The importance of a full and functioning committee cannot be overstated. Committee members are responsible for everything from organising group activities and managing finances to communicating with members and ensuring compliance with national u3a guidelines. Without enough people to share these responsibilities, the workload becomes concentrated among too few individuals. This can also lead to delays, reduced quality of activities, or even the cancellation of popular groups and events.

Perhaps most significantly, if key roles remain unfilled—such as Chair, Treasurer, or Secretary—there may be serious governance implications. u3a’s are required to meet certain organisational standards, and without the necessary officers in place, Bicester u3a could in the worst case, be forced to cease all activities.

On the other hand, stepping into a committee role offers real benefits. It’s an opportunity to shape the future of Bicester u3a, bring fresh ideas to the table, and ensure that the organisation continues to meet the needs and interests of its members.

Committee work can also be highly rewarding on a personal level, offering a sense of purpose, new skills, and the chance to work closely with others in the community.

The message is simple: Bicester u3a can only continue to flourish if members are willing to get involved. Even a small contribution of time and effort can make a meaningful difference. By stepping forward to fill committee roles, members are not just helping with administration—they are safeguarding the future of an organisation that brings learning, friendship, and enjoyment to so many.

If you have ever considered getting more involved, now is the time. Contact a committee member if you can help keep our organisation going.

That’s all from me.

Kind regards, Garth.
Garth Perkins, Chair

Can you help identify the people in this photograph?

As part of the History of Bicester u3a project Charlie Wrench is looking back through the years and he needs your help.

The picture above was taken at the Houses of Parliament in 2011. 53 members of Bicester u3a travelled up to London by coach and were shown around the Houses of Parliament before sitting down to tea as part of the 25^th anniversary celebrations. 34 of those members are in the picture along with the MP, who was Tony Baldry.

The numbers on the photograph are for ease of identification, only. They run from left to right along the front row, and then left to right along those who are behind.

It would be good to put names to all of the people in the picture. All but eight people have been identified; those not identified are numbers: 1, 4, 5, 9, 21, 22, 31 and 35. 

If you think you might know who the unidentified people are then please email the Newsletter Editor or speak to Helena.

Day Trip to Highclere

Booking forms have now been sent out to the first 50 names on the list of interested members.

Highclere have restricted us to 50 visitors on the day. There is a waiting list for any spaces which may become available and, should anyone have to drop out of the visit, invitations will be sent to the next person on the waiting list, which is being maintained in order of the date members expressed their interest. If you have received a booking form and can no longer join us on the day, please contact Joy as soon as possible so that the place can be offered to another u3a member. Joy’s details are on your u3a information card under the “Wider Horizons Group”.

Gift Aid update

From the Treasurer:

You may remember that I announced at the AGM that we had been unable to claim Gift Aid on our 2025 subscriptions due to the HMRC Officer dealing with our claim saying that we were ineligible. This was a problem encountered by other u3a branches who had been allocated the same officer by HMRC. 

You will be pleased to know that I have been able to resolve the issue with the officer having made some judicious wording changes to our website and a few very minor changes to the ways in which we operate beginner’s groups when they are set up. 

Not only have we been able to resume collecting Gift Aid payments going forward, but he also unlocked our payment for 2025. Therefore we received a payment from HMRC of £895.85 recently.

I am very pleased to be able to pass on this good news to you all. It means that we were only unable to claim Gift Aid in 2024 which has not made a major impact to our overall finances. 

Anthony Lock

Gill’s Quiz Corner

Famous Henry’s  - answers near the end

1. This Henry won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973
2. Actor best known for playing ‘The Fonz’ in Happy Days
3. What colour is Henry the engine in Thomas the Tank Engine books
4. Professor of phonetics in My Fair Lady
5. American pioneer in car production, born in 1863

Monthly Meetings

For information about the monthly meetings please click here.

New to monthly meetings?

Please come and chat to us if you are new to the u3a. We will be happy to introduce you to another member of the Bicester group. Our welcomers are: Richard Herbert, Mary Herbert, Wyn May, Juliet Ralph, Alex Sharpe, Marguerite Scott, Pauline Smith and Joy Saville.

Group Co-ordinator’s Update

We now have 51 groups (including multiple groups for some activities). The World Beliefs, Cultural, Spiritual and Us Group has been put on hold and is not currently meeting.

