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May 2022 Introduction from the Chair.
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The May Monthly Meeting. There has been a change to the advertised Guest Speaker for the Monthly Meeting (MM) this Tuesday 17th May, 2pm at the Priory Centre.
Ste Greenall, he of Black Cat Radio fame, has stepped in to speak to us about “The History of Black Cat Radio. In addition to this much anticipated insight, the Group Corner, Membership and Outings positions will also be manned to provide any information you may need, or simply to chat and catch up on past or future events.
Membership Renewals. Members will have received emails reminding them that renewal subscriptions are now due for the membership year July 1st 2022 to June 30th 2023. Subscription fees have remained the same and we are pleased to note that the number of members has almost returned to pre pandemic levels.
Members can renew on-line by clicking here and following the instructions. Payment can be made on-line using Credit & Debit cards or via PayPal.
Members wishing to pay by Cheque may download a renewal form by clicking here and either post the form with their payment to the Membership Secretary as detailed on the form. Alternatively, members may submit their payment with the form at the Monthly Meeting.
Card Payments. We are now able to accept card payments, for Membership or Outings payments at Monthly Meetings (MMs), which we hope members will find to be a useful facility. If successful, we will look to extend the range of applications such as the £1 entry fee, which for the moment will be cash only. Continuing on the technology front, members may be aware that they can keep a photograph of their Membership Card on their smart phone, for scanning prior to entry to the MM, if they do not have their Membership Card on their person.
ESCA May Day stand.
One of our first publicity events planned for this summer occurred earlier this month. Our new gazebos and display stand material plus, if I may say, a particularly impressive Gazebo Team of 4 (see photo above) attracted a constant stream of interest from the public who attended th ESCA May Day celebrations. Over 40 people registered their “interest” to receive a follow up email and an invitation to join St Neots u3a. Keep a look out for any new faces at MMs or Group Activities and please make them feel welcome.
Publicity Events.
Our Gazebo Teams will be out in force again at the events listed in the “P&C Team news” section below. Your help in spreading the word about your u3a is very welcome at these events. If you like meeting people and talking about the things you enjoy, being a member of St Neots u3a, then please let me know if you can join us on any of the dates listed and be part of the fun!
Vacancies. Every Month we seem to put out a call for members to seriously consider stepping forward to take a more active role in the running of their u3a. This month is no different!
Your Executive Committee are a very proactive, positive and conscientious bunch, with whom I am proud to have been involved with for some time. Looking forward to the September AGM and the Membership year 2022/23, we need to look at succession planning; which is best achieved by identifying members who are willing to shadow a role, over a period of time, with the view to stepping into the role when the time comes. Please contact me if you have any leanings in that direction and I can give you more information, with absolutely no commitment.
The Newsletter Editor position is a role, which currently does not have any deputy/cover. When the current incumbent (me) is unavailable, the Monthly Publication does not occur.
For this reason, there will be no full-scale June Newsletter, as normally emailed via our Mailchimp publishing application. If you have an interest or experience in Magazine/Newsletter communications and could be interested in helping to put our Newsletter together in the future, please let me know.
As they say “experience of Mailchimp is advantageous but not essential as training will be given”
Guest Speakers. Notwithstanding any last-minute changes, the Speakers booked for June and July MMs are Nigel Sutton, talking about Fraud and Cyber security (June) and Charlie Haycock (July) speaking about the “History of Spoken English”
Group Leaders and Group Members are reminded that they are invited to promote their Group activity, with a display stand, to all members attanding any Monthly Meeting. Simply contact Group Coordinator Dot Morfett to book an available slot.
Stay safe and keep in touch. Ian.
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Group News - from Group co-ordinator Dot Morfett.
It’s looking a lot like summer in our Groups as we start to see a promising return to meetings with greater numbers and also a few members who are feeling curious enough to try out new Groups they have never thought of joining before. All down to the hard work of our Group Leaders (GLs) and the enquiring nature of our members.
Walking Cricket Group update. We are just awaiting confirmation of the venue and then will start bowling along – watch the website and emails on this.
Beginners Line Dancing at Little Paxton. Our very grateful thanks must also go to Dennis and Sheila Flavell who after numerous years of service to the Group have decided to step down from formal roles, but will be on hand occasionally to help out.
A big thank you to a team of Members who have offered to step up in the following roles:
Group Leader (Admin): Rosemary Chapman; Music Maestros: Dennis and Jacqui McGarry
Dance and Step guidance: Norma Hockley, Marina Mann and Lynne Gough
All in all, a fantastic team effort and a great way to Share the Learning. Thank you.
Restart Tuesday 17th May at 10am in the Little Paxton Church and weekly thereafter.
Outdoor Bowls. Tuesdays at the Eaton Socon Sports Association, River Road.
Group Leader Jean Casson advises “Last year the weather could not have been better during the summer and being out in the fresh air is so enjoyable. If anyone wants to try a new sport and make some new friends come and join us when we start again on the first Tuesday morning in June, all you need are a pair of flat shoes and some comfortable clothing. We start at 10.30 and there is a cup of coffee to finish off the morning”
Egyptology Group focus.
