Waltham Forest

Groups

Family History 1 has changed its meeting day. They will now get together on the second Thursday of the month (still at 10:30am) There is NO meeting in December and the first under the new schedule will be on 10th January 2019.

A new Discussion Group? Dave is offering to start one at his home in Walthamstow, In a CPZ but also near several bus routes. Maximum he can accommodate is eight people.

Did you love to play Subbuteo (table football) years ago? Or would you like to try it now? Steve has asked whether any members are interested.

ANNUAL FILM CLUB BALLOT FOR Home Screenings 2019. Barbara has received all your votes and the 2019 programme will appear here soon.

George's Lunch Club Mark II. The Friday lunch club at Enterprise House has been a great success and George has now started a second one on the first Wednesday of the month. It's now met twice and everyone really enjoyed chatting over a super meal at a ridiculously low price. Relaxed and friendly and still quite small so do come and join us. We meet at 12.45pm in the Mezzanine lounge/bar. Contact Lesley (or George) if you'd like more details.

The new Book Club still has vacancies. They have now finalised their titles, dates and venues up to Christmas. Check with Lesley for the latest news.

How about starting a new group yourself? Or maybe talking to Lesley about a group you'd LIKE to join if it existed. Could be a subject you know is popular in another U3A. Or perhaps an existing group you'd like to help replicate. How about organising regular art gallery visits, starting a recipe club, or delving into the history of a house?

Interest Groups are the life blood of a U3A. WE NEED MORE as our membership increases. Being a Group Leader doesn't involve hard work or having intimidating expertise. You only have to be interested in learning more about something or and enthusiastic about doing it in the company of a few other people. Groups are often the place where people quietly make lasting new friendships, rather than sitting in the big audience for the monthly talks.

We warmly welcome new ideas and we try to support anyone who is nervous about leading a group but would like to try. If you would like to start a group but you can't offer a home as a meeting place, you might want to consider booking a small room at Winchester Road? The cost is shared between members of the Group but it's very modest; a few groups meet there already. Lesley will be happy to advise.

At time of writing current vacancies include Art Appreciation, Book Club, Canasta, Family History 1 (beginners very welcome), Geography, German B, Painting as a Pastime, Play-reading, Recorder, Remarkable Women, Rummikub 1 & 3, and Singing for Fun 1. Lesley will be happy to update you on the situation.

Lesley handles all enquiries about joining groups. She maintains information about all the current vacancies and also manages any waiting lists. Her phone number and email address are in the monthly newsletter.

If you'd just like to know more about a particular Group's activities we can put you in touch with the leader for a chat. Groups basically finance their own activities and it is also usual to contribute a small amount towards refreshments at their meetings (currently 50p). Occasionally a Group Leader may make application to the Committee for help with some special expenditure. This may or may not be successful.

We need to remind people that group members who do not attend meetings for some time AND haven't kept the Leader informed will be removed from that group. This helps to keeps waiting lists to a minimum. It also makes sure that everyone knows as soon as possible when new opportunities to join groups have arisen.