use of writing?’ A
long list was made but in the million and
one things that writers do, the foremost
act must be that of a teller of tales.
Woven into that dream or that nightmare
must be a strand of truth that makes us
stand up and look at our world without
prejudice and say:
‘How many goodly creatures are there
here? How beauteous mankind is! O brave
new world that hath such people in it!’
We found that beauty in the most
unlikely places: a small weed, unnoticed
and un-named has miraculously grown
between bricks. Green but muted by a
residue of white dust from builders
material. Seven buds bravely bloom,
yellow and half closed against the wind.
It shivers and shakes but remains upright
as if guarding its territory. A piece of
jigsaw has become lodged in the stem.
Project Leader: Neil Stevenson
Upholland & District U3A
A Shared Learning Project
To produce a Statement of Significance for
St Teresa’s Catholic Church, Upholland Lancs
T
he idea for this project arose at a
meeting of the South West Lancashire Network of U3As
in September 2010. The Network was considering
suggestions for a Shared Learning Project for the U3As in the
area. U3As use the facilities of their churches so it seemed
appropriate to see if we could build our SLP around creating
something useful for our churches.
Statements of Significance are documents produced for
public buildings and are often used in connection with planning
applications. However, they have a wider use.
They describe the history and function of the building and its
importance and relevance to the community that it serves. Every
public building, including places of worship, should have a
Statement of Significance.
Unfortunately most do not and many don’t realise that they
should. English Heritage has championed the use and value of
Statements of Significance and there are good examples
available on the internet.
Project Establishment And Initiation
Before we could begin, I had to establish if my U3A, Upholland
& District, had enough members interested in taking part. I
announced the project at our monthly meetings and placed
articles in our newsletter. By early 2011 we had enough people
interested to form a project team.
At our inaugural meeting we agreed our project objectives.
We decided to focus on just one, rather than all three churches
in Upholland. St Teresa’s Catholic Church was the natural
choice because we used the church hall for our U3A meetings.
The next task was to seek agreement from St Teresa’s parish
priest Father Tony Slingo that he wanted a Statement of
Significance and what form it should take. He arranged for me
to present our ideas to St Teresa’s parish forum. The idea was
warmly received and we were given approval to proceed.
For the project to succeed we needed the correct balance of
skills and interests within the project team. The members were
all from Upholland & District U3A representing a variety of
interest groups.
Material Collection And Production
During the next few months, we each set about our various
tasks. A photographic survey of the church was undertaken.
This produced more than 130 photographs in colour and black
and white, of which 12 were used in the final document.
Many Catholic churches do not hold their own records. To get
the ones we needed we were given access to the archdiocesan
archives in Liverpool. Every document relating to St Teresa’s
church was copied.
Pencil drawings of the exterior of the three churches in
Upholland were produced. A walk was undertaken and
documented linking the three churches and historic points of
interest along the route.
We collected more than one gigabyte of data but only 3% was
St Teresa’s Catholic Church
used in the final document.
However, we recognised that
all the data was important and
a simple system was implemented to ensure that nothing
was lost. In this way we gave
St Teresa’s parish office a
complete set of all the data
that we had generated.
By the end of 2011 the data
collection phase of the
project was complete. During
early 2012 the Statement of
Significance was drafted.
There were three drafts
produced before we were happy to offer a final version to Father
Tony Slingo.
His reaction was positive. His e-mail approving the document
said: “Great, marvellous, we can use it in many ways. I had not
expected so much on the current vision and action, so that is a
bonus. Thank you to the group that produced it.”
12
cont...
The project team l-r: Albert Harrison, Anne Leather,
Dorothy Palmer, Neil Stevenson, Harry Eccles
Sandra Ferry, Sandra Smith, David Poyntz
Lessons Learned
Create a team of willing volunteers to work together.
Map out work packages to deliver the required output.
Have a clear view of the output and goals of the project and
stick to them.
Have a knowledge management system to collect and collate
the information.
However much time you allow, double it. These are
volunteers working in their own time and pace.
Avoid project creep. It was frequently suggested that we
extend the project to include related buildings e.g. St Joseph’s
Seminary, Carmelite Convent, and other churches. We
ensured that we stuck to the original aims and objectives.
Have fun doing it. Don’t let it become a chore.
