Welcome to the December 2018 Newsletter Monthly Meetings from December 2018 – March 2019

The December Monthly Meeting will be held on Wednesday 12 December and will be a Social with a Jacob’s Join at Fox Lane Social Club. A copy of QUIZ the list of food members have offered to bring will be attached to the email carrying this newsletter – so have a look if you have forgotten what you promised!! There will be a quiz to enjoy too – with prizes!

If you are bringing a friend with you to the December meeting, please remember to bring extra food for them. Last year there was insufficient food brought to feed everyone who came. The usual request is to bring 6 items each – for example 6 mince pies, 6 sandwiches, 6 helpings of crisps or 6 of something else. When all the food is laid out then there should be enough for everyone who has brought food to have 6 assorted pieces of food – simples?

Two last things, if you are bringing food for people on restricted diets, could you please include details on a small piece of cardboard which will remain on the dish containing them. Also, would members please ensure that these are left for those with the need for the restricted diet. If some of this food remains after people have had a chance to select it – then, by all means, others should take it.

January meeting PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE and EARLY DATE (9th January 2019 10.30am-12.30am at St Ambrose aka ‘Halls for All, 72 Moss Lane. . PR25 4XA (see their website at https://www.uk-hallhire.co.uk/halls/PR/14819.php ) Taking Leyland Railway Station as your stating point – Exit the Railway car park and turn right. Keeping to the right-hand side of the road, walk across the railway bridge and, at the small roundabout, turn right into Moss Lane. Proceed along Moss Lane until you reach St Ambrose Church – the Hall is a little bit beyond the church.

Sid Calderbank is our speaker on Wednesday 9 January . He is very popular and always attracts a large audience. We have decided to hold the January meeting at St Ambrose ‘Halls 4 All’, Moss Lane. Farington. PR25 4XA (see above) Many of you will be familiar with the hall at St Ambrose. It has a huge sign saying “Halls forAll“ at the front. If you have any problems getting to St Ambrose, please give Edward Almond a ring on 01772 432983 or email [email protected]. We will try to arrange car-sharing

There is limited parking in the car park at St Ambrose, which we will try to keep for people with mobility difficulties, but there is plenty of parking in Moss Lane & the surrounding streets

Seasonal Things

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November speaker Jimmy O’Donnell proved to be one of the best and most entertaining speakers we have had, if not actually the best. He just mentioned dementia in passing, it was all about reminiscences and he had the audience engaged and at time singing along (including me) to some of the old songs. He showed a video of Leyland Walking Day and one lady in the audience recognised herself in it and many members of the audience knew another walker. He was excellent, sorry that you missed it. Dave Hambley

Firstly – Your Leyland U3A committee wishes everyone a very happy Christmas and a good new year

But we also want to keep you safe Not everyone is in a mood to spread peace and happiness. Sadly, there are many who want to spoil your Christmas. Beware of people who want to relieve you of your money with fraudulent ‘phone calls or emails. Do not listen to requests ‘from your Bank’ to transfer your money to a better account (Banks do not do this over the ‘phone – they would ask you to come into the Bank) or to transfer to another gas or electric supplier at a ‘great’ rate (you need to check with someone you can trust that you would genuinely be better off). If in doubt, put the ‘phone down and use another landline/mobile to call your Bank or whoever you think may have called you. And be careful – fraudsters often leave their ‘phone line open so that if you put your ‘phone down and then pick it up again to ‘phone the Bank or ‘whoever’ – you simply go back on the line they ‘phoned you on. It is always a good idea to leave a gap of several minutes before ‘phoning back and when you do ‘phone back, check there is a dialling tone before you dial the number of your Bank or supplier. Oh – and don’t fall for the man who says he is from HMRC telling you that you have been paying too much tax recently – he just wants your bank details so he can empty your account! Another trick is to email you with a deal that seems to be too good to be true – it usually is (too good to be true)! If you want to buy anything over the Internet, take the time to search for it yourself.

But despite all this gloom – have a lovely Christmas!!

