Group News
Local History 3
Thursday 24 June, 10.00am to 12 noon
An outdoor guided walk around Medieval Tonbridge with George Buswell.
Contact Peter Brewin for details. ✉ pbrewin@gmail.com ☎ 01732 810361
iPad Group
As the iPad group did not have a single query during lockdown, it is
assumed that the group has possibly run its course. Therefore unless I
hear to the contrary it will no longer meet on a regular basis. However,
should anyone require assistance I would be happy to arrange a meeting.
Chess
The Tonbridge Chess Group has room for additional members to join our
monthly meetings on the second Thursday of the month at 2.00pm for two
hour sessions.
Players of all levels (including beginners) are invited to join us. Please
contact George Wright by email georgegwright@outlook.com or by
telephone on 077716 29294.
Ukulele Group
The Ukes3A Tonbridge ukulele group has not had a physical meeting or
performed any gigs for well over a year now. Our normal meeting place,
the Angel Indoor Bowling Club, has not been able to accommodate us
since the beginning of the first lockdown. Even when restrictions had been
temporarily relaxed we were still not allowed to sing or use the bar/
restaurant areas because of the aerosol effect and social distancing would
be impractical for a group of our size. Some may be grateful for small
mercies but it certainly posed a challenge for us since ukuleles are
principally used to accompany the singing. We don’t want to get out of
practice or miss the important fun and social aspects of ukulele playing, so
like many other groups who want to keep everyone going during the
pandemic we have been meeting up fortnightly on Zoom in order to keep
our hands and fingers in good shape despite the occasional arthritic
twinge.
Sadly, ukulele Zooming is not as easy as it may look since it is not
possible for us all to sing at the same time. Members use a variety of
Katharine Coleman Group News 01732 838702different devices, WiFi connections can be erratic and Internet speeds can
vary. The result is an earsplitting cacophony rather like having everyone
talking in a meeting at the same time. So, for each song we have a lead
singer, hopefully a volunteer. Everyone else is muted and they play along
at home on their own. Not good but better than nothing. But the ukulele is
not just about playing and singing. It’s a fun and sociable instrument which
seems to make people happy whether they are playing, singing or just
listening. Joe Brown (of the Bruvvers) who is also a world class ukulele
player, famously said (and sang) that “ukuleles should be prescribed on
the National Health”. Given the experiences of many during the last 12
months he certainly has a point! So we start with a good old natter.
Recently the most frequent subject has been “Have you had your
vaccination yet”? Then comes the singing. After a while we are back to the
socialising again with a quiz brilliantly organised by Béa and Lionel Austin
and rounding off with some more singing. Three of our members have
moved out of the area during the pandemic but courtesy of Zoom (other
platforms are available) they can still take part in our sessions. We will
have to find another ‘virtual’ way of including them once we are back in the
real world. That is a prospect we are looking forward to very much.
LONDON WALKS 1
Time to think about Exploring London.
As the original London Walks group with the title Explore London on Foot,
we are intending to start up again, probably in the Autumn. We will be
having an informal meet up on Friday 4 June at 10.30 am to discuss how
we go about venturing out into the world. We are looking to attract new
members and if you are interested in joining us please contact me. As our
original title suggests we explore all areas of London on foot, although we
do use the underground and buses to get to our destinations from the
mainline stations. Members, usually in pairs, research and prior walk
different areas to put together an interesting day of walking and sight
seeing along the way. We usually set off on the train about 10.00 and
finish around mid afternoon, hopefully before the trains get too busy.
Lunch is usually taken somewhere convenient along the way, either a cafe
or pub or buy sandwiches and have a picnic if the weather is fine. The
group was formed about twenty years ago and we have an archive of the
walks we have taken which can be used for inspiration as we are happy to
revisit an area as there is always something new to find. London is forever
evolving and changes happen very quickly which makes it exciting to keep
exploring.
Please contact me if you would like to join us for our meeting on 4 June
and explore our interesting and wonderful capital city in good company.
Ann Marsh ann.marsh3@btinternet.com or 01732 669077.
Group Organisers please note:
The Handbook, giving details of all our Groups, is being reprinted,
so could all Group Organisers please check their entries and
send any amendments to the Editor as soon as possible.
If there are major changes, such as a change of Organiser or the
end of a Group completely, then please inform me as well as the
Editor.
Katharine Coleman kscoleman@hotmail.co.uk
U3aton.editor@gmail.com