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We gathered in Central Methodist Church on Thursday afternoon to hear a highly entertaining talk by physiotherapist Lynne Midwinter on “Keeping fit as the years roll by.”
Lynne explained why exercise is so beneficial. It improves flexibility, builds up stronger muscle and bone strength, lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system and improves circulation and the quality and duration of sleep. Stress and depression can also be reduced by exercise, since this releases more endorphins, which are natural painkillers and also improve the emotional state. Keeping fit also reduced the risk of injury through falls. Discussing flexibility, Lynne pointed out that arthritis of the hip and knee is largely a Western disease, and is unknown in those Third World countries where people squat rather than sit. She went on to list the dangers of immobility, and warned members not to assume lack of fitness was a natural consequence of the aging process. Limiting your exercise was the slippery slope leading to disability and lack of independence.
Going on to the types of exercise most useful, she cheered many in the audience by asserting that in her opinion running was a greatly overrated activity! Swimming was ideal for those people who were past walking any distance. Her top tips for successful exercise were – don’t be frightened to get out of breath; do something weight-bearing; do something you enjoy doing; company really helps; set yourself realistic goals; reward yourself. Two sessions of thirty minutes per week were the absolute minimum needed for health, but aim for five sessions. For stamina, any activity which got you out of breath was useful. To improve balance, which causes most problems later on, practice standing on one leg and once that is accomplished, try it with closed eyes. Since rotation is always the first movement to go, try stretching and rotating activities once or twice every day. Her final tips were – stand tall; rotate the thorax; when queuing or standing try the “ballerina position” (standing with heel of one foot to instep of the other) which will exercise and tauten muscles.
Lynne was thanked by Alan McDonald for a most interesting and stimulating talk.
The meeting continued with a short presentation by
the Convenors of the various activity groups which have so far been organised.
The Computer group was working on setting up simple websites. A Concert Party
group was hoping to provide entertainment for others, and was looking for
people who could perform in any way. Enthusiasm was more important than talent.
The Science group was studying an introduction to fusion research. French
conversation sessions, for those who had a little French and wished to improve
it, were beginning on July 7th. Members of the Literature group were giving
presentations on their favourite authors. The Spanish group, once a convenor
had been found, would be offering Spanish at any level. The Writers group
had held some successful meetings, with members producing work on the subject
of “Dance.” World Faith and Family History groups were also operating.
Contact details for all these activities can be found on www.u3atod.org.uk
or by phoning 01706 839176.
The next Branch meeting will take place in the same venue at 2pm on July17th,
when Jack Taylor will be talking about “The Buildings of Todmorden”.
[report by Marion Kershaw]
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We enjoyed a most interesting talk on “The Buildings of Todmorden ” by Jack Taylor. Introduced by U3A Chair John McNair as “Todmorden through and through,” Jack illustrated the talk with his own photographs. He described the circumstances by which he became an architect instead of going into the family firm, and talked about his own projects and the historic buildings of the town.
Some of the earliest examples of building in
Todmorden can be found in the early cruck house at Inchfield Fold, and at
St Mary’s Church, where some of the base stones of the tower date to
around 1460.
Beanhole, which he called “the most marvellous house in Todmorden,”
has a fine inglenook fireplace with a bread oven, and the shaft of the original
Viking cross of Cross Stone incorporated into the stonework. It also has a
superb plaster memorial to Charles the Second.
Jack went on to describe the development of Stansfield Hall from the original
house of 1604, the construction of Dobroyd Castle, and the features of the
Unitarian Church, which is now the only one existing in the country. Other
buildings covered were the Town Hall, Woodhouse and Robinwood Mills, the Lumbutts
water wheels and the two-roomed “matchbox” house on Bacup Road.
The houses on Stansfield Road were built as “bylaw housing.” with
the width of the road and pavement specified by local regulations. Jack had
designed the Harley Wood Estate to Parker-Morris standard, and had produced
a design which satisfied the planning requirement that there should be no
access doors on the Burnley Road side. He had been honoured in 1947 to get
the job of setting out the name panels for Todmorden’s Memorial Garden.
Jack gave an amusing account of demolishing a house on the slope below Dobroyd Castle, and in response to a question from the audience discussed one problem facing town planners now – are there other alternatives to preserving buildings that are unusable and dangerous rather than demolishing them to build more housing that may not be needed?
He was thanked by Alan McDonald, who said that walks around Todmorden in future would be enlivened by knowledge of Jack’s buildings.
