NWU3A NEWS
Issue No.10 November 2010
1. From the NW Trustee
Dear Colleague,
Can I remind you all that there are two U3A surveys around both of which want answers by mid-December. The National one needs a single considered reply from each U3A. Please consult at the least your committee and preferably more widely (particularly your group leaders). The Regional Questionnaire is different and we would welcome replies either collectively or individually. Again please involve your group leaders at an absolute minimum. How to get to both questionnaires is outlined on the NW website. Some people have had difficulty with downloads of the regional one. All I can suggest is to 'select all', 'copy', open a new .doc or .odt document, 'paste' into this, select all this new document and change font to say Ariel Narrow and say 11pt., save and you should be OK.
On Networks, the Pennine Link is looking as if it will be re-born, and there is talk of a new network covering a small group of new or nearly new U3As in the Bramhall, Wilmslow area. I am still hoping to visit all networks and have added the SE Cheshire and North Staffs Network to those I have visited. I hope to attend SW Lancs soon and would welcome invitations from others. We are in the process of starting 4 new U3As in the southern half of the region. Holmes Chapel, Wilmslow and St Helens all look to be progressing very well and will be mid sized U3As from birth which is great. Poynton is being launched later in November. Bramhall may get to over 500 members after only one year.
Please note that minutes of National Meetings are on the National U3A website and appear soon after they are approved at the next NEC meeting (ie after a total delay of 2 months from the actual meeting). The last meeting in mid october was quite a lively affair and I believe we may have got proceedures streamlined and arranged a more sensible structure and composition for subcommittees. I am continuing on the Standing Committee on Education and am joining the Finance and General purposes committee which should now meet more regularly and have a better defined role. These minutes should appear on the National Website soon after the 8.12.2010 meeting and do make interesting reading.
We are pleased to welcome Southport U3A to the fold of NW U3As. We look forward to them participating in our activities.
John Ellison – NW Regional Trustee 01524 733400 17 November 2010
2. News from NWREC
There was a committee meeting earlier this week when we reviewed recent events and made detailed decisions on the events early in 2011 which are advertised below.
We also learned that Eva Wilkie was resigning from the committee and David Starling thanked her for her contributions. At our January meeting we may well co-opt an additional committee member as a replacement for the period till our AGM in May 2011
29thOctober Seminar on running your U3A was very well supported and very popular with 4 parallel sessions. Financially it almost broke even despite the low participation fee. The committee would like to thank all participants, especially those who led sessions.
13th January Regional Conference at Lancaster (Next to Rail Station) is now fully defined with the details and an application form as Appendix 1 to this Newsletter. This year we will be welcoming Mike Long and Terry Hardy from the Third Age Trust. Please take advantage of this event to meet and discuss matters with National and Regional U3A people.
22nd March 2011 study day at Carlisle on Romans and Reivers is also fixed and details and an application form are at Appendix 2 to this Newsletter. This day will explore the impact the Romans & Reivers have had on the Border area. The event will be hosted at Tullie House where Curators of this highly regarded Museum will present studies which will also be linked to visiting the Musuem areas housing a wealth of lively history. In addition it is anticipated that other venues close to Tullie House, such as the Cathedral will provide an opportunity to further appreciate this historic City.
26-28 April 2011 Myerscough Easter School is now booking up well and full information and an application form was appended to newsletter no 9 or can be downloaded from the NW U3A Website.
20 May 2011 Distinguished Lecture and NW Region AGM at Liverpool. This event will be an afternoon one with a similar format to last year. A lecture for a general audience followed by our AGM. The lecture this year will be given by Prof Carole Mundell on Black Holes. She has an excellent reputation both as an experimental Astronomer and for her talks to lay audiences. Application forms soon but please put this event in your Diary.
Further events are currently being planned for later in the year.
- A study day on Art and Architecture (ideas welcome)and
- A U3A singing event. We know that there are quite a few active singing groups in the NW U3A Region. Ideas for the event include a programme with each group performing some individual items and part of the time being used for pre-rehearsed pieces with all groups participating. There could be a light hearted competitive element. If each of the U3As with larger singing groups participating hired a coach and filled this with the singers and 'supporters' from their U3A then we should have perhaps up to 500 people in total. One assumes local U3A members would be sufficiently interested to produce a significant audience in addition to the 'supporters'. We could also advertise tickets to the general public. In investigating possibilities I found interest across the whole region. In which part of the region should we meet? What sort of venue should we consider? Should we consider a weekend date or only week dates? How can we canvas opinions from relevant people? Should we try to get singing group leaders together? Please contact John Ellison asap with ideas.
- Would U3As be interested in a study day for group leaders/coordinators in specific subject areas, meeting to discuss both their experiences and possible collaborations. This would require a venue with a largish number of relatively small rooms so that a reasonable number of different subject groups could meet on the same day. As some participants might be interested in more than one subject we could arrange it so that each subject session was only half a day so that people could go to one in a morning and another in the afternoon. This option would require fewer rooms to be available.