Please carry your membership card – and your coffee money with you when you attend the main Leyland U3A Membership Card monthly meeting (the second Wednesday of each month) and/or 2018-2019 when you attend any group meeting(s). When you attend the monthly meeting or group meetings you will need to pay towards venue costs. The coordinator will confirm the amount- usually £1. If there are no venue costs e.g. walking, or when a meeting is in a member’s home, there are no meeting fees to pay. A contribution for refreshments will be agreed between members and their host.

Coffee and Chat “Coffee and chat” sessions will be at 2:30 p.m. on the first Friday of each month at the Roccoco Café, Chapel Brow. Come along, chat, ask questions and enjoy a brew in this friendly café. And bring a friend who might be interested in joining Leyland U3A. The next two meetings will be Friday 4 January 2019 and Friday 1 February 2019.

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GENERAL NEWS

From Ann France In August I went for the second time to the U3A summer school at Penrith. The course I picked was entitled 'What did the Romans ever do for us' and my tutor was Maggy Simms.

My Russian culture course last year was taught in a traditional way, part lecture and part visual presentation, as there were a lot of facts to absorb. In contrast, on Maggy's course, we were invited to take a laptop or tablet to use, there was more group discussion and we had a trip to Tullie House museum in Carlisle. In both cases the teaching was excellent and this shows how interesting and varied summer school can be, both in the courses offered and the way they are presented. So, what did the Romans do for us? We discussed roads, arches, the Julian calendar, sewers, sanitation, concrete, coins, religion, slavery, language etc...... it's a big subject!! Finally, as Maggy promised, at the beginning of the course, we walked Hadrian's Wall in less than 15minutes but I won't give away the secret of how we did that!

Sent to Andy Vurley and forwarded to Leyland U3A newsletter for information From Lisa Halpin at Leyland Library in response to Leyland U3A’s Ukulele, Boccia & Art groups’ attendance at the Fun Palace on 6th October Just wanted to say thanks again for your contribution to our Fun Palace. It was great to be able to offer our visitors such an unusual activity to try – something I'm sure they hadn't had the chance to see before. It really added to the spirit of the whole day too, helping us to offer a very diverse and inclusive range of things for people to try. I'm quite pleased with the picture I managed to get too, which is now on our Twitter page: https://twitter.com/lancspublib/status/1048536398305906689 We had just over 4 times as many visitors to the library as on an average Saturday which is amazing, and we also got lots of positive feedback too, including: 'Lovely to see the library BUZZING with all sorts of activities!'

Thanks again – we really appreciate your time and skills!

Lisa Lisa Halpin Library Frontline Officer – Leyland Library Library Service County Council W: www.lancashire.gov.uk

GROUPS Please check the Leyland U3A website – https://u3aleyland.wordpress.com/ for the latest available news of Groups. Please also visit the website to see the numerous photos of Leyland U3A members enjoying themselves at many events. Who says ‘old’ folk are a miserable lot? Not in Leyland we’re not!

If you do not visit our website (an excellent website kept up-to-date by Ian Barrow and very interesting) you will miss out on loads of photographs and reports which do not appear in this newsletter as we just do not have enough space for them there.

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Please note that we are looking for more members to come forward as Group Co-ordinators for some of our groups which may be in danger of collapsing and for new groups which we would like to run. If you are interested, please go to the Groups tables and have a chat with others there to see if you could help

!New Groups!

The first meeting of the Social Ukelele group was held on Thursday 22 November at The Rose of Farington public house. Ian Burt gave the attenders some basic instruction on the construction and use of the ukulele and introduced them to their first attempt at playing music on the instrument. If you are interested, please phone Ian Burt on 01772 497135 or email him through the website.

45-47 Sandy Lane, Leyland PR25 2EEele

Sequence Dancing The group started in the first week of November and, since then, we have had a good response from members to try out the dancing – currently we have a core number of dancers of approximately eight couples a week.

We have various levels of expertise ranging from members returning to dancing after not doing so for many years to those who have never danced before. The group's aim is to be a sociable and easy-going group whilst enjoying dancing at an easy pace. This week (4 Dec) was our fifth meeting and we now have four dances to show for our hard work – Square Tango, Rumba One, White City Waltz and Balmoral Blues.

Our seventh meeting (18 Dec) will be our last get together before the Christmas and New Year break. We are hoping in the first half to go through our four dances again plus add one or two easy 'party' dances to our repertoire (time permitting). In the second half we are hoping to treat the remainder of the meeting as our first mini 'Tea Dance' to send everyone off to enjoy a well-earned two week break and returning on Tuesday 8 January.

