Newsletter

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I hate to be a moaner, but it has been a bit hot for me over the past few weeks. I hope you are all keeping cool, hydrated and healthy.

Early in June I joined the members of Bird Watching Group 1 for a walk on the Threave estate with the prime aim of seeing the Ospreys on their nest. On the way we stopped to look at the battlements on the castle where the Peregrin Falcons had built their nest next to some fairly nervous looking neighbours. The Ospreys didn’t disappoint and we were told that the first egg had hatched that day. I was so impressed that four weeks later I returned to see how things had progressed. The Peregrins were still there but there was a distinct absence of neighbours for whatever reason. The Osprey chicks had grown plumage and were huge. If you’ve not been for a bit, I can recommend the walk with its well-maintained pathway which is wheelchair friendly.

The coffee mornings are continuing with the next one on the 31st of July at the Castle Douglas Community Centre (CDCC). Plenty of relaxed chatting going on and old friends meeting up. Members, please use the Group Enquiry button on the Contacts page of this website if you would like join in.

I’m pleased to let you know that we are in the process of setting up a Music Appreciation Group led by the highly expert Helen Keating. The music for this group will be classical but there is a possibility that we will also be setting up a group for more modern tastes. The inaugural meeting for Helen’s group will be in CDCC towards the end of September where we will discuss what the format for the group will be.

Don’t forget that the next General Meeting will be on the 22nd of September where I will have a significant announcement to make.

Rob Mitchell, Chair

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First a heartfelt thanks to Jackie Medicks for organising the social / new members gathering in Castle Douglas Community Centre on the 17th June. The room was at capacity and echoed with lively conversation. It was a rewarding experience for me to circulate and meet members old and new as I get a feel for the direction the organisation is moving in and how its members perceive it. I look forward to the next gathering on the 1st July.

This brings me to a piece of news to which we should all pay heed. The u3a in Hamilton is in the process of ceasing to exist despite having over a hundred members and active groups. The reason for this demise is that nobody there is prepared to take on the responsibilities for keeping the organisation going. It would be folly for me to pretend that the same threat does not exist closer to home. Our committee and its officers are a dedicated bunch and many of them have been in their roles for a long time and are so good at it that only a few members seem to see a reason to step up and join the team. Maybe a good time to add that being new to u3a does not mean that you won’t be an asset to the committee, we will be open to new ideas and approaches that you will bring from your working life experience.

Manpower shortage is nowhere more acute than in the team that manages our excursions. It’s hard not to recall Stephen Bullock and Helen Henderson’s multiple appeals for members to join the excursion team which, sadly, have fallen on deaf ears. It is now time to make serious committee decisions on the future of this facility. This is what we need –

Couriers. These are the members who come on the excursion and check other members onto the bus at the start of the journey and, slightly more importantly, check them onto the bus for the return journey. They would also give a short briefing to the passengers on the journey and how the visit will be timed, food arrangements etc. This should add up to no more than 40 minutes actual activity for the trip.

Drivers. If you have a driving licence that includes class D1 then you would be able to drive one of the minibuses if you are passed fit at a short medical examination. The role includes planning and timing the journey and, of course, driving it.

Administrators. Administrators will plan and manage events, liaising with the venues and bus companies, registering the participants and ensuring that the payments are taken. This is something that can mainly be done from home but they would also man the events table at the general meetings from time to time. Of course, the more members who come forward and offer to help the less often they will each need to help out. It really is up to you all whether this feature of our u3a continues; we will look at the response and from that decide if we are able to continue providing excursions as part of Stewartry u3a’s programme. I’m minded of John F Kennedy’s Inaugural Address – ‘Ask not what my country can do for me ….’

I hope you are all enjoying the Summer with its fluctuations between sun and rain making the garden weeds happy.

Rob Mitchell, Chair

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My thanks to Ann for chairing the last General Meeting while I was sunning myself in Fife. I hear that the Titanic presentation was well received and my thanks must also go to Donald Henderson for putting a local slant on a well told story.

