Newsletter from your Chairman September 2022

chairman

 

Hi everyone,

Well here we are at the start of our tenth year as Edenbridge u3a.  I trust that you have all had a good Summer and those of you keen on your gardens have been able to keep your plants alive during the incredible drought this year. Recent rains have brought my lawn back to life – it’s good to see green rather than brown!

Many of you will have been away and been in contact with your extended families.  On a personal note we have enjoyed being grandparents and this Summer it was good to get the whole family together in a house in Devon for a week.  Photo shows the estuary at Instow.  Certainly we have had the best true Summer weather for many years!

Since the last newsletter in July many groups have continued during August – others will be looking forward to starting again this month.

 

 

Instow

I understand from our membership secretary that subs for this year are coming in.  Please check that you have paid - £20 for a single membership and £35 for a couple.  Details of how to make payments are on the website at: www.edenbridgeu3a.co.uk/join-us.html

The minutes of our AGM in July are also on the website at: www.edenbridgeu3a.co.uk/agm-2022

Sadly the war continues in Ukraine and Putin’s tactic of restricting gas supplies to Europe has resulted in enormous increases in our energy costs.  The new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has announced a price cap in an attempt to keep the costs down and, of course, this provides scammers with more opportunities to scam you out of your money.  Please be very careful with any unexpected phone calls or emails promising you cash rebates or special offers. NO legitimate energy provider will contact you to offer you a refund. Don’t become a victim of a scam!

It is the 8th September and I have just heard of the loss of our Queen. Having seen photos of her meeting the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, this death seems very sudden. The news came to many as a shock and I feel sure that many of you will also feel that this is a sudden and tragic loss to our country. What an incredible role model she was during those 70 years as Queen.  We will have a new King, Charles III  and the country will go through a period of mourning leading to the funeral of Elizabeth II.

September sees the start of our new programme of monthly talks. This month our speaker is Tony Harris who will be talking about Henry VII – the king who introduced the reign of the Tudors. He was a king who brought about change in England. By the 28th September we may have some ideas as to how our new king will be bringing about change. 

I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday 28th September at 2pm at Crockham Hill Village Hall.

Acropolis

 

Finally on a short break to Athens we had dinner at the roof top restaurant of the Athens Gate Hotel. This provided a rather special backdrop to our meal.  Although not one of the official 7 wonders of the world, the Parthenon at the top of the Acropolis of Athens did focus our attention on this wonderful monument dating way back from 500BC. Oh and the dinner was good too!

 

See you all on the 28th!

Best wishes

Mike Collins
Chairman

Email [email protected]

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Previous editions  of our newsletter can be found in the Newsletter archive