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LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
Greetings and welcome to our April Newsletter.
Thanks to all who attended the AGM. It was most gratifying to see the Resolutions carried either unanimously or by a significant majority.
It is always dangerous to single out thanks for an individual but I will risk it in thanking our Secretary, Neil, who prepares all the paperwork, minutes and agendas for all meetings. A Herculean task carried out with consummate efficiency!
Thanks also to retiring Committee member Chris Butler for all her help and not forgetting the legion of Group Leaders and non-titled members that make our u3a so successful.
WELL DONE ALL OF YOU!
We look forward to all the exciting events coming up this year and don’t forget to renew your membership at the new reduced annual fee of only £10!
See you soon,
Richard Lewis
Chair
Richard Lewis Chair Furness u3a
Membership Renewals 2026-7
The last opportunity to renew in person will be at the Monthly Meeting on Tuesday 14 April at The Coro before the speaker from 9.30am -10.15 and after the speaker until 11.45am.
Payments can be made in cash, card or cheque. Please write your cheque out before queueing- there is a table next to the membership desk to do this. All the information your need to write your cheque is displayed at the table.
All the information you need to renew was emailed to you on 10th March. If your class is Individual With Post, you will receive this information with your April Newsletter.
Other ways to renew are online, by bank transfer or by post. Details of how to do this are available on the Furness u3a website.
If you are having trouble in renewing or need help please contact Linda Marshall, Membership Secretary on membershipsec@furnessu3a.org or text 07747 815 169.
If you have decided to discontinue your membership for next year, please contact me
THE DEADLINE FOR RENEWALS IS 30 APRIL 2026.
Linda Marshall Membership Secretary
COMMITTEE UPDATE
Furness u3a: Report of 2026 AGM
144 members attended the 2026 Annual General Meeting, held in the Coronation Hall, Ulverston, on Tuesday 10th March.
The Chair summarised key points from the Trustees’ Report for 2025/26, which had been sent to all members in advance, and members voted to accept the Minutes of the 2025 AGM and the Final Accounts for 2025/26.
The AGM noted that all those who had been nominated for Officer positions or Committee membership had been elected unopposed because, in each case, the number of nominations did not exceed the number of places available. Therefore, the 2026/2027 Committee will be:
Chair: Richard Lewis;
Vice Chair: Harry Knowles;
Secretary: Neil McLaughlin Cook;
Treasurer: Gary Thompson;
Committee Members: Linda Marshall, Adrian Morris, Dawn Morris and Duncan Platts.
Members approved the following resolutions for 2026/27:
- that the Committee, on behalf of Furness u3a, review potential Financial Examiners for 2026/27, and appoint a company judged by the Committee to meet the needs of this u3a;
- that the membership subscriptions for Full Members in 2026/27 be reduced to £10 if newsletters are received by email (the preferred option), or reduced to £26 if newsletters are to be printed and posted to the member;
- that the membership subscriptions for Associate Members in 2026/27 be held at zero where there is a reciprocal agreement to waive fees, and held at 50% of the fee for Full Members where there is no such reciprocal agreement;
The Committee is very grateful to all those who helped to make the AGM a success, by submitting resolutions, amendments or nominations; participating in the debates; voting; acting as tellers; or just attending the meeting. After the formal AGM had finished, members enjoyed a presentation by Dudley Clark, a member of our u3a, on “The Scottish Colourists”.
Neil McLaughlin Cook
Secretary
GROUP NEWS
For help and support with starting or running groups, please contact
Duncan Platts Groups Liaison
STOP PRESS
There is one space on the u3a garden trip to the Himalayan Gardens, Ripon on Tuesday the 26th of May.
If anyone would like to come, the price is £32 please contact Sabina Garnett or 07716675166.
Thankyou, Sabina Garnett
TABLE TENNIS
We shall be playing on each Thursday afternoon during April in order for other members to join us .
Thursday afternoons 3.00pm in the Methodist Church Hall in Ulverston. Cost £2 per session
For more information contact Roger Long
QUESTERS
The Questers March visit was to the Growing Well project at Low Sizergh farm arranged for us by Win Postlethwaite for which we thank her.