Group News

The new Canasta 3, Mah Jong Beginners and Chess Groups are now up and running. They are still open to new members. The Chess Group meets at the Littlebury Hotel on Thursday mornings between 10am and 12 noon. It is open to both beginners and experienced players.

Moving on and the future

As mentioned previously, there is considerable demand for other activities that are currently over-subscribed and have waiting lists, including Arts and Crafts, Book and Bridge Groups, Camera Club and Wine Appreciation. There is therefore a need to set up second groups for those activities. If anyone is interested in acting as Group Leader for those topics, then please contact me by email: Group Co-ordinator and I can explain what would be involved and the availability of mentoring to get you going.

Finally, a new Needle Felt Group is in the process of being set up. Details here.

Wendy Smith

Any Type of Good Music

In March we listened to a selection of chart hits from 1986 (as that was 40 years ago and was our celebration contribution). Interspersed were a few memorable events/happenings to remember.

Amongst the music were Billy Ocean, Diana Ross, Spitting Image with the Chicken Song (with apologies), Berlin, Europe, Jackie Wilson and many more. The historical references included: the "hand of God" goal, the deaths of Jim Laker and Henry Moore, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and many more.

In April, I found a website called Music-Map.com. This provides a helpful list of artists/bands by inputting some music providers that you like and it shows the artists that it thinks have a similar genre. It came up with many bands that we had never heard of. This led to many happy hours searching YouTube for videos of bands such as Tame Impala, Glass Animals, Band of Horses, The Electric Prunes and many more.

Richard Herbert

Art Appreciation

We continue to welcome new members to the group each month so hopefully we are doing something right!

Badminton

The group is still going strong.  We have 12 members including me. I send out an email each week on a Saturday, to find out who is available to play on the following Monday. We can cope with eight players and usually we have five or six. I do not play unless there is an odd number of players, so I even it up. Twice we have had over eight who want to play, and I have a method of ‘bumping off’ a player according to a rota so that it will not happen very often to any one player.  We are happy to take learners for a try-out and build up their skills. Interestingly, we have three players who have ‘graduated’ to playing with a local badminton club, but mostly we have a stable group who are making good progress, and are looking for one or two more.

Paul Cousins

Blues Appreciation

The January session, run by Andrew, focussed on British Blues, with most of the tracks being from the early 1960’s. These included ‘Steppin’ Out’ by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Peter Green’s ‘Black Magic Woman’, Graham Bond’s ‘Bad News Blues’, ‘Not Fade Away’ and ‘Little Red Rooster’ by The Rolling Stones, (Please don’t go) by Them, ‘New York City Blues’ by The Yardbirds, ‘Rubber Monkey’ by Santa Barbara Machine Head and many more. While some of the tracks were original to the artists, others were covers. For example, the Rolling Stones tracks were covers of Buddy Holly and Willie Dixon songs.

Adrian brought us the February session. Less Blues, more Rock ‘n Roll, the session was themed ‘They died too young – what might have been’ – a Blues motif if ever there was one! Blues artists are notable for dying young, if not from accident (car, bike, boat), then alcohol and/or drugs. Many Blues artists have joined the 27 Club – the age at which they passed away, including six who were featured in the session. An excellent selection of artists and tracks including Buddy Holly (Not fade away), Eddie Cochran ‘Summertime Blues’, Jimmy Hendrix ‘Wind cries Mary’, Janis Joplin, Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz, Jim Morrision, Duane Allman, Paul Kossoff, Keith Moon, John Bonham (of Led Zeppelin, Whole lotta love), John Lennon (Jealous Guy), Karen Carpenter and Roy Orbison (playing Pretty Woman with the Traveling Wilburys).

The March Blues session was compiled by Sylvia with the theme – ‘Female Blues Artists’. A terrific selection of tracks and artists including: Etta James (At Last); Janis Joplin (Piece of my heart); Aretha Franklin (I say a little prayer); Norah Jones (Summertime); Samantha Fish (War pigs); Christine McVie (Songbird); Alice Armstrong (Better late than never); Kyla Brox (Bluesman’s Child); the wonderful Chantal McGregor (Purple rain); Stevie Nicks (The Chain); Ella Fitzgerald (Mack the knife); and many others, finishing off with a little light-hearted song ‘The cat came back’ by The (nothing at all to do with Blues) Learning Station.

