Spring 2026
Welcome to the Spring 2026 edition of the Newsletter
Hello to all 321 members of Wolverhampton u3u. I hope this message finds you in good spirits and looking forward, fingers crossed, to a great summer.
The AGM is an important date on our calendar, and it was good to see members joining us on the 31st March. I hope those unable to attend are well and will join us next year.
There are lots of good things happening in our u3a such as an increasing membership and many groups running successfully. I am sure everyone is delighted by the news that our bank balance is healthy and therefore until further notice, members will no longer pay admission on entrance to the monthly meetings.
No one is more surprised than I am to be writing this as your Chair. For the past 2 years, we been without a Chair, with Mike Clack and me working together as co-Vice Chairs. However head office has advised us that we now require a Chair to enable our branch to continue, so instead of resigning as Vice Chair, I found myself agreeing to the position of Chair. The same situation arose for our treasurer, Yvonne who also agreed to continue for yet another year. We were delighted that Janet was nominated as Secretary thus enabling Mary to stand down.Unfortunately, as we received no other nominations, I need to highlight that by next year’s AGM , if we wish to keep our branch of u3a alive it is essential that we have nominations for the following roles of CHAIR and TREASURER who stand for 3years only. We also need a committee member for the role of GROUPS’ CO-ORDINATOR.
I apologise if this doom-and-gloom message overshadows the positive growth of our branch but unfortunately the situation is crucial. Being on the committee is not onerous; we meet every 4-6wks and we are a very friendly bunch of volunteers who help and support each other. The only skill you need is to want to help, so please take the time to find out more from any committee member and/or look online where you will also find all the information you need.
Thank you all for your continued support and it is a real pleasure to see you all at our new venue for the monthly speakers’ meetings enjoying a cuppa, biscuits and a chat. The Meeter and Greeters are there to welcome you and ensure you have a seat. I have been asked to give a gentle reminder to bring your own mug please.
Stay well and in good spirits and please introduce yourself and say hello at next month’s meeting.
Kind regards
Mo Johnson Chair, Wolverhampton u3a
PS have a look at page 73 of your u3a Matters where Pat Green of Wolverhampton u3a has written a wonderful request for ideas
Round the Groups
Classic Rock and Pop Music Group
Do you ever think about those great songs from the 1960s through to the present day and would like to listen to them again with like-minded friends?
This group is for listening, discussing and reminiscing about the many genres of popular music that cover that period – think pop, soul, glam rock, prog rock, protest, electronic, punk, house and all the other types of music that we have heard.
Each month, a member chooses an album, an artist, a year or a genre as a focus for a meeting.
The first meeting was about The Beatles: each member chose 2 tracks to discuss/talk about, and we also had discussions about their early years and songs written by the lesser-known songwriter, George Harrison.
The topic for the second meeting:
"Female Vocal - Individual or Group".
This will, I’m sure, result in a wide variety of different tastes in music, perhaps including Carole King, Judith Durham, Cass Elliot, Aj Webber, Celine Dion, Adele and many more.
Want more information?
Contact the Group Leader, Richard Cunningham by sending an email to: classicrockandpopmusic@gmail.com
Gardening
The group has had a busy programme of visits, planned in November 2024 and refined at a social get-together in February 2025. In December and January, we lie low, waiting for the spring!
In March we started the season by visiting an interesting nursery in Shropshire which has some small show gardens, as well as a very good cafe. These inspired us to visit their shop to see their excellent range of high quality, reasonably priced plants. Several full trolleys meant the group had a good start to the gardening year.
Gardens visited this season included two members’ gardens which were very different in style and scope. Visiting members’ gardens gives us a good opportunity to discuss gardening problems and solutions, exchange plants and socialise. We were able to arrange private visits to two NGS Yellow Book gardens and John’s Garden at Ashwood, where we were welcomed by John and his two dogs.
During a trip to Winterbourne House gardens in Edgbaston in August, we experienced the rare phenomenon for last summer of rain but still enjoyed the very varied planting. The final visit of the season was to Arley Arboretum for the autumnal colours.
The 2026 season started in March with another visit to John’s Garden at Ashwood, this time with a guided tour of the delightful spring plants. In April, we arranged another private visit to an NGS garden near Bridgnorth and enjoyed the famed display of tulips in this very grand garden.
Ruth Goodison – group coordinator
German
We are a friendly group with varying levels of competence in German! Currently we have 7 members and we continue to meet most Tuesdays, depending on the numbers available and holidays. We do our best to help each other.
We meet for 2 hours in each other's homes. This time is split between:
• Conversation/discussion (not always in German!).
• Working from a German textbook.
• Fun language games.
• Each member usually prepares some “news” in German, e.g. about what they have been doing, or an interesting item from a magazine or newspaper.
• And, of course, coffee and biscuits/cake!
Graham Tritton – group coordinator
Latin
The family of Latin groups has continued to thrive this year. We currently have 25 enthusiastic members. These had been divided into four groups working at different levels. For reasons of practicality, we have now reorganised ourselves into three groups.