The Growing Well project is a charity based at Low Sizergh farm but now with branches across Cumbria who help people deal with their mental health problems through working in the outdoors growing things and being with other like minded people. They do one day a week there which is a very structured day and includes a hot healthy lunch cooked for them on site. They work at their own pace and can continue coming for up to a year giving them ample time to learn new skills and learn to manage their difficulties. An extremely worth while charity.
Looking forward to April, on Thursday the 16th April, Jo White is organising a trip for us to Dalton Castle. There are still some spaces left (we have a maximum of 20) so if you would like to go, please contact Jo White. We will be given a talk before exploring the castle at our own pace and will need to be at the castle by 10am. We can organise lifts nearer the time or you might consider going to Dalton by bus. Admission is free but a donation towards the castle would be welcomed.
And finally, a disappointing notice for Questers in that our June visit to Lancaster which was a canal boat cruise on the Lancaster canal has had to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, but instead we will be staying much closer to home and visiting the Lakeland Motor museum. Details to follow nearer the time.
Sue and Tim
Please see the Questers Group page for details, or contact Tim Evans
ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE
Furness u3a English Country Dancing Group and Grange & District u3a Country Dancing Group
Invite you to A Ceilidh
Live Music by The Sands Band
All dances will be called.
There will be a half-time break at which light refreshments will be available.
As encouraged by the Let’s Dance! initiative, entry will be free but voluntary contributions towards the cost of the evening would be welcome.
As well as our U3A members, the event is open to family members and friends for whom those eligible for U3A membership it will be treated as a “taster” event but others attending must be willing to sign an insurance disclaimer that relates to the event while any children attending must be accompanied by a responsible adult willing to sign a similar disclaimer that relates to the event and the child.
To give us some idea of numbers, if you intend to come, please can you RSVP
to our English Country Dancing, Let’s Dance! Day email address
ECD-LDD@hotmail.com
giving your name plus the number of people who will be accompanying you if they will not be notifying us separately. If you need, directions to Greenodd Village Hall and suggestions for parking let us know and they can then be provided.
Background to the event: Spearheaded by Angela Rippon CBE, the Let’s Dance! initiative was formed to raise awareness of the benefits and joy of dancing. It now forms part of the NHS’s 10-year plan to promote fitness, health, and wellbeing, dancing now being officially recognised as playing a vital part in improving both mental and physical health and combating loneliness.
Let’s Dance! is supported and organised by leading organisations including the Sport and Recreation Alliance, NHS, Parkinson’s UK, People Dancing, One Dance UK and the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre.
LOCAL HISTORY GROUP
Local History Group – Meeting 9 March 2026
Speaker – Jack Rice
Subject – Sir John Barrow, Baronet.
Another well turned out meeting took place at the Croftlands Community Hall on Monday afternoon.
Jack presented a well-illustrated talk covering the life and times of a locally born lad, whose Light House monument commemorating his life, stands proudly atop Ulverston’s Hoad hill. The murals in Ulverston’s Lower Brook Street by artist Gill Barron including photographs and old master paintings supported the presentation.
Born in June 1764 in the cottage at the junction of Rake Lane/Priory Road Dragley Beck, the only child to Roger Barrow, a Tanner and Mary Dawson (m - May 1763) his mother. He attended Town Bank Grammar School until the age of 13 having founded a Sunday School for poor local children in 1776.
In 1777 he moved to Liverpool finding employment as the superintendent clerk in an iron foundry from where he joined, at the age of 16 a whaling expedition to Greenland.
1781 saw him at a private school in Greenwich teaching mathematics having excelled in Latin, Greek, and carrying out a survey at Conishead Priory previously. He taught mathematics to the son of Sir George Leonard Staunton, Bt, before a move to China.
Between 1792 and 1794 John Barrow was attached to the first British embassy to China as the comptroller of the household to Lord Macartney where he quickly learnt the Chinese language. Whereupon he authored articles for the Quarterly Review and account of the embassy for Staunton which contain Barrow’s contributions to science and literature connected with China.
