In this edition:
Upcoming Events
Happy 2024!
No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.
– Buddha
January Coffee Morning – Tuesday, 2nd January, 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!
Quiz Night – 9th January, 2024 starting at 7:00pm at the White Swan, Bosham
The White Swan is on the A259 at the Bosham roundabout and there is plenty of parking. The 700 bus from Chichester stops just across the road. Although the 700 back to Chichester stops running before 9.30pm, one of the members will no doubt be happy to give you a lift home.
The cost of dinner is £14.50, not including dessert.
Sausage, Mash and Peas with Onion Gravy.
Fish Pie with Seasonal Vegetables.
Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta Bake with Garlic Bread.
Sausage and Mash and Fish Pie can be Gluten Free.
Booking opens Friday 29th December and closes on Thursday 4 January 2024. Payment is required, please, within 48 hours of booking in order to avoid any confusion on the night.
Booking is done here on the website. This payment is non-refundable so if you are unable to attend, please find a replacement.
Monthly Meeting at the Assembly Rooms on North Street – 18th January at 2pm
Our speaker will be Brian Freeland, his subject is: ” Women of the Raj”
Brian is a playwright and author and tells the story of when the Colonial Administrators arrived to take over from the East India Company they were often accompanied by their wives: wives who spoke only English, who mixed only with other wives, and who couldn’t even communicate with their household staff. Wives who made great demands on their husbands. As one Indian wrote later, “I don’t think they realised what a menace they were. If the memsahibs had stayed in Britain there might never have been a Mutiny”.
Tea and coffee will be served from 1.15 pm until 1.45 pm and the talk will start at 2pm.
Groups Notices
Tell us what you’d like:
If you haven’t already done so, please register your interest via this link or come along to the next coffee morning on Tuesday 2nd January to find out more. Thank you
Calling all instrumentalists – please consider joining the Relaxed Chamber Music Group
This group will be a relaxed, friendly group, with flexibility as its keynote, for anyone who regards themselves as a fairly competent pianist/instrumentalist, who would like opportunities to play chamber music repertoire. The group will adapt flexibly as more members join.
Astronomy
Anyone with an interest in looking up at the night sky would be welcome to join this new group. You don’t need any knowledge or experience of astronomy, just an interest in the sky above us and the things that shine down on us. It will be an inclusive, informal learning group with discussions on all aspects of Astronomy.
Beginners table tennis
This will be held at the Westgate Leisure Centre for those of a beginner’s standard who wish to learn or improve with practice in a social, welcoming and uncompetitive environment.
Ukulele – BEGINNERS WELCOME!
The emphasis will be to have fun in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, playing all types of music from traditional ukulele songs to modern arrangements. This will be a self-help group, playing together and learning from each other. It will include players of all abilities. A u3a member assures me it isn’t difficult to pick up a few chords and for this reason beginners are welcome.
Art Groups
Life Drawing/Drawing/Painting – sharing the creative process with people of all levels of skill.
To register your interest and sign up for the respective sampler session please contact us via THIS LINK.
NEW GROUP: Tai Chi for beginners – starting January 2024
Tai Chi is a mind-body exercise rooted in multiple Oriental traditions, including martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, and philosophy. It integrates slow, intentional movements with breathing and cognitive skills. It aims to strengthen, relax, and integrate the physical body and mind, and improve health and personal development. It is a great low-impact activity, focussing on improving your balance and core strength. It is accessible to everyone no matter age or ability.
Wednesdays 3.00-4.00pm at Westgate Leisure Centre. The fee will depend on numbers but will be payable each week on arrival at the reception desk.
Wear loose-fitting clothes, flat shoes and layers to keep warm when it is cool or cold.
To register your interest please click THIS LINK. Thank you.
National u3a & Regional Events
National u3a
Below are the Third Age Trust zoom talks currently listed for the next month or so: please remember you can always find the latest, and fullest, information on these talks here.
Friday, 12th January AND January 19th at 10:00 – Chinese Wand Exercises
Thursday,18th January at 14:00 – Toulouse-Lautrec and the Music Halls of Paris
Tuesday, 30th January at 15:30 – Maggie’s Laughter Yoga
Local Events
Tuesday Talks at the WSRO
Talks have been arranged for January to May 2024, all at 19:00, all costing £8 to attend in person. All the talks except the last (Returning to the Moon) also provide attendance by Zoom for £5. More information here .
30th January – Ford Madox Ford in West Sussex – finding a ‘rhomboid of green’
27th February – Recovering Britain’s Amateur Theatrical Past 1789-1914 – A West Sussex Perspective
26th March – The Material Culture of Life in Elizabethan Chichester
30th April – What did the Victorians do for Chichester?
26th May – Returning to the Moon – Sir Patrick Moore’s Legacy.
Wednesday Coffee Time Workshops for those interested in Family History: topics for the workshops scheduled for next year include Researching the History of Your House, How to Start Your Family Tree, Getting Started with Ancestry.co.uk, and Reading Old Handwriting. Cost £7.50.
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). The talks currently on offer are:
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 12th January, so if you have an item to submit, you may use this link.
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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.