Noticeboard 2018

Noticeboard 2018

This page is in the original format and colours for historical reasons. 

Armistice 1918-2018

Because of the significance of 2018, which marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, we have decided to add a dedicated page to the Chalfonts U3A website for this momentous event. Please click the link below to view the page.


Armistice Centenary Dedicated Page

Monthly Meeting - 12th December 2018

Our own Denise Beddows is giving our monthly talk in December.

Many of our members have heard Denise speak to us on a range of topics that have both entertained and enlightened us, including murder!

In her talk this time she will share her work experience of the UK's Immigration Service in which she worked for several decades.

This, given the result of the referendum in 2016, is one hell of a hot topic, whichever way our members cast their vote.

Immigration control is important to any nation so it will be good to hear from someone who has first hand knowledge of how it works.

The title of Denise's talk is, "It's No Job For A Woman!" 

Intriguing title. I wonder why she thinks that working in our Immigration Service is not for a woman? We shall find out!

Denise Beddows 1

Excursions Group - Trip to Waddesdon on 5th December 2018

For our final excursion of 2018 we took around 50 of our members to Waddesdon.

This is the second time we've been up to the National Trust property for our Christmas excursion.

We had a splendid lunch and then toured the Manor and the gardens.

Despite the dampness and the grey all of the members who made the trip thoroughly enjoyed it! You can see the photographs taken by following the link to the Gallery page.


More About Waddesdon Manor

These few photographs are a selection of the ones taken by two of our members, Val Smith and John Hardwick. Many thanks to them both for taking the time to take them for us!

You can see all of their pictures by following the link below.


Waddesdon Manor Christmas Trip Galley for 2018

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Photographer: John Hardwick

Theatre Trip - 4th December - Guys & Dolls at The Mill, Sonning


Theatre Group Main Page

Our Theatre Group had a great time with their visit to see Frank Loesser's Guys & Dolls!

They combined the evening with dinner and the picture below (taken by Geoff Glover) gives an idea of the atmosphere.

This is one of those musicals you either take to, or you don't. But it's been around a very long time now (would you believe the early 1950's!) and it's got some wonderful songs. And probably one of the nicest love songs ever written, 'I'll Know".

In the movie it was sung by Marlon Brando (and pretty good considering he wasn't a singer) but I'm told that the actor who played Sky Masterson sung it brilliantly.

A lovely evening, and thanks to our Group Convenor, Sheila, for organising a great night out!

Our Photography Group…

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Photographer: David Brodie

The photograph of the lion was taken by one of our members, David Brodie.

The amusing sign picture was taken by Cathy Williams and the landscape by Robert Coleman.

The splendid eagle was taken by Phil Larman.

Thanks to all of the members who made contributions to our gallery for 2018!

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Photographer: Phil Larman

Photography Group Main Page

On Monday 3rd December some of the group members met up for a social gathering and a review of their contributions to our gallery for 2018.

Lunch was provided by two of the members, Phil and Cathy. A lot of work and we thank them for making the lunch so enjoyable!

We've put links that will take you to a Gallery of the pictures taken during the year that were submitted by members.

If any Chalfonts U3A member wishes to join the group they are very welcome to come along to any of our meetings. We will be putting a schedule of the trips we make on the website in due course.

We hope Chalfonts U3A members will take a look at the video slideshow, and the individual pictures taken by our members by visiting the link below…


Photography Group Gallery and Slideshow Link…


Photography Group More Information Page

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Photgrapher: Cathy Williams
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Photographer: Robert Coleman

London Walk - Clerkenwell - 21 November 2018

We all know that our capital city is full of history and this trip proved to be a delightful walk in this part of the City of London.

Our London Walks group had in excess of 35 of our members go on the visit.

Clerkenwell, and the stories and buildings around this fascinating area of London, were enthralling.

The walk started adjacent to St Paul's in Paternoster Square and ended at the 'Clerks Well' which is where Clerkenwell gets its name from!

We have now created a gallery of the pictures taken on this walk; this link will take you to the Gallery:


London Walk Gallery - Clerkenwell


Wikipedia Entry About Clerkenwell


London Walks Main Page

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Photographer: Tony Darbyshire

Monthly Meeting - November 2018

Our guest speaker this month was Ken Panchen. His talk was about the Red Kites In The Chilterns.

