We meet at Dean Court Community Centre,
which
has excellent facilities.
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN –
Beverley Birmingham
Where
does the time go? Here we are almost at
Easter and I hope some better weather to come as gardens are desperate for
attention; good exercise for working off all those Easter eggs!
Our
annual lunch for new members/sig leaders was held as usual in February and was
well attended, giving everyone a chance to relax/chat and get to know one another.
The
speakers have again been varied and interesting. Attendance at our meetings seems to be
growing by the week so we must be doing something right!
A
big thankyou to all who have volunteered to help with the teas. This is mainly for the serving and clearing
after and many ‘new’ helpers have even said they had fun so please continue to
sign up.
The
a/v team continue to do a great job and are constantly trying to make it easier
for everyone to hear our speakers clearly.
If there is anyone who would like to help the team, please do go and
have a chat with them.
Wishing
you all a very happy Easter break. I
shall look forward to seeing you all again in April.
Beverley
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YOUR NEWSLETTER
from Elizabeth Stevens Please send all contributions,
notices, etc. for the next issue covering September/December 2004 to Elizabeth
Stevens, 104 Kennington Road, Kennington, Oxford OX1 5PE (01865 739252) not
later than Friday, 16 August 2024.
MONDAY TALKS IN DEAN COURT COMMUNITY CENTRE,
PINNOCKS WAY – EVERYONE WELCOME Meetings are normally held on the 2nd
and 4th Monday of each month from 2.15 pm onwards. There is always an opportunity for tea,
biscuits and a chat from approx. 3.15pm.
All are welcome, and we extend an open invitation to any visitors who
might like to come along and meet us. Visitors are asked to make a small
contribution of £2. We now have a full diary of talks for this
season, September 2023 - June 2024. These are detailed in the 'Talks' section
of this website and the talks for April, May and June are covered in more detail here.
08 April: Jan Cox – “Paul Nash and Oxford”.
Most
of us know Paul Nash as a 20th century British surrealist painter and war
artist. Fewer of us probably know that he had significant Oxford connections,
including with Wittenham Clumps.
In
this talk ‘Paul Nash and Oxford’ these connections will be explored for us by
Jan Cox. Jan is an award-winning art historian, lecturer and exhibition
cataloguer, specialising in British art of the earlier 20th century,
Impressionism and painting in the Nordic countries. He too has Oxford
connections, tutoring at Brookes and the Department of Continuing Education. 
Wittenham Clumps Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery
22 April: John Tyler – “Woodland Wildlife: the Ever-changing Life of an
English Wood”. Local naturalist John Tyler is one of our
regular and most popular speakers. He is particularly appreciated for his talks
that give us insights into the wonders of the natural world here on our
doorsteps, without travel to exotic locations – although he does that as well.
In this talk his focus is a typical English wood
and the wildlife it supports. He follows the lives of the inhabitants of the
woodland through the cycles that take place in the course of a day, a year and
a lifetime. He frankly admits to having a passion for insects. As trees and the
insect population increasingly take centre stage in our understanding of
ecosystems and their functioning, this talk promises fascinating insights.
Frosted Ash © John Clarke Tyler
13 May: Mike Shapton
– “The Englishman of the Peseta”.
Mike
Shapton will tell the remarkable story of a wealthy young man from Victorian
Manchester who ended his life penniless but adored by the people around him. ‘The Englishman of the Peseta’ is the
intriguing subject of the talk. A man
whose memory is cherished to this day in a corner of Spain known to millions of
Britons as the Costa del Sol.
20 May: - Lizzie Rowe
– “The Art and Architecture of Friedrich Hundertwasser”.
We
shall welcome back as our speaker Lizzy Rowe, teacher of Art History and
Appreciation, Magic Lantern Workshop Leader and Oxford Tour Guide. On this occasion she will be exploring ‘The
Art and Architecture of Friedrich Hundertwasser’ the 20th century Austrian
artist.
10 June: David Bailey
– “Wildlife Photography”.
Based
in Dorset, David Bailey travels the UK photographing and working with wildlife
projects. He is the author of several
books and the recipient of a number of prestigious awards. David gave an extremely well-received talk to our branch in 2022, and
is making a return visit by popular demand.
24 June: - Timothy
Walker – “Why Gardening can rank as a Fine Art”.
Timothy
Walker has a solid background in horticulture and was for many years Director
of Oxford Botanic Garden & Harcourt Arboretum. He has given lectures to
clubs and societies across Britain, Europe, North America and Australia. In
this talk, Timothy will develop an idea of Miss Gertrude Jekyll who urged her
readers to ‘remember that in a garden we are painting a picture’.
AUDIO
-VISUAL AND FACILITIES TEAM
Your u3a team needs you! More hands make lighter work!
New volunteers welcomed!
Members will know that preparation is needed to set up
for our meetings. Before the meeting,
the chairs and tables need to be brought out from the store room and set up in
the hall, the heating and/or ventilation needs to be checked/adjusted, and the
blinds need to be closed. Meanwhile, the screen, projector stand and lectern
need to be put in place, and the laptop, projector and sound system need to be
set up. During the meeting itself, the
sound system is monitored and adjusted for volume and elimination of
interference as far as possible. And after the meeting, everything needs to be
disconnected, stacked and returned to its pre-meeting storage.
At
the moment, pre-meeting tasks are carried out by the same few people at more or
less every meeting. This means that there is a risk of inadequate cover due to
illness or absence for the technical team in particular. No special knowledge
or experience is required, as the incumbents are eager to ‘train’ and oversee
new volunteers, and the processes are documented.
Anyone who would like to learn more and/or talk
through what is involved can speak to any member of the team: Gilliane, John,
Martin, Russell and Ruth.
