A message from the Chair

A message from the Chair

October 2021

Email: [email protected] Website: Porthcawlu3a.org.uk

Reading with Ian Hutchinson and thank Rolfe Mitchell for his many years of work as he steps back. We also have our first meeting of Gail Lewis's new Mythology group.

Please read the calendar carefully, I imagine there is nothing quite as frustrating as arriving at the wrong venue at the wrong time!

Please do not attend if you have any symptoms.

We do ask that you continue to wear a mask on entering our venues, they are public areas and we are not the only people using them. Keep using the hand sanitizer, take a mug for coffee at Kenfig and wrap up! Our rooms are cooler with all the windows open!

We want to thank Jane & the staff @ the YMCA, Dave & Lynda @ the Rugby Club & Ceri & the staff

@ Kenfig Nature Reserve for all their help as we adapt and adjust to our new programme, rooms and equipment.

Hope to see you soon, stay safe Sally A Corbett

Chair Porthcawl u3a

Dear Members

How amazing is it to get out and about and to be going to groups in all our 'normal' haunts? To see so many of you that I haven't seen through this troublesome time has been just amazing this month. I am impressed that already there are little changes, that people are feeling safer as they settle back into familiar groups.

We are delighted to say that quite a few new members have joined us since we announced we were restarting. As part of their

membership, they have received a shiny new name badge, so I am asking everyone else to please search out, from the drawer or pocket that they have been hiding in for such a long time their own name badges and to

remember to wear them. They do help members old & new to remember names!

There are a few more tweaks of groups, days and venues, we welcome Kay Boswell and Veronica Rees as Joint group leaders for Play

Registered charity 1052905

Focus groups are being set up for members to have the opportunity to explore these aims further and have an in-depth say in what they feel future priorities should be. The groups are to be conducted before the middle of October, so not a great deal of time.

Please contact me on:

[email protected] or [email protected] ASAP if you are interested. You may read more about the strategy here.

https://www.u3a.org.uk/about/vision.

The focus groups will all be held online.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue I want to give everyone a chance to have their

say in the future direction of our organisation.

I know u3a is valued and has been of great benefit to many people, long may it continue to do so.

CONSULTATION

The Third Age Trust is in the process of developing a strategy for going forward into the post pandemic era.

The four key aims being –

1. Supporting An Engaged, Strong and Vibrant Movement

2. Making u3a membership an attractive opportunity for all Retired People 3. Developing the u3a Voice

4. Maximising the u3a Learning Model.

We received an email from Sue Shannon-Jones who is the u3a Trustee for Wales:

Mythology is the rich collection of traditional tales called myths from cultures all over the world. Many myths date back to ancient times. They are stories about how the world was created and why certain things happen.

Today the word myth is often used to describe something that is not true. But a myth is not just a made-up story. Myths tell of gods, heroes, and events that a group believes, or at one time believed, to be real.

Thousands of years ago people did not have the sciences to help them understand life.

For instance, they did not know why the Sun rises each morning or why the seasons change. Ancient people saw sickness, death, and natural disasters, but they did not understand what caused them. Groups of people developed their own stories and beliefs to explain the world around them. These stories were usually not written down.

Instead, they were part of an oral tradition, meaning they were passed from one generation to another by telling them out loud as stories. Upon hearing the stories, people accepted them as the truth. In this way, myths became beliefs. It is for this reason that mythology is closely associated with religion.

Since each group of people developed their own explanations, mythology differs from culture to culture. But all myths try to answer basic questions such as: How was the world created? How did life on Earth begin? Why is there evil in the world?

Pat Thomas’ birthday challenge

For her 70^th birthday, close friends challenged Pat to do the Coast to Coast (C2C) cycle ride from West to East across England from Whitehaven in Cumbria to Roker in Sunderland.

They followed the tradition of dipping their back wheels in the Irish Sea at the start and their front wheels in the North Sea at the end.

Pat and her friend Menna rode a total of 140 miles, much of it through the Lake District and over the Pennines! Menna's husband Alun acted as support driver.