Ken spoke about the history of red kites and their association with the Chilterns, and gave the members who attended a good insight into how they have been brought back from virtual extinction in the Chilterns area. We have placed two links to information about the red kites below.


More About Red Kites In The Chilterns


BBC News Piece - About The Red Kites

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Ken (in the centre) chatted to several members and this picture shows him with some of our members.

Medical Detection Dogs Charity

This month one of our members, Sally Dinning, who has run our Textiles group since we formed in 2015, with the help of Charlotte and Pat, was helping to raise money for Medical Detection Dogs charity. Members may remember that they came to talk to us earlier in the year.

They managed to sell some lovely hand crafted items to our members and they wish to thank everyone for being so generous. They still have a number of items remaining and if anyone would like to purchase them please go to the Textiles group Main Page and send the Convenor an email via the main page. They will then get in touch with you.

We have put photographs of some of the items that are available in a slide show which you can view by clicking the link below

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Textiles Group Main Page Link


Medical Detection Dogs Charity Gallery

Trip To British Motor Museum and The Guide Dogs for the Blind

On the 8 November 2018 the Excursion Group went to The British Motor Museum, Gaydon and then in the afternoon to The Guide Dogs Training Centre in Leamington Spa.

The whole day went very well indeed and it was good to have the variety of things to do. We all learned a great deal as well as thoroughly enjoying the day out.

We had guided tours at the Motor Museum and tours and demonstrations at the Dog Centre. We were able to walk through a sensory tunnel and also be blind-folded and led to give us an idea of what it's like to have impaired vision.

The Centre is a charity and relies totally on donations for their good work.

Chalfonts U3A handed over a cheque for £500. Thank you to all the members who donated.


Excursion to British Motor Museum & Guilde Dogs For The Blind


Excursions Group Gallery Archive


Excursions Group Main Page

Those who went on this trip were given a talk about the work of the Guide Dogs For The Blind.

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Photographer: Geoff Glover

Guide Dogs For The Blind Website


British Motor Museum Website

Beware of Scam 'Phone calls From HMRC

We doubt that any of our members would be caught by the current wave of scams from an automated 'phone call purporting to be from HM Revenue & Customs, but forewarned is forearmed.

If you have vulnerable friends or relatives please make them aware that they could receive a call asking them to ring a specific telephone number which is NOT the HMRC 'phone number.

We've put a link in our top box (above this notice) labelled, "CARE! Avoid the HMRC Scam!" This link will take you to the Which Consumer Magazine online page that has lots more information on this fraud. 

You can also click the link below to read more on this scam and how to watch out for it:

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Coffee Mornings Group The group is now up and running. The location of their monthly meetings is the Greyhound pub. We took several photographs at their last get together and the link below will take you to the gallery.


Coffee Mornings Gallery

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Coffee Mornings Main Page

Photography Interest Group - Trip to Burnham Beeches

On Thursday 25th October 2018, four members of our Photography Group took a couple of hours to go out to Burnham Beeches to take a few photographs there. Since April this year, the Met Office, have been telling us that the weather has been exceptionally good. On this day the sun shone very brightly and the temperature was way above the seasonal norm.

Burnham Beeches is a delightful local place that many thousands visit each year for a variety of activities, walking the dog, bird watching, or simply going for a good walk in a beautiful well kept wooded area.

Burnham Beeches is owned and maintained by the City of London Corporation  - following this link to their website entry and it will tell you more about it.


More About Burnham Beeches…

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Phil, Margaret and Grace sat at the cafe before we came back to Chalfont St Peter.

You can find out more about the Photography Interest Group here:


Photography Interest Group Main Page…

October Monthly Meeting - Malcolm Nelson

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This picture shows Malcolm, in the centre, with some of our members.

Our guest speaker this month was Malcolm Nelson. He spent many years (in excess of forty!) working in the Customs & Excise service.

His talk was about the many fascinating stories from his time in helping catch drug and money laundering smugglers. His natural style in telling the stories had our members laughing their heads off. Malcolm covered a range of his experiences and he received a rapturous round of applause at the end. He told us that he has ten talks about his time catching smugglers so it's likely he will be back!

He has written a book about his life's work and a number of members bought copies. We will put a link here soon so other members can also buy a copy if they'd like one.

Annual Walking Group Trip In October 2018

Our walking groups are organising their annual trip to places 'not local'. This year they're off to the Abingworth Hall on the South Downs in October.


