In this edition:
Upcoming Events
Christmas Lunches at Chichester College
Thursday 7th December and Friday 8th December 2023 at 12.00pm
Three course lunch and coffee £25.00 per person, not including wine or drinks. You can, however, order drinks at your table.
This year we have 60 places available on both days, with tables of up to 8 people. You can book a whole table or you can book as couples or individuals.
This year we have 60 places available on both days, with tables of up to 8 people, for members only. We will be running a waiting list for members and if we don’t fill our spaces we will open up to members’ partners, even if not u3a members.
You can see the menu here. It includes allergens and dietary requirements.
We have to give menu choices to the College by Friday 27th October. If you are booking for your Group, it would be helpful to have one person making the bookings and payment. Please send a message with the names of the people you are booking for, together with their menu choices, as soon as possible. This is the link to send a message.
We will contact you after we receive your booking choices to give you details of how to pay. We will give you a link to our website which will give you a code to use for a bank transfer to us. There is a different code for each day. Please note that this is the only method of payment. Please do NOT try to pay until we contact you.
There will be parking spaces at the College, including for disabled drivers, but both will be limited, so please consider car-sharing.
One of our members has very kindly offered to handle the bookings for the Christmas lunch this year, so all communications will be with her. We are most grateful to her for her time and commitment.
Look forward to seeing you nearer Christmas!
Jill
Chair, Chichester u3a
Monthly Meeting at the Assembly Rooms on North Street – 19th October at 2pm
Our speaker will be Kate Delaney. Kate will explain what mind-fulness really is. She will explain how the mind gets stuck on “autopilot” and how so many of us get sucked into the trap of incessant thinking; she will demonstrate a few ways in which you can bring your attention back to this moment and experience the benefits of being fully awake in your life.
Tea and coffee will be served in the Crush Bar at the rear of the Assembly Room from 1:15 to 1:45pm and the meeting starts at 2pm. We are grateful to the team of volunteers who serve the refreshments.
Group Activities & Outings
Chichester Festival Theatre
The Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines and Chichester Cathedral Choir – Wednesday 6 th December 2023
It’s that most wonderful time of the year again! Kick off the festive season in
style at CFT as we welcome back The Band of His Majesty’s Royal
Marines, joining with the rousing voices of the Chichester Cathedral
Choir for a concert full of true Christmas cheer. You’re guaranteed to leave
feeling 100 times more twinkly than when you arrived!
You can expect an evening of customary carols and traditional tunes,
alongside some new arrangements, all wrapped up into one beautifully
presented musical celebration.
We have tickets for the above concert on Wednesday 6 th December at 19:30. The tickets cost £29.70, Seats in Rows E & F which includes a 10% reduction on the Full Price of £33.00.
Booking opened on Saturday 23rd September 2023 and closes on Friday 13th October. Payment must be made by this date.
You can use this link to book your ticket starting on 23/09/23. Tickets are limited to u3a members only.
Save the date: 18 to 20 July 2024
Plans are already underway for u3a Festival ’24 which will take place in July 2024 in the beautiful city of York.
The festival will run over 3 days and will be held at the University of York based around their exhibition centre and sports centre. Accommodation will be available in the student halls and we will provide more information on this in the coming months.
Groups Notices
Beginners Basic Bridge Course (BBB23)
Early applications are invited from anyone wishing to learn Bridge this Autumn. The course will be aimed primarily at real beginners, even those with no experience of playing cards. This course is structured and follows a logical sequence; therefore, candidates are expected, ideally, to commit to attending every lesson.
Students will be accepted in order of application with real beginner having preference over anyone with previous experience. A further constraint is the need to keep numbers to multiples of 4 in order to have full tables for practice play.
The course would probably be held at Donnington Parish Hall for two sessions per week for ten weeks (10 to 12am or 2 to 4pm). There would be a 3-week Christmas break. To cover costs including hire of the Hall there would be an advanced charge of some £80 based on 12 students attending.
Once the number of those interested is known it will be possible to agree dates and to decide other details. Members will not be committed in any way by their initial application but will receive further details by email.
Please apply through the Groups Team by following THIS LINK .
♠ ♥ ♣ ♦
Proposed Walking Football Group
Do you feel like dusting off your boots and trying Walking Football? There is an existing session at Westgate Leisure Centre from 13:00 to 15:00 every Tuesday. This is not a u3a group, but is available to anyone aged 50 and over. If there was sufficient interest, say 10 or more u3a members, we could explore the establishment of our own group, using Westgate’s facilities.
If you are interested, please contact us via THIS LINK or directly, by pasting the address groups@chichesteru3a.org.uk into an email and we will add your address to the group’s email list.
Proposed Flower Arranging Group
We all enjoy the pleasure that flowers bring both indoors and outdoors, informally, and at celebrations. Have you ever wished that you could arrange them in a more imaginative and professional way? If so, you may be interested in sharing ideas with like-minded people at a new group, using video demonstrations for inspiration, and looking at how beautiful displays can be created at little cost using a few blooms and foliage and greenery from gardens and the countryside. For more information please contact us via HIS LINK or directly, by pasting the address groups@chichesteru3a.org.uk into an email and we will add your address to the group’s email list.
