Bradford u3a

Weekday Walkers visit to Hirst Wood Nature Reserve and the canal. The photos show lost in the undergrowth, and a beautiful pond. Thanks again, Jeremy.

The History Group had an August visit to the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The captions for the photos (work out which goes with which!) are: 1. Hibiscus Rising on the walk by the canal, 2. Impressive combat display whilst we were there. 3. I think this wonderful view of the Knights is further improved by the flight of arrows appearently in the air. 4. An idiosyncratic addition of a tent for the knights to dress in. Thanks Jeremy!

At the Family History meeting on 2nd August one member spoke about her ancestor Charles Millward, Charles was born in Derbyshire in 1829. The family moved to Liverpool in the 1830’s and after finishing school Charles worked as a clerk in the office of a general merchant, but his real passion was for the theatre and writing. Despite his father being totally against this Charles became a very successful journalist, actor and a prolific pantomime writer. He spent time in London whenever he could and became great friends with many people from the literary/theatre world including Sir Henry Irving, Charles Dickens and Bram Stoker. He moved his family to London in 1861 and the drawing room of their house in Malden Crescent, Camden became a magnet for people from the theatre/literary world and was known as the “Theatre High Hill”. He had a very successful career. Charles died in 1892. Two of his daughters became actresses, one of them becoming the leading lady in Sir Henry Irving’s company at the Lyceum and Adelphi theatres and then a big star in Vaudeville in America. One of his sons became a theatre manager in Liverpool.
At our next meeting we will be looking at criminals in our families – it promises to be very interesting!!

Every year YAHR (the Yorkshire regional u3a) puts on a Summer School near Easingwold. This year was as amazing as ever, and here are some photos, including the 'Holiday Spanish' group. 120 u3a members enjoyed the four days covering nine different subject groups.

More photos from the u3a National Festival in York

Photos from the amazing u3a National Festival in York

Family History

At the last Family History meeting a new member told us about his research.

It all started when a relative died, and while clearing the house they found a suitcase full of documents, medals, etc. His research led to him finding out that his family had come to Bradford from Tavistock in Devon. Further research on a Genealogy site found that somebody had done a very comprehensive search of the family and found that they were originally Norsemen who came across from The Baltic and were given land in Tavistock.

They built an abbey there in 981 and also became Lords of the Manor. One relative built a castle, one was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I, one was a bishop and some members emigrated to America. It was a fascinating story.

Archaeology and Geology
On Wednesday 19 June Martin Owen led the Bradford u3a Archaeology & Geology group through the centre of Huddersfield to examine its building stones. Some prestigious buildings are constructed of fine sandstone ashlar, but often we found that we were examining decorative finishes. Inevitably the history of construction was discussed: I never appreciated that the famous Grade 1 listed station was once shared between two railway companies. Many thanks Martin, it made a rare treat to be out in the sunshine.

Photos from the Ten Pin Bowling Group.

A Speaker Meeting with a difference was provided by Dave Hardcastle when he told us about the history of police equipment over the years, whilst sending item after item round the audience for us to get a really good look.

Bradford u3a's Summer trip this week was to Tatton Park. We had a conducted tour of the Mansion, including the Still Room, The remaining time allowed us to explore the extensive grounds where we saw the Japanese Garden and impressive conservatories, amongst much else. A great day, enjoyed by all, so many thanks to those who organised it all.

The Bradford u3a pickleball group was formed just over a year ago and has gained a reputation for being a friendly supportive group with a focus on social and recreational play – having fun while burning a few calories! However, the competitive urge still stirs in the breasts of some of us. Yesterday, Sunday 2nd June, members of the Bradford u3a pickleball group played in a pickleball team tournament at the John Charles Sports Centre in Leeds. Despite some nerves and the fact that none of the team had been playing for very long they came away with the third-place bronze medals. Their first match was a baptism of fire as they played an experienced team that went on to win the tournament. But then they went on from strength to strength winning the majority of their following matches and their place on the podium. So, if you’re interested in trying pickleball, for fun, exercise or even competition, the Bradford u3a pickleball group would love to welcome you. Why not give it a go!