The Abingworth Hall Brochure

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Details of the Trip…

The three day weekend will start on Friday 12th October at HF Holidays Abingworth Hall on the South Downs, with  departure on Monday 15th October, and will include the following:

  • Breakfasts on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
  • Evening meals on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
  • Packed lunches on Saturday and Sunday.
  • Guided walking on Saturday, and Sunday.
  • Some form of evening entertainment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

For those who do not wish to walk each day there are plenty of interesting places to visit in the nearby countryside and coast.

We have a selection of rooms as follows.

  • Classic twin
  • Classic Double
  • Classic Single

Numbers are limited, and provisional bookings will be taken on a first come first served basis.

We need to inform HF Holidays of numbers by Monday 12th February to guarantee our booking.

The discounted price per person will be in the region of £240.00, dependant on the final numbers booked.

More About Abingworth Hall

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Garden Visits Group - Trip to Dipley Mill & West Green House National Trust


Gallery of Photographs - Dipley Mill and West Green House

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Some of the members who went on the visit captured at Dipley Mill garden. We have put a link to the Garden Visits Interest Group (on the right) if any member wishes to find out more, or to join the group.

NGS Find  Garden


West Green House NT Page

On Wednesday 5th September the group took a coach load of members to see two beautiful Hampshire gardens, Dipley Mill and then onto the National Trust garden not too far down the road at West Green.

They had a splendid day out and the weather was glorious!

We have now put up a gallery of the pictures taken by members and you can see them by pressing the link above the photo on the left.


Garden Visits Main Page


National Gardens Scheme

We now have a Coffee Mornings Group!

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The Group Convenor is Chris Coteman and the group meets at the Greyhound Pub.

If you would like to join the group please contact Chris using the link button below.


Coffee Mornings

Chiltern Voice Radio Station

One of Chiltern U3A's members, Mike Saunders, is involved with  our new local FM radio station - Chiltern Voice.

Mike spends some time as a volunteer DJ (which is a new departure for him but something which he totally enjoys!)

Mike is interested in presenting this opportunity to encourage local U3A groups and particularly their members to get involved. If any member of Chalfonts U3A wants to get involved and help Mike please use the links to either listen or get in touch with them via their Contact Us page.


Chiltern Voice 'Contact Us' Page

Chiltern Voice went live in August 2018.  We've put a link to the radio station below and Mike is looking for support for Chiltern Voice.


Link to Chiltern Voice Radio Station

We've also put a link on the footer of our website with a link to this new radio station. (Note: we won't leave this notice on the Noticeboard forever but the link in the footer will be a permanent fixture!)

National U3A Conference 2018

The National U3A Conference took place at Nottingham University campus over three days, from Tuesday 28th August to Thursday 30th August.

We are in the process of putting up a page on what went on at the conference and will update this page in due course.

The recorded video of the AGM is below for members to watch.

Please Note!

They set the record button going but didn't do this in the right place! It starts at about 23 minutes and 10 seconds.

(And it's not in the least bit dry! Full of humour and loads of information that makes it worth watching.)

Note: This is now on youtube.com and there may be the odd advert popping up occasionally. All you have to do is click to either skip the ad. or hit the little box in the right hand corner and this makes it 'go-away!'


Wine Appreciation 2

We have now started a second Wine Appreciation group…to find out more please click on the link below…


Wine Appreciation 2 Interest Group

Farewell to Janice…

Since the formation of Chalfonts U3A in March 2015 we've had a thriving Singing for Pleasure interest group. The backbone of the group has been Janice Holmes, the group convenor.

This group has met regularly and also entertained us over the time since it was formed. Unfortunately Janice is now relocating to live in Hampshire and is leaving the area.

The group met on Thursday 16th August and had a lunch party for Janice as their way of saying a big thank you to her for the commitment she's shown to the group. This picture is of the members who were able to attend the lunch.

The committee are grateful to Janice for the help, support and enthusiasm she's given to Chalfonts U3A. Janice has shown, in building the group in the past three years, total commitment to helping the group gel and to enjoy themselves.

We wish Janice well in attempting to become a 'Hampshire Hog'!

If you wish to join the Singing for Pleasure group there is a link to their main page and the group's Main Page. They always welcome new members so please send an email if you're interested in joining the group.


Singing For Pleasure interest Group


Singing For Pleasure

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Are you paying too much for your Broadband?