They completed it in 4 days. Each evening, she and her friend were driven back to Menna’s home in the Lake District to lie in a darkened room and recover!

Each morning they were taken back by Alun to the point they finished the previous day.

Pat took on this challenge in aid of Alzeimer's Society and if you wish to support her fund raising then here is the link:

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/patricia-thomas6

9. What is the slang term for betting odds of 5-2?

10. Who starred in the Back to the Future films?

11. In West Side Story, they were the rivals of The Jets

12. Who had a 1970’s No. 1 hit with ‘Mouldy Old Dough’?

13. A 1968 historical drama starring Peter O’Toole with an Oscar winning performance by Katherine Hepburn

14. A song by Survivor, the theme tune to Rocky 3 15. What were Mizaru, Mukazaru and Mazaru

collective known as?

Answers on bottom of page 4

Quiz

– thanks to Roger Thomas

Category – Creatures (there is a creature in each answer) 1. Which English scientist invented the electric light bulb (it was

patented by Edison later!)

2. A famous children’s book by Sue Townsend, one of the best- selling books of the 80’s.

3. This animal was the mascot of the Toy-chain Toys R Us 4. If you have Varicella, what are you suffering from?

5. What was Horatio Nelson’s first naval command?

6. He is the British equivalent to Uncle Sam in the USA.

7. Who was Sitting Bull’s right hand man?

8. This South African played in 79 Test Matches for England between 1982-92

A New Group ……… join Gail Lewis at the Rugby Club on

Wednesday 20^th October @ 2.00pm for

Mythology Around the World

Greg Nuttgens has a book out entitled ‘Porthcawl Naturally’ which is on sale at Sussed or direct from Greg

We all know or have seen the famous Chinese Yin Yang symbol, but do you know it’s origin? There are several theories about the emergence of this symbol and that it refers to duality. Here’s the

most widely accepted version….

We have the first reference to duality in Chinese philosophy in the book of changes I-Ching, which in its characters combines the sun (above) and the moon (below).

Traditionally it has been translated yīn as dark, gloomy, and represents the northern, cloudy part of a mountain, while simplified it is translated as the moon. On the other hand, yang represents the south, sunny side of a mountain, and simplified it has been translated as the sun.

THE ORIGIN OF THE YIN YANG SYMBOL

By observing the shadow of the Sun, the ancient Chinese determined the four directions. They used a pole about 8 feet long (Chinese measure), placed at right angles to the ground, and recorded the positions of the shadow.

The direction of the sunrise is East; the direction of sunset is West; the direction of the shortest shadow is South; and the direction of the longest shadow is North. They also noticed the seasonal changes. When it points east it is spring; when it points south it is summer; when it points west it is autumn; when it points north it is winter.

By looking at the cycle of the Sun, they recorded that the length of a year is around 365.25 days. They even divided the cycle of the year into 24 segments, including the spring equinox, autumn equinox, summer solstice, and winter solstice, using the sunrise and dipper positions.

They used six concentric circles, marked the points of 24 segments, divided the circles into 24 sectors, and recorded the length of the shadow every day. The shortest shadow is found on the day of the summer solstice. The longest shadow is found on the day of the winter solstice.

The light-coloured area that indicates the most sunlight is called the Yang (Sun). The dark-coloured area has less sunlight (more moonlight) and is called Yin (Moon).

Yang is like a man. Yin is like a woman.

Yang would not grow without Yin. Yin could not give birth without Yang. Yin is born (begins) at the summer solstice and Yang is born (begins) at the winter solstice.

Therefore, a small Yin circle is marked at the summer solstice position. Another small Yang circle is marked at the winter solstice position. These two little circles look like two fisheyes.

There are many mysteries surrounding the creation of the yin-yang symbol, one of the theories attributes the drawing of the symbol to Fu-Xi, a mythological character who has also attributed the creation of writing, the book of I-Ching, the Eight Trigrams or Bāgùa in addition to being the founder of Taoism.

The first evidence of the Yin Yang symbol can be seen in the Chinese museum, displayed in the earliest pottery unearthed around 2600 BC. Hope you find it as fascinating as I do, and to this day, in accountancy terms, to calculate a weekly wage

from a yearly salary, we use 52.143…….. Jaci Russell.