In his opening remarks, John McNair said that the pleasure of learning was a driving force in the work of the U3A. After retirement people now could look forward to 20 years or more to do interesting things, and the U3A was one attempt to provide for this. The Todmorden U3A now had 79 members and 11 interest groups, and several more people had joined at the meeting. It had made a fair start, and with the help of members could go on making progress.
The Convenors reported on their interest groups. The Computing group and the Music group were taking a break until September, and would both be looking at the possibility of using the facilities in Ferney Lee School. The Literature group was studying “English Passengers” by Matthew Kneale. The Concert Party was concentrating on the musical side at present, and would add comedy and dancing later. New members were welcome.The World Faiths group had discussed a form of Buddhism at their last meeting. It was open to people of any faith or none who wished to come along and learn what others believed. The next topic for the Science group would be Newton’s Laws of motion. The Spanish group now had two convenors, and hoped to run sessions for absolute beginners and a more advanced conversation group. The Writers group was flourishing, and members were producing poetry and prose on the theme of local current affairs. The French group was intending to meet once a week to foster spoken French. The Family History group was making a start on computer research. Lists were being compiled for other topics – Current Affairs, Philosophy, German, Table Tennis, and a Lunch Club. All convenors could be contacted through the numbers on the newsletter and website, or by phoning 01706 839176.
[report by Marion Kershaw]
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The guest speakers were Stephen Ingham JP and John Bassinder JP. Their topic was ‘Judging Others!’
Mr Ingham began his presentation with a history of the magistrate’s court from 1195 to the present day. He explained that, originally, JP’s were knights appointed by the King to ensure that the law was upheld in his absence and they were originally called Keepers of the Peace. However they were unable to dispense instant justice, only the King could do this. Between 1264 and 1327 this changed .The Keepers of the Peace, now called Sheriffs, were able to dispense instant justice and also to bind over unruly persons to good behaviour (allow bail). In 1382 Sheriffs were given the full power to punish offenders. By 1439, a JP was a landowner, owning property in the county in which he served. The posts were unpaid and the volunteers came from the highest levels of society. By 1835 JP’s were nominated by the Lord Chancellor. This state continued until 1906 when the Liberals challenged the requirement for the JP’s to own property and the old system was abolished. By 1919 women were allowed to apply to become JP’s and on the 31st December 1919 Ada Summers became the first woman magistrate. By 1942 only 9 benches in England did not have a woman serving as a JP.
Today, JP’s come from a variety of backgrounds, for example council workers, teachers, self-employed. There is no bar to anyone applying to become a JP other than having a criminal record. Calderdale has 140 JP’s of whom 50% are women. JP’s are appointed by the Lord Chancellor, are unpaid volunteers and must ‘be of good character.’ Prior to being appointed to the bench, an applicant undergoes two interviews and there is in depth research into their background. Volunteers undergo very intense training which is ongoing throughout their time on the bench.
Three magistrates sit in court at any one time, one JP chairs the proceedings. There is always a mix of men and women on the panel and a legal adviser in attendance to clarify points of law, especially with regard to the verdict and sentence. Magistrates are required to work to legal guidelines from the government and sentences prescribed by Parliament. Parliament makes the laws and JP’s are bound by these.
Mr Bassinder explained that, at one time, magistrates had to be at least 27 years of age. The youngest magistrate is now 18 or 19 years of age. The retirement age for magistrates is 70. He went on to explain the organisation of the court hearings. Preliminary hearings are heard on Monday and Tuesday each week. In Halifax there are 7 court rooms, usually 5 are in use and the JP’s can hear up to 20 cases per morning.
He explained that there are 3 types of case which will come up in front of magistrates – Summary – these cases are tried in the magistrate’s court and are lesser offences e.g. speeding. Either way offences – dependent on the severity these may be tried in the magistrate’s court or referred to the Crown Court e.g. shoplifting or £60.000 theft. The decision to try the case in the magistrate’s court or refer to the Crown Court usually depends on the limit of the JP’s powers. Indictable offences – these are serious offences and must be referred to the Crown Court e.g., murder, rape. JP’s also decide whether bail should be allowed and the conditions which may be applied. JP’s can work in 3 types of court – Adult, Youth and Family. They will also try offences regarding animal cruelty, health and safety, non–payment of council tax and TV licensing offences.
To close their presentation, Mr Bassinder and Mr Ingham undertook a short exercise with volunteers from the membership and, following a lively question and answer session, they offered the opportunity for members to visit the Magistrates Court in Halifax.
