Sunday 3 September 2017

OUTINGS AND EVENTS NEWS – SEPTEMBER 2017




OUTINGS AND EVENTS NEWS – SEPTEMBER 2017
Salisbury & District U3A – www.u3a-salisbury.org.uk

LONGLEAT FESTIVAL OF LIGHT
INCLUDING LONGLEAT HOUSE DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS, A SAFARI DRIVE THROUGH (INCLUDING THE MONKEYS) and MAIN SQUARE ATTRACTIONS
Tuesday 5th December 2017 – Booking Now


The Festival:  The theme for Longleat’s fourth Festival of Light is the magic of storytelling including Little Red Riding Hood, the Nordic influenced Little Mermaid, and the local legend of Somerset’s bloodthirsty Gurt Wurm dragon of Shervage Wood.  You are invited to come with us to a mysterious, fantastic and nostalgic world of giant illuminated lantern displays capturing the magic of Christmas.  Among dazzling scenes of cherished tales, including Cinderella’s horse-drawn pumpkin carriage and Snow White’s infamous encounter with the pedlar woman, you are invited to dance with the Sugar Plum Fairy, marvel at Rapunzel's tower, hide from the Snow Queen, make friends with the Ugly Duckling, meet the charming Frog Prince, and lose yourself in Thumbelina’s toadstool valley. 

The House:  Alongside the remarkable outdoor experiences, Longleat’s prestigious Elizabethan stately home will be dressed in traditional Edwardian festive décor where guests are invited to experience the world of butlers, servants and housekeepers as guides throughout the house interact with guests and each other in traditional costume.

The Safari and Adventure Park:  A trip through the UK’s first, and best, safari park will allow you to stand tall with giraffes, walk with the wallabies and lemurs, look out for the adorable pygmy goats, warthogs and stripy zebras, get up close-ish to the cheetah, and admire the lions and tigers.  Alongside the big cats at Longleat Safari, you’ll also find some other deadly creatures, the grey wolves.  And, last but not least, you can watch as the cheeky macaque monkeys climb aboard, and spot Anne the liberated Elephant.

Coach Pick Ups:  8:45am at Michael Herbert Hall in Wilton OR 9am at Salisbury Millstream Coach Park OR 9:15am at London Road Park & Ride, OR 9:30am at the Rugby Club OR 9:45am at Amesbury bus stop by the car park opposite the library.  Our timed arrival at Longleat is 11am and we will leave at 6:30pm.

Cost:  £34 to include coach and driver gratuity, full access to Longleat House, the Safari Park Drive Through, Main Square Attractions and the Festival of Light ~ and complementary wine and mince pies on the coach trip home.

  
COACH TRIP TO LONDON

Wednesday 15th November 2017 – Waiting List Only

WEST END THEATRES, NATIONAL GALLERY,
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM,
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING AT HARRODS and/or  REGENT STREET,
SERPENTINE GALLERY IN HYDE PARK,
NATURAL HISTORY and/or SCIENCE MUSEUMS,
ROYAL ACADEMY ... or just meet your friends. 

Possibilities galore on this trip to London, especially since the 6pm return pick up at Waterloo Place at the bottom of Lower Regent Street enables you to book now to secure good seats to see a West End matinee.  As well, there are so many exhibitions to choose from with coach drop offs at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrods, Piccadilly for the Royal Academy, and Waterloo Place (5 minutes walk from the National Gallery).

Coach Pick Ups: 
6:45am at the Coach depot (Hawkers Hill Farm, Shaftesbury SP7 9NP)
7:45am at Michael Herbert Hall in Wilton (free parking)
8am at Salisbury Millstream Car Park (£8 to park)
8:15am at Salisbury Rugby Club (£1 parking)
8:30am at The Pheasantry, Winterslow on the A30 (no parking)    

Cost:  £20

Coach leaves Waterloo Place in London to return home at 6pm to arrive in Salisbury at about 8:30pm


AMERICAN MUSEUM and CLAVERTON MANOR and GARDENS
Thursday 12th October 2017 – Booking Now

Our visit to the American Museum near Bath offers a journey through the history of America, from its early settlers to the 20th century. With its remarkable collection of folk and decorative arts, the Museum shows the diverse and complex nature of American traditions.

The Museum’s collection of furniture, paintings, quilts, silver, and glass is presented in a series of Period Rooms within historic Claverton Manor. On the lower-level the American Heritage Exhibition tells the stories of the Founding Fathers, Native Americans, and the Civil War, through a series of interactive galleries.


The furniture collections at the American Museum are showcased to create a sense of how American families have lived during the last 300 years. Display rooms include furniture reflecting the Shakers' founding principle of strength through simplicity, a late 17th century Puritan home, an 18th century tavern, and a sumptuous 1860s New Orleans bedroom from the eve of the Civil War.

