West Wolds U3A

We are always interested in your views about how West Wolds u3a is doing. As part of our search for improvements we would like to hear from you and the best way of doing this is by asking you to complete the survey which can be found here…

The survey will be open until 20th February. The more members that respond the better the picture we will have, and so we would appreciate it if you could spare ten minutes to complete it.

Many thanks in advance

Sharon Rupp, Secretary, West Wolds u3a

It was a delight and an eye opener to listen to Karen Crow talk about her role as Lincoln’s Town Crier. As she stood in front of us all, she was dressed to impress in her traditional and formal regalia which consisted of a floor length Lincoln green overcoat with yellow piping, a yellowbelly waistcoat, a long black skirt and a tricorne hat adorned with feathers. In one hand she held a bell which is rung to attract people’s attention, and in the other, a wooden staff however, it is undoubtedly her booming voice which attracts the most attention.

The history of the town crier or bellman can be traced back to medieval times as two bellmen actually appear in the Bayeaux Tapestry. The town crier would ring his bell to attract everyone’s attention and then announce his important proclamations, edicts, laws and news to the gathered crowd. Having read out his message, the town crier would then attach it to the door post of the local inn, therby ‘posting a notice’, and giving reason to why newspapers were often later called ‘The Post’.

Karen’s journey on the road to being a town crier started at the age of 13 when she entered a public speaking competition and won a cup. She successfully re-entered this competition every year moving from the junior section and into the senior section until she became British champion at the age of 17. When she moved to Lincoln, Karen became a member of the Lincoln Shakespeare Company who regularly performed outside so, her booming voice was put to good use particularly when competing with the Cathedral bells; it was during this time that she saw the advert for a town crier thirteen years ago. Needless to say Karen applied for the job however, to proove herself, she had to write and then speak a home made ‘ditty’ at the Lincoln Sausage and Potato Festival. The four other candidates stood no chance against her and she was soon declared the winner and, in recognition of her success, it was her duty that very evening to announce the arrival of every guest at the Sausage Ball.

Karen’s first ‘official’ job was in the May of that year at the Mayor making ceremony. On this occasion, the Mayor is ‘married’ to the City of Lincoln for a year so, the Town Crier stands outside the Guildhall and meets and greets everyone attending the ceremonial ‘wedding’. At the end of the ceremony, Karen rings her bell and declares to all and sundry the name of the new Mayor. She has performed this role every year ever since but, in addition to this assignment, twice a year, as official town crier, Karen also announces the names of those who have become hereditary and honourary freemen of the City. Dressed in her strikingly splendid outfit, she leads the procession through the streets of Lincoln and proclaims to all, that these few are now entitled to walk through the city with their swords drawn and, urinate in public without fear of arrest!!.

November is a busy month for Karen as she has to lead the Remembrance Parade to the war memorial on the Saturday, and again to the Remembrance Service in the Cathedral on the Sunday. Whilst both of these occasions are rightfully solemn and sombre, on the 17th, the mood lifts as this is the occasion when the Christmas lights are officially turned on. Although it is not Karen’s job to ‘flick the switch’ (this is usually assigned to a celebrity) it is her job to announce who the celebrity is to those in attendance and lead the countdown. When not undertaking ‘official’ duties as Lincoln Town Crier, Karen performs unofficial private and corporate jobs which includes opening book festivals, fetes, shops and displays, participating in adverts, handing out leaflets and appearing at charity events. On each occasion, she will write a very personalised ditty/lyric/rhyming and amusing composition which she will enunciate very clearly and coherently to all those around. In her ‘spare time’, we are fortunate that she chooses to tell the likes of us about her role and give us brilliant examples of how she does it.

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Here are the photos of the month chosen from our December themes of ‘Backlighting’ and ‘The Colour Red’ plus a monthly favourite as voted on by the group.

For further photos taken by our group through the months go to our challenge page https://westwoldsu3a.org/?page_id=8458

The January newsletter is here…

You can access the newsletter from this post or from the email the majority of our members will receive by the 11th January 2023

If you haven’t told us your email address or if it has changed… to avoid missing out send your updated email details to membership@westwoldsu3a.org.