April’s theme was the ‘Mississippi Blues Trail’, the session being led by Denise. The Trail consists of 200 markers that indicate where Blues men and women lived and ‘ran the gamut from city streets to cotton fields, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches’. The session consisted of music by many of the great Blues artists including: Albert King, B.B. King, Jessie Mae Hemphill, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, J B Lenoir, Buddy Guy, Otis Clay, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Muddy waters, Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf and the jazz/blues artist Cassandra Wilson.

Andrew Thomas

Book Group

The book chosen for February was “One Hundred Names” by Cecilia Ahern.

Kitty Logan has lost her way… As a journalist, she’s spent the past few years chasing the big scoops – no matter the consequences. When she makes a terrible mistake, she finds herself mired in scandal, her career implodes and even her personal relationships are tested to the limits. Kitty’s been given one final chance, the most important assignment of her life – to write the story behind the one hundred names on a list her late mentor and boss has left her.

We enjoyed this one, plenty of coincidences but a clever read which was rather different from books we have previously read.

In March, the group met to discuss “The Marlow Murder Club” by Robert Thorogood

Seventy-seven-year-old Judith Potts is quite content. She lives alone in an old mansion by the Thames, sets crossword puzzles and there is no-one to tell her what to do or how much to drink.

One evening whilst out swimming, she witnesses a brutal murder, but the local police do not believe her story. Judith and two unlikely friends decide to investigate for themselves, calling themselves “The Marlow Murder Club”.

We found it entertaining and light-hearted but rather farfetched. Perhaps a book to curl up with but not to be taken too seriously.

Our Book choice for April was “The Purgatory Poisoning” by Rebecca Rogers.

When Dave wakes up in his own personal purgatory (St Ives Youth Hostel circa 1992), he is shocked to discover he’s dead, and worse, he was murdered! Heaven doesn’t know who did it, so, with the help of two rogue angels, Dave must uncover the truth. This is a most unusual book which most of the group members enjoyed, despite the slow start to the story. It is described as a black comedy, with murder, mystery and a touch of romance.

We did think it could cause offence to anyone deeply religious. We had a lively discussion, with some nostalgic recollections from some of the group. A very imaginative story with some “laugh out loud” moments which made it entertaining.

Audrey Luff

Bus Pass Adventures

Our first adventure of 2026 was to Woodstock in February. We caught the 57 to Witney via Woodstock. After coffee we went to the museum where there was a WILD exhibition, with beautiful colours to examine in the animal kingdom and how it is used to camouflage and communicate in the wild. We looked around the other exhibits, one of which was Women of Oxfordshire, and then walked around part of the Woodstock Town Walk, before having lunch and catching the buses home.

Our adventure for March was to Wallingford. We caught the bus to Oxford and had our coffee in the Ashmoleum cafe, before catching the bus to Wallingford. We had a little look around the Antiques Centre before lunch in their café upstairs. After a lovely lunch we made our way to the Wallingford Museum where we looked around the Agatha Christie exhibition and other interesting town history exhibits.

Rennie Buxton

Creative Writing

Since the Showcase event earlier in the year, the group has garnered another four members: bringing membership to a total of 11.

With our expanding horizons we have been fortunate to obtain new premises to accommodate us: we now have the next few months in residence at Clementine Lodge, providing a comfortable venue, with the use of the residents lounge. This is a most satisfactory arrangement and many thanks to all those who pointed us in this direction.

We have been busy adding to the short story we began late last year. Each month by rotation a different member adds approximately another 500 words. It has stretched so far that it has now been deemed our ‘Long-short Story’. The members are enthusiastic and looking forward to the conclusion of this murder mystery. If it is possible we will try to publish it on the u3a website for those interested to have a gander, once it reaches its conclusion!

We still have vacancies for up to a total of fifteen members: so anyone on the verge of wishing to ‘push that quill’ and write their masterpiece, please get in touch with the Group Co-ordinator.

I am not qualified to teach, but am enthusiastic to help others learn Creative Writing, aided by my most loyal acolytes. Please come and see what we do and I am sure you will enjoy yourself: and above all ‘have some fun’ with the written word.

Mike Wyatt

Current Affairs

As part of the 40^th anniversary celebrations Callum Miller MP will be attending meetings in June, for all three groups.

Gill Hawkins & Mary Gough

Cycling Group

We have been managing two cycles per month averaging approximately 20 miles round trip with a café stop in the middle for refreshments, including some rather nice bacon butties. Although we aim for the second and fourth Thursday of the month the actual cycle may be a different day of that week depending on the weather and café open days. So far we have been fortunate in only getting damp on the return journey of one trip.