At the recent Computing Group meeting we spoke about ensuring that all of us don't pay more than we need for access to the internet. Also a number of members who attended the meeting were saying they do not get the speeds that their provider says they will receive, and what they pay for.

We've put a link named, "Guide To Broadband Haggling" at the top of the Noticeboard. This will take you to Money Saving Expert's website where they explain the best process to follow to get a good deal from your Internet Service Provider (ISP for short!) For the time being we've also put the link below…but it will remain on the top part if we remove this post.


Guide To Broadband Haggling

Computing Group Meeting - 9th August

One of the topics discussed at the meeting was the performance of a computer, and what to do if it starts to run slower than you'd like it to, or expect it to.

We also covered various other topics and you can find out by pressing the link below, Computing Group Meeting - 9th August 2018. You don't have to be a member of the group to go and read the contents of the meeting so please do so if you'd like to find out more.


ComputerSlow


Computing Group Meeting - 9th August 2018

Excursions Group - Buckingham Palace

On Tuesday 8th August the group went into central London and had a lovely day touring the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace and a tour of the Queen's garden.

About fifty members made the trip. It was the last of the very hot days we've had this summer (for now we hope!) and the day was, as always, really enjoyable.

The pictures here are a slide show of some of the ones we took. Some members who went along did submit some pictures they took and we will create another gallery of them in due course. In the meantime, this is the picture of Group B, on the bridge in St James' Park, and another one outside the Palace.


Excursions Main Page


Excursions Galleries Page

The picture below was taken in the Entrance lobby prior to going into the State Rooms visit. Unfortunately, the Palace do not allow any photographs of the inside tour, or in the gardens. However, the link below does give an excellent website of the Royal Collection…worth a look!


The Royal Collection Website

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Photography Group - Meeting 8th August

A number of members of the group went along to the Annual Classic Car Show in Gerrards Cross.

Some amazing (and expensive!) classic cars on show and all very photogenic indeed!

It was a beautiful day with lots of wall to wall sunshine. Alas bright sunny days are not necessarily good for photography. Dull days are often able to give better light but you have to take what is served up on the day.

Some of the cars at the show were: Rolls Royces, Bentley's, MG's, a Jensen Interceptor, a Citroen 2CV, Jaguars, and London Fx2 taxi, several Jaguar's including E-Types, BMW's, a Ford Capri, and specialist custom built cars made from a kit… and lots more!

Gerrards Cross annual Classic Car Show on 8th August 2018.

The event raises money for the Memorial Hall and was well attended.


Photography Group Main Page

Gerrards Cross Car Show 2018

New Experiences Group

The adventurous members of our New Experiences group have been to several 'scary' places during the spring and early summer.

These experience include…go-karting trip in April, two at Go Ape High Ropes Course in May, several of paddle boarding in June and Orienteering in August!

The links above the group photograph takes you to their Gallery Page. The link below, if you'd like to join the group, takes you to their Main Page. On there you will find Contact Form and also more information about the group. The other link (above the photograph) takes you to their gallery so you can see the photographs they took of them risking their lives!

(Only kidding; they did play by the rules and none of them came to any harm. Honest!)

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This photograph is of the members who decided that Orienteering was a calm enough pursuit to risk!


New Experiences Gallery Page

New Experiences Main Page

Advice To Group Convenors Document

Our Group Coordinators have now updated our information on Advice To Convenors.

To read the document click the link below.

To find out more about how to convene an Interest Group we have a dedicated page on the Main Menu bar at the top of the website, labelled "Group Convenors".


Advice To Group Convenors

Chairman's Message for 2018-19

David Burbidge has now entered his final year as our Chairman. For the benefit of all members, especially new members, we have now put his final message up on the website for you to see. To read it please go to the link on the right; it's not a long piece but he makes some important points and we would appreciate members reading it.

david burbidge

Chairman's Message for 2018-2019

Spanish Conversation Group

The first meeting of this new group is at the CSP Community Centre at 3pm to 4.30pm on Wednesday 8th August.

The group convenor is Stuart Hammond and they do have some vacancies still available. If you would like to either find out more, or join the group then go to the link below to send Stuart a message.

Spanish Conversation3


Spanish Conversation - Main Page

Garden Visits Group -

Waterperry & Oxford Botanic Gardens

On Wednesday 25th July the group hired a coach and went to to these two lovely gardens with members.