Internet Resources
St Teresa’s Catholic Church: Statement of Significance
http://tinyurl.com/cb7mep2
English Heritage: Looking after your property
http://tinyurl.com/cgbnvam
Church Build: How to Write a Statement of Significance
http://tinyurl.com/celj4f8
Church Care: Statements of Significance and Need
http://tinyurl.com/d5con5b
What Next?
We have considered producing Statements of Significance for
the other two churches. However, it has been pointed out that
public houses are also public buildings so maybe...!
Bookbinding
Peter Whiteley: Sudbury U3A
he group started in 2009 with a short Book Re-binding
course using Workmates and other improvised equipment to
see what interest there was.
I started as a schoolboy in the Book Binding Club, did some
repair work throughout the years, and on retirement attended a
hugely rewarding week-long course at West Dene College to
refresh and enhance my skills.
We have morning and afternoon groups with six members in
each. During the last three years they have computer-published
and bound their family histories or records of their travels, and
made hand-printed counting and illustrated letter books for
grandchildren. Some have produced creative volumes with
embroidered covers or in stunning imaginative forms as with
multiple sections sewn to a leather ‘belt’.
Others have restored family bibles with their family records,
or old books they value, such as my great grandfather’s
Pilgrims Progress from 1840.
There is also the potential for pop-up books for children and
for publishing children’s stories for the family. I look forward to
that development, and look to incorporate lino and wood cuts,
and wood engravings in a story for my granddaughter.
My working life involved Design and Technology teaching
and furniture making for the self-employed. Constructing the
two laying presses; the plough for cutting the book edges;
sewing frames; and simple but effective nipping presses from
studding and thick MDF, has been easy and economical.
I start newcomers by folding A1 cartridge paper into sections
then sewing six of these together. The edges are trimmed and
then covers fitted. They make excellent sketch books or
journals, perhaps as gifts.
T
Some members repeated the exercise with various forms of
personalised covers. One Christmas I made 12 for my family
members – I became deft at it!
I am lucky to have my heated workshop which is a rebuilt
dairy in the garden. I enjoy sharing this facility with the group.
Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury has a print workshop
where members can use printing presses, wooden type and
various image-making methods which is an excellent
complement to my facilities for creative book publishing.
We also have one member who is adept with the Family
Historian computer programme and is willing to help others
develop their competence. He has persuaded a computer to print
his work on A4 paper in 16-page sections for folding and
sewing into an A5 book, but has since preferred the clarity of an
A4 format assembled in a perfect binding.
I look forward to more bookbinding groups forming and
enjoying this creative craft, and perhaps holding a U3A
exhibition of our work.
13
Knucker Dragon & StoryBags
By Arun U3A
T
here have been many myths and legends told of this
famous Sussex dragon that was said to have lived in a
pool by the village of Lyminster known as the Knucker
Hole Knucker.
Knucker is a Saxon word meaning Water Monster and since
ancient times many of the Knucker Dragon stories have been
passed down by word of mouth through generations, and
continue to be told and retold becoming part of Sussex folklore.
References to the Knucker Hole can be found in the local
church, in current maps and Google Earth.
At the request of the Lyminster Infant School Head Teacher,
Arun U3A was asked to produce the Story and StoryBag on this
famous Sussex legend who is the school’s mascot.
With the possibility of forming a link between the youngest
and oldest members of our community, and the knowledge that
many of our members enjoy knitting, sewing, embroidery,
painting, etc., the concept of a StoryBag Group was formed.
This challenge was soon taken up by an enthusiastic and
gifted team of Arun U3A members and it did not take long for
a Knucker Dragon Story Book and StoryBag to be on the
drawing board.
We were thrilled to have received so much interest from local
schools, the museum, and the library with covering articles and
photographs in the local media.
The concept of our U3A Schools StoryBags has grown from
strength to strength. Arun U3A was awarded the VSLDO West
Sussex County Council Grant with an acknowledgement for our
work in the community. The group
proudly presented some 80
StoryBags to infant schools in the
area.
In 2012 the Town Council
Merit Award was presented to
Stella Porter for her commitment to schools and for
encouraging young people to
read.
What Is A Storybag?