QUIZ – Answers 1. Joseph SWAN

2. The Secret Diary of Adrian MOLE, Aged 13 ³/4

3. Geoffrey the GIRAFFE 4. CHICKENpox 5. HMS BADGER 6. John BULL 7. Crazy HORSE 8. Alan LAMB 9. BISON 10. Michael J. FOX 11. The SHARKS 12. Lieutenant PIDGEON 13. The LION in Winter 14. Eye of the TIGER 15. The 3 wise MONKEYS

German Kaffee Klatsch - Would members of the German group, or any German speakers, like to meet up to speak German, over a coffee, possibly cake, just to keep up with what you have learnt?

Helga Dickens is not a teacher, but German by birth and consequently fluent.

She would like to suggest meeting on 26th October at 2.30.pm. Venue to be decided.

If interested contact Helga Dickens

Meetings of our Interest Groups in October 2021

Art History ^{14.15 Rugby} _Club ^Mon 4^th &

18^th

4

^th MARY CASSAT (1844-1926). American painter and printmaker worked mainly in Paris at time of Degas JAN VERMEER(1632-1675). Dutch. One of the greatest painters of 17th century

18^th EDGAR DEGAS (1834-1917), French painter, graphic artist and sculptor, master of depicting 19th century Parisian life.

Graham Cross

Astronomy ^{14.00 YMCA} 7^{Thu th} &

21^st

7^th - Cosmic Cities – the story of galaxies.

21^st – Meet the neighbours: The Local Group Chris James

Book Club 1 ^10.00 _Nature^Kenfig ₂₉^Fri th

The Dutch House

By Ann Pratchett Barbara

Miles Book Club 2 ^{10.00 Annie’s} _house ^{Wed 13th} Where the Crawdads Sing

by Delia Owens Annie Rance

Book Club 3 _10.00 ^Carolyn’s _house ^{Thu 14th} The Beach Hut

by Victoria Henry Carolyn

Perren

Canasta ^{14.00 Rugby} _Club 4^Month &

18^th

New members welcome. We will teach you how to play. Lyn Irving

Computers Tablets and

other Gadgets

10.30 Costa Coffee

Mon 11^th &

25^th

Computer group help-desk service available between 10.30 &

12.00, but please ring beforehand to let us know you'll be coming.

Group Leaders: Geoff Henderson, Martin Patten

Geoff Henderson Martin Patten

Conversations 14.15 Rugby Club

Thu 7^th &

21^st

7^th - To what extent has prejudice featured in our lives?

21^st – What does our generation deserve and are we getting it ?

Come and join in, or just listen to, our stimulating and friendly discussions Doug Jones

Conversational

Spanish 10.00 YMCA Mon

11^th &

25^th

Estudiantes, espero estan todo bien y tengo ganas de verte pronto. (Students,I hope you're all well and I look forward to seeing you soon).

Terry Austin

Crafts ^14.00 YMCA Thu 7^th &

21^st

A warm welcome awaits any member who is interested

in any type of Craft. Pam Munro

Origins and Development

of Drama

14.00 Rugby Club

Mon 11^th &

25^th

We shall continue our exploration of The Theatre of Worship concentrating on the Mystery Plays attributed to The Wakefield Master. Prospective members are asked to contact me by phone or

e-mail for details.

Please note that the entrance is via the ramp at the side door.

Elizabeth C Bower

Dancercise ^{10.00 &}

11.00 Rugby

Club

Wed 6^th &

20^th

10 to 11 or 11 to Noon. To confirm the time you’d like to attend, please text 07582 274028 or email [email protected] Please wear sensible shoes and clothing and bring along some water.

Jaci Russell

Food in

Britain ^{14.15 Rugby Club} Tue

19^th A discussion and sharing of ideas on Halloween and Bonfire night food. All ideas welcome. Looking forward to seeing you then.

Carolyn Perren French for All ^{10.15 Rugby} _Club 5^{Tue th} &

19^th

5^th - Theme: My first day at school 19^th - Theme: Staycations

Group Leaders: Jenny Cross & Jenny Worthington

Jenny C.