Cheers, Carol& Norman Roberts Sequence Group Co-Ordinators

GROUP REPORTS AND PLANS Please will all Group co-ordinators keep Ian Barrow updated with what their Groups are doing – dates, venues, times etc – so that he can keep up his wonderful work with the Leyland U3A Website. Archery Where: Midge Hall Methodist Church, Longmeanygate, Leyland, PR26 6TD When: At 2:00 p.m. Fortnightly on 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month (weather permitting) as per the Leyland U3A Calendar. Contact: Jim Porter through the website. Requirements: Good shoes, something to drink and a small degree of upper body strength. Notes: Due to weather considerations, meetings of the Archery group are suspended until next year. Jim Porter

Art Group: Where: Northbrook House When: 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month at 2:00p.m. Notes: Unfortunately, the art group seems to be limping along just now. At the last meeting in the afternoon of 3 December, there were only two of us. Whether it’s the new time schedule, or just a busy time of year I’m not sure. 4

I am hoping that the new year will bring new enthusiasm from the group, and hopefully we will be able to arouse a bit of interest with a ‘paint along’ with Steve Williams who has demonstrated to us very successfully before.

Naturally we all offer our condolences to Ivy, at this very sad time for her. Lorna Snape

The Birdwatching group Where: Leyland Community gardens on Bannister Drive, Leyland When: First meeting will be on Friday 21 September at 1:00 p.m. Notes: This is a great venue for a first meeting. Over 17 varieties of birds have been seen there, including a goldcrest. Bring lunch. There is cover if it’s raining and we have chairs. We can discuss future events. Contact: Email Trish on [email protected] for more details. We look forward to some lovely photos for the newsletter, please!

Boules Friday 31st saw 12 members and 2 guests braving the 190C, blue skies, balmy weather conditions to have a go at Boules! After a bit of hectic gardening, options on team play got underway with several experienced folk showing the way. BIG THANKYOU goes to Helen Eccles who cleared most of the fauna to enable boules to be played, AND she had shoulder problems so couldn’t even try it out without being in pain! Think this deserves P.A.T.H of the month (People Able to Help). You’re a star Helen….! Further photo’s available via this link https://photos.app.goo.gl/Weq4yxm7uFGdjSP9A Please ‘phone Andy Vurley on 07909534885 for details of venue, dates and time.

Bridge Where: Prospect House, Sandy Lane, Leyland When: Wednesdays 2:00 p.m.-4:00p.m. Notes: The Bridge group will have its last session before Christmas on Wed 12 December and will not meet again until Wed 9 January. Sessions are at Prospect House, each Wednesday afternoon, 2:00p.m. – 4:00p.m. We are delighted to say that Ann Kellett, a player with over 40 years’ experience, will be coming to help us again. We thank her for her patience, good humour and hard work. Not sure why she puts up with us! – but we are very glad she does. We have all made progress and are now starting to get the hang of the bidding.

If you have played Bridge in the past and would like to take it up again, please ring David Marston on 01772 433456. (you don’t need a partner).

If you have never played Bridge, but fancy trying, let David know. He will start a waiting list and when there are 4 people, we can arrange introductory lessons. If you enjoy games like whist, Bridge could be for you.

Please see David Marston, the Bridge Group coordinator (tel. 01772 433456) at the Wednesday monthly meeting.

Cards and Board Games Group Where: Co-ordinator’s home When: 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month between 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Notes: Whilst we do like to start promptly, the finishing time is flexible! Ours is a friendly group who are very welcoming to new members. Having said that, if the numbers grow we may have to use two rooms. The number attending varies and there is always a reduced number in summer when holidays take priority.

On arrival, members choose which game(s) they would like to play and they are free to bring along one of their own – It is always good to learn something new. Most board games are for a maximum of four players, 5 but six can play Sequence – three teams of two. The old favourite, UNO, and several variations of dominoes are for any number, as is a new playing card game we learned recently. The games are for fun and relaxation and are not taken too seriously (with a few exceptions, such as Labyrinth).