A coloured cloth string pull bag. Containing:
The children’s book
Soft toy animals and characters as illustrated in the book
Items and artefacts relating to objects in the book
Prompts, suggestions and interaction reading aids
A play mat relating to the story
A background or landscape taken from the book
Stories in Arundel Library
Founders’ Lecture by Eric Midwinter
9 April Friends House, Euston Rd London
Ri Exploring Science by three distinguished scientists
25 March Albemarle Street London W1
U3A National Summer Schools
15-18 July Harper Adams College Newport Shropshire
19-22 August Agricultural College Cirencester
U3A Spring Concert
Vivaldi’s Gloria at the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy
17 April at 2pm
The Royal Society U3A ‘Staying Sharp’ lecture
22 May Speaker: Professor Tom Kirkwood CBE
Tickets/details/booking forms are available from the national office
and in the members’ area of the U3A website
While reading the story you take each article from the
bag as a visual aid. The added opportunity of touch holds
young children’s interest and brings the story to life.
Concept and Written by Stella Porter : U3A Storytelling
Illustrations by Janet Blight : Arun U3A Art Group
StoryBag crafted by Arun U3A Sew, Stitch and Knit Group
14
From the U3A to a Ménage à Trois
By Stephanie Richards
Steyning and District U3A
How to start a new chapter with the U3A
N
ever let anyone tell you that it’s
too late start something new. My
story begins with wanting to
keep my French skills fresh, rather than
letting them get stale in between trips. I
decided something must be done.
I began by looking at adult education
courses but they were a long way away,
held at an inconvenient time, and
expensive.
I remembered I’d seen a piece in the
Parish magazine about the U3A. So I
investigated and found that my local
group was Steyning and District.
They had a French reading group listed
on their website and I went along. That
was 18 months ago and I have enjoyed
every minute. It is extremely pleasant to
meet with a convivial group of people to
explore ‘your’ subject. And all for £10 a
year and subs for a cuppa.
One day the magazine U3A News (now
Third Age Matters) arrived. There was an
article entitled: ‘Could you write a
romance for the Third Age?’ It was a
short story competition. The best stories
would be published.
I thought: ‘I could do that.’ I’d never
written a short story before but I had a
go, sent my story in and then waited.
One day I was upstairs checking my
mail and there was a message about the
competition shortlist. I was on it. I
screamed!
(NB This is a good way of finding out
how quickly your husband can run
upstairs.)
From then on I tried thinking along the
lines of: ‘It’s the taking part that counts.’
Didn’t work.
I wanted to get into that book.
Finally another message came. I was
in! My story would be printed.
Eventually a copy of the book arrived in
the post. Wow! I was so proud of myself
and grateful for the support I’d had from
my husband.
The publisher encouraged us to
promote the book.
Well, I’d never written a story before
and I certainly hadn’t done any PR. But
nothing loath, I e-mailed local papers,
radio, the free magazine and so on. I
didn’t know what to expect.
Stephanie Richards: ‘I wanted to get into that book.’
Then a local paper wanted to know if I
would answer some questions and have
my photo taken. Yes please!
The questions were e-mailed to me, but
a photographer came and took our
picture (the book and I).
The photograph and a short article duly
appeared in the paper. Buoyed up by this
I sent short pieces about my success to
the Parish magazine and to the local free
magazine.
More was to come. Local radio
contacted me and asked if I would like to
be a guest on their afternoon programme.
Yes please!
After a nerve-wracking wait at the
radio station to be ‘on’, I made my radio
debut. It was great fun. It was live, but I
answered the questions as if I’d been
doing it all my life.
An added bonus of this publicity was
that the U3A was mentioned several
times.
My friends in the French group read
my effort and were flattering. I know that
one of my relations was given the book
as a present and a friend from Australia
bought a copy to take home, which she
asked me to dedicate to her.
What a great thing to be asked to do.
First of many I hope.
15
Having seen the piece in the Parish
magazine my neighbour congratulated
me on my success.
The lady behind the counter in the
village shop asked me if I was the lady in
the free magazine. The one who had
written the story?
What a feeling. You blush and you nod
and the other customers look at you.
Fantastic!
I have since written other stories
without (so far) anything else being
published.
But now I have had some letters of
rejection I feel I can call myself a writer.
Well. Did all this boost sales?
I hope so.
Has my 15 minutes of fame been and
gone?
I hope not.
In any event, thanks again U3A
without whom etc etc…
My story is Ménage à Troisième Age.
