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Issue number one hundred and fifty-four (October 2013) from the WorldU3A Service, sent on the first of every month to U3A members anywhere in the world.

Feel free to copy any or all of this information in your newsletters.
 Please send items of possible interest to the editor, Tom Holloway.


"By 2050, the number of older persons will be twice the number of children in developed countries, and the number of older persons in developing countries is expected to double. This trend will have profound effects on countries and individuals."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

On 14 December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly (by resolution 45/106) designated 1 October the International Day of Older Persons.

Take the opportunity of celebrating this International Day of Older Persons by voting on what is most important for you and your family. Join the global vote and register your priorities. Learn more at: www.myworld2015.org
Coursera.org is starting a 5 week course starting on October 14th called Care of Elders with Alzheimer's Disease and other Major Neurocognitive Disorders through Johns Hopkins University. Its totally free, easy to sign up and you get a statement of accomplishment from coursera.org signed by the instructors/professors.
Thank you Dr. Vyasamoorthy and Saadiya Hurzuk

History Groups: The archives of British Pathe are always worth browsing, and if you search for the name of a city, town, or area anywhere in the world, some surprising reminders of the past century pop up.

Low quality, but downloaded with 'Replay Media Catcher' or similar, they can be shown with a digital projector or on a large monitor.

London Groups and Railway Groups: Plans for massive developments in West London will include new facilities for rail users which will affect many in the Home Counties. Click here to learn more, and here if you would like to see a guide to cheap train travel.

According to this well-regarded publication "To meet emissions goals, the U.K. is reluctantly turning to fracking of shale gas".

"Operations at an exploratory drilling site for shale gas in southeast England, operated by the energy company Cuadrilla Resources, suspended operations in mid-August after protests from residents and environmentalists.

Proposed U.K. government policies to encourage hydrofracking of natural gas ignited a firestorm of protest this summer, with critics complaining that they were not consulted and that rules will restrict local planners’ authority. But the country appears to have few other options. The United Kingdom is in an energy quagmire that is forcing it to turn to shale gas".

Greetings to the Third Age University of Marijampole, Lithuania. "We currently have in excess of more than 800 members, 15 faculties and have been established now for 8 years. We have a monthly meeting with each faculty members and interesting lectures. We have a regular annual event such as 1st October - International Day of Older Persons, which is our academic year celebration. We have a lot of activities such as dance group, choir, folk ensemble, art group and others".

Needlework/Craft/Textile Groups: The The National Needlework Archive maintains a documentary and photographic record of textiles located in the community throughout the United Kingdom. The archive is used for research, and helps raise the profile and esteem of textiles housed in public, or semi-public places, and those owned by community groups or associations.

In addition, the NNA keeps a library of textile related books, magazines, instruction leaflets, dress and knitting patterns, and items relating to other textile related crafts. Our study collection includes textile articles, machines and tools, haberdashery and laundry items. We also keep a dedicated collection of WI textiles. We keep books and articles from any decade.


Art History Groups: Two very different approaches to illustrate a historical timeline. The Heilbrunn Collection at the Metrpolitan Museum is comprehensive and well illustrated, with interesting textual references.

The novel approach taken by Jean Burman can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/27548673 but your editor had to turn off the sound, so if there was a commentary it went unheard.

Computer Groups: A review of Windows software by Technology Commentator Ed Bott reviews the popularity of Windows Operating Systems. Details were taken from the product pages of Amazon.com, where thousands of Windows upgraders in the past six years have left ratings (on the familiar scale of 1 to 5 stars) and detailed feedback about their purchase.

He went through more than 3000 ratings for upgrade versions of the three most recent versions of Windows and tallied those ratings to measure the love/hate rating for each one.
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