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We welcome other U3A's to make comments on our website or advertise trips and events being organised within our district

Please contact Ron Lapthorn email:

 

Monday, March 01, 2010 6:26 PM
Subject: Invitation to participate in psychology study at UWIC.

Hello Caldicot U3A,

I am Psychologist from the University of Wales, Institute Cardiff (UWIC). My main research interest is memory and attention and how it changes across the lifespan.  Within these broad areas I am particularly interested in an area called prospective memory (PM) which concerns remembering to do things. 

One of my main concerns is that performance on laboratory tasks and established psychometric tests of memory are not always correlating with performance in people’s home environments. Thus we may be overestimating or underestimating cognitive abilities. I have been lucky enough to have been awarded a period of extended research leave to investigate this issue. Currently I am piloting a task which I think captures more realistically the memory and attention demands we face in daily living. It requires people to prepare a cooked breakfast in a real kitchen faced with time constraints for each ingredient along with a competing secondary task (laying the table).

The task does require you to actually cook some food, but an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out and the task modified (e.g. eggs are boiled instead of fried in hot oil) so that you should not experience any more risk than found at home.  The study takes place in the newly built food industry centre at the UWIC Llandaff campus in Cardiff. This contains a domestic kitchen complete with ceiling-mounted cameras. These allow us to unobtrusively observe performance and collect more detailed data than trying to scribble notes by hand. Of course, confidentiality would be paramount and no one but I (or a supervised Research Assistant) would have access to this footage.  Moreover, your data would be anonymous when generating statistical findings.

We hope to be in a position to run participants from early March onwards. If anybody would like to help out could they please contact me or our departmental secretary Sue Rodrigues. To compensate people for their time (the study should take no more than one hour) and travel we can offer a £10 John Lewis shopping voucher.

I really hope that many of your members can take part in this study. It is to my knowledge the first of its kind in the UK and could generate many practical benefits in terms of memory assessment and rehabilitation. It should also be quite fun!

Yours faithfully,

D.J.WALKER  Dr Darren Walker

Sue Rodrigues Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Please contact Pam Caines if you are interested in participating (Editor)

 

 

*please click "here" to download Arts competition poster in pdf format

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There’s plenty of help at

www . Mah Jong British Rules . com


It has a clear, illustrated explanation of this fascinating game
and a gentle introduction for those who have not met it before

The web site also gives lots of other information about Mah-Jong
Web sites to visit - Where to buy sets - U3A Mah-Jong clubs
Here’s a winning hand...

Mah-Jong is a charming, late nineteenth century, Chinese game played
with engraved tiles. Although the rules are quite intricate, the rudiments
of play are surprisingly easy to master. It’s a bit like rummy.

For more information: email PGregory @ talktalk.net
(Peterborough U3A Mah-Jong group)

or write to Peter Gregory, 10 Muskham, Peterborough, PE3 9XU

(Book and playing aids also available)

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Monmouthshire Libraries are going to be taking part in an all-Wales Arts Competition which will be launched in September 2009.

The theme of the competition is simply "libraries". What does your local public library mean to you? Has the library service changed your life?

Entries can be in the following media:

a) Creative writing
b) Visual art
c) Short film/audio recording

Who can enter?

a) Primary schools - group, class or school entries
b) Secondary schools - group, class or school entries
c) Individuals - individual entries for all ages
d) Voluntary or Community Organisations - entries from organizations
e) Further Education - individual or group entries
f) Higher Education - individual or group entries

The deadline for entries will be 1st December 2009.

The competition will have 2 stages - local winners and national winners.

Monmouthshire will have 4 local winners (one each in the primary, secondary, individual and voluntary/community organisation categories). The winning entry of each category will receive £50 in high-street vouchers.

Local judging will take place during December and the selection of the national finalists will take place in January 2010.

National finalists could win the 1st Prize in their category - £500 in high-street vouchers - and all national finalists will be invited to the Awards Event at The Senedd, Cardiff on Monday 22nd February 2010.

All national winning entries will be exhibited as part of a national tour.

We will contact you in September with details on the different media categories and information on how to enter.

Yours faithfully,

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Val Jenkins/Richard Skinner
Caldicot Library
Woodstock Way
Caldicot
NP26 4DB
01291 426425

If you are interested or have any comments please contact our
Chairman Pam Caines or website editor Ron Lapthorn

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Hello Friends,

While doing some reading tonight, I learned that one of my deBohun ancestors was actually born at Caldicot Castle! William deBohun and his twin brother Edward, sons of Humphrey deBohun and Elizabeth Plantagenet were born at Caldicot Castle in 1312.

*Please click on the photo below to access a larger image

Caldicot Castle Keep

photo: Caldicot Castle Keep

I'm sure I have this noted someplace, but as you know, my decision to come to Caldicot was based on my correspondence with Ron and Pam, and the fact that the castle was built by one of the Humphrey deBohuns. I never gave William a thought. No wonder I was drawn to Caldicot.

Fondly, Ellie

Hello Anita,

You were so kind to allow me to explore Caldicot Castle with my friend Pam Caines.

It was a powerful experience for me, one which I will never forget, and I thank you for that privilege.

Regards, Ellie Lewis


Note from editor:- It was a pleasure to help you Ellie and my thanks to our Chairman Pam Caines for escorted you, having my ear close to the ground I know you both had a good chinwag together in the Castle Inn Public House before you returned to the US.


