Let’s hope that 2023 will be a happy, peaceful and healthy New Year for us all – and welcome to a new term!

The Timetables for the week
The full timetable, room timetable and the Zoom timetable are available in the Office and on our website.
Monday Morning Talks
As usual, these are available in room 2.21 and on Zoom. The talk this Monday is entitled “Hesitations in Health: Could, would, and should I?”
We are delighted to welcome back Professor Tony Dayan who has, as he puts it, recently escaped from Belsize Park but has been recaptured by our U3A.
New Office Helpers Needed
Are there any members who would like to join our team of Office Helpers? Specifically, we need someone for Tuesday afternoons. By the way, it is not a job for ladies only! We have three male helpers at present so, gentlemen, why don’t you come and join them? If you are interested, get in touch with the Office.
Class News for the new term
A New Class: Learning to write Reviews, Interviews, Letters and Articles for publication.
Nicola Manassseh is offering a ‘different’ writing experience for you to try, On Tuesdays at 12.50 – 13.50 in Room 1.30 (or 1.22, depending on numbers),
Nicola is the editor and major contributor to a local magazine in Belsize Park called “In The Square”. She says, “This class will help you to craft all kinds of effective and engaging articles, including letters and speeches. You will gain the confidence to send reviews e.g. of films and events and to print publications. There is an option to learn how to edit your own writing. All you need is a notebook and your favourite pen”.
We also welcome the return of some old friends:
Malcolm Stern’s World Play Reading is back on Monday afternoons.
Christopher Dean is back on Tuesdays at 11.40 to talk about Peace and War: Aspects of European history from the Renaissance to the 20th century.
Deirdre Krymer is returning on Tuesdays at 12.50 with her fortnightly class: Making America: from Boston Tea Party to world power in the twenty first century.
John Satchwell’s Ukulele for you re-starts on Tuesdays at 15.10.
Jennifer Mills will be making a return on Wednesdays at 11.40 with: The Dutch Golden Age.
Anthony Gooch is back with Spanish Philology on Wednesdays at 11.40.
David McGowan’s Practical Art (Classical Drawing) is occupying a longer slot on Tuesdays in Room 1.29, starting at 14.30.
Amalia Michaels has finished her course on the History of Astronomy on Wednesday afternoons at 15.10. From 11 January, by request, she will be repeating “Quantum Theory for the terrified” on Zoom. Don’t be too frightened; it begins gently with the ideas of the ancient Greeks and gradually, over many weeks, we will find out how the modern stuff developed as more ideas were discovered.
Gillian Korgaonkar writes: re Law and the Elderly. On 2 and 16 February I will do the 2 classes that were missed last term. I’m happy to offer the course for the summer term.
From Peter Nash. Class cancelled: there will be no Bridge on Thursdays in Room 2.21 at 10 30.
From Caroline Chan I have now found employment and sadly will no longer have the time to give future classes at U3A, unfortunately. I would like to thank you for giving me the chance to share my courses in Franklin Method classes, I very much enjoyed giving them to all those who came every week and all those who gave me a chance and ventured to try something new.
From Stanley Volk. Due to family commitments (my son and family are here from Australia), there will be no Singing for Pleasure until Wednesday 1st February. Members of the class will be contacted.
Please note that Shireen Gunasekera’s FridayBridge class and Shafeeq Siddiqui’s Stories Behind the Headlines on Mondays are both postponed until the Summer Term.
Summer Term – advance notice! Yvonne Dove is offering a new Art appreciation class on Secular and Mythological Art on Thursday afternoons. The course covers the history of secular and mythological art from ancient Greek and Roman statues and mosaics, all the way through to twentieth century political propaganda posters. The sessions will be highly participative discussions and include comparisons of Renaissance mythological paintings and sculpture, English landscapes, artists’ use of self portraits to project their image, the Victorian Pre-Raphaelites and French impressionism in between.
From Wally Howard
This coming week the films in Room 1.22 were all directed by Marcel Carné:
On Monday 9th January at 2pm: Jean Gabon Michèle Morgan and Michel Simon in QUAI DES BRUMES (Port of Shadows) A classic film from the golden age of French Cinema.
On Wednesday 11th January at 2pm LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS. Voted best French film ever made with Jean-Louis Barrault and Arletty Pierre Brasseur – and On Thursday 12th January at 2pm LE JOUR SE LÈVE “A model of French poetic realism”, with Jean Gabin Arletty and Jules Berry.
From Shirley Levy
Nearly Forgotten Poetry on Thursdays at 14.00 in Room 1.29. Last term we began by reading poems from ancient Mesopotamia. This was followed by looking at the very different ways by which various cultures tell the story of Creation This term we will start with myths and poems from the Norse-Viking age, and this will be followed by poetry from the Anglo-Saxon period. All are welcome.
From Ken Baldry
European History Wed 11.40 – 12.40. For the first week of the 2023 term, talk 88 is about Henry VIII of England with 82 slides, maybe more by then. Next week: Talk 89. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to 1540.
From Stephen Barry
The first of my fortnightly talks in the London Miscellany series will be the story of Holloway Prison. It’s in Room 2.26 at 11.40a.m. on Thursday January 12.
From Amara Proctor
There will be no belly dance class on 10 January. Jo – an old member – has died and it clashes with her funeral.
From Marvin Tomkinson
I will be unable to attend the 11.40 Italian conversation class on Tuesday the 10th as I have a hospital appointment that morning, but please carry on without me and I’ll see everyone the following week.
Congratulations to Yvonne Bernstein MBE
Yvonne (a regular contributor to our Cercle Français group) has been recognised with an MBE for services to Holocaust Education. She was separated from her parents at two years old and put in the care of family, who were forced into hiding, and was a hidden child in France throughout most of the Holocaust. She wasn’t reunited with her parents until six years later when she moved to the UK.
Yvonne has dedicated much of her post-retirement life to Holocaust education and commemoration and regularly speaks about her experiences in schools.
Sad News
The Mah Jong group in particular will be sorry to hear that Dr Elise Vandervelde died during the Christmas break. Elise coordinated the group when Daphne Gotlop went to live in Scotland; she also worked in the Office as one of the loyal band of helpers.
Howard Fox

