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Tomy, 3 April 2026,
40th Anniversary Celebration | Future Events | General | Monthly Meetings | New Groups | Newsletters | Obituaries | Past Events | Photos |
40th Anniversary Celebration
In 2026 we are celebrating our 40th Anniversary. For more information, please refer to the Home Page. For the Main Summer Event, please see the Events Page.
Future Events, this includes Trips and Outings
2026 Chester Residential Holiday - 7th to 13th June 2026 - more details
A Visit to Highclere Castle and Gardens: Stepping Inside Downton Abbey
Day trip on Thursday 30 July 2026. More details and important update here.
General
Defibrillator
We are now renting a defibrillator. The rental includes maintenance, support, spares and consumables. It’s quite small, and I’ve fitted it into a small backpack for easy carriage. It is quite simple to operate. Instructions are verbal once activated. It is now permanently located at The Littlebury Hotel. We have decided this makes the most sense to allow any member to have easy 7-day access. The Littlebury have been given permission to use it if needed and they have provided space for it to be wall mounted in their foyer. Any u3a member or group leader who wants to access it can do so by presenting a current membership card and completing the user book sited with the unit. The member must get a Littlebury staff signature upon it's return. A small back pack is available at The Littlebury reception upon request for carrying the unit. - Garth Perkins, Chairman
Subscriptions 2026 stay the same - please try not to pay by cheque
I’m pleased to tell you that we’re able to hold our subscription at £15 again for the coming year. It remains the Committee’s aim to keep subscriptions as low as possible, while continuing to spend money on things that benefit the whole membership and support new groups when
they need help setting up. We’re pleased to have had an increase in membership this year - partly due to the Committee’s successful efforts to raise the profile of the u3a in the local community. We’re still unable to collect Gift Aid back from HMRC and await the efforts of the National u3a to resolve that situation and allow us to collect back payments. Regrettably, Lloyds Bank have decided to discontinue the type of account we use now. This means we will have to pay 50p in bank charges for every cheque that we pay into our account in future. We’re looking into ways to mitigate these charges as well as the charges for cash we pay into the account. Meanwhile, may I ask that if at all possible each member makes their renewal payments and future payments for things such as trips and the Christmas lunch by BACS
rather than cheque. That would help us greatly.
Many Thanks
Anthony Lock, Treasurer
Monthly Meetings
Our regular monthly meetings take place on the 4th Thursday of the month at the Clifton Centre in Ashdene Road, Bicester, OX26 2BH.
The next monthly meeting is scheduled for Thursday 23 April 2026. Janine Kilroe will talk about A Photographer's Tale: 30 years of world travel and famous people.
The last meeting was on Thursday 26 March 2026. Jeff Evans gave a talk called "They think it's all over" - An entertaining look at sports programmes on TV.
The full list of monthly meetings is on the Events page.
New Groups
We have a new group Needle Felt. More details.
Newsletters
Newsletter May 2026 is the latest newsletter
Links to previous newsletters:
Obituaries
Past Events
The Groups Showcase/Freshers' Fair on January 24
Our first major event of 2026 The Groups Showcase/Freshers' Fair on January 24 was a major success. Read all about it here!
Christmas Lunch 2025
Bicester u3a held its annual Christmas Lunch on Thursday 11 December 2025 at the Littlebury Hotel. Some 85 members enjoyed each other's company and a fine spread put on by the hard-working and pleasant staff.
Photo by Krys
Devon and Cornwall Holiday Report, June 2025
Dave Jones's full report of the recent holiday in Devon and Cornwall is now available here.
Photos
2026 Photographic Competition
The subject for the 2026 photo competition is "Architecture, buildings, structures or part thereof". Photos must be submitted printed on 6x4 or 7x5 paper.
2025 Photographic Competition
Kathy Gedling and Richard Herbert were joint winners of the 2025 Photographic Competition. Read more here.
Bicester in Photographs
We have a new feature Bicester in Photographs. More contributions welcome.