In 1797 John Barrow left China as private secretary to Lord Macartney to bring about the government of the Cape of Good Hope later being appointed auditor- general of public accounts.
He settled, married Ann Maria Truter in 1799, an artist from the Cape, bought a house and raising four sons and two daughters.
He travelled extensively throughout Africa, with expeditions along the River Niger and visited Timbuktu at last! on his journey back to England arriving in 1803. In 1804 he was appointed Second Secretary to the Admiralty and apart from a short period 1806/07 he served in post for forty years.
Prime Minister Lord Grey requested him to remain in post 1830. This started the principle by which senior civil servants stayed in post until a government change including that of working in a non-partisan role becoming Permanent Secretary.
During his service at the Admiralty John Barrow promoted many expeditions of discovery particularly the search for the Northwest passage through to India.
He was reputed to be the last man to shake hands with Nelson before sailing for Trafalgar
John Barrow was a fellow of the Royal Society, a degree of LL. D from University of Edinburgh in 1821 and a Baronetcy from Sir Robert Peel in 1885, a member of the Raleigh Club subsequently becoming the Royal Geographical Society of which he was one of the seven founding fathers in 1830.
Sir John Barrow Bart. retired in 1845 devoting himself to writing the history of the Arctic voyages of discovery and his autobiography published in 1847. He died suddenly on 23 November 1848 aged 84 and of course there is the monument gracing the top of Hoad Hill overlooking the town of Ulverston built in 1850
VISITING GARDENS
Our second visit this year was to Pennington and Kirkby church yards. Over twenty members turned out to be greeted by blue skies and warm sunshine. We seem to have the knack of hitting lucky with good weather and it was very welcome after so much rain and dark days of winter.
We headed to Pennington church and the daffodils were there to greet us, a few lilac crocuses amongst them, a little battered with the recent torrential downpours. Down towards the cemetery the slopes were bright yellow in the sunlight and the views towards the fells in the distance made a lovely backdrop. On to Kirkby church where we were enticed into the Community Centre by the mention of cake and coffee. The homemade ginger cake, tea bread and a fantastic sponge would match up to the very best local bakery. Moving on to the churchyard carpeted with more glorious daffodils, pink dog's tooth violets hiding amongst them and some late crocuses. Looking briefly into the church one lady had her moment remembering her marriage there some years ago.
A day to remember, certainly. Spring is arriving! Thank you to Mary Wilkinson, Diane Hill and Vance Sarson for the delicious cakes and to Lynne Sear and Mary Wilkinson for organising, and to Mave Clerey for the report.
Our next garden visit will be on Tuesday 21st April when, in a change to the original programme, we will be going to Sizergh to see the lovely gardens there. We will meet in Victoria Road cul-de-sac, Ulverston at 9.45 for car sharing. The cost will be £4.50 payable to drivers for lifts. The cost of entry to the garden is £11, but free entry to National Trust members. Please note that there is a parking charge for non-National Trust members at the garden (e.g. £6 for 2 hours), which we will try to mitigate through car sharing. To book your place please contact Jeni Sarson .
Jeni Sarson Visiting Gardens
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY GROUP
Industrial History Group’s visit to Stott Park Bobbin Mill on 26th March 2026
Sixteen members of the group enjoyed a guided tour of the last survivor of the hundred or so Lake District mills that made wooden bobbins for the Lancashire’s textile industry.
Stott Park Bobbin Mill at Finsthwaite was built in 1835; was at peak production in 1880, and finally closed in 1971. After ten years of restoration, the mill was opened as an industrial museum, containing original belt-driven machinery and a Victorian steam engine.