If you would like to make comment on this newsletter or submit an article for the next issue then please send details to newsletter@westwoldsu3a.org by Friday 27th January 2023.

We would really like to hear from you now that u3a events are beginning to take off again

An Event for the curious mind

The National u3a are planning a festival of learning and fun on Wednesday 10 May 2023. There will be a formal programme of speakers at the Sill site in Northumberland, just near to Hadrian’s Wall.

A u3a Off the Wall fringe festival of informal workshops – such as drama, art, music and photography – will be taking place around the site throughout the day.

The plan also includes walkers and cyclists, who can explore the paths along the Wall and pop-in for a well-earned cup of tea at the end of their excursion. More information can be found on the National u3a Website here

In addition to being a modern Exhibition Centre the Sill is also a YHA hostel offering low cost accommodation, including private rooms – see here

If anyone is interested please contact myself at publicity@westwoldsu3a.org

Please contact the Walk Leader direct to sign up for these walks or see Ken Howitt at the General Meeting.  Walks can be subject to change so anyone who is not on Ken’s mailing list must contact the walk leader to ensure they are booked on the walk before turning up.

Walks can be across uneven terrain, so please ensure you check with the walk leader about the details of the walk.

If you can offer to fil in any of the blanks and lead a walk, please contact Ken Howitt with the details of the walk.

We are currently making changes to the menu layout on the website.
Hopefully this will make it easier to find things.

Items may have changed title or location. If you are having difficulty finding what you are looking for please contact me by email at publicity@westwoldsu3a.org

At the December General Meeting, we were entertained by the Music Makers bell ringing team, For some songs volunteers were asked to join in. The audience joined in singing along to the Christmas songs.

I managed to record some of the songs they performed.

Here are the photos of the month chosen from our November themes of ‘Shallow Depth of Field’ and ‘Creative Food Photography’ plus a monthly favourite as voted on by the group.

For further photos taken by our group through the months go to our challenge page https://westwoldsu3a.org/?page_id=8458

Spanish Intermediate Group

The Intermediate Spanish Group got into the Christmas spirit in December at the Monthly Meeting. A rendition of the well known Christmas carol Oh, Come All Ye Faithful was delivered in Spanish. This favourite was originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles in the eighteenth century and is still known by that name throughout Spain and the Spanish speaking world. Singing this carol is a great tradition during December in many parts of the world and in many different languages. A version of the Spanish version we used is found below with the English translation. As you can see it’s not a perfect copy from one language to the other but the sentiment is still the same. 

Sandra Dean

Venid, adoremos

Venid, adoremos, con alegre canto;
venid al pueblito de Belén.
Hoy ha nacido el Rey del los ángeles.
Venid y adoremos, venid y adoremos,
venid y adoremos a Cristo Jesús.

Cantadle loores, coros celestiales;
resuene el eco angelical.
Gloria cantemos al Dios del cielo.
Venid y adoremos, venid y adoremos,
venid y adoremos a Cristo Jesús.

Señor, nos gozamos en tu nacimiento;
oh Cristo, a ti la gloria será.
Ya en la carne, Verbo del Padre.
Venid y adoremos, venid y adoremos,
venid y adoremos a Cristo Jesus.

Translation of Venid, adoremos

Come, let us worship with a happy song;
come to the little town of Bethlehem.
Today the King of the angels has been born.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Come and worship Christ Jesus.

Sing him praises, heavenly choirs;
may the angelical echo sound.
Let us sing glory to the God of heaven.
Come and worship, come and worship,
come and worship Christ Jesus.

Lord, we rejoice in your birth;
O Christ, the glory will be yours.
Now in the flesh, Word of the Father.
Come and worship, come and worship,
come and worship Christ Jesus.

Do you want to learn another language as beginners, two exciting new groups are proposed for next spring 2023.

Click Here to see information about the ‘Start Spanish’ Group

Click Here to see information about the ‘Start Italian’ Group