To see the Gallery of photographs (submitted to us by Tom McCardle and Val Smith, and thank you to both of them for taking the pictures) please click the link button below.

Visit To Waterperry & Oxford Botanic - Gallery

Garden Visits Group Main Page

GROUP CONVENORS MEETING - Thursday 26th July 2018 (It was very warm!)

Have you ever seen such a handsome and glamorous bunch of people!

On Thursday 26th July 2018 our group coordinators (Nigel and Sue) held a meeting for our group convenors and our RUG (Really Useful Group) members who do their best to support Chalfonts U3A by either convening a group, or helping in other ways with the myriad of tasks that need to be done.

Because we held this meeting with some of our amazing team not able to be with us; this photograph only represents about half of them! (Some were on holiday trying to find warmer weather!)

We will put their names below the photograph in due course.

On behalf of the committee, and Nigel and Sue, we thank them all for their attendance at the meeting, and for the sterling work they do on behalf of our members and, of course, having this lovely photograph taken. Definitely for our future album!

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Photographer: Tony Darbyshire

Excursion to Highclere Castle - Tuesday 17th July 2018

The excursion group took a full coach load of members on their second visit to Highclere Castle. (They did go in 2017 but made two bookings as the Castle is only open for a limited period and felt that more of our members would like to go on the trip).

The photographs in this slideshow are a few of the ones submitted. To see more of the pictures follow the link below to open up the Gallery page for this trip.


Highclere Castle Gallery - July 2018


Excursions & Outings Main Page

Swan Upping - Marlow Lock - Tuesday 17th July 2018

Last year the Photography group had a trip out to Hurley Lock to get some pictures of the annual Swan Upping ritual that takes place over the course of one week in mid-July each year.

This year the group decided it was a good event to cover and they went to both Marlow and Henley-on-Thames, and some will go on to Marsh Lock later in the afternoon.

The photograph on the right has the Queen's Swan Marker, David Barber, with Princess Anne. It was taken by a member of the group, John Brewell, and we thought it was worth sharing for other members to see.

Some of the other members will be going to Henley and Marsh Lock on Wednesday 18th July and we will add some of their photographs shortly.

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Photographer: John Brewell

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

In May 2018 the new regulations regarding the holding of data on individuals became law in the UK.

We have now written a new document that explains the regulations for members. We ask members to read it so they know what these new regulations are about, and what Chalfonts U3A have to do to comply with them.

The document can be viewed by clicking the link below.

Important!

We will be removing this notice from the Noticeboard about GDPR later this year.

However we have also included this document at the top of our Noticeboard, so it will still be available to members to see and read. (See above).


Chalfonts U3A - GDPR Policy Statement

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TVN (Thames Valley Network) - Study Day - Thursday 1st November 2018

This should be an enlightening day on both medicine and art. To find out more please click the links on the right and it will tell you more about the programme and what he intends to cover, and an Application Form to attend the day.

Peter Abrahams, the renowned scientist, has been invited by the TVN to hold a study day on the interactions of Medicine & Art.

For those interested in art we are sure it will be a very interesting and enjoyable day. Please apply early to avoid disappointment; TVN events like this prove to be very popular as they are circulated to many thousands of members and the hall only holds around 120 people.

Benson is about 35 to 40 minutes drive away so it's not far to go.


TVN Study Day - Medicine & Art - More Information


TVN Study Day - Medicine & Art - Application Form


TVN Events - More Information Here

11 July - A Talk About Medical Detection Dogs

We had a fascinating talk this month by Geoffrey Farrar-Brown and the work of the Medical Detection Dogs. The work of this charity is helping to not only to diagnose illnesses in people who are cancer sufferers, but also other potentially serious diseases like malaria and diabetes.

We will be putting a full meeting report up on the website in the next few days, with links to the charity website, and videos of their very important work.

On the left is Geoffrey, with his dog, Pepper, with two our members, (Tony and Sue next to him). Geoffrey had a helper, Penny (on the right) and we were also joined for this meeting from our New Zealand guests, Caroline and Barrie, from Christchurch. Barrie and Caroline were given a very warm welcome!

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Caroline and Barrie with Penny, one of the volunteers who helps with the events they attend to raise money for Medical Detection Dogs.

