There are several different u3a rambling groups, tackling different lengths and difficulties of walk in the local area.  It’s a great way to get to know the area if you’re new, or to meet new people if you’re on your own.  Some groups stop for lunch at a pub afterwards to give people an opportunity to continue their conversations, and K Walkers meets every month for coffee between monthly rambles. Check the Groups page on the website to find a walking group that's right for you.

Jill Oberlin-Harris

Over the last month, several such emails have been circulating, which apparently come from other members of Stroud u3a. We don't think this is anything to do with our Beacon database being hacked into - but better safe than sorry!

If you receive a contact from someone out of the blue (or even someone who may know), explaining they have laryngitis which is why they haven't just picked up the phone, and asking you for help, please DON'T REPLY, even to ask if they're OK, or if it's a scam.

Of course, there are many other email scams to trip you up and cause you grief. Here's some excellent advice on the subject: https://surfshark.com/blog/how-to-protect-your-email

And if you want to know whether your data has been included in any of the hundreds of data breaches that occur every year, you can easily find out at https://haveibeenpwned.com/. The information is historic, but you may find it useful to know whether your data has, or has not, been included in any recent databreach.

Piero was born around 1412 in Sansepolcro,. a small town in the upper Tiber valley in the borderlands of Tuscany and Umbria, most of his surviving work is still there, in and around the town where he spent most of his life.

Charles Eastlake summarises what to look for in Piero’s works:

The laws of aerial perspective, of the harmony of colours, the proportions of light and shade, and the position of objects in space, were equally developed by one whose feeling for precise calculation went pari passu with that of pictorial representation.

Piero’s Resurrection probably dates from somewhere between 1459 and 1474 and it is located on the wall of the large meeting hall of the enlarged Residenza dei Conservatori (now Museo Civico) where the town’s council of sixty would meet and may have been moved from an adjacent room in the original smaller building.

George explored the picture with us and compared it with other pictures of the resurrection by artists from different time periods. The depth of research he had undertaken for the presentation was formidable and left us all with much to enjoy and pursue. There is also The Piero della Francesca Trail which takes people from Arezzzo to the small village of Monterchi, to Borgo San Sepolcro and on to Urbino on La Marche. So..... if you want to know more..... follow the trail!

May 7th: Lansdown Hall monthly meeting. Mark Cummings, Glorious Gloucestershire

May 15th - deadline for copy for May newsletter

May 21st - publication of May newsletter

May 26th: 10.30 - Coffee morning at the Old Nelson, Stratford Road

June 4th: 2.30 Lansdown talk: Alison Selby, BSAVA Petsavers and researching pet health

Mark Cummings charts a joyful journey exploring the Gloucestershire streets that gave us Scrooge and Long John Silver, pinpoints where classic TV and movie scenes were filmed and feasts on delicious nuggets about royalty, rock stars and rugby legends.

Walk with him to London in the footsteps of Dick Whittington, discover the true meaning behind Gloucestershire's quirky place names, and much more.

Mark Cummings has been an award-winning radio presenter on BBC Radio Gloucester for many years, and writes a regular column for Cotswold Life magazine.

"We love the idea of placing the book marks around to bring in new members. Our idea, which we have already carried out, is to tape them to the two phone box libraries in our village. They are always being looked into by retired people to see what new books have been left.

Another idea, discussed with great laughter, at the last outdoor sketchers meeting, was to affix large print versions of the book marks to the ceiling above the beds in A&E. Thus the first thing you see when you wake up (hopefully) and think “I’m alive and must use what time I have left to the full” is the u3a advert! Not sure the hospitals would agree to this. But why stop there? Why not above the chair in the dentists surgery?" Phil and Sue Bischler

Pretty good - but I'm sure you can come up with something even better??

The post-breeding period is a time of higher outbreak risk. They therefore recommend not offering seeds and peanuts between May and October. Other foods, such as mealworms and fat / suet products may continue to be provided.

