Bulletin no. 10 (August 2018)

Monthly Meetings

Thursday 9 August: Dr Roberta Cremoncini: The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art

The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. It comprises some 120 paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints and sculptures by many of the most prominent Italian artists of the 20th Century. Discover the history of the Museum, located in a beautiful Georgian building in Islington’s Canonbury Square, with a talk by the Director Roberta Cremoncini.

See below for opportunities to volunteer at the museum.

Future meetings

Thursday 13 September: Margaret Greenfields: Britain as a Nation of Migrants: a 2000-year-old history of migration to the UK

Thursday 11 October: David Hunter: Poetry and passion on the front line – Guillaume Apollinaire 1914-1918

Open Day

Plans are now well advanced for our Open Day on Wednesday 26 September, which will be held between 10.30am and 12.30pm at the Moravian Church Hall, Priory Road, Hornsey N8 7HR. This is a great opportunity for both existing and prospective members to meet us and find out about the great range of groups, talks and activities our U3A offers. Membership is open to all who are retired or semi-retired and is not restricted to those who live in Crouch End, so do come along on 26 September to see this flourishing part of our community in action.

Coffee Mornings


These monthly get-togethers, held in people’s homes from 11am to 12.30pm, are a great, informal way to meet other members. The next two mornings are Tuesday September 11 in N22 and Thursday 25 October in N19 (there is no meeting in August).

To book please contact Jacki at info@jackireason.co.uk. If you would like to host a coffee morning please contact Jacki. Expenses can be reimbursed.

Group News

The following new groups have been established. Information can be found on our website at https://cedu3a.org.uk where you can follow the link to the relevant convener in order to join.

French books
Poetry writing
Recorder
Ukulele

Groups that need a little more work before they can get going:

Opera – is anyone willing to host this group? We do have a convener, but we need a venue that has a reasonable size flat-screen TV that can play DVDs (either integral, or can plug in a DVD player), together with decent sound. Any offers? Please email Jane Clarke at groups2@cedu3a.org.uk

Netball/Walking Netball – In order to set this up we need to know how many people might be interested in taking part. Both women and men are welcome. To find out more please contact suepicano@yahoo.co.uk

Walking Football – Another possible group. If you are interested we would like to hear from you. Email Jane on — groups2@cedu3a.org.uk

There are further groups in prospect, which we hope will materialise. Keep an eye on the website. These are:

Crime fiction books
Geology
Local and/or fringe theatre
Music in context
Scrabble

Many of these new groups are the fruit of our questionnaire. As ever, our profound thanks and gratitude go to all our group conveners. They ARE the U3A!

Remember that it is really worth registering with any group in which you are interested so that you can be put on the group’s e-mail list. Places may be available, or extra groups may be formed if there is the demand. Some groups with restricted numbers, for example theatre visits or group walks, now operate on a first come, first served basis, giving everyone a chance to participate as long as they respond speedily to an announcement of a new event, via the website.

Visit our website at https://cedu3a.org.uk to keep up-to-date with all our group news, including photos and descriptions of many of our activities. To join any group, just fill in the contact form on the relevant page. If you do not have access to the website you can contact Jane Clarke on 020 3638 2330 or 07957 756665

New Facebook Group

We have now set up a new public Facebook group, which is open to everyone. Members, convenors, U3A officers and anyone seeking information about our U3A can now post comments and photos independently without having to appear in the ‘visitor’ section of the page. You do have to join the Facebook group in order to be able to do this, but this is an easy step: just click ‘join’ on the Crouch End & District group page here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/300181150556772

The group is moderated by Publicity Group representatives Jacqui Osley and Jacki Reason, who will be able to remove inappropriate comments. However, this is an open group and we hope that it will be an exciting new U3A forum with lots of input from members keen to share their U3A experiences. There are already some lovely photos of various walks and outings on the group page, so please have a look and perhaps you will feel inspired to contribute a comment of your own.

Volunteer help from our Members

New Secretary role in our U3A

The Steering Committee has decided to split the existing Business Secretary role into two separate roles. We are therefore looking for a volunteer to fill the new, largely administrative, Secretary position. The Secretary will support the Chair and help run the Steering Committee and other related meetings. The Steering Committee will normally meet every two months. The Secretary will also be the first point of call for external and internal enquiries, passing enquiries on to colleagues to respond.If you are interested, please contact Sally via Secretary@cedu3a.org.uk for more information: she will be happy to talk through what’s involved.

Help with setting up audio visual equipment at the monthly meetings
We have a good, reliable team for this but need additional help to cover absences. You will not be needed at every meeting and can shadow for a few times if necessary. We also have full notes and a video of setting up the sound system. Contact Sue at chair@cedu3a.org.uk

Would you like to be involved in National and Regional U3A issues and activities?

We are looking for a volunteer or volunteers to represent Crouch End & District U3A at national and regional meetings. The national meeting is the U3A Annual General Meeting, held in October, this year in London. The London Regional Meetings are held quarterly, at Canada Water. Each meeting covers a specialist topic of relevance to London U3As, ‘housekeeping’ matters and upcoming events. You will have the opportunity to meet and chat with representatives from other U3As in London and elsewhere. All we would need from you is brief report of issues covered. For more information and to indicate your interest please contact Sally via secretary@cedu3a.org.uk.

Volunteering at the Estorick Collection

The Estorick Collection (the subject of our August meeting) is a registered charity. It employs a small team of permanent staff and relies on volunteer Gallery Assistants to assist with the day-to-day running of the museum.

For more information visit https://www.estorickcollection.com/support-or-join or get in touch with us at shop@estorickcollection.com or 020 7704 9522.

CEDU3A Registered Charity No. 1178165