Welcome to Ashfield U3A

What Benefits Can Joining the U3A Bring to You? Are you a 'Baby Boomer'? Can you remember extra classes in school and cod liver oil capsules? Did you wear net underskirts or luminous socks? Are you the generation, educated after the 1944 Education Act, who have coped with the swinging sixties and the peace-loving seventies; flower-power; men on the moon; the Cuba Crisis; computers and the Internet? Have you managed the vagaries of Microsoft Windows and got lost with your Sat. Nav.? Are you now, in retirement, looking for the next challenge or, at the very least, something interesting to do with your time? The Ashfield U3A (University of the Third Age) is a self-help group aimed at providing life-long opportunities for those who are generally over 50 (though there are no age constraints) and no longer in full-time employment. Ashfield U3A meets once a month for a general meeting with topic or speaker, but the real strength of the organisation lies in the interest groups which are small, run by members and allow people with a common interest to meet together with the aim of learning from each other. At present, interest groups include such topics as Amateur Dramatics, Art, Book Group, Bridge, Classical Music, Craft, Creative Writing, Discussion, Family & Local History, French, Garden Visits, Holidays & Outings, Horticulture, Lunch Group, Scrabble, Singing for Pleasure, T'ai Chi, Theatre Visits, Walking, Wine Appreciation and Yoga. Future groups may include any topic that a few members wish to pursue. Interest Groups are often started because of the interest of one or two members. They will arrange a short meeting at their home or other venue and invite others who may be interested. The interest group decides how, when and where they will meet and how large the group will be. Some, such as outings groups, may not meet formally at all. Some may wish to pay a teacher; others will pursue their interests as a group, learning from each other without an 'expert' or tutor. The co-ordinator of a group does not have to be an expert, but will ensure that meetings happen and that group members are kept informed. History of Ashfield U3A Mansfield and District U3A was so successful that, six years after it was formed, it found itself in the position of looking for ways of dealing with the large number of people wishing to join. As a result, and to meet the demand, Ashfield U3A was set up in March 2006. After the first meeting at Sherwood Court, it was obvious that there was not going to be room for expansion and so the committee decided that it would be prudent to seek out a new venue. As from May 2006, Ashfield U3A held its main meetings at Bentinck Miners' Welfare, Sutton Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, where it continued to do so until September 2007, when it became obvious that another venue had to be sought, owing to its ever increasing numbers. From October 2007, meetings are held in the new venue at The Ashwood Centre, Portland Street, Kirkby-in-Ashfield. This new premises can house a significant increase in membership, is light and airy and has the advantage of being central to the town whilst on one level. It is also just off the main bus routes through Kirkby and can cater for around forty cars, while overspill parking is available in several car parks which are only a few minutes away. The Ashwood Centre also has a number of other rooms which are available for hire to interest groups, at low cost. If you would like more information about Ashfield U3A or about how to join, please telephone the Chairman, Maxine Rose, on 01623-459081 or the Membership Secretary, Barrie Jackson on 01623-750466. Or email U3A Enquiries Alternatively, request information to be sent by filling in the electronic form. PROPOSED New Interest Groups DELETED Interest Groups Creative Stitch Group - This group has disbanded for the forseeable future due to lack of interest. VISITS to U3As in other regions Bridlington U3A - Visit by Ron & Carole Britton to this relatively new U3A. If you visit friends or relatives who belong to U3As in other regions, why not go along as a visitor? Take a few photographs and send them to Ron Britton along with a short writeup about it, and I'll put the visit up here on the website. Features The Tradesmen's Register held by Barrie Jackson has now been made available online. Please feel free to add to this register with the names and contact details of workmen you feel you can recommend. For advice on 'How to avoid rogue traders and find a good tradesman' visit TraderScams. Showcase your items for sale online. Members are free to use this service for which a small charge