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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.

  

The speakers at our meeting on 28th October, Giles and Mark of Two Spoons Tea, were brilliant: knowledgeable, professional and very funny.

  

 

Giles and Mark

   

Giles and Mark, AKA “Big Spoon” and “Little Spoon” respectively, with their  Master Tea-Taster Spoons, awarded after five years of rigorous training.




MEETINGS IN NOVEMBER

 

On 11th  November, we will have a presentation about Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), one of the world’s foremost specialist hospitals for the care and treatment of children with major medical conditions.
 

GOSH

  

GOSH Children’s Charity conducts extensive fund-raising campaigns to support and enhance the work of the facility.

The talk will be given by Clive Mear, one of their volunteers, who has a personal family connection with the hospital.
 

At our meeting on 25th November Caroline Jackson-Houlston will give a  talk entitled “Fungi in Your Garden and Further Afield”.

Caroline, who teaches at Oxford Brookes University, is a student of literature, a botanical artist, and a student of fungi. In this talk she shares with us insights into the amazing world of fungi - in your garden and further afield.
 

Fungi

 

                                       This is one of Caroline’s wonderful photographs 

 

 

West Oxford u3a took part in Oxford’s Older People’s Day 2024 which was held on 1st October in the Town Hall.  It was a great event, with a huge number of organisations – public and private – presenting their services. We shared a table with the Oxford and Headington u3a branches, and had a nice time chatting to potential new members and future speakers.

 

Older

 

Older

 

Older  

Older 

 

Twenty-one members of the Churches & Pubs Group visited the Church of St Kenelm in Minster Lovell on 4th October.  Graham Kew, who has lived in Minster Lovell since the age of six, spoke to us about the Church, the Village, and his own experience of residing there. We learnt about the Lovel Family, in particular William, the seventh Baron Lovel, whose tomb is in the transept, and his Grandson Francis who fought on the side of Richard III and, probably, came to a sticky end.

The Church, which dates from the 15th Century, has only one tiny stained glass window, the rest  probably having been destroyed during times of  trouble.

 

kenelm

 

                          Some of the visitors in the chancel of the beautiful St Kenelm at  Minster Lovell

 

The next visit will be on 1st November, to St Mary Magdalen, Woodstock, with lunch at The Turnpike in Yarnton.

 

Contact Person: Lis Froggatt – l.froggatt66@gmail.com

 

 

On 10th October, the Lunch Group visited The Windrush Inn in Witney, which is a great place, with friendly and attentive staff and delicious food. We all enjoyed our lunch and most of us found the dessert menu irresistible.
 
Windrush
  
Windrush


The Group will meet again on 4th November, in Bella Italia, Marriotts Walk, Witney.

Contact Person
: Beverley Birmingham – beverleyu3a@gmail.com 

  

The weather has been so dreadful that our intrepid Walking Group have had to cancel several of their scheduled Friday walks. However, things improved and on 11th October they were able to take a lovely walk in the grounds of Blenheim Palace.

 

blenheim

 

                                                                          Freedom at last!
 
Blenheim
 
 
The Gardening Group held a garden party to celebrate having completed 50 ‘group events’ (visits, outings etc) since it started in 2016.

  

Contact Person: Mary Gregory – mary@nandmg.me.uk

 
 
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.

 

 

 

 


 



 Site last updated: 30 Oct 2024


 

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