January Joy
A Happy New Year to all our members! Now that Christmas is tidied away until, probably, at least September, we can look forward with positivity to what 2026 may bring us.
First of all, of course, is our New Year Drop-in, which will be NEXT Thursday, January 8th, from 10.00 a.m. at Burnby Hall. Come for a coffee and swap notes about Christmas! Then the following day, start the year’s activities with a good workout at our second u3a Disco, on Friday 9 January, from 6.00pm to 9.00pm. If you haven’t booked a ticket yet, contact Pauline Slater - paulieslater@hotmail.co.uk. If you are coming, you can bring any snacks or drinks you may want to keep your energy up during the evening.
Our Midwinter Music celebration in All Saints Church was again a joyful occasion, and it was good to see so many members enjoying a festive singalong. Maybe it inspired you to think of letting more music into your life? We have groups catering for Rock and Jazz Appreciation, as well as our various performance groups. The Sunny Skies Ukulele Group is currently full and unfortunately unable to take new members, as the full capacity for the group is 16. If you’re interested in joining, please contact the group leader carmanjeannette@gmail.com and your name will be added to a waiting list.
This month you’ll be getting the usual letter and reminder about paying subs for the next year, at the new rate of £15.00 p.a. We hope you’ll agree that this still represents excellent value!
All our Groups are busy planning the programme of meetings for 2026 – it’s a good time for looking at the website and maybe pursuing a new interest. The Science Group, for instance, continues to go from strength to strength – their first meeting this year will be a science quiz, and an ‘attraction coming soon’ is a talk on "Measuring Woodlands from Space". from our Chair, Simon Eggleston, who has extensive professional experience in environmental science and climate change. Find out more from neil.barrett@btinternet.com
We say goodbye this month to Brian and Margaret James, longstanding active members of our branch, who are relocating to be nearer their family in Bedford. Both are Group Leaders: Brian is also a previous Chair, and Margaret was for many years a stalwart of the tea and coffee service at Drop-ins. We wish them every happiness in their new home, and are delighted that a smooth succession of leadership in their Groups has been established. The Film Group is now under the auspices of Gerry Hutchinson, hutch03bag@yahoo.co.uk and will continue to meet on Fridays, twice a month, at Stewart Bowling Clubhouse off Burnby Lane. The group is always happy to welcome new members, especially any who might volunteer to help setting up equipment or serving refreshments.
You can find the full programme of a wide range of films for the upcoming season at :https://pocklingtonu3a.org.uk/uploads/documents/415-Film_Group_-_PROGRAMME_-_January_2026_to_June_2026.pdf .
January is of course a time for looking forward, with all those ambitious resolutions (this year I really will get the garage sorted out…). A fresh page turned, and we hope for renewed energy as the days grow longer again. Inevitably, though, we also look back – and there’s further to look every year! In Market Weighton, our Paper Shop and Post Office have now become all-purpose mini-markets, and this set me thinking about shopping when we were little, when you went along the street in and out of different shops for buttons and bacon, for broccoli or biscuits. It’s convenient to be able to get everything under one roof, but there was something nice about individual shops with their differing atmospheres, wasn’t there? Or have Ocado, Amazon and even lockdown done us a favour by simplifying the whole thing? I don’t know!
It's the month when ‘chilling out’ has a whole new meaning… it also brings the usual plethora of celebration days, from the familiar like Chinese New Year and Burns Night to the bizarre such as Science Fiction Day on the 2nd, Squirrel Appreciation Day on the 21st and National Compliment Day on the 24th (which sounds a nice idea!). Who thinks these things up?
All of us on the Committee wish all our members a happy and healthy New Year of living, learning and most of all, laughing.
Rosemary Waugh - (Vice Chair)
