WTU3A August 2019 Newsletter
The August newsletter is now available here.
The talk at the general meeting on the 22nd August by Andrew Harris is on ‘Heritage and HS2’, with emphasis on the recent investigations at St Mary’s Church in Stoke Mandeville.
Theatre visits update
Last curtain call for tickets for Madagascar the Musical, by Dreamworks who also did Shrek the Musical. the performance is Thursday, 19th September at 2.30pm. The cost will be £16 for seats in the Stalls at Waterside theatre.
There are 8 tickets left for ‘Madagascar the Musical’ and bookings must close by Monday 19th August. Please contact Melanie Evans at theatre@wtu3a.org.uk to book your ticket(s).
Extreme Visits – Curling – 10th October
We are in the process of organising a Curling experience at The English National Curling Centre at Fenton’s Rink near Tunbridge Wells on Thursday 10th October. Event details are attached.
TV Network U3A – Archaeology Study Day – 21st November-FULLY BOOKED
** UPDATE** – Unfortunately this event is now fully booked and the waiting list has been closed. TVN apologise if you have not been able to get a place, as although the success of their study days is great, they do not like disappointing people.
**FULLY BOOKED** Thames Valley Network (TVN) have announced details of a study day on “Britain’s Ancient Past – from the arrival of the first hominids to the Roman invasion”, taking place at Benson on Thursday 21st November.
The study day fee is £13.00. This includes coffee/tea on arrival, buffet lunch and information handouts.
The programme of the day can be found on the attached flyer. If you would like to book your place, please complete the attached application form and return it as instructed. As always details will also be on the Thames Valley Network U3A website u3atvnetwork.org.uk along with the list of other planned study days.
Isle of Wight – 12-15 June 2020 – Update
BOOKINGS UPDATE on the Isle of Wight 10 year Anniversary celebration trip to the IOW……
As at 2pm on Sunday 4th Aug we have 20 names for our trip. Please would all of you who showed interest initially please confirm to iow@wtu3a.org.uk whether OR NOT you want to join this trip. Single rooms (with no supplement ) are going fast……..
Please find attached a flyer with further details about the trip.
Science & Technology
The programme of events planned for the Science & Technology group from September to December can be found below.
If you would like to book your place or have any other questions please contact John Beer or Roger Everson at science@wtu3a.org.uk.
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Thursday – 5th September |
Trip – Brooklands Museum, Weybridge |
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Wednesday – 2nd October |
 Trip – Buckinghamshire Railway Centre and VAMES |
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Thursday – 7th November |
Talk – tbc |
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Thursday – 5th December |
Talk – the background to Concorde |
Garden Visits – Stowe – 17th October
Bookings are now being taken for the garden and house visit to Stowe(NT).
Isle of Wight trip – 12th-15th June 2020
Further to the recent posting we now have enough names to make pursuing this idea realistic.
We have found a very good company called The UK Holiday Group who are able to run this trip for us. It has NOT been possible to obtain accommodation bookings for a group this size (up to 49 individuals) for only two nights midweek. 
The good news however is, we have made a group booking for THREE nights departing at 8.30 am on Friday 12th June 2020 by coach from WT to Warner’s Norton Grange Coastal Village, Yarmouth, IOW, bed, breakfast and three course evening meal, including ferry crossing from Lymington to Yarmouth, for £299 per person.
We have included 10 single rooms at NO SUPPLEMENT, (additional singles may carry a supplement).
This trip will also include 2 full days excursions on IOW, details of which to follow. There is an optional insurance payment of £12 per person which we recommend you take if you don’t already have an annual travel insurance policy.
If you would like to join us we will need to take your contact details and a £50 per person non-refundable deposit, we will have a table set up at the next monthly meeting to take the deposits.
The company organising this trip for us is ABTA/ATOL registered.
Visiting Churches – St James the Great, Bierton – 13th August
The next visit is to:
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Tuesday – |
The earliest parts of the church are thought to date back to the 14th century and the main structure has changed little since then. In the 15th and 16th centuries the walls of the north and south aisles were raised and extra windows added. The present roof & stained glass windows are 19th century. The church has 7 bells, the oldest dating back to 1678. We will meet at the church at 2pm. For more details or you would like to arrange transport, contact Odette Harris at churches@wtu3a.org.uk. |
St James the Great, BiertonThe rest of the schedule is listed below:
Historic Buildings – The Vyne – 25th September
The next visit is to The Vyne, near Basingstoke on Wednesday 25th September. 
The Vyne is a warm red-bricked Tudor mansion built in the 16th century for Lord Sandys, Henry VIII’s Lord Chamberlain, which later passed into the hands of the Chute family, who cared for the house and estate for over 300 years.
It was remodelled to its present configuration in the mid-17th century with the addition of a classical portico and summerhouse, firsts of their kind in England.
