Welcome to Ringwood U3A, which was formed in 2012. We are a friendly club with some 200 members and more than 20 interest groups. Please take a look around the site to discover what we can offer to those who are no longer in full time employment. New members are always warmly welcomed.
Monthly meetings take place on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 2-4pm at Greyfriars. Please click the 'Meetings' button for more information.
All groups are organised and led by members with most taking place in members' own homes so that they are small and friendly. Full members may join as many interest groups as they wish at no extra charge unless the group has to hire a room when there will be a small additional cost.
Please click the 'Group Info' button to see details of all groups. If you would like to know more or after joining wish to join a particular group please contact the Group Leader - contact details are on the Group Info pages.
Please contact any of the Committee Members for general information.
Latest news
The Next Walk will be on Thursday 27th September - Linwood 3 miles. Led by Christine. Meet at Appleslade Car Park (Map OL22 ref 185093) This is a walk is along tracks and through fields. There are several stiles. The Autumn - Winter Walks Programme is now on the Walks introduction page on the website.
October's speaker will be Christopher Legrand: "India's Golden Triangle" - visit the astonishing palaces, temples and forts created by the Mughal rulers in the 16th century, learn more about the architecture and fascinating history that included the building of the magnificent Taj Mahal and discover the beauty and chaos of India.
The 'Singing for Fun' group has resumed at Greyfriars from 1pm on alternate Wednesdays. All members are welcome to join - no audition required! Small cost per 'term' to cover room hire and refreshments. If interested please contact June
The New Forest and Beyond Group are planning a visit on Thursday 1 November to the Blandford Fashion Museum and possibly the Blandford Town Museum. If interested please contact Jo
Sadly both leaders of our Spanish groups have decided to step down so the groups will be unable to continue unless others come forward to take on these roles. If you would like to do so then the venue need not be a problem, as rooms at Greyfriars can be hired very cheaply if you prefer not to use your own home. June would be happy to give guidance on becoming a leader and no doubt both Sheila and Diana would also be willing to give advice.
The New Forest and Beyond Group are planning a visit on Friday 19 October to Eling Tide Mill, Totton. Eling Tide Mill is a water mill that harnesses the power of the tide to grind wheat into flour. Situated on the edge of Southampton Water beside the renowned New Forest - there has been a mill on this site for over 900 years. It is one of the only fully working and productive tide mills in the United Kingdom, producing flour as it has throughout the last millennium. In fact one of only a handful of tide mills in the world still producing flour on a regular basis. If interested please contact Jo
Members of the New Forest and Beyond Group will be visiting the New Forest Cider Festival, Burley on Saturday/Sunday 13/14 October. The annual open weekend is a chance to see cider making as it was done in days gone by. There will be demonstrations on the art of cider making the old fashioned way with a variety of vintage presses, ranging from a 'workman' steam driven mobile press to the simplicity of a hand operated twin screw press using straw as a filter, then sample the finished product in our farm shop. There will also be traditional country craft demonstrations. Entrance £2.00. If interested please contact Jo
Following the excellent presentation on Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in August it was decided to donate the proceeds of this year's Christmas Raffle to them. We will also have a collection box on the welcome desk at meetings until then so you can make a donation if you wish.
Greyfriars are holding promotional events in the Furlong on the mornings of 13th, 14th, 20th, 21st and 22nd September which we have been invited to attend in order to publicise our club and encourage new membership. We hope to have representatives on many of the 5 days. If you would like to volunteer please contact June.
Appeal for new photos for the website - many of our group photos are several years old and it would be lovely to update our gallery so if you can take a nice picture when you are part of a group or event please do so (having first established that everyone is happy to have their picture published) and email them to Hazel.
Would you like to go to the RMDS Armistice Centenary Tribute and Music Hall on Thursday 25th October? Featuring songs and poems from the Great War plus Old Time Music Hall. Dress Up if you like and sing along. Tickets will be £10, please contact Hazel Taylor, hazeltaylor5191@gmail.com if you would be interested in going along in a group.
There will be another opportunity for those wanting to learn to play Bridge starting in September - please contact Maggie.
The September meeting speaker will be Brian Freeland 'A View From The Wings' at 2pm on the 20th September. The talk is about a stage manager's view of theatre productions as seen from the prompt corner, especially on those occasions when "everything is not quite alright on the night". Many anecdotes from Brian's experiences in variety through to the RSC and Sadlers Wells. Don't miss this one!
