Ramsey and District U3A

UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE NEWSLETTER

The chairman welcomed all to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 10th April. The usual safety notices were read out.

Members were reminded that there is a table set up in the foyer for less able members to sit and have their tea and coffee.

The first item on the Agenda was the approval of the minutes of the 2017 AGM which had been circulated previously, this was approved by the majority attending.

The second item was the Chairman’s report, Enid thanked her husband Terry and all previous chairmen for their support. Also thanked were the Group Leaders for their fun and enthusiasm. Thanks to them, the membership had grown by 50% over the last six years. When asked what she had learned in the U3A, her response was Petanque, Patchwork and Family History, she loved visiting all the groups from Digital Photograph to Poetry and was pleased to be writing a Docu-Drama for later in the year. When asked what had made her laugh she replied Petanque and the Pantomime, the Christmas Party and the Goody bags. She then spoke of the U3A ethos and would like to change it to Learn, Love, Laugh and Serve. Finally, she intends to enjoy the U3A for many years to come.

Item 3 was the Treasurers report. Lynda stated that it has been another good year for the R&D. The balance sheet for 2017 had been sent to all members and no queries had been received. The books have been audited by Terry Hubbard, many thanks for all his work. Our membership numbers are increasing, and we are having good speakers to entertain you all. Our accounts are now up and running on the U3A Beacon web site with thanks to Sheila and David Gilbert-Hill for making sure that the change to the new system was as painless as possible. Can I remind you all to pay your annual subscriptions by the end of May 2018, fees are still £15 and can be paid by cash, cheque or online using our bank details which are available on our website. It is very easy to do, promised Lynda. Our asset register, lists all the equipment held by the U3A and which committee member is looking after them. We have just purchased a new PA System, Thank you, for supporting our U3A and thanks to the committee for their help. A show of hands was then requested to approve the accounts, which was carried by the majority.

Item 4 was the appointment of examiner for the R&D accounts. We would like to thank Terry Hubbard for carrying out the examination of the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017. It was proposed that Terry be re-appointed as examiner of the accounts for the current year and was duly agreed by the meeting.

Item 5 was the Group Co-ordinators Report, Jane Cusworth (Groups) then said that at the end of last year that we had 26 interest groups. We had lost the Play-reading Group and that our Trips Group were off to Holland. Our current membership stands at 164, some 75% attending one group but 25% not joined any, some however have managed to join 10 groups! Two new groups, Angling/Coarse Fishing and Hand chimes had formed. Jane then said that the Lunch Club Leader was ending her term of office, so it was agreed to keep the group running that members would take it in turn to organise the monthly venue. U3A Summer Schools listings were available on the U3A website. Jane then thanked all Group Leaders for keeping their website news up to date.

Our next trip will be to Bressingham Gardens on 20th July. The trip on 17th August will be to Wells-Next-Sea and Heacham Lavender. The trip in October will be to the National Arboretum. Signup sheets available at our next general meeting. It is with regret that the trip to see “As You Like It” has had to be cancelled.

Item 6 was the Election of the committee, which was carried unanimously by the meeting for those remaining and for two new members, Bruce Mc Dowell and Barbara Holloway.

Item 7 was to approve a revised Objects Clause to be included in the Constitution for Ramsey and District U3A. Sheila Gilbert-Hill explained that the activities of the U3A must follow those as stated by the Charities Commission, all financial matters must be displayed to the membership. This revised clause was approved by majority vote.

Item 8 was to consider motions proposed by the Members and/or Members, there were none.

Item 9 AOB Enid has been Chairman for the last few years, she had run the committee with much forward planning, as she is now standing down as chairman, a small gift from the Committee was presented. We know that she is planning for new productions, so we look forward to her future involvement with the U3A. Finally, the winner of our Alphabet competition was David Cusworth, £10 has been presented to him

Item 10 The AGM was formally closed.

There followed a programme of short stories and poems by Bill Thompson and his “Writing for Pleasure” group.

Future Open Meetings

Our next General Meeting will take place on Tuesday 8th May 2018 at the Community Centre, when our speaker will be Amanda Carlin, she is the Chairman of Heritage, Culture and Community, her subject Stonea Camp near Wimblington.

Our letter competition is now finished, the winner of our final competition ‘X’ was David Cusworth with an X-ray of his poorly knee! He was awarded the £10 prize

U3A National Website

The email address to receive information about the national newsletter is:

https://u3a.org.uk/about/newsletter

Advance Notice

The Ramsey Carnival takes place on 14th July 2018 and the R&D U3A have booked two tables at the Ramsey Rural Museum, one so that we can raise funds by selling Bric a Brac and bottles (wine, beer or soft drinks to raffle), the other, will be used to display publicity items for the U3A. Donations will be gratefully accepted by any member of the committee. We are also looking for volunteers to help with the running of our table/display. If you can help, please let one of our committee know. Thank You.

Other U3A News

Trip to Gardeners World show

Chatteris U3A are trying to arrange a trip to Gardeners World and the Good Food Show on Friday 15th June, with possibly a coach going from Chatteris at 7.30am to enable arrival time at the NEC Birmingham for show opening time of 9.00am.  The show tickets are max price of £24.00 but we may be able to get some discount if we order soon enough, please could you pass this along to your members and let me know as soon as possible if anyone would like to go and how many.  Transport will be extra of course but hopefully not much more than the NEC parking charge.  You can use my email to contact me or phone 01354 697701 (answer phone) <jan56fieldhouse@gmail.com>

Trip to RHS Harlow Carr Gardens

The Ramsey Horticultural Society have arranged a trip to RHS Harlow Carr Gardens near Harrogate on Sunday 13th May. Cost £23 for coach and admission. Coach leaves Ramsey at 8.00am and will pick up in Bury and Upwood. If you are interested, please contact Yvonne Wright or Lesley Owen (814550 or 812377).

And Finally

Car Parking – Please remember to park your car considerately and use car sharing, if you are able.

JOKES

The day after visiting the local fair, my wife was in agony. “You know your’e past your prime,” she said, “when you hurt all over and all you rode was the massage chair.”

Forgetting an e-mail attachment is the 21st century version of licking an envelope shut and then realising you forgot to put the letter inside.

Editor: Mike Lewis