Garden Visits Group - 28th June 2018

On a beautiful sunny and very warm afternoon, the group convenor, Jane, arranged for members of the group to visit the garden of one of our members, Sue.

The garden is over an acre in size and full of surprises. The design has developed over the years since Sue and Geoff bought their house 21 years ago. Now it's a full of wonderful plants and throughout the seasons it's a show of colour and scent.


Craiglea House - Video Slideshow


Garden Visits Gallery List

The group picture was taken just after we were all treated to tea, coffee and cake!

We have now put a gallery of the pictures taken on the day for members to see the garden. Click the button (above) and it takes you to the Garden Visits Gallery List. If you prefer to watch the pictures in a Slideshow, with music, there is a link on the left.

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Jeff, Jackie and Sue, our Hosts.

(Thanks to them for a splendid afternoon in their garden!)

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Excursions Group - Trip to Buckingham Palace - Tuesday 7th August 2018

The next trip is to see the gardens and the State rooms of Buckingham Palace.

It promises to be a lovely day out. If you're interested then please visit the links below that will tell you more. Places are limited so if you would like to go then send in your request quickly.


More About The Trip To Buckingham Palace


Excursions & Outings Main Page

Monthly Meeting Wednesday 13th June 2018 

Despite a few technical difficulties that were overcome (eventually!), our guest speaker, Dr. Helen Fry, gave us an excellent talk on the secrets of Latimer House.

It seems that pulling the wool over the eyes of senior German officers was a case of treating them with respect and showing them lots of kindness! (Link on the left will tell you more. All fascinating stuff!)

 

If you weren't able to make it to our June Monthly Meeting we've now put up a report on Helen's talk.

Click the link below and it will take you to our Monthly Meeting Archive…from there, click on the June 2018 Meeting button.


June 2018 Monthly Meeting Report

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Dr. Helen Fry
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The picture show some of our members with Helen (in the centre) after the meeting. 

Presentation to Sooty and Geoff at the AGM on 9th May

Geoff Glover has now stepped down from his role as Vice Chair at the end of our third year.

Geoff was a founding committee member of Chalfonts U3A and appointed as our Vice Chair since we started Chalfonts U3A in March 2015. Geoff often makes a joke that the vice chair really doesn't have a role on a committee but, in his case, nothing could be further from the truth! His contribution to Chalfonts U3A has been immense. Not only has he stepped in to the chair when needed, he has been instrumental in helping to shape what we've achieved from our inception. On behalf of all our members we thank him for his stalwart work over the past three years.

We also acknowledge the tremendous contribution that Geoff's wife Sooty has made to our success. Behind every great man is an even greater woman! We thank Sooty for the support she's given to Geoff over the last three years.

Geoff also acts as convenor in some of our groups and he will continue in these roles.

Our new vice chair, Bob Borwick, was elected unanimously at the AGM. He made a presentation to Sooty and Geoff for the significant contribution they've made to our success with a beautiful bouquet of flowers from all of the members.

Presentation to Sooty and Geoff

AGM - Wednesday 9th May - Slideshow

Prior to the AGM a video was shown to members attending. So that those who couldn't attend the meeting, and those too busy chatting with friends to watch, we have uploaded the slideshow to our youtube channel.

(Remember that the video may play an advert at some point, but you can click it away by pressing the little x in the right hand corner of the ad. If it's shown at the beginning as it starts to play it usually allows the viewer to stop it after around five seconds or so.)

Badminton Group - 26th April 2018

What's better to shed a lot of calories than bashing the life out of a shuttlecock?

The group meet every Thursday morning at the CSP Leisure Centre from 10.30am to 11.30am.

The picture shows some members of the group in between their attempts to beat the opposition into submission. (In a friendly way!)

If you'd like to find out more about the group and perhaps join it, then get in touch with Angela, the convenor via the link below.

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Creative Writing Group - 19th April 2018

On a beautiful warm April morning the group gathered in the garden of the Madeira Café.

We met for about one and half hours and discussed/critiqued (constructively!) the 600 or so word assignment we'd given ourselves at our previous meeting.

The stories ranged from mortar bombs at Heathrow Airport… to train rides across the south of France… to climbing the lovely hills of the Lake District… to a sad tale of parenthood and letting go of children as they grow up!

Our newest member, Sheila, read out a poem she'd written (based on a decade or so in the past) when she was ten years old. ?

