Southampton

Registered Charity 1057642

© Southampton U3A

Events of 2010

As reported to the AGM

Southampton USA usually has a full and varied programme of events, speakers, meetings and groups and 2010 was no exception. Our membership continues to stand at over 400 and I do hope all of you  found something of interest to learn and enjoy over the past year with the support and help of friends of like mind.

 

Our General Meetings are held monthly and this year we have had ten with outside speakers whose appeal varies according to your interests but I think the highlights for me personally were the talks given by Rhys Jones, the young mountaineer and the last speaker John Coombes whose wildlife photography was simply superb.

 

Our Annual Coffee Morning was once again well attended. There was an excellent display of Art Work, together with displays from the Science, Scrabble, Textile and Wessex Heritage Groups. A very big thank you to all involved. Watch out for more interesting work at our next Coffee Morning in March. In addition we have held two Coffee Mornings at The Mayor's Parlour where the Mayor and the Town Sergeant made us most welcome, telling of the history behind some of the items on display and some of the traditions pertaining to our City. These two events raised £180.00 for the Mayor's Charities.

 

The New Members Coffee Mornings continue to be well supported. These Coffee Mornings are a good opportunity for new members to meet each other and members of the Committee rather than at the larger General Meetings, which I am sure can be a little daunting, especially if you don't know anyone.

 

The Garden Talks and Visits were well attended. Locally, there have been six visits to gardens this year and a visit further afield to Compton Acres and for some lucky ones a visit to Highgrove.

For our 2010 Gardens Holiday we had a change from France and thirty three members and friends enjoyed a trip to Belgium, staying in Ostend and visiting gardens in and around Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges. We also found time to include a boat trip and a visit to Rubinshuise.

 

Sunday lunches are always popular, although they can get a little noisy until everyone is eating of course! We have visited many hostelries and restaurants in and around Southampton but are always happy to have a good venue recommended.

 

The Bus-hoppers enjoyed three outings this year, to Salisbury, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. I do hope members can continue to use their Bus Passes in 2011.

 

The monthly Walks and Strolls and continue to flourish  although some walks have been hampered by adverse weather conditions.

 

This year we made twenty-six Theatre Visits, four of these have been by coach (shared with other organisations) to Bath, Guildford, Sonning and Windsor, but I know members are most grateful to the car drivers who kindly transported them to many of the other venues. Also, for the first time, eighteen enthusiastic theatre-goers enjoyed a weekend at Stratford-upon-Avon to see two plays and take part in lectures and discussions. The fact that it was Shakespeare's birthday weekend and lovely sunny weather was an added bonus.

 

Between thirty and forty members regularly attended the fortnightly sessions of the Singing for Pleasure Group. In addition they entertained us at our Christmas Party and also at our first Concert last March where together with Romsey Community Wind Band we raised £378.00 for Leukaemia Busters.

 

Once again our Outings and Events have, as always been very well supported, starting last February with the Backstage Tour of the Mayflower Theatre, followed by lunch at Brockenhurst College, and trips to Amberley Heritage Museum and Parham House; The Royal Mail Centre in Southampton; The Olympic Site and a cruise along the Lee Valley; Frogmore House and Saville Gardens; a Guided Walk of Southampton; The Hawk Conservancy in Andover; our annual Quiz Night; Blenheim Palace and the Christmas Craft Fair in November, and finally in December our Christmas Party and the Christmas Lunch at the Park Hotel.