Wirksworth & District

Events

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
COFFEE MORNINGS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

This page give details of events open to all members.
These maybe organised locally by individual groups opening an invitation to all,or nationally, regionally or via the U3A network.
For any events organised by individual groups for that group only, please visit the relevant interest group page.

We hold monthly coffee mornings where all are welcome. These are on the first Wednesday of each month in The Memorial Hall, Wirksworth.
They start at 10.15am and usually finish around 12.00 noon.
There is a charge of £1.00 to cover the cost of hiring the hall. A voluntary donation for a cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit would be very welcome.

Do come along, meet friends, make new friends or take up a new interest by joining one of the many interest groups.
You may come along to 2 meetings before you decide whether or not to join the U3A.
Each month we invite a speaker who has been selected from a list of interests voted on by members, aiming to be locally based and outward looking.
Please see the link for future events.

We have had well received presentations so far, including working in Non-Governmental Organisations in areas hit by disaster, from Hannah Reed, a locally based Aid worker, a local community theatre group researching Suffragettes, Transition, talking about locally based response to global environmental issues, a speaker from the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust talking about their work in our area, and our local geology.

Presentations take place monthly at the General Meeting.
To see details of our past speakers please go to the "past events" page.

Future topics for presentations will be taken from the list suggested by members and dates and speakers will be added to the website and advertised as they are confirmed.

We are pleased to announce that we now have a voice amplification system to overcome some of the poor acoustics in the hall.

February 2020 - Nominations for an Oscar
Gavin Muschamp was the brainchild behind a very successful "Wirksworth U3A's Got Talent" show held in Middleton village hall. The hall was packed with members and many others from the area.
Such were the numbers that raffle tickets sold out and we had to improvise on scraps of paper.
We were treated to a wide repertoire of poetry, readings and music from blues to soprano, We finished the evening's entertainment with a lively selection of songs from the UKWirks ukulele band, before the audience danced away a delicious buffet with a disco.
Many thanks to Gavin and his work party for such an enjoyable and successful evening.
Photos courtesy of Mike Lewis
You can also seen some additional photos sent by Phil Richards by clicking on the following link
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9xdgwo908f0xw9d/AABg4PJYSbrPNGU4HCINRl5Ma?dl=0.

Tickets are now on sale for our next social event - a barn dance.
See below for details

February general meeting
We had a very exciting and inspiring talk from Eric Keeler, a young man who raised £12,500 for the charity Spinal Research by running solo diagonally across America.
Eric set out from his home in Chesterfield in April 2018 and returned home at the end of the same year having completed a 3,700 mile run across the States from Maine on the North East coast to San Diego on the South West coast. His only companion was a running buggy which carried everything he would need for the next 7 months.
A number of photos gave us some understanding (although difficult to fully comprehend) of the terrain Eric crossed, from mountains to desert with temperatures reaching 48 degrees Celsius.
From surviving a near collision with a careless trucker to fortuitously avoiding a number of tornados.
His only weapon to fend off any attack by animals was some bear spray, a pocket penknife and a stick.
In total, Eric's fundraising has raised £22,000.
If you wish to know more about this incredible feat you can see more by seeing Eric's blog on www.CornerToCorner.run
or you can donate to the charity, Spinal Research by clicking on the link on the right hand side of this page.
Many thanks to Eric who held us all spellbound with his exciting account of his adventures.

Eric would like to thank all members who came along to his talk and contributed to the charity Spinal Research. He raised £90.00.