Please find below the information required to be circulated amongst our members prior to the next AGM.

Agenda – click here

Annual Accounts – click here

Minutes from 2021 – click here

Chairman’s Report – click here

If you wish to advertise a local event that would be of interest to our members, please send details to secretary@westwoldsu3a.org by 20th of the month preceding the event for inclusion in our monthly Newsletter

Please be brief, inclusion is dependant on space availability in the Newsletter. All events can be placed on the Local Events page on our website and a paper copy may be placed at the Monthly Meetings.

The October newsletter is here…

You can access the newsletter from this post or from the email the majority of our members will receive by the 7th October 2022

If you haven’t told us your email address or if it has changed… to avoid missing out send your updated email details to membership@westwoldsu3a.org.

If you would like to make comment on this newsletter or submit an article for the next issue then please send details to newsletter@westwoldsu3a.org by Friday 4th November 2022.

We would really like to hear from you now that u3a events are beginning to take off again

Here are the photos of the month chosen from our September themes of ‘Night Photography’ and ‘Photograph a Friend’ plus the monthly favourites.

For further photos taken by our group through the months go to our challenge page https://westwoldsu3a.org/?page_id=8458

September

There’s been a fantastic response from everyone to this new group. Our group is now full! Our first session will be on Friday 14th October.

If you’re still keen to try Spanish why not join our waiting list for future Beginners sessions. If you already speak a little Spanish why not try our other group which meets every Tuesday, 2.30 – 4.30pm.

Get in touch with Sandra Dean, Spanish Convenor, 07734456213 or smobrien1@gmail.com

Click here to see the latest Newsletter from the Spanish Group Convenor, as we go into Autumn, why not come along and join them at their next meeting to get ready for your next break in the Spanish Region.

Please note that Dawn Stoppers Keep Fit Group will take a break for 5 weeks from  Thursday 27th October starting again on Thursday  1st December. Dawn would like to apologize to all of her Supple Seniors, and hope they won’t seize up within this period.

MAINS:

 TRADITIONAL ROAST TURKEY DINNER (GF AVAILABLE)

GAMMON STEAK WITH CIDER & GRAIN MUSTARD SAUCE (GF AVAILABLE)

 CREAMY FISH PIE WITH A HERBY SHORTCRUST PASRTY LID (GF AVAILABLE)

KALE ROULADE FILLED WITH SWEET POTATO AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO (GF & V)

 ALL SERVED WITH TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS VEGETABLES & POTATOES

 DESSERTS:

A SELECTION OF HOT & COLD FESTIVE DESSERTS FROM OUR TOWER OF TREATS

FOLLOWED BY FRESHLY BREWED COFFEE & MINCE PIE

£25.00 PER PERSON (3 COURSES) OR £22.00 PER PERSON (2 COURSES)

Life in the NHS – it only hurts when I laugh by Jeff Jacklin

For some reason, I was expecting this presentation to be given by a medical practitioner so I was quite surprised to hear that Jeff’s career of thirty years in the NHS was in I.T albeit at senior level but ‘in the office’ so to speak and not ‘on the shop floor’ at eight different hospitals.

He made a prediction that of those in the audience, a certain number would have had knee replacements or, had worked for the NHS and, needless to say, there was a show of hands for both. It was not surprising however, that there was a greater show of hands by those who worked in the NHS than those who had had knee replacements because the NHS is not only the country’s biggest employer, but it is the 5^th biggest employer in the world. Apparently, one in every twenty-three of the UK’s working population works in the NHS; this adds up to an astounding 1.38 million people and, of these, 77% are female and 30% are nurses (all pre pandemic figures).

After we had mentally digested these numbers, Jeff continued to give us a potted history of why the NHS was founded and a chronological framework of its main events. The early years of the twentieth century saw many badly wounded soldiers who returned from WWI receive an uneven patchwork of healthcare; this was exacerbated by even greater numbers of wounded who returned from WWII. Before the creation of the NHS, anyone needing a doctor was generally expected to pay for the privilege but it soon became obvious that this needed to change as it was pushing more and more families into debt, hence the founding of a universal health service.

Despite it seeming a really good idea, there was initially some resistance to it nevertheless, the NHS finally came into existence on July 5^th 1948 and it forever changed the way in which people could obtain and pay for their medical care. Spearheaded by Aneurin Bevan, the NHS improved accessibility and distributed what there was more fairly as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, opticians, dentists and hospitals all came together for the first time as one giant UK wide organisation. Funded from general taxation and free from the point of use, it offered cradle to the grave healthcare.

Needless to say, controversy was never far away as financial problems quickly followed; not only did these result in charges being made for dental care, prescriptions and glasses but also Bevan’s resignation. On the plus side though, it was a time when numerous major scientific breakthroughs and discoveries were revolutionising medical treatment to such an extent that diphtheria and polio were actually eradicated as vaccinations became a key part of NHS health prevention work. Over the years, much pioneering medical work was undertaken which included the first hip replacement in 1962; this was followed by the first heart transplant in 1968, the introduction of the organ donor register in 1994 and NHS Direct which was launched in 1998 to provide 24 hour advice over the phone.

Jeff interspersed his presentation of all the hard NHS facts with some serious and funny video clips and comedy sketches so there was a good mix of humour and emotion.

Here are the photos of the month for our August themes of ‘An Action Shot’ and ‘Signage’ plus the monthly favourites. We also added one from the Steampunk Festival

For further photos taken by our group through the months go to our challenge page https://westwoldsu3a.org/?page_id=8458

August

The September newsletter is here...

You can access the newsletter from this post or from the email the majority of our members will receive by the 6th September 2022

If you haven’t told us your email address or if it has changed… to avoid missing out send your updated email details to membership@westwoldsu3a.org.

If you would like to make comment on this newsletter or submit an article for the next issue then please send details to newsletter@westwoldsu3a.org by Friday 1st October 2022.

We would really like to hear from you now that u3a events are beginning to take off again

Lincoln University has been awarded some funding for two pieces of work from the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and there are some opportunities available as part of the ageing and physical activity project which may be of interest.

• Would you like to be part of a new network? We are looking for people who are interested in ageing and physical activity whether that be as a participant, a provider or aspiring provider, service manager, commissioner or policy-maker, just about anyone! We hope that this group will be more than just an email forum, and would like to meet (most likely online) and work together to support the project aim by helping to explore some of the obstacles, challenges and opportunities that are experienced by older people in accessing physical activity in Lincolnshire.
• Are you passionate about ageing and physical activity? We are looking for people who might like to be more involved in the project in an advisory capacity. An involvement rate is payable for any time undertaken in this role, and depending on numbers interested this may be between 5-8 hours in total over the next 5-6 months.

If any or all of these opportunities sound of interest to you please let Dr Jo Blackwell know at your earliest convenience.

Dr. Joanna Blackwell | Research Associate

School of Health & Social Care & Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health. University of Lincoln. Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 7TS. email: JBlackwell@lincoln.ac.uk

Click here to see the latest Newsletter from the Spanish Group Convenor, now that the Spanish Holiday market has reopened, why not come along and join them at their next meeting to get ready for your next break.

The August newsletter is here...

You can access the newsletter from this post or from the email the majority of our members will receive by the 15th August 2022

If you haven’t told us your email address or if it has changed… to avoid missing out send your updated email details to membership@westwoldsu3a.org.

If you would like to make comment on this newsletter or submit an article for the next issue then please send details to newsletter@westwoldsu3a.org by Friday 2nd September 2022.

We would really like to hear from you now that u3a events are beginning to take off again