In this edition:
Upcoming Events and Outings
December Monthly Coffee Morning will take place on 5 December 2023 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at Minerva Bar, Chichester Festival Theatre
December quiz evening will take place on 12 December 2023 starting at 7:00 PM at The White Swan, Bosham
Monthly Meeting at the Assembly Rooms on North Street – 14th December at 2pm – Our speaker will be Pete Allen. His talk is titled, “Oh no it isn’t”- a history of pantomime.
A TRIP TO WINCHESTER CHRISTMAS MARKET
Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market is recognised as one of the best in Europe.
Taking place from 17th November – 21st December, Winchester Cathedral’s Christmas Market is renowned for its bustling atmosphere, stunning location and handpicked high-quality exhibitors. It attracts visitors from around the world each year who come to shop at the pretty wooden chalets situated within the historic grounds. The wooden chalets are inspired by traditional German Christmas Markets, andcombined with the festive lighting, the sound of Christmas carols and the aroma of mulled wine and cinnamon drifting in the air, visitors will be transported into a festive setting to purchase their Christmas gifts and take in the atmosphere.
WHEN: Friday 8th December 2023.
MEET AT: Chichester Railway Station
TRAIN TIME: 10:07.
ARRRIVING AT: Winchester Railway Station at 11:31.
Change trains at: Southampton.
RETURN from Winchester: 15:22 (Just a suggestion, earlier trains if preferred)
Change trains at Fareham.
ARRIVING AT: Chichester: 16:21
An Off Peak Day Return Ticket is £21.20 (obviously cheaper if you have a Rail Card.)
No booking or paying in advance required. Just turn up on the day.
Groups Notices
CRYPTIC CROSSWORDS FOR BEGINNERS
We are thinking of running an 8 week course that will teach the rudiments of solving cryptic crosswords to complete beginners. It will run on Wednesdays, from 17th January to 6th March from 10:00 to 12:00. It will give you the skills you need to tackle basic cryptic crosswords and enable you to join the Crosswording for Fun Group, which also runs on Wednesday mornings.
The venue will be chosen to accommodate the number in the group and a charge will be made to cover room hire and photocopying. You should aim to commit to the full course, if at all possible. If you are interested in joining the course, please contact us via THIS LINK.
GREEK FOR BEGINNERS
Would you be interested in a beginners’ Greek course? You will learn how to greet people, order food and drink, manage shopping and much more, as well as enjoy the mental exercise of learning a new language. This will be held on Wednesday mornings at East Wittering, starting in January. To meet your teacher and to find out more, please come to a break-out meeting at 10.00am at the Coffee Morning on 5th December. If you cannot make this date, contact us via THIS LINK
BEGINNERS’ FRENCH
A Beginners’ French Group is starting up on Wednesday mornings, being run by a member with many years of teaching experience. This is designed for those with no (or very limited) knowledge of the language and who would like to learn from scratch in a fairly structured way. There are still a couple of places available – if you might be interested please contact us via THIS LINK .
POSSIBLE POETRY READING GROUP
Are you interested in joining a group to read and discuss poetry of different periods?
The present poetry group is full, but it might be possible to form a second group, starting with those on the waiting list. If there’s sufficient interest, the leader of the present group is willing to help set up the new group. If you’d like to meet others to discuss this proposal, please contact us via THIS LINK.
BEGINNERS BASIC BRIDGE COURSE (BBB24)
This course is now established and will start in January. However, there are vacancies for several more candidates. The course will be held at Donnington Parish Hall on Monday and Wednesday mornings between 22nd January and 8th April 2024. The content is designed for real beginners even with no experience. After just ten short weeks you should be able to play proper basic bridge with any of our casual and friendly groups. Applications should be made through the Groups Team by following THIS LINK .
Groups News
Climate Change Group: Renewable Energy in the Home
Talk at the next meeting of the Climate Change Group (CCG) – 14.00. hrs, 6th Dec., Friends Quaker House, Priory Rd., Chichester
Renewable Energy in the Home about my experiences with a heat pump, solar panels and battery.
And Renewable energy scenarios for the Chichester Area” by Tom Broughton.
The drop in the price of renewable energy and efficiency is such that it now costs the same to destroy the climate or save it.”Tom Broughton is a director of Solesco a community energy company and has many years experience in the installation of both home and industrial solar energy projects in the region.
Jan Davis is a retired engineer and has worked 30 years in Norway on Oil and gas industry projects.
Both Tom and Jan are passionate about influencing the progress to reduce emissions to allow our grandchildren to thrive on our planet.
National u3a & Regional Events
National u3a
Here are the Third Age Trust zoom talks currently listed for the next month or so:
Tuesday, 21st November at 14:00: Protecting ourselves from fraud
Tuesday 28th November at 15:30 – Laughter Yoga with Maggie
Wednesday, 29th November at 10:00 – Staying Safe Online (repeat)
Friday, 1st December1 at 14:00: The story of two children who arrived here on the Kindertransport
Tuesday, 5th December at 10:00 – Cryptic Crosswords for Beginners (first of 6 sessions at irregular intervals ending in January) N.B. Booking closes Friday, 17th November.
Local Events
Tuesday Talks at the WSRO
Tuesday, 28th November at 19:00 Chichester in Colour, 1973. Attend in person for £8, or £5 via 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 on a Wednesday evening, usually the first Wednesday in the month, but not the first one., They cost £5 (tickets can be bought in the shop – in advance, I assume). starting 8th November. The talks so far announced (below) are on literary topics.
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
The next bulletin is due out on 1st December, so if you have an item to submit, you may use this link.
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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