Weekly Online Timetable
As usual, we have sent you the timetable as a separate document so that you may access it more easily. You may also see it if you click here.
The Monday Talks
This week’s Monday Talk at 10.30 is ‘Dementia Research: Trials and Tribulations’ given by Anna Byrne. Anna is Clinical Research Coordinator at the Imperial Memory Unit at Imperial College Healthcare NHS trust. She talks about dementia from a research perspective and how this may lead to earlier detection, prevention and treatment of dementia.
Next week 15 February: Tony Dayan, former public health physician, pathologist, toxicologist, academic and regulatory advisor will talk about plant derived medicines and why they are still valuable today.
Also this week:
Aspects of Japan
Richard Arthur’s subject will be the ‘Royal collection of Japanese artifacts.
For the fans of Wally Howard
Here are the links to Wally’s talks for this week. They are: Joe Hill – Part 3” on Vimeo:
Memories at 95 – Part 27 on Vimeo:
And Reflections on two of my favourite films on Vimeo:
Duplicate Bridge
Some of you may have heard about “Real Bridge” which is a user-friendly online way of playing duplicate bridge. Judy Dodds, who runs the Bridge group on a Tuesday, told me (Amalia) about it and Alan Unerman and I have tried it out and we are very excited about it. It’s called “Real Bridge” because it’s nearly as real as you can get to a proper duplicate game. You can see and chat to other participants who will all be other members of our U3A.
Alan has offered to be the director of such a session on a Friday afternoon at 2.00 – 4.00 and he would like you to let him know if you would be interested in taking part. You don’t have to be a member of Alan’s regular Monday duplicate group – anyone from U3A can join but you should know how to play duplicate Bridge.
If you decide to take part, you will be sent a link and all you have to do is to click on it each time you attend. There will be a fee of £5, which will cover the administration charge of Real Bridge from March until the Summer term ends in mid-July.
Alan hopes he will be able to start the sessions by the middle of March and he will be sending more details to those who have contacted him. It should be fun!
Margaret Myers’ Hebrew classes
Those who attended these classes will be aware that Margaret has been unavailable this term. The good news is that Jeff Freeman has agreed to take, at first, the Tuesday class at 10.30 with the possibility of taking the Wednesday class too if there is sufficient demand. Jeff says he “isn’t a teacher” but would be totally flexible on what he would be able to offer. He has asked for members who attended either class to email the Office to give him an idea of numbers and of the standard of their Hebrew.
French Corner
La numéro 2.
Go on! Improve your French and have some fun at the same time.
A Reminder
Barbara Stevens has restarted her support every Thursday at 11am. Originally a bereavement support group, she is happy to talk to anyone whose wellbeing has been affected by Covid19. She feels that listening in a supportive way and getting feedback can be hugely beneficial even when another’s situation or loss is not the same as your own. If this applies to you, do contact her via the Office.
From Stanley Volk
Because of popular demand, I would like to discontinue the play reading and have the “Singing Workshop” weekly. The meeting on 11th February at 12.00 will include 10 minutes fun warm-up exercises, singing in harmony etc to be followed by a good old Sing-Along with Andy Williams including The Beach Boys and Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel.. Come along to sing or just listen.
More from Amalia
While talking to members, I have discovered that there are people from various groups getting together “off the cuff” as it were. These involve classes that do not appear in our weekly timetable because they are not regular events or because the coordinators don’t want to be involved with Zoom. Members who are in touch with each other get together by phone – or some other method, which is lovely to hear.
I just wondered if there should be some way of letting others know that such groups exist – maybe you would tell me so that I could give them a bit of publicity and then others who may be suffering from “withdrawal symptoms” could get in touch with their friends.
To Make you smile
An elderly priest invited a young curate over for dinner. During the meal, the curate noticed how attractive and shapely the housekeeper was and over the course of the evening, he began to wonder if there might be more between the elderly priest and the housekeeper than met the eye. Reading the young man’s thoughts, the elderly priest volunteered, “I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you my relationship with my housekeeper is purely professional.”
About a week later the housekeeper came to the elderly priest and said, “Father, ever since your young friend came to dinner, I’ve been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don’t suppose he took it, do you?” The priest said, “Well, I doubt it, but I’ll write him a letter just to be sure.”
So he sat down and wrote: “Dear Friend: I’m not saying that you DID take a silver gravy ladle from my house, and I’m not saying you DIDN’T take it. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here.”
Several days later the elderly priest received a letter from the young curate which read: “Dear Father: I’m not saying that you DO sleep with your housekeeper, and I’m not saying that you DON’T sleep with your housekeeper. But the fact remains that if you were sleeping in your own bed, you would have found the gravy ladle by now.”
For the legal mind. These are from a book called Disorder in the Courts and are things people actually said in court.
BARRISTER: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, ‘Where am I Cathy?’
BARRISTER: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
BARRISTER: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
BARRISTER: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
BARRISTER: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
BARRISTER: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
BARRISTER: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
BARRISTER: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honour, I think I need a different barrister.
BARRISTER: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
BARRISTER: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.:
BARRISTER: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral…
And last:
BARRISTER: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
BARRISTER: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
BARRISTER: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
BARRISTER: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
BARRISTER: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
BARRISTER: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
Best Wishes from the Team
Naomi 
Gilli 
Herbie 
Amalia 
and Gerta