Ranging from the 18th to mid-20th centuries, the Museum's collection of over 200 quilts is acclaimed as the finest of its type in Europe and the equal of many premier collections in the United States. Over 50 quilts, including one made by plantation slaves, as well as Navajo weavings, hooked rugs, and woven coverlets alongside treasures from New Mexico are on view in the Textile and Period Rooms.


Key documents are showcased, such as the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Gettysburg Address (1863), and Dr. Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream speech (1963). 


In one of the greatest Renaissance map collections in Europe, 200 maps show changes in cartography during the Age of Discovery and document early European exploration of America, including significant manuscript drawings from the 12th century as well as the first map ever printed: the 1494 edition of Columbus’ letter to Isabella of Castile, in which he informs her of the ‘islands in the Indian sea’ he has recently discovered.


As well as the permanent exhibitions, 1920s Jazz Age: Fashion & Photographs offers many views of America in the 1920s which examines how the world saw, and sees, the US as a global taste and trend setter when the period after the Great War created a seismic shift in moral, social, and cultural attitudes. Emancipation combined with burgeoning affluence offered women the chance to explore a completely new way of dressing and the show features over 100 fashion objects from the 20's, including flapper dresses, evening capes, lame coats, couture, and ready-to-wear garments as well as shifting hemlines and waistlines. The exhibition also includes the work of photographer James Abbe, whose portraits present a candid commentary on early 20th century celebrity as well as illustrations by Gordon Conway which show how graphic art and photography promoted the ‘Jazz Age’ look.

The Orangery Cafe and Terrace offers all day counter self-service and lunches between 12-2pm.  The range of food is home-made from American recipes including Snickerdoodles, cowboy cookies and brownies.


Cost:  £25 to include coach, driver gratuity and entry to the Museum.
Coach Pickups:  9am at London Road Park & Ride OR 9:15am at Millstream Coach Park, Salisbury OR  9:30am at Michael Herbert Hall, Wilton.  We will leave the Museum at 4:30 to return to Salisbury by 6pm.



MORETON-IN-MARSH and SEZINCOTE HOUSE AND GARDEN
Tuesday 19th September 2017 – Booking Now

Moreton-in-Marsh, in the northern Cotswolds, is a 13th century market town with a wide main street, narrow burgage plots and back lanes.  Granted its market charter in 1227, the busy Tuesday market with about 200 stalls will be open during our visit.  Moreton has been a traveller's town and coaching station for at least 1700 years.  The White Hart (Royal) Hotel was used by King Charles I as shelter during the English Civil War following the Battle of Marston Moor on 2nd July 1644 and a copy of the King’s unpaid bill is commemorated on a plaque in the entrance lobby. The high street has several pubs, inns, tea shops, and restaurants for coffee and/or lunch if you wish.  There are also many elegant 17th and 18th century houses, including Redesdale Market Hall built in 1887 in memory of the Earl of Redesdale who lived at nearby Batsford House, who is known for his famous daughters, the Mitford sisters, and for planting Batsford Arboretum, one of the largest private collections of rare trees in England.  The oldest building is probably the 16th century Curfew Tower on the junction of High Street and Oxford Street; its bell was rung nightly until 1860 to remind people of the risk of fire. It is said the ringing once guided home Sir Robert Fry, lost in the fog, who gave money for its maintenance in gratitude.  The Parish church of St. David was originally a chapel of ease for Bourton-on-the-Hill and in 1858 was rebuilt in medieval style.  The author JRR Tolkien is believed to have had connections with Moreton-in-Marsh.  A pub in the town was presented with a print by the JRR Tolkien Society after their research led them to claim The Bell Inn is the inspiration behind Bree's The Prancing Pony, Middle Earth's most famous pub in the book Lord of the Rings.  

After winding through mighty oaks lining the long drive of this Gloucestershire garden on the edge of the Cotswolds, you see a weathered onion dome straight out of India. The south front of Grade I listed Sezincote House, complete with curving orangery, unfurls above a Repton landscape unchanged since the mid-19th century. The garden is blessed by a series of spring-fed pools, connected by gurgling water which eventually tumbles into the Island Pool in the valley bottom, before joining the River Evenlode below.  Colonel John Cockerell bought the estate in 1795 on his return from Bengal.  When his youngest brother Charles inherited the property on John's death in 1798, he employed another brother, Samuel Pepys Cockerell (a grandson of the diarist), to build a house in the Indian manner.  Although Samuel worked as a surveyor for the British East India Company and as an apprentice to Sir Robert Taylor, where John Nash was also apprenticed, he never travelled to India; his encounters with Mughal architecture, a building style that flourished in India in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, were strictly through drawings and engravings, especially those by Thomas Daniell who designed the garden, temple, bridge, dairy and farm buildings. 

