FEBRUARY Website
Thameside Wallingford
www.thamesidewallingfordu3a.org
February Newsletter
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Notes from the Chair
I am very sad to pass on the tragic news that Peter Wood passed away on Friday evening in the JR, having fallen critically ill very suddenly at home on Tuesday. Peter has been a u3a member for nine years and played an active role on the Outings Committee. He was in fact in the process of organising one of this year's trips. I personally very much enjoyed his company on the u3a cycle rides and he was always willing to lead a ride when I couldn't. Our heartfelt condolences go to his wife, Carol, and his daughters.
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Apart from the speaker meeting, it has been a quiet month for our u3a. There are no trips in January or February to give the outings group time to organise this year's events. However, there are a few places left on the trip to London on the 25th of March so get your booking in if you would like to go. Unfortunately, there will be no summer holiday this year as the outings committee have looked at all the available options and have had to dismiss them as too expensive.
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The new IT system is up and running for the committee and conveners will be given access very soon. As a group leader you will be able to see who has signed up to your group and get their details. Hopefully this will make organising the groups much easier as the groups coordinator will add or remove people from the group and you can see who is supposed to be in your group. We have in the past had incidences where people have been attending the wrong group and no one realised. Hopefully this will not happen with the new system.
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The 68 brave members who, despite the bad weather, came along to the speaker meeting this month were rewarded with a most entertaining and interesting talk about illusion, with a little bit of magic thrown in as well. Bertie Pearce gave many examples of illusion by various artists and how we still use it today by painting potholes on roads to slow motorists down in the USA. No need for such measures here as we have the real things!
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Next month’s talk is by Lizzy Rowe on John Piper: an Oxford Artist - should be good.
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Coffee mornings are back to normal for February and March but April’s has to move to the second Friday (10th) as the 1st Friday is Good Friday. Staying on the subject if any of you kind-hearted souls would like to help with the coffee morning rota then please make yourself known to Pam - all help welcome. On the financial side we are still making a loss every month so please can you put at least £1.50 - 2.00 in the donation tin. If we continue to make a loss then we will have to consider payment for drinks and biscuits but this is not something the committee want to do.
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That’s all, keep safe and dry.
Ian Shipton
Chair
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Upcoming Events
Next Coffee Morning will be 6th of February, 10:30 till midday.
Next Speaker Meeting – 18th of February is Lizzy Rowe – John Piper: an Oxfordshire Artist.
Next Outing – Wednesday 25th March: South Kensington Museums.
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New Members
We welcome nine new members this month.
From Wallingford, Jeremy Krause and Roger Brown; from Benson, Jane McDonald; from Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Margaret Townsend; from Cholsey, Ruth Newcombe; from Didcot, Gaynor West; from Goring Heath, Ann Cordery; from Mongewell, Susan Davison and from North Stoke, Chris Davies.
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Coffee Morning
First Friday every month – Wallingford Methodist Church St Leonard's Square OX10 0AS
This month will be 6th of February, 10:30am until midday
Elizabeth Glover & Charmaine Anderson
Next month will be 6th of March, 10:30am until midday
Pam Johnstone & Marilyn Emms
If you want to join the serving rota then please contact Pam Johnstone via the contact page.
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Groups
A new Italian Conversation group has now been set up. Details can be found on the Calendar on the website.
If you want to join or form a group, then please contact Yvonne via contact page on the website.
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For up-to-date information on the groups see the calendar page on the website.
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Speaker Meetings
Third Wednesday 2:00 pm every month at St Mary's Church Wallingford.
18th of February - Lizzy Rowe on John Piper: an Oxfordshire Artist.
Lizzy Rowe is an art historian who studied at the Courtauld Institute in London before joining English Heritage as a guidebook editor.
She currently lives in Oxford where she teaches Art History in primary schools, as well as giving guided tours and talks.
In this talk she finds traces of John Piper, the neo-Romantic British artist, writer and designer all over Oxfordshire and shows Oxfordshire through the eyes of a man who cared deeply about the countryside and our built heritage and celebrated it in his art.
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Following Speaker Meeting – 18th March - Dr Paul Roberts - Sicilian Splendours.
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More on speaker meetings can be found on our speakers' webpage.
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Outings
South Kensington Museums - Wednesday 25 March 2026
As stated in Ian’s notes above, Ken Johnstone has taken over this outing. He will be contacting all those who’ve expressed an interest in going.
This outing follows two suggestions from the Outings Survey (Victoria & Albert Museum; plus Science and Natural History Museums). It also addresses two reasons given for members not going on trips: it is not on a Thursday, and the cost of outings.
The three principal museums in South Kensington have wide ranging collections
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My favourite part of The Victoria and Albert Museum is the Cast Courts with a vast gallery of monumental plaster casts ranging in size from Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine’s effigy through Michelangelo’s David (above) to Trajan’s Column from Rome (in two parts).
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The Natural History Museum isn’t just species that were once alive; I hope to spend time looking again at the minerals and geological specimens.
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There is a new Space Gallery in the Science Museum. Personally I hope the previous display is still there featuring rockets & engines with memorable names from the 60’s & 70’s.
There are other attractions within a mile of the Science Museum e.g. Albert Memorial, Kensington Palace (charge applies), the nearer parts of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park plus shops (e.g. Harrods). The three museums have cafes with others nearby around South Kensington tube station, about 300 yards away.
The 49-seat coach (with WC) will cost £24 per person. Entry to all three museums is free, but they have three different policies for advance booking of entry times; I will manage this when we have final numbers. We will leave Wallingford and Crowmarsh at 09:15 and leave the museums for home at 17:00.
To book please email the following FIVE points of Booking information to Ken Johnstone on Outings1@thamesidewallingfordu3a.org with "SouthKenSurname" in the Subject.
1. My/our Name(s)
2. My phone number(s) & email address
3. Reserve for me .... place(s) @ £24.00 per person
4. Pick me up from ... Wallingford Museum or ... Crowmarsh Church
5. Name, relationship and phone number of an emergency contact on that day.
DO NOT PAY YET. You will be asked to pay using online bank transfer or cheque when you are offered a place.
More information about our outings can be found on the outings webpage.
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Contact any of the below via our contact page
Committee 2025/26
Chairman – Ian Shipton
Deputy Chairman – Ken Johnstone
Treasurer – Tony Fenner
Secretary – Hilly Bailey
Meeting Minutes – Jane Milne
Membership Secretary – Charmaine Anderson
Database Administrator – Malcolm Brooks
Thames Valley Network Rep – Neil Kelly
Newsletter Collator – Bob Ferguson
Communications including Newsletter - Ian Shipton & Malcolm Brooks
Calendar & Website – Sarah Robinson
Co-opted member – Anna Gordon
Coordinators:
Groups Co-ordinator – Yvonne Griffiths
Speakers Co-ordinator – Jane Tuckett
Outings Co-ordinator – Ken Johnstone
Coffee Mornings Rota – Pam Johnstone
Speaker Refreshments – Richard & Ros Steptoe
Accessibility & Inclusivity – Jane Milne
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Sign up for the u3a National Newsletter for news and stories from across the u3a movement.
u3a members can join a wide range of online talks, workshops and courses for free with their membership
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Thames Valley Network
We are one of 38 branches within the Thames Valley Network (TVN).
If you would like to receive information directly from TVN with details of Study Days & Workshops, please email events_info@u3atvnetwork.org.uk
TVN Study Days:
Study days are on Zoom and need to be booked on TVN website.
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