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 Monday of each month, 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. We
have had some extremely well-received talks at our meetings this month.
On
12th October, we received a fascinating and very enlightening talk
from Riki Therivel of Botley Pantry, which is part of a wide-ranging network of
organisations involved in the redistribution of surplus food for the benefit of
the local community. Associated groups include Botley Community Larder, a food
club, and Botley Bikers, a volunteer cycling group which delivers food and
other items to people in need. Riki stressed that these activities are not just
for ‘poor people’; the main aim is to avoid food waste.
Our
speaker, Riki (second from right), with colleagues from associated groups - Jackie,
Gavin, Isabelle & Caroline On the
26th naturalist John Tyler made a welcome return visit, this time
talking about the Ridgeway. He spoke about the history of the road, and what it
was actually like walking it, from Ivinghoe to Avebury. At intervals he
interspersed the narrative with descriptions of local insects and plants, all supported
by lovely photographs.  John
Tyler (in blue shirt) with a few members of the large, and very appreciative,audience
Our
next meeting is scheduled for Monday
9th November, when Jim Donahue will talk about The Thames Valley. SIG
Update
The
Churches and Pubs Group visited the beautiful Church of St James the
Great in Radley and had lunch at the Bowyers Arms.
The
Walking Group went for a circular walk from Cumnor to Bablock Hythe and
came upon the Physic Well on the way back.
Some
of the walkers at the Holy Well
The
Physic Well is an historic holy well or sacred spring, featuring a stone
basin filled with cloudy turquoise water. The name points to a tradition of
supposed healing or medicinal properties. We understand that it has not been
used for a very long time.
Newsletter The
membership fee
entitles you to the West Oxford u3a Newsletter which is sent out three
times per year, by email. Members without an email connection can collect their copies at a Monday meeting. 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, if you prefer, complete a paper membership application form which can be
obtained by email or collected at Monday meetings. If you would like to send / receive documents by
post, then please contact the Membership Secretary, Pauline Simpson, on p-w-simpson@hotmail.co.uk. 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 across all Charities. 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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