Parbold, Newburgh & District

Welcome

We’d like to welcome you to the Parbold, Newburgh & District u3a (Charity Number 1164539)
Established in April 2012, we are an enthusiastic u3a with a diverse range of activities currently on offer with new groups introduced as and when they are requested by our members. We are open to ideas so please let us know if there is a particular activity you would like us to offer and we’ll do our best to get it going, preferably with your help. Remember that it is your u3a and we all have to contribute to the running of it.

By providing a combination of practical, academic and recreational pursuits, there should be something available for everyone within the range of our Interest Groups. After paying our annual membership fee of £14.00 (or £10.00 if you are already a paid-up member of another u3a), usually the only extra cost will be a fee of £3.00 per person per Group session to cover the cost of room hire and a cup of tea and a biscuit.
At our twice-monthly Horizons social meetings however, the entrance fee is also £3.00.

Groups usually meet at the "Hut-on-the-Hill"; the Scouting premises at the rear of the Christ Church car park on Parbold Hill near the village of Parbold (POSTCODE: WN8 7TG). We hold our Horizons meetings on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of every month between 1.30pm and 3.30pm in the Hut-on-the-Hill. At Horizons you can meet our Group leaders and sign-up for any Group activity, or just have a chat with new friends over a ‘cuppa’ and then enjoy one of our very interesting visiting speakers. Do come for a Taster session at one of these bi-monthly meetings and we hope that you will then decide to become a member.

Now in June 2023, in our 11th year, we have around 170 members with new people coming along regularly and we have twenty-four Activity Groups up and running with more planned. (We are very happy to be regularly told by our newer members that "small is beautiful").
Our Newsletter, "Snapshots", is published from time to time and it is sent by email to all members who have provided their contact details. However, any member who does not have an email address can pick up a paper copy at the next Horizons meeting or anytime thereafter from the small room at the Hut. (We do NOT now publish it every month as the Beacon computer system we use makes it very easy to communicate with all our members on email on an item by item basis as necessary and our non-email members will receive a posted copy).

Usually, a Speaker is booked for our Horizons meetings on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of each month, and from time to time, one of our own members gives an informal talk at one of these "Horizons" meetings. Details of these talks are updated regularly on this website.
We also occasionally have organised Trips out-and-about so please see the "Events" page for details and dates of these outings.
Elsewhere on this website, (please click on the "Groups" tab on the Home page and then click on the name of the Group you wish to see) you will find details of the current selection of Group activities that are available, and more will be added to fulfill members’ interests in due course. If you have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to tell us.

YOUR 2022/2023 COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Chairman/Webmaster/Beacon Admin: Mervyn G Saunders - mervyngee@icloud.com
Secretary: Barbara Starmer - barbarastarmer@hotmail.co.uk
Treasurer: Diane Smith - dianesmith.dalton@outlook.com
Membership Secretary: Pam Leaning - pamelaleaning38@gmail.com
Assistant Treasurer: Brian Howard - brianhoward193@btinternet.com
Group Coordinator: Dennis Bamber - dennisbamber1950@gmail.com
Retention/Recruitment & Communication: Peter Bennett - bennettp076@gmail.com
Trips Co-arranger: Tony Morris - tonymdeanslane@hotmail.com
Minutes Secretary: Margaret Fairhead - mafairhead@gmail.com

On the right-hand side of this "Welcome" page you can click on a link to a "Frequently asked questions" document, the original of which was very kindly provided by the Chard, Ilminster & District u3a for us to modify. We hope it is of use to you.

NB: VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL OUR MEMBERS:-
It is necessary for our Committee to emphasise that ALL MEMBERS OF OUR u3a MUST BE AWARE that in undertaking ANY u3a ACTIVITY, they are responsible for their OWN CHOICES AND THEIR OWN ABILITIES when joining any Group. Thank you.

The University of the Third Age, as it was originally known, which originated in France in 1972, came to the UK in 1982 and there are now over 1,050 local branches with 444,000 members around the country, of which Parbold, Newburgh & District is still one of the younger.
The u3a, the name-style we are now known by, exists to bring together retired and semi-retired people in a friendly setting (like a youth club for older people!) to help increase our knowledge by sharing our interests and talents with each other and to stimulate our minds and bodies by remaining active and therefore, hopefully, healthy. More information can be found on the National u3a website: http://www.u3a.org.uk/ (You can copy and paste this link into your search engine toolbar to go straight there or use the button at the top right of this page's toolbar above marked "u3a").
The u3a belongs to you, the members, and we look forward to meeting you soon. (27p623)