Jenny W.

Gardening ^{10.00 Rugby} _Club ^Tue₂₆th

Our gardening group meets at the Rugby Club on the last Tuesday of each month. From 10.00 am to 12 Noon

Group Leaders: Jeanette Victor & Kay Boswell

Jeanette Victor Kay Boswell

History ^10.00 YMCA Mon 4^th &

18^th

4^th: Jean finishing her Haiti masterclass, with a touch of Wilberforce and some Napoleon in the background, and

17^th: Peter will tackle 'the dark continent' in which he spent much of his life.

Hanoverians and later US presidents can wait but we are trying to get a fairer showing for our speakers slides.

Andrew Collier

international

ZOOM Link ^{14.30 ZOOM} Mon 4^th &

18^th

We link via Zoom between members of our U3A and members of the U3A at Nantes in France. We connect from 2.30pm to 4pm and chat about current issues affecting our countries and ourselves. It's a friendship link which broadens our horizons literally and in other ways. Our French friends have a very good knowledge of English, so we speak entirely in English. Neither we nor they use French at all.

Doug Jones

Latin ^{10.15 RAFA} _Club 11^Month &

25^th

Translation from and into Latin, revision of vocabulary and grammar – all leading to mental gymnastics, friendly argument and fun.

Group Leaders: Doug Jones, Roger Thomas

Doug Jones Roger Thomas Discovering

Literature ^14.15 Nature^Kenfig Wed

6^th &

20^th

Please note that this group has now changed to 1^st & 3^rd Wednesday of the month. Still in Kenfig. Barbara will continue with a selection of works by Bernard Shaw.

Barbara Miles

Mah Jong ^{14.00 Rugby} _Club 14^Thuth &

28^th

Meetings will take place the second and fourth Thursday every month. I hope people will come. Anyone wishing to learn is very welcome or even to come and watch to see what it’s like.

Val Lea

Mindfulness 14.00 YMCA Tue 5^th &

19^th

M

indfulness can be defined as knowing what is happening while it is happening, no matter what it is.

You can find us in the YMCA Hall

Jaci Russell

Mythology _14.00 ^Rugby _Club ^{Wed 20th}

Ever wondered what was in Pandora's Box and was Loki really so bad. Do you want to discover the mysteries of Mythology?

A new group is looking at Mythology around the world. Please come along and join in a journey into this fascinating subject.

Gail Lewis

Painting

Workshop ^{10.00 YMCA} Thu 7^th, 14^th

21^st &

28^th

Painting group, every Thursday morning at the YMCA, 10 till 12 New members are very welcome to give Liz a ring

Liz Brown

Philosophy

and Ideas ^{10.00 YMCA} Fri 1^st, 15^th

& 29^th

We will meet on Friday 1st, 10.00am at the YMCA when Sue will deliver 'AI and the future of robotics', and subsequently on 15^th and 29^th with arrangements yet to be finalised - All welcome.

Andrew Collier Photography

Everyonefor ^{14.00 YMCA} Tue 8^th &

22^nd Restarting in October in the Top Floor room at the YMCA Rhod Earl

Play Reading ^{10.00 Rugby} _Club ^Wed 13^th

& 27^th

Reading Plays for enjoyment A very friendly group.

Group Leaders; Ian Hutchinson, Kay Boswell, Veronica Rees

Kay Boswell Ian Hutchinson Veronica Rees Exploring

Poetry ^{10.15 Rugby Club} Mon 4^th &

18^th

Members are asked to bring poems they would like to share. We shall, in subsequent meetings, explore Shakespeare's Sonnets.

Members have been given details of the text: prospective members are asked to contact me by phone or e-mail for details.

Elizabeth C Bower

Psychology ^{10.00 Rugby} _{Club 21}^Thust

The Psychology group will include discussion of a number of areas of interest over the coming sessions, including personality characteristics, personality disorders, communication, obedience and behaviour change.

