u3a North East Information

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1. September Regional Meeting Wednesday 23rd September

Venue: Whickham Golf Club,  Hollinside Park, Fellside Road, NE16 5BA

£7.00 for Attendance Only; £15.00 for Attendance and Lunch

Please register and pay by the 11th September 2026 using this link:

September 2026

Or use the website (Events page): https://northumbria.u3asite.uk/

Provisional Agenda:

10am – 10.30  Registration and refreshments
10.30 – 12.30  Reports from Chair, Council Representatives, Treasurer, and Events
12.30 – 13.30  Lunch and networking.
13.30 – 14:30  Entertainers: Old English. will play for an hour.  
14.30 -15.00   Networking and close. 

2. ‘PRE-RAPHAELITES: ART AND POETRY’ TOURS AT THE LAING

Tours of the Laing Art Gallery exhibition are being arranged for our members of u3a North-East Region.

Expression of Interest

If you are interested, please email Catherine Stevenson (Intoto444@hotmail.com).  Only when we know the cost of the exhibition will money be taken and then places will be confirmed by email.

For more information, please see the website https://northumbria.u3asite.uk/

3. Ushaw Event 2027

The Festival of Fun, Music and Learning held on May 12th 2026 at Ushaw Historic House was such a resounding success that The Regional u3a Events Team and Committee have decided to organise a similar day in 2027.

This special day at Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, 
DH7 7DW is on Wednesday 19th May 2027. 

To enable this day to be a success we rely on members to contribute to the day. We had a great response from members for 2026, but we would like others to put their names forward. Can any member, or a group of members, offer to present a workshop or an activity for everyone to enjoy? Is your expertise in history, geography, crafts, such as card making, genealogy, photography, calligraphy, playing an instrument, singing in a choir etc. Could you lead a walk from Ushaw Historic House? Could you give a taster session about carpet bowls, any genre of dancing, ceramics and so the list goes on.

Please contact Cecilia Coulson for more information (cecu3a@gmail.com).

4. Short Story/Poetry Competition

A reminder that the deadline for entries is 12 noon on Friday 11th September 2026. The competition is free to enter.

You don’t have to be a member of a creative writing group to enter. All u3a members of the u3a North East Region are welcome to submit a short story, of no more than 1,500 words and/or a poem of no more than 16 lines, on the theme of ‘Happiness’

More details and the competition rules are on the website (follow the link on the News page): https://northumbria.u3asite.uk/

5. Help needed with NE Region Communications

Peter Barnett has been the main editor of our regional website since 2016 and in January 2025 worked on the transition to the new SiteWorks system. He is also the main administrator of the regional Beacon system. He would like some help. By now there will be many people in the region with experience of SiteWorks editing and similarly of using the Beacon system. However, training is available for anybody that is new to these systems.

If you are at all interested, please email Peter Barnett using the contact details on the Committee page of the website https://northumbria.u3asite.uk/

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Peter Barnett, u3a North East Region