SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS August 2010

Ancient Civilisations: 

Subjects covered in our last two meetings have been the social structure of Minoan Society, agriculture and food production, art, written language, burial customs and their relationship with other existing cultures in the ancient world. One of the signs in Minoan Linear 'A' script (still un-deciphered) is a Bronze Age plough, ploughing being a an important act fundamental to food production, and may have been accompanied by religious ritual. Cereals, wheat, spelt and barley, when harvested, were stored in large cylindrical jars within the various Palace systems. Other crops included peas, flax and castor oil, as well as grape vines and olive trees and fruit such as figs, quince and pears were indigenous to Crete. Livestock farming was a major element in the Minoan economy, but exactly how they were used; for domestic meat consumption, milk/cheese, leather production, would lead to lively discussion. Cattle feature in Bull-leaping games and is also mentioned in Cretan mythology.

Anthropology: 

Susan has taken on the huge subject of Time, a subject that seems to cover all the sciences, so I will just agree with an author writing in the 1920s, that “time is what stops everything happening at once” and wait for her continuation talk next month. After a nice cup of tea we went to yet another large subject, Chinese Culture. There is a belief that the Chinese are descended from a Dragon, who had nine sons. They each have their own physical characteristics and natures, which cover a lot of our human traits. 

Archaeology:

The main speaker was Maureen who showed a video and slides about Palmyra. The city, half way between Damascus and the Euphrates, was built at an oasis, fed by a large spring, [Afqa]. It prospered from the 1st to the 3rd century AD as an important trade centre of the Syrian Desert. Furthermore, it acted as an intermediary between the Roman Empire and other peoples, until its queen, Zenobia was overthrown by the Romans.  

Features of the ruined site are a colonnaded main street about 1 km long, a very well preserved theatre, and a huge temple to Baal. The Palmyrians had elaborate family tombs, each person’s memorial including a small sculpture or picture of the deceased. Thank you Maureen for this interesting talk & for your hospitality.

Art History & Appreciation: 

Pam Grayling gave us a detailed and fascinating story about the depiction of the female form through the ages. This was accompanied by excellent slides. The paintings reflected the attitudes of society at the time when the artists were working. She quoted Aristotle's words that poetic truth (as depicted by artists and poets) was higher than historic truth.  The earliest depiction of the female form was as a fertility symbol. Paintings from Greece, Egypt, Rome and Japan had marked differences as had the figures of  Medieval, Gothic and Renaissance times. From the perfection of Renoirs work (sublime) to that of Picasso - (let’s say "angular") the morning was illuminating and most enjoyable.

Art Pot Pourri:

Georgie introduced us to the French painter Constance Mayer (1775-1821) whose name is closely associated with that of Pierre-Paul Prud'hon to such an extent that many works are still disputed as to entitlement. Then came the Englishman Bill Mundy (1936 - ) who paints watercolour in the distinctive pointillism style. He has won all major awards for miniature portrait painting but also executes large portraits in oils.  Lastly the American Nancy Spero (1926 - ) whose feminist drawing, painting, collage and printmaking culminated in recognition this year at the Pompidou Centre in Paris.

Computers: 

We started this month’s meeting with a discussion, led by Neil, on the suggestions listed last month in Graham Oliver’s talk.  Cecily followed, presenting her research into eBooks and eReaders.  The Kobo, launched by Whitcoulls in May, is already very popular.  Browns Bay Whitcoulls has a waiting list, and deliveries are never enough at the moment to supply all those on it.   The IPad is due for release this month.  We had time for some general airing of problems.  Does anyone know of a programme that will translate text from one language to another satisfactorily?

Creative writing:

The story subject was "Life is Hard”. The stories written were about: A 4-year-old’s inquisitive mind, a playful dog, a depressive, a spoilt young woman, a relationship breakup, an ungrateful teenager, another episode of Mrs Robert's life and a poem that said it all! Well done ladies. Next meeting at Thelma Phillips home. Start your story with the sentence: "There was a new woman behind the counter".

Creative Audio-Visual

The main purpose of the June meeting was to organise and prepare for the group’s mini talk at the July U3A meeting. Roy presented a tutorial on recording music and other sounds on audio visuals using Pro-Show Gold and Audacity. Next meeting is on 5 August at Betty Boyce’s home.

Current Affairs: [NEW] (

The inaugural meeting of this new group will be held at 10 am on August 12^th 2010 in the Committee room on the third floor of the Community Centre, Glen Road, Brown’s Bay. Bring along your ideas for this group, and topics for discussion.

Exploring Art for Fun:

We explored the art of book illustration at the home of Margaret and John Cornish in July.  The session started with a presentation, by John, of the art and artists used in School Journals over the past forty years involving the work of many past and current New Zealand artists.  After morning tea, Margaret led the group in a fascinating, hand on, exercise where everyone had to illustrate a supplied poem, with both expert and hilarious results - Well done Margaret and John!

Film appreciation:

Recommended films to see are “The Last Station”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and the video “De Lovely”. Beryl gave us an interesting insight into the character of Katharine Hepburn who was nominated for twelve Oscar Awards and awarded four during her long career. She was with her lover Spencer Tracey for twenty five years. We enjoyed some of her pithy quotations! Joan gave a review of Tatum O’Neal's autobiography. She won an Oscar as a child and her life to date has been a series of abuses in many forms, including drug addiction. She married tennis player John McEnroe and had three children. Her life now is reasonably normal.

