News

Due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19 coronavirus, the U3A of Highbridge magazine will not be produced for the foreseeable future. We hope to have the magazine up and running again as soon as the current government restrictions are lifted.

In normal times, our annual membership renewals would now be due for 2020. However, because we are not living in anything like ‘normal’ times, we are now delaying the renewal date until we get back to our usual Wednesday coffee mornings.

There is therefore, no need to post your application or worry about your membership being cancelled.

Stay safe and see you all as soon as we get through this!

Barry (Membership Secretary)

Dear All 

You have heard about the restrictions announced by the Government. This will have a serious impact on the U3A while the emergency lasts, so we are writing to tell you what we know: 

1. The virus may only be fatal in less than 3% of the general population, but it can be deeply unpleasant, and the fatality rate is higher still for those classed as ‘vulnerable’ (which means most of us) and those with ‘underlying health issues’ (which is quite a lot of us). So we must all take it seriously.

2. The restrictions. The Government have announced a ‘voluntary’ ban on “unnecessary” gatherings. They are also advising that the over-70s and others who are considered more vulnerable should be “largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks.” 

This advice means that a great deal of our usual activity has had to be suspended “until further notice”. This includes the AGM. 

The April Day Trip is cancelled and Vour and Carol will review future trips nearer the time.

There is obviously a question mark over the planned Holiday to Torquay in April.  The holiday group leaders are waiting to see if Daish’s cancel.  If Daish cancel the holiday we will have more chance of getting a refund.

3. Group meetings are very much a matter for the Leaders and Members. We will not make any blanket decision because Groups vary so much. Outdoor activities such as walking have quite a low risk attached, provided precautions are taken. Indeed the Government announcement itself says that people self-isolating for whatever reason may leave the house “for exercise and, in that case, at a safe distance from others.”

4. Support and Communication. 

Email is almost indispensable these days. If you have received this message directly, then you know we can contact you direct by email, and will do so. But spare a thought for those who won’t see this message. Please pass it on by hand or by phone to any of your friends who don’t have email, and perhaps encourage them to notify us of a close contact or relative who might relay U3A messages to them on our behalf.

Also we want to make sure that every member has at least one other person that they can be in contact with at regular intervals by phone or email. Members who live alone are especially vulnerable. Loneliness is a reason why a lot of people join U3A in the first place, so for many, the prospect of months of total isolation does not bear thinking about.

We have set up a Facebook Group to help members to keep in touch with each other.  Please post as many times as you can and also share your photos.  Just do a Facebook search for The U3A of Highbridge. 

5. Subscriptions. Several members have contacted us regarding renewal of subscriptions. Please be assured that we have extended both the closing date and the validity of your cards until after the emergency has passed, so nobody will be unintentionally ‘cut-off.’

Regarding the magazine, we will need to reorganise our distribution in some way. We have not yet come to any conclusions, so watch this space.

Please don’t hesitate to contact any member of the committee if you have any queries.

Keep safe and hope to see you all soon. 

Kind regards

Audrey
Secretary

There will be a coffee morning as usual tomorrow – 18 March. Unfortunately this will be the last one until further notice. We will keep you up to date.

Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) the decision has been made to suspend all U3A group sessions held at Smurl Lane, West Huntspill starting tomorrow until further notice. The groups affected are:

• Beading
• Card Making
• Mosaics

Mar/Apr 2020 edition of the U3A of Highbridge Magazine can be found on the Magazine page on the Main Menu. For convenience a direct link to the Magazine is shown below.

Mar/Apr 2020 Magazine

A new Crochet Group has been started by Alison Ridley and runs every Thursday in the Highbridge Community Hall. More details can be found on the Crochet Group page.

Jan/Feb 2020 edition of the U3A of Highbridge Magazine can be found on the Magazine page on the Main Menu. For convenience a direct link to the Magazine is shown below.

Jan/Feb 2020 Magazine

Disco Evening

Saturday 14^th December 7 – 11 pm

American Picnic Supper

Bring your own drinks

£7 per person

Proceeds to Highbridge Community Hall

Nov/Dec 2019 edition of the U3A of Highbridge Magazine can be found on the Magazine page on the Main Menu. For convenience a direct link to the Magazine is shown below.

Nov/Dec 2019 Magazine

Vour is proposing to hold a sixties night on the 14th December at the Community Hall with a bring and share supper. She is still awaiting confirmation from the DJ but if all is well, the cost will be £7.00 per person. More details to follow on the web site and also at the coffee mornings when we have them.

Sep/Oct 2019 edition of the U3A of Highbridge Magazine can be found on the Magazine page on the Main Menu. For convenience a direct link to the Magazine is shown below.

Sep/Oct 2019 Magazine

From September 2019 the Card Making Group will move from Southwell House to a private house at Smurl Lane, West Huntspill.

Also, the 1st Monday of the month session will move from morning to afternoon (2.00 to 4.00).

Note, the Card Making Group will not be running in August.

Photo by ognjen.odobasic

A Special General Meeting is to be held at 10.30 on Wednesday 31 July 2019 at the Community Hall, Highbridge to discuss adoption of the new U3A Model Constitution. This is needed before the U3A of Highbridge’s application to become a charity will be accepted by the Charity Commission.

A copy of the constitution can be viewed by clicking on the link below.

U3A Model Constitution

Jul/Aug 2019 edition of the U3A of Highbridge Magazine can be found on the Magazine page on the Main Menu. For convenience a direct link to the Magazine is shown below.

Jul/Aug 2019 Magazine

Please see notice image below for details on a talk on fraud for U3A of Highbridge members.

May/Jun 2019 edition of the U3A of Highbridge Magazine can be found on the Magazine page on the Main Menu. For convenience a direct link to the Magazine is shown below.

May/Jun 2019 Magazine