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Photography Group One 1st May 2024
Ten of us met at the roadside Car Park in Finstown on a day with little wind and some low cloud but with the sun trying to get through. We set off to the Community Garden where we found lots of lovely colourful flowers out as well as tree buds bursting forth. The Burn was a great source of images.
Jocky Wood was painting a new picnic bench with the appropriately titled Wood Stain! He does a great deal of the work on the garden as well as his own just up the hill opposite.
Six of us then headed for Binsgarth Woods.
The track was muddy in places but the spring flowers were out all the way. There was Pink Purselaine, Wild Garlic, Wood Anemone, and the invasive Salmon Berry. Since the tree leaves were not blanketing the light, one was able to get good photos close up. The Burn had lots of interesting tree roots and hanging tyres and ropes from the kids' dare devil antics. Then it was back to the shop for rolls and along to Tom's house for a cuppa and a nice piece of cake. Thank you very much for that Tom and all the stories too.
The next meeting will be going to Westray on Wednesday 29th May for the day. Arrangement will be made nearer the time.
All in all a lovely morning, taking time to look at the flowers and listen to the Wrens, Willow Warblers, Chaffinches and Robins singing in the woods.
Keep clicking.
Walking Group One 25th April 2024
Five hardy souls collected today at Happy Valley for the first Hill Walk of the year .The temperature was cool with a North Easterly wind blowing and a hint of rain on arrival.
Off we set heading towards Russadale Quarry, spotting a Buzzard on the way.Turning into the footpath we remained sheltered from the wind all the way to the top of the hill.
The sun was out at the Quarry and a Greenshank was feeding at the edge of the Lochan. Then it was up the Peat road to the summit with spectacular views across Stenness and Harray Lochs, plus a view of the Closed Road beyond the Watch Stone. On the other side we looked over the Flow and down towards the Oil Platform and South Ronaldsay
Then it was back down after a stop for a snack and finally a walk around Happy Valley itself. The Daffodils planted by James and others were looking lovely and the Bluebells are days away from opening. Then it was on to a well deserved lunch at the Pier Cafe, having walked 4 miles and gone up 800 feet (and down again )
The next walk will be on Friday 24th May and hopefully more hills and views.
Keep moving.
U3A Play Reading Group
by John Graham - 18:56 on 15 November 2016
Jeanne has put together a list of the plays we have read over the last couple of years, in date order.
We kicked off last year with, 'Blythe Spirit' by Noel Coward, 'View from the Bridge' by Arthur Miller, then Chekhov's, 'Three Sisters'. In April we celebrated Mr. Shakespeare's birthday by individually, choosing and reading any of the man's work, we liked, be it speech, scene or sonnet. We did have a few extra nibbles that the Elizabethan's may have eaten, even dandelions! on that occasion!
Next we went on to 'The Intellectual Ladies' (various translations) by Moliere. Then 'Hobson's Choice' by Harold Brighouse followed by two successive plays by J. B. Priestly, 'When we are Married' and 'An Inspector Calls'. Next we read two Irish playwrights: Sherridan's, 'The Rivals' and George Farquhar's, 'The Beaux's Stratagem',
By now we had reached Christmas, and the RSC's version of 'A Christmas Carol' seemd to be a good idea. We also fitted in a 'Mediaeval Mystery play: ' Mak the Sheep Stealer'. With the New Year came a couple of lighter plays, 'Present Laughter' by Noel Coward and Oscar Wilde's 'An Ideal Husband'.
We had now reached the time to celebrate the 400th. anniversary of the Bard, so read 'Twelfth Night'. Following it with 'A Chorus of Disapproval' by Alan Aykbourn, then another Wilde, the superb, 'The Importance of being Ernest'. Following this came a couple more by Moliere, firstly, 'The Miser' and then a little known one, 'The Impromptu a Versailles'. Next came the 'Cherry Orchard' by Chekhov and lastly we have just finished G. B. Shaw's, 'Mrs. Warren's Profession'.
This long list is sometimes interspersed with various one act plays and also on occasions watching a DVD of the play we are reading
We generally get our own (cheap) copies of the play both in paper versions and on Kindle, sometimes the American ownership of Kidle show itself all too well! Also with the foreign playwrights the various translations cause even more amusement than the author intended! The meetings go very well with members thoroughy enjoying the occasion, and we do have excellent readers, resulting in the state that at present we are at our maximum membership.
Bye for now, Jeanne and John
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