Author: Nadia Dawson

Elaine has been a volunteer at Bletchley Park since 2019 and began her very interesting talk by giving us a potted history of the house and its estate. The site appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a farmhouse however, this was demolished and replaced over the years by several different ‘mansions’ until it…

At our twenty fifth anniversary meeting we were entertained by Steve Short who not only gave us a potted history of the careers of Morecambe and Wise but interspersed this with a variety of magic tricks. Both Eric and Ernie learned their showbiz skills the hard way, having started very, very early. In 1937, aged only 10, Eric received…

The first speaker at West Wolds U3A for 2024 was Diane Tuckett who has worked for The Rasen Mail since 1998. She gave a comprehensive history of the newspaper which released its first edition in 1856. The paper was founded by Walesby farmer Richard Hackett, who was also a printer, engraver and bookseller. Priced at…

Colin Deeley works for the National Trust and gave a very detailed history of Southwell Workhouse. I had no idea that looking after the poor became a national social issue during the reign of Elizabeth 1st and that it continued until well into the twentieth century.  Elizabeth recognised that poverty was a big problem throughout…

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I saw the title of today’s speaker’s talk as science is not my ‘thing’ however, when Dr Vicki Dennison walked in dressed as I imagined an explorer would with a heavily laden rucksack on her back and an Australian type hat pulled down over her ears, the…

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,…

David Ingleby introduced himself as a volunteer member whose function is to promote the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. His presentation was a bit of an eye opener for me as I was certainly unaware that the CWGC tends nearly 13,000 locations in the UK alone. He certainly furnished us with some amazing…

Life in the NHS – it only hurts when I laugh by Jeff Jacklin For some reason, I was expecting this presentation to be given by a medical practitioner so I was quite surprised to hear that Jeff’s career of thirty years in the NHS was in I.T albeit at senior level but ‘in the…

Trevor is a fruit growing consultant, a horticultural speaker, and a volunteer gardener at Gunby Hall so, his presentation was based on the knowledge he has gleaned over the years whilst living in Swaledale in North Yorkshire and now on the Gunby Hall estate. It was whilst he was living in Swaledale that Trevor learned…

A review by Nadia Dawson Eric Jackson began his presentation by reminding us of how the discovery of this tomb was made by Howard Carter back in 1922. He gave a brief history of Carter’s career and of his connection with Lord Carnarvon who, like Carter was also fascinated by Egyptology so hired Carter and…

A presentation on Age UK Lindsey by Liz Brooks(Project Manager) and Lin Wood(Volunteer Coordinator) was reviewed by Nadia Dawson Liz started her presentation by giving us some background information on the charity which is independent but a brand partner of the national Age UK charity. Age UK Lindsey shares the Age UK aim which is…

After a brief outline of his career progression, Martyn gave us some background information on Veolia which has French roots and a very broad company portfolio of waste collection services around the world. In the UK, most people associate Veolia with the emptying of their bins however, they are actually very actively involved with activities…

I have to admit that I had no idea what a lighterman was before this talk although on reflection, there were times in my youth when I witnessed them in operation on the Thames without any thought for their occupation. For those of you who were unable to see David Lewis’s presentation, a lighterman is…

The English language is full of idioms; these are phrases, sayings or a group of words with a metaphorical, not a literal meaning and which have become accepted in common usage. These figures of speech will be used by every one of us every so often in our every day conversations and yet, we completely…

Yesterday I watched a very interesting presentation by Tim Redmond courtesy of Murthy video talks entitled ‘The faces behind the clock’. It was a really unique opportunity to hear the history of and see inside one of the world’s most iconic buildings which most people refer to as Big Ben, but which is actually the…