Newsletter

Hello, and a warm welcome to our new members

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

We have a really full newsletter this month which reflects the activity of many of the groups and visits over the summer. The groups list sent to members shows which groups are full and which have vacancies. Even if they are full, if there is enough interest a second group can be formed.
We are looking forward to welcoming you to our September monthly meeting at the new time of 11.00 with welcome refreshments at 10.15 – all in the church. Our speaker is one of our members Carolyn Hornblow, so please come along and support her.

It is coming up to a new year for Stewartry u3a and several of our committee members have served their terms of office and will be standing down. This means that we must add new committee members to make sure that we can continue running the organisation. Please do come forward and find out more, you can talk to any of the existing committee at the meeting, and there is a nomination form attached to this newsletter. If you do want to find out more, you are also welcome to come along to our next committee meeting on 28th October.

There are a couple more excursions this year, and the Events Team are now looking at where we will go next year. We will be organising more local mini-coach excursions and a long list will be able at the September meeting for you to look at and nominate the ones that interest you. The list will also be circulated to the membership as a whole and we will then finalise that list for the October meeting and firm up 2026 dates. It is hoped that this will allow members to make a firm commitment in advance.

We look forward to welcoming you to our future meetings and excursions.

Stephen Bullock, Chair

Hello, and a warm welcome to our new members

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

With summer in full swing, the newsletter emailed to members contains details of our Summer excursions offered over the next three months. Please book your seats on these excursions as soon as possible.

There are also reports on our recent excursions together with articles on several of our Groups activities so far this summer.

It is at this time of year that we must think about recruiting members to join our managing team who oversee the running of our u3a. At the November AGM we will have up to 6 vacancies to fill, including the important role of treasurer. To enable time to train a new team it is important that members come forward now to help run our u3a. Please come forward and offer your help. For more details about the various roles please contact our Secretary, details at end of Newsletter.

As many members will be aware, the Stewartry is again subject to various planning applications for the building of windfarms and ‘energy farms’. Our u3a, together with several others around Scotland, have been contacted requesting support for the ‘Highland Convention’ which is calling on the Scottish Government to “undertake a planning commission to address the whole cumulative impact of all major energy infrastructure developments”.

If any members do not wish our u3a to support this proposal please let me know as soon as possible,

Stephen Bullock, Chair

Hello, and a warm welcome to our new members,

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

As we start the summer season, we have much to look forward to. Although we do not have Members Meetings during June, July and August, many of our Groups continue to meet and enjoy their subject matters. In this month’s Newsletter several Groups report on their recent activities which range from enjoying the Spring Fling, investigating the history of a local community, as well as enjoying the local birdlife. And if this does not whet your appetite, take a close look at the incredible things that are happening in the world of science. Details of various excursions taking place in July and August are also listed in this Newsletter. The Events Team continues to be busy both organising excursions and helping Groups to visit places of interest. Some of these Group’s excursions offer invitations to u3a members to join them. This is a very useful way of helping you to decide whether you would like to join the Group. This Newsletter also contains details of the u3a Scotland Jamboree which is taking place in August. This will be an informative and fun event which every member is invited to attend. If you would like to join the party, please contact our Secretary. Thank you to all members who completed the Members Survey recently. The Committee are now reviewing the responses and will be considering how best to implement this feed-back. The Committee meet in late July and will provide feed-back at the Annual General Meeting. Hopefully I will see you during the summer on one of our excursions.

Stephen Bullock, Chair

Hello, and a warm welcome to our new members,

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

May is the last members meeting before we have a summer break. Our speaker at the meeting will be Jeremy Shearmur who will giving us a humorous review of the last 70 years of shopping. I am sure that Jeremy, who is a member of our u3a will provide great entertainment. This month we have a wide range of reports from our groups which cover an amazing range of topics, ranging from events close to home to overseas travel. Each of these contains a wealth of information and are truly worth reading. Our excursions are now in full swing as we list below some that are offered for the summer months. Two additional excursions will be announced at the members meeting and dates are now firmly in the calendar. Please see us at the events table in the refreshment hall after the meeting if you would like more information. Hopefully you have all been enjoying this fine spring weather but maybe we gardeners would appreciate a few wet evenings to revive our plants. I hope everybody has an opportunity to get out and about whether its with one of our groups or excursions. I look forward to seeing you at the meeting on 27th.