Birch, ash and sycamore trees were coppiced and harvested after thirteen years of growth. Anne, our guide, demonstrated how blocks of wood were cut from discs of timber, called cakes. The vertical cutting tool was sharp and fast. An apprentice, some as young as ten, could easily have an accident. Many of these children came from the Ulverston workhouse. A hole was bored through the blocks, either individually or two at a time on a semi-automatic machine. Next, the bored blocks were placed on a lathe with two cutting tools. One removed the bark and the other cut out a middle section forming a roughly shaped bobbin. (250,000 a week). Before the bobbins could be trimmed accurately, the green wood had to be dried. This would have taken two to three weeks in ventilated sheds. However, once the steam engine was installed in 1880, drying time was reduced to days in a room above the boiler.
A circular saw was used to cut bigger lengths of wood for large bobbins. The unguarded saw was driven by a leather belt which could be disengaged at the end of the day by moving it to one side with a stick. This could have been where the term “knocking off work” came from.
Dried bobbins were passed over a wooden riddle to remove sawdust before being accurately trimmed on the large lathe. We noticed that all of the lathes in the mill were manufactured by W A Fell, Windermere. Some of us could remember their premises at Troutbeck Bridge.
To avoid snagging the thread, the bobbins had to be smooth. This was achieved by tumbling them in large barrels with lumps of beeswax. This process would have damaged large bobbins, so they were coated with shellac. The finished bobbins were then sent to customers mainly in Lancashire, but often as far away as London, or even exported to Africa and Australia.
The owners of the mill had to adapt as the cotton industry declined. Between WW1 and WW2, the mill produced rungs for rope ladders, tool handle, croquet mallets and toggles for duffle coats. Some of us completed the visit with an enjoyable meal at Café Ambio at the Motot Museum.
Our next outing
April 23rd - Following the U3A monthly meeting talk on "The Canaries" - munition girls who turned yellow due to the chemicals they were mixing - Barbara and Jo are planning a trip to the Devil's Porridge Museum near Gretna which tells the story of the greatest munitions factory on earth during World War One.
We would travel by car and the cost for a car share would be £18.00. Concession entry is £8.50 and could be reduced for a large group. If you would be interested in this trip please let Jo know so that a booking can be made. Also let her know if you would like a lift or are willing to take passengers in your car.
Future visits are:
May 23rd – Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway and Museum
June 25th – Visit to Oxleys. This is fully subscribed with a waiting list so if you have booked but realise you can't attend please let Jo know.
July 23rd – Alan is leading us to Silver Howe Rifle Range and Cathedral Cavern
August 27th – Julia and Neil are leading us around Arneside and Silverdale
September 24th – Threkeld Quarry and Mining Museum
If you would like to join us on any of our visits please let Jo White
Jo White Industrial History Group
WORLD HISTORY GROUP
At World History in March as part of our German History study, we looked at the Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa (1717–1780) was one of the most powerful female rulers in European history and the only woman to rule the Habsburg dominions in her own right. She served as Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and effectively ruled the Habsburg Empire for forty years, from 1740 until her death in 1780. Her reign marked a period of major political reform, military conflict, and modernization in Central Europe. Maria Theresa was born in Vienna, the daughter of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Because he had no surviving sons, Charles issued the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, a decree intended to allow his daughter to inherit the Habsburg lands. However, when he died in 1740, several European powers challenged Maria Theresa’s right to rule, triggering the War of the Austrian Succession. During this war, rivals such as Frederick the Great seized the wealthy province of Silesia. Despite these setbacks, Maria Theresa successfully defended most of her territories and secured her authority as ruler.
Although she could not become Holy Roman Emperor because the title was restricted to men, she ensured that her husband, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, was elected emperor in 1745. In practice, Maria Theresa retained the real political power. Together they founded the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.
Maria Theresa became known for strengthening and modernizing the administration of her empire. She reorganized the government, improved tax collection, and strengthened the army to make the state more efficient. She also introduced important social reforms. These included establishing compulsory primary education in 1774, reforming the legal system, and reducing the power of the nobility in state administration. Her reforms helped transform the Habsburg lands into a more centralized and modern state.
Religion played a major role in her policies. Maria Theresa was a devout Roman Catholic and promoted Catholicism throughout her territories. Her religious policies sometimes led to restrictions on Protestants and Jews, reflecting the strong influence of the Catholic Church in her rule.
