St Austell u3a October 2026 Newsletter
A big thank you to all members who made the effort to attend the AGM.
Sufficient members were present to ensure that we were able to hold a valid election of Officers for the following 12 months.
All members standing were duly elected and for your information, their main roles are as follows:
Chris Crane Chair / Website / Beacon Admin
Heather Lovegrove Treasurer
Richard Ash Secretary / Beacon Support
Tony Pickup Membership Secretary
Ellie Evans Groups Co-Ordinator
Elaine Hyde-Linaker Vice Chair / Website Support
Kim Robertson Safeguarding / Accessibility
Andy Coles Assistant Treasurer
Jenny Skipp Assistant Membership Secretary
If you want to put faces to the names, these are available on the website HERE
IT Workshop
We have quite a few members who are not confident with using computers and or smartphones and would appreciate receiving some basic tuition. Do we have any IT professionals who could offer some help? Please get in touch with me if you think you could offer some assistance.
Arts Centre
The Gardening Group have made a fantastic start on renovating the front “Flower Bed”. The area has been cleared of all the weeds and a membrane has been laid with granite chipping on top. It is anticipated that final planting will be completed later this month.
Speakers
Our Speaker after the AGM was Ian Mitchell. Ian’s talk, “Do You Know What I Mean” gave us yet another fascinating insight into the way some people’s brains are wired.
The next Speaker on Thursday 5th November is Shellie Foster from The Hearing Clinic.
Groups
Short Mat Bowls
Significant interest has been expressed in a new Short Mat Bowls Group. (Pre pandemic we had a very popular group). We would like to invite members who would be interested to let Ellie know, particularly anyone who would be prepared to help co-ordinate the group.
Sewing Machine Group We have had two sewing machines donated to us and there has been some interest in forming a new group. If you are interested and particularly if you are prepared to help co-ordinate, please let Ellie know. ">
Cribbage
The Cribbage Group meets 14.00 – 16.00 on the 2nd Monday of the month, and from 14.00 – 16.00 on the 4th Thursday of the month in the Bar at the Arts Centre and would like to see some new recruits to the group. The group caters for all levels of players from experienced, those wishing to improve their game and those wishing to learn. CONTACT:
Painting for Pleasure
The Painting for Pleasure group had a display of some of their work for members to see prior to the AGM.
Art and Crafts
Art and Craftsgroup also had a display of some of their work for members to see prior to the AGM.
Social Group
The group recently visited Morwellham Quay and learned about how the Victorians lived and worked.
Theatre Group
On 10th September 38 Members travelled to Plymouth and the Theatre Royal for the matinee performance of ‘Moulin Rouge.
Over 20 members of the Theatre Group went to see ‘Annie’ at the Hall for Cornwall last week. Feedback was that it was a good show and the young girl who play ‘Annie’ was excellent.
Happy Snappers
The winner in September was “Rain Drops on the Washing Line”
Travel
Mark Stephenson has taken 30 members on a tour of Andalucia. From their base in Antequera they have visited The Mesquita in Cordoba, The Alhambra Palace and Gardens in Granada and Ronda.
Travellers’ Tales
The next meeting will be on November 6th at 2pm when Travellers’ Tales is welcoming a new speaker at the meeting.
Toni Sutton will be recounting many interesting stories from her time living and working in Italy in the 1970s at a volatile time in its history. The title is “Romance in Italy”, which might have a wider interpretation than you would think…Please note that Toni doesn’t have photos from this time so the talk will not be illustrated.
Any u3a member with an interest in Italy is very welcome to attend, even if you do not normally come to the group.
For further information contact
Short Walks
The next u3a Short walk scheduled is to TREVOSE HEAD on Friday 23 October 2026. The walk is approx.3 miles which will take around two hours. CONTACT: ">
If you have any ideas for new groups, please don’t hesitate to discuss with Ellie Evans our Groups Co-Ordinator. CONTACT:
Don’t forget to tell me of any interesting events your Group may have participated in and include photos whenever possible. I am sure all members would enjoy hearing about them in this newsletter.
If you are a Social Media user please follow St Austell u3a on:
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/StAustellU3A
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Please don’t forget to: Follow, Like, Share and Repost.
Chris Crane