The anthology is:
It’s Never Too Late to Fall in Love
Published by Third Age Press
www.thirdagepress.co.uk
See the advertisement in the summer
2012 edition of Third Age Matters.
The Fog Index
By Editor Tony Thornton
This is a proven method of analysing written
material to see how easy it is to read.
This is what you do.
1 Take a sample block of your writing. Count
the words in several sentences until you
have about 100 words. Divide the number of
words by the number of sentences to get the
average sentence length.
2 Count the words with three or more
syllables. These should be ‘hard’ words.
Don’t count combinations of short, easy
words (like bookkeeper) or that are made
three syllables by adding –ed or –es (like
expanded or confesses).
3 Add the average sentence length to the
number of hard words. Divide by two.
Example:
Count the number of words in a sample: 98
Count the number of sentences: 7
Average sentence length is 98/7 = 14
Count the number of hard words: 6
Add average sentence length to number of
words 14+6=20
Divide by two. The Fog Index = 10
The ideal Index is between 8 and 12 for
popular journalism. If you have an Index of
more than 18, you run a serious risk of not
being understood – or even read.
This is not a measure of intelligence, or
subject matter level, but only reading level. It
is not an index of how good your writing is
but of how easy it is to understand.
Good writing is another subject. But writing
must be clear before it can be good.
We just talk about writing
I
t is wonderful to see how a mixture
of several people, with only the
same interest in common, develops
as a group – each member bringing
something different to say – and to
write about. But we do not do any
writing at our group – we meet up and
talk about writing!
It was not always convenient to meet
in members’ homes. In response to our
enquiry, the hotel in Okehampton offered
the use of their lounge – free of charge
because the U3A is a registered charity.
We meet one afternoon a month. We
take it in turns to choose a theme and
aim to write something at home to bring
along to read out at the next meeting.
It is important for each person to have
the opportunity to receive comments,
feedback or the good old favourite
‘constructive criticism’ from the others.
It may be that sometimes there is a
case of writer’s block with nothing to
read out which is okay too. We have a
chat about that difficulty.
The theme and the date for the next
meeting is included in the monthly
Okehampton U3A newsletter. If we
were to suddenly have extra members
turn up to swell our numbers then there
would have to be a time restraint for
each person for everyone to have a turn.
But that has not happened yet. We
Doreen Mulholland
Okehampton U3A
usually have about six to eight in our
group so plenty of time for additional
social chatter.
Our writing ranges from poetry, prose
and even rant-type monologues.
Sometimes we can ‘let go’ and wander
into the world of fantastic fiction.
It is interesting to hear of other
members’ snippets of their life stories,
delving into memories and situations.
Writing autobiographically can be quite
therapeutic, helping to sort out the past.
It often prompts recollections of similar
experiences from the other members.
We collect copies of our writings – no
writing should be discarded. It is great
to look over our collections and enjoy
the diversity of the writing. Also, most
creative writing warrants a second read.
It is not always possible to appreciate
the full meaning intended during the
initial reading and the full worth is
realised when going over it again.
Our collections have been thumbed
through in the U3A marquee at the
Okehampton Show and at the local
‘Two Rivers’ exhibition. Writing is a
solitary hobby so meeting up with likeminded people is great!
Ian Stephenson : Fleet and District U3A
L
ast September I wondered if it would be possible to start
a U3A group that was for men only, without being just a
luncheon club. Interestingly, as soon as we announced
the name of the group, several ladies got in touch and suggested
that their husbands would be good candidates.
At the first meeting we agreed the name and then decided the
format of the new group, plus importantly what we would do.
After some discussion we agreed to meet on a fortnightly basis.
Now the meetings take place at lunchtime in a social club.
Discussions are wide ranging, interactive and fun – not grumpy
at all. We have focussed our thoughts mainly on our town which
usually has some controversial or breaking news.
Once a month each member takes it in turn to organise a trip
somewhere. The outing has to be undertaken by public transport
or shared car and to be low-cost. Two interesting sites plus a
welcoming pub or restaurant constitute a trip. So far we have
had trips to Twickenham Rugby Club and Fullers Brewery; The
Wellcome Trust, Euston; and Winchester King Arthur’s Round
table, Ghurkha museum and Planetarium.
