U3A: The next monthly meeting of the Ilkley and District U3A will be on Saturday, August 17, at 10am at the Clarke Foley Centre, Ilkley, when a presentation will be made by two of our members, Julia and Alan Kay, who will share with us their photos from a recent visit to Burma. This is a country which has been closed to tourists for years and is only recently starting to open up for visitors, so this should make for a fascinating morning. For any retired persons interested in their local U3A and what it can offer to help you to have an enjoyable and fulfilling retirement, we hold regular monthly drop-in sessions on the first Friday of each month, with the next being on September 6 from 10.30am until noon at the KIVCA offices on Riddings Road, Ilkley, which are adjacent to Christchurch and the police station. Drop-in sessions are informal and give you an opportunity to come along to meet some of your local committee members, who can provide information on our activities. If anyone would like further information about the U3A in Ilkley and the Wharfedale area, check http:// ilkleyu3a.org/, phone (01943) 465059 or e-mail info@ilkleyu3a.org.

GARDENERS’ ASSOCIATION: Last week’s meeting on Thursday, August 1, was enjoyed by some 35 members and guests as Pippa Chapman BA RHS Adv Cert told us all about Growing Vegetables Organically. Pippa is from Those Plant People, based at Fern Cottage, in Steeton. Pippa entertained us throughout the evening, with input from husband Andrew, about the trials and successes that they have had with various methods of organic vegetable growing on a hilltop above Steeton, including a section where many of us were laughing as they described the use to which they put urine to improve the quality and size of their produce. There were some fantastic slides of gourds on their patio that reached the gutters of their house. So their methods certainly worked and, with a dilution of ten-to-one, their supplies never ran out. Other tips given out were to use quantities of cardboard as weed control, though weights were needed to keep the cardboard down during the strongest winds. And although they tried companion planting, they didn’t find much success on their plot. All those attending found it a very enjoyable evening and we look forward to a visit in 2014 from Andrew to show us a Plant Man’s Visit to New Zealand. Next month we welcome back Bob and Kath Saunderson from Leavens Walled Garden Nursery with Stories from the Shows, plants for sale, a raffle and the 2014 Mystery Association judging. Please see our website for more information at ilkleygardeners. org.uk.

BAPTIST CHURCH: Although in the interregnum the majority of services are led by members of the church, we are also indebted to members of other churches in the town for helping us. We are grateful to the Rev Canon Pat Dearnley, of All Saints, for conducting the morning service. Deborah Swann read the lessons. The sermon drew out the implications from these Bible readings for our understanding of the Gospel. Canon Dearnley suggested that the Gospel is individual in its application, universal in its scope, physical in its concern and spiritual in its outcome. The evening service was led by Gwen Hewitt, one of our members. Jill Thornton read the lessons and the sermon, taking as its basis the so-called Golden Rule, and spoke on the need to exercise the quality of empathy, that capacity to stand in the other person’s shoes, a quality which Jesus exemplified in his ministry. We wish Margaret Davies a speedy recovery from her recent fall. We are pleased that Dorothy Meachin is making steady progress after her recent operation.