We are sad to announce the death on 28 December of Howard Fox, our treasurer for many years. He, together with his wife Wendy, persuaded and encouraged us to transform our accounting and record keeping. His accounting expertise enabled him to produce the comprehensive (and legally necessary) detailed accounts and Trustees Report which we have issued since then each year.
Howard introduced systems into the office so that all our transactions were properly recorded and controlled, and through his efforts we became computerised before many other U3As. He and Wendy also taught themselves how to use a database and they set up our membership database, which has since been modernised and improved, but was a revelation when it was created. Howard willingly gave his expertise to us and many, many hours of his time. On any query on the legal or technical front he was our first port of call. It was he who liaised with our solicitors in rental negotiations and created the Company limited by guarantee through which we now operate. Sadly he has been in declining health for the last six years and has only rarely been able to come to the Town Hall. He will be greatly missed by those of us who knew him and appreciated his wicked sense of humour. We all still value and benefit from the systems he set up.
National U3A Christmas newsletter
Please click on this link if you would like to access the National newsletter. https://mailchi.mp/u3a/newsletter-express-25-12-22-festive?e=45d8263315
From London Region of U3As – a reminder
National poetry competition. Entries are still open open for our national poetry competition, and we’d love to see what you have to offer. Your poem should be a maximum of 16 lines (plus title), on any topic, and be submitted by 12 noon on Friday 27 January 2023. The three winning poems will be published in Third Age Matters and on the u3a website. You can find the competition rules and submission link on the Poetry Competition webpage, where you can also read previous winning entries. The competition is open to all members. To spark some inspiration, you are also invited to join author Sophia Blackwell on Tuesday 13th December at 2pm for a free 2 hour masterclass called ‘Writing Poetry for Publication and Performance’ which can be booked on the u3a’s national online events webpage.
From Maurice Silverman – to make you smile!



Happy New Year from