We had a great Bradford u3a pickleball session at the Heaton Tennis and Squash Club, Bradford, today. Two hours of nonstop 4 court action (for some of us at least) There were 24 of us to begin with but 8 went off for an early coffee. It's an easy game to learn and play but you certainly burn a few calories! We now have 35 players, not bad since starting October 2022 with 8 Bradford u3a racketball players! Fortunately not all of them turn up at every session!

Looking at Old Buildings
On 2 May the Bradford u3a Looking at Old Buildings group made a very successful visit to the headquarters of the Bradford Movie Makers (stars of the documentary film A Bunch of Amateurs). Many thanks to our excellent hosts, Dave and Craig. After hearing the history of the club, we were shown how film could be edited and combined with sound. Equally interesting was the Victorian stone building that houses the club’s facilities. It retains many period features which LAOB group members struggled to explain: were they parts of a stable, a chapel, a house, or something of all three? Everyone contributed to the debate, but clearly more research is needed. A very stimulating event.

A report on the Family History group's latest meeting from Susan:

One of our members gave us a talk entitled, “They Never Told Me”. The talk was all about the artists in his family. William Overend Gelder (1804 – 1881) was born in Bradford and became an artist. In 1830 he had some of his paintings displayed. He had painted John Nicholson, the Airedale Poet and The Bull’s Head on Westgate. He was instrumental in forming the Mechanics Institute. He became disenchanted with Bradford after a man wouldn’t buy one of his paintings when he found out the artist was from Bradford! He changed his name to Geller and moved to Leeds, then London and eventually settled in Scarborough working for Mr Sarony in his photographic studio. He was described as an artist and engraver. He was also a friend of Branwell Bronte.
We also heard about John Gelder (1816 – 1885) who in the 1851 census was an artist and portrait painter and in 1861 was an artist of Fine Arts, He was an early member of The Bradford Art Society and one of his pictures hangs in Caulke Abbey in Derbyshire. Another artist relative was Angelina Geller who worked in oils and watercolours and had paintings exhibited by The Royal Academy.
Our member also mentioned that he had been told he was related to the hangman James Berry. We heard about his life, but our member hasn’t managed to find a definite connection to him yet, he is still researching it with help from other members of the group.

Help; with Tech
Nine of us met up at City Vaults for the March session of this group. The subjects we covered in the two hours included:
How to recover a password, or change it
Adding a new app
Putting emails into folders
Set up an email address book
Send photos using email via WeTransfer
Connecting to WiFi
Delete and edit contact information
Adding contact information on smartphone
How to put a smartphone into ‘do not disturb’ mode
Understanding cloud storage and sorting out which to use

Our Chair reports: We have had an excellent initial planning session to develop our role in City of Culture, BD25. We agreed that our partnership with Kala Sangam provides a great opportunity for Bradford u3a to showcase the knowledge, skills and talents of Bradford u3a members and of older Bradfordians more widely. Look out for news of more planning sessions so we can involve as many members as possible.

Family History meeting March 2024

The family history group had a very interesting talk given by Janet Senior recently called, “The Bradford Returns for the 1851 Religious Census”.

None of us had heard about this census as we usually look at the Population Census. Major George Graham wanted to extend the statistical investigation in 1851 and see how many people went to church on Sunday. It was taken on Sunday 30th March 1851 and completed by the priest/vicar/minister of each church, although some of then refused to complete it. Janet talked about the completed form for Christchurch in Bradford which was built in 1815 at a cost of £5400. It had 700 free sitting places and 700 which brought in pew rents (£75 for each one). On the day the census was completed there were 800 people at the morning service, 500 at the afternoon service and 800 at the evening one and 600 children at each of the 3 Sunday School sessions. The census return was signed by William Morgan who was godfather to most of the Bronte children.

When all the results from all the churches in Bradford were published it showed that there were 110, 000 people in Bradford, but the capacity in churches was less than 60,000. It also showed that Bradford had a wide range of different places of worship.