Whatever the time of year, good hygiene is vital – offering food little and often, cleaning feeders regularly, and moving them periodically to reduce build-up of waste and contamination.

Water can also be a transmission route for the Trichomonas parasite. If your garden or a neighbour's has a shallow-edged pond that allows birds to drink and bathe, there is generally no need to provide additional water. Where water is provided, it should be replaced daily. Bowls or trays should be cleaned weekly, then rinsed and dried before reuse.

They fund research into the diagnosis, treatment and management of diseases affecting companion animals, supporting the future of pet health. If you're a pet owner, it's very likely that the work they have funded has had an impact on the treatment your pet has received.

Alison Selby has a member of the fund-raising team for the last two years, having previously worked for Guide Dogs and the Marine Conservation Society. She is looking forward to sharing the ways in which BSAVA Petsavers has made a difference since 1974, during which time it has awarded grants to over 300 research projects. These cover areas as diverse as cancer, heart disease, neurological disorders, bone and joint disease, immunological conditions, gastrointestinal disorders, and skin disease.

It led to a fascinating - and typically varied programme, ranging from Handel and Beethoven to Borodin and Szymanovsky; Caroline Shaw and Nina Simone and Eva Cassidy.

Long may it continue.

Peter Furtado

Well actually, I was asked:  “What on earth does the committee do? Surely we, the members, do all the work”. Yes, all of you members do the work that makes all our activities happen. That is very special and amazingly successful. However, I think I should answer that question and report back from time to time.  So in essence your Committee of volunteers does two things.

First: support you all to make Stroud u3a what you want it to be.  From all the feedback, you have told us you would like even more things to happen and more choice.   If you look at our website (also managed by our committee) you will see we have over 60 Groups.  Some are already full, some would welcome more participants.  What to do? Our aim must be to encourage more diverse groups, and more members to deliver this.

Therefore, at the last committee we agreed to hold an event for members who have ideas for new groups and specially for those who might one day consider coordinating a group.  I shall be writing to you all about this event shortly.  We are also looking at the possibility of having a regular presence on Stroud Market days to demonstrate what our groups enjoy.  More on this in time for the summer.  

Second Committee Responsibility: Good Governance - we must make sure that our u3a abides by good governance in accordance with the advice from the Third Age Trust and the Charities Commission.  That means managing our funds, membership, data protection, and producing and updating policies many of which relate to safety and any unfortunate incidents and lots more.  Also of course, we produce this newsletter, and make sure the monthly meeting happens.  

We of course welcome all feedback from you, ideas, comments and volunteers to help.  

Katherine Kirk

Chair

We started out looking at local Stroud and Cotswold Jurassic rocks, 201-145 million years old. Then we looked at much older rocks of Carboniferous age, 359-299 million years old. They can be found not far from here in the Bristol area. We observed not only the fossils in those rocks but try to discover the kind of habitat they lived in. 

In our last session Paul gave us an interesting look at Montserrat's Soufriere Hills Volcano and its eruption. In our next session Phil is going to talk to us about iron. 

Our aim is to explore all things Geological.

Contact me, Alan Severance, if you are interested in joining us, at https://stroud.u3asite.uk/u3a_groups/geology/.

Anyone else interested in starting up a group for playing Canasta? Days, times, venue all to be agreed amongst those interested!

If you might be interested in principle, please contact Peter Furtado in the first instance.

There is only one other u3a Readers Group in the country – the others are all university-led. We read and talk together about books that everyone has heard of but not everyone has read. On 23th April, we shall finish our work on The Distracted Preacher, in Thomas Hardy’s selection, Wessex Tales, a book we have studied and argued about since the beginning of this year. We are going to put some of our Thomas Hardy notes on our Group webpage – a good place to look if you want to know what we have done already.

Our next book will be George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss. If you would like to join our friendly Group, or find out more about what we do, contact John Peters on

01453 824459 or https://stroud.u3asite.uk/u3a_groups/readers/.