Cost:  £31 to include coach, driver gratuity and entry to Sezincote.  Please note that although this is a HHA property, they do not grant free admission to HHA Friends on private visits.  To have the opportunity to visit, we have had to book a private visit as they do not allow coach parties on public opening days.
Coach Pickups:  8am at Michael Herbert Hall, Wilton OR 8:15am at Millstream Coach Park, Salisbury OR  8:30am at The Rugby Club OR 8:45am at Amesbury bus stop by the car park opposite the library.
We will arrive at Moreton-in-Marsh between 10:30 and 11am where you are free to wander through the market and town and have coffee and/or lunch.  We will leave for Sezincote at 2pm who will open specially for us to arrive there by 2:30pm. Please note there are no afternoon refreshments available (so you may wish to bring your own or purchase something in Moreton-in-Marsh) and House access is only by half hour tours of 25 people each.  The garden is free flow.  In the event of rain, shelter is available in The Orangery.  We will leave at 4:30pm for our journey home.

 


PAYMENTS, REFUNDS AND RECEIPTS FOR OUTINGS

From 10am At Meetings:  Cash or cheques payable to Salisbury U3A. One cheque can cover as many people as you like, separate cheques for each outing please. 

By Post:  If you can't attend the monthly meeting or prefer to book by post, please email Margaret  for a booking form.  Otherwise, please post your cheque with destination, your name, home and mobile phone numbers and pick up point on the reverse to Margaret Vacha, 1 Grasmere Close, Salisbury SP2 8DG.  If you are booking for more than one, please do include the first and last names of your companion(s) for the coach list.

Cancellations/Refunds: Full refund if cancelled more than one month before the outing. Cancellations less than a month before a trip are only refunded if we have a waiting list and can resell your place.

Refunds:  If you are due a refund, may I ask please that you do not deduct refunds from payments for other trips.  I will pay out refunds in cash or by cheque separately.  Accounting for each trip is so much easier if there is no cross-over in payments or refunds between outings.

Receipts:  No receipts or tickets are issued for Salisbury U3A trips.  I do acknowledge all postal bookings by email or phone call. 

Personal Record:  May I respectfully ask that you keep a diary note of your coach pick up point and time, that you have paid, and what you have paid for please.

Reserves:  Reserving outings in advance is no longer possible.  Outings can only be booked with a full payment and, if you can, a booking slip or a note giving all your contact details and coach pick up point. 


Any questions, or to cancel your place, or to change your pick-up point after booking:
Please contact Margaret at margaretvacha@hotmail.com or 01722 335586 or 07845 870512

SOME EXTRA TRIPS AND EVENTS
FROM OTHER LOCAL GROUPS




SALISBURY FRIENDS of the BOURNEMOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Salisbury Friends of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra organise regular visits by coach to BSO concerts on Wednesday evenings at the Lighthouse in Poole.  Concert tickets are available on a generous group discount and we pick up in Wilton, Salisbury (Brown Street), Downton and Ringwood.  Further details are available from Jon Hampton at jon.hampton2@gmail.com or phone 01722 417995.


U3A TEA DANCES
Fridays 8th and 22nd September 2017

A Tea Dance is held on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month at Harnham Memorial Hall SP2 8JH from 2:30 - 4:30pm.  Everyone is welcome – with or without a partner.  The more the merrier!   For more information, please contact Amr Singh-Garcha on 01722 327705 or amr.garcha@gmail.com





UNDRESSING ANTIQUES
Friday 13th October 2017 at 6:30 for 7pm
at the Nadder Centre, Weaveland Road, Tisbury SP3 6HJ

The Arts Society (formerly NADFAS) is a leading arts education charity.  There is a global network of local Societies – including three in Salisbury – which connect people to the arts and to each other.  We are hoping to open The Arts Society in Tisbury.  To get a taste of what The Arts Society has to offer, why not join us for a glass of wine and a free lecture?  Join us as Mark Hill, popular The Arts Society Accredited Lecturer and BBC Antiques Roadshow Expert unlocks the world of antiques to show they are not just the province of the wealthy.  To book your place, please visit https://undressingantiques.eventbrite.co.uk

Starting a new Arts Society is an extremely worthwhile and rewarding experience.  We are looking for volunteers to help with the formation and running of The Arts Society in Tisbury.  If you would like to be part of this new venture please email membership@theartssociety.org or call 020 7430 0730.
TWELFTH NIGHT at THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE
Thursday 9th November 2017

Our local National Trust Salisbury offers you the opportunity to take a panoramic tour of Stratford-upon-Avon with Blue Badge Guide, Sally Peel, and see Twelfth Night or take the afternoon to explore the town.  After our tour, we will have a lunch break prior to congregating at the RSC Theatre at 1pm to watch the play.  After the performance there will be a short interval to use the facilities and have a quick refreshment break before boarding our coach to return to Salisbury. 

