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
Our indomitable Leader of the New Forest and Beyond Group, Jo Barrett, has now found another adventure for us to enjoy! A visit to the Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson,a fully restored Victoria fort on top of Portsdown Hill (Fareham/Portsmouth) overlooking the Solent, (19 acres of ramparts,outer fortifications,secret underground tunnels and ammunition bunkers and a Poppy Wave (part of the poppy display which was outside the Tower of London).Entrance to the Fort and to the poppies is free, but the poppies are only there until the 25th June. Depending how many of us wish to go,we could share transport or investigate using the Greyfriars minibuses to take us there but that would incur a charge of around £11.00 per person.The dates suggested are: 9th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 24th, 25th May, 6th, 7th, 8th June. IF INTERESTED PLEASE CONTACT JO URGENTLY josephinebarratt@hotmail.com and let her know 1.if you are interested in going, 2.if so when and 3. are you interested in using a minibus
Phil Grant is going to give The New Forest and Beyond Group a talk at Holmsley Tea Rooms ( the old station of the now defunct Brockenhurst to Ringwood Railway),on Thursday 31 May. The talk will start at 11.00 am and will last for about 45 mins. We will be in the right place for coffee beforehand/coffee or bite of lunch afterwards. There will be a small charge of £3.00 per person as there is a fee to Phil Grant for the talk. For those of you who would like to combine this with a bit of exercise, Ros d'Albert will meet you at the Forestry Commission car park opposite Burley cricket pitch at 10.00 am for a gentle walk down to the tea room. Please let Jo know at josephinebarratt@hotmail.com if you intend to come, as the Tea Rooms do need to have an idea of numbers in order to prepare a suitable space for the talk.
We will be supporting the Greyfriars Diamond Quiz, a pen and paper quiz, which will take place on Monday 14th May. Please contact Maggie Jerome (maggiejerome@hotmail.co.uk) if you are interested in being part of our team.
Our next monthly Meeting will be held on Thursday 17th May, when we will be given a talk by Bruce Worthy, a former Household Cavalryman of the Blues and Royals Regiment,covering many Royal and State occasions with film excerpts and entitled "Pageantry, Pride and Nostalgia.".
EXCELLENT NEWS! The photo group which is led by Pete Jackson will be running a 'beginners' group for those of you who want to get more out of your camera, phone or tablet. The aim is to help you to take pictures that you will be proud to share with others. We won't get technical but will help you to understand how to use those strange buttons or settings that are supposed to help you get better results. We will give tips on taking children and family - indoor and outdoor, landscapes and so on. We hope to start on Thursday 26th of April from 2.00 to 4.00 and will run monthly for up to 5 meetings. Please contact Pete on pete.33sunnyside@gmail.com confirming your interest and if you have any particular thing that you would like to know so that we can design the course to meet most people's needs.
The craft group has decided to support 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. You could support us in one of two ways: 1. Please donate to us any unwanted knitting yarn that you might have. It does not matter how small the ball is, what colour or what thickness. We can find a use for all yarn. 2. You could knit or crochet some hats yourself. We will display some of our hats at the next monthly meeting. Patterns can easily be found by searching on the internet for "The Big Knit" Any donations of yarn or completed hats should be sent to Christine, our treasurer, via any of the committee members.
U3A Signpost for April 2018 is now online. To see it click the following link: http://worldu3a.org/signpost/april2018.htm Contents include: Resources for Art; Rambling and gardening groups; U3A groups in Canada, Kazakhstan.India and Uganda: News from Senior Citizen networks and AIUTA in Brazil
MORE EXCELLENT NEWS! Another CANASTA GROUP "3" has been formed by Maggie Jerome and started on the 15th March. It will be held fortnightly at Maggie's house in Poulner on Thursday mornings from 10am until 12pm. Please contact Maggie direct at maggiejerome@hotmail.co.uk or on telephone number 01425540914 for further details.
The SKITTLES evenings in May will be on Tuesday 22nd May and Friday 25th May. 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 This evening is open to members and non members, but places must be booked in advance.
Anyone who would like to come along to the newly formed Mens Group please contact Roger Gregory on 01425 470268. Their last meeting was a Ringwood Brewery Tour on 17th April! For details of future meetings please contact Roger
We now have a Members Noticeboard as a new section on our website which will give 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 NEW FRIENDLY BRIDGE CLUB FOR ALL ( see Activities Section) is now active and is a great opportunity for all U3A members whether you are beginners, intermediate and more experienced players to join in. All are welcome. Sessions started on the 14th November 2017 and are held in the Hilary Christie Room at Greyfriars every Tuesday from 2pm . The cost is 1.50 per person. Teaching is available to those who are new to the game or who have never played! If you are interested in giving it a try please contact Maggie Jerome on 01425 540914.You have nothing to lose by giving it a go!
Don't forget that if you are at a loose end on a Saturday, we have a games group every Saturday from 2-4pm. See Activities Section for further details and to contact Biddy
Our next pub lunch will be at 12 30pm on Friday 27th April, 2018 at The Horns Inn 182 Christchurch Road West Parley BH22 8SS 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 as they must know numbers in advance to ensure there is a place. Margaret and Maureen need to know by Wednesday 25th April, if you wish to go. They 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 contacting our Chair Judith Pursell:
judith144(a)btopenworld.com (replacing (a) with @).
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.
Judith Purssell
Chair
January 2017