April
“Oh, to be in Pocklington, now that April’s there”, as the poet Browning so nearly wrote! It’s the month when you can really believe that summer is on the way: I’ve never agreed that it’s “the cruellest month”, but maybe that’s because it also contains my birthday!
We look forward as always to meeting members at our Drop-In on Thursday April 3rd, at Burnby Hall as always, from 10.00am until 11.30am. Many people have now renewed their subscription, and we are grateful to them and to the volunteers who have staffed the renewal desks. If you haven’t got round to it yet, and don’t want to use the internet, do come along and collect your new card for 2025-6.
So, with the warming of the sun, the Golf Group is in full swing again this month (pardon the pun) with the first outing being at Tadcaster Golf Club. Meetings generally take place on the first Monday of the month with the exception of May and July, and a different course is played each month to give members some variety. This friendly Group has room to take in new members and is open to golfers of all ability, providing you are a current member of Pocklington u3a. If you fancy joining in, even for a trial outing, contact the Group Leader by email at: u3agolf@btinternet.com. Membership of a golf club is not necessary in order to participate, and a copy of this year’s fixtures is available upon request.
The English Language group, mentioned in last month’s newsletter, has attracted considerable interest and is now all set to hold an inaugural meeting. The first meeting will be on Monday 2 June, at 2.00 pm in Allerthorpe Village Hall. The topic for this will be “A Not At All Dull History of the Language”, which promises to be interesting and entertaining. Please contact the group leader through the website in the usual way.
The Pocklington Quiz Group will shortly be looking for a new Leader; this small and friendly group meets on the fourth Thursday morning each month. New members would be very welcome; why not give it a try? And if you enjoy the definitely-not-cutthroat ambience, you might even feel you’d be willing to take on the role! As always, plenty of help is available, and there are volunteers who can provide the quizzes each session.
This is the time of year when we are also planning for our AGM in May. All the administrative and Committee roles within u3a branches are constitutionally held for limited terms, and this year we shall have to fill vacancies for Treasurer and Secretary, as well as hoping to find new faces for the Committee. Could this be you? We have many new members since this time last year, and would love it if some of them would like to get more involved! Professional skills or experience are welcome but not necessary; please think about it, and get in touch or talk to any of us at the Drop-in if you’d like to find out more. As we so often say, the u3a is an organisation that runs completely on goodwill, and without support from members we can’t keep going.
In Pocklington you are invited to the Wolds Celebration Day on Saturday April 12th. This is a free event at Burnby Hall, from 10.15am to 3.15pm. It’s a community event, open to all, but many members of our u3a are involved in the organisation and presentations, and they will be glad of your support in discovering and leaning more about the lovely area where we live.
As well as Easter, this month gives us Siblings Day on the 10th and National Pet Day on the 11th.
It’s Health Day on the 7th and Earth Day on the 22nd, which seem reasonable – though I’m not sure how we should celebrate World Penguin Day on the 25th. Honestly – it’s not an April Fool joke!
A Happy Easter to all our members, and enjoy the return of the Spring.
Rosemary Waugh (Secretary)