Members have been studying life in different parts of the vast and varied Roman empire.
- One group has been focusing on life in Pompeii in the period leading up to the disastrous eruption of Vesuvius which buried the city. Bad for the citizens: good for modern archaeologists.
- Another group has concentrated on the teeming city of Alexandria, where Egyptians, Greeks and Romans maintained an uneasy co-existence. A cat puts an end to a protection racket. A crocodile hunt leads to a serious injury. Science and magic have conflicting ideas on how to treat the patient.
- The third group has been studying Virgil's account of how refugees from Troy struggled to find their way to Italy where they founded the new city of Rome. An African queen falls in love with the Trojan leader, but he is dominated by his sense of duty and destiny. The gods of Olympus take sides in the conflict. Things can't end well.
The picture shows the Queen captivated by the Trojan hero.
Michael Clement – group coordinator
Pickleball
Nearly eighteen months ago we decided to start the Pickleball group: Where has the time gone?
Over that time, we have slowly developed into the group we are today. What is that? Well, if you are looking to be the All-England Pickleball Champion, this is not the group for you. We are solely about enjoyment.
Apart from the sound of the bat hitting the ball the main sound you hear is laughter and the games are normally played with smiles on faces. We a still a mixture of skill levels, but because we rotate around the courts you are usually winning and losing games in equal measure, however this is not the important thing. It's about enjoyment in other people's company and – we hope - maintaining a higher level of general fitness and agility than we had when we started.
If you think you can’t do it, think again. We have players who previously had hip and knee replacements, serious shoulder injuries or suffered heart attacks and they are all capable of beating me, but if you are unsure, talk to your doctor to see what they think.
One thing is certain: you will not be judged, and you may even find that you enjoy it. We have two sessions a week at 11.00 on Mondays and Wednesdays at Aldersley Stadium.
Frank Davis - group coordinator
Playreading group 1
Our group has read a mixture of plays over the past 12 months, including ‘Last Tango in Whitby’ by Mike Harding which we thoroughly enjoyed. We have also read ‘Taking Steps’ by Alan Ayckbourne and ‘Down to Brass Tacks’ by Derek Benfield.
We went to see the local drama group in Codsall perform a comedy: ‘Don’t Dress For Dinner’ by Marc Camoletti, which was very entertaining. We are also supporting the Pattingham drama group by going to see ‘The Hypochondriac’ by Moliere.
Sheila Moore – group coordinator
Playreading – group 2
We continue to meet monthly on Friday mornings (dates by arrangement). Playsets are shared with Playreading - groups 1, and 3 as before.
We aim to have a mix of genres each year. We were mystified at thrillers by Fred Carmichael, Agatha Christie and Francis Durbridge, and laughed reading out comedies and farces by Alan Ayckbourn, Noel Coward and Ray Cooney. We also read an adaptation from the TV series “Boys from the Black Stuff”.
Some trailblazing plays continue to shock, such as Joe Orton's “Loot” and Caryl Churchill's “Cloud 9”.
Thanks again to Sheila for coordinating the borrowing of playsets from the library.
Stella Walsh – group coordinator
Poetry Appreciation – group 1 (General)
Our group has continued meeting over the last year at a few members’ homes - many thanks to Gabi, Brenda and Chris who have shared this responsibility with me depending on the numbers attending each meeting.
Thanks also to Gabi, Stella and Pat Cross who have also helped with transporting other members who do not drive and have limited mobility.
We meet on the first Monday of each month at 2.00 pm, bringing usually two or more poems which we have chosen to share with the group. These may be from any era, nationality, style, poet etc. etc. They may or may not stimulate further discussion and information of a 'poetry' nature. Tea, biscuits and general chat also occur.
Currently there are 10 in the group which is enough to fill our largest living room - but if you are interested in joining at least some of our meetings, please contact me to discuss.
Marian Graceson – group coordinator
(Telephone - 01902 765567)
Jazz
The Jazz Group continues to meet monthly, and is so lucky to have a different member to present a programme each month of the year. In the past twelve months we have had the usual mix of sessions: several focusing on one musician – Quincey Jones, Billy Strayhorn and Memphis Minnie(!), or an instrument – the soprano saxophone and the vibraphone. One member played tracks from the year she was born, and another focused on interpretations and tributes.
In addition, we have a member who is happy to present in December a retrospective of the year, choosing a track from each month, which always makes us realise how eclectic our tastes are.
The programme for the rest of the year is on the website, so if you would like to join us, perhaps for a “taster”, please contact John Sheard on jsheard696@gmail.com
In case of emergency . . .
Back in 2024 a member asked about what happens in the event of an emergency during a u3a event. How do people contact your next of kin if you become unwell?
It was suggested back then that every member could carry a small card including emergency contact details – see image. (This could also be useful in non-u3a situations!)
Download the Word document here
You can insert your own details, then print several copies. Carry them in your handbag or wallet to always keep one on you.
It might be an idea for Leaders of Groups to be aware of members’ emergency contact numbers – just in case.
Forthcoming Events
See the full list of events with details.
Your Committee
Meet the members of your Committee here.