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Chinnor & District U3A |
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Home | The U3A | Membership | Interest
Groups | U3AMeetings | Interest Group Meetings |
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Special Interest Groups |
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Art History
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Description
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Aims and Objectives: To encourage discussion and appreciation of artists and their works, resulting in an enhanced knowledge and understanding of art.
We study the British artist at
present, their paintings and the artists themselves and compare the
difference in British and European art.
We the “learners” research the artist and at our monthly meeting we
all express what we have found out and in doing so, it is surprising how much
we achieve in the knowledge, to the point we have even corrected guides on
rare occasions. Do not be put off from thinking
of joining because you like paintings but don’t feel you know anything about
them. You will be pleasantly surprised at what you get from studying Art
History: a whole new world.
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Meetings
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3rd Friday of each month from January to June and September to November. |
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Venue
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Village Centre |
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Time
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Cost
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Small subscriptions towards our
annual trip to an |
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Group Leader
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Jean Bray & Audrey Farman |
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Art/Painting
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Description
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Aims and Objectives: To encourage members to express their enjoyment of practical art, regardless of skill level, within an informal friendly atmosphere.
The Art/Painting group is an informal one, catering for all of us who enjoy drawing and painting, whatever our level of skill (and who should be the judge of that?). We each choose whatever medium we prefer on the day, it doesn’t matter. Our subjects range over still life; working from photographs and themes such as trees, water, limited palette etc., with a quick demonstration from the leader. Formal classes are not the rue, but help, advice and encouragement are on tap. The meetings are friendly and sociable.
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Meetings
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2nd and 4th Wednesdays |
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Venue
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Village Centre |
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Time
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Cost
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£2 per session |
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Group Leader
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Tony Garrett & Ted Farman |
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Bridge
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Description
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Aims and Objectives:
To provide an opportunity for our members to play bridge. We do not provide
any formal tuition but members at all levels are encouraged to attend and we
always have someone able to give advice and guidance. Currently we play Please come along, there is no limit on numbers and you will be very welcome.
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Meetings
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2nd Thursday |
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Venue
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Village Centre |
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Time
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Cost
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Group Leader
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Stuart Baker & Betty Yendell |
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Computers
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Description
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Aims and Objectives:
To encourage members of the U3A to become computer literate, so that they can
communicate, especially with their grandchildren on equal terms, wherever
they may be! To share knowledge with fellow members and to encourage all
members to take an active part in the proceedings of the group. Subjects
covered include Word processing, Databases, Spreadsheets, Powerpoint, the
Internet, E-mail, Desktop publishing, Digital photography, Anti-virus and
Firewall protection. We are continually looking to detect trends and to
search out what is new. Equipment required: It
is helpful, but not essential, if members have a computer of their own or
have access to one. |
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Meetings
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1st Friday of the month (except August) |
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Venue
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Village Centre |
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Time
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Cost
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£1.20 per session. A
supplementary charge is levied for notes of the meeting if members require
them. |
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Group Leaders
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French
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Description
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Aims and Objectives:
Our objective is to learn and encourage each other along the way, no matter
what individual achievements and experience we bring from our own backgrounds
Our aim is to read, comprehend and discuss topical issues from French
magazines and newspapers, to improve our pronunciation using CDs, to improve
our vocabulary and to enjoy a little French conversation, either generally or
on a chosen topic. Sometimes we study and enjoy the
beautiful words and imagery to which the French language lends itself so
well. Once a month the group circulates
a film in the French language (with English sub-titles) to be watched at home
by group members between meetings. We also enjoy a little “homework”
in the form of a challenging crossword or vocabulary puzzle (but this is not
compulsory!!). We welcome new members who wish
to share our interest and have fun learning at the same time, no matter
whether your knowledge is “A” level or beyond.
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Meetings
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4th Monday |
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Venue
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Members house |
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Time
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2.00 pm till 4:00 pm |
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Cost
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Group Leader
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Julia Elkins |
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Gardening
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Description
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Aims and Objectives: To share gardening tips, swap plants, visit various private gardens by car sharing and occasional coach trip and enjoy social activities with members throughout the seasons.
Gardening is obviously a very
popular hobby amongst our U3A members and our Gardening Group continues to
grow in popularity. We started in 1999 with the idea of visiting a variety of
gardens, some small, some larger private gardens and also National Trust or
other famous estates. The visits are sometimes very local, occasionally
further afield. Talks with visiting speakers and sometimes one of our own
members are arranged in the winter months. By popular request, between the
months of March and October, outdoor garden visits are made on Wednesday
mornings normally meeting at our venue at 10:30am. Often we have the benefit
of being guided by the owner or Garden Manager which is much more
informative. We also have the advantage of visiting gardens with our Group
rather then on public Open Days. There is sometimes an opportunity to buy
plants at the gardens we visit. Members are provided with group membership
list to facilitate lift sharing, but the Group Leaders are always willing to
assist with transport arrangements if needed. In November through to February we meet in Chinnor Village Hall or another local hall of suitable size, having sadly outgrown the Village Centre. In November we hold a plant sale which helps to fund some of our expenses, another plant sale was held in a member’s garden this year in May. During the four winter months speakers are invited to talk on a variety of Gardening topics. Members also enjoy a combined meeting with Princes Risborough U3A Gardening Group.
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Meetings
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3rd Wednesday |
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Venue
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Various |
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Time
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10:30 am till 12:00 noon |
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Cost
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Group entrance fees to the gardens, transport and refreshments. |
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Group Leader
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Handicrafts
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Description
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Aims and Objectives: The
groups enjoy the challenge of trying out new projects and sharing ideas with
like-minded people. We have made
greetings cards, gift boxes, decorated Easter Eggs and Christmas decorations;
some of us have made sewn books and padded-front books as well as fabric
photo frames to name but a few. Whilst we have three groups
meeting once a month, we occasionally hold a joint group meeting at the
Village Centre with a lunch followed by a workshop. We have made a few visits to
exhibitions where we pick up ideas for new themes as well as replenishing
stocks in the pursuance of existing projects. |
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Meetings
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1st, 2nd and 3rd Wednesday |
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Venue
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Group leader's house |
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Time
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2:00 pm |
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Cost
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£1 per session to cover the cost of materials, plus 20p for refreshments. |
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Group Leader
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Janet Roebuck |
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History/Archaeology
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Description
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Aims and Objectives:
The History Group started in September 1999 and its initial objective of
learning about British history with enjoyment by encouraging members to select
figures or events of their choice and to give presentations in turn to the
group has remained largely unchanged. However, over time we have
expanded this basic approach to include occasional talks by outside
lecturers, visits to local places of interest, U3A coach trips sponsored with
an historical theme in mind. In June 2004 the History and
Archaeology groups merged into a single group. The scope of our lectures has therefore
widened to include a much longer dateline and we have also included aspects
of American and European history. The History Group is a very
sociable and friendly Group and new members are made very welcome.
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Meetings
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3rd Friday |
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