Erratum
The charming poem, Toast, in the Autumn Newsletter was erroneously attributed to Helena Millen, the group leader of Writing for Fun. The author was, in fact, Sue Paterson. Well done, Sue!
National u3a & Regional Events
National u3a
Do you like reading? then the meetings to be hosted by Oxfam in their shop in East Street over the coming winter may be just the thing for you. The sessions will be led by local academics, and they will be talking about John Donne, Charles Dickens, Kafka and others, or leading a Poetry Reading. or a Creative Writing Workshop. Further details below – see Oxfam Talks 23/24.
Also, the Third Age Trust is giving members the opportunity to sample the Online Interest Groups it has established, many of which explore subjects which Chichester U3A does not – such as Ancient Rome and the Roman World, … Arts and Crafts, … Astronomy, … Family History, … Fashion, … …, Modern Pop for Third Agers, …. etc.
You might find some of these groups to your taste and convenient. Unfortunately, these samples end on Friday 6th, but you might be able to catch one, and you can always sign on for the actual groups.
Here are the Third Age Trust zoom talks currently listed for the next month or thereabouts:
Monday to Friday, 2nd – 6th October at 10:00, 11:30 and 15:00: Interest Groups Online Fair
Monday, 9th October at 14:00: Commonwealth War Graves Commission – its history and its archives
Tuesday, 10th October at 10:00 Into the Mind of an artist – Van Gogh Pt 2
Wednesday, 11th October at 10:00 Judith’s Laughter Yoga
Thursday, 12th October at 14:00 Odd Numbers and Beautiful Number Patterns
Friday 13th October at 10:30 Live Cookery Demonstration – Autumn Recipes
Monday, 16th October at 10:00: Exploring World Faiths – Faith and slavery
Wednesday, 18th October, weekly until 22nd November,at 10:00 Mindfulness and Meditation
Wednesday, 18th October at 14:00 Family History – the whole family approach
Thursday, 19th October at 10:00: Mindfulness and Meditation
Thursday, 19th October at 14:00: The Story of Britain through Coins.
Friday, 20th October at 14:00: Vehicle Checks in Preparation for Winter.
Wednesday, 25th October at 11:30: An Introduction to Astronomy.
Wednesday, 25th October at 14:00: Future Lives – how our thinking skills change as we age.
Thursday 26th October at 9:30: Science Network event, with talks on Forensic DNA and the Apollo Programme.
Thursday, 26th October at 14:00: Live Cookery Demonstration – Autumn Recipes
Friday, 27th October at 14:00: Fashion’s Dumping Ground.
Tuesday, 31st October at 15:30: Laughter Yoga with Maggie
Local Events
Tuesday Talks at the WSRO:
Tuesday, 31st October at 19:00 The Women’s Land Army: a Sussex connection. £8 in person, £5 by zoom.There are Wednesday Coffee Time Workshops for those interested in Family History.
Oxfam Talks 23/24
These talks take place at the Oxfam shop, 36, East Street, Chichester, and are arranged by Chichester University. They all run 17:30 -18:00 and cost £5 (tickets can be bought at the shop).
Wednesday, 8th November: Exploring John Donne
Wednesday, 6th December: Dickens at Christmas
Wednesday,7th February: Revisiting Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’
Wednesday, 6th March: Writers of Exile: Kafka, Murdoch, Nabokov
Wednesday, 3rd April: Poetry Reading
Wednesday, 1st May: Finding Stories in Things: A Creative Writing Workshop.
Wednesday, 5th June: What are the Five Best Books in this Shop?
Wednesday, 3rd July: Lady Chatterley’s Lover
MIDHURST U3A STUDY DAY –
Saturday 21 October 2023, 10am – 4pm
at the South Downs Centre Memorial Hall, North Street, Midhurst
The Natural World, an exploration – including a look at the way nature and landscape are illustrated by artists and photographers.
SPEAKERS:
Michael Blencowe : Naturalist, writer, and wildlife guide –
‘The Wonderful Wildlife of Sussex in Feathers & Fur, Pastels & Paint’
Richard Shenton : Blue Badge Guide and lecturer – ‘West Sussex. A Natural History, as seen in our Museums and Galleries’
David Boag : Wildlife photographer, author, and lecturer on ‘Natural Art’
Plus: display of paintings,
books and prints for sale
coffee, buffet lunch with wine, tea
Plenty of time for discussion
Cost: £25 per person
Please note: this event is for u3a members only or for guests considering joining.
Bookings deadline 14th October
Bookings: Sheila Ingram – see link on www.u3asites.org.uk/midhurst/events
Enquiries: Carol Brinson – see link on www.u3asites.org.uk/midhurst/contact
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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.
Spectacular exhibition coming soon to Portsmouth Cathedral