Thanks Ron

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Letter from America

Hello,

I was pleased to find your website, and was hoping you could help me. I have had a longtime passion for history and genealogy, which is what led me to your website. I am a direct line descendant of the de Bohun, de Barros, and Marshall families, and at long last I will be travelling to Wales to look at the land.

Do you know of any day guides or tours that would help me explore your area?

I will be travelling by bus or train, and will arrive in Wales on Monday, March 23, 2009. I'm hoping to find someone who has a passion for their history rather than someone who is just working for the day.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,

Ellie Lewis

Hydes, Maryland USA

Editors reply

Thank you Ellie we hope you find some of the information that Anita of Caldicot Castle and we from Caldicot U3A have sent is of use.

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Learn French in France

I am a u3a member at Bath and for some years have been using a French Village organisation for a unique language course . It is reciprocal, in that English speakers are matched by a similar number of French speakers working together, and having fun. I have met a number of other u3a members on these courses and i feel they need wider recognition. The parent organisation, Renouveau, is a charity and can not afford to advertise widely so some of organised a web site, Friends of renouveau, if you like .Here is a link to that site and if you can,in any way distribute this link we would be very grateful.

Yours Ian Murison

website link: www.learn-french-in-france.org.uk/index.htm

(Have a look and you`ll see what I mean. I have ,of course, no financial or there link with Renouveau other than as a member)

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U3A MUSIC GROUPS WIKI WEBSITE

Hello Folks

I thought you might be interested in the new Wiki website for U3A Music groups I think it is a handsome looking website ((95% Tom Holloway's (U3A Signpost) work and 5% mine)) and should help spread the words U3A and Music and may encourage people to venture into the fascinating world of the internet.

It can be accessed in the UK simply by entering U3A Musicgroups in Google, then follow through Books, Films etc or click on the link below.

website link: http://u3amusicgroups.pbwiki.com/

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"Open Writing"

Message from Peter Hinchliffe

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Hello

First of all, thank you very much for the mention of Open Writing on your Web site. Much appreciated.

Secondly, would it be possible to pass on the following e-mail to Phil Wood?

And thirdly, if your writing group has more stories articles and poems to offer I would love to run them in Open Writing. The Caldicot U3A contributions are some of the best things I've run in OW - and I am not saying that merely to solicit more material.

Open Writing is now averaging around 4,500,000 hits a year. I am still running a writing and reminiscing class for Huddersfield U3A, and my wife Joyce, who provides a considerable amount of help with the Web magazine, runs a U3A Spanish class.

Thanks very much for your help.

Cheers

Peter Hinchliffe


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Message by Ruth Waddington from Vinegar Hill, Undy

We (me and my husband Graham) were fascinated by memories of living up Vinegar Hill (Phil Wood, July 11, 2006.

We live in one of the 1920\'s semi-detached houses right at the top, where the lane is straight and flat, opposite the new cul-de-sac Broadlands Court.

We fancied that Phil lived in our house, but suspect not. We still have the old wash house in the back garden, with the copper still in it. We\'ve had to entomb it for future generations as the little place is still used for butchering pigs, but now environmental health officers are more stringent about the conditions and we\'ve had to put in stainless steel surfaces, sinks and hot running water!

We rear a couple of pigs each year and a few chickens in a strip of land adjoining the garden, that was bequeathed to the Baptist Chapel. We also use \'every spare hour of daylight\' in the garden, but out of choice, not necessity. We also have a treasured simple black kitchen range, too.

We would love to hear if anyone knows any of the history of this house of those of our neighbours. We know Roy Majors used to live here, and we are friends with people whose grandparents lived here or in \'Bryony\' - but more detail would be lovely to read about. Regards, Ruth & Graham Waddington
Web Page:

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Openwriting Web magazine features a feast of words from regular columnists, U3A writers and other authors. Every day there is something new to read in Openwriting.


Phil Wood's story can be read by
clicking on the picture of the front cover of the book produced by our U3A
entitled "The Time of our Lives" which is on our Writers Page.

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Please click on the images below to access a letter and photographs from
Tim Ryan, Project Co-ordinator Severn Princess Restoration Group

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Tim Ryan with a model of the Severn Princess

The Severn Princess Ferry with the construction of the first Severn Bridge in the background, which was opend by H.M.Queen Elizabeth 11 in 1966.

Note... A further photo of the Ferry is on the Home Page of our Archive Pages


I would like to thank all the volunteers from Caldicot U3A who have helped us in the past 6 months with our two fund raising events, notably the Strawberry Tea held at Keith Dodds' home at The Merrills in June and the Christmas Coffee Evening held in Undy Church and Community Hall recently.

We are a small committee and regularly hold fund raising events to raise money for R.N.L.I. We have really appreciated all the help given to us on these occasions by our U3A friends.

Without their help we would have struggled to run the events so successfully. I can,t imagine how many cups of tea and coffee they have made or how many plates, cups and saucers they have washed up The total money raised by the two events is over £2500-00.

Again "many thanks " to our volunteer helpers.

Brenda Buckley

Treasurer RNLI Caldicot and District Fund raising committee.
01633 880500

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Flintshire U3A

Hi Ron, I saw the photo of your members at the Caldicot festival in 2006 and loved the signs they were using!

I have just taken over as vice chairman of the Flintshire U3A and we are having an open day in May to try and increase our membership.

Your signs looked just the thing. Would you mind sharing with me where you got them or how they were produced?
Please!
Your web site too could teach us a thing or too, bright, interesting and informative.
Well done. I enjoyed looking around at all the things you do.

Best wishes Mrs Hilary Jones


website link: www.flintshire-u3a.co.uk

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