Thameside (Wallingford) U3A
IUniversity of the Third Age
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Last revised: 04 February 2008
Thameside U3A's Meetings & Outings .
Meetings are held in the Baptist Church, Thames Street, Wallingford.
2008
20th. February Wed. Talk: Our Amazing Heritage, by Christopher Claxton
27th February Visit: Kew Gardens, and The Poppy Factory
19th March Wed. Talk: The Amersham Martyrs, by Colin Oakes
28th March Fri. Visit: to Cirencester
16th April Wed. Talk: Facing the Camera, by Zena Skinner
25th April Fri. Visit: A Guided Walk in London - The City Churches of Wren & Hawksmoor
MAY - AGM
Do note that Outings Booking forms must be sent in A.S.A.P. because guests and Wallingford U3A members may book in a fortnight after the form is issued. Similarly, we may book to join some Wallingford U3A outings.
About Thameside U3A
"Learning after Earning"
The Themeside (Wallingford) branch of the U3A was formed in 1985 and now has 250 members.
- Thameside U3A Meetings are held monthly, at which there is a Speaker. Additionally, there are visits organised, for example to Stately Homes, fine Gardens, & Cities of interest, as well as Abroad.
Members also organise their own Special Interest Study Groups and pursue whatever studies they choose. This is the main thrust of U3A: Study, but there are no exams. These Groups meet in private homes and usually number 6 to 12 people. Groups also organise their own outings or talks.
Thameside (Wallingford) U3A arranges a programme of monthly talks, special interest groups, study groups, and outings. This branch is managed by a Management Committee, which meets regularly. Committee members are elected by members of the branch at an Annual General Meeting and arecommitted to promoting the life long learning and social needs of its members.
The Principal Officers for 2006/7 are:
Chairman - John Cozens
Secretary - Audrey Maple
Treasurer - Sheila Findlay
Membership - Milli Eaton
Groups Co-ordinator - Maureen Le Jeune
Outings - Pauline Alexander
The membership year runs from 1st of April, and the annual subscription is £10 per person. There is no charge to members for attendance at monthly meetings, for monthly newsletters, or for interest groups. Visits and coffee mornings are charged on a cost only basis.
Anyone interested in applying to join is invited to contact the Membership Secretary, Milli Eaton, telephone no. 01494 835689 or email mailto:milli@gotadsl.co.uk We have no limit on our membership numbers, and are delighted to welcome new members at any time.
About U3A in general
The University of the Third Age
The University of the Third Age originated in 1972 in France with strong government financial and administrative support.
The University of the Third Age in the UK was started by the creation of the Third Age Trust as a registered charity and limited company in 1982. In the UK there was no governmental support or support from the universities and the organization was based upon self-help and voluntary effort with Third Agers relying upon their own efforts and experience and skills. It remains largely the case to this day, although there is considerable support for the whole concept of lifelong learning, and a number of U3As have benefited from the award of lottery grants to help with the purchase of equipment and general development.
The U3A is an Autonomous Association and is registered as a Charity (No. 1078824). All of its members contribute their own time and effort on a voluntary basis. The U3A is affiliated to the national Third Age Trust.
Each U3A is autonomous and self-governing whilst adhering to the basic principles set out in The Third Age Trust charter for U3As. The main purpose remains to encourage lifelong learning for those no longer in full time employment.
It is a basic tenet that learning is for pleasure and no qualifications are sought or awarded. The U3A movement has experienced explosive growth since it was first established in the UK in the early 1980s. Today there are well over 500 individual U3As with a total membership of over 130,000 and the number of U3As and members continues to grow.
one that sticks in the memory:
PRAGUE
Prague: Four Days in October 2000, for 30 people from Thameside & Wallingford U3As
Prague, ah!, Prague. What a city. It's got everything: The river Vltava, surrounding hills, more baroque architecture than you could wish for in one place, a history that leaves you wondering how so much has survived, plus warm sunshine and Autumnal colours like New England in the Fall.
