Our last activity of the year will be an light hearted afternoon which I will call a Feast for the Senses.

We'll meet at the Unitarian Church Hall on Yarmouth Way at 2.00,and the cost will be £3.00.

(It might be worth putting on an extra layer as although the heating should be on, it may take a while to get warm)

Thank you for all the support and effort you have put into the group again this year - we've had some excellent sessions - and ideas are starting to come in for next year, too.

Our November activity was a most enjoyable and memorable occasion, since it combined learning a new skill with having enormous fun.

We were introduced to the djembe drum, and shown how to make a sound using the palms and flats of our hands. We were encouraged to firstly clap a rhythm, and then to repeat a combination of rhythms on our drums. This was not as straightforward as it sounds, since the beats were not always regular.

We then moved on to using sets of drums known as dunduns, with a skin at each end and a metal plate on top, and played with sticks.  These required much more co-ordination, but when used in combination with other percussion instruments, enabled us to create a sound that had some semblance of a tune.

One of our members, Jackie, who had recently started to volunteer at Horsey Mill, arranged for us to have a visit and guided tour. The first thing we discovered was that what we refer to as a ‘mill’ is in fact a windpump, designed to drain the land of water rather than for milling grain.  Although a pump has been on the site since the 1700s, the current version is the third or fourth version, the previous ones having been destroyed.

This mill was built in 1912, and has needed many repairs over the years, but still remains one of the youngest in the county. Sadly, because of strong winds, we were unable to go out onto the balcony at the top of the mill, but we still managed some spectacular views form the upper windows. We also much enjoyed the opportunity to sit and chat in the September sun with tea and cakes.

For our activity in July, Penny arranged for us to participate in a trail around our home town, but in order to do so, we had first to decipher the meaning of a series of clues, some cryptic, some simple, and some ‘just for fun’. What a learning experience it turned into.

We discovered that the old Pudding Gate referred not to a dessert, but to a concoction of offal stuffed into a stomach lining. We found that a ravelin is part of the outer work of a fortress, of which an example can still be seen in the town.

We certainly required powers of observation when searching for clues, and it made us focus on elements of Gt. Yarmouth that are often overlooked. All in all, it made for an interesting afternoon, and although no team managed to find all the answers, we all enjoyed ourselves.

This group of broads consists of Ormesby, Filby and Rollesby Broads, and also Lily and Ormesby Little Broad.

They are owned by Suffolk and Essex Water, and supply water for Great Yarmouth and surrounding villages, which helps explain why they are carefully managed to preserve the water quality.

We discovered that no boats are allowed on the water, with the exception of our electric boat, and some sailing craft on Filby Broad. Not only does this enhance bio diversity but also provided a most tranquil experience for us.

Despite the weather being rather damp, Lynda and Richard’s visit to the Norfolk wherry, Maud, proved to be a fascinating insight into the lives of previous generations.

We discovered that the Maud had been built in 1901 by Hall’s yard in Reedham, and had been used for transporting goods on the river Yare.  She would have had a skipper who lived on board, often with his wife and family, in the tiniest of cabins with barely room to stand up.

Once wherries ceased being useful, many were sunk, including Maud. She was raised from Ranworth Broad and restored by her new owners. After eighteen years, she was finally put back on the water, and is now owned by a trust who continue to raise funds to keep her afloat for future generations

Our guide was most enthusiastic and knowledgeable; although describing himself as an amateur, he clearly had a passion for local history.

We were firstly shown minute pieces of stone, no larger than a fingernail clipping. These had been discovered by our guide and his friend in the cliffs at Pakefield. He recognised these as being of enormous significance, and proved the existence of people in the area at least 200, 000 years earlier than scientists had previously thought.

We were then able to see a range of domestic tools and crockery and other items clearly recognisable as belonging to our parents’ and grandparents’ era, as well as an excellent collection of valuable Lowestoft Porcelain.

We were told the history of the Assembly Rooms, including the fact that for many years they were rented by the military as officers’ quarters.

They are currently used by local Freemason lodges, and we were fascinated to be given an insight into how Freemasonry came into being, and how it operates today. In addition, the make-up of the various shields displayed on the walls was partially explained, for example that the bar across the top of a shield indicated that it belonged to a first son. The importance of fundraising was also mentioned, although this is clearly done generously but with minimal publicity.

After the probable excesses of Christmas, January is, of course, the ideal month to start thinking about fitness and health. Seated exercise may not be the first activity to spring to mind, but we were quickly encouraged to see it as something that encompassed a far more holistic approach.

Simple stretches, at our own level of ability, were designed to keep our joints free moving in the same way that using a long ‘noodle’ was aimed at maintaining muscle strength and balance. What seemed like a soft football was in fact used as an aid to improve both concentration and coordination, something which proved to be quite a challenge.

The pace was gentle, but the activity was thought provoking enough to make us aware that we can all do something to help us age well.