[report by Marion Kershaw]
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We enjoyed an interactive session on primary education at their latest meeting. Mrs Brogan-Hewitt, Headteacher of Ferney Lee School, spoke on the topic “What do they learn now?” although the question could also have been “How do they learn now?” as her talk covered teaching methods and learning styles as well as content. She explained that under the National Curriculum, there were now 12 compulsory subjects in primary schools – English; Mathematics; Art; Science; History; Geography; Religious Education; Music; Design Technology; Information and Computer Technology; Physical Education; Personal, Social and Health Education. Inclusiveness was important, and education provision must be adapted to fit each pupil’s ability level and learning style.
Mrs Brogan-Hewitt was ably assisted by three of her pupils, Adam, Sajeea and Sophia, who explained the three different learning styles- visual, or learning through seeing and reading; auditory, or learning through listening, and kinaesthetic, where the pupil learnt through doing. The pupils also showed the range of vocabulary and numeracy aids available on their classroom tables. One big difference in classroom procedure now was that pupils were encouraged to discuss their work and help one another, which would have been frowned upon fifty years ago when working in silence was the rule.
In the teaching of literacy, sounds, or phonemes,
were linked with actions to help young children learn the basics. After trying
out these sounds and actions for themselves, the audience were given whiteboards
and encouraged to break words down into their separate phonemes, and later
to try the “partitioning” and “chunking” methods of
tackling mathematical calculations. Mrs Brogan-Hewitt explained that although
this might seem to take much longer than the standard methods, it did foster
pupil’s understanding of calculation and they did progress onto standard
methods later. The school also fostered citizenship through a system of School
and Class councils. It was an Eco School, where pupils were encouraged to
grow plants and vegetables, and to conserve energy by switching off lights
and electrical equipment. Finally, Sajeea demonstrated her proficiency in
Spanish, another subject studied by pupils.
Alan McDonald thanked Mrs Brogan-Hewitt, Adam, Sajeea and Sophia, and presented
them with gel pens and a garden gift voucher to aid the school’s horticultural
efforts.
Peter Gibson, Vice-Chair and Groups Co-ordinator, gave a brief report on the progress of the organisation since its start in April. There were now fifteen Special Interest Groups, with four new groups at the start-up stage. The list for the Lunch Club was now closed, but there was a waiting list for prospective members.
At the same meeting , Mr Rod Wainwright of Todmorden Lions gave a brief presentation on the history and work of the Lions organisation. The International Association of Lions was the largest service organisation in the world, with one and a half million members in one hundred and fifty countries. It worked locally and internationally on disaster relief and ongoing humanitarian projects, such as the drive to alleviate the conditions causing blindness, which had been operating since 1922. Three-quarters of all blind people were needlessly blind because of conditions that could have been prevented. Two hundred million dollars had been raised worldwide.
The Todmorden Lions were formed in 1978. As well as contributing
to the international campaigns, they raised money locally to spend on local
causes., including equipment for local surgeries and schools. Their principal
fundraising events, the Duck Race, the Canal Walk and the Family Fun Day,
were all popular landmarks in Todmorden’s calendar. They were also promoting
the free “Message in a Bottle” scheme which could be used to inform
emergency services of patients’ medical circumstances.
The benefits of working with the Lions were serving the community, making
new friends, and gaining satisfaction from the knowledge of a job well done.
Mr Wainwright concluded by urging the audience to consider becoming involved
themselves.
[report by Marion Kershaw]
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The speaker at the October meeting of u3a Todmorden was Mr Gary Borrows, Head of Calderdale’s Libraries, Museums and Art Services. His theme for the talk was “21st Century Libraries,” since the service had changed massively since the days of his training, when classification, indexing and filing were necessary skills. The development of computer and information technology meant that staff now had longer to spend with library users, and required people skills to a much higher degree. To applause, he paid tribute to staff from the libraries in the Todmorden area, calling them “stars in our system.”
Mr Borrows described libraries as pivotal in people’s lives if they were introduced to them in youth. Recognising the importance of this, the service worked hard with the parents of young children. Grandparents could be just as influential in introducing children to books and involving them in libraries. He himself had not grown up in a bookish home, but had been lucky enough to have a grandmother who supplied him with books.
Although people were now buying more books, they were also making more use of libraries, showing a growing appetite for books, information and learning. As other facilities closed, libraries could provide a public focal point, and in smaller communities could sometimes be clustered with other services. People’s changing demands required the library services to constantly update their practices, and there would soon be a consultation on weekend opening hours and possible Sunday opening if that would best suit a working population. However, he was saddened to find that some young people didn’t understand that libraries were free. In Calderdale, there was also no charge to order books or to use the Internet. Heptonstall Museum now had no admission charge, and visitor numbers had quintupled since. Museums and art galleries were also instruments of informal learning, an activity close to the hearts of u3a members, who could be great ambassadors for libraries.
