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A TRIP TO THE GRAND SLUICE Our photography group leader has submitted the following photos after one of the U3A guided tours of the Grand Sluice. She writes: "I thought all would appreciate these photos taken on our very interesting tour around the Sluice. It showed a view of Boston which most of the public do not see. I really enjoyed this and learned a lot more about the river and it environs than you could even imagine. I think the U3A were very privileged to get this insight" More trips are being organised as so many wished to go.
Viewing the mechanism which raises the first set of gates.
A view up river showing the safety boom and the rail bridge ARCHAEOLOGY Though a small group we have made a start and after an intial meeting to decide our objectives we set about investigating the Paleolithic history of Lincolnshire. Although the evidence has been depleted by the dredging of the fens, the existence a the time of the land bridge between Britain and the continent and findings in the sea off the coast of north of Norfolk point to this area as being inhabited at the time.Our next meeting will be on Monday 3rd November, when we will be visiting Creswell Crags to see the Paleolithic evidence they have. LOCAL HISTORY GROUP. Some years ago, local historian Geoff Horton did a survey of all of Boston’s pubs and we have been lucky enough to have been given access to this. It has never been properly published and our first thought was to investigate the possibility of doing this. However as it is so comprehensive we soon realised the enormity of the task. We therefore decided to try to devise a short ‘ pub walks’ linking pubs with important historical places and buildings in the town. We each chose a pub and our next step will probably be to approach the publicans to get permission to include their pub in our walk. Our project is in very early stages and we do seem to get rather easily distracted into other aspects of the history of the town! For example while discussing Goodbarns Yard, we realised what a fascinating area Wormgate is. Our next meeting therefore is to have lunch in Wormgate and then Jean King will take us on a guided stroll along the road to help walk off our lunch! Our ongoing campaign for a proper museum in the town continues. We attended the Community Showcase in the park and got more than 300 signatures on our petition. We have sent this to the Community Services manager at the Borough Council and await a reply. However, at the moment because of the closure of the Guildhall for 5 months and the lack of a councillor with a heritage portfolio we are not optimistic of a positive outcome. There are only 6 in our group and we would welcome some new members. BOSTON WANDERERS. Sixteen members of the Boston Wanderers group, enjoyed a four mile circular walk from Frampton church taking in East Wyberton on a beautiful September day.
IMPROVERS' BRIDGE GROUP The bridge group reflects the principles of the U3A movement with more experienced players sharing their knowledge with some of us lesser mortals. Occasionally we take time to discuss the merits or otherwise of a particular hand of cards. Our new venue at the Boston Tennis Club is proving to be an excellent choice with the added bonus of a delicious meal afterwards if we wish. The Group continues to attract new members. To date there are 18 of us and we are always looking for more, so if anyone who has a basic knowledge of the game would like to join us you can be sure of a very friendly welcome. RECENT EVENTS Following our successful day at the Petwood we took part in a bridge afternoon at Fydell House. This was in conjuction with the Heritage Weekend during which Fydell House was open to the public. It proved to be enjoyable and we felt that both U3A and Fydell House benefitted from our being there.
Members of the Bridge Club at Fydell House. FAMILY HISTORY GROUP This is proving such a popular group that a second meeting has been arranged on the third Monday afternoon 2pm-4pm. Unfortunately, as space is limited, we have had to close the group to new members for the time being. Each month a new topic is introduced and at our last meeting we discussed the importance of Wills as a source of information. A trip to the Lincolnshire Archives is planned for next week for some of the members and a second trip will take place in the New Year. Our next group meeting will see us sharing an old photo or two from our family archives and endeavouring to pick up clues to assist in dating them. PLAY READING GROUP After reading a serious play about an attempt by a rather shady character to marry a wealthy woman, The Heiress, the group turned to the lighter side of life for its November choice. This was Noel Coward's comedy, Blithe Spirit in which Charles has to deal with the return of his dead wife as a ghost while persuading his current wife that he is not drunk or hallucinating. It was an enjoyable way to spend a rather grey, damp morning. New members are always welcome. FRENCH ON HOLIDAY GROUP The group resumed on 5th November after a two-month break. Six members attended the meeting and we listened and responded to recordings of French people talking about the places where they lived. We learnt about the arrondissments of Paris, in particular the cosmopolitan 17th. There were some interesting words to add to our vocabularies, such as les boîtes de nuits branchées, which means trendy night clubs. The woman who was talking about the 17th arrondissement, where she lived, said that she liked it there because it did not have any trendy fashion boutiques or night clubs. It is interesting to learn something about the French culture and way of life, while trying to understand the language. The next meeting of the group will be held on 3rd December at 2.00pm.
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