Designed to keep you in touch

Welcome To Purbeck U3A AGM on Thursday 14 May 2009 at 2.30 pm at Furzebrook Village Hall And afterwards Listen to a short selection of songs From the Singing for Pleasure Group WhiLst enjoying a home made mini cake  With your refreshments
From the Chair Dear Members, March was a very busy month for U3A members with Mr Hugh Elmes giving a knowledgeable talk about the past of Wareham and with the performance of the musical, Oliver, which was greatly appreciated by members. The Committee would like to thank John and Jill for the amount of work they did to make the show such a success. I went to a meeting with two mayors and four representatives from Conches en Ouche. They came in response to a meeting last year by members of the ex Conches Society as they wished to keep in touch with Wareham. There is going to be a visit to Conches from 10 to 14 September and they wish all Societies to be invited. Mrs M Gomes-Maria is organising the trip and is hoping to get a grant from the EU. I don’t know whether any members would be interested. I do hope to see as many of you as possible at our annual AGM, see above. Doors will be open soon after 2 pm and don’t forget the final Social Meeting on Friday 8 May 10 for 10.30 at Furzebrook when Peter Sills will be talking about the History of the Clay Mining Railway. Jean Edwards  Editor’s error: line 3 of 4th paragraph in March edition should have read … Mike Shepherd (Chair 2005 – 2007) handed Grace Benoy her certificate for life long membership… Apologies, JC
Groups Science & Technology Roger Chambers The group meets at 10.00 in the Parish Hall in Wareham. Come early - refreshments are available before the start of each meeting. New members welcome – just turn up!  The programme for the rest of this year consists of visits to various places of interest. Please phone for details if you are interested. Tai Chi Allen Morgan Come and join us for Tai Chi and Chi Gong exercises. Designed for health, they improve the energy flows of the body, soften the joints and help with balance. You will be very welcome whatever your age. We meet on Wednesday afternoons at St Edwards Church Hall from 2.30 – 4 pm. The last meeting for this group will be Wednesday 20 May. U3A K9s Lucky 12 May Frolicking on Hartland Moor. Meet Scotland Green Farm 2 pm.   9June Sniffing along the Sika Trail, Wareham Forest – meet in car park 2 pm. 14 July call lucky for details. Wardles’ Walks (or Michael’s Meanders and Rita’s Rambles) We meet second Thursday of the month at 9.50 to start at 10.00. Walks normally last about 2 hours. Please wear stout shoes and bring rainwear: 7 May: Seacombe Bottom and Winspit. Meet in Worth Matravers car park, before the Square and Compass. Please note change of date. 4 June: Dancing Ledge and Blacker’s Hole. Meet in car park ¾ mile west of Langton Matravers at junction of roads to Kingston and Worth Matravers. This is the last walk this year; please note the date.
Group Profile: Drama …… of any dimension or age, but definitely ALIVE! Gentlemen to join our merry band of players……… You will be joining a group of enthusiastic people who love to entertain and amuse; (sometimes we amuse by accident but always with the best of intentions)! Most of us have had no previous acting experience whatsoever but have discovered the ‘bug’ in our later years. We meet regularly on a Tuesday morning (10.00 – 12.00) at Furzebrook Village Hall. This venue is not easy to get to without a car, but if that is a problem it may be solved quite easily. Just ring John for assistance. John is our director and producer along with his wife, Gill. We usually give two main performances per year, a pantomime or melodrama after Christmas and a short play or sketch at the AGM and the Christmas party though all this is variable. Rehearsals are hilarious, but you need never feel embarrassed because all of us manage to provide amusement at some stage. We have the love and support of our audience which follows our performances with dogged enthusiasm and approves of everything (well, nearly everything) that we attempt! Our next major production is ‘The Drunkard or Down with Demon Drink’ a melodrama which we hope to stage in the spring of 2010. Do come and see for yourself; you will be welcomed with open arms! New lady members are welcome too, of course. Ring John Almond if you are tempted at all.   Proposed New Groups Tony Capon is willing to start an ‘absolute beginners’ French group in the autumn. This is for members who did no French at school. Contact him ‘asap’ if you are interested.
Notice Board
Committee Meeting Amongst the items on the Agenda discussed at the recent Committee Meeting were: ·         Membership fees for the year 2009/10. It was decided that there was no need to raise the amount paid. More details will be presented to members at the AGM. ·         The Group Coordinator revealed that there had been three groups started or envisaged since January and that support was needed for them. (See above). ·         That whereas most group leaders had let him have details of their group membership, some had not contacted him still and others had not checked membership cards for the current year. A change in the joining procedure was suggested to help prevent this and was approved by the Committee. It will be put to Group Leaders at their meeting, which precedes the AGM. ·         Secretary / Editor stated that she would appreciate help with her duties and hopes that a member will be willing to come forward as a nominee for election to the Committee to help. Two Committee members gave notice that next year would be the last they would be willing to stand. More Committee members desperately needed, if only to ‘understudy’ those.   Next Committee Meeting: Wednesday 29 April, at the Old Brewery, Pound Lane, Wareham at 10.00. The next newsletter will go out during the week beginning 4 May 2009. Copy in before Thursday 30 April, please.
Contact Details
Your Committee 2008/09 Jean Edwards Chair   Marion Morris Vice Chair   Patrick Webb Treasurer   Janet Clark Secretary / Newsletter Editor   Nigel Tennant Membership Secretary   Robin Humphries Group Co-ordinator / Development Officer   Janet Jones Publicity   Check out our Website at: www.purbeckU3A.org.uk .Third Age Trust: www.u3a.org.uk