In answer to questions, Mr Borrows said it was hoped that the repairs to Hebden Bridge library would be completed by the end of February. Members expressed concerns about the proposal to house Todmorden Library in the Town Hall. Mr Borrows said that this was only one of three options put forward for discussion on Town Hall use. There were English Heritage constraints on what could be done with the Town Hall. The consultation results would be analysed and eventually brought before the relevant committees for further consideration.
Alan McDonald thanked Mr Borrows for his insightful and enthusiastic talk.
The Chair, John McNair, welcomed members to the newly-renovated Central Methodist Church and thanked the members of the church for their helpfulness and consideration in allowing u3a to use the hall during the renovation period. Vic-Chair Peter Gibson gave a brief resume of the 16 special interest groups now running, with 2 more due to start and a further 4 under discussion. A convenor with knowledge of art history was still being sought. Updated information sheets were now available with details of all the available activities. Joe Mitchell spoke on the new Current Affairs group, and urged more members to get involved, particularly those who felt able to offer a specialist introduction on any subject.
[report by Marion Kershaw]
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The November meeting of Todmorden U3A had a historical flavour. Robert Priestley described the origins and work of Todmorden Antiquarian Society. In addition to its meetings the Society had produced books on local historical interest, and had collected over 3000 slides of the area. Over the years, members had also collected and preserved many thousands of graveyard inscriptions. He followed this with a brief account of the geological formation of the Todmorden landscape and the signs left by the earliest settlers. He discussed the origins of the name “Todmorden,” which traditionally was said to mean “Valley of the marsh fox,” although some historians were now saying it derived from “Totters Dean.” An amusing coincidence was that in German the name meant “Valley of death and murder!”
Well-known local author Geoff Boswell then gave a talk on the milestones, crosses and causey paths in the area. His interest had first been sparked by stories within the title deeds of the farmhouse he moved to in 1967, which had referred to a previous owner travelling a considerable distance to inns some way along the Burnley valley. Geoff described his detective work in tracing lost paths from early maps, and helping to uncover these on the ground. From earliest times, tracks developed across the higher slopes of the hills because the valley bottoms were dangerous or impassable. He illustrated the talk with his own slides, showing many examples of different milestones and crosses and tracing the routes of local causey paths, which up to the advent of turnpike roads were the only means of people getting about
Vice-Chair Peter Gibson thanked the speakers and said it was always enlightening and enjoyable to discover new facts about your own area from those who had studied it so thoroughly.
The members meeting on December 18th would take the form of a quiz, followed by entertainment from u3a’s own concert party.
[report by Marion Kershaw]
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There was no formal record of the December meeting. We enjoyed seasonal food and frolics, including a quiz and a performance by the Senior Moments concert party. A good time was had by all!
The January meeting of u3aTodmorden set an attendance record when 86 people arrived to hear Robert Priestley of the Antiquarian Society give a talk on “The township of Langfield”. Mr Priestley’s illustrated talk covered the geographical boundaries of Langfield, and its history from early mentions in the Domesday Book of 1086, and a later reference to “13 bovates “ (about 195 acres) of land held by the Langefelt family, one of the seven freeholders of the township. In the Middle Ages, many second sons of families began their rise to wealth by becoming “middlemen,” buying and supplying wool to local weavers, and later building fine houses on the hillsides. Amongst the many facts members learnt were that houses built gable-end to the road were a distinguishing mark of a Viking settlement, that doorposts on cruck-built houses were detachable and could be taken with the householders when they moved, and that houses were always built at the top edge of cultivated land. Afterwards members were able to view historical maps of the area.
The Chairman, John McNair, commented on the fact that u3a Todmorden continued to grow, and now had over 150 members. A new group was planning visits to places of interest, with Liverpool as the first destination in February.
Peter Gibson, the Vice-Chair, told members about a new “Shares” group which had been formed. Members would study the Stock Market, make imaginary investments and track their progress. At the end of a year, if they felt they had gained enough experience, they might move into buying shares in earnest, although this activity would have to be carried on outside the remit of u3a.
Sue Clough of the Natural History Society gave a brief talk on earlier botanical organisations in Todmorden, and described the activities of the Society.
[report by Marion Kershaw]
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