Monthly Meetings

New Monthly Meeting Time from September 2025

IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT STEWARTRY U3A MONTHLY MEETINGS

In response to significant feedback from members your Committee has decided to try holding the Monthly Meetings in the morning.

Meetings will continue to be held on the 4th Tuesday as before in the Parish Church. However, tea and coffee will be served in the Church itself from 10.15am and be followed by the talk at 11am. The meeting will end by midday.

There are advantages to this arrangement:

  • The sun will not impact the screen making the presentation easier to see
  • In winter members will not be going home in the dark
  • Using the Church for the social gathering means there will be more seats and people can sit where they choose
  • This should also mean the social gathering will not be so noisy, which has been a problem for members with hearing loss

There is one downside though.  There will be fewer car parking spaces as the hall is in use by another user group. These spaces need to be reserved for Blue Badge holding car drivers please. Would all drivers who are able to walk up to the Church please do so, having dropped off less mobile members beforehand.

Your Committee had searched for an alternative venue but have not found any other hall to be suitable due to the size of the audience and accessibility issue.

This is a trial for the remaining three meetings of this calendar year and we welcome feedback, both positive and negative, when we have tried this out.

January 2025 Newsletter message from our Chair

Hello, and welcome to our new members.
As we start a New Year it is a good time to make plans. With this Newsletter (emailed to members) you will find a copy of the list of Speakers that we have booked for 2025 together with the dates for our Members Meetings. Please insert these dates in your new diaries or add them to the calendar on your phone. Our members Meetings are designed to inform, entertain and educate, so please come along to our first meeting on Tuesday 28 January and be treated to a Royal experience. This Newsletter also offers the opportunity to vote on a selection of excursions for 2025. Our Events Team have gathered up the names of venues members have recommended and now wish members to choose their favourites. From these votes the Team will organise the three most favoured venues for our 2025 ‘big bus’ excursions. We have already started to organise some activities for this year, the first being a mini-coach trip to Glasgow in March. This excursion offers a range of activities, whether a shopping trip to the City Centre, a visit to the Riverside Museum or enjoying the Creative Craft Show at the SEC. This excursion gives members a choice. Our Groups are already busy in 2025 so if you need more information about what is on offer, please see the List of Groups enclosed and the Groups Calendar.

Stephen Bullock, Chair

November 2024 Newsletter message from our Chair

Hello, and welcome to our new members.

This month we hold our Annual General Meeting which gives members an opportunity to reflect on the many interesting and varied activities we have enjoyed throughout the past 12 months. This is also the opportunity to thank our Committee members who have worked so hard to make our u3a so vibrant and fulfilling. DO PLEASE ATTEND this meeting so that you can show your support. The AGM will be followed by a seasonal presentation by the very popular Mostly Ghostly artists, who will be talking about the history of the Crichton. Please see the atmospheric poster accompanying the Newsletter. At the end of the meeting, we will adjourn to the Church Hall for refreshments, where on the Events table the Team will be collecting ideas from members for destinations that we may include in our Excursion Programme for 2025. Please think about where you would like to visit next year and add your suggestions to the list. This will be the last Newsletter for 2024. We hope that you have enjoyed reading it every month and that it has enhanced your experience as a member of Stewartry u3a. We owe a big thank you to Helen Henderson who is the Editor, as well as all the contributors who have written fascinating articles. We can be very proud of our Newsletter. We look forward to seeing you at the AGM where you will hear that our u3a is in good fettle for the future. PS: we have a full committee for next year, so you can come with a clear conscience!

Stephen Bullock, Chair

October 2024 Newsletter message from our Chair

Hello, and welcome to our new members.

When I talk to members of other u3a’s I always say that we have a vibrant and interesting u3a here in the Stewartry. I think that anyone reading our monthly newsletters would surely agree. This month is no exception, and I wish to thank all the contributors for their time in writing the various reports. Our last excursion of the year, to Edinburgh for Christmas, is filling quickly so please reserve your seat sooner rather than later. Our excursion to Glasgow at the end of this month is now fully booked. With our AGM in November fast approaching we are still seeking volunteers to help us run our u3a. The old saying of ‘many hands make light work’ is very true, so please come forward and offer your services by contacting me either via email or at this month’s Members Meeting. This month’s Members Meeting is on Tuesday 22 October. Our talk is on the area of St. Pancras, London made famous by the construction of the Railway Station in the 1860’s by the Midland Railway Co. Please join us for this fascinating talk about the history of this important area which has touched many lives.

