October 2016

The next monthly U3A meeting will be held at St Andrew’s Methodist Church Hall, Merton Road, Slough, SL1 1QW on Wednesday 19th October from 2-4pm. This is also our AGM.

The diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) lived through interesting and turbulent times, witnessing at first hand the Great Plague, The Fire of London and the restoration of the monarchy, among much else. Pepys is the subject of a talk by Colin Oakes, a “blue badge” London guide. (Portrait: Samual Pepys by John Hayls)

Entry to the meeting is free to members and first-time visitors.

Upcoming meetings:-

16 November – Simon Williams on “Eyewitness”
14 December – PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE – Christmas special
18 January – TBA

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.

Newcomers can find out more about us by coming to one of our monthly meetings. Doors open at 1:30 pm with announcements and speaker starting at 2pm. Towards the end of the meeting refreshments are available, and there is opportunity to find out about activities and planned outings. Parking nearby is available at Hatfield Road multi-storey (£1.10 for 2 hours) or there is free parking in Upton Court Park.

New Activities and Groups

Philosophy

Members who are interested in starting a Philosophy group are invited to an informal get together at Eleanor’s house on Thursday October 20^th at 10.30 am.

Table Tennis

A taster day will be held on Thursday, Nov 3^rd, 10.30 to 12.30 at The Mencap Centre [formerly Horsemoor Green Community centre], Common Road, Langley, SL3 8JU. In addition to Table Tennis other activities like pool, air football, some board games and chess will be available.

We hope this will become a weekly event. This first session will be free, but there will be a small charge for future Thursdays in order to pay for hall hire.

German Beginners – please contact Margaret Matthews if you are interested to join this group

Activity Group News

Play Reading

This Monday 10 October we will be reading ‘The Bald Prima Donna’ Translated and Adapted by Donald Watson. We are still open for members to join our group.

Drawing Group

The Drawing Group has had its first outdoor sketching session at St. Laurence Church, Upton which went very well. Further outdoor sessions will take place but it depends on the weather being favourable.

French group

The French group meet on the first Wednesday of each month. Our meetings try to incorporate all the different skills needed to enjoy learning a language. Each member of the group has different experiences of learning French and visiting France so everyone contributes to our interest and enjoyment.

Create & Craft Group

(This group is hosted by St Andrew’s Church and is open to all). The craft group varies in number each week but we are growing in numbers, and had 21 people at lunch time at the last meeting. We are busy making Christmas cards at the moment and making spice bags for refugees in Calais.

Book Group

We have nearly completed our first year and initial list of books supplied by Slough library. We are looking forward to choosing next year’s list. This month’s book Brick Lane by Monica Ali seems to have very mixed reviews and next month’s book will be a surprise.

Creative Writing.

Who is the traveller? What is the house? Who are the phantom listeners? These are the questions about De la Mare’s enigmatic poem “The Listeners” that the Creative Writing Group will be answering , from imagination not research, for their next task. Any genre is encouraged and the results should be interesting.

Outings

During September, the Art Appreciation Group visited the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition at the Tate Modern, and the Outings Group enjoyed a tour of the London Wetlands centre. Both trips were very successful!

What’s on around Slough?

Slough Older Peoples’ Forum. Meets monthly at Kingsway United Reformed Church, Church Street Slough SL1 1SZ.

Octobers’ Forum meeting on Thursday 20th October 1.30 – 3.30pm will have a short talk of ‘Food Waste’ given by two members of the committee and then a discussion around the impact of the recent changes to First Bus routes and timetables. Changes to local social care services may also be discussed.
Novembers’ Forum meeting is a week earlier than usual on the Thursday 10th November, starting at 10:30. This is the annual information day, with a number of talks and groups on the theme of Health & Safety.

Slough Co-operative Film Society’s Autumn Season is in full swing! On 18th October they screen “Love and Friendship”. Walt Stillman brings his trademark witty style to this early unpublished Jane Austen novella, while Kate Beckinsale excels as the scheming heroine in this hilarious comedy of errors. All screenings are held at 8.00pm on Tuesdays at Datchet Village Hall, 3 Allen Way (off Horton Road), Datchet SL3 9HR.

Chair yoga sessions take place in the Community Hub at 29 Church Street, Slough every Tuesday starting from 4th October between at 12:00. Each session last one hour. Please drop in and no booking necessary. Two pounds per session.

Apna Virsa is offering a new experience at Holy Family Church, 226 Trelawney Avenue, Langley – it’s “Bhangra for Carers” every Thursday at 11 am for the next 10 weeks. The class is open to carers only, and is free. 07598 – 533 336 for more information.

Women of Slough – Design your own bra & have afternoon tea in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support!

Wednesday 5th October 10.30 –12.30pm. St. Mary’s Church Hall, Church Lane, Wexham SL3 6LH
Monday 10th October –12-2pm Langley Library Trelawney Avenue.
Monday 24th October—12-2pm. Cippenham Library Elmshott Lane.
Wednesday 26th October—12-2pm Britwell Library Wentworth Avenue.

Don’t forget, bring your Bra to decorate!!

Maidenhead Combined Charities Fair is on Saturday 5^th November in Maidenhead Town Hall from 10:00 am. The Lion’s Club organises the fair on behalf of many local charities. Gifts, Tombola, Cards, Toys, Crafts, Cakes, Bargains!!

Windsor Theatre Guild Autumn Production – “The Scales of Justice” – 8 to 11 November, performed within the magnificent setting of the Guildhall, Windsor SL4 1LR. Based on a true story, the play is a fascinating exploration of the nature of British justice and sense of fair play – http://www.wtg.org.uk

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 http://www.u3a.org.uk/