ROMSEY and District
Low-down in the Lockdown Bulletin No.10 - 7 October 2020 What a LOT of rain! We hope you’ve avoided any floods but even with ‘Low-down in the Lockdown’ to read, do dress appropriately if you venture out in this inclement weather. Stay Safe, keep Active & keep Well.
Did you know? Romsey & District U3A is a registered charity. There are some 168,000 registered charities in England and Wales and together they have over 950,000 trustees; we have 12. With about 59 million people in England and Wales that means that approximately 1 in every 63 people is a charity trustee. The combined income of the charities registered with the Charity Commission, as we are, is £81.2 billion. We know because we watched the Charity Commission annual public meeting. You can watch too here. (To my great surprise there are more trustees named Dave than any other first name!) We have vacancies for 2 trustees. If you’d like to learn how you would benefit from joining our committee of trustees please do contact one of the trustees listed on this website page. Dave Lovell : Vice-Chair
DIARY DATES There is still time to order your 2021, dark blue U3A DIARY now from Janet Moody: email secretary or call 01794 517589. Cost £3.
I visited a monastery and as I walked past the kitchen I saw a man frying chips. I asked him “Are you the friar?” He replied “No, I’m the chip monk…”
STAYING IN TOUCH Are you missing your friends; haven’t seen your family recently? If you’d like help to use your computer, tablet or smartphone to see and speak with them but aren’t sure how to, let us know and we’ll organise a workshop or telephone support.
U3A CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION WINNERS 2020 During the height of the lockdown, the Third Age Trust embarked on a nationwide search to find the best short story penned by a U3A member. The task: write an original story, no more than 1,500 words, around the theme of TIME. From 342 entries, panels of regional judges received all the stories anonymously, selecting 13 regional finalists: 10 from England, plus Wales, N. Ireland and Scotland. The November issue of TAM will feature the winning story by Rosemary Burton, from Oxford U3A with her story ‘The Clock’. Second place went to Penny Holland from Horncastle U3A with her story ‘There’s a time for everything’ and third place was awarded to Gillian Griffith from Much Wenlock & District U3A with ‘Time to Leave’. Their stories, alongside all other regional winning entries, are available now to read on the U3A website with a brief note from each writer detailing the inspiration for their story and their writing background. DO read them – they are enjoyable, and thought provoking! And for a 30% discount from Bloomsbury books for U3A members, use code U3A30 at the checkout. THE HISTORY of HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CARVING Pumpkins are now a common sight in the countryside, with colours not limited to orange these days. Glowing orange faces scowl at you from doorsteps, as the Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins commences. Obviously this tradition comes from the USA – well NO! The British Isles had a strong tradition of carving root vegetables, going right back to the Middle Ages, but the vegetable they would be carving was the turnip. In Ireland and SW England they were called punkies and in East Anglia they were Jack-O-Lanterns. Irish migration introduced the custom to America where the pumpkin is best for lanterns… and much easier to carve. Here are some of the best places in Hampshire to go pumpkin picking.
Romsey Town Conservation Area Test Valley BC has started a consultation on the Romsey Town Conservation Area. The Conservation area covers much of the town centre and has been in place since 1970. Its purpose is to ensure that the architectural heritage of the town is preserved and that any new development matches the existing architecture. You can see a video presentation about the conservation area, see the proposed changes and comment on the updated policy here. The public consultation closes on Friday 6 November. Page 1 of 2