This is a long-standing group, running for about 9 years, which offers a combination of trips e.g., the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford or Tutankhamun exhibition in the Saatchi Gallery in London. Plus, at their regular meetings. normally there will be a DVD presentation and/ or a lecture plus a discussion on a range of Egyptology topics. Hazel Gowers is the Group Leader – a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic GL. Hazel also provides regular copies of the bi-monthly NILE magazine, which Members can borrow these if they wish or have a quick look during the break. Like all of our groups there is a warm welcome to newcomers and indeed there have been 4 new joiners in the past couple of months.
Meetings are held on the second Friday of each month from 11am to 12.30pm. Venue is the Bower Room in the Conservative Club in New Street. Cost is £ 1.50 for each session you attend.
Finally. Looking forward, do remember that it is always open to any Group members to step up and lend a hand when GLs either step down permanently or temporarily for various reasons. We are always here to help you with the mechanics, so don’t be shy. And of course, if you have an idea for a new Group, do contact me by email or phone or at the Monthly Meeting and we will be more than happy to work with you to set it up.
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As always, full details of our Groups can be found on the Website / Groups page
Many thanks and stay safe in the meantime
Dot.
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Outings & Holiday News
Gardeners World Live + Good Food Show - Thursday 16th June
Windsor and Runnymede Luxury Tea Cruise - Wednesday 20th July
Birmingham Internation Tattoo - Sunday 11th Septeber
The above outings are fully booked but members can still request to be added to the reserve lists.
If any members with bookings still have not paid their outstanding balance please see organisers, Pat Hills, Iris Parr or Jill Richardson at the Monthly Meetings.
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Torquay and Tinsel Holiday 2022
5 days 4 nights
28th November - 2nd December
44 of the 49 places allocated to this Holiday have been booked.
We are now pleased to offer the remaining 5 places to all u3a members.
These consist of 2 double/twin rooms and 1 single supplement room (double room for single occupancy)
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Full details can be found here or contact the organiser Jill Richardson at jillrichardson0210@yahoo.com for a booking form.
Outings and Holidays can also be seen on the events tab of our website.
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Publicity & Communications Team (P&C)
Listed below is an updated list of events where we have booked a publicity stand, which will be manned by Gazebo teams consisting of Committee members, Group Leaders and any members that are willing to join us on the day.
- Saturday 28th May - 8am to 1pm - Farmers Market in St Neots Market Square.
- 9th July - 12noon to 4.45pm - Paxfest and Fun Dog Show - Little Paxton
- 20th August 10am to 5pm Dragon Boat Race Festival - Riverside Park
- 21st August 2pm - 4.30 pm - Ukes/Bands in the Park and u3a Picnic - Riverside Park
- u3a 40th Anniversary in September. - Details TBC
Details of events will be released on the u3a Website, Facebook and Newsletter publications.
Life Stories or Events from our Members, as heard by Trevor Parmenter. (P&C Team)
One particular lady member, who we now count as a friend had been in the guide movement for over forty years and has about her what I term as a quiet authority. On one occasion she related her experience of learning to drive. She worked on a farm in her youth and her employer let her drive the vehicles on his property which included lorries and tractors and a Humber Snipe, which is quite a large car. She hadn’t taken her driving test but would quite happily drive to the local station in it to pick up visitors to the farm.
We have a lady in the ukulele group who became involved with computers and programming while at school in the 1950s. The computers then were room sized. It’s amazing that these days the tablets and phones that we use hold so much more information than those early machines.
If any of you have a few tales to tell, please get in touch with me and we’ll find a way of sharing them.
Trevor Parmenter, a member of the Publicity and Publications team.
Email trevor.parmenter@ntlworld.com
Mobile 07523 691509
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If you haven't already,....
I can recommend following the facebook page "u3a: Keeping in Touch." Apart from the useful and interesting information contained, the humour never fails to brighten the day; as illistrated by the example below.
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Bite Size Newsletter
For email buddies who wish to print a bite size version of this Newsletter,
please click here.
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Featured Sites (Links to previous items of interest)
Feel free to click on these links for a wealth of interest and fun.
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Black Cat Radio.
Ernie Almond, of Black Cat Radio, is promoting a show which appears at the Priory Centre on 28th October 2022.
He is pleased to recommend this show as a comedy event for the family, featuring Rollo and Tommy J with "Laugh your Socks off"
Tickets are available from the box office 01480 388922 or click here for more details.
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We receive almost daily shout-outs promoting St Neots u3a and every month we get a session with Ernie Almond, on his morning programme, to talk about our activities.
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If you are a non-member reading this Newsletter
and you want to
LEARN, LAUGH and LIVE
visit our website www.u3asites.org.uk/st-neots
or contact the Membership Secretary,
Tony Summerlin 01480 210416
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