In this edition:
Notices
HELP!! Bulletin Editor Needed ASAP!
Due to unforeseen circumstances we urgently need a new editor for our Bulletin.
This is a key position in u3a, and we really need someone to step up to the challenge. There is a learning curve, but if you have basic computer skills it won’t take long to master, and you will get as much support as you need. It should only take a few hours twice a month, plus dealing with a modest number of emails. You will work closely with the board, and be on the board if you wish, so PLEASE don’t hesitate.
To volunteer or discuss the role, please contact us by using this link or by simply responding to this Bulletin email.
Thanks in advance,
Miriam
U3A Annual Summer Tea
Tuesday 9th June 2026 – Time: 2 – 4.30 pm, bar open until 6 pm
To book – cost £15.00 – please go to our website HERE.
Oaklands Pavilion (Rugby Club) Wellington Road, Chichester PO19 6BB. Free parking, input of car registration needed on arrival upstairs – lift available. 60 bus to Midhurst and alight at Wellington Road – Pavilion is 200m along Wellington Road.
All members welcome, so come along and enjoy tasty food and good company at this great venue, at the same time showing support for a local business. There will be tea/ coffee available afterwards and the bar will be open to enjoy a drink on the large open balcony overlooking Oaklands Park.
Group leaders please try to promote and get a table of 10 together.
To book – cost £15.00 – please go to our website HERE.
Please note any dietary requirements when booking.
Upcoming Events
Members’ Monthly Meeting at the Assembly Rooms on North Street, Thursday, 16th April 2-3 p.m.
The Speaker is Major (Retd) Paul Whittle: The Andes and the Incas’ Peru Explored
Paul’s civilian career was predominantly in the City of London as a senior human resources manager with a leading British bank. In 1999 he was granted his ‘Freedom’ and appointed a Freeman of the City of London. For 34 years Paul also served in the Royal Corps of Signals, Territorial Army. He took part in many overseas exercises with NATO and attended the TA Command and Staff Course at the Staff College Camberley. To date Paul has travelled to over 70 countries including such relatively unknown lands as Eritrea, Armenia, Romania and Montenegro. He has also crossed the Sahara Desert, and journeyed by train from Vladivostok to central Siberia. He has one grown-up daughter and lives near Woking, Surrey.
Doors open at 1.15 p.m. No booking required.
Please stay afterwards and enjoy free refreshments in the Crush Bar.
May Coffee Morning – Tuesday, 5th May, 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!
Chichester u3a Quiz – A Fresh Start This May!
We’re delighted to announce that our next Chichester u3a quiz will take place on Thursday 28 May in the Jubilee Room at the New Park Centre and it promises to be an exciting fresh start for our much-loved monthly quiz evenings.
Expect a lively and engaging quiz with a varied range of questions designed to test your general knowledge. Whether you’re a seasoned quizzer or just looking for a fun and social evening, there will be something for everyone. As always, the emphasis is on friendly competition, good company, and plenty of enjoyment.
You’re welcome to come along as part of a team or join one on the night—either way, you’ll be made very welcome. Don’t forget to bring a pen and notepad, as you’ll need them to capture those all-important answers! Check in from 18.30 and the quiz will begin at 19.00 and end at approx. 21.30
For those who wish to eat, we’ll again be arranging a delivery from La Fish, offering a choice of meals including fish (with gluten-free options), chicken, burgers, veggie burgers and halloumi kebabs—all served with chips. Ordering food is entirely optional, so you’re equally welcome to simply come along and take part in the quiz. Please send your name and / or team details together with any food orders to the Quiz Organiser here.
There is a charge of £12 if you have a La Fish Meal (bring your own cutlery etc.) and £2 if you don’t. You can bring your own alcoholic or non-alcoholic refreshment.
Booking (open now) – via the form HERE on our website is essential.
We look forward to seeing you there for a fun-filled evening and a great new chapter for our quiz nights!
Groups Notices & Events
New Non-Fiction Writing Group
Monthly Wednesday afternoon sessions, 2026
Everyone has a book within them…
Are you interested in planning and writing a non-fiction book or article? This might be writing about your life experience and interests, whether they be professional or academic. Do you want to communicate your knowledge, experience, skills and creativity to a wide audience? Join us to reflect on the challenges of writing non-fiction, to share ideas, and to support each other’s writing.
We will be discussing and supporting each other with:
· Planning an individual non-fiction project, sharing ideas with the group.
· Supporting each other in writing endeavours.
· How to frame and pitch writing ideas to agents and publishers.
· How to realistically focus, plan and manage a new non-fiction writing project.
· Considering how publishing is evolving in the digital and AI revolution and what are the implications for our writing.
Six meetings are planned in 2026, all on Wednesday afternoons from 2pm to 4pm.
Dates are: 29th April, 27th May, 1st July, 29thJuly, September 30th, October 28th.
The group leaders have experience across the worlds of academic and technical publishing, where print runs and readership are small. They are interested in working with others to develop writing strategies to grow audiences and to ensure a wider sharing and public relevance of their ideas.
There are already numerous opportunities for creative fiction writers, but this new group will focus entirely on non-fiction.
To register your interest click here
Phil Haynes – semi retired academic
Tim Pitts – semi retired publisher
Climate Emergency Briefing Film
The u3a climate change group have been cooperating with Transition Town Chichester, a local environmental charity, on a free film show event taking place on 16th April at the Assembly Room, North St Chichester, 6:30 for 7pm.
The film is based on the briefing given to MPs in Westminster last November where established experts brought the latest scientific findings about climate risks to MPs attention.
The film’s purpose is to get more awareness of accepted findings by climate scientists to decision makers and the public. This could be alarming to some, so members of the climate change group and some of Transition Town Chichester team will be facilitating discussion tables after the film is shown so anyone concerned can express their concerns and anxieties and talk these through with our team. We will be asking people to focus on what positive measures society as a whole and local communities could adopt to reduce the impact of extreme weather causing widespread disruption to all of us in future.
The MP and political leaders at local government level are also being invited so we expect this to be a seminal event.
Local and National
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 this version is: https://www.u3a.org.uk/what-we-do/u3a-matters
The next bulletin is due out on 24 April, so if you have an item to submit, you may use this link.
Links to our Website
Follow these links to see:
If you wish to unsubscribe from the Bulletin emails, please contact the membership secretary with subject “Unsubscribe from Bulletin”. This will not affect other email communications with the U3A. Please do NOT put the bulletin emails into spam! 😒
Please send a message via the usual channels if you wish to have some item of u3a news put in the Bulletin. Likewise, if you have suggestions as to how to improve the Bulletin or would like to join our team.
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 contact the Chichester U3A, please call 07490 654524 (and be prepared to leave a message if not answered), or contact the membership secretary.