Isle of Man

Special Interest Groups

The choice of interest groups is endless, and for a modest annual fee you can join as many groups as you like. Alternatively, you may have special skills or knowledge or are passionate about a subject and wish to start your own group. Members decide what groups to have, and what direction each group should take. Once a month members are invited to a network meeting, where they are informed of all the latest news and can then listen to a guest speaker. Afterwards there’s time for coffee or tea and cake, and of course a chat with your fellow members.

The Isle of Man u3a has many interest groups available from :
Bridge to French Conversation, Classical Music Appreciation to Progressive Rock Music, Motorcycling to Quiz Sessions, Ukulele to Book Club, Table Tennis to Walking, as well as ad hoc events and visits.

To see the work of the digital photography group click DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP.

WANTED

We are always looking for help on the Committee, either as a full member or on a casual basis. Please consider helping out - the duties aren't onerous, and we are always in need of fresh ideas. Remember, "The u3a is run for the members by the members". If you are interested, please contact any of the committee members.

URGENT - THERE IS NO WALKING GROUP LEADER AT PRESENT - TO TAKE UP THIS ROLE PLEASE CONTACT TONY GUREVITCH

Book Club We are a small, but growing, friendly group enjoying books from a wide variety of genre, chosen by members of the Club. We meet once a month to discuss the chosen book. We meet on the third Thursday of the month at Greens Restaurant in the upstairs meeting room at 12.00 if you want a spot of lunch or 12.30pm for the discussion and aim to finish in good time for those who want to attend the Network Meeting at The Mill.
We have no meeting in December so our next session will be on January 18th when we will be discussing The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Our February book will be Foster by Claire Keegan. If you would like more information about the group please contact Jan on 07780513213

Ukulele group - meet every Tuesday at 2pm at St John's Football club house. You are invited to go along and try your hand at playing( ukuleles can be borrowed) or singing along. If you would like more information, ring Rosemary on 436411

Basic Spanish Conversation Buenos Dias. Hablas espanol ? If you would like to converse in Spanish then the Basic Spanish Conversation Group is now recruiting new members for beginners and improvers. For more details please contact the Group Leader, Ian Wilson, at ianawilsonu3a@gmail.com or on 675076.

Spanish group - this will be called Spanish improvers. Anyone who would like to attend a Spanish group for beginners , please contact Tony Gurevitch on 263496, as this could also be set up if there’s enough interest.

The Advanced German Conversation group also needs new members - contact Tony (07624 263496) for more information.

Basic French Conversation (3) This is an additional group formed with the help of Stephen Free and with Jackie Bairstow as the Group Leader. If you are interested in joining then please contact Jackie on 464616.

Due to the huge success of the French group, it is proposed to start a 3rd group. If you are interested, contact Jackie on 464616.

Beacon Finally on a different matter I have come to realise that many of our members do not know what "Beacon" is when I refer to it. Basically Beacon is the national u3a computer administration system which many u3as, including ours, have adopted. It can be used in many useful ways by Administrators, Committee Members and more pertinently, Group Leaders. Amongst other things the latter can use it to add, delete or change their group member details and send them secure emails which conform to all the necessary data protection laws. As a member it is useful to know that your Group leader is able to carry out these tasks if they have opted into the system. If you want more information then please contact Tony on 07624 263496.

If you have anything that you think other u3a members would be interested in then please send text to the webmaster or let Andy Corrin have it at the next meeting.

If you wish to join a group or want more information either contact the Group Leader directly (if their details have been published) or use the email form on the Contact page to ask your questions. Emails will be forwarded to Tony Gurevitch, the Group Co-ordinator who will answer all your queries.

The cost of joining a group varies depending on how much the location costs and whether any resources are needed. This means that joining could just be a contribution to a refreshments fund if the meeting takes place in someone's house or a proportion of the overall cost of hiring a hall or venue. As these become known they will be published in the group page.