There is nothing to bring – apart from the 50p – and tea/coffee and cakes are served at about 3:00 p.m. My only request is that members who are unable to attend should please let me know – for catering purposes. Anne Richardson

Contact: Please ring Anne for details on 01772 929809.

Cycle Group Where: Meet outside the Leyland Leisure Centre, Lancaster Gate, Leyland When: 1st and 3rd Friday each month starting at 1:00 p.m. Notes: Next ride is on Friday 4 January 2019. The Cycling Group has clocked up some mileage throughout the Autumn season and here are just some of the routes we covered.

(1) Cycled to Frederick's Ice Cream Parlour at Adlington. The route took us via Leyland, Whittle and the canal path to our coffee and ice cream stop!

(2) Cycled to Croston on several occasions using different routes. Our coffee stops took us to the Velo cafe, and the quaint Thyme on the Yarrow No need to ask if the ice cream was good cafe. then!

En-route to the Ice Cream Parlour (3) Cycled to Tarleton and our stop off took us to the Chocolate Rooms for a 'proper' cuppa! Our return route took us via Lord Hesketh's ex residence and then through the lovely village of Croston.

(4) Cycled to Avenham Park via Farington and joining the tram path at Lostock Hall. A welcome coffee stop was made at the Pavilion Cafe.

Several members met for a pre-Christmas lunch at The Gables in Leyland. The food was delicious and the drinks went down a treat! A good time was had by all. No cycle miles in the bag for us today – perhaps only a few calories gained!!

Carole McKay Pre-Christmas lunch at the Gables in

Leyland and a rest from cycling that day. Dining out Where: Various ‘eateries’ around Lancashire When: see below and/or the Leyland U3A website. Notes: The Dining out group has started up again. Christine Price has kindly agreed to coordinate. Different people will book and arrange the meals each month. We have volunteers to do this up to June 2019. You will be welcome but please remember that you must book – some venues have limited numbers of places. See website for updates. Contact Christine Price ([email protected]), the new organiser or book at the Wednesday meeting. A deposit will be required – which is not refundable.

Future ‘Eateries’ – Papa Luigi’s Italian Restaurant Tuesday 15 January 2019, 6:00 p.m. Cost:- £14.95 Early Bird Menu (can choose alternative on night). 11 Bookings taken so far

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The Beijing Chinese Restaurant (Cantonese and Thai) Tuesday 12 February 2019. Time to be advised. Cost £TBA Bookings being taken Foxholes () Wednesday 20 March 2019, arrive 6:00p.m. for 6:30p.m. Dining Cost £14.95 for Two courses, £16.95 for Three courses Only 9 places available. Bookings being taken

The Red Cat April 2019 Cost £TBA

Folk Group: Where: Prospect House, 45-47 Sandy Lane, Leyland, PR25 2EE When: Monthly on a Tuesday Notes: The inaugural meeting of the Folk Music Group was held on Tuesday 30 October at Prospect House. The turnout was good with 14 budding singers and musicians (and plenty of instruments) in attendance. The meeting was chaired by Tony and, after introductions and a brief explanation of what folk music and the group was all about, the meeting started with a rousing rendition of Rambler.

After the great success of the first two meetings of the folk group, our next meeting will be in the larger upstairs room at Prospect House.

Prior to the meeting we will have a beginners/improvers guitar class for those who haven't played for a while. The folk group will commence at 14:00 on Tuesday 29 January 2019. Anyone wishing to come to the beginners class, should meet at 13:00. Tony Winstanley. 07925 839934 Folk group co-ordinator.

Growing and Using Herbs and Spices Where: Community Room, Northbrook Gardens, Northbrook Rd, Off Bannister Drive, Leyland PR25 2XS When: 3rd Tuesday in each month from 10:30a.m. – 12:30p.m. Notes: 2019: January: Plantain/Bananas; February: Chillies; March: Gin Botanicals at Pam Carroll’s home; April: Peppercorns; May: Cinnamon/Nutmeg; June: Annual Outing; July: Lemon Balm/Verbena; August: Planning Meeting/Lovage.

Any questions about the meetings please refer to website or email me ([email protected])

Contact: Marian Crossley 01257 268311 Marian Crossley.

