Benfleet u3a: Events

Events

The Events listed here are in Date order. Note this page includes Members Meetings, Outings and Special Events.

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GENERAL MEMBER MEETINGS

Speaker Talks at Richmond Hall
There will be a Speaker Talk at our General Member Meetings at 2pm on the last Tuesday of every month except for December.

Shirley Wolfe, our Vice Chair, manages the Member Meeting and booking future speakers.

To allow members to plan visits to General Meetings based on interest in the speaker topic (i.e. SIM Members who are limited to 3 meeting +AGM) this schedule includes ALL currently booked speakers and will be updated as soon as further bookings are arranged. This list will also be replicated in full in the Quarterly Bulletins.

Shirley Wolfe, Vice-Chair

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Member Meetings to look forward to - ALL at RICHMOND HALL:

Paul Spracklin	.	Bernard Lockett	.	Tony Harris
A Whirlwind Tour of Mexico	.	The Heritage of Gilbert and Sullivan	.	King Henry VIII
2pm Tuesday 30 April 2024	.	2pm Tuesday 28 May 2024	.	2pm Tuesday 25 June 2024
.

Dates for your Diary
April 2024
Thu Apr 25th	Social	THURSDAY MORNING COFFEE: 9:30-11am Thursday 25 April 2024; Shafers Arcade Cafe, Tarpots Open to ALL Members, a social morning with no agenda. Meet existing u3a friends or make new u3a friends. No need to book, just turn up. Any queries, please contact Barry Seeley via THURSDAY MORNING COFFEE webmail. .
Tue Apr 30th	Meeting	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 30 April 2024 Speaker: Paul Spracklin Subject: A Whirlwind Tour of Mexico Plant nut Paul Spracklin shares with us the edited highlights from 8 field trips to Mexico. The talk highlights much of the Mexican flora in habitat but also an account of many of his Mexican adventures visiting pre-Columbian ruins, markets, Day of the Dead celebrations and being held at gun point in the middle of nowhere by bandits. .
Tue Apr 30th	Social	SIMply FRIENDS: 9:30-11am Tuesday 30 April 2024; The Green Barn, on A130 Open to ALL our u3a Members, a social morning with no agenda. Meet existing u3a friends or make new u3a friends. No need to book, just turn up. Any queries, please contact Bob Munson via SIMply FRIENDS webmail. .
May 2024
Tue May 28th	Meeting	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 28 May 2024 Speaker: Bernard Lockett Subject: The Heritage of Gilbert and Sullivan “The Heritage of Gilbert and Sullivan” – an assessment and overview of G&S plus a close look with reasons for the vast amount of social and political satire within the shows, then to consider the world-wide popularity of G&S in the 21st century and modern production values. A video of G&S show excerpts is available for members to enjoy. Paul has been a life-long enthusiast of G&S and since 2010 has been a Trustee of the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, an event that takes place annually in Buxton and Malvern. He has also broadcast several times on various BBC radio programmes about G&S. .
Thu May 30th	Outing	*OUTING: Thursday 30 May 2024 - see 202405 - Arundel* for details.** .
June 2024
Tue Jun 25th	Meeting	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 25 June 2024 Speaker: Tony Harris Subject: King Henry VIII Join us for an audience with King Henry VIII - England's best known monarch. Historian and actor Tony Harris will become the infamous Royal and tell us the secrets behind the throne and the six marriages. Its hysterical and historical and a meeting not to be missed. .
Thu Jun 27th	Meeting	*OUTING: Thursday 27 June 2024. See 202406 - River Lea Cruise* for details.** .
July 2024
Tue Jul 30th	Meeting	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 30 July 2024 Speaker: Stephanie Disch Subject: All about the Dogs Trust and the good work that they do .
August 2024
Tue Aug 27th	Meeting	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 27 August 2024 Speaker: Creekside Coast Band featuring our own Jim Wolfe Subject: Music, Music, Music Our group consists of 4 chaps of 'mature age’ and two ladies who are much younger and are both still working as teachers. Our roots are founded in Benfleet Operatic Society and we got together originally about five or six years ago to provide the entertainment for a fund raising event for the society. We lost one of our original members who passed away suddenly a couple of years ago, but we were fortunate to have a new member join the group and stay with us – Jim Wolfe. Our instrumental line up is currently rhythm guitar, bass guitar, saxophone and lead guitar/keyboards. We used to have a drummer but he is currently at university. Our repertoire is quite varied as we each choose songs we would like to try and then practice them to see if they work for us. We have performed songs by The Beatles, Abba and Fleetwood Mac along with numbers by Ward Thomas, The Chicks, Dusty Springfield, Buddy Holly, The Shadows plus many more. We only perform for charity and because of other commitments we limit our ‘gigs’ to 3 or 4 a year but we are always looking for new opportunities and to date have raised about £2500 for various charities. .

