In this edition:
Upcoming Events
April Coffee Morning – Tuesday, 1st April, 10am-12noon
Always on the First Tuesday of each month, so please mark your calendars!
Our Coffee Mornings are held in the Bar on the first floor of the MINERVA THEATRE building, opposite the Chichester Festival Theatre.
It’s a great opportunity to chat with our groups team and learn about current and new offerings, meet old friends and make new ones!
Monthly Meeting at the Assembly Rooms on North Street – 10th April at 2pm
Please note that the talk is one week earlier than usual to avoid Easter.
Talk: The Wildlife of Sussex
Speaker: Michael Blencowe
The diverse habitats of this southern county support a wide range of amazing species. Michael Blencowe takes you on a guided tour from the rockpools through the woodlands and up onto the South Downs and we’ll meet some amazing wildlife along the way.
Michael is a naturalist, author and event leader. Over the past 15 years he has helped thousands of people to explore, understand, appreciate and celebrate their amazing wildlife heritage. He continues this work as The Sussex Naturalist, leading a busy programme of guided wildlife walks, education courses, landowner surveys and talks across Sussex and beyond.
Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the talk will start at 2pm.
Groups Notices
“I don’t let aging bother me. I just let everyone else be bothered by how awesome I am at it.” – Betty White
Pilates Group
In the last bulletin on 14 March, we announced a new Pilates Group. The group will meet at Fishbourne church hall on a Wednesday afternoon, 4.30 – 5.30 pm. The cost will be £8 per session, paid in advance by bank transfer for each six week block; this is a really competitive price.
There has been some interest but we need a few more to sign up to make the group viable. If you have any questions or want to sign up, please get in touch with us via the Groups message link HERE.
Bridge for Fun – Group 3
This relatively new bridge group is sociable and welcoming, helping improvers find their “bridge legs” and enjoy the game. You don’t need a partner for this Chicago bridge. We play in Donnington Hall on Mondays from 10am to 12noon including Bank Holidays if players wish. Currently the cost is £30 for 10 sessions, payable in advance. To register your interest, please let us know via the Groups message link HERE.
U3A Croquet Group
We have a few vacancies for this season’s Croquet Group. We play on the first and third Wednesday of the month from 10am to noon at the Fishbourne Centre, Fishbourne. Free parking available on site. Croquet is a sociable, outdoor pursuit which is open to all. No experience is necessary as tuition is given. There is a charge of £7 per session to cover hire of ground, equipment and tuition. If you are interested in learning a new skill, please apply via the Groups message link HERE on our website.
Sugar and Spice Society
We would like to create an exciting new group for people who are interested in the history and origins of cakes and their ingredients. From monks to the great pâtissiers of the world, cakes have been created using carefully sourced ingredients or more basic ones using whatever ingredients are to hand.
Come along to learn about the origins of and ingredients of ‘the cake of the month’ and with a cup of coffee taste it and talk about it.
It is intended to hold the group on the 4th Wednesday of the month 10:30 to 12:30. Venue TBC.
More details the coffee morning on Tuesday 1st April 2025.
If you are interested make contact via the Group’s webpage.
National & Regional
Regional u3a
South East u3a Forum’s Summer School 2025
Monday 1st September to Thursday 4th September 2025
Course list and details are now available – see below
Thursday 10th April – Bookings will go ‘live’ by mid-day.
The courses are now finalised. Below is the list of 13 courses we are offering in 2025 – please browse through them, so you are ready to choose your favourite in April:
AI – Artificial Intelligence
History – Roman
Italian – Intermediates
Latin for Roman Britian & Beyond
Mah Jong – Intermediates
Mathematics – People & Paradoxes
Memory, Perception & Thinking – how it normally works well but, can go wrong
‘Operatunity’ – Opera Appreciation
Patchwork – Beginners
Philosophy – Introduction
Poetry – Australian poets
Walking – A Coastal Delight
Yoga – Mat, Standing & Seated
The prices for 2025 summer school are as follows:
| En-Suite Accommodation £405.00 | Standard Accommodation £375.00 |
| Non-Residential with dinner £240.00 | Non-Residential no dinner £180.00 |
The residential prices include accommodation, all meals and refreshments offered at break times and a ‘Welcome’ drink on the first evening, with a ‘Farewell’ drink on the last evening, both prior to dinner.
General Information Summer School This is primarily a 4-day residential Summer School held at the University of Chichester, although, participants do have the option to be non-residential. Extra details about the choice of accommodation, costings and payment along with other relevant information can be found on the General Information sheet 2025.
To help you answer those questions that come to mind, please see FAQs – 2025 for more details as the answer maybe there. If not, please get in touch, ways to do this are at the end of this update.
Evening Entertainment There will also be entertainment on campus each evening, which is included in the pricing for summer school. If you would like to attend the theatre on the Tuesday evening, this comes at an extra cost – ticket price to be released when the theatre gets us know the group price for individuals. Those who are interested will be notified as soon as we have the relevant information. The evening meal will be at an earlier time for the theatre goers, to accommodate the performance start time of 7.30pm. See the programme of events each evening below:
• Monday – Quiz night – getting to know each other and having fun
• Tuesday – Film night on campus – a recent film OR
• Tuesday – Theatre visit Chichester Festival Theatre – “Top Hat” production
• Wednesday – Speaker – TBC
Please note: All links can be downloaded
Please see the Forum’s Contact Us page for enquiries, see below:
• Chair South East u3a Forum – David Ashton
• Enquiries – General Summer School – Martin Livesey – sesummerschool@gmail.com
• Bookings Summer School – Kevin Stock – sebooksummerschool@gmail.com
Please use email in the first instance, but if you do not have email, please contact us on – Phone: 07749 0233766
National u3a
There is a wealth of information on the National u3a website – www.u3a.org.uk , including online groups, u3a Radio podcast, upcoming events, and the latest issue of Third Age Matters, the monthly national u3a magazine (the link to the current version is:
https://www.u3a.org.uk/news/u3a-matters/screen-reader-editions/u3a-matters-february-2025-screenreader-edition
Chichester u3a Magazine
Our local u3a winter magazine is well worth a read, click HERE if you haven’t yet read it, and start thinking about your contributions for the next edition!
The next bulletin is due out on 11th April, so if you have an item to submit, you may use this link.
Links to our Website
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Best wishes, Miriam Knight
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. You can reach the Membership Secretary either via this link (membership secretary) or by calling 07490 654524.