Members visit Twickenham Rugby Club
Our group has reached a membership of 30 with between
seven and 12 members taking part in the visits. These trips are
a mix of social and educational events which suits the U3A
ethos. We already have plans for trips in 2013. There is interest
from some Fleet ladies for a similar group but we expect they
will remove Grumpy from the name.
The Grumpy Old Men group was a typical U3A group to set
up and run because the members organise it.
16
Small But Vibrant
S
ully U3A held its inaugural meeting in October 2011. The
Creative Writing Group, organised by Noelle Bryant,
started in November 2011. Noelle is not a creative writing
tutor but a part-time IT trainer and lecturer. As organiser, Noelle
is the point of contact between the group and the U3A. In
addition, she e-mails notes from each meeting to group
members and keeps everyone grounded. The group meets for
two hours twice a month.
At its first meeting the group looked at the setup of other U3A
writing groups before deciding on a format. At each meeting
previously agreed challenges form the basis for discussion and
friendly criticism from fellow students. In the absence of a
formal tutor, the group also follows The Third Age Trust online
Creative Writing Course (see page 3).
Between three and six people attend each meeting. Originally,
members contributed £1 a session to cover room hire. However
to keep costs down we’re now meeting in each others homes.
That is the practical, dry side of setting up and running a nontutored Creative Writing Group. The fun side of the group is its
members, their contributions and their interaction.
Some members have always written; some have never had the
confidence to ‘give it a go’; some are recent converts whilst
some have been waiting to ‘find the time’.
Writers’ Tales
Stella Wells
“How wonderful is the human imagination, especially when
given free rein to deal with a subject. I have always written
articles and stories, with the occasional poem, but never read
them aloud to anyone. The thought of doing this filled me with
dread. As I read out my first offering, the sweaty palms and
shaking hands were soon forgotten as my first story was well
received. Being a member of a writing circle has given me so
much pleasure. I love listening to other writers interpretations
of suggested topics.”
Each member, what ever their experience or knowledge is a
valuable resource for the success of the group. For example:
Members with experience of creative writing courses share
their knowledge
A member’s letter published in a gardening magazine
provides a topic of discussion
A member’s passion for poetry inspires other members to
write a poem of their own (in my case for the first time)
Children’s stories written by members are ‘road tested’ by
other members’ grandchildren
A 91-year-old member who had her first book published in 2009
outlines her experience of the journey from thought to print.
(Younghusband, Eileen 2009 Not an Ordinary Life Cardiff Centre
for Lifelong Learning)
I am amazed at how different, vibrant and interesting each
member’s interpretation is of the group’s agreed regular
challenges. We can experience the world without leaving our
village. A 250-word short story starting: ‘It’s market day…’
transported members to the exotic smells and sights of an Indian
market place; evoked the noise and characters in a typical 1960s
South Wales valleys market place; and created text speak
between two shady characters in a present day street market.
l-r: Eileen Younghusband, Jayne Murphy, Stella Wells, Noelle Bryant , Audrey Hirst
Kathy Beach : Sully U3A
We rarely write during our two sessions.
Instead we read and discuss our
contributions. We chat about books,
websites visited, share magazines and 101
other things relating to creative writing to fuel our creative
energy. In addition, thanks to Noelle our organiser, we are
developing our IT skills.
As we celebrate our first birthday we look enthusiastically to
the future. There are competitions to enter, book festivals to
visit, imaginations to explore and much more writing to create.
If we can have a small but vibrant non-tutored Creative Writing
Group perhaps you can as well.
Last November, members entered Candy Jar’s South Wales
Short Story Competition. From more than 100 entries, two
members were selected as winners. Noelle Bryant was highly
commended for her story The Birthday Treasure Hunt whilst
Stella Wells was listed for her story Whatever happened to
Humble Pies.
Their stories will be issued as part of a e-anthology later this
year. This is a fantastic result and an encouraging boost for the
writing group.
17
Suggested Activities
Using a postcard as the starting point write five sentences,
one for each of the five senses (hearing, sight, touch, smell and
taste). Engage with and explore the senses as far as possible.
Then strip away as much of the five sentences that you can but
still leave meaning. Re-arrange as necessary.
Open a magazine or paper and find a photo of a person.
Write a 300 to 500-word profile on that person.
Write from the point of a freshly scrubbed floor: 200 words.
