Five Mile Walking Group

Sep 24, 2019 | 20192020Archive

On 20th September 27 members of the Five Mile Walking Group visited the Stour Valley Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Bournemouth. On a warm and sunny morning new member Peter Ashley took these photos. The group meets on the third Friday of every month, starting at 10 am and finishing with an optional pub lunch. New recruits are always welcome. Contact Ian Burr on 07501 049199 or ianburr353@btinternet.com – or look for details of the next walk on the notice board at the Barrington Centre.

Regards

Ian Burr

K19 – GOLF

Sep 23, 2019 | 20192020Archive

Our inaugural meeting at Somerley on Friday 20^th September 2019 was a complete success and we had a great afternoon. Not only were we able to share some beautiful weather but we were also able to make friends and have a good laugh.   And at the end of the day, did the golf we played actually matter?

If anyone reading this would like to join our band of merry golfers, please get in touch.

Until then, keeeeeep swinging!

Glyn Bosanko

What a great way to start our new year!…….

Sep 13, 2019 | 20192020Archive

On Friday nearly 50 of our new members met with your Committee to see how FU3A works, and heard about the Website (Anne Hutton), Using Beacon (Malcolm Gill), Group J1 Discovering Dorset (Keith Banks), and Future Events (Derek Holden). All agreed these were helpful and interesting presentations.  During the morning, Moo Leng Loakes our 600th member, was presented with free membership for the coming year.

Don’t forget the Opening Friday ‘Ferndown Quiz’ on September 20th with Rodger Pettengell – this will be in the Main Hall at the Barrington from 09:45, with the usual free tea/coffee available before the quiz starts.
I hope your own programme of chosen Groups gets off to a good start, and wish you another enjoyable year with FU3A.

Bob Reeve, Chairman

Discovering Wessex 2019-2020

Sep 3, 2019 | 20192020Archive

We are very pleased to tell you that Discovering Wessex is once again the largest single group in the Ferndown & District U3A with some 85 odd members. We’re also glad to welcome a large number of new members this year – some new to Ferndown U3A & some existing members who are new to the Discovering Wessex J1 Group

So this seems an ideal opportunity to highlight & remind ourselves of this group’s structure, aims & programme.  Firstly – what are the U3A’s main objectives & what is it all about ?

Well the U3A ideal is based on the self-help Learning Principle

• Members form interest groups covering a wide a range of topics & activities, run by members, for the members.
• No qualifications are sought or offered. Learning is for its own sake, with enjoyment being the prime motive, not qualifications or awards.
• There is no distinction between the learners and the teachers; they are all U3A members. So the learners will become teachers & the teachers will become learners

So Discovering Wessex fits very well into the U3A ideal. It is unlike other classroom & lecture based courses where the leader lectures on their given subject throughout the course – we are a self-help “Talk & Walk” group. Our members like to research a new town or village or place of interest & give a short talk or presentation about it to the group. Then a week or so later, those who wish to, can join the group when we visit & see the place in detail, quite often with a tea or coffee &/or lunch nearby.

We have a good number of new members this year, so whether you are new to the area or think you know the area well, come along & discover interesting places you might not have known about before. You will be among similar like-minded people who want a fun way to explore Wessex.

So this is your opportunity to come up with an idea of somewhere you’d like to have a look at. Our members often work as a team to put a talk & walk together & there is plenty of experience & technical help to hand if you would like to get involved. Let us know your interests & we will supply some help where ever needed – whether it’s research, presentation or organisation we have existing members willing to help.

So it’s a really great way to meet new people & find out more about your surrounding area.

A “Welcome to Ferndown U3A Coffee Morning” will be held on 6^th of September at the Barrington Centre, Ferndown in the Conference Room at 10.15am. This event will be aimed at the new members to Ferndown U3A, where it will be possible to meet some of the organising committee, some of the group leaders (including myself) and other members who will be able to answer any questions or queries about U3A. Tea, coffee & biscuits will be available from 9.45am as well as some entertainment. Another email about this event will be sent shortly from the FU3A.committee.

We will be meeting for our first Discovering Wessex introductory presentation on the 27^th of September at the Barrington Centre, Ferndown in the Conference Room at 10.30am when we will run through this year’s programme & discuss the topics planned. So please come along to this first session & see what interesting topics we have in store for you this year. In the meantime, if you have any queries about anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call me.

We will be contacting you again soon & look forward to meeting you.

Many Thanks

Keith Banks  –  tel:- 01202 875354   Leader  –  J1  Discovering Wessex, FU3A

2019-2020 Programme