Text Box:     Have I told you this?   I’ve started to repeat myself With tales from days of yore, And when folks hear them several times They tell me I’m a bore.   It really is a problem With so many yarns to tell, ‘You told us Granddad’ they retort It makes me want to yell.   I’ve come up with an answer Which I think will be just fine, Is to only talk to oldies Whose minds are worse than mine.   Then when I tell a story For the sixth or seventh time, They’ll say that it was interesting And I’ll seem in my prime.   Paul Brickell, president, Weymouth & Portland u3a

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POETRY PLEASE Text Box:     THE WEATHER HOUSE   The way her hair curled at her neck, Her shapely ankles neat and trim, He longed to catch her up and speak, But she stepped well ahead of him.   Though now and then he drew quite near And tried to look into her eye, But she demurely backed away, As rain clouds gathered in the sky.   And so with passion unfulfilled He stood alone as raindrops fell. To Love, for most, was very Heaven; Alas, for him, ‘twas only Hell.   Barbara philpott, member  

Text Box: AND SO TO BATH! Members travelled to Bath on 16th April — my first trip with Weymouth & Portland U3A — and also my birthday! On arrival at the canal we boarded the awaiting narrow-boat and enjoyed a very adequate ploughman’s lunch while drifting in the still waters, surrounded by the fresh green of Spring and its pink blossoms, floating by pretty gardens.  Most of us had a glass of wine or similar to complement our meal adding to our relaxation in the peace and tranquillity of the scene. The tow path looked inviting for walkers and cyclists — an idea for another time perhaps?  A different angle on the beauty of Bath.  We spotted a heron strutting his stuff there as well.  We passed many boats with bikes and trailers on the back — another way to live in the credit crunch. Ann did a grand job keeping us all to time and although the boat trip was longer than anticipated the driver was still waiting for us as we toiled up one of Bath’s hills to board the coach again.  There was another great treat for those who chose to visit the Theatre Royal.  Ann had managed to arrange a private tour of the 200 year old theatre. One of our members, who had lived in Bath, could remember seeing Reg Maddox pantomimes there even before I had, and that was in the Forties!  In those days it was our post-Christmas special outing.  We had to queue for our seats in the ‘Gods’ for what seemed hours but it was so worth it — absolute magic — better than today, I’m sure. There was another surprise.  We were told we could not do a full tour as the BBC were at that moment interviewing Lenny Henry but if we were very quiet we could go up to the Upper Balcony (the Gods!) and have a look around from there.  We trouped up many stairs and through the offices into the balcony and could immediately quite clearly hear the voice of Lenny Henry.  We even managed to catch a glimpse of him sitting in the stalls.  We sat silently taking in the plush cosiness and the red and gold boxes, where I used to dream of sitting all those years ago. On leaving the theatre we were let loose to do our own thing.  We went for tea in the luxury of the Pump Room, with gorgeous, expensive cakes accompanied by piano music. It was then time to find our way to the coach for a lovely drive home, ‘All in an April Evening’. Edna O’Brien, Member