DIARY OF EVENTS FOR 2019
See Notice Board on WELCOME page for late changes to this programme.
All Meetings start at 2pm in Grove Parish Church Hall unless stated otherwise.
For more information on activities etc within individual GROUPS, click on the relevant GROUP heading below
| Dates for your Diary | |
|---|---|
| Meetings | |
| Tue Nov 19th | Speaker: David Barber - The Queen's Swan Marker David Barber, MVO, has worked on the River Thames for his entire adult life. He served his apprenticeship at Andrews Boatyard and runs a marine company at Cookham. He has been The Queen’s Swan Marker since 1993. |
| Tue Dec 3rd | Speaker: Jenny Mallin - Five generations of my family who lived through the days of the Raj With her passions for cooking, India, research and writing, Jenny’s award-winning cookbook “A Grandmother’s Legacy” has been a labour of love – a memoir that mingles the history of her family when they lived in India, with her grandmothers' recipes that were prudently passed down through the generations. Each recipe has been lovingly researched, leading Jenny on a road of discovery about her ancestors, with her grandmothers’ legacy continuing to assist in providing clues to their rich and eventful past. Now a writer, Jenny has had a colourful career as a Travel Buyer (which spawned her passion for travel and meeting people) and before that was in television production at the BBC in London. Any spare time that she has is spent doing painting, home decorating, jewellery making, listening to music, photography and enjoying nature. |
| Tue Dec 17th | Christmas Social |
| Tue Jan 7th 2020 | Speaker: John Caldicott - Daisy's Story - What happened to Daisy after she gave her baby into the care of the Foundling Hospital? John talks on the history of Thomas Coram’s Foundling Hospital, the UK’s oldest children’s Charity, and the lives of the children. He is Governor of the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children and Secretary of the Old Coram Association. |
| Tue Jan 21st 2020 | AGM |
| Tue Feb 4th 2020 | Speaker: Jennifer Cowling - From the Page to the Stage Drawing from her experience of a lifelong hobby in amateur theatre, on and off the stage, the talk gives insight into what is involved in putting on a musical show. She answers the question often asked: "Why does it cost so much to see an AMATEUR show?" It explains that “amateur” only means “not paid” and in every other respect the aim is to be as professional as possible. Included is a short quiz for you to guess which songs are from which musical – time for toe-tapping. |
| Tue Feb 18th 2020 | Speaker: Keith Hooper - Jane Austen Keith’s area of expertise is Victorian literature. Awarded a doctorate from Exeter University for his work on Charles Dickens, his commissioned biography of the author came out in the Autumn. Available internationally and well reviewed, it seems to be selling well. Speaking on Dickens, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Bronte, he has appeared at literary festivals, county library sponsored events, U3A groups and historical societies. In addition to talking about the above, he is more than happy to talk about 'my experiences as a writer' - they have been the subject of three recent local BBC Radio interviews. |
| Outings | |
| Tue Nov 26th | Winchester Cathedral: The Friends of the Vale and Downland Museum are proposing a visit to Winchester, having had to cancel an earlier one because of a clash of dates, and have invited U3A members to join them. “Our proposed date is Tuesday 26th November. You will be able to visit the Christmas Market as well as the Kings and Scribes exhibition in the Cathedral. Nothing will be planned and you will be able to organise your day in any way you wish. Please note that, although entrance to the exhibition is free, there is a charge to enter the cathedral. We have not yet booked the coach and will not do so until we know if enough people are interested. The cost for the previous visit was £18 for Friends and £20 for visitors. We expect this might have to be increased slightly. If you think you might be interested in this trip please email friendsofvdm@gmail.com by Friday 4th October to let us know. Once there are enough people to make it viable we will go ahead and book the coach and send out definite arrangements. Please note that an expression of interest is not binding.” |
| Study Days | |
| Thu Nov 21st | Britain’s Ancient Past at Benson Parish Hall (waiting list only) |
| Tue Nov 26th | Committee Members’ Workshop, for existing and prospective committee members of U3As |
| Wed Mar 18th 2020 | The history of The Thames and its boats at The River & Rowing Museum, Henley |
| Thu Apr 23rd 2020 | Architecture Day at Benson |
| Fri May 29th 2020 | Geology of the Thames Valley and why we don’t have volcanoes, at Benson |
| Wed Jun 24th 2020 | Visit to RHS Wisley |
| Fri Jul 3rd 2020 | The Environment and Biodiversity at Benson |
| Social Events | |
| Thu Dec 12th | Christmas Lunch 12.30 for 1 pm. This year’s event will be at La Fontana, and we have to make our menu choices and full payment, by BACS preferably, or cheque to “Wantage and Grove U3A” by Tuesday 8th October. The menu has been circulated to all members and is available from Caroline Dunstan. There will also be a copy on the table at the main meeting on that day for last minute bookings. |
| Holidays | |
|
Mon Jun 8th 2020 →Fri Jun 12th 2020 |
U3A Holiday 2020 Yes, Vera has already started to make arrangements for us to go to the seaside in June next year! It will be at the Lindam Hotel, Lytham St Annes, from 8-12 June, and we have 30- yes 30!- single rooms at our disposal, with no single supplement. Double and twin rooms are also available. The cost for bed, breakfast and evening meal, with excursions to Lancaster, Bowness, Hawkshead and Liverpool is £369 per person. We need 35 people to make the trip viable, so if you would like to join in, please contact Vera Kastner on 771619. To secure your place, a deposit of £40 per person, in an envelope, cheques payable to “Wantage and Grove U3A” is required, preferably at the next main meeting. |
| Art Appreciation | |
| Tue Nov 26th | Subject to be decided, at Pauline's house |
| Film studies group | |
| Tue Nov 12th | Swimming with Men 2018 starring Rob Brydon and Rupert Graves. A man who is suffering a mid-life crisis finds new meaning in his life as part of an all-male, middle-aged, amateur synchronised swimming team. |
| Tue Dec 10th | The Greatest Showman 2017 starring Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams. Celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. |
| Gardeners | |
| Thu Dec 5th | The Beacon flowerbed, meeting at the Beacon 2.00 pm. |
| Thu Jan 2nd 2020 | No meeting |
| Genealogy | |
| Tue Nov 26th | Land and property records for the family historian. Local examples shown. |
| General Studies | |
| Thu Nov 21st | No meeting in November. |
| Historic Towns | |
| Mon Nov 25th | At a member's house. |
| Music Makers | |
| Wed Nov 13th | Grove Village Hall |
| Wed Nov 27th | Grove Village Hall |
| Musical appreciation | |
| Thu Nov 28th | Fireworks |
| Philosophy | |
| Mon Nov 25th | Watching film ”The Children Act” (based on book by Ian McEwan), at Liz’s house. |
| Poets and their Poetry | |
| Wed Nov 20th | at Sarah's flat. |
| Pub Lunches | |
| Thu Nov 14th | The Chequers, Charney Bassett. |
| Pub Quiz | |
| Tue Nov 12th | Abingdon Arms, Wantage |
| Tue Nov 26th | Abingdon Arms, Wantage |
| Scrabble | |
| Fri Nov 22nd | Linda's house |
| Fri Dec 27th | No meeting in December. |
| Walking A | |
| Sat Nov 23rd | No walks November – February. Walks resume in March 2020 |
| Walking B | |
| Mon Dec 9th | No further walks till season resumes in March 2020 |
| Writing for fun | |
| Fri Nov 15th | Write about "Time" or "Ancestors" or a subject of your choice |
| Fri Dec 20th | Write about "This Xmas Season" or "Xmas past or present" or a subject of your choice |