![]() Armchair Travel To find out more about this Group, Email What we do:
The Armchair Travel Group (ATG), as at Halloween 2020, totals around eighty. Meetings are chosen and run by members. Face to face they certainly were interactive and well attended, with an average 35+. After a slight hiatus the ATG has a new Convener, Simon Horsman who is updating this introduction to the group. Currently and for the foreseeable future we will have our monthly meetings on Zoom. It will be interesting to see the impact on both the numbers and the style of what is a virtual meeting. A typical meeting is one member giving an illustrated, interactive talk of 20-45 minutes. But we also have meetings when several members take 5- 10 minutes to relate an experience, comment on a location or chat about an artefact brought back from their travels – no, not more raffia donkeys! Short talks give opportunities to those members who are not experienced public speakers (yes, you know, the ones who are hard to shut up – new Convener guilty as charged). Meeting topics have included cruising the Antarctic, a three months trek through India and a ride on The Rocky Mountaineer. We’ve been to Singapore, on mountaineering treks, an Alaskan cruise, visited the Lemon Festival, the Panama Canal and the Loire Valley, not to mention Syria, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Tuscany, Europe (North & South). But I’m not clear our locations have to be exotic. Can I tell you about a trip I made to Tenby in 1969? Meeting Area: Sketty Park Meeting Day: Fridays PM |
![]() A Community of Enquiry With the subject as “CoE” What we do: A Community of Enquiry (CoE) offers space for a group of people to collaboratively explore ideas and ask rich and meaningful questions together. Each session will start with a prompt to get the group thinking. The process of the CoE allows participants to share what they think, while listening to others coming from different positions. It is different to other facilitation groups as it lets the group define what they want to discuss arising from the prompt given. Area: Zoom Meeting Day: Thursday PM |
![]() Discussion What we do: Come and join in a lively discussion (topics chosen and introduced by members in turn) – Contact the convenor for more information. Area: Central Swansea Meeting Day: Tuesdays PM |
![]() Foreign Fare What we do: This will be an online group where each month a member will submit a recipe from foreign climes and a bit of a background to the food of that country. The rest of the group will then try out the recipe at home and compare notes by email. Each month a different member will have the opportunity to provide the recipe. Meeting: On-line Group. Meeting Day: Monthly on a Thursday AM |
Gardening To find out more about this Group, Email We are a very friendly group of people who enjoy their gardens, whatever the size, even if it is only a couple of pots. We have a variety of speakers covering a range of subjects from plants for the herbaceous garden, to pollination,to dahlias and a followed by a cup of tea or coffee. There is a charge of £2.00 per meeting to cover the cost of room rental, speakers and refreshments. At the moment our group is full, due to the venue size, but we do have a waiting list. If you would like to add your name to this list please contact the Convenor using the "Email" link above. Meeting Area: Singleton Meeting Day: Thursdays PM |
Gourmet's Guide to History
To find out more about this Group, Email
With the subject as “Gourmet”
A one-year series of meetings to be repeated annually, for gourmets with an interest in history. The sessions will cover food from the time of early man to the Second World War. Learn about the food of the period then enjoy a meal from that period. Recipes will be handed out monthly for you to bring the following month.
There are some vacancies on this course and the next meeting is on Thursday 10th December at 11am when we will look at what the Romans ate.
Lectures
To find out more about this Group, Email
With the subject as “Lectures”
What we do:
We are so fortunate in Swansea to be able to hold lectures weekly in term time for members in a large lecture theatre in the Swansea University for which we are very grateful.
Click here for more details and an example list of our lecture topics. We publish our full programme of lectures every year.
Meditation
To find out more about this Group, Email
With the subject as “Meditation”
What we do:
Calm the mind and learn techniques designed to promote relaxation, build internal energy and develop compassion, love, patience, generosity, and forgiveness. We are a friendly group of seven ladies who discuss many spiritual topics.
Meeting Area: Dunvant Meeting Day: Monthly on Fridays (PM)
Outings
What we do:
Quiz
With the subject as “Quiz”
What we do:
What better way to spend a cold, wet, windy & miserable Monday afternoon than go to a U3A Quiz.
We have easy warm- up questions to start us off, maths questions-liked by some but not by others, picture questions and a wide range of other rounds.
Our interval was spent getting to know each other and enjoying a cup of tea/coffee & home-made cakes brought in by different members.
If you want to test your knowledge and get the old grey matter working in a relaxed, fun atmosphere with good company then the Quiz Group is for you. We are Looking forward to seeing you there!
Meeting Area: Swansea Meeting Day: Mondays PM
RUG (Really Useful Group)
What we do:
Our U3A runs on self help principles and we know there are many of you helping to keep the show on the road - as committee members, convenors and other group support such as collecting names, room hire, making bookings, meeting and greeting at lectures, setting out furniture, making and clearing away after tea breaks.
We are setting up a group to capture this effort in the Really Useful Group: members will be contacted when help is needed for an event or project. We think this will be a more effective way of locating helpers across all our activity. It will also work to encourage more help, especially amongst new members.
How will it work? We will collect names and contact details of all those we know about and keep a central list. When help is needed, all RUG members will be contacted but only those who are able to help need reply.
For example, our annual quiz is approaching and we will be looking for help with setting up, catering, ticket takers, marking, and runners for the answer sheets.
Feel free to ask your U3A friends if they want to join this group too.
Please send your name, telephone numbers, address and email address to Carol Lilly, Events Co-ordinator using the Email link above.
Youniverse Explorer
To find out more about this Group, Email
With the subject as “Explorer”.
What we do:
Human beings are endlessly curious, and the one thing we’re most curious about is us.
In this group we'll draw on science, philosophy and spiritual tradition for new insights about ourselves
and our changing place in the world as we move through the stages of life from child to student to householder to sage
For more information please contact me, Judy, using the email link above.
Meeting Area: Swansea Central for first two meetings, maybe relocating to Bishopston after that.
Meeting Day: Tuesdays PM