Latest Notices
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CHRISTMAS PARTY TICKETS: AVAILABLE AT THE NOVEMBER MEETINGS
The party is on 3rd December 2026 and the ticket price of £7 covers:
- an individual buffet,
- live music from our entertainer, Mea Dean,
- plus the usual quiz, raffle and socialising.
Payment needs to be by cash or Bank Transfer. If paying by bank transfer please give your reference as: XMAS MemNo.
N.B. Tickets must be bought in advance as numbers are restricted for the function room and we need to the correct number for buffets. Only pre-booked members will be admitted.
RIVIERA TRAVEL DONATION SCHEME
The Riviera Travel company has a donation scheme that generates funds for us if you mention us when booking directly with them by phone or online. The details from their website say:
- "Call our dedicated Affinity team on 01283 248 304 - Be sure to mention the Affinity Partner [for us this is Washington Village u3a] at the time of booking, as this is not something which can be added at a later date".
- If you book online then "Please contact us within 48 hours of making your booking either by emailing affinity@rivieratravel.co.uk or calling 01283 523 470 with your booking reference and the name of your Affinity Partner [for us this is Washington Village u3a].
- Further information can be found on their Affinity page
N.B. The donation is the equivalent of 10% of your basic holiday cost (we receive 9%, The Third Age Trust keeps 1% for managing the process).
The benefit to all of us is that the more funds we generate from external parties the cheaper our annual subs will be.
However, please note that we are not recommending or promoting the use of Riviera Travel.
AUTUMN SOCIAL EVENT - WHAT A SUCCESS!
Thank you everyone who was involved in the Afternoon Social event today. Thanks to everyone who attended, performed, was involved in the build up and preparation and set up beforehand and who helped tidy up afterwards. It was a very entertaining afternoon. From John, Chair of WVu3a
We have had a number of comments already received including:
"It was a great event, can I add my thanks to everyone on the committee and all helpers, everyone had a great time!",
"It was an enjoyable afternoon and a great opportunity to show off our local talent. I Look forward to more events like that".
NEW GROUPS: SEA FISHING AND KNIT & NATTER.
These are two new groups. Sea fishing (from land not boats!) is underway. Knit & Natter is looking for a home.
As soon as the logistics for both are sorted out they will be set up as groups on our website: in the meantime if you are intrigued/interested you can contact Ian MacIntosh our Groups Coordinator.
SHANTY SINGERS
The Shanty Singers are keen to have new singers/non-singers join them, they meet on 1st and 3rd Monday from 2-4pm at the 1st Washington Scout HQ. All you need to bring is enthusiasm.
GROUP UPDATES: HARMONICA BEGINNERS
This group has closed.
NEW GROUP: DARTS
This new group started on 22nd May 2026. Anyone who would like to try their hand at Darts, from beginner onwards is encouraged to join.
You will find us twice a month on a Friday afternoon from 2-4pm at the Black Bush, on Village Lane.
OUR WVu3a PODCAST: PODBITES
We now have eight episodes in our Podcast series (think of them as mini radio programmes). They can be listened to from our PODBITES page. So far they cover the Creative Writing and Bridge groups and Northumbria Region u3a's short story winner (Brian) reading his piece and explaining the fascinating background to it.
CHANGE TO BANKING ARRANGEMENTS
From 13 November 2025 WVu3a will be charged for individual banking transactions. Previously we had free banking. We will be charged for: Using a Lloyds branch counter; Paying in any cash to a branch; Paying cheques in or out.
Therefore any payments to WVu3a must now be by electronic bank transfer or cash only. Electronic bank transfer is preferred. Cheques will not be accepted. Payment from our bank account will be by electronic bank transfer (preferred) or cash.
SLIDESHOW OF ARTISTS' WORK FROM THE PAINTING AND DRAWING GROUP
If you couldn't get to our July 2025 monthly meeting you can watch the slideshow of nearly 100 piece of work by our group members below.
6TH SEPTEMBER 2025: RESULTS OF THE MEMBERS' SURVEY
79 respondents (31.5% of membership: anything above 30% for a survey of this kind is considered excellent).
Key Results:
• 97.5% think WVu3a is a friendly and welcoming organisation
• 96.2% are very happy or happy with the range of activities on offer
• 89.4% are very happy or happy with the range of speakers
• 98.8% are very happy or happy with the work of the Committee
• 88.3% are very happy or happy with the venue at The Stella
• 97.7% are very happy or happy with WVu3a overall
There are many suggestions for new activities/groups, ways in which we can further promote WVu3a and new things we can introduce
There are 3 suggestions on things we can do less of
The top things people enjoy from being a member of WVu3a are making new friends, enjoying being part of a friendly organisation, socialising, the range of activities and having lots of choice of things to do
Four people put their names forward as volunteers to help so we will need to follow up on this.
The full results are available in this pdf document.
Current membership total: 351. Current number of active groups: 38.