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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 14th April we
received a talk entitled “Travels on the Silk Road – Across the Roof of the
World”. The speaker was writer and photographer Roger Butler, who told us
about a trip he had taken with a group of other travellers, some years earlier.
The journey started in Bangladesh, covered Nepal and Tibet, and finished in
Pakistan. At the time, travelling in
that part of the world was easier than now, in terms of rules and regulations.
However, members of the group were told that there were two pre-requisites – a
sense of humour and a cast-iron stomach!
 In addition to his beautiful photographs, Roger
had brought two props, a Yak-bell (quite tuneful) and a Camel-bell (not so
much)
Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday 28th
April, when Steve Dimmer will present an illustrated history of the “Carry On”
Films.
A
cheerful group of Members visited the BWM Mini-plant at Cowley on 17th March.
We had our own guide and were given access to most parts of the factory (apart from
the paint shop). It is an amazing place, automated to an extreme degree, where
robots have taken over a large part of the production, and ‘just-in-time’
really does rule.
A
huge thank-you to Ruth and Beverley for organising the event with such care.
Photography
is strictly forbidden in the factory, so the picture was taken in the visitors’
centre, where there is a lovely display of Minis; these evoked happy memories
for some of the visitors. For those who missed the outing, a visit is
strongly recommended, if the opportunity arises.
The Churches & Pubs Group visited All
Saints’ Church at Cuddesdon on 4th April, which was a beautiful day
with blue skies and a gentle breeze. Our very
knowledgeable guide, Robert Wilson, gave an interesting talk about
the church which was built, by Abingdon
Abbey, around 1180 and was substantially extended and modified over the
following seven centuries. 
Visitors
and guide posing for a group photo before proceeding to lunch at The
Bat and Ball. The following week, thirteen members of the Lunch
Group visited The Ferryman Inn. The pub is situated in a lovely spot by the
river Thames at Bablock Hythe, very picturesque.
There will be no lunch meeting in May, as the first
Monday is a Bank Holiday.
Contact
Person: Beverley Birmingham – beverleyu3a@gmail.com
Members of the Walking Group enjoyed a lovely
walk through Blenheim Park, followed by lunch in Woodstock. The sun came out,
which was a bonus and brightened their day even more.
Some of the walkers at magnificent Blenheim
Twenty
members of the Churches & Pubs Group visited the ancient and very
impressive Church of St Mary the Virgin in Kidlington, where our guide was Mr
Steve Handsley.
After
a group photo in front of the Church, we finished the visit with lunch at The
Jolly Boatman at Thrupp. 
The next group visit, on 4th April, will be to All
Saints Church in Cuddesdon, followed by lunch at the Bat & Ball in the
Village.
Contact Person: Lis Froggatt – l.froggatt66@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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