In this newsletter:
- Announcements
- Notices
- A short story
Announcements
Theatrical superstitions myths and legends
Our next monthly meeting is on Thursday 20th February at the Hayling Island Community Centre at 2.00 pm
Wayne Newport, professional actor, theatre historian and expert on the superstitions will give an illustrated talk on the myths and legends associated with the world of entertainment.
Be sure not to miss this chance to learn the truth behind the legends!
New members meeting – Have you joined our u3a since April 2024?
If so, please do come along on Friday February 14th at 10.30 Hayling Community Centre. Coffee/tea and biscuits will be provided, and you can meet other new members, some of the committee, and tell us what you would like to get from your membership.
Group leaders meeting
Friday March 14th at 10.30, Hayling Community Centre. Coffee/tea and biscuits will be provided, and it will give you an opportunity to discuss best practice and any issues you have administering your group.
Christmas Buffet
We have been asked whether we could hold a Christmas celebration lunch for members of our u3a. Many of the Interest Groups arrange Christmas Lunches, but there are some members who only attend the monthly meetings which means that they miss out. After some discussion the committee have agreed that this year, we will hold a ticketed Christmas lunch buffet.
This will be on December 11th 2025 at the Hayling Community Centre. Put this date in your diaries now!!
Hever Castle Gardens Visit
Wednesday 19th March. There are a few tickets left. Places can be booked online or at our monthly meetings. The gardens are accessible, but much of the castle is unsuitable for people using mobility scooters, wheelchairs or rollators - the building is over 500 years old. Click/tap here to see an access guide giving more detail.
The retail outlets at Hever accept only card payments.
More details and a booking form. Please read the following before booking online.
To make the administration of visits easier for the Treasurer and the Visits coordinator, we ask you to follow these guidelines:
- Go to the visits page and make your booking.
- You can book for two people. If you are paying for two people, it's important to provide both names otherwise we cannot allocate a place for them.
- If you can, use the payment link to pay for your visit by card. You will be asked to specify by our payment provider who you are paying for.
It is very important to make your booking in the right order and, provide the name(s) of who you are paying for by card payment. Otherwise we'll find it difficult to match payments and bookings.
Notices
Membership - We currently have 598 members. Membership renewals will become due from April 1st, £15 for full members £10 for associate members. Full details will appear in March when you will be able to renew. Please do not attempt to renew until then.
4th Thursday lunch diners
A new group intended to allow members living alone to meet up socially. The first lunch will be on Thursday 27th February at the Barley Mow. If you'd like to join us please contact the group leaders if you haven't already.
Group coordinator
Our current coordinator wishes to stand down from her post, so we are looking for someone to take over. Much of the role requires the candidate to access our website to set up new groups etc. Please let us know if you feel that role would suit you.
Lawn Bowls
Lawn bowls will start again at 10 am on Thursday 30th January.
Chair Yoga
This group meets every Wednesday at 10 am at Hayling Community Centre. £10 a session. First session is free. So come along and see what we do.
Walking group
We had a very successful walks planning meeting and now have a full programme of walks each month for 2025. Any member can join the walking group and, if you join, you will get an email reminder about each walk about 10 days in advance. More details here.
Prostate cancer testing
Havant Lions is arranging another test session at Havant College on Saturday 15th February. The test, known as a PSA test, involves taking a small sample of blood. Advance booking required. More details, including how to book, here.
Update: unfortunately, the 15th February event is already full. If you register here you will be given the opportunity to put yourself on a waiting list. You will also see details of other PSA testing events and an option to order a home testing kit for £28.99 which covers the kit, laboratory testing and delivery/return postage.
A short story
January diary of Gladys the Mog
© Fiona Bartlett
It’s the first day of a new year. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the same as every other day so why the fuss? There were some crashes and bangs last night, but they were outside, so they didn’t bother me too much, but when some of the neighbours started shouting I got a bit annoyed as they were keeping me awake. It’s all quiet now and It’s still dark outside when the master of the house gets up and comes downstairs to make his early morning tea. I open my eyes and observe him through the door, then, when he sits down with his tea, I jump onto his lap and settle down for a warm snooze. I move when I feel that it would be a good idea to visit the garden and have a stroll round in case there are any mice or voles about that I can play with. I keep an eye out for that skinny grey cat from next door. Calls itself a pure breed foreign something. I call it a bloody rude interloper in my garden, and I’ll box it’s ears if I catch it. I’m just a good mixture of feline stripes with no airs and graces, and I’m not going to be put down by that thing, however much it cost. A good look round tells me that there is nothing doing this morning though, so I wander back indoors in search of some breakfast before taking the stairs to the bedrooms and somewhere to spend the morning. I look into the study and jump onto the windowsill where I can observe the comings and goings along the road. Oh look! There’s next door taking their dog out for a walk. Rather them than me on this chilly dark morning. Can’t understand why dogs have this obsession with walking, or rather running, around, often in circles, outside in the mud. “You should let your owner stay in the warm” I want to tell them. They wouldn’t take any notice though, dogs are so self-centred!
I leave the windowsill when I see the post lady coming to the door and go to the top of the stairs to see if there is anything of interest coming through the letterbox. Maybe a bit of coloured string for me to play with or something tasty, like a packet of cat treats. There’s no point in going down though as it looks like travel catalogues. My hips will start to complain again if I keep going up and down the stairs. I’m not as young as I was and joints are starting to creak these days. As there doesn’t appear to be anything interesting going on, I do a brief tour of the bedrooms and find that the bed in the spare room has a nice clean duvet on it. They must be expecting visitors, but yes, that will do nicely for my morning nap, so I jump onto the bed and settle down. I have just started to relax when I hear the most awful noise coming my way. Oh no! it’s her with vacuum cleaner and she’s going to vacuum the bedroom. Just as I thought I could sleep until lunchtime on a soft warm bedcover. Ah well, time to look for another corner, or maybe back to the study windowsill. Maybe I’ll just hang around behind everyone to see what they are doing, climb into a cupboard or two to investigate, or start asking for drink, or a brush. Anything for attention really, just have some fun making a nuisance of myself. Here’s my play toy mouse. I can bat that around for a bit. It’s not a patch on a real one of course. It would be more fun if it ran away, but needs must I suppose. I give it a desultory tap and it rolls over and under the bookcase. That’s that then, out of my reach. What now? Nothing for it but to go back to bed for a nap. I hear the vacuum cleaner moving on to another room, so I’ll just sneak back into the spare and get back on the bed. Bye for now, don’t disturb me.