Caroline Limbert

Quiz ^14.00 YMCA Mon

11^th Come along, enjoy yourself and test your general knowledge in

lovely company. Roger

Thomas

Science ^{14.00 Rugby} _Club Mon 25^th

We will meet at 2p.m. at the Rugby Club when we will discuss, the Rock of Gibraltar and the coming and going of the Mediterranean Sea, followed by the importance of accurate time keeping and the atomic clock.

Group Leaders: Martin Patten, Jeff Saunders

Martin Patten Jeff Saunders

Scrabble ^{09.45 Awel Y} _Mor 4^{Mon th} &

18^th

We will be playing Scrabble again in October.

We have to wear masks and sanitise hands on entry Pat Parry Singing

for Fun ^{14.00 Rugby Club} Fri

22^nd Meeting just 22^nd Oct in the Rugby Club. Veronica Rees Social

Cycling ^{13.30 Bryngarw} tbc

Thu 7^th

&

28^th

7^th - The Garw Valley from Bryngarw

28^th - Pontypool cycle path – tbc. Pat Thomas

Strollers ^{10.00 Opposite} _Fairways Tue

5^th

&

19^th

On the 5^th we meet in front of Fairways, stroll to the lookout point before returning for coffee in Fairways. On the 19^th, Fairways will be closed so we shall stroll in the opposite direction, down to the Booths Cafe Bar, hoping that those who don't stroll will join us there!

Sally Corbett

Sunday

Lunch ^{12.00 Fairways} Sun

17^th See menu in the body of the Newsletter – please order by Sunday 10^th October. Phone Sally or email [email protected] to book

Sally Corbett

Table

Tennis ^{10.00 YMCA} Fri 8^th &

22^nd

Come and join in our relaxed and friendly games. We have bats

and balls, but if you have your own bat, please bring it along. Gary Russell

Ukulele ^{14.00 YMCA}

Fri 1^st &

15^th

First and third Friday in October.

Group Leaders: Rhod Earl, Mike O’Brian, Ray Brown

Rhod Earl Mike O’Brian

Ray Brown

Walking 13.30

13.30

Cowbridge Car Park

Porthcawl Marina

Fri 8^th

Fri 22^nd

This is a 3 mile walk along field and woodland paths and is

reasonably level. There is one long fairly moderate climb needed to ascend Stalling Down. I have checked out a tea shop in Cowbridge near to the car park.

We meet at Cowbridge Town Hall square carpark CF71 7EE. The fee is £2, cash should be easier. Toilets are available at the carpark.

---

We don't often walk on our beautiful beaches, so today we are going to start from the Marina, walk along Eastern Prom and then onto Sandy Bay (aka Coney Beach), then Trecco Bay and Newton Beach. At the halfway point we shall turn around and come back along an inland route to the starting point. The distance is around 3 miles, no stiles, no hills. The leaders are Trixie and Anne

---

If you have not walked with the group before, please contact the leader to check that the starting point is as planned. If the weather is doubtful, please phone the leader to check the walk is taking place. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear. We walk at our own risk.

Pat Thomas

Trixie Tudor Anne Trimble

Welsh ^{10.00 Rugby} _Club Thu 14^th &

28^th

Members should have a basic level of the language.

The group members are all learners of Welsh, but fluent speakers are welcome.

Group Leaders: David Parry, John Pearman

David Parry John Pearman

Whist ^14.00 YMCA Mon

11^th &

25^th

Please note that we have now moved to the

YMCA – 2^nd floor (Café area) !! Sue Hunt

Wildlife ^14.00 _Nature^{Kenfig Tue} ₅th

U3A Wildlife Group will meet on Tuesday 5th October, at Kenfig Nature Reserve Centre at 2.00 p.m. There will be a talk on Freshwater Life

Greg Nuttgens Writing

for Pleasure

Groups 1 & 2

10.00 Rugby Club

Fri 1^st &

15^th

We write simply for the pleasure of writing and to receive friendly feedback.

Group 1 = Marcia Humphries Group 2 = Claudette Evans

Marcia Humphreys

Claudette Evans Writing

for Pleasure

Group 3

10.00 YMCA Fri 8^th &

22^nd

We write simply for the pleasure of writing and to receive friendly feedback.