The Technical Support team needs YOU
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TVN
Contact:
Beverley Birmingham (07799413110)
A quiet time for TVN
as far as events go, the last one being the quiz on 15 March.
As
soon as new ones are advertised they will be notified. Please keep checking the website yourself as
this is often quicker.
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DETAILS OF SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (SIG)
MEETINGS
More information about
the SIGs, including recent activities and photographs, is available in the
'Groups' section on this website.
BRIDGE
Contact: Membership Secretary
U3A
Bridge Group looks after itself. It has 8-9 regular players of
Intermediate level, meeting on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at
the invitation of whoever will be hosting in their home. Players
respond directly and make up tables at each session. We are a social,
learning group - exploring elements of bidding and play each time we
meet and having tea together. Bridge players interested in meeting us
for an introductory session or two should please enquire, initially, of
Liz Jones, Membership Secretary, membership@westoxfordu3a.org.uk, 01865
202227, who will put you in touch with the next host for an invitation
to join us for a trial visit or two. We would be very pleased to meet
you.
CHURCHES
AND PUBS
Contact Lis Froggatt (01865 249828)
The first Friday of the month takes us around
the county for our 11 am meeting and guided tour of a church before lunch at a
local pub. (At the lunch we have a
collection for the church, usually £5 per person). Warborough and Ducklington have been recent
visits with Sutton Courtenay and Freeland lined up. Our members take turns to arrange the visits.
CINEMA
GROUP
Contact:
Mary Chait (07342964870) We meet every 2nd Tuesday of the month at
Tumbling Bay at 12.00 pm. At the moment
we decide what topic we would like to watch e.g. favourite male actor or
favourite female actress. Our next topic
is European foreign movies. We chat
about the movies we have seen over a lovely lunch. If you would like to join us please contact
me, Mary on 07342964870.
DISCOVERING
MUSIC (7 members – new members welcome) Contact: John Grimshaw (01865
861949)
This
friendly and sociable group meets in members’ homes during the third
week of each month at 2.15pm. The host introduces and plays
recordings of their own choice, of broadly classical music, usually on
CD or DVD. Thus, we have made many delightful musical
discoveries, have learnt much, and we freely express our
reactions. We often finish with something of lighter mood.
GARDENING GROUP
New Members always
welcome Contact:
Mary Gregory (01865 865887)
The Garden Group meets sporadically to visit
local gardens and nurseries, and exchange experiences and plants as available.
New members welcome. Contact Mary Gregory. mary@nandmg.me.uk
LUNCH
CLUB
Contact:
Beverley Birmingham 07799413110
22 of us enjoyed a
very nice Christmas meal at The Turnpike.
The food and the service were excellent.
A venue for this year will be hard to beat.
This year we have
enjoyed a meal at The Maybush in Newbridge.
The setting by the river was lovely and we were lucky to have a sunny
day as I believe with all the rain the car park was flooded the next day. One to return to in the summer.
Millets café saw 12
of us happily fed and watered and provided an opportunity for some retail
therapy.
Due to Easter and
bank holidays our next outing will be to The Merry Miller on 19 April.
Please
contact me if you feel that you would like to join us on one of our outings.
READING
GROUP
Contact:
Lis Froggatt (01865 249828) We are enjoying discussing books we often would
not otherwise have chosen, both fiction and non-fiction. The friendly group meets at 2 pm on the third
Monday of the month in the Botley Library.
Do come along.
SCRABBLE
Contact:
Margery
Dent (01865 862534)
We continue to meet on the 3rd Monday of the month from
2.00-5.00 pm.
Contact Margery Dent (01865 862534).
WALKING
GROUP
Contact: Mary Chait (07342964870)
Due to the flooding we have been finding it
difficult to find dry paths. However, we have managed to do some nice walks. We
have invited the Oxford Walking Group to join us on our walks and they were
very happy to accept our invitation.
Our last walk was led by Sally Roberts up
the canal to Iffley Lock, through Meadow Lane towards Chester Arms where we had
a delicious lunch. We walk every 2nd and 4th Friday of the month and welcome
anyone who would like to join us.
Please contact me if you would like to become
a member of the walking group.
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A reminder that the Annual General Meeting will
be held on Monday, 20 May, 2024 at 2.15pm, before the talk by Lizzie Rowe
entitled “The Art and Architecture of Friedrich Hundertwasser”.
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U3A 2024 SUMMER SCHOOLS
Some U3As around the UK run summer schools, offering the
opportunity to members from anywhere in the country to visit different
surroundings, learn something new or explore a topic in greater detail and
perhaps go on a field trip, while engaging and having fun with other members.
Some examples of the courses on offer this year are play writing, cosmology,
jazz appreciation, drug discovery, cribbage, genealogy, archaeological sites in
Cumbria, multi-media art.
Here’s a list of 2024 summer schools taken from the
February issue of Third Age Matters (it may not be comprehensive). For details
of the courses and costs, please use the website or contact details provided
under each listing below.
Yorkshire & Humber Region at Easingwold,
22 - 25 July
https://yahru3a.uk/summer-school
North West at University of Cumbria,
Carlisle, 13 - 16 August
alanhough1949@gmail.com
u3aScotland at Stirling University, 20 - 24
August
summerschoolu3ascotland@gmail.com
South East at University of Chichester, 2 - 5
September
https://u3asites.org.uk/southeastu3aforum/summerschool
London Region: no Summer School as such but a
number of one-day events
https://u3asites.org.uk/London-region/events
u3a National Festival 24 will be taking place
in York in July
https://u3asites.org.uk/events/festival-2024
or email festival@u3a.org.uk
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