We have 21 riders on the list but usually have six to eight riders out at any one time which works out well as it would be difficult to find a café to accommodate all 21! Destinations have included: Twyford, Evenley, Croughton, Weston on the Green and Steeple Claydon.

There is a mix of traditional and electric bikes but we all manage to stay together at a reasonable pace.

Ian Baldwin

French Conversation B and German Conversation Groups

To celebrate our 40^th Anniversary the French Conversation B Group will be joining forces with our German Conversation Group for a Summer Garden Party in July.

Krys Kazmierczak

Garden Visits

New year, new programme, new assistant, new minibus driver, what more could you want!

Needless to say February took us looking for snowdrops. We went to Welford Park near Newbury in the minibus. We have been before, but this year was the best ever!

In March we went to Waddesdon Manor to see the daffodils. They were great! This is a wonderful year for many flowers. Unfortunately our minibus driver has too many other interests and could not drive us there so we had to revert to cars. But it was not too far.

Our destination in April was Oxford (by bus) visiting Magdalen College and the Botanic Gardens. Unfortunately I was unable to go, due to caring for an injured wife, but my wonderful assistant did a perfect job of organising the group.

Dave Jones & Tricia Hallam

Jazz Appreciation

January brought us an interesting session by Wini in which the featured songs had been used in films whose screenplay had been adapted from novels and plays. Songs included: ‘September Song’ by Sarah Vaughan, ‘My Old Flame’ by Charlie Parker, ‘Stardust’ by Art Pepper, ‘Skylark’ by Joe Temperley, Duke Ellington’s ‘Happy Anatomy’, ‘But not for me’ sung by Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis’ ‘Generique’, Herbie Hancock’s ‘Veruska Pt.1’ and many others.

February brought us a master class in Jazz drumming, by Martin, a drummer himself. Using the London Drum Institute’s ‘Greatest Ever Jazz Drummers’ list Martin demonstrated different styles of drumming, the use of triplets and complex drumming techniques using polyrhythms. Artists included: Buddy Rich (remarkable sense of rhythm), Art Blakey Instrumental in shaping the sound of hard bop jazz, Elvin Jones, Max Roach, Tony Williams (developed Jazz Fusion), Gene Krupa, Roy Haynes, Jo Jones, Billy Cobham, Steve Gadd (played with Chick Corea, Paul Simon and Eric Clapton.

The March Jazz session was brought to us by Chris and was in two parts. The first focussed on an interesting set of Jazz music with a food theme; the second was a compilation of Ukulele music.

April’s theme was ‘Spring to Summer’ – a great selection of Jazz music put together by Janet. With that theme in mind, songs included: April in Paris and Summer Time (Ella Fitzgerald), Easter Parade (Acker Bilk), Honeysuckle Rose (The Ruby Braff Octet), There’ll be another Spring (Peggy Lee), Spring Cleaning (Fats Waller), Apple Core (Jerry Mulligan), Long Hot Summer (Dizzy Gilespie), Heatwave (Ethel Waters), Ice Cream (Mickey Ashman) and Indian Summer (Glen Miller).

Andrew Thomas

Mah Jong Improvers

We usually just play the basic game, but we’re thinking of having a special hands only session to familiarise ourselves with these.

Alison Crutchfield

Murder Mystery Book Group

February - The Body in the Dales by J R Ellis.

An unpopular victim. An impossible crime. A murderer on the loose. A body is discovered deep in a cave beneath the Yorkshire Dales. Leading the investigation into the mysterious death are experienced DCI Jim Oldroyd and his partner DS Carter, a newcomer from London. The deceased is Dave Atkins, well known throughout the village but not well liked. While there is no shortage of suspects, the details of the crime leave Oldroyd and Carter stumped. How did Atkins’s body end up in such a remote section of cave? When someone with vital information turns up dead, it becomes clear that whoever is behind the murders will stop at nothing to conceal their tracks. Oldroyd and his team try to uncover the truth, but every answer unearths a set of new questions and as secrets and lies are exposed within the close-knit community, the mystery becomes deeper, darker and more complex than the caves below.

March - Still Life by Louise Penny.

The discovery of a dead body in the woods on Thanksgiving Weekend brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues from the Sureté du Québec to a small village in the Eastern Townships of Canada. Gamache cannot understand why anyone would want to deliberately kill well-loved artist Jane Neal, especially any of the residents of Three Pines - a place so free from crime it doesn’t even have its own police force. But Gamache knows that evil is lurking somewhere behind the white picket fences and that, if he watches closely enough, Three Pines will give up its dark secrets.

April - Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall.

The villagers of Fleetwood like to think of it as one of the most picturesque spots in Dorset. But now it is a crime scene. A man is found dead, tied to a chair in the middle of the road, with a stag’s antlers on his head. The gruesome scene stuns the town, especially when they learn that it is Jim Tiernan, owner of the White Hart pub, who has been found murdered. Is it a personal vendetta, or something more macabre? Tierney’s pub is at the centre of village life and he knew everyone’s secrets. DS Nicola Bridge grew up in Fleetwood, and has been craving a juicy case ever since her return from the big city. DC Harry Ward is ten years her junior, and their partnership is somehow stronger, and more satisfying even than her marriage. Together they are determined to crack the storybook facade to find out just what the people of Fleetwood have to hide. And now, in the town she thought she knew so well, DS Nicola Bridge is asking questions. Is she ready for what she is about to find out.

Pub Quiz

We have won our first real prizes! Hitherto our only prizes had been the booby prize at the Nightingale (three times), but we have now won:

• A box of sweets at the Ex Services for correctly guessing 9 out of 10 whether events occurred before or after 1980
• An Easter egg each for coming third in the Bure Farm Easter quiz
• A t-shirt each and a money off meal voucher in the Bicester Twinning Association Quiz at The Shakespeare, where we came first!

Alison Crutchfield

Scrabble

Scrabble continues to be popular. The original group, now called Scrabble A, that meets on the first and third Thursdays of a month, is full with 16 members and three reserves who drop in when others can’t come.

After the open event in January, we set up Scrabble B which meets on the second and fourth Monday afternoons. This currently has nine members, so could accommodate at least seven more.

If you are interested in joining the Monday group please contact me or the Groups Coordinator (details on the Groups page of the Bicester u3a website).

Karen Fill

Short Walks

In February, the group walked around Bicester’s Green Spaces from Bure Park. This was to avoid the mud in the countryside. After continual rain, it was the worst I have ever seen.

The walk in March took us from Middle Barton to Steeple Barton Church and back. The daffodils were beautiful and Barton Abbey looked grand in the sunshine.

In April, a few of us walked through the Tusmore Estate to Hardwick and back. The bluebells were stunning.

Mary Gough

Stitchcraft 1

Stitchcraft 1 is planning its 40^th anniversary celebration with an Ascot Ladies’ Day to be held at home with a buffet, champagne and a sweepstake while watching the races on television. Hats are being decorated for the occasion on the 18 June. Photos of the event will be taken for a later newsletter.

Pauline Smith

Sunday Sandwich Lunch

Great Fun, Lots of Chat and Laughter.

Topics can range from politics local and national, through to travel, food, local scandal(!) and much more. But underlying all is a relaxed friendly atmosphere.

Pam Wakeling

Table Tennis

Wine Appreciation

As our contribution for the 40^th anniversary we decided to taste the drink that is at all celebrations - bubbly. We started the evening with a Sparkling Verdelho from South Africa followed by a Cava from Spain. The Verdelho was interesting in that it came in a crown top bottle not a cork. It was the preferred wine that evening. These two were white, to follow we tasted two Rose bubblies. The first was a Cremant de Bordeaux, followed by a bubbly Rose from Saumur. The red bubblies were hard to find but we found two. The first was a Lambrusco from Italy tasted with trepidation, with memories of our youth, but, it was surprisingly good. The same couldn't be said for a sparkling Shiraz from Australia that proves the point why there aren't many sparkling red wines on the market.

Richard Herbert

World Religions

Sadly at the moment this group  has ceased, but I hope that at a later date, it can return with a  slightly different format. I feel that it is essential that we have an understanding of other religious/cultural groups in this country and how we interact with each other, understanding both the positives and negatives ,the similarities and differences and how we evolve together.

Pam Wakeling

Know of someone who is ill?

If you know of a member who is ill please inform a member of the committee so that a card can be sent from Bicester u3a.

Press Dates:
Articles for inclusion in the August 2026 newsletter must be submitted by 31 July 2026.
Please note this is an absolute deadline. You can contact the editor by emailing newsletter.editor@bicesteru3a.online.

Bicester u3a General Notices are now available here and at the monthly meetings.

Bicester u3a is Registered Charity Number 1094759