Maria Theresa and Francis I had sixteen children, several of whom became prominent European rulers. Among them was Marie Antoinette, who later became queen of France and was executed during the French Revolution. After Francis I died in 1765, Maria Theresa ruled alongside her son, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, who continued many reform policies.
Maria Theresa died in Vienna in 1780 after a long and influential reign. She is remembered as a determined and capable ruler who defended her inheritance, strengthened the Habsburg monarchy, and introduced reforms that shaped the future of Austria and Central Europe. Her leadership during a challenging period secured her reputation as one of the most significant monarchs of the eighteenth century.
We then studied The Council of Constance which was a major church council held from 1414 to 1418 in the city of Constance. It was called by Sigismund and supported by Pope John XXIII to resolve the Western Schism, during which rival popes claimed authority over the Catholic Church.
At the time, three men claimed to be the rightful pope: Gregory XII, Benedict XIII, and John XXIII. The council worked to end this crisis by removing or accepting the resignation of the rival claimants. Gregory XII agreed to resign, John XXIII was deposed, and Benedict XIII was eventually abandoned by most of his supporters. In 1417 the council elected Pope Martin V, which successfully restored unity to the papacy.
The council also addressed church reform and issues of heresy. One of its most controversial actions was the trial and execution of Jan Hus in 1415 for his reformist teachings, despite promises of safe conduct. His death later inspired the Hussite Wars. Overall, the Council of Constance ended the Western Schism and re-established a single recognized pope, strengthening the stability of the Catholic Church while also highlighting ongoing tensions about church authority and reform.
We will be continuing our study of German History by looking at how the French Revolution impacted on Europe and the German States. We also decided our next topic to study will be aspects of Korean History followed by the American War of Independence.
If you are interested in joining the group please contact Rosie Kyles or via World History Group on the Furness u3a website.
WELFARE AND INCLUSION UPDATE
This month I’ve been learning more about hearing loss… what’s that you say? Hearing impairment affects many of us, especially as we get older. Obviously, there are different degrees of hearing loss and the rate of loss can vary too.
When a member contacted me about feeling unable to attend meetings and groups due to the lack of venues having hearing loops, or if they do, the lack of knowledge on how to use them, I wanted to help.
We had heard great things about a new sound system in The Coro, so I was surprised and concerned that when I spoke to the tech guys there, they were unsure when or even how they would be able to install a replacement hearing loop or equivalent.
I contacted the Deaf Centre in Barrow to ask if they had a list of local venues with a hearing loop, they don’t, but they invited me to their office when the manufacturer of hearing aids (Phonak) was visiting. The reps from Phonak showed us a small Bluetooth® device called a TV Connector, which can link to a clip on microphone and link to hearing aids with Bluetooth® connectivity. The hearing aid wearer can then hear the speaker with the clip on microphone directly into their hearing aid. There are different sizes (and costs) of devices, but I shall be passing this information on to The Coro along with some installation company details. Fingers crossed they are able to install a solution soon.
In the meantime, the member who contacted me showed me an app they use called Live Transcribe, which types out the conversation onto a mobile phone. Very useful indeed.
The Phonak reps also talked about how it is not only our hearing that can be impacted, but also our brain power to convert what is being heard into understanding and then formulate a response. It could be that some people just need a bit more time for processing. Maybe they are lip reading, maybe you are mumbling, maybe there are too many people speaking at once. All of this added brain power to work out what people have said and fill in the gaps can be exhausting.
Here are a few things to remember.
All of this got me thinking about different forms of communication and how all of us need to ensure everyone is included and made to feel welcome into our u3a groups and meetings.
Dawn Morris Welfare and Inclusion
SOME OTHER SOURCES OF WIDER U3A NEWS
There are several places where you can catch up on U3A news from further afield.
There is a U3A Friends Group who send out a regular newsletter. You can see the March edition here, and if you would like to subscribe there is a link at the bottom of their newsletter.
There is a U3A YouTube channel U3A
The North West Region of the U3A have their own website, and a quarterly newsletter.
This is the February - April 2026 copy.