Monthly Meetings

These meetings and take place on the third Thursday of most months at 2pm in the Assembly Rooms and are open to all members. Before the talk, tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm

Our Monthly Meetings are held in person at the Assembly Rooms. Measures are in
place to ensure the continuing safety of our members and we do hope that you will feel able
to join us.

The Assembly Rooms (First Floor)
The Council House, North Street, Chichester.

We have a new Speakers Team who are putting together a programme of varied topics. Information about these will be available below, in the events calendar, and in the fortnighly bulletins, in order for you to be able to plan ahead.

If you think you can offer help in any of these areas connected with our Monthly Meetings please contact me here and we’ll get back to you. You may be able to help occasionally at a meeting, even once a year would be more than acceptable and you would be very welcome.

The forthcoming meetings are listed below – click the link for more details of each month’s talk and location. Details are also included in the Bulletin email sent out to members.

The speaker will be introduced at 2pm, please be seated before then.

Forthcoming Events


April monthly meeting will take place on 18 April 2024 at 2:00 PM
at The Assembly Room

The  monthly meeting in April will take place, as usual, at The Assembly Room, North Street, Chichester. Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the talk will start at 2pm.

Our speaker will be John Webster. His talk is titled “Grandma Flew Spitfires”

It is the amazing story of the women who single handedly delivered Spitfires and four engine bombers with just a map on their knees to operational stations from White Waltham airfield during WW2 much to the amazement and chagrin of the male pilots at the final destination.

John is an ardent aviation enthusiast and amateur historian who, since retiring from the UK’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS), has been involved as a volunteer researcher for Maidenhead Heritage Centre’s permanent ATA exhibition and archive. He has been privileged to have interviewed several of the surviving veterans and his involvement has led to him being elected as Secretary of the ATA Association.

The Air Transport Auxiliary was a civilian organisation, which was tasked with supporting the RAF and Fleet Air Arm by ferrying aircraft between factories, maintenance units and operational bases together with performing many and varied transport roles.

John’s talk will expand on the ATA’s structure and the role of its men, women and boys. It will feature a newsreel clip and extracts from two of his interviews.



May monthly meeting will take place on 16 May 2024 at 2:00 PM
at The Assembly Room

The May Monthly Meeting will take place on 16th May 2024 at the Assembly Room. It will immediately follow the Annual General Meeting which will start at 2 pm. Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the AGM will start at 2pm.

Our speaker for the monthly meeting will be Paul Whittle and his talk is titled “The Malta Story” 

A return also for Paul this time to tell the story of Malta, endlessly invaded over the centuries and the most bombed place on the planet. As Chichester is now twinned with Valletta this should be of interest to everyone.



June monthly meeting will take place on 13 June 2024 at 2:00 PM
at The Assembly Room

The  monthly meeting in June will take place, as usual, at The Assembly Room, North Street, Chichester. Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the talk will start at 2pm.

Our speaker will be Fran Sandham. His talk is titled “A Solo Walk Across Africa” 

Critically acclaimed author and public speaker Fran Sandham walked across Africa solo, from Namibia’s Skeleton Coast to the Indian Ocean near Zanzibar, a 3,000-mile trek taking nearly a year. This talk is the engaging account of this remarkable journey.



July monthly meeting will take place on 18 July 2024 at 2:00 PM
at The Assembly Room

The  monthly meeting in July will take place, as usual, at The Assembly Room, North Street, Chichester. Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the talk will start at 2pm.

Our speaker will be Andrew Negus. His talk is titled “Southampton Water, Slaughter and Trade” 

Andrew is a well know local historian and he tells of the history of Southampton water and it’s interesting and gory past.



September monthly meeting will take place on 19 September 2024 at 2:00 PM
at The Assembly Room

The  monthly meeting in September will take place, as usual, at The Assembly Room, North Street, Chichester. Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the talk will start at 2pm.

Our speaker will be Madeleine Salvetti. Her talk is titled “Origins Behind Our Sayings Used in Everyday Language.”

Ever wondered where some of our sayings come from? Flash in the pan? Cat got your tongue? Bite the bullet? Interesting talk giving the answers.



October monthly meeting will take place on 24 October 2024 at 2:00 PM
at The Assembly Room

The  monthly meeting in October will take place, as usual, at The Assembly Room, North Street, Chichester. Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the talk will start at 2pm.

Our speaker will be Steve Herra. His talk is titled “The Body Through The Porthole”

 A fascinating true story of a steward who has a fling with a passenger, who one night dies when with her in her cabin and he panics and pushes her body through the porthole. He is arrested and goes to trial. Is he found guilty or not? Audience participation to decide before revealing the actual outcome.



November monthly meeting will take place on 21 November 2024 at 2:00 PM
at The Assembly Room

The  monthly meeting in November will take place, as usual, at The Assembly Room, North Street, Chichester. Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the talk will start at 2pm.

Our speaker will be Dr. Darren Gowers. His talk is titled “Journeys in Biology”

Darren is a lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at Portsmouth University. This is a fascinating talk for the layman on the world of cells and DNA and their importance in understanding life and health.



December monthly meeting will take place on 12 December 2024 at 2:00 PM
at The Assembly Room

The  monthly meeting in December will take place, as usual, at The Assembly Room, North Street, Chichester. Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the talk will start at 2pm.

Our speaker will be Susan Howe . Her talk it totled “Indiscrete Revelations of a Tour Guide”

Light hearted pre-Christmas stories of the difficult members of the group you would dearly love to leave behind; fending off strange questions such as “Remind me, what was Shakespeare’s surname?” and escaping being eaten by a leopard, an unbelievable story that just happen to be true!



Notices

Do you know of any interesting and entertaining speakers who would be of interest to your fellow U3A members? Use the form below to connect the Speakers Committee.

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