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Welcome to West Oxford U3A
The West Oxford branch of
the U3A, (the University of the Third Age), was created
in 1995. The U3A exists for a group of people to get
together to do things with everyone taking equal responsibility.
We meet on the 2nd and
4th Mondays except for July, August and December. Our year begins in September and ends in June, with the AGM being held
at the second meeting in May. Once the
membership fee is paid there is no further charge, although visitors make a
donation. Membership of West Oxford U3A does not cover membership of
Oxford U3A or Headington U3A.
The meetings take place at Dean Court Community Centre, Pinnocks Way,
Botley. The proceedings start at 2.15 pm and (fairly short)
notices are given before or after a talk as set out on your
programme. Tea and biscuits are always served after the talk. Please stay and use this time to
get to know new people and meet friends.
What’s happening? Recent & Upcoming
events. At our meeting on 22nd September Dr
David T Jones gave a fascinating talk entitled How Tropical Rainforests Work;
quite an eye-opener.
The
new u3a season began on a very positive note with our first branch meeting on 8th
September.
The
speakers were Ann and John Ford, who ran a business for some 25 years providing
Morris Minors and other classic cars to the Film, TV and Publishing industries.
They regaled the audience with anecdotes from their long career and their many
encounters with celebrities and other notables – all very discreet; no names
mentioned.
The
Fords had brought with them a wide array of photos and other memorabilia, and
they were dressed according to the fashion in the Morris Minor heyday. It was a
lovely presentation and well received by the audience.
Ann and John in period-appropriate outfits
At our next
meeting on 13 October Christine Green will talk about working for
the BBC for 13 Years as a Graphic Designer.
The Lunch Group started the season with a visit
to The Talbot Inn at Eynsham. The food was delicious and plentiful, but there
was still room for dessert.
The
food was plentiful
…
but there was still room for dessert
The
next lunch meeting will be on Monday 6th October, at The Greyhound, Besselsleigh.
Contact Person: Beverley Birmingham
– beverleyu3a@gmail.com
The Churches & Pubs Group had two
outings during the summer: The first was to
Rycote Chapel, which is part of the magnificent Rycote Manor at Albury;
and the second to the beautiful St Mary’s Church in North Leigh.
Rycote Chapel
St Mary’s North Leigh
The next group visit, on 3rd
October, will be to St Denys Church, Northmoor.
Contact Person: Lis Froggatt – l.froggatt66@outlook.com
UN OLDER PEOPLE’S DAY – WEDNESDAY
1ST OCTOBER - OXFORD TOWN HALL – 9 AM TO 3 PM
We
will be at the Older People’s Day 2025, to give information about us and our
activities. Like last year, we will share a stand with two other local u3a
branches.
This
is a major annual event where organisations – both public and private - present
their services to older people; in 2024 there were 72 exhibitors.
Here
are some pictures from last year:
 
 
It would be great if you could come along, to
visit our stand, chat to potential new members, and find out what else is going
on. There is a lot to see and learn.
The Gardening
Group has had a busy summer of visits. The first was to The Old Rectory at
Albury, near Thame, where the Lady of the Manor accompanied us on an extensive
tour of the gardens and grounds, including a sizeable lake. Afterwards we were
treated to tea and delicious home-baked cakes on the lawn. One of the dogs in
the household took a great interest in some of the visitors.
In the beautiful garden with a very attentive
dog
On 22nd July we were off to Heythrop,
where we had a private visit to Chivel Farm.
We received a very warm welcome from the owners, Mr and Mrs Sword; were
taken on a guided tour of the gardens which are, quite simply, stunning; and
were served tea and chocolate biscuits before heading home. A lovely afternoon.
With our charming hostess, Rosalind Sword
Contact Person: Mary Gregory
– mary@nandmg.me.uk
The intrepid members of the Walking Group have continued to brave the elements. Their walks
have taken them through parks, woods and lovely summer meadows.
In a lovely sunny summer meadow
Contact Person: Mary Chait – smchait@gmail.com
SIGs
A list of the Special
Interest Groups (SIGs) is on your programme and they are open to anyone who would like to
join. Just contact the person referred to as arranging the
meetings. If there is a group you would like to start then, if you
think the Committee can give you some help, please ask. For information about each SIG, please see the Groups section.
Newsletter The
membership fee
entitles you to the West Oxford U3A Newsletter which is sent out three
times per year, by email or (for those without an email connection) by
post. The
Newsletter is also published on this website under the 'News' section.
It is full of information about forthcoming events, both those
arranged
by this branch and also those organised by Thames Valley
Network. Please
be certain to look at the notice board at the back of the meeting room
for additional
details of outings and study days and also on www.u3atvnetwork.org.uk as
well as this website.
u3a National A membership
subscription is paid annually to the National U3A office. You
are entitled to attend the Summer Schools and other events. Details and costs
are on the National U3A website.
Queries Do raise any queries when
attending the meetings or contact the appropriate person in the 'Contact Us'
section. To join
West Oxford U3A or to renew your membership:
The
current annual subscription is £20 and subscriptions are due in September
each year.
We
recommend that you use our online membership facility
which can be
found in the Membership section.
However,
you may prefer to complete a paper membership application form which can be
obtained by email or post or will be available at meetings. If you do not
have a form please contact the membership secretary listed in the 'Contact
Us' section. Each
year new members are invited to a 'welcome lunch', which
gives them a chance to meet each other, the leaders of the Special
Interest Groups, and other volunteers.
Gift Aid on Membership Subscriptions Maximising our net income,
for the benefit of members, is a consideration in everything we do.
One way a member can help us
achieve this is by Gift Aiding their membership subscription. This enables
WOu3a to reclaim the tax portion of the payment (25p for every £1 donated) from
HMRC. To be eligible for Gift Aid, the member must:
· be a UK tax payer; and
· have paid an amount of tax
(income and/or capital gains) in the current tax year which is not less than
the Gift Aid claimed on this and any other such donations. The
relevant declaration and consent box is included in the online
Application Form which can be found in the Membership Section.
To send
an email to West Oxford U3A - please select the appropriate contact from the
'Contact Us' section on this website.
More information about how the U3A started, its benefits and services,
and other useful links can be found in the 'Links' section on this website.
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