Slough U3A Newsletter, February 2017
The next monthly U3A meeting will be held at St Andrew’s Methodist Church Hall, Merton Road, Slough, SL1 1QW, on Wednesday 15 February from 2-4pm.
Chris Chadwell will talk about “PARADISE ON EARTH: The Beautiful Wild Flowers of Kashmir”. Local resident Chris is a freelance botanist and explorer who has led 24 botanical and plant hunting expeditions along the Himalaya.
Entry to the meeting is free to members as well as to first-time visitors.
Upcoming meetings:-
- Wednesday 15 March – Steve Moll – “The Fantastic World of Honeybees”
- Wednesday April 19th – Squadron Leader Garretts – “The Berlin Airlift”
- Wednesday May 17th – Ian Jones – “40 Years of Bomb Disposal – Still 10 Fingers”
Slough University of the Third Age welcomes retired and semi-retired people – those in their “third age” – who are interested in participating in any of our activities or groups.
Notices
Appeal for a Secretary
The wonderful secretary of our U3A Committee, Maggie, will be moving away shortly. Is there any member of our U3A who would like to help by keeping the minutes at committee meetings (once per month) and generally taking care of administration? Please contact our Chair, Richard Emerson.
Outings etc.
The first trip of the year, to Windsor Castle, was a great success. The Outings committee is now planning a trip to Bletchley Park, please tell Sue or Jan if you would like to take part.
The Art Group trip to St Ives (24 to 28 April) is undersubscribed – please let Bob know if you would like to come.
Update on U3A Groups
Salsa Dance
The first Salsa group will start on Friday 10th of February at 12 noon at St Marys Church Hall, St Marys Road, Langley. The group will be held twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month; there will be a cost of £2 per person which will go towards the hall hire, refreshment and resources.
Table Tennis and other activities
Table tennis has now acquired a second table so please join us and keep fit and well this winter. Bridge also is going from strength to strength (see below) and Darts has been added to the list of activities on offer. We meet at the Mencap centre, Horsemoor Green, Common road, Langley, every fortnight and the next meeting is on Feb. 9th, 10.30 to 12.30.
Beginners Bridge
The group has 8 enthusiastic members, and we are looking for more. We’ve now completed 2 sessions learning a simplified form of the game and are nearly ready to progress to the full version of the game. We meet in a quiet corner of the Mencap centre at the same time as the Table Tennis group.
Book Group
Opinions have been divided for the last couple of months about our books but last month we have all enjoyed Tracy Chevalier’s “The Last Runaway”. Our next read is “Rivers of London” by Ben Aaranovitch and as that has been described as a sort of Harry Potter crime story some of us are really unsure…..
What’s on around Slough?
Slough Older Peoples’ Forum meets monthly at Kingsway United Reformed Church, Church Street Slough SL1 1SZ. Meetings start at 1:30 pm
- Thursday 19th January – Safety at Home.
- Thursday 16th February – Fire Service consultation on re-ordering of local Fire services
- Thursday 16th March – Falls & Things.
Chair Yoga improves your health, relieves your pain and improve flexibility.12:00 to 13:00, every Tuesday at the Main Hall, 29 Church Street, Slough. £2 per session to cover costs.
Free Active Life sessions for those over 50. Walks, yoga, seated exercise, Pilates, Bowls etc etc at various venues across Slough, organised by the Active Slough team. Download leaflet here or phone 01753 875177.
Slough Senior Citizens offer Yoga & keep Fit sessions every week at Brook House, 61 High Street, Chalvey. Yoga is every Tuesday, and Keep Fit every Thursday; sessions run from 11 to 12. Call 01753 537996 for more information. Web: www.sloughseniors.co.uk
Rotary’s annual Slough Together Charity Walk will be on Saturday 29th April 2017. Last year we raised over £25,000 for over 35 different charities – help us to do even more this year. The Walk starts and ends at Upton Court Park, Slough, with a route along the Jubilee and Thames rivers. Full details are on the Slough Rotary website: www.sloughrotary.org.uk/walk/
Forthcoming events at The Curve Slough’s new community centre & library www.thecurveslough.com.
- Health and Fitness Awareness Day – Wednesday 15 February starting at 11am. Come and see the Active Slough team who will to promote a healthier and active lifestyle – Phone 01753 477376 to know more. Discover what you can get involved in across town; Includes taster sessions in physical activity, blood pressure and cholesterol checks, carers support & Macmillan Cancer support
- Slough Arts Forum – Thursday 23 Mar at 19:00. An evening for Slough based artists and local arts organisations to discuss their work and future collaborative work.
Carers Week 2017 from 12-16 June. At last year’s Carer’s Week, carers were able to attend pamper sessions, yoga classes and Bhangra dancing. We are determined to make Carers Week 2017 even better than last year and we need your help to do it! Tell us what events you would like to see during the week. If you would like to get involved please email Slough Carers Support at sloughcarers@gmail.com or phone 01753 303428.
The next meeting of Langley Neighbourhood Forum will be held at Langley Hall Primary Academy, in the centre of Langley, on Tuesday 7th March at 7.00pm. Speaker will be Simon Board, the Director of Slough Social Services.
U3A Local Study Days
- “Heritage Crafts & Industries” on 12th April 17 at St Paul’s Parish Rooms, Wokingham. Flyer & Application
- “Social History of the Thames Valley” on 17th May 2017 at the River & Rowing Museum, Henley. Poster & Application
- “The work of William Morris” on 10th August 2017 at Kelmscott Manor – more details soon
U3A Principles and Membership
The U3A approach to learning is “learning for pleasure”. There is no accreditation or validation and there are no assessments or qualifications to be gained. Members share their knowledge, skills and experience, learning from each other; the teachers learn and the learners teach. You can find out more about the University of the Third Age at the national website www.u3a.org.uk
Membership of Slough U3A for 2016/2017 is £20 per annum. Subscription monies will be used to pay for (among other things) hire of the hall, speakers’ expenses, magazines & newsletters during the coming year.
Web: www.sloughU3A.com Email: info@sloughU3A.com
Slough U3A 