ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chichester U3A Annual General Meeting 2019
As you are aware, our AGM will be held on Thursday 16 May 2019. Information and documents relating to this event can be found here.
Notice from the Committee
We are delighted to tell you that we have had an excellent response to our request for new Committee members to take over various roles as from the date of the AGM, 16th May. We now have a new Membership Team (who will be electing one of their number to stand as Membership Secretary on the Committee), a nominee for the position of Chair and a new leader for the Trips and Outings section. There are three U3A members who have volunteered to share the role of Secretary, but they are very keen to find a fourth to join them.
If you think you could help, please email Jane Church, our current Secretary, who can give you more information and can put you in touch with the three volunteers. Or you can leave a message on our phone 07460 109600.
PLEASE give this some thought – with four people sharing the workload there will be the opportunity to contribute in the way which suits you best. We look forward to hearing from you
Changes to the Chichester U3A Constitution
As you may know, last year’s Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) was adjourned due to an initial lack of a quorum, and the adjournment was oversubscribed due to a lack of space in the meeting room. In view of this, your Committee will be proposing revisions to the existing Constitution at the next AGM in May this year, and would appreciate feedback or questions regarding their proposals prior to putting the final version to members at that time. The following major changes are proposed: • The introduction of proxy voting – this enables those unable to physically attend a general meeting, for reason of holidays, ill health etc., to appoint in writing another person to vote on their behalf at a specific general meeting, including the AGM. • The reduction of the quorum – (i.e. the minimum number of members attending a general meeting to allow business to be enacted) from 10% of the total membership, to 5%. • In the event of an adjourned general meeting, the quorum will be the members attending the adjourned meeting Other changes to the Constitution are generally minor and serve mainly to correct spelling mistakes and grammar. Anybody who would like to review the new proposed Constitution can find both the current and proposed Constitutions on the Chichester U3A website. These documents will be available in hard copy form at coffee mornings and monthly meetings.
If you have any more specific or detailed questions or comments, contact any Committee Member via email or by calling 07460 109600.
Job Vacancy for MONTHLY MEETING (Third Thursday every month except August).
PROJECTIONIST
Volunteer to set up projector and laptop at beginning of meeting and close at end of meeting. Training/shadowing as from next meeting.
These could be “job shares”. Please contact the membership team.
Job Vacancy – Newsletter Editor
To carry out the role of newsletter editor from August 2019 starting with the Autumn Newsletter which is due for publication at the end of October ’19.
Tasks include:
Liaising with Group Leaders and other specialist volunteers to obtain current news articles.
Using desktop publishing software (or similar) to produce the newsletter three times a year for email distribution and for commercial printing.
Shadowing the current editor is available for the distribution of the next Summer Newsletter.
Tasks can be job shared to suit.
For further information please contact the membership team.
GROUPS
New Groups!
Boules
Are any members interested in trying out Boules? We will be playing weekly on a Tuesday afternoon at West Wittering, starting at 2.00pm.We normally start in April, weather permitting.
Equipment provided. Cost per session £2.
If you’re interested, please contact Maureen here
Reading Group 10
The Graylingwell reading group have three vacancies. They meet in Graylingwell on the first Wednesday of each month from 3pm to 4pm. The group leader can send a list of the books recently read to anyone who considers joining. To find out more, contact the Group Leader (Anna) or the Groups Coordinator giving your name and membership number.
Further information on all groups is shown on the Chichester U3A website. If you would like to find out more about a particular group, go from there to the webpage for that group, and use the contact form there to send a message to the group leader. If that fails, contact the groups team.
GENERAL
Coffee Morning
There will be a coffee morning on Wednesday, April 3rd, in the Minerva Bar and Grill, from 10:00 to 12:00 .
The groups coordinator plans to meet members interested in a photography group and in a new gardening group, so do come along if you are interested.
TRIPS AND OUTINGS
HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT VISIT
Monday, 20th May 2019
There will be a guided tour of both Houses, and Gillian Keegan MP for Chichester has agreed to meet with us. As we will all be aware, it is a very busy time at Westminster, so hope nothing happens to interfere with any of our arrangements.
There will not be an opportunity for a comfort stop but there is a toilet on the bus.
Depart South Street opposite the train station promptly at 08.30
MOTTISFONT HOUSE AND GARDENS (NATIONAL TRUST)
Near Romsey, Hants
Saturday, 15th June 2019
Mottisfont is an 18th Century house with a medieval priory at its heart. Maud Russell made Mottisfont her home in the 1930s, bringing artists there to relax and create works inspired by Mottisfont’s past, including an extraordinary drawing room painted by Rex Whistler. Those artistic traditions are continued today, with a permanent 20th century art collection and major exhibitions in the top-floor gallery.
In summer the walled rose garden, with its world-famous collection of old-fashioned roses, is the highlight of the beautiful grounds. A spring bubbles up in the secluded heart of the garden – the source of the foundation of the Priory.
There are free guided tours of the gardens. There is a Restaurant, a café, an ice-cream parlour and plenty of places to picnic – and of course a shop and plant centre.
ESTIMATED COST £36 OR £18 FOR NT MEMBERS (don’t forget your NT membership card)
Depart South Street at 9.15am to arrive at Mottisfont at approximately 10.30am
Leave Mottisfont at 3.30pm to arrive in Chichester at approximately 5.00pm
To register your interest and to reserve a place we require a deposit of £10 per person (cheque only please) to reach us by 15th May, accompanied by the booking form. This is downloadable from the website by clicking the link Trips form for Mottisfont. You can also request a form here or by leaving a message on 07460 109600 (the number previously given here was incorrect). We will also have forms available at Coffee Mornings and at Monthly Meetings.
The final cost will depend on the number of persons booking and the balance of payment will be notified to you after 15th May. The balance of payment must be made by 31st May. Your deposit cheque will be returned to you if there is insufficient interest to make the outing financially viable.
OTHER ITEMS
Would you like to help some research?
We have received a request from a student at Oxford Brookes University who is doing research into people that have had help when they retired….
“It seems that lots of people struggle with the initial planning of time and finances (approx. 50-60%) and then once retired approx. 20-30% struggle to adjust to their new “roles” and can experience a lost sense of self. Coaching as an intervention to support this, seems to be scarce so I’d be very interested to hear of anyone who may have experienced this.
I am specifically seeking participants who have been through some form of coaching or mentoring to support them through their transition. If you did attend 121 or group coaching then I’d be delighted to talk to you.
Is there any chance I can get in contact with the U3A network to reach more retirees to see if any of them have received coaching and would be interested in helping me in my research?”
If you are interested in helping this student with her research, please contact the secretary, Jane Church.
Using your Tablet
Do you have a tablet (iPad or Android), but need help sending and receiving emails?
Do you want to progress from emails to doing your grocery shopping on-line?
If so, students at Chichester College can offer help.
You will go to an introductory session at the College, run by a member of the college staff, and then be matched with your student tutor. You will then go back for weekly sessions of 45 minutes with your student tutor.