February 2018
Slough U3A Newsletter, February 2018
The next monthly meeting of Slough U3A will be held on February 21st at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Merton Road, Slough. At this meeting, Andrew Hanson will address us with the intriguing title “Ten Odd Things to Measure”
Andrew is a research physicist at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) as well as an experienced and entertaining speaker. He will outline some of the strangest things NPL has been involved in, supplemented with a lively set of demonstrations and illusions. A clue – one of them involves cats!
Upcoming U3A general meetings at St Andrew’s: –
- March 21st – Tom Jarvis, Parks Superintendent on The Crown Estate
- April 18th – Brad Ashton talks about “The Job of a Laughtime”
- May 16th – David Sutherland tells us about Aquabox
Entry to our general meetings is free to members as well as to first-time visitors.
Slough U3A welcomes retired and semi-retired people – those in their “third age” – who are interested in participating in any of our activities or groups.
U3A Notices and Groups
Eleanor says: – I think we can say the Story Telling group is well and truly launched. At our first meeting, 9 people attended and 3 sent apologies. We plan to meet on the 4th Friday of each month (next one being 23rd February at 10:00 at 15 Courtlands Avenue SL3 7LD). Three people in the group have offered to host future meetings so the venue will change from time to time. We had a great time this morning, lots of laughter, funny stories, stories full of pathos and some slightly serious notes as well.
Outings – our outings committee is busy planning some interesting trips for 2018. First will be Hampton Court during March, then the Mere in May.
Our Play Reading Group are just starting “The Queen and I” by Sue Townsend (author of Adrian Mole) – a hilarious fantasy in which Britain has become a republic, and Her Majesty retires to a council estate in the Midlands. We’re very keen to recruit new play readers to the group!
What’s on around Slough?
Slough 50plus Forum meets at 1:30 on the third Thursday of each month at Kingsway United Reformed Church, Church Street SL1 1SZ
- February 15th looking at transport with Councillor Martin Carter – SBC Cabinet member for transport.
- March 15th – The merger of the NHS Commissioning Groups across East Berkshire; how will it affect us?
Coming events at Slough Curve community centre: –
- Bring Your Own Future Exhibition. A watercolour adventure of Slough; see your town as never before. BYOF’s exhibition of traditional paintings and virtual reality headsets explores the collision of the art of watercolour and the digital landscapes of virtual reality. From 24 Feb to 31March in The Gallery.
- International Women’s Night will be a fantastic evening of poetry, discussion and theatre. Featuring established and up and coming professional Slough Artists. Friday March 19th at 7:30
Heathrow Airport Expansion – how will it affect you? A 10-week consultation has been launched to allow the public to voice their views on Heathrow expansion. It comes to Slough on Wednesday 28 February, 12pm-8pm at The Curve in central Slough.
Concert in aid of Save the Children on Saturday March 3rd at 7.30pm at St Mary’s Church, Langley SL3 7EL. Featuring Berkshire Recorder Consort, Absolute Harmony (Royal Holloway’s very own a cappella vocal group), with Liam Condon on organ. Tickets £10 on the door or from Liz Jones – 01753 540148.
The Slough Half Marathon is set to make its return to the borough on Sunday 14 October following an 18-year hiatus. Runners can book their place at Slough’s newest sporting event online at: www.slough.gov.uk/halfmarathon.
This year Slough Together Charity Walk is being held on Saturday 5th May 2018. The Rotary Club of Slough are very excited to present the Walk together with Wexham Park Hospital. Enjoy 5 gentle miles of your local, beautiful Thames and Jubilee riversides. Our Pledge: All the funds raised by your members and friends are retained by your charity. Full details are on our website: www.sloughrotary.org.uk/walk/.
A couple of events at Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens, Church Lane, SL2 4NZ.
- On Thursday, 15 Feb at 1 pm – Come and join us for our annual Snowdrop Walk. No need to sign up. Look forward to seeing you there!
- And Monday, 26 Feb our head gardener Frank will conduct a hands-on introduction to Rose Pruning from 1.30 – 3.30 pm. Come along, bring your secateurs and stay for a cup of tea afterwards!
Slough Borough Council’s parks team are calling for volunteers to help out in the borough’s parks and open spaces. There are a range of activities to help with including planting beds, removing weeds, clearing litter and branches from grass and pathways, repairing ponds and even building new pathways. To volunteer your time, email parks@slough.gov.uk or call 01753 875514.
Free Wills Month starts on 1st March, supported by a number of national charities. If your Will is not up to date, now’s your chance to put it right with the help of a local solicitor. The campaign will be running in March– please check the Free Wills Month website on 1st March to find out more.
Meet & Mingle is a community group based in Slough which organises a range of activities for women only, in Chalvey, Montem, and Wexham. Activities include knitting, sari workshops, Zumba, yoga, dance, cinema, and outings. They also have a Cancer support group which meets once a month (in collaboration with Macmillan). Click here for a full timetable.
Chalvey Community Forum Next meeting: Wednesday, 21st February at 7:30 pm. Venue: The Hangout @ YMCA, Ladbrooke Road. SL1 2SR. We’ll discuss proposals for redevelopment of Chalvey which will see the existing shopping centre and the Community Centre replaced by a new, large school. (Plans may be viewed in the Chalvey Community Centre).
Comic Relief Coffee Morning and Cake Sale, on Saturday 24th March at 10am Burnham Library.
Slough Townswomen’s Guild meets on 3rd Tuesday of the month at 19:30 at Kingsway United Reformed Church in Church St SL1 1SZ.
Slough Philharmonic Concert at 7.30 pm on Saturday 10th March 2018 at Caldicott School in Farnham Royal, featuring works by Dvořák, Rachmaninov, and Tchaikovsky. Click Here for details and to book tickets
U3A National & Regional Events
There are a wide range of study days available nearby, open to U3A members only. For a complete list, click on one of these links: National events & Thames Valley & Surrey. Here are a few of them:
- March 16 – Vincent Van Gogh in Cobham
- March 13 – Spanish Treasures: Spanish Paintings at the National Gallery
- March 19 – U3A Explores Science. Colour perception and smart materials! Royal Institute, London.
- March 26 –The Journey to Democracy at the British Library. As we celebrate the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which ushered-in a new era of democratic rights for women, journey through the British Library’s unique collections on a day of talks and debate
- Dunkirk & Little Ships on 19th June at Henley’s River & Rowing Museum
Summer schools
U3A Summer Schools are a unique learning experience. This is only possible because our tutors – who are members of U3As from across the UK – bring with them an impressive array of experience and knowledge. They give up a significant amount of their time to provide attendees with a high quality, active learning experience which is both participatory and enjoyable
The South-East Region school runs at the University of Chichester from 18th to 21st June. There are 13 courses on offer covering such diverse topics as Bridge, Rituals, Knitting, Mah-Jong, Jazz, and Autobiography. Full list here.
The National schools, held in July and September, provide an exciting programme covering 19 courses. The wide range of subjects on offer include Opera, French, Cryptic Crosswords, Maths, Art Between the Wars, Musicals and writing a TV Soap! Click here to see the programs
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 is £20 per annum, giving unlimited access to our groups and activities. If you join now, membership is valid until 31 August 2018. Subscription monies are used to pay for hire of premises, speakers’ expenses, magazines, newsletters, postage etc. during the coming year.
Click here to subscribe to future editions of our newsletter.