Please note that you must be a member of the u3a to enrol onto a group or on a 'taster session' (up to two attendances at groups or events are allowed without being a member).

GETTING A GROUP STARTED

If you have an idea for an interest group then the first thing you need to do is discuss it with the Group Co-ordinator or email your ideas using the email form on this website (Contacts Page). Having the idea doesn't mean you have to run the group, just be willing to be our liaison during the process.

The Group Co-ordinator then takes new group ideas to the Committee for discussion and approval.

Once approved, the Group Co-ordinator starts a "Group Interest List" and announces the new group idea at the next monthly meeting. The idea is also published on this website. Reminders are made at every monthly meeting until the group launches.

Once there are sufficient names collected (this number varies according to the group) then all those interested are invited to an informal meeting with the potential Group Leader. Details of the first meeting are then announced at the next monthly meeting and published on this website.

POTENTIAL NEW GROUPS

Social Lunch and/or Coffee and Cake
Current Affairs or Discussion
Singing for Fun
Yoga
Flower Arranging
Walking

WEBSITE

As a Group Leader there are a couple of things that you could help us with:

Firstly, let us know of any changes or improvements that you would like to see made to the website.

Secondly, we could do with current photos of your group and a few words on any event or activity that you have taken part in or have scheduled in the future.

You can reply to myself or Andy Corrin, our Webmaster, and we will be pleased to deal with any other ideas or concerns that you may have.

Tony

Group List
All About Herbs
Wednesday p.m.
Location varies
Wednesday p.m.
Location varies
Archaeological Sites (IOM)
Monday a.m.
Varies
Monday a.m.
Varies
Art DIY
Monday a.m.
Glen Maye
Monday a.m.
Glen Maye
Art History
Wednesday p.m.
Douglas
Wednesday p.m.
Douglas
Basic French Conversation
Tuesday a.m.
St John's
Tuesday a.m.
St John's
Basic French Conversation (2)
Tuesday a.m.
St Johns
Tuesday a.m.
St Johns
Basic French Conversation (3)
 
 Basic German Conversation
 
 
Book Club
Thursday p.m.
St John's
Thursday p.m.
St John's
Bridge Refreshers
Wednesday p.m.
Dalby
Wednesday p.m.
Dalby
Classical Music Appreciation
 Ballaugh
 BallaughDIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP
Tuesday a.m.
Location varies
Tuesday a.m.
Location varies
Jazz Appreciation
Thursday p.m.
Peel
Thursday p.m.
Peel
Philosophy Group
Monday p.m.
St John's
Monday p.m.
St John's
Poetry
Monday p.m.
Peel
Monday p.m.
Peel
Progressive Rock Music
Wednesday p.m.
Douglas
Wednesday p.m.
Douglas
Quiz
Friday p.m.
Onchan
Friday p.m.
Onchan
Racketball
Wednesday a.m.
Douglas
Wednesday a.m.
Douglas
Rummikub
Wednesday p.m.
Douglas
Wednesday p.m.
Douglas
Silver Dream Bikers ( IOM)
 Location and dates vary
 Location and dates vary
Social Bridge South
Wednesday p.m.
Port St Mary
Wednesday p.m.
Port St Mary
Spanish Language
 Douglas
 Douglas
Table Tennis
Thursday a.m.
Douglas
Thursday a.m.
Douglas
Ukulele
Tuesday p.m.
St John's
Tuesday p.m.
St John's
Walking Group
 Location varies
 Location varies  
Timetable Summary
Day MorningAfternoon
MondayArchaeological Sites (IOM)   Art DIY   Philosophy Group   Poetry  
TuesdayBasic French Conversation   Basic French Conversation (2)   DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP   Ukulele  
WednesdayRacketball   All About Herbs   Art History   Bridge Refreshers   Progressive Rock Music   Rummikub   Social Bridge South  
ThursdayTable Tennis   Book Club   Jazz Appreciation  
Friday Quiz  

Click on a picture below to see it full-size with more details.