Latest Bulletin

Here is our latest Bulletin. This is emailed to our current members who have requested to receive it. To see previous Bulletins Click Here.

To see our Autumn Newsletter 2023 click here or to see a pdf file then click here

Bulletin 240315

Chichester u3a - Bulletin

Dear #FAM,

Your membership number is #MEMNO.

Notices

u3a Group booking for 'OLIVER!'
at the Chichester Festival Theatre

MONDAY 15th JULY 2024 at 19:30

This spectacular new production of Lionel Bart’s iconic musical has been fully reconceived especially for CFT by director and choreographer Matthew Bourne and Cameron Mackintosh and promises to be one of the most unforgettable shows ever at the Festival Theatre.

We have 20 tickets for the above show. . The tickets are £35 each, reduced from £57 for the group booking.  Booking will open on Friday 15th March and closes on Friday 5th April.  Please pay for your tickets when booking. 

Volunteers Needed!

Do you enjoy the monthly talks? Do you attend them regularly? Would you like to help?
If so, you might be just who we are looking for. The Speakers Team are seeking a third
member who, initially, would be involved with ‘day of the talk” tasks, as and when needed
If you are interested then please contact: speakers@chichesteru3a.org.uk

Upcoming Events

March Coffee Morning - Tuesday, 2nd April, 10am-12noon

Always on the First Tuesday of each month, so please mark your calendars!

Our Coffee Mornings are held in the Bar at the MINERVA THEATRE building, opposite the Chichester Festival Theatre. You can chat with our groups team and learn about current and new offerings, meet old friends and make new ones!

GROUP LEADERS: If you would like to promote your group at a coffee morning, please contact the Groups Coordinator!

Monthly Meeting at the Assembly Rooms on North Street - 18th April at 2pm

‘Grandma Flew Spitfires’
John Webster and the story of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA)

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.

Women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) in flying kit at Hatfield, 10 January 1940
Credit: Wikipedia

Despite the talk’s frequently applied title above, the women were significantly outnumbered by their male colleagues. However, as most media attention focuses on the female pilots, we continue to use the phrase to attract attention to an amazing story!

South East u3a Forum Summer School 2024
Monday-Thursday, 2-5 September 2024

Everything is moving steadily forward with the launch of the first phase on Thursday 14th March 2024 @ 10:00am via the SE u3a Forum’s website.  You will be able to peruse the fourteen subjects on offer for Summer School 2024. 

There are many new subjects, such as: 

  • Art & Mythology, Photography, Crochet
  • Living History, Patchwork, Philosophy
  • Latin Remembered, Bridge, Politics
  • Illuminated Manuscripts and Science

Also, on the agenda are the returners: Cycling, Mah Jong and Mathematics

Please be patient, as no places can be reserved, prior to the initial booking date going ‘live’ on 11/04/24.

The costings for this year are:

  • Residential En-suite - £390 
  • Residential Standard – £360
  • Non-Residential with dinner - £195 
  • Non-residential no dinner - £140

There will also be entertainment on campus, each evening, which is included in the price.  But, if you would like to attend the theatre on the Tuesday evening, this comes at an extra cost – ticket price unknown at present.

The next phase will be the Booking Information sheet and the Booking Form; they will be going ’live’ from Thursday 11th April 2024 @ 10:00am; a date for your diary - just Google - se u3a forum and they will be accessible to download.

The Forum’s web address is - https://u3asites.org.uk/southeastu3aforum/contact   

As we progress towards September more information will continue to be added, on a regular basis, to the Summer School webpage on the South East u3a Forum website.  

Groups Notices

"Seniors are not just the oldest in the room; they are the ones with the most stories, the best jokes, and a lifetime of learning to share."

Advanced French

Vanessa has started up a very successful beginners’ class in French, and is now offering to teach at the other end of the spectrum.

The idea is to hold a monthly class which will focus  on a particular aspect of the language. The pluperfect tense, the subjunctive, or a more advanced vocabulary and expression in a particular theme, are just some of the possibilities. The programme could also develop into studying some French literature. It will largely depend on the preferences of the group as it develops. 

