Autumn 2025

Welcome to the Autumn 2025 edition of the Newsletter.

Not a bad summer - some wonderful weather. So far autumn looks promising - let's hope we don't have a cold winter and we can stay active in our various groups.
Following the appeal in the last Newsletter, it's encouraging that the Travel Pass Safari group could be kicked off very soon - there is an exploratory meeting of members who are interested this month. Hopefully we can welcome this as a new activity to offer on a regular basis soon. Watch this space.
Facebook
We are up to 100 members of the u3a Wolverhampton FB page now - the most ever. It's good to see more of our groups posting their activities on the Wolverhampton u3a Facebook pages.
It's great publicity for our u3a and we've attracted quite a few new members via this route.
See: https://www.facebook.com/groups/153968258609260
Can some of the other groups try to post regularly too?
Zentangle
This is going from strength to strength, a great start for a relatively new activity. See the report in the following articles.
Pickleball
Good too see that PICKLEBALL is really taking off. Three groups active over two days every week. Well done to both Frank Davies and Mike Johans for making this happen.

The u3a Short Story Competition 2025
Just in case this was missed in the u3a magazine - see below. Not much time left for entries though.
The u3a national short story competition is back for its sixth year. We are delighted to welcome Bloomsbury published author Sara Grant as a new judge.
To enter this year’s competition, u3a members are invited to:
Write and submit a short story (max 1,500 words) on the theme 'Lost and Found'.
Key Details:
• Free entry (one short story per person)
• Deadline: Submit by 12 noon, Friday 17 October 2025
• First prize - five books, donated by Bloomsbury.
• Second and third prizes - two books, donated by Bloomsbury.
• Further runners-up on the shortlist - a book, donated by Bloomsbury.
• All prize winners and those on the shortlist will also have their stories published on the u3a website.
• You must read the rules of the competition before entering (see below). Any submission which does not meet these rules will not be considered.
• All submissions will be judged by group judging panels. The best story from each group will be compared to decide on an overall winner.
Who Can Enter?
All u3a members, including those in Interest Groups Online. You must be a member by Thursday 21 August and stay a member until the end of February 2026.
Entry form: https://u3auk.wufoo.com/forms/rvgogus1fdmm61/

Here's a contribution submitted by a member:

Group Dynamics - or Midsummer Morning and St John’s Afternoon

Many u3a members frequent more than a single group, and therefore the question to a newcomer, “Which other groups are you part of?” is not unusual. What is, perhaps, unusual, is when parts of them merge and events take place on the same day.

Let me explain. (Danger! Encyclopaedic avalanche approaching…) The Summer Solstice (June 21st), also referred to as Midsummer Night, is a worship of the sun which began in Northern and Central European cultures in the Neolithic era. Bonfires have long been part of the celebrations to mark the arrival of summer, and with the Christianisation of Pagan rituals, the fires were dedicated to St John the Baptist, whose day is June 24th. In Germany and the Scandinavian countries, the St John’s Fire is supposed to keep hail at bay; in Spain dressing up, and fireworks are part of the event, while musicians provide the soundtrack; in Greece, they throw gorse, palm fronds and branches from almond trees into the fire. Herbs also play a role in Spain where they are one of the three symbols of Saint Joan – the other two being fire and water. In both countries, bathing in the sea, either during the night or in the morning, takes place as part of the rituals.

Alas, Wolverhampton is too far from the sea . . . But with the Foraging Group’s day being close enough to the 24th, and one article I read suggesting a foraging feast “using gathered goods you’ve collected from a day in the wild”, and a bonfire of hedge trimmings ready to be lit already in place, the idea was born to join the Walking Group in the morning in order to snip some seasonal greenery to throw onto the fire in the afternoon.

As is often the case, you don’t just meet new members, but also familiar faces, and names are mentioned which you may know from other activities and organisations when you start talking. And what a range of conversational topics we covered on this hot but extremely windy Thursday morning! There was a certain amount of the unavoidable “organ recital”, plus ignorance versus expert knowledge on everything that grows all around us – or even crawls beneath us: such as an army of tiny mud-coloured frogs. Furthermore, there were: dinghy sailing, treacherous marble staircases in China, books and films, and Japanese production methods, to name just a few. It was a very entertaining walk, led by Neil in the grounds of Shugborough Estate, incorporating two canals, one of which was beautifully lined with swaying reeds.

Although the walk was leisurely, I was quite exhausted by the time I got home, and it was almost time to light the St John’s fire in our back garden. It turned out to be quite difficult to throw the foraging group’s herbal offerings - which included gorse, rosemary, and of course St John’s Wort - into the fire because the wind direction kept changing. However, ignoring that we would subsequently smell like well-fried bacon, some of us attempted a kind of Pagan dance around the fire with the help of typical Estonian music for a St John’s Fire (courtesy of Radio 3, provided by Ruth via her tablet), felt a bit silly when using the Kalymnian mantra of “I leave my sins and my fleas behind”, and really enjoyed Josie’s live guitar playing and singing. The elderflower and lemon cheesecake wasn’t too bad either, even if I say so myself!

Sabine Brotherton (Wolverhampton u3a member)

Round the Groups

Reading 1
Our group continues to select a wide variety of books which are discussed with great enthusiasm. The discussion is occasionally more interesting than the book itself!
What we enjoy is the fact that we don't always have the same opinion of a book, but we benefit from hearing other people's 'take' on it. Everyone's view is listened to and respected.
This year we have had Irish, English and American writers and one book based in Japan. One of the greatest benefits of the group is being exposed to unfamiliar authors who often become firm favourites.
One book that produced mixed reviews was 'Orbital', a Booker prize winner. This led to a fascinating discussion on 'What makes a Booker prize winner?' We didn't resolve the issue.
With 10 people in our group and meeting 10 times a year, we each get to choose one book every year. We look forward to more stimulating book choices in 2026.
Jeanette Black

Forthcoming Events
See the full list of events with details.

Interest Groups at Wolverhampton u3a
Best to check on the website for the latest information on all the Interest Groups.
There are full details here.

Your Committee
Meet the members of your Committee here.