Stephen Bullock, Chair

Hello, and a warm welcome to our new members

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

Stewartry u3a is run by its members for its members. To help the Committee understand the needs of members a brief survey will be sent to every member during the next few days. Please complete this survey as soon as possible and return to the Committee by email or hand in at the Members Meeting next Tuesday (22nd April).
During the past few weeks, we have enjoyed excellent Spring weather and several of our Groups have been out and about enjoying life. Articles in this Newsletter show our members ‘learning, laughing and living’. Becoming a member of Stewartry u3a also means that you have access to any of the benefits offered by the National u3a body. This month our Newsletter contains contact details if you wish to explore what is offer.

Those of you who receive the u3a National magazine “u3a Matters” may have seen the article on page 17 about our Beach Clean-up Group. Congratulations to this Group for making national headlines and showing our u3a in a good light. I am sure that many of our Groups are worthy of appearing in the national magazine. If interested let the Committee know.

Our April members meeting is on Tuesday 22nd April where Jim Rae will give us an insight into life on Eskrigg Nature Reserve. Please come along with any questions you may have, bring your completed members survey and book your seats on the excursions that we are running during the Spring.

Stephen Bullock, Chair

Hello, and a warm welcome to our new members

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members

Occasionally I am asked if a person needs to be over 50, 60, or 65 years of age to become a member of the u3a. The simple answer is no. Anyone who has time and a commitment to Learn, Laugh, Live can become a member, but one stipulation being that the person should normally not be in full time employment, so that they have the time to enjoy what u3a has to offer. Although our u3a does not record the dates of birth of our members, I personally know a member who is in her 30’s, whilst another is approaching her centenary, so we cater for all interests and ages.  Anyone looking at the range of our u3a activities can quickly see how much is on offer. It is very easy to fill almost everyday of the week with some form of u3a activity. And then of course, there is the social life. “It’s all about having fun”, as one member explained to me. To illustrate this point, this month’s Group Reports offers diverse and
fascinating reading, which shows the passion and knowledge of our members.

This Newsletter also contains details of three excursions which our Events Team have organised for early summer. These will be popular so book early to avoid disappointment.

Our speaker at this months Members Meeting gives us an insight into a very Scottish musical instrument whose fame has spread around the world. Whether it be a Burns Night celebration, a formal Scottish wedding or a national occasion, the pipes will be heard. Please come along and enjoy a musical afternoon on Tuesday 25th March.

Stephen Bullock, Chair

Hello, and a warm welcome to our new members

The full Monthly Newsletter is emailed to members.

We produce our monthly Newsletter to keep our members informed about what is happening in our u3a. This month we have several reports from Groups which are full of interesting details about the subjects that they are passionate about. You cannot fail to learn something new when reading these reports. Joining an interest Group is a simple and enjoyable way of learning new things, and is also a good way of making new friends.

Our Events Team have been busy counting your votes selecting the ‘big coach’ excursions for 2025. Each of the venues in the final selection received over 50 votes, so as the coach carries 49 passengers please read the article below and keep an eye on future Newsletters for announcements when each excursion is open for bookings.

Members who attended the January meeting told me how much they enjoyed the talk on Flying with the Royals with its many behind the scenes stories of worldwide travel. This month we have possibly a more sensitive talk by Kate Phillips on Scottish involvement in the slave trade. Kate’s talk entitled Bought and Sold may broaden our knowledge on this period of local history.

I look forward to seeing you at the meeting on Tuesday 25th February, do please come to me and say hello, especially if you are a new member.

Stephen Bullock, Chair