We currently have five members but need a few more to join us to make the group really come to life. If you enjoy a relaxed time writing a few words and would like to join the group Denise, our convenor, would love to hear from you.

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We try and meet once a month, usually in the third week and choose a day that's convenient for all of us. To contact Denise, go to the Group's main page and send her a message using the Contact Form.


Creative Writing Group Main Page

Monthly Meeting - 11th April 2018

This month we were treated to a excellent talk by Monica Weller. Her topic was the murder of Dr. Helen Davidson back in the mid-sixties and the fact that the case went cold after extensive police inquiries failed to catch her killer.

Monica was approached in 2009 to investigate Dr. Davidson's murder and in her book she reveals who the killer was.

We had a full house of members and Monica's talk was well received.

We will be putting a full report on the talk into our Monthly Meeting archive pages in the next few days, so please stop by for an update.

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The group picture shows Monica (in the red top), with some of our members after her talk.

Excursion to Bristol - Friday 18th May 2018

Our next day out is to the lovely city of Bristol.

We will be having a private tour of the Clifton Suspension Bridge and then moving on to visit the city and the dockside areas.

More information on the visit can be found by following the link below…


Excursion to Bristol - More Information

Bus Pass Adventures - Trip to Chesham on 28th March 2018

A few members of the Bus Pass group caught the bus to Chesham and spent a few hours in the town.

The pictures were taken by one of the café staff and he decided he should be in the picture too.

Despite the weather being a bit grey and overcast they all had a great day.

(No one has yet declared how much they spent on shoes, handbags or golf equipment?)

You can see other trips they've made on their Gallery page (Link below).

Bus Pass Adventures Gallery Page

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Bus Pass Adventures Main Group Page
Trip to Royal Historic Dockyard at Chatham - 13th March 2018

On Tuesday 13th March our Excursions Group took a coach to visit the Historic Dockyard at Chatham, Kent.

The Excursions Group took fifty of our members on Tuesday 13th March to see this delightful piece of naval history. This dockyard is the oldest naval dockyard in the world. Compared with the other two major dockyards, Portsmouth and Devonport, it's much smaller. It packs in a great deal of incredible exhibits; several ships, a submarine, the Ropery--which is commercially manufacturing rope today--and lots of other exhibits too numerous to mention. It made it a memorable day.

We've now put up a dedicated page about the trip and the link to the gallery below. You can look at more than 200 pictures, taken by our members at a slower pace than the slideshow on the right!


Gallery for Visit To Royal Historic Dockyard Chatham

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21 March 2018 - World Down Syndrome Day 

This is a 'must-watch' video! 50 mums pay a loving tribute in song to their beautiful Down syndrome children to raise awareness that but for one extra chromosome their incredible children would be perfectly normal. As it is they are perfect to their mums, and they should be to all of us.

One of the mothers has said she is amazed after thousands of people watched a video celebrating their children. Rebecca Carless, 35, from Coventry, joined 49 other mothers from an online support group to make the video ahead of World Down's Syndrome Day.

It has since been watched and shared by people all over the globe, including celebrities such as James Corden.

She said seeing the reaction from people online had been "mad".


Down's Syndrome UK Website

We share this with our members so they can witness the wonderful celebration of love, care and understanding.

We hope you enjoy it as much as the mums and children did in making it!

If any member wants to know more about Down's Syndrome and help to fund research you can go to the UK website by clicking the link above.

(Christina Perri's lyrics are on a video and you can read them and listen to her version at the link below.)


Christina Perri's Lyrics (YouTube)

Monthly Meeting - 14 March 2018

This month we had a talk about the Oregon Trail by our guest speaker, Roger Shaw. This amazing story saw in excess of half a million people migrate from the east coast of the United States to the west coast. Roger entertained us for an hour and shared a lot of information about the journey these brave people made.

We've now put our report on Roger's talk on the website. Follow the link below to see and read it.


March 2018 Monthly Meeting Report

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Roger Shaw

National U3A Newsletter - February 2018

In addition to sending out the latest edition of Third Age Matters to all members of the movement, Head Office are now sending out a monthly newsletter.

On the left is a copy of the February newsletter.

It opens as a 'flipbook' in your browser and mimics a real book but within your browser.

If you prefer to read it as a document we have also created it for you in that format. Again, all you have to do is click on the link below and it will open up in a separate window for you.