Français pour rire:

“J’abandonne” – “I give up” was one of the useful phrases revised by Bill, before introducing the verb “abattre” as in “abattre une maison” – “to knock down a house”. We heard some amusing stories about the French president, Sarkozy who is vane and sensitive about his height. Heidi spent half an hour, teaching us about the imparfait tense and its usage.  We composed short sentences to describe pictures of chateaux (castles). The imperfect tense is used where a past action is continuing, or happens again and again. For homework we are to compose a short passage in French using the imperfect tense. After a delicious morning tea to celebrate Le Jour de la Bastille, Fay finished by going over a crossword puzzle, using names of flowers, from last month’s homework.

Geology: 

A record attendance of 10 members at the July meeting was very encouraging. Tom led a discussion, using geological maps about the North Island allochthon. This is a geological formation not formed in the region where found at present but moved to its present location by tectonic forces. Meetings for August will be held at Carol Wade's.

Inspirational Women. [NEW]

Are you interested in joining this new group? Please write your details on the clip board at the door at the General Meeting on August 3^rd, or phone in your details to Margaret Cornish.  On the clip board, you are asked to write your name, address, phone number and e/mail address and to indicate the days or time (am or pm) in the month which do NOT suit you.

Inventors & Inventions

Terry Dale talked about the (short) life of John Britten, the clever Mainland engineer who built world-record-breaking super fast motorcycles (the engine included), one of which is on display at Te Papa. A DVD gave insight into the multi-talented man (glass working and heavy engineering) and his quest / drive for excellence. Geoff Haycock then spoke about English-born Mainlander, Ernest Hayes, who founded Hayes Engineering, around 1900, in Central Otago. It is famed for its wire strainer, essential for farm fencing and still in production for the global market, and its windmills. A DVD showed the largely restored original factory, now a popular side tour for Otago Rail Trail folk. Added material was in a ProShow Gold package Geoff had created.

Literature group: 

We celebrated mid winter with a much enjoyed lunch at Patricia’s and some book talk. Patricia reviewed "The Great Lover" by Jill Dawson, a novel about the poet Rupert Brooke which she heard Jill Dawson discuss at Readers and Writers festival. Also from Patricia the novel "Lola" by Elizabeth Smither. Shona recommended "Telling Tales" by William Taylor, a witty memoir of a schoolteacher and solo father who was principal of Ohakune school then Mayor of Ohakune from 1981 to 1988. He is well known as a children's book writer.  Maureen discussed "Shadows of the Workhouse" by Jennifer Worth, a powerful evocation of a long gone world. Mary entertained us with more from her travel diary of Turkey, visiting Sofaya cathedral/mosque and Topkapi Palace.

Local History:

Our July meeting brought forth memories of places of interest. Rosemarie enjoyed trips to Ponui Island for Scripture Union Senior’s camps. This was bought in 1853 by the Chamberlin family who are still farming it today. It has been used for many years as a Christian camp for all ages. Bill gave us his first impressions of Fiji, its architecture and customs with accompanying photos, and of life on board a cruise ship. Graham explained a little of the history of Smale’s Farm and its importance as a transport hub before the present business centre was built. Next month Sheila will present a talk on the Chelsea Sugar Works. Meeting will be at 32 Widdison Place, Albany on August 9^th.

Man Booker: 

This group is in recess, hopefully temporarily, until our numbers are boosted slightly. The group of men report on books, magazines, newspapers etc the content of which has caught their attention. If interested (in Scott’s absence) please phone Mike Carter.

Making History:

Silphium, a giant fennel plant, grew only on a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean coast, now present day Libya.  It became extinct during Roman times due to over harvesting and the plant's lack of adaptability to other growing environments.  It was used for countless diseases, however its success as a contraceptive made it one of the most important plants in prehistory.  Pliny the Elder raved about its ability to prevent pregnancy.  One silphium seed would be mixed with water and taken before sex then another afterward to kill any sperm that survived.  The shape of the seed is where we get our modern heart shape as a symbol for love.

Modern History:

Peter Coyne gave us an illustrated talk based on his time with the Swedish firm Bofors. The hi-tech research they carry out has been applied to armaments, some of which are in service with the NZ Defence Force. Let’s hope we never have to go to war. Of particular topicality was the development of underwater robot vehicles, some of which have almost certainly been used in controlling the rogue BP deepwater oil well.

Music Appreciation and History:

Music – Mainly Classical:

Pamela’s programme was divided between recordings of Nigel Potts, organist and New Age music.  Nigel is an internationally acclaimed organist who began his studies at Auckland University. The CD tracks played included “Fanfare” by John Cook ,“Saraband” by Paul Spicer which was composed for Potts and first played by him on the organ of Westminster Abbey, Elgar’s “Nimrod Variations” and Walton’s “Coronation March” .

New Age music was introduced by outlining the technological development over the last two centuries of various forms of art, literature and music and the interaction of these, New Age music being one of these forms. We listened to some well known classical compositions - Debussy’s “Clair de Lune”, Offenbach’s    “Barcarole” and Handel’s “Largo”, mainly electronically produced and enhanced by such sounds as bird calls, flowing water, drone undertones, and various voice tonalities. Altogether, a very interesting presentation. 

Play reading:

Travel:  (

Walking:

On 13th August we will do an easy walk from Northcote to Takapuna - no hills.  For a bit of a change on 27th August, we will have an hour's walk followed by morning tea and a talk by Margaret Scrymgeour who has written books on North Shore walks.

World Religions: 

At our last meeting Ruth discussed articles from 'The Herald' over the last few months.  She also reported on Brethren Schools in N.Z. Most of our time was spent on preparing our talk. The next Meeting will be at Shirley's home.

U3A Browns Bay website: http://www.u3abb.net.nz

Address: PO Box 35-851, Browns Bay.