Knitting, Crochet and Handmade Crafts Group Where: Community Room, Northbrook Gardens, Northbrook Rd, Off Bannister Drive, Leyland PR25 2XS When: Every Wednesday (except the 2nd Wednesday of the month) from 10:00a.m – 2:00p.m. Notes: - Contact Kim Whittle (07525167901 or through the Leyland U3A website).

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During the past quarter, in addition to our own individual projects, we have been busy making Trauma Teddies for Salford Royal Hospital. The teddies are given to comfort children who have been subject to serious illness either themselves or indirectly, because a close family member has been affected. These teddies are very simple to knit, as they are made in one piece from scraps of yarn. We have a pattern if any other U3A members would like to make some.

Our annual Christmas buffet is looming, and we’ll all get together on 19 December to celebrate the season, along with our generous hosts from Northbrook Gardens. It has to be said that not a lot of making is done at our Christmas Party, as were too busy singing and eating!

Plans for our 2019 programme of charitable knitting will include another Trauma Teddies campaign, prem baby hats and clothes, hats and mittens for the shoe box appeal and possibly at the end of the year, innocent smoothies mini beanies.

We have also been knitting hats for prem babies ready to be sent to Oldham Hospital prem baby unit. The unit operates a traffic light system that defines the level of critical care each baby needs – so accordingly each hat has a red, amber or green Pompom!

We welcome participation in any of these initiatives from all U3A members – if you’d like to join in, please contact one of our co-ordinators. Kim Whittle

Philosophy Group When: Second Monday of each month; 2:00 – 4:00p.m. Where: Community Room, Northbrook Gardens, Northbrook Rd, Off Bannister Drive, Leyland PR25 2XS Notes: "Where does your mind reside?" is the topic for discussion on Monday 10 December. We plan to continue to meet on the 2nd Monday of the month into 2019, so the January meeting will be on 14 January. Philosophy is an ongoing dialogue, so newcomers are always welcome. Alastair

Photography Group When: First Monday of each month from 10:00a.m. to 12 noon. Where: Café on Worden Park, Leyland. Notes: The first meeting of the Photography Group took place on 6 September at 10:00a.m. at Worden Park, Leyland at the café. The group will meet on the first Monday of each month from now on – same place, same time. Anyone who is interested is welcome to come along. Alan Horrobin

The Pub Lunch When: 4th Tuesday each month from January – October from 12:30p.m. Where: Various Pubs in and around Leyland. Notes: This group meets on the 4th Tuesday of the month from January to October. It is a very informal group. All you have to do is turn up at the venue between 12:30 and 1:00p.m., order and pay for what you want to eat and drink and join in for a chat – simple! I choose local pubs which are mostly cheap and cheerful as it is not about gastro pubs. Some are better than others but mostly things work out alright.

I shall research some new pubs for next year and any suggestions are welcome. I only started the group this year so hopefully those who came enjoyed it and will continue to do so.

I can be contacted on 01772 421366 or [email protected] Cheers! Janice McLean 8

P.U.D Club Where: At Janet’s house. Please email Janet ([email protected] for directions) When: 9:15a.m. every Tuesday Notes: PUD Club is almost full.

Table tennis NB There will be NO table tennis on 27 December 2018; it will re-commence on the 2nd Thursday of January 2019. Where: The United Reform Church, Quinn St, Leyland. When: On the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month: 1:00 – 3:00p.m. Notes: For more information about our group please contact Ann France on 01772 424673 The group is continuing to grow in numbers and, whilst a degree of mobility is required, the emphasis is on FUN and FRIENDSHIP.

We are looking into the possibility of organising friendly matches against other U3A table tennis groups.