The Committee discussed the outstanding issue of the timing, location and format of the General Meetings last month. We confirmed that Castle Douglas is the central location for the Stewartry area in terms of public transport and road access, and that the parish church is the only place of sufficient size to accommodate us all in Castle Douglas which also gives the support that we need. The feedback we did receive suggested that there was an even split of opinion on the am / pm question and, as the lighting is better in the morning, we won’t change from that. What we did decide to change was the format of the meeting. As it is now there is little opportunity for members to meet together, talk to the members of the committee or look at the excursion information that is provided.

From September the meeting will start with the presentation at 10:30 until around 11:30 and then enjoy a drink and a chat afterwards with time for the committee to circulate and for members to visit the excursion team table.

At the meeting this month we will be learning about the Galloway Association of Glasgow from Angus Rex. This charitable organisation was founded in 1791 and provides financial support to organisations within the Dumfries and Galloway area.

Rob Mitchell, Chair

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As the days become longer so the main season for the u3a excursions is with us. Unfortunately, it seems, it also the season for international disharmony, with the Strait of Hormuz off limits for oil tankers as I write. Inevitably the cost of fuel is going to increase, although not for booked trips. To help with this our u3a has put a bid into the Dumfries and Galloway Regionwide Community Fund for financial assistance. The bid was only sent in on the 9th so too early to report any progress. My thanks to Stephen Bullock and Pen Graham for taking on the writing of the bid.

However, we have arranged an interesting selection of excursions locally, especially a picnic at Arbigland House and Gardens to see the spectacular displays of azaleas and rhododendrons and have a personalised tour of the house on 20th May. So please come along and see what was so beautifully described in our January talk (for details see our Events section below).

At their next meeting the committee will be discussing the vexed question of the time, sequence and location of our General Meetings. My thanks to those who offered their views on the matter which will be taken into consideration. Our presentation by Donald Henderson on the 28th of April will be on the tragic story of the Titanic, with local interest references. I have seen the many interesting pictures so I am sure it will be worth the trip to come and join us, meet up with old friends and share gossip.

The hedgerows are full of daffodils so Spring must be upon us and maybe this windy, cold and rainy winter is coming to an end. Enjoy the Summer.

Rob Mitchell, Chair

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Your committee is meeting in April and will review the decision to change the time and location of the General Meetings. Those who were at the last general meeting will recall that I went through the parameters that govern the appropriateness of the meetings, so this is aimed at those who were not there. Essentially the decision hinges on location, time and format (the order of events), with a look at whether there should be any changes to the content.

It is hard to see a location other than Castle Douglas working, as the public transport system radiates from the town and making a journey from say the west through Castle Douglas to another town would require an early start.

The time of the meeting was altered to avoid the sun streaming through the window making the screen hard to see which could be resolved by choosing another location in Castle Douglas. Some alternatives have been suggested but most lack the capacity, including the hall of the current meeting place. The town hall was a possibility, but it has disadvantages: setting out chairs, ladies loos are down steps, no hearing loop and inadequate audiovisual system.

The change of time brought about a change in order, with refreshments being provided first, so that those not able to get there by 10:30 would not miss any of the presentation or be given a drink shortly before they would have their lunch. The feedback that I have gleaned from my visits to Groups has not been in any way conclusive with many saying that they don’t go to the meetings anyway, which brings me to whether we should vary what happens at them. I would be interested to hear from you on what kind of event would encourage you to come. Workshops giving information on all those things that worry us in the Third Age, cost of heating, health etc. have been mooted.

I would like your opinions to be represented in the discussion. So, if you could
send your suggestions to me I will bring them to the meeting.

Rob Mitchell, Chair

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

My first few weeks as your chairman visiting the Groups have been fascinating.

Mid-January I discovered the minute detail that the local history group at the CD Community Centre go into discovering and discussing what life was like for the local inhabitants of this area. So much research produced amazingly detailed accounts of the experiences of the less wealthy people in the area.

Later I watched the line dancers in Kirkcudbright go through long synchronised routines with barely an error. u3a is about using our brains to keep ourselves alert and the members of this group demonstrated doing just that while keeping themselves fit.

Finally, I discovered words that I never dreamed existed with the Scrabble group in the King’s Arms in CD. My score was abysmal!

My next groups will stimulate my aesthetic side, with a visit to Art Appreciation and then Creative Writing.