Stephen Bullock, Chair

September 2024 Newsletter message from our Chair

Hello, and Welcome to our new members

We restart our Monthly Members Meetings on Thursday 24th September, commencing at 2pm where our speaker will be Mary Smith who is a Ranger at NTS Threave Nature Reserve. If you have visited the reserve during the past two years you will have seen some very interesting developments. Mary’s presentation will give us the background to this project and an insight into its future.

During the Summer months our members have been out and about enjoying what life has to offer. Our excursions have taken us to Northumberland, Fife, Cumbria, the Borders, County Durham, and all around Dumfries and Galloway: visiting Castles, Museums, Palaces, Art Galleries and Gardens. We still have more excursions on offer for 2024, and our Events Team are already starting to plan our 2025 excursions.

Occasionally we talk about health issues at our u3a meetings. In this months Newsletter we have an article from a member who is asking if members are interested in starting a discussion group on the topic of Arthritis. If you are a sufferer, or care for someone who suffers please read this article carefully and respond to the request if you think that it would help.

On your behalf I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this months Newsletter. Your efforts are very much appreciated. If your Group would like to submit an article about what you do please send it to the editor.

Every member will have received a letter / email from me last week about the forthcoming AGM. I look forward to hearing from you.

Stephen Bullock, Chair

June 2024 Newsletter message from our Chair

Hello, and welcome to our new members.
We now start our Summer season of activities, although currently the weather is not too warm. Hopefully it will improve so that we can enjoy the various excursions we have planned for this season. Our first two excursions occur during the next three weeks, and we still have seats available. The Beamish excursion will revive
memories of our earlier lives and is guaranteed to generate the question “do you remember when” from many of our passengers. The Holehird Garden excursion will offer a feast of sights and smells as we travel through the Lake District to Windermere, then visit this beautiful garden. In the later excursion, because we are travelling by minibus, we will be able to park next to the Walled Garden and thus avoid the long up hill walk along the drive.

The Newsletter (emailed to members, lovingly put together and very informative) is again full of reports from our Groups, which demonstrates what a talented and vibrant u3a we are. For new members especially, these reports give a flavour of what each Group does and has to offer for an enquiring mind. Although we do not have another Members Meeting until September, Stewartry u3a is still very active, so do please keep in touch. I look forward to seeing you on our Summer excursions.

Stephen, Chair

May 2024 Newsletter message from our Chair

Hello, and welcome to our new members.
Our May Members Meeting is the last before the Summer break. The speaker this month is Lawrence Bristow-Smith who has enjoyed an international career as a British diplomat. I am sure that the stories he will tell us may provide a different prospective on life. Lawrence has also worked as an academic and published a number of books, so his talk should be varied and interesting. Although we are without Members Meetings during the Summer, many of our Groups continue to meet and enjoy their subjects. Again this month our Newsletter contains excellent reports from some of our Groups explaining what they are learning, doing, and how they are enjoying life. In addition this month it is interesting to read of a debate between two of our Groups who hold differing views on the current state of electric vehicle development.

During the Summer our u3a is offering a variety of excursions to members, to suit varying tastes. Our Events Team organised a very enjoyable excursion to Alnwich Castle in late April and are now taking bookings for the Beamish Living Museum excursion in June. Thereafter we have excursions to various gardens, museums, and historic venues. Please study the list of excursions and book your summer day trips before all the seats are sold. Hopefully we will enjoy a good summer of fine weather which will encourage us to get out and about. If you join us on one of our day trips I can assure you of an interesting day in good company. What more can one ask for. I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 28 May at 2 pm in Castle Douglas Parish Church, and please join us for refreshments in the Hall after the meeting.

Stephen, Chair

April 2024 Newsletter message from our Chair

Hello, and welcome to our new members.

Yes, Spring is with us, although it would feel more like it if it stopped raining and warmed up a little!

During the past four weeks I have been fortunate in joining two of our Groups who have been out and about learning something new and enjoying themselves. The Transport Matters Group visited an Aircraft Museum, whilst the Art Appreciation Group visited two art exhibitions. Although the subject matter is very different, both excursions were most informative and enjoyable. The members of both Groups showed a passion for their subject and the collective spirit of ‘enquiring minds’ on the day was clear to see. The reports on both these excursions are contained in this newsletter.

