Art appreciation trip Sat 6 October
Members going on this trip can take their own lunch or use the café

Painting for Pleasure
Eric and Mike, the leaders of this group, want to encourage all level of painting ability to give this group a try. The group meet every Thursday at the United Reformed Church on Northway – the entrance is in Larchwood Avenue

Plastic milk bottle tops
Linda on members desk, is collecting plastic milk bottle tops to support an organisation which aims to use these to fund buying a defibrillator for every school on Merseyside. Please collect and bring your bottle tops to coffee morning where a collection container will be available.

On what promised to be an easy Sunday afternoon stroll with the Active Sefton group, around the wilds of Lydiate, nature once again taught us never to take anything for granted.  The promised sunshine, winds, showers and good company were shaken by the shouts of a ‘thrown rider’ and a runaway horse galloping towards us.  The stalwart crew faced up and shooed the animal
into an adjacent driveway, hoping for an easy capture. Sadly the driveway turned out to be several hundred meters long but luckily ended in a paddock where we managed to get the reins and calm the shaken beast down with pats and handfuls of grass.

Finally the rider caught up, dragging a damaged ankle and explained that dogs had skitted them both and she had been dumped as the horse turned over.  However, it all ended well and we resumed our stroll, finally getting back to ‘Our Lady’s after 2 hours.

A smashing afternoon and thanks to Brenda and John for organising the last Maghul AS walk of the season.

Theatre group
We are once again going to the Philharmonic Hall on New Years Eve and require deposits ASAP please- this is because the desk will not open during December owing to the trip to the Royal Albert Hall, and therefore we must collect the tickets for New Year earlier than usual.
Last call for La Traviata at the Empire Theatre. Please see the desk for ticket prices etc.

Membership team
There will be a short meeting in the coffee room at 11:15 today for everyone interested in joining the membership team.Discussion Group
The meeting planned for this Thursday, 27th September, has been cancelled. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Woodlands Sponsored Walk on 13th October
Woodlands have asked for volunteers to act as marshals for this walk. If anyone is interested can they get in touch with Carole Riley at Woodlands on 0151 529 4143 or 07801 482157. The walk starts from Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre at 6 pm

Practical Gardening
The group will meet next on Monday 1st October, usual venue – Maghull Parish Hall, Deyes Lane Maghull at the new time of 10.15. All welcome.

TV licensing scam
A member has reported receiving an email asking him to claim a TV licence refund as he is now aged 70. If you receive a similar email please DO NOT open it as it is a scam.

The Discussion group meeting for Thursday 27th September has been cancelled.

Apologies for any inconvenience. Brian Leach

Membership team recruits
A meeting will be held in the coffee room at 11:15 next Tuesday 25th September to discuss the membership team. We are looking for U3A members who are willing to be part of this new team to meet and greet potential new members, ensure any new members are welcomed as part of a dynamic organisation and help with membership and renewals when required. Commitment need not be on a weekly basis. Several people have already agreed to be part of the team but anyone else who wishes to be involved please come along to this short meeting.

Due to copyright issues we have had to rename our Columbian dance groups.
They will now be known as ‘dance fit’.  Here is the schedule:

Dance Fit 1  – Monday 9 – 9.45

Leader:   Chris Chua Short    474 6355

Dance Fit 2  – Friday 2.30 – 3.15

Leader:    Brenda McKenzie  531 0207

Fire alarm test to be carried out on Tuesday 18th September. Please take note of instructions given out after the alarm has sounded.

A meeting is taking place in the Sanctuary today for those going on the Puglia wines tour on 8th September. Clare Makinson from Discovery Travel will be in attendance

The Theatre Desk will be closed next Tuesday, and a reminder for New Year at the Philharmonic- they are taking bookings for the performance and would like names asap

Walking group – 2 walks on Thursday 6th September:

Short walk 5 miles West Kirby circular walk. Meet  Maghull station for 9:46 train.
Long walk: 12 miles Hooton to West Kirby. Meet Maghull station for 10:01 train to Moorfields and onward to Hooton.   Please bring a packed lunch for the long walk. There will be an opportunity for drinks / meal at the end of both walks.

I’m afraid I have the very saddest news to pass on- some of you will already be aware. Ian Gent who many of you will know has been fighting illness for some time, passed away peacefully on Friday in Woodlands Hospice surrounded by his family, and is now at peace. Ian was a lovely man whose tireless drive, enthusiasm and energy in any group he was involved in had a big impact and not least in him starting the first Nordic walking group with Active Sefton 4 years ago; from Ian’s initial relationship building many subsequent groups have been set up with Active Sefton.

Some U3A members are going to complete the 10K Walk – ‘Light Up The Night for Woodlands’ in memory of Ian on 13th October and one of our members is hoping to secure match funding from Barclays Bank. This will mean that anything raised, up to £750, will be doubled by Barclays. If you are able to, please support this fundraising in Ian’s name.

I am sure your thoughts will be with Lyn and the family at this very sad time