The main emphasis of this group will be self-learning through set homework tasks, with the monthly class there to provide instruction and feedback. It is not aimed at general conversation, there are other groups already providing this. 

The classes are scheduled for Wednesday afternoons, time tbd. The first is on Wednesday 3rd April. Vanessa will be at the monthly coffee morning meeting on Tuesday April 2nd if you would like to find out more from her. Alternatively you can register your interest or make an enquiry via this link.

National u3a & Regional Events

National u3a

The u3a organises a wide range of learning activities beyond the zoom talks listed below: for example, their online interest groups and subject advice, Festival 2024 (18th-20th July, at York). To get more information on all these and others, have a look at their website.

Following is a list of Third Age Trust zoom talks for the next few weeks: you can find the latest, and fullest, information on these talks  here. Talks from other, local, sources are also given below.

Tuesday, 19th March at 10:00 - Usjng AI to fight climate change
Wednesday, March 20th at 10:00 - John Snow hunting the source of cholera (in London) 
Friday, March 21st at 10:00 - Mindfulness and Meditation (one of a series
Monday, 25th March at 10;00 - Workshop for Yoga Group Leaders
Tuesday, 26th March at15:30 - Laughter Yoga with Merrie Maggie
Wednesday, 27th March at 14:00 - Secrets of the Human Brain (Part 3)
Thursday, 28th March at 10:00 - Introduction to Cryptic Crosswords
Thursday, 28th March at 14:00 - Suffering and Hope in Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina'
Tuesday, 2nd April at 10:00 - Aviation Network Meeting
Friday, 5th April at 14:00 - From Pleasure Gardens to Theme Parks
Tuesday, 9th April at 14:00 - Electing the President in 2024
Thursday, 11th April at 10:30 - Live Cookery Demonstration
Monday, 15th April at 10:00 - Bollywood Laughter Yoga Dance
Thursday, 18th April at 10:00 - Live Cookery Demonstration
Friday, April at 10:00 - The Climate Crisis and Some Solutions

Local

Tuesday Talks at the WSRO

Talks have been arranged through May 2024, all at 19:00, all costing £8 to attend in person. More information here. The next two talks are:
26th March - Life in Elizabethan Chichester
30th April - What did the Victorians do for Chichester
(The talk scheduled for February 27th was postponed).

Oxfam Talks 2024

These literary talks are wide-ranging (from John Donne to Lady Chatterley), take place at the Oxfam shop, 36, East Street, Chichester, and are arranged by Chichester University. They all run 17:30 -18:00 on a Wednesday evening, usually the first Wednesday in the month. They cost £5 (tickets can be bought in the shop). The next two talks listed are:
Wednesday, 3rd April - Poetry Reading
Wednesday, 1st May - a creative workshop
A full list for this season should be here

Talks on Richard Cobden

All the talks will be given at the Council Offices in the Old Library in Knockhundred Row, Midhurst at 19:00. Details of the remaining talks are:
Tuesday, March 19th - Richard Cobden - International Man and Treaty Negotiator
Thursday, March 28th - Cobdenism after Cobden


The next bulletin is due out on 29th March, so if you have an item to submit, you may use this link.

Links to our Website

Follow these links to see:

If you wish to unsubscribe from the Bulletin emails, please contact the membership secretary with subject “Unsubscribe from Bulletin”. This will not affect other email communications with the U3A. Please do NOT  put the bulletin emails into spam! 😒

Please send a message via the usual channels if you wish to have some item of u3a news put in the Bulletin. Likewise, if you have suggestions as to how to improve the Bulletin or would like to join our team.
Best wishes, Miriam Knight and David Rees😎 


The Constitution of the Chichester U3A is available to view here, and its Terms of Use here.
Enquiries If you wish to write to the Chichester U3A, then the correspondence address is: U3A Chichester, Box 809, MailboxesEtc., 26 The Hornet, CHICHESTER, PO19 7BB  If there is an urgent matter that needs to be discussed then call 07460 109600, or contact the membership secretary.


For more information about the Bulletin and to submit something for the next Edition, click here.