This newsletter contains a range of reports from Groups covering a variety of topics. The common theme is of members learning, laughing and living all within the true spirit of u3a. A very BIG thank you to all the authors of these reports which are really interesting to read. I must also say that the photographs certainly add something special to our newsletter.

Whilst referring to Groups, will Facilitators please ensure that the date of Thursday 30 May is reserved in diaries [PLEASE NOTE this event has now been postponed] as Magnus and Jackie are organising a Facilitators Meeting at Castle Douglas Community Centre.

Having organised the Alnwick excursion which takes place on 30 April, our Events Team are now dealing with bookings for the Beamish Living Museum excursion on Tuesday 25 June. Full details are in this newsletter. Please book early for this excursion as we will need to purchase the venue tickets in late May. The Events Team are also now planning excursions for the Summer months. Details of some of these will be available at the Events Table in the Hall after this months Members Meeting.

Our speaker at this months Members Meeting on Tuesday 23 April is Richard Tufnell, a member of our u3a. Richard, who is known world-wide as an expert in the history and craft of stonewalling, will present the story of two remote World Heritage sites. Enjoy a journey to these inaccessible parts of our islands without having to leave your seat!

Please come and join us at Castle Douglas Parish Church, starting at 2 pm and enjoy refreshments and a chat afterwards.

Stephen, Chair

March 2024 Newsletter message from our Chair

Newsletter message from our Stewartry U3A Chair
The full newsletter is emailed to all members monthly.

Hello, and welcome to our new members.

I am often impressed by the knowledge and expertise of our u3a members. Our members often display a positive attitude to life, which is clearly demonstrated by the content in this months newsletter.

The Group Reports cover a wide range of topics all of which are interesting, informative, and worthy of a careful read.  On your behalf I would like to thank all the authors of these reports.  Our u3a always needs more group facilitators and you will find a short article in this newsletter explaining how you may be able to help by becoming a facilitator.  Do not be shy, please contact Magnus or Jackie for more information.

Last months speaker, Michael Perry, presented a fascinating talk on what could have been a difficult subject.  Michael, who is a member of our u3a, deserves our gratitude for helping us less scientific members to understand a little of this important subject.  This month we have Jim Logan speaking on the topic “Between the Tides” which gives us an insight into what we can see on the Solway coast line.

Our Events Team continue to be very busy organising excursions to a range of destinations.  Full details of excursions planned for the next ten weeks are contained in the newsletter, which includes the full itinerary for our excursion to the Beamish Living Museum of the North.  Please book your seats on these excursions as soon as possible to help the Team pre-order the venue tickets.

I hope that you enjoy reading this newsletter and I look forward to seeing you at our March Members Meeting on Tuesday 26th March at 2pm in Castle Douglas Parish Church.

Stephen, Chair

February 2024 Newsletter message from our Chair

Newsletter message from our Stewartry U3A Chair
The full newsletter is emailed to all members monthly.

Hello, and welcome to our new members.

This months newsletter is a little earlier than usual.  Our next Monthly Members Meeting is on Tuesday 27th February at 2pm in Castle Douglas Parish Church.  Our speaker this month is Michael Perry who is a member of our u3a.  Michael’s talk, entitled “The Astronomers Tool Kit”, will be a fascinating explanation about how we can see and appreciate the universe around us.  Michael promises his talk will be understandable and not too technical.

Our talk last month given by Stuart Anderson from the Stroke Association was very informative, which included Stuart recounting his personal experience of suffering a stroke.  Stuart left us with a small supply of “help” cards which will be available at our next meeting.

Again a big thank you to those Groups who have submitted articles for this months newsletter.  If your Group has not submitted an article recently, please let all our members know what your Group enjoys by writing a short article for a future newsletter.  By spreading the word about all our Groups all members benefit and it may also help to attract new members.

This months newsletter contains information about upcoming excursions.  This year our Events Team will be running three major excursions, with several mini excursions being organised by our Groups.  Please support these excursions as our Events Team and a number of facilitators devote a lot of time and effort in making these excursions happen.  Every excursion that I have been on has been a pleasure and fun!

I look forward to seeing you at the next members meeting and I hope that we will have an opportunity to have a chat after the meeting whilst enjoying refreshments in the Church Hall.

Stephen Bullock, Chair