is levied on sale only (not for submissions). Purchasers of these items do not require U3A membership but your details will be passed on to the seller for a private transaction. Ashfield U3A will not be held responsible for any transaction and are merely facilitators of transactions between seller and purchaser. Forthcoming Events Pie & Pea Supper & Quiz - This will take place at The Ashwood Centre on Saturday 20th March, 2010. Doors will be open at 19:00 for a 19:30 start. Tickets will be £5 and a vegetarian option will be offered to those who do not want steak pie. An Evening with Martin Fish - Once again, this will take place at The Ashwood Centre and will be held on Thursday 1st April, 2010. The subject will be "Gardening for the Older Person" followed by "Gardeners' Question Time". The tickets will be on sale at £3 including refreshments and doors will be open at 18:30 for an 18:45 start. Past Events Ashfield U3A Christmas Fuddle at The Ashwood Centre. This took place on Thursday, 17th December, 2008 from 12:00 until 16:00. As usual, admittance was by free ticket and a contribution of food and drink. Entertainment was provided by the 'Singing For Fun' Group, the bellringers and the Amateur Dramatics Group. Photographs from the event are shown below: Nottingham Greyhound Stadium On Monday 9th November, 2009, a party of 65 members of Ashfield U3A and friends visited the Nottingham Greyhound Stadium for an evening of racing which was accompanied by a 3-course meal. Harlaxton During the second week of July, several members of Ashfield U3A went to Summer- School at Harlaxton. The courses are divided between the first and second halves of the week. We went to the second half, which was Wednesday to Sunday. Most of the party, having attended in the past and had such a good time, were going again. There was an extensive choice of courses we could have enlisted on, but between us we chose Art – “Still Life and Portraits”; “Gardens and Gardening”; “Singing for Fun”; “Archaeology” and also a course on “A Northern Drift – An introduction to Geology”, but the “Rise of the House of Windsor” course was cancelled, due to the indisposition of the tutor. We had a wonderful time learning and experiencing new pursuits. The gardening group had a full day with “hands-on” experience at a nursery under the instruction of the owner, Tim Rasell. We visited Barnsdale and a wonderful arboretum of topiary at Clipsham, and on another day, a beautiful walled garden at Easton, in the process of restoration by Lady Ursula Cholmondeley, who gave us an escorted tour. The singing group learned canons, harmony and many new songs, and entertained the whole school at the celebratory dinner with a selection from their repertoire. The Archaeology/Geology group went to Cresswell Crags – this field trip was so close to home for our group, but of course there were others from far away who had never been to this unique and now re-vamped natural asset in Nottinghamshire. Some joined this group due to the cancellation of their selected course of ‘The Rise of the House of Windsor”. The Art group produced some lovely work, which was on display at the end of the course. Harlaxton Manor is a beautiful Victorian manor house, retaining many of its original features. As students, we got to use many of the state rooms, and everywhere was accessible to us. The food served in the refectory was excellent, as always, and the surrounding area is quite beautiful, with the views from the elevated site, stunning. Jill Pullan North Notts. Neighbourhood Group of U3As held the second 'Picnic in the Park' at Rufford Park. This took place on Tuesday, 30th June, 2009 from 10:00 until 16:00. For photographs, click on the pages below: Images 01-10 Images 11-20 Images 21-30 Images 31-40 Ashfield U3A Celebration Coffee Morning at The Ashwood Centre to celebrate the recent lottery grant. This took place on Friday, 29th May, 2009 from 10:00 until 12:00. The ticket price was kept down to £1.00 to include coffee and biscuits, and all proceeds were donated to The Air Ambulance Service. Click here to see photographs. Ashfield U3A Gardeners' Question Time at The Ashwood Centre. This took place on Thursday, 2nd April, 2009, at 17:00, when the popular journalist and radio/tv presenter, Martin Fish, gave a short demonstration followed by questions from the audience. Light refreshments were included and a raffle was held. Martin answered questions expertly whilst keeping his audience entertained with his inimitable sense of humour. A thoroughly enjoyable evening! Martin was the organiser for the Harrogate Spring Flower Show 2009 to which Ashfield U3A and members of other local U3As visited. For