The coach journey with a guide on board, to & from the airport, showed us the communist legacy - estate after estate of concrete blocks of standard sized flats with standard sized rooms. The fact that our guide was publicly critical of the President's wife told us that today's regime is very different.Having just had some windows replaced at home we thought we knew what "Defenestration" meant. Wrong. In Prague it means throwing the Councillors you don't like, out of the uppermost windows of the Town Hall. They've done this three times in the course of the city's turbulent history.
Prague is the home town of Mucha the painter. Designer would be a better title. His range of work exhibited in the Mucha Museum was extraordinary. He threw his energies into assisting the Slav nation to recover its identity, and designed everything from posters & bank notes to decoration of buildings, street lamps & jewellery. Paris enjoys much of his work.
And then there was the shopping, the varied eating with live music, the cut crystal shimmering out of every other shop window, the classical concerts in churches and fine buildings large & small, and the groriously restored Opera, and the theatre. Also prominent were the giants. Every tenth man seemed to be 6'8" tall and 3'wide.
Quotes that linger in the mind: "Don't forget to EAT something!"- organiser Val, looking after us, and "Those who lie across the rails of history must expect to get their legs cut off."- old communist party newspaper.
Thank you Val !
For interest and Study
(If you find a link broken please tell the e-mail address at the foot of this page.)
Information of new UK online courses. CLICK HERE
Project Gutenberg has THOUSANDS of full length book titles to download & study. CLICK HERE
The 1901 Census website was often unavailable at its start due to many many enquiries, but should be much better by now.,CLICK HERE. In any case there is a good selection at this site CLICK HERE.
Information about everywhere, Popular with learners af all ages and tourists. CLICK HERE
History Groups are well served by the History WebRing: 1,037 sites on offer. For Index CLICK HERE
for Tudor Clothing CLICK HERE
for full historical texts CLICK HERE
for the Ned Kelly Gang CLICK HERE (Thank you Oz).
for Roman Britain (you'll need some Latin) CLICK HERE
for Art History resources CLICK HERE
for current activity by the Oxford Archaeological Unit at home and abroad CLICK HERE
Thameside U3A PC Club This U3A's own Computer Club Web Page. Also reachable from the repeating index on this page.
Historic Photo Collections On-Line
U3A HQ The U3A National HQ site. It connects to all things U3A.
National Monuments Record Photos Collection, well, some of them...
Harrow U3A An exemplary & very active U3A.
Worlwide U3A links This site links to very many U3A & similar sites world wide.
I Don't Feel 50 Includes discussion groups and computer talk.
Archaeological database. Shows who holds records for sites. Search by map or by words.
Ox3A courses Oxford University Continuing Education
www.open.ac.uk The Open University
This is a list of the current 23 Special Interest Groups. If you have a topic or subject you would like to pursue, please talk to the Groups co-ordinator. New Groups are encouraged but need a host or Leader to be effective and enjoyable.
History 1 & 2 Technology in everyday Life Tutorial Group Music Appreciation French 1 & 2 Bridge Churches & Pubs Computing Books-1 & 2 & 3 Religions of the World Latin Rambling Bird Watching Tutorial Group Painting Art Appreciation Psychology Genealogy Play Reading Antiques & Objets d'Art Science & Technology Painting Longer Walking If you would like to visit a group meeting before joining, please be sure to tell the Host that you are coming. If you are already a member of a group you will be expected, and a place will be prepared for you, so please be sure to tell your host if you will NOT be coming. It will be appreciated.
Recent research has discovered that not only does study stimulate and preserve the Grey Matter, so does just thinking about Studying!
Also - to change from a Sedentary lifestyle to "Pottering" is hugely beneficial. A far greater benefit in fact than chenging from Pottering to joinng a Fitness Club.
contact - ALAN1071@HOTMAIL.COM
Please put "THAMESIDE" in the subject box of your e-mail to distinguish it from all the junk!
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