Barclays Digital Wings

35 Bradford u3a members came along for a session with two ladies from Barclays. We learnt a lot about scams, frauds, online shopping and banking, and generally how to stay safe with our devices, and access the free Digital Wings website. For any follow-on help, do come to our drop in monthly ‘Help; with Tech’ mornings on the fourth Thursday of each month.

Our Gardens and Green Group admire York Gate Gardens in Leeds as it prepares for spring.

Creative Writing February 2024
The u3a Writers are meeting,
Although our time together is fleeting,
With eight at the table,
They do what they’re able,
On random types of seating!
(by Tina)
This months’ writing cue was a collection of kitchen items, supplied by Tina, and below is Bruce’s creative contribution:
Title : The NHS in low tech mode and with some additional resources

• A copper bracelet for arthrits, with a penny for your thoughts.
• Some small surgical scissors for the cuts yet to come.
• A wooden handled pointy thing with a stab at getting Mollie better. Her name is on the handle, but she would say it’s an implement of quackery.
• A scratcher to get you to that irritating itch.
• A tea leaf holder for sympathy from the doctor who is still moonlighting .

Blaise Wool Festival 2024 at the Industrial Museum

Bradford u3a took a stall at this busy event, and were allocated a prime position just inside the main entrance; we had a steady stream of interested visitors. Hall Royd brass band and a Bradford Voices choir livened the proceedings, and a good time was had by all, with ‘Bishop Blaise’ circulating all day and giving the back story to the event.

Weekday Walking

This group had an excellent walk along the canal from Hebden Bridge to Sowerby Bridge last Friday. It was a beautiful cold but clear day. Thanks to Jenny for leading.

Midweek Walking Group

The Weekday Walking group enjoyed a Tuesday walk along the river Aire returning through Hirst Wood and then via the Leeds Liverpool canal. We enjoyed watching the fast flowing river at the weir near the boathouse.

Christmas Lunch 2023

Many members enjoyed the annual Bradford u3a Christmas lunch at The Bradford Club today. By the time someone remembered to take a photo there weren’t many left!

Creative Writers exercised their abilities with short stories written from the viewpoint of an object, plant or animal. We had Milou the deaf hound, the Sycamore 'gap' tree, a retro radio and a space ship! Two exceptions were a tribute poem to Benjamin Zephania and a Christmas Reflection, with a contemporary interpretation.

In the photograph, Bruce is holding an object, which we used as a writing prompt. This is a regular feature of our meetings where each month a member volunteers to bring something for us to be 'inspired' to write about. Thanks to Gillian for this contribution.

Members of the Family History group had a real treat at their last meeting when one of our members told us about “A murder in the family.” The story involved one of her relatives who was married, but was also having an affair with another woman. His wife had confronted the other woman and a fight had broken out. Later that evening his wife died. The story was told through newspaper reports which were very detailed and also through photos of 19th century Sheffield where it all happened.
It just shows how much you can find out from newspapers and we will be looking at newspapers more closely in our meetings next year.

Bradford u3a raising awareness day at Victoria Hall, Saltaire

Several members shared the running of our table at the CND Peace and Craft Fair on Saturday, from 10 til 4. Other stallholders said the numbers were well down on last year, but we talked to so many people that it was totally successful for us, and I am sure we will be back on a yearly basis. We all had a chance to go and look round, and saw many friends and acquaintances, so it was a most enjoyable day. Now we have to hope for a few new members as a consequence, though spreading the word that we exist was the prime reason for our presence.

It’s that time of year again. The Craft group have been busy with their preparations already. We have been making decorative wreaths, to enhance the Christmas experience.
They are made from scraps of Christmas fabrics that we pooled together. It was an enjoyable, and therapeutic exercise. Stuffing the pillows and tying the ribbons made our fingers ache. Nevertheless it was good exercise.
Many thanks to Julia for raiding her ‘stash’, and donating a lot of the fabrics.
Great fun was had by all.
The next meeting is in January
Gillian Palmer
Group coordinator