Coach Pickups:  7:30am at Michael Herbert Hall in Wilton OR 8am at Salisbury Millstream Coach Park.  We will have a short break at Warwick Services at approximately 10am for use of the facilities and to purchase tea or coffee.  From there it is a short run into Stratford-upon-Avon.  On the return journey, there will also be a short break at Chieveley Motorway Services before arriving back in Salisbury at approximately 8pm.

Cost Including Theatre Ticket (Waiting List Only):  £55.00 (Local National Trust Group Members) or £58.00 (Non Members)

Cost for Coach Only:  £15.50 (Members) or £18.50 (Non Members). 

Whatever your choice, please send your cheque payable to National Trust Salisbury (with your name and coach pick up point on the back) plus a SAE to Sally Peel, 11 Harnwood Road, Salisbury SP1 8DD.  Telephone:  01722 334892 or 07850 710885.




HAPPY SEPTEMBER EVERYONE!



By the way, I will continue to do outings throughout 2018.  No one came forward so big thanks to Sue Evans and Verity Toogood who have agreed to continue to help as well. 


MORETON-IN-MARSH and SEZINCOTE HOUSE AND GARDEN
Tuesday 19th September 2017

Cost:  £31 (NO discount to HHA Friends) to include coach travel, driver gratuity and entry to Sezincote.
Coach Pick Ups:  8am at Michael Herbert Hall, Wilton OR 8:15am at Millstream Coach Park, Salisbury OR  8:30am at The Rugby Club OR 8:45am at Amesbury bus stop by the car park opposite the library.
NAME ................................................................................................................... 
LANDLINE …........................................................................ 
MOBILE .........................................................................................
EMAIL …................................................................................................. 
COACH PICKUP                                                                                                                                    
Please complete and return with your cheque for £31 payable to Salisbury U3A to:                                                       Margaret Vacha, 1 Grasmere Close, Salisbury SP2 8DG
AMERICAN MUSEUM and CLAVERTON MANOR and GARDENS
Thursday 12th October 2017

Cost:  £25 to include coach travel, driver gratuity and entry.
Coach Pick Ups:  9am at London Road Park and Ride OR 9:15am at Millstream Coach Park, Salisbury OR  9:30am at Michael Herbert Hall, Wilton.
NAME ................................................................................................................... 
LANDLINE …........................................................................ 
MOBILE .........................................................................................
EMAIL …................................................................................................. 
COACH PICKUP                                                                                                                                          
Please complete and return with your cheque for £25 payable to Salisbury U3A to:                                                       Margaret Vacha, 1 Grasmere Close, Salisbury SP2 8DG

COACH TRIP TO LONDON
Wednesday 15th November 2017

Cost:  £20 to include coach travel and driver gratuity.
Coach Pick Ups:  6:45am at the Coach depot (Hawkers Hill Farm, Shaftesbury SP7 9NP) OR 7:45am at Michael Herbert Hall in Wilton (free parking) OR 8am at Salisbury Millstream Car Park (£8 to park) OR 8:15am at Salisbury Rugby Club (£1 parking) OR 8:30am at The Pheasantry, Winterslow on the A30 (no parking).
NAME ................................................................................................................... 
LANDLINE …........................................................................ 
MOBILE .........................................................................................
EMAIL …................................................................................................. 
COACH PICKUP                                                                                                                               
Please complete and return with your cheque for £20 payable to Salisbury U3A to:                                                       Margaret Vacha, 1 Grasmere Close, Salisbury SP2 8DG
LONGLEAT FESTIVAL OF LIGHT INCLUDING LONGLEAT HOUSE DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS, A SAFARI DRIVE THROUGH (INCLUDING THE MONKEYS) and MAIN SQUARE ATTRACTIONS
Tuesday 5th December 2017

Coach Pick Ups:  8:45am at Michael Herbert Hall in Wilton OR 9am at Salisbury Millstream Coach Park OR 9:15am at London Road Park & Ride, OR 9:30am at the Rugby Club OR 9:45am at Amesbury bus stop by the car park opposite the library.  Our timed arrival at Longleat is 11am and we will leave at 6:30pm.

Cost:  £34 to include coach and driver gratuity, full access to Longleat House, the Safari Park Drive Through, Main Square Attractions and the Festival of Light ~ and complementary wine and mince pies on the coach trip home.

NAME ................................................................................................................... 
LANDLINE …........................................................................ 
MOBILE .........................................................................................
EMAIL …................................................................................................. 
COACH PICKUP                                                                                                                             
Please complete and return with your cheque for £34 payable to Salisbury U3A to:                                                       Margaret Vacha, 1 Grasmere Close, Salisbury SP2 8DG