Make a list of 12 random words. Glance at the first word
and start writing immediately. Do not plan the story at the
start. Every few sentences pick up the next word,
incorporating that into the flow. Make the random words fit
but remember it is only a bit of fun. You will end up with an
unplanned story with surprising twists and turns, and strange
connections.
Shape poetry (www.shapepoems.co.uk)
Hilary Tattershall : Cockermouth U3A
E
very other Monday morning, except in
August, 15 of West Cumbria’s
estimable citizens meet for the U3A
Writing Group. Although no longer in their
prime physically, they have honed their mental and creative
skills during the years to learn and practice the skills of writing.
Their reasons for writing vary: some are experienced and
published authors; others are new to the art; and some are hobby
scribblers who enjoy a little mental exercise and the meetings.
The size of the group and the consistent numbers are evidence
of the Cockermouth group’s vibrancy. Interestingly the balance
of men to women at this group is almost equal. We have a chair
to maintain order and ensure discussion that is relevant to
creative writing, but otherwise we are self-managed.
The Cockermouth approach to setting assignments,
homework as it is called, is perhaps the key to its success. At
each meeting a member on a rota chooses the topic for the next
meeting. Sometimes it is a title, sometimes a given first line,
sometimes an extract to inspire composition.
At the following meeting the member who chose the topic
reads his or her piece first. Then all members of the group read
their homework in turn. When a writer has read his or her piece,
members of the group offer feedback on the effectiveness and
impact. The topic-chooser makes the coffee for the rest, and
supplies the biscuits.
The result is a variety of writing required to fulfil the
assignment. We produce short stories of course, but also verse,
dialogue, reportage, travel writing, character studies, modern
poetry and plays. Some of us write our memoirs while others
are practising sonnets. The assignment title is sometimes the
only thing we have in common.
Helping Each Other
Marianne Piesley : Weymouth & Portland U3A
ur group is quite small and we meet in a room at our
Library, thus supporting the ‘Use our Libraries’ initiative.
But also because it provides us with a quiet and pleasant
environment, as well as unlimited hot water and cups for the
necessary tea break.
We have had as many as 15 at a meeting but because of age
(mid-60s to mid-90s) together with health constraints we are
more likely to get between eight and 12 members at a sitting.
Each one of us writes something on a specific subject set by
group leader Toni Neville, which we read out to the others. We
have more or less overcome our shyness at having to do this
and indeed at the pre-Christmas U3A meeting we wrote
something short and festive to read out to the members from
the stage, a bit scary but we managed it.
Our talents are different: some are good at poetry, others give
us a fascinating insight by fitting the subject into tales of their
O
The Story Tree
The Writing Group has created
anthologies. We produced a
collection about our experiences of
the
devastating
floods
in
Cockermouth in 2009. This was
available in the town soon
afterwards and records the
impressions of those living through
the events and the aftermath.
We have occasionally invited
professional writers to come to speak to us and set an
assignment. We are keen to learn from other sources of
expertise in the writerly arts. Equally we seek inspiration for our
work from our locality and the local community.
At the annual Cockermouth U3A open day, the Writing Group
gave visitors a taste of its work with a Story Tree. On the
branches, visitors were invited to hang paper leaves on which
they had written a title for a writing topic.
Suggestions included A Stray Beast on Skiddaw (one of the
menacing Cumbrian fells of the Northern group) and Prejudice.
We shall use these titles for future assignments and invite the
contributors to the meetings at which their pieces are read.
past lives. Two give graphic accounts of their experiences
during the war.
We also have some excellent story tellers, serious and
humorous, even a playwright, and one with journalistic
preferences. It makes for an interesting two hours with Toni, a
published translator who keeps us in order and on track.
She encourages us to enter competitions for fiction and
poetry and has enrolled us as members of the National
Association of Writing Groups where one of the members
became a runner-up this year in the Crime Short Story
competition.
Another of our writers had an article printed in Dorset Life
and also won a prize in another competition. Sadly not
everyone has the confidence to submit their work for public
scrutiny, although our playwright is hoping his play can take
centre stage either in the theatre, TV or on radio.
We are a supportive group aiding each other in our efforts to
enjoy the creative art of writing. We also offer help and advice
if it is asked for in the true spirit of the U3A.