One forward step which will result in smoother presentations during the General Meetings has been the acquisition of a replacement computer to manage the PowerPoint displays. The old one was quite frightening, frequently freezing at crucial moments. My thanks to Magnus for locating a suitable device and of course to Pen for finding the money!

I’m looking forward to meeting up with the facilitators in April. Facilitators are the backbone of the organisation and deserve recognition.

Rob Mitchell, Chair

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

Welcome to a new year of u3a How time flies! Seems only a couple of days ago I quite suddenly found myself elected to be the new chairman and now here we are, Christmas and Hogmanay been and gone, and I’m writing the introduction to the new year’s first newsletter. My intention is to come out and meet as many of you as I can in your groups, getting to find out how u3a works for you and possibly how, hopefully in a small way, it doesn’t. By the time of the meeting, I should have learned some local history in Castle Douglas and be about to witness line dancing in Kirkcudbright. At our first meeting of the year Alistair Alcock and Wayne Whitaker will be talking about the mammoth task they have taken upon themselves in restoring Arbigland, a large house between Carsethorn and Southerness on the west side of the Nith estuary. My own interest in this is that we Beach Cleaners often go to the beautiful beach, often marred by human detritus, which is at the bottom of a driveway from the house at Arbigland. We get the double joy of restoring the beach to its natural self and then of convincing ourselves that the haul up the drive back to the house after a couple of hours of litter picking is doing our cardio-vascular system the world of good. Enough of plugging the beach cleaners! My wish is that you all find being a member of u3a a fulfilling experience, but remember that the organisation is, at heart, a self-help group and that without those of you who offer your help nothing would happen. I am particularly grateful to those members who offered to become part of the Executive Committee, making up a full complement this year. Maybe you could make a difference in your group or even enthuse others to follow you own interest. Looking forward to meeting you all on the 27th.

Rob Mitchell, Chair

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

Welcome from the New Chairman

I do feel honoured and not a little apprehensive to have been elected to take on the role of Chairman of the Stewartry u3a. Stephen has left very big shoes to fill, warm and appreciative at the general meetings and perceptive in committee, he has steered our u3a through difficult times and our experience has been enhanced by his steadying hand. I will almost certainly be different but am determined to succeed in continuing the organisation’s development. A few brief words about me – after a few years serving in the Grenadier Guards I went to college and then took up a position in the NHS working in supporting training and education in a large teaching hospital. My role evolved to include, initiating and maintaining the internet and intranet sites in the mid 90s. I seemed to find myself in roles that involved supporting communication, so my life experience has taught me that failures in communication are possibly the prime source of misunderstanding and then discord. I am relatively new to u3a so hope I come to be your chairman with fresh eyes, possibly asking the question – ‘What is u3a actually for?’, ‘What are our members expectations?” and “Do they match?”. To this end I would like to come and meet as many of you as I can on your home turf, within your groups where, in a relaxed atmosphere, we can talk about what your actual expectations are and from that what questions should be asked. On behalf of the Committee, I wish you a Merry Christmas and hope we all enjoy a peaceful New Year.

Rob Mitchell, Chair

Hello, and a warm welcome to our new members

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

This month’s Newsletter has a particular international feel about it. The talk this month is about Dr Werner Kissling, German born, who spent some of his life on the Hebrides, and then lived in Dumfries for 30 years. This talk is rich with photographs of rural life in Dumfries & Galloway. Two of our Group’s Reports focus on overseas destinations. One gives a flavour of living in Myanmar over three time periods, whilst another takes us to Venice with a tour of some of its world class art. So, there is much to read this month.

We still have some excursions on offer before Christmas, and it would be helpful if members can book their seats as soon as possible. Details are in this newsletter. The Events Team are also seeking feedback on the suggested excursions for 2026. This is your opportunity to tell the Team which excursions you wish to see being offered next year.

Lastly our AGM is in November, so we need nominations for filling committee submitted to our Secretary by 28 October 2025. It is important that you think about the article PLEASE READ THIS! in this Newsletter.

I look forward to seeing you at the Members Meeting on Tuesday 28 October – refreshments from 10.15am, meeting starts at 11.00am.

Stephen Bullock, Chair