The committee noted that the Third Age Trust were now expecting Regions to play a major role in Shared Learning Projects and are aware that our knowledge of what is going on, is planned for the future or is being vaguely considered is almost certainly incomplete. So will all our readers please let Mary-Ann Renton () know of current or planned projects so that she can help in this area and have full information.
The next NWREC meeting will be 25th January 2011 when we expect to finalise some events for later in the year.
FOR INFORMATION
We are happy to include pieces on Network Activities or items from U3As which are relevant to other local U3As in these Newsletters and on our website. These should be future events that are available for members of NW U3As. Please send by email to . We do not have fixed publication dates for newsletters so send items as soon as possible. In all cases the editors reserve the right to omit or edit items submitted. As always 'the editors’ decision is final'!
APPENDIX 1
NORTH WEST REGION
REGIONAL CONFERENCE at FRIENDS' MEETING HOUSE, LANCASTER
(next to Lancaster rail station)
13 January 2011 10.30 till 16.30
There will be Plenary sessions only
10.30 Arrival, registration and refreshments
11.00 Session 1 - DEVELOPMENTS
1 Role of the NEDO and EDOs and general development and educational matters – Mike Long (NEDO)
2 The role of EDCs and the development team -NW team
3 Ideas for avoiding closed U3As and closed groups – Mike Long (NEDO)
3. Are there limits to size of a U3A? Comments from a large U3A, a medium sized U3A and a small U3A
The problems of Monthly Meeting venue size limits. - various
12.45 Buffet Lunch
13.30 Sessoion 2 – SUPPORT FOR U3As
1 What the Region can do for U3As – David Starling (Chair NWREC)
2 What the Regional Questionnaire is telling us - Meg Shaw.(NWREC)
3. What the Third Age Trust can do for U3A members -Terry Hardie (National Treasurer)
4. What the National Questionnaire will tell us.- John Ellison (Regional Trustee)
15.00 Session 3 – Panel discussion and questions – Terry Hardie, Mike Long, John Ellison, Chaired and Introduced by David Starling (if you have questions that may require research please let us have them in advance)
.
16.00 Refreshments
Meeting should finish at about 16.15
Lunch and refreshments are included. This is a meeting where up to 2 nominated representatives per U3A can have free admission (financed through Third Age Trust) and other U3A members can attend subject to space being available at a cost of £6 per person for the lunch and refreshments. Applications on the form below (including a cheque for £6 payable to NW Region of U3As from those wishing to attend who do not expect to be nominated delegates from their U3A - if in doubt about whether you will be nominated by your U3A please send a cheque which will not be cashed until after 3rd January to give your U3A time to make nominations). Overall numbers are limited and priority will be given to nominated delegates up till 3rd January. If we are then oversubscribed we shall consider overall numbers from your U3A and order of arrival of your application. So apply NOW!
APPLICATION FORM
NW U3A REGIONAL CONFERENCE
13th January 2011
Please return this form to be sent to John Ellison, 4 Crag Bank Crescent, Carnforth, LA5 9EQ preferably by 3rd January 2011
NAMEU3A
ADDRESS
POSTCODE
TELEPHONE-NUMBEREMAIL-ADDRESS
Special dietary requirements
Are you
1. definitely a delegate from your U3A? or
2. probably a delegate from your U3A or
3. possibly a delegate from your U3A or
4. not expected to be a delegate from your U3A.
(please tick one of these and if you are in category 3 or 4 include a cheque for £6 payable to NW region of U3As. If you subsequently are nominated by your U3A BEFORE 3rd January your cheque will not be cashed.)
Please return this form as soon as you possibly can and, if at all possible, by 3rd Jan 2011. Refunds are not possible (but late substitutions are in order) as we need to fix numbers with caterers.
APPENDIX 2
NORTH WEST REGION
ROMANS AND REIVERS
BASED AT THE HISTORIC TULLIE HOUSE MUSEUM, CARLISLE
22nd March 2011 10.30 till 16.30
The day will be based on the Tullie House Museum with a talk by the Curators on Romans in the area which forms a major part of the Museum display. There will also be a talk on the Reivers whos exploits are also well represented in the Museum. In addition there will be a conducted walk round the historic city, a visit to the Cathedral and possibly other attractions. The cost including all admissions, lunch and refreshments morning and afternoon will be £20 per person.
Applications to Peter Monaghan by the 15th January please
APPLICATION FORM
NW U3A STUDY DAY CARLISLE ON ROMANS AND REIVERS
22nd March 2011
Please return this form to
Peter Monaghan, The Old Farmhouse, Springfield, Gretna, Dumfriesshire, DG16 5EH
by 15th January 2011 if possible.
NAME U3A
ADDRESS
POST CODE
TELEPHONE NUMBER EMAIL ADDRESS
Special dietary requirements
Please return this form with a cheque for £20 as soon as you can and, if possible, by 15th January 2011. Refunds are not possible (but late substitutions are in order). The cost includes lunch, refreshments morning and afternoon and all admissions.