Update from the Chair April 2024
General Meeting Wednesday 10th April 2024
WELCOME
Marie welcomed everyone to the meeting and said it was great to see so many members there.
Before the business of the meeting, Marie was very sorry to pass on some sad news.
Anna Rizza, who was one of our founder members way back in 2010, died suddenly on Sunday 7th April. Anna’s death was unexpected but peaceful and Marie was sure everyone would want to join her in sending condolences to Anna’s family. There will be no funeral which was Anna’s wish.
Anna served on the committee for some years and was the Chairperson before Marie. Anna also led the Tai Chi group for quite a few years. One little funny story Marie shared was at Anna’s last AGM. She hated public speaking and had all her papers laid out before her on the table and for some reason, decided to tear them all up! She couldn’t believe what she had done and Marie can still see her now trying to piece all the bits of paper together, with the help of Brenda. However, in the end Anna just gave up and winged it. And did a very good job too.
Many of our members will have very fond and funny memories of Anna, she was a lovely lady and such a character.
Marie asked if there were any new members at the meeting and there were – Norman and Christine Jones. They were invited to have a chat after the meeting and Marie was able to tell them about the various groups and activities. They had a cup of tea and a biscuit and Marie has already received an email from them asking to join the Theatre group to start their u3a journey.
Any potential or new members are always invited to say hello to the committee at cuppie time.
BUSINESS
The hearing loop was available for this meeting and the microphones were working too.There is always a bit of excitement waiting to see what will work and what won’t, but it all adds to the fun. Marie asked the members what they thought of the new stage and everyone seemed to think that it was a good idea. It enhances the experience of the meeting since presentations could be seen and hearing the speakers was also better. Money well spent.
COMMITTEE
Margaret Forbes, who is the Speakers Coordinator, will be retiring from the Committee at the AGM this year. The Committee will be looking for someone to take on the role in due course. Margaret has done a brilliant job in getting speakers every month and she will be greatly missed. Big shoes to fill but hopefully there will be someone out there who will take on the role.
MEMBERS
There are now 267 members,three new and two renewals, so numbers are rising steadily, which is good. Fergus has attended the Membership Secretary training so he now knows everything about his role!
Please contact Fergus Campbell if there are any changes to personal details so that he can keep the membership database up to date.
GROUPS
There are 20 active groups but the Committee is always on the lookout for someone who may have an interesting hobby or skill and would like to share it with others and lead a group. If anyone has a special interest and is prepared to share it, please let Linda Dawson know and she will hopefully help you to set up a group.
Book Group 2 - now has nine members with three vacancies.
Metal Detecting - has 10 members, activities are weather dependent.
Quizzing - only 11 members attended the meeting last week but the weather may have had something to do with that.
Gardening - the group is continuing work in the garden at Aberlemno.
Table Tennis -the Group met on Good Friday with all 13 members attending for the first time!
Walking - the group was “oot and aboot” recently, exploring Glamis and Nan found the hidden waterfall and posted a lovely video of it on our facebook page. But she is not telling anyone where it is!
Bridge - the group now has 20 members and can accommodate 25. If you are interested in joining please contact the Group Leader David Robertson.
Theatre Group - we went to see Cirque in Aberdeen recently and it was fabulous but the highlight of the day was the fish and chips at Stoney! The next theatre trip is to see Shirley Valentine in Pitlochry on 10th July (a few seats are still available on the coach) and someone has requested a stop on the way home for fish and chips in Dunkeld. There seems to be a trend developing here. The fish and chip shop will need to be warned as 42 people are going to the show.
Photography group – Lesley Miller will collect monies from the group while Peter is away.
Knitting and crochet – the venue has changed to the adult learning room at the campus - alternate weeks with Colouring and Chat group.
Games Group – 8 members attend regularly.
Mahjong – Fergus Campbell will be leading the group while Kate Grant is away.
Local History – Sandra Affleck has indicated that she is retiring as group leader but will continue until 2025 which gives us a year to find a new leader. After the summer break, meetings will move to the Glens and Kirriemuir United Church in the centre of Kirrie.
Wellness – the group will stop at the end of April and will begin again in September at the Kingsmuir Hall.
Interest in our groups is very welcome but a non-member may only attend a group once on a trial basis. Our insurance states that they must be a full member of Forfar and District u3a if they want to continue to attend Groups, Events or Outings.
OUTINGS GROUP
Falkland Palace and Gardens Wednesday 17 April - 48 members are going by coach which is now full.
Isle of May on Wednesday 19 June. The boat will set off from Anstruther at 10.45am, (allowing 2 hours on the island) The alternative to visiting the Isle of May is either to go to the Fisheries Museum or the Secret Bunker.
A huge thank you to Brenda for researching and organising these trips. The outings are always very popular and it looks like they will continue to be so.
SUMMER OUTING
There were very few suggestions for the summer outing so after considering them all the Committee decided it will be to the
National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on Wednesday 17th July. The museum is fabulous but there are so many other things to see and do in Edinburgh if the museum is not for you.
There will be no charge for the coach.
NEW WEBSITE
The current website will continue for the time being. Gail and Moira are doing a great job on this project and have been beavering away in the background, creating dummy sites and preparing content for migration to the new site. The completion date is December 2024 but the new website will be ready as soon as possible.
If you have any photographs of your group activities, please email them to Gail for posting on the website.
FACEBOOK
The page continues to attract visitors to see what we are up to. Not many groups are sending information and photographs for posting and it would be lovely to have news of other groups activities. Quite a few people are viewing these posts and commenting on them.
FORFAR GRIEF CAFÉ
I mention this again as it may be helpful to someone in the membership.
It is Forfars first grief café and the first meeting is being held on Monday 15th April 7.00pm – 8.30pm in the Forfar Guide Hall.
THE EDEN PROJECT
Our speaker this month was Caishlan Sweeney who is Project Manager for the Eden Project in Dundee. She shared news and information about the developing Eden Project.
It is an educational project underpinned by science. The mission is to connect people to nature and help demonstrate that people, together, can solve the planetary emergency. Caishlan spoke about the progress of the project at the moment and what the end project will hopefully look like.
The talk was excellent and Caishlan was a very enthusiastic ambassador for the project. It is likely to be another 4 to 5 years before the project is up and running and Caishlan asked if she could come back and talk to us then. She will be very welcome.
Please visit their website which is edenproject.com, where you will find much more information about the project.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING: May 8th - Angus Health Walks - Rhona Guild - Angus Alive
Looking forward to seeing you then!
Marie Pudlewska
15th April 2024