a selection of photographs of the Spring Show, click here. Ashfield U3A Third Pie & Pea Supper and Quiz Night at The Ashwood Centre. This took place on Saturday, 28th March, 2009 from 19:00 until 22:30. A good evening was had by the 120 members who formed 15 quiz teams and answered questions set by the Quizmaster, Martin Rose. The pie and pea supper was served first by Pam Sapey and a willing team of volunteers. The Jolly Jokers were the winning team with a score of 95 and White Heart Wonders were the runners-up with 92. The heads and tails raffle was won by Ron Britton (oooh! That's me!). Ashfield U3A Skittles Evening at The Little John, Ravenshead. This took place on Friday, 6th March, 2009, when 30 members met at the Little John Inn for an evening's entertainment and buffet supper. For photographs, click on Skittles Evening 2009. December 2008 - Ashfield U3A Christmas Cruise and Festive Lunch October 2008 - Ashfield U3A Millionaires' Evening September 2008 - Ashfield U3A Denbies/Vinopolis Trip August 2008 - Ashfield U3A River Trent Jazz Cruise. March 2008 - Ashfield U3A Second Pie & Pea Supper. October 2007 - Ashfield U3A Murder Mystery. June 2007 - NNNG Picnic in the Park. March 2007 - Ashfield U3A First Pie & Pea Supper. Recent site updates 04-02-2010 - Pie & Pea Supper & Quiz Night (see forthcoming events) 02-02-2010 - Real Ale Group 27-01-2010 - T'ai Chi Group 27-01-2010 - Board Games Group 27-01-2010 - An Evening with Martin Fish (see forthcoming events) 24-01-2010 - Walking Group 'C' - Strollers 15-01-2010 - Walking Group 'C' - Strollers 08-01-2010 - Walking Group 'C' - Strollers - cancellation 07-01-2010 - Theatre Visits Group 07-01-2010 - Creative Stitch Group disbanded (see above) 06-01-2010 - Lunch Group cancellation 06-01-2010 - 'Singing for Fun' Group 06-01-2010 - Christmas Fuddle 2009 05-01-2010 - Board Games Group 14-12-2009 - Walking Group 'A' 14-12-2009 - 'Singing for Fun' Group 14-12-2009 - Walking Group 'A' 07-12-2009 - Current Affairs Group 07-12-2009 - Classical Music Group 07-12-2009 - Quiz Supper (see forthcoming events) 07-12-2009 - Walking Group 'C' - Strollers 07-12-2009 - Visit to the 'dogs' photographs 03-12-2009 - Lunch Group Christmas Meal photographs 30-11-2009 - Walking Group 'B' 23-11-2009 - Book Group 'B' 23-11-2009 - Sugarcraft & Cake Decorating Group 23-11-2009 - Lunch Group 10-11-2009 - Theatre Group A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO OPEN UNIVERSITY’S OPENLEARN Website: http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/home.php 1. The OU has provided on the web over 5000 hours of study material FREE. All you have to do is go to the website, browse and then register (it’s easy and free), and study a unit of your choice. 2. Have a look in Learning Space (a sub–set of the website). The learning material is arranged in units which take from 4 to 50 hours. There are currently over 400 units (and the number of units is increasing all the time) arranged in 13 topic areas ranging from Arts & History to Business & Management and to Science & Nature. It is good-quality learning material taken from OU programmes from Introductory to Masters levels. How can we use it for U3A purposes? Individual study Group study – e.g. a U3A group could agree to use the material as the basis for study and discussion. This could be a single unit or a series of units. 3. Have a look at Lab Space This is really exciting. In Lab Space, you can modify the units to suit your needs. They show you how you can do it and you are then asked to upload the modification so others can share in it. This is true shared learning. How can we use it for U3A purposes? A U3A group may like the look of a single unit or number of related units but conclude it/they are not quite what the members want for the Group’s purposes, so the members modify them. 4. What the OU has done is to provide us with 5000 hours of high-quality, free learning materials. How many U3A groups might be interested in that? 5. This year, we have started a pilot scheme where U3A members have studied units and then reviewed them from a U3A member’s viewpoint. We are extending that pilot in 2008/9; would you like to take part? If so, e-mail me at alandbev.morris@tiscali.co.uk. 6. The OU has incorporated, and is extending all the time, other exciting facilities e.g.: Learning clubs – you don’t have to be studying a unit; you might just want to talk to other people interested in, say, creative writing. Knowledge maps MSG instant messaging FM live communication (video conferencing) Counter started 29/03/2006 Ashfield U3A is          now 3 years old! All rights reserved © Ashfield U3A (2006 - ) Site courtesy of sherweb.co.uk