The Mens Group is now taking off after its inauguration. At a recent meeting one member offered to hold cribbage matches with residents of a local nursing home,which was very much appreciated and it made us wonder if there weren't more men out there with hidden talents that could be put to good use within the Group to help the Community as well as maintaining the Groups other activities be they social or educational! If you feel you would like to join the group at least for an exploratory visit please contact Roger Gregory on 01425470268 or gregorys4@lemonde.plus.com
The new Membership Application Form for Sept 2018 to Aug 2019 is now available on the website. Printed copies will be available at the monthly meeting. This form is longer than previously due to the new GDPR rules on privacy - please help us by completing it in full at home before handing it in with your payment of £24 in order to avoid a traffic jam at the Welcome Table. Please do not continue to hand in forms once our Speaker has begun his talk.
The updated 2018-2019 Programme Leaflet is now available on the website. Printed copies will be available at the monthly meeting. Please advise Hazel if you notice anything that needs amending. Please note that there are currently no Spanish groups until new leaders can be recruited.
Did you know that we have a RED Suggestion Box at our Monthly Meetings? We would love to hear any of your ideas. In particular we are thinking about what to do in July 2019 when we again won't be able to use Greyfriars - would you like to have a speaker again in Trinity, have a Summer Party (if so any ideas on where) or perhaps a group outing such as a Coach trip or Poole Harbour boat trip. We'd love to hear from you.
Do you have mobility issues, perhaps you would like to come to the monthly meetings or certain groups but have trouble getting there - if so please contact a member of the Committee to see if we can find a local member who could provide a lift.
The craft group has been supporting the Innocent Big Knit again this year. The Big Knit started back in 2003 and over 6 million hats have been knitted in the UK. The small hats are distributed on Innocent Drink Smoothies each Spring. For each hat that is sent in Innocent make a donation of 25p to Age UK. The money is used to run activities to help prevent loneliness. Christine Rutherford has now asked for any completed hats to be handed in to her as the activity has now ended however any unwanted knitting yarn is always welcome by the Craft Group - it doesn't matter how small the ball is, what colour or what thickness. We can find a use for all yarn.
U3A Signpost for July 2018 is now online. To see it click the following link: http://worldu3a.org/signpost/july2018.htm Contents include:Invitation to U3A Mauritius Conference; News from Iceland, Poland, Kazakhstan, India; Learning basic French and CommonAge Africa report from PassItOn Network
NO SKITTLES IN SEPTEMBER (the venue is being refurbished). The next SKITTLES evenings will be in October - DETAILS IN DUE COURSE but as usual they start at 7.30pm at The Three Legged Cross Pub in Ringwood Road Three Legged Cross BH21 6RE. If there are insufficient responses, one of the evenings will be cancelled, so if people are interested in coming they will need to say whether they can make both or just one of the dates. The choice of prices is £8.50 with a basket meal or £5.50 without. Please contact Peter Knight whose email address is knight@lapalmera.co.uk These evenings are open to members and non members, but places must be booked in advance.
Please remember to look at the Members' Only Page (Noticeboard) on our website which gives members the opportunity to publicise non-U3A events that they have a keen interest in or to invite others to join them for something particular like a cinema trip or garden visit etc. It will not be used for 'selling' items. If you would like something posted to the Noticeboard please email full details to Hazel via the contacts page. Inclusion will be at the discretion of the Committee.
Our next pub lunch will be on Friday 28th September at The Augustus John, 116 Station Road, Fordingbridge SP6 1DG. Remember this is open to members and non members, so if you are thinking of joining Ringwood U3A why not give it a try, but please contact Margaret and Maureen beforehand (by 26th Sept at the latest) as they must know numbers in advance to ensure there is a place. Margaret and Maureen can be contacted on ringwoodu3apublunches@hotmail.com
How to join
If you are no longer in, or looking for full time employment you may join Ringwood U3A by downloading a membership form using this link or by emailing our Chairman, Pete Jackson.
When you have completed the form you may take it, and your £24 membership fee, to the Thursday monthly meeting.
Please also read the
RINGWOOD U3A CODE OF CONDUCT
Ringwood U3A strives to be a friendly and welcoming organisation, available to all who are no longer in full time employment. Our main aim is that our members enjoy the experience of being a member. We do realise, however, that problems sometimes occur and, whilst we do not want to control every potential difficulty with a raft of rules, we have prepared the following statements to cover any situation that may arise.
If any member or prospective member's behaviour or presentation causes distress or offence to other members, the Committee have the right to ask for that behaviour or presentation to change. If this change does not take place the Committee will have the right to rescind or refuse membership to that individual. In order to maintain our informal and friendly atmosphere, we would strive to deal with problems of such nature in a quiet and discreet fashion. If a member feels that certain behaviour is detrimental to our organisation or themselves, please raise the issue with a member of the Committee.
Pete Jackson
Chair
June 2018
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