18
Gina Howarth : Wimborne U3A
I
t began over a cup of coffee. I’d been
shopping in our lovely Dorset town
of Wimborne and in need of a rest so
I popped into a coffee shop. There I
chatted with the lady at the next table and
eventually the U3A cropped up.
She was on the committee and
apparently Wimborne U3A didn’t have a
creative writing group. I had a
qualification and some success in having
stories published so she asked me to
consider starting a group. And so the
Wimborne Wordsmiths was born. We are
now in our sixth year.
Meetings are held in the Centre
adjacent to St Michael’s Church, a
stunning building in the Arts and Crafts
style. It’s surrounded by trees and song
birds so quite inspiring.
Most of the folks that began in 2006
are still with me and we’ve collected a
few more along the way. The group
consists of 15 people, 14 ladies and one
brave gent who seems to enjoy himself –
and why wouldn’t he? It’s a lively, noisy
group and sometimes I frantically shake
a bell for some hush.
The members started apprehensively
but as the years have gone by they’ve
become more confident and their writing
has improved.
Initially we were embarrassed to
critique each other’s work but today no
one is offended at negative feedback,
understanding that it’s meant to be
helpful and to improve the piece.
I’m constantly amazed at the variety of
stories generated by one title suggestion.
The group excel at writing humour and
more than once we’ve had to lay our
heads on the table and weep with
laughter after a reading.
We were honoured when asked to be
the ‘entertainment’ at the Wimborne
U3A Annual General Meeting last year.
We each read our stories and judging
from the applause we were a success.
Following that we had a boost when
we submitted short stories to a national
magazine and they were accepted.
Payment was made but it was more
important to be published. We were
proud of ourselves.
A founder member of the group Jan,
known by all as Hermione, has been
writing a book for some time. On its
completion we were thrilled when it was
The Wordsmiths at the Barford Farm Ice Cream Garden
accepted for publication by the first
publisher she approached. It’s entitled
The King’s Chalice, a 400-page historical
novel about Wimborne in Saxon times.
We’re now waiting for publication day
when we shall form an orderly queue
outside the bookshop to part with our
pennies for our copy.
We’ve been invited to take part again
in the annual Wimborne Literary Festival
and are working hard on some stories for
the event.
I’m always on the lookout for new
subjects to challenge the group and I
enjoy preparing each lesson. It keeps me
on my toes. To help me I have The
Handbook for U3A Creative Writing
Groups by Maggie Smith. Her quarterly
newsletter is read from cover to cover.
I’ve contributed to the News from the
Groups section and enjoy reading about
the other groups nationwide.
At the end of each term the group
meets through the holidays so we pay the
hire of the room ourselves or we meet for
lunch in our local pub – a beautiful
beamed and thatched building. The
publican kindly gives us a room to
ourselves where we read our latest
homework after a tasty lunch.
Each summer we have a writer’s picnic
19
and last year we had a splendid day at the
Barford Farm Ice Cream Garden.
A local dairy farmer makes delicious
ice cream and has opened his huge
garden where folks can sit and enjoy the
flowers and fishpond whilst they eat their
ice cream and chat.
Last year Hermione celebrated her
birthday on the same day so we had a
surprise cake with candles and sang
Happy Birthday to her. I just hope we
didn’t turn the cow’s milk sour. I’m
pretty sure we shall be returning there for
this year’s picnic – if they’ll have us.
It’s gratifying to look back and see
how everyone’s writing has developed.
From humble beginnings they have
become accomplished writers and
achieved so much. I’m proud of my
group of friends. I would say to anyone
thinking of starting a group, go for it!
You won’t regret it.
I have so enjoyed running my group
and judging from the feedback so have
those attending.
I can’t stress enough the importance of
the U3A for those in later life. We still
want to learn, we still want to socialise
and we still want to have fun and that’s
exactly what’s on offer. After all, isn’t
fun the best thing to have?
Storytelling
Report by Stella Porter U3A
Storytelling National Adviser
S
torytellers are regularly invited to tell stories in
residential, sheltered and care homes, and it has been a
pleasure to have recently told stories in Cheshire Homes,
BUPA Homes, 4 Sight, MIND, and Hospices.
Storytellers are much appreciated by 4th agers with stories
that can involve the residents who often come forward to tell
their stories. Amazingly the long forgotten door into their past
can open. What a thrill for them, the staff and the storyteller.