Theatre Group: Future shows Wizard of Oz: Sunday 09 December 2018 1:00p.m. Macron Stadium, Horwich. Cost £15.00 Pygmalion: Wednesday 16 January 2019 7:30p.m. Amanda Roocroft Theatre, Runshaw College. Cost £6.00 The King & I, (Stage on Screen) Friday 4 Jan 2019, 7:00p.m. Little Theatre. Cost £10.00 The Rise & Fall of Little Voice: Thursday 31 Jan 2019, 2:00p.m. Albert Halls, Bolton Cost £14 A Monster calls: Wednesday 6 March 2019, arrive by 5:45p.m. for Meal at 6:00p.m. Runshaw College Cost £20.00 Theatre & Dine package SOLD OUT West Side Story Tuesday 7 May 2019 at 2:30p.m. Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. Cost £10. Urinetown the Musical Wednesday 15 May 2019; arrive by 5:45p.m. for meal at 6:00p.m. Runshaw College Cost £20.00 Theatre & Dine package (Urinetown is a pun & nothing to do with bodily function – we hope! “Urinetown is an hilarious musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theatre itself -from https://www.mtishows.com/urinetown

Visits

Beauty and the Beast Panto: Tuesday 18 December 7:30p.m. Chorley Little Theatre Cost £9.00 show only Organiser Jenny Chorley Family History Research Centre Tuesday 22 January 2019 10:30a.m. Astley Farm House, PR7 1XA Talk about the work there plus availability to public. Cost £3.00 plus car share. Café open for lunch need to let them know numbers beforehand. Organiser Janet 9

More trips are in the pipeline, including Speke Hall, Bury Market, Port Sunlight, Saltaire - Arts - Trail

Photos from the Anderton Boat Lift visit

The Boat Lift itself.

Members of Leyland U3A visiting the

Anderton Boat Lift.

Visit to Arley Hall in Cheshire in October 2018 In October, 16 of our members went on a trip to Arley Hall in Cheshire. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook and his family.

Firstly we explored the grounds, which had many interesting buildings including a Grade 1 listed cruck barn originally built in 1471 and a Gothic chapel, consecrated in 1845, which has featured in Coronation Street TV weddings.

The formal gardens, which were created in the 1830s, are amongst the finest in Britain. The double herbaceous border is thought to be the first of its kind planted in England. The magnificent Quercus Ilex avenue consists of seven pairs of Holm oaks clipped into cylinders 26ft high. In one of the gardens were small poetic graves stones marking where the family's horses had been buried.

There were so many interesting things to see that the morning flew by and it was time for lunch in the cafe, which uses produce grown in their own kitchen garden. After lunch we gathered at the Hall for a guided tour. The present Hall was built between 1832 and 1845 by local architect George Latham, in the Jacobethan style. Like all grand houses, the Hall was historically interesting and had a beautiful interior but it also had a homely feel to it as the family still live there. One room is dedicated to pictures painted by a family member. Throughout the house are beautiful pieces of needlework stitched by another family member. During our tour the guide's wife was playing songs from the Sound of Music on the family's antique piano, all very homely and relaxing.

Arley Hall is used as a location for filming and photoshoots. It has appeared in the Cluedo series, the Forsythe Saga and the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Recently it appeared in Peaky Blinders and hosted the Antiques Roadshow.

After touring the Hall it was time to head home. We had all enjoyed the day and the weather had been kind to us. Arley Hall is well worth a visit. There is so much to see in a very compact area, which means you don't have to walk miles to get the full benefit of this lovely place. Ann France

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Trip to Haydock Races Saturday 24 November, 2018 Top quality racing at Haydock for the Betfair Chase day. Lots of exciting finishes. TV coverage too- don’t know if any one appeared. None of us became millionaires, but we all got a free scarf! Many thanks to Hilary for driving (she did win again!). But guess what we won?

Yes – a keyring with a plastic horse. (The trophies are for winning 3 elite races. If one horse wins all 3 races it gets a 4th trophy and a £1million bonus!)

Walking Group

We meet near the Clic’n Collect point in Tesco’s car park at 10:00 a.m. for a 10:15 a.m. start on the 3rd Thursday of each month unless deferred by bad weather. Roger

Yoga Just a reminder that yoga WILL be on after the December monthly meeting so don’t eat too much at the Jacob Join! However there will be no yoga in January. Teresa

IDEAS? Do you have ideas for any other new groups? If anyone is interested in setting up a new group, or in awakening an old group which no longer exists, we really want to help you to get started. Contact our Groups Coordinator, Teresa Ball, [email protected] or ask any committee member to put you in touch with her. And check out the Groups available at the tables in the meeting room at Fox Lane when you go to the next Monthly Meeting there – you may find something there that would interest you. If not – then let us know what you would like to take part in.

With best wishes for a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year Janet Editor

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