Ealing

Groups

For GENERAL enquiries concerning Interest Groups contact the Interest Groups Co-ordinator, Sue Peach.

At present we have over 35 Interest Groups which are listed below. Each Group has a Convener whose function is to act as administrator or leader in its various activities and meetings. For information about a Specific Group, including how to contact the Convener, click on the GROUP NAME in the BOXED LIST at the BOTTOM of this page.

Groups may meet in members homes, at other venues or over Zoom. With face-to-face meetings, largely because of space constraints, there will be a limit to the number of members that each group can accommodate. To learn if space is available contact the group Convener. If there is sufficient demand and if a member offers her or himself as Convener a second group can be initiated.

In addition, we also occasionally offer short courses of up to 10 sessions led or tutored by a member or associate. For example, in the last few years we have run 3 separate Film Studies courses. If you could offer a course covering some aspect of your expertise or knowledge, please contact the Chairman.

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NEW GROUPS

A Card Games Group has now started and is meeting twice a month on Tuesday afternoons at The Plough in Northfields. Members decide which card games they wish to play on the day depending on numbers, etc. There is no requirement for prior knowledge of the games; members will share their knowledge with each other - see the Card Games group page for more details.

We have some members interested in forming new groups for Beginners’/Intermediate Cryptic Crosswords, Creative Writing and possibly a Choir. If you are interested in joining one of these or if you are interested in a new group, please email Sue Peach using the Interest Groups Co-ordinator. Sue may also be available at a Thursday meeting, now these have resumed.

There is some progress with setting up a Ukulele Group. More members have expressed an interest in joining this and Sue has spoken to the leader of the Hanwell Ukulele group who has offered us one hour of his time as a taster. It is hoped to arrange this taster session in September

Do you have the interests, skills and experience to help form any other new Interest Groups? All of our Group Conveners are volunteers, motivated by commitment to a particular area of activity and learning. Will you volunteer to form a new group? If so, please email the Interest Groups Co-ordinator, Sue Peach or phone on 020 8992 4758. Sue may also be available at a Thursday meeting, now these have resumed.

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NEWS FROM THE GROUPS

1. Walking Groups
The Saturday and Midweek Walking groups have restarted, thanks to Ann Marie Tighe, Julia Buckland, Sally Pickles and a couple of other members. There are now 3 Walking groups

• The Saturday Strollers who will organise relaxed walks up to 2 miles long, usually fortnightly - these have currently stopped over the summer but will restart in September.
• The Saturday Walking group who will have walks between 2 and 5 miles long, monthly.
• The Midweek Walking group with walks over 5 miles (up to 8/9 miles) monthly, usually on a Tuesday or Wednesday in the second or third week of the month.

2. London Revisited group
These outings have now restarted and Derek Atkinson has been able to arrange visits to various buildings, many not usually open to the public. Some of the visits are arranged at short notice, so keep an eye on the London Revisited group page or the EVENTS page where they will be publicised.

3. Groups not running at present
Some Groups are NOT RUNNING at present, as the Convenor(s) are no longer able to run them. These are the Current Affairs and Jazz & Blues Appreciation groups. We are looking for new Convenors to get these Groups restarted.

Unfortunately, there are also some Groups which have closed in the last 18 months - Art Appreciation 2, Scrabble & Table Games, Gardening group 1, and Meditation with Music. This has been either due to lack of numbers or the Group Convenor(s) withdrawing from running the group.

If anyone is interested in restarting any of these groups, please email the Interest Groups Co-ordinator, Sue Peach or phone on 020 8992 4758. Sue may also be available at a Thursday meeting, now these have resumed.

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Covid-19 Pandemic and advice re Interest Groups

Although most face-to-face Interest Group meetings were cancelled during the pandemic, many of our Groups were able to continue online, using Zoom video conferencing. Most Groups have now started to meet again in person but there are some who are still meeting on Zoom.

For any Groups looking for a suitable venue to hold face-to-face meetings, we have made arrangements with a number of local venues and details of these can be found on the Venues for Meetings page - see the link on the rhs of this page.

Many Groups were able to cater for additional members whilst using video conferencing - see the relevant Group page for further info on these. Information on running Groups using Zoom can be found on the Zoom Instructions page; see the link on the rhs of this page.

The National U3A has said that any Group Convenors planning to hold face-to-face meetings SHOULD carry out a Risk Assessment before resuming such meetings, and all members intending to attend need to carry out a personal risk assessment. Our Interest Groups Co-ordinator has circulated an example Risk Assessment to all Group Convenors that they may wish to use in producing the assessment for their Group.
Before proceeding, Group Convenors may also wish to read the latest advice from the National U3A available on the Running your U3A during COVID-19 page on their website. This also has links to many documents with advice on different aspects of running Groups at present.

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CLICK on the Group Name BELOW for further information on that Group, including how to contact the CONVENER - FULL groups have a grey background in the list.