At The University of Surrey (Guildford) the U3A was
included in a project entitled AFRESh (A study of FosteRing
Empathy between Students and older people – a practical
approach) which involved recording a play with the storyline
Making Friends in the television studios at the University. The
programme was designed and managed by Age UK in
conjunction with the University. The story and recording will be
used as an intergeneration venture.
At The Sussex International Woman’s Day our storytellers are
keen to be involved. This is a regular on the U3A Storytelling
calendar, helping to promote the U3A and Storytelling. The
Woman’s Day Motto: Some of us are Mothers, all of us are
Daughters, together we are Sisters.
It was a tribute to our success that we received a request from
The Littlehampton Academy to advise and assist their 6th Form
Students to tell stories at an infant school. This has grown to
include other schools in the area. The current project is with the
Littlehampton Academy, advising and helping students with a
presentation to their counterparts in the Shri Lanka School they
will be visiting in 2013.
A request by MIND to tell stories to a group of adult peer
mentors was a learning curve for our storytellers. It helped us to
be involved with and embrace the vulnerable members in our
community, resulting in the opportunity to use their premises
for various group venues.
The exciting Storytelling project last September was a first to
tell our stories on a vessel moored on the river in Shoreham
Harbour, and promote this ancient and magical oral art form.
My thanks go to The Third Age Trust who have
acknowledged the value of Storytelling in all cultures and
supported U3A Storytelling at the World Conferences 2010 in
India and 2011 in Singapore.
Every book starts with a word
Thelma Wood : Blandford & District U3A
e in the Blandford & District U3A call our Creative
Writing Group, Writing for Pleasure. Because that is
what it is.
We began five years ago with eight members and a tutor. All
but one or two of us had never met the others before. Our first
meeting was spent introducing ourselves and outlining what we
would each like to gain from membership of a writing group.
The tutor gave us her ideas of topics she thought would be of
interest and benefit to us all. She concluded by suggesting a
piece of writing we might attempt which would be read out at
the next meeting. We were away!
It takes a great deal of courage to read out in front of a
roomful of virtual strangers, something that you have painfully
created – especially when, like some of us, you are new to
writing. You become protective of it and do not want to expose
it to criticism. But after a few weeks we became used to the
tutor’s comments and learned from them.
Then unexpectedly she had to leave the group for personal
reasons. We were on our own!
By now we had come to know each other well and did not
want the group to disband for want of a leader or while waiting
for one to be found. So we decided to embark on some DIY. We
became a self-help group.
At first we were diffident about commenting on each other’s
work for fear of hurting feelings, but we had been taught to
regard criticism as positive feedback and with this in mind, we
learned to benefit mutually from members’ input. There has
been no falling out. We are still good friends and have
welcomed new members along the way.
We set home work (not to be confused with homework) and
try to study different topics and cover a variety of writing styles.
Some of them are quite testing – such as producing a piece of
250 words without using any adjectives. Try it!
We still find it difficult to write by ‘showing, not telling’, but
we are improving. We practise the art of monologues, dialogue
(excellent for radio plays), characterisation, scene-setting,
writing in the first person and getting tenses correct. We are
learning to appreciate the shape of a story: its beginning, middle
and end, and how to sustain the reader’s interest.
This is carried on in the relaxed and happy atmosphere of our
homes to the accompaniment of plenty of laughter. We try to
make time at each meeting to do some ‘on the spot’ writing,
with often hilarious results.
It seems a long time since our first meeting when one member
courageously admitted that she did not know when to use a
comma and when a full stop. She does now!
We have had a new member come to us saying that she wrote
only poetry and could not write prose. She can now – and is
outstanding at both. It just takes that little bit of courage to pick
up the phone and say: “I am interested in joining your Writing
Group.” You will be surprised – writing definitely is a pleasure.
W
John Davis of Fleet U3A wrote to say how much he
enjoyed the architectural articles in the September issue.
He sent us this photo of a building and would love to know
if anyone can identify it. He believes it has connections
with the Royal Navy.
20
The Creative Writing Group. What do they expect of me? Will I fit in?
Will they laugh at my meagre attempts? I needn’t have worried. They
shared the things they had written – some poetic, some funny and
some with a macabre twist. I felt at home and looking forward to the
next session.
Geri : Northampton U3A

- University of the Third Age

Transcription

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