Groups

Chard, Ilminster and District U3A currently has over 38 active groups offering subjects ranging from practical activities, such as gardening and quilt-making, to study opportunities such as languages, history, etymology, religion, and philosophy. Also available are numerous social and practical activities including bridge, play reading, theatre club, lunch club, bird watching and rambling.

GROUP RESOURCES

The Resource Centre at National Office has a collection of material available for U3A groups to borrow and includes slides, videos, audio cassettes, CDs and DVDs available in many subjects. These are available for group leaders or individuals. Contact Elizabeth Gibson e-mail:resource.centre@u3a.org.uk or phone 0208135 0199

GROUP NEWS

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY:

The next meeting of the Digital Photography Groups will be on Wednesday 6th October at Cricket St Thomas. Further details will be published on this site as and when advised.

RAMBLING GROUP: See group page for details of walks planned for the rest of the year.

NATURAL HISTORY GROUP: See group page for details of planned activities for 2010/2011.

WINE APPRECIATION & STUDY GROUP: If anybody is interested in wine and would like to join this group please contact John Bridge on Tele No 67989. This will be a joint group run in conjunction with Crewkerne U3A, although the venue is still to be finalised. The provisional group leader will be Val Warren from Crewkerne. The date of the first meeting has been delayed until October due to holiday arrangements - actual date to be confirmed

BRIDGE FOR BEGINNERS: David Hughes has started a group for complete beginners. If you would like to learn how to play Bridge contact David on Tele No.52914

RAIL & INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE GROUP: This group meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 2.00pm. Anybody interested in joining the group should contact John Bridge on Tele 67989. See group page for details of planned activities. Due to holidays the next meeting of this group will be Tuesday 12th October at 2.30pm, venue to be confirmed

COMPUTER GROUP: Margaret Chilvers is looking into the possibility of starting a more advanced level computer group in October covering Word, Exel and perhaps Publisher and PowerPoint. Members interested can contact Margaret on 61615

LATIN GROUP - Anybody interested in joining this group should contact Ian Wilson on 01460-67495 or Groups Co-ordinator Bob Inskip on 62085

Please don't forget the new method of collecting member's payments for attending group meetings in rented rooms. The current fee of 50p per meeting still applies, but members are now asked to pay in advance for a six-month period of meetings. For meetings held monthly this will usually mean paying £3 in one go, instead of six payments of 50p. Meetings held in member's houses will be unaffected.

For the groups affected, the year is divided into two periods of six months. April/September inclusive and October/March inclusive. Members pay the total fee for the period at the first meeting. Group leaders will use their discretion when informed before payment of a member's inability to attend certain sessions, and late joiners will only pay for the number of sessions remaining. Fees will not be reimbursed after payment. Please contact the Group's Co-ordinator if you require clarification.

The following table lists the days on which group meetings normally take place, and whether they are a morning or afternoon affair. It should be noted that the majority of meetings are monthly rather than weekly.