Please note the change of venue to YMCA for Group 3 and different Fridays to groups 1 & 2

Julie Matthews

Fri 1^st

10.00 Rugby Club Writing Group 1 Sun 17^th 12.00 Fairways Sunday Lunch 10.00 Rugby Club Writing Group 2

Mon 18^th

09.45 Awel Y Mor Scrabble

10.00 YMCA Philosophy 10.00 YMCA History

14.00 YMCA Ukulele 10.15 Rugby Club Exploring Poetry

14.00 Rugby Club Canasta

Mon 4^th

09.45 Awel Y Mor Scrabble 14.15 Rugby Club Art History

10.00 YMCA History 14.30 ZOOM International Link

10.15 Rugby Club Exploring Poetry

Tue 19^th

10.00 Opp Fairways Strollers

14.00 Rugby Club Canasta 10.15 Rugby Club French

14.15 Rugby Club Art History 14.00 YMCA Mindfulness

14.30 ZOOM International Link 14.15 Rugby Club Food in Britain

Tues 5^th

10.00 Opp Fairways Strollers

Wed 20^th

10.00 Rugby Club Dancercise 1

10.15 Rugby Club French 11.00 Rugby Club Dancercise 2

14.00 YMCA Mindfulness 14.00 Rugby Club Mythology

14.00 Kenfig N.R. Wildlife 14.15 Kenfig N.R. Discover Literature

Wed 6^th

10.00 Rugby Club Dancercise 1

Thu 21^st

10.00 YMCA Painting

11.00 Rugby Club Dancercise 2 10.00 Rugby Club Psychology

14.15 Kenfig N.R. Discover Literature 14.00 YMCA Crafts

Thu 7^th

10.00 YMCA Painting 14.00 YMCA Astronomy

13.30 Bryngarw Cycling 14.15 Rugby Club Conversations

14.00 YMCA Crafts

Fri 22^nd

10.00 YMCA Writing Group 3

14.00 YMCA Astronomy 10.00 YMCA Table Tennis

14.15 Rugby Club Conversations 13.30 P’Cawl Marina Walking

Fri 8^th

10.00 YMCA Writing Group 3 14.00 Rugby Club Singing for Fun

10.00 YMCA Table Tennis

13.30 Cowbridge T.H. Walking

Mon 25^th

10.30 Costa Coffee Computers 10.00 YMCA Spanish

10.15 RAFA Club Latin

Mon 11^th

10.30 Costa Coffee Computers 14.00 Rugby Club Origins of Drama

10.00 YMCA Spanish 14.00 Rugby Club Science

10.15 RAFA Club Latin 14.00 YMCA Whist

14.00 Rugby Club Origins of Drama

Tue 26^th 10.00 Rugby Club Gardening

14.00 YMCA Quiz 14.00 YMCA Photography

14.00 YMCA Whist Wed 27^th 10.00 Rugby Club Play Reading

Tue 12^th 14.00 YMCA Photography

Thu 28^th

10.00 YMCA Painting Wed 13^th10.00 Rugby Club Play Reading 10.00 Rugby Club Welsh

10.00 Annie’s house Book Club 2 13.30 t.b.c. Cycling

Thu 14^th

10.00 YMCA Painting 14.00 Rugby Club Mah Jong

10.00 Rugby Club Welsh

Fri 29^th 10.00 Kenfig N.R. Book Club 1

10.00 Carolyn’s house Book Club 3 10.00 YMCA Philosophy

14.00 Rugby Club Mah Jong

Fri 15^th

10.00 Rugby Club Writing Group 1

10.00 Rugby Club Writing Group 2

10.00 YMCA Philosophy

14.00 YMCA Ukulele

Calendar October 2021

Committee Officers Chair………. Sally Corbett Vice Chair……….. Carolyn Perren Treasurer………… Jaci Russell Secretary………… Jeff Perren Mem Secretary… Gary Russell

Contact Details

Chair [email protected] Treasurer [email protected] Secretary [email protected] Badges [email protected]

The deadline for contributions for our November Newsletter is 15^th October