National U3A February 2018 Newsletter


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February Monthly Meeting - Talk

At our meeting this month we were given an excellent talk by Bernie Knill on the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli and the house he lived in until his death.

We will be putting up a full report with photographs and links to useful websites about Disraeli shortly.

The photograph show Bernie (third from the right) with a fresh mug of tea in hand made by our team of supporters who keep us from drying up every month.

We have now put a synopsis on Bernie's talk on the website. Please follow the link below and you can read it and see the photographs he used in his presentation.


Monthly Meeting Talk - February 2018

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Change to the Header on our Website…

After feedback from some members we've now moved all of our navigation menus on to the main menu bar.

Apparently some folks hadn't realised there were menus on various links to other things. So, with a bit of manipulation we've moved them and hope we've made it easier for you to find what you want.

As always please give your feedback on the change if you wish. We hope it makes it easier for you to find your way around.

The Change… All the menus to access our various pages are now in the Main Menu block across the bottom of the Header section (the bit at the top of every page.)

Events Menu -
Now Called Monthly Meetings

New Pilates Group Has Started…

We now have a pilates group up and running. The convenor is April Morgan.

The group already has a full complement of members but we are looking to get a second group going if we can.

You don't have to be an expert but any group needs to have someone to look after it and ensure it's doing what we want it to do, i.e. serve our members. If you're wanting to join the second group please get in touch with April and she will do her best to help.

Pilates Interest Group Main Page

The February Newsletter

Our latest February newsletter is available to read online. Press the button below to get access to our Newsletter Archive…


Chalfonts U3A February Newsletter

The Secret Life of Hughenden Manor during World War II - 14 February 2018 

Our guest speaker for our monthly meeting is Bernie Knill.

He is a long standing (no pun intended!) volunteer for the National Trust.

The talk is about a rather secretive subject that many people know absolutely nothing about… Operation Hillside. It promises to be a fascinating subject so please come along!

As usual we will be serving tea, coffee and biscuits at the end of the talk.

6 to 10 Miles Walking Group - 25 January 2018

Members of the group went on a lovely walk around the area of Runnymead, Englefield Green and Windsor Great Park.

It was a beautiful sunny day and we finished off with a pub lunch at The Fox & Hounds.

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In the picture, from the left:

Margaret, Teresa, Wendy, Angela, Suzanne, Ros, April, Rachel, Marion and Dennis.

And we mustn't forget Tilly, Marion's beautiful dog! For those that don't know, Tilly is an honorary member of both our walking groups, and also an honorary member of Chalfonts U3A. (As are all members dog's of course!)

Walking 6 to 10 Miles Main Page

Visit To Morgan Car Factory - Thursday 18 January 2018

The Excursions group took 47 members to see how Morgan cars are made.

Morgan is an iconic brand with a proud history. The tour of the factory was certainly an eye-opener. No robots to do the work, and a process that sees every one of their cars built by hand.

The average time to make one car, from start to finish, is around 37 hours. With a full order book and around 70% of their production going to export, they may not be the largest car company in the world, but they make a unique sought after product.

To see the pictures of our tour click on the link below.


Morgan Motor Co. Gallery Page

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Some of our members with the Morgan car. Most cars don't hold their value. Morgan cars certainly do!

10th January 2018  

The January talk was by Blue Badge Tourist Guide, Graham Horn, titled A Long Walk across England.

In the spring of 2007 he set out on a journey to walk the Macmillan Way from Lincolnshire  to Dorset 300 miles in 18 days. His narrative combines pictures showing some of England's most attractive villages, hidden and historic gems, and the pleasure of strolling through the pretty countryside.

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Graham Horn

Graham's Talk On His 290 Mile Journey

We have now put a report on Graham's talk on his walk down the MacMillan Way in our Monthly Meeting Archive.

Click on the link above and it will take you to our dedicated page. Then click on the link to Graham's talk.

6 to 10 Miles Walking Group - Christmas Walk

This is a photograph of our group members who came on our very snowy December walk followed by a Christmas lunch in Wendover.

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Our Bridge Groups At Christmas!

Members of our Bridge groups met not just to play their chosen blood sport, but also to show their creative side!

The hats on display are worthy of the very best of hatteries. ?

If you hang around long enough you will see the members wearing their head gear…and if you're in any of the pictures then you're in for a surprise.

Many thanks to various group members who took them and submitted them for the sildeshow.