Dates for your Diary
Meetings
Tue Apr 30th	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 30 April 2024 Speaker: Paul Spracklin Subject: A Whirlwind Tour of Mexico Plant nut Paul Spracklin shares with us the edited highlights from 8 field trips to Mexico. The talk highlights much of the Mexican flora in habitat but also an account of many of his Mexican adventures visiting pre-Columbian ruins, markets, Day of the Dead celebrations and being held at gun point in the middle of nowhere by bandits. .
Tue May 28th	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 28 May 2024 Speaker: Bernard Lockett Subject: The Heritage of Gilbert and Sullivan “The Heritage of Gilbert and Sullivan” – an assessment and overview of G&S plus a close look with reasons for the vast amount of social and political satire within the shows, then to consider the world-wide popularity of G&S in the 21st century and modern production values. A video of G&S show excerpts is available for members to enjoy. Paul has been a life-long enthusiast of G&S and since 2010 has been a Trustee of the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, an event that takes place annually in Buxton and Malvern. He has also broadcast several times on various BBC radio programmes about G&S. .
Tue Jun 25th	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 25 June 2024 Speaker: Tony Harris Subject: King Henry VIII Join us for an audience with King Henry VIII - England's best known monarch. Historian and actor Tony Harris will become the infamous Royal and tell us the secrets behind the throne and the six marriages. Its hysterical and historical and a meeting not to be missed. .
Thu Jun 27th	*OUTING: Thursday 27 June 2024. See 202406 - River Lea Cruise* for details.** .
Tue Jul 30th	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 30 July 2024 Speaker: Stephanie Disch Subject: All about the Dogs Trust and the good work that they do .
Tue Aug 27th	RICHMOND HALL: 2pm Tuesday 27 August 2024 Speaker: Creekside Coast Band featuring our own Jim Wolfe Subject: Music, Music, Music Our group consists of 4 chaps of 'mature age’ and two ladies who are much younger and are both still working as teachers. Our roots are founded in Benfleet Operatic Society and we got together originally about five or six years ago to provide the entertainment for a fund raising event for the society. We lost one of our original members who passed away suddenly a couple of years ago, but we were fortunate to have a new member join the group and stay with us – Jim Wolfe. Our instrumental line up is currently rhythm guitar, bass guitar, saxophone and lead guitar/keyboards. We used to have a drummer but he is currently at university. Our repertoire is quite varied as we each choose songs we would like to try and then practice them to see if they work for us. We have performed songs by The Beatles, Abba and Fleetwood Mac along with numbers by Ward Thomas, The Chicks, Dusty Springfield, Buddy Holly, The Shadows plus many more. We only perform for charity and because of other commitments we limit our ‘gigs’ to 3 or 4 a year but we are always looking for new opportunities and to date have raised about £2500 for various charities. .
Outings
Thu May 30th	*OUTING: Thursday 30 May 2024 - see 202405 - Arundel* for details.** .
Social Events
Thu Apr 25th	THURSDAY MORNING COFFEE: 9:30-11am Thursday 25 April 2024; Shafers Arcade Cafe, Tarpots Open to ALL Members, a social morning with no agenda. Meet existing u3a friends or make new u3a friends. No need to book, just turn up. Any queries, please contact Barry Seeley via THURSDAY MORNING COFFEE webmail. .
Tue Apr 30th	SIMply FRIENDS: 9:30-11am Tuesday 30 April 2024; The Green Barn, on A130 Open to ALL our u3a Members, a social morning with no agenda. Meet existing u3a friends or make new u3a friends. No need to book, just turn up. Any queries, please contact Bob Munson via SIMply FRIENDS webmail. .