Important information about 10% discount at Blue Diamond Garden Centre
Sadly, as a result of misuse of the discount code for Evesham Garden Centre at The Valley, they now require evidence of Evesham u3a membership in order to qualify for the 10% discount.
All members have been sent an email on 20th April or a letter to show at the checkout as proof of your membership. When you renew next year, we will send you a digital membership card (unfortunately the Beacon system only allows this to be done when a new member joins or an existing member renews). New members joining during the year will receive one.
Just to remind you, the 10% discount applies to all Plants, Home (everything from cards to cushions), Fashion, Gardening items (from compost to tools), Birdcare and even Garden Furniture (where the discount could be worth hundreds of £'s). You get 10% off in the food department but it does not apply to gift vouchers, gas (fuel) or the Applebarn restaurant.
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you but hope you will understand that we need to take action in order to retain this valuable benefit for all our members. Please let the Membership Secretary know if you encounter any problems.
Newsletters
We publish news about our u3a in the Quarterly Newsletters. Non-members are welcome to download our lastest issue and past issues. There is also a members version which includes telephone numbers but will require the password which can be provided by Alan Chambers.
Discounts for 2025/26
We have arranged with Blue Diamond Garden Centre, The Valley that you will continue to receive the 10% discount on full-price items on production of an agreed discount code supplied by the Membership Secretary when your membership was confirmed by email.
Committee Recruiting
We want to recruit some new committee members to help run our active u3a. If interested please get in touch via our Contact page. We're looking for 'assistants' to our role holders, and co-opted member of the committee.
Join u3a
If you're not already a member check out our Quarterly Newsletters and Public Facebook group, our interest Groups, and our Events page for our meetings and outings to see why you should come and join u3a.
25 Years of u3a in Evesham
This year is the Silver Jubilee of u3a Evesham and District. The first groups began in November 2001, and we have now grown to over 1,250 members with over 90 interest groups. A real achievement and worth celebrating! We are busy organising some events to celebrate our success. We hope you will all join in! Could your group think of a way to celebrate and maybe share your talents and skills with others?
Free tech support
As part of the 25th Anniversary Celebrations, we have partnered with the AbilityNet charity for the year. AbilityNet offers free, 1:1 tech support. Call their helpline, and they will put you in touch with a volunteer in Worcestershire who will arrange how to help you. Watch this space for free digital training sessions throughout 2026.
25 Years Photography competition
The Photography Competition: the u3a in Evesham is now open.
To mark its 25th Anniversary, our u3a is celebrating positive images of retired people in Evesham and the district by running a photography competition. The winners will be announced during the u3a Open meeting on 7 October 2026, to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Older Persons.
25 Years Short Story Competition
25th Anniversary Short Story Competition is now open.
The competition is open to all Evesham u3a members. There is no entry fee and you may even win a prize or discover a new talent! The winners will be announced during the u3a Open meeting on 4 November 2026, The deadline for entries is Friday 18 September 2026.
Tune in to the u3a Radio Podcast
Click the poster to enlarge for information about the u3a Radio Podcast and links to the Podcast on YouTube. You can contact them if you have a story to share.
10/01/2026
Volunteers needed for Schoolreaders
We have been contacted by a national literacy charity called Schoolreaders. They are looking for Volunteers to help in schools in the Evesham area by helping children to progress with their reading.
Volunteers must be able to commit to at least an hour each week for a full year during term time (although holidays can be taken) and will undergo an Enhanced DBS check, which is organised and paid for by the school. Volunteers must have a good standard of written and spoken English, but they do not require any specific qualifications. There are no age restrictions as long as you are over 18.
Visit Schoolreaders website for more information about their work. Volunteers can apply directly via their website or can Contact Schoolreaders by email if you have any questions. 20/08/2025
Reciprocal Arrangements with Cotswold Link Members
This is a reminder that Cotswold Link has set up a reciprocal agreement between its member u3as. Any member of a Link u3a may attend one group activity in another Link u3a, without having to become a member of that other u3a. They would like you to know there are some new groups being set up, American Square Dancing, Genetic Genealogy, Motorbike rides. Visit Reciprocal Arrangements for more details. 30/04/2025
New - Concert Reserve List
The Concert Group are starting a reserve list for members who want to be contacted when tickets become available due to late cancellation. See the Concert Group page for more information and to request you are put on the list. 4/04/2025
Group Leaders' Meetings
It was very encouraging to see such a good turn out at the two recent Group Leaders’ Meetings on 11th and 13th February, with 85 of our 93 (!) groups represented by 60 people. Topics covered included the role of the Committee and the future of our u3a, risk assessments, finance and banking, membership records and the role & title of the group ‘leader’. Group representatives also added their ideas, including adding emergency contact numbers to Beacon and having experienced Group Leaders to mentor in new groups or groups where there is reluctance to take on the Group Leader role. Immediate feedback was that the meetings were useful and bear repeating for information sharing purposes. 17/02/2025
In Memory of Sue Beneke (click to expand)
A collection was made at our February Meeting for the St. Richard’s Hospice in memery of Sue Beneke.
A donation of £280 has now been made.
'A lovely tribute to a remarkable lady'
You can read the Reply from St Richard's Hospice here.
In Memory of Sue Beneke
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our mum, Sue Beneke. We know she was a much-loved and active member of the Evesham u3a community. She derived such joy from participating in many u3a groups over the years. From card making to skittles, yoga, and even sea shanties, she dived in and gave it go. But what gave her the most joy was organising countless memorable outings and ensuring that everyone who wanted to go found a space on her buses.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the love and care shown to mum during her battle with cancer. Her warmth, kindness and vibrant energy touched many lives, and we are sure she will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Jan & Ben
In keeping with mum's wishes, she will have a private cremation. Those who wish to honour her memory are invited to do so by making a donation to St. Richard’s Hospice, where Sue spent her final days.
Tribute to Sue Beneke
u3a has lost Sue Beneke, after a long battle with cancer. It’s a colossal loss. Sue was always ready to help with anything and shunned the idea that she should be helped in return.
Her most obvious achievement was organising u3a trips, with about 200 people on her list. Most people organising trips have trouble filling one coach, Sue needed two, sometimes three, and on one memorable occasion, four. She couldn’t turn anyone away, so if a coach was full, she hired another and spread people out a bit. There were always optional extras to give something for everyone while keeping it cheap. A miracle of organisation. As always, she wanted no help with this, but ran it all herself.
As if that wasn’t enough, as well as running Skittles and helping other groups get started, she started the very popular Brunch group on Sundays. She went to one in Australia when visiting her children there, and decided to start one for Evesham u3a. The only problem was finding breakfast venues big enough to accommodate all her members. That group, thankfully, continues.
Outside u3a too, she was ever available to others. She gave people lifts everywhere, delivered parcels, took library books to a housebound friend. And so on and so on. She was an archetypal good friend, a very warm person, brimming with life, seeming indomitable always. And now she’s gone.
She lives on strongly in people’s memories. One abiding memory, not terribly long ago, is her sitting cross-legged on the floor, doing jigsaws at a coffee table. Amazing that she stayed supple enough to do this, and how did she find the time? So hard to take in that she will do no more.
With great sadness, it’s Good Night Sue, we will miss you and think of you often.
Caroline Bagshaw
The Evesham u3a committee thank Caroline for her very personal and moving tribute to Sue - a long standing and devoted member of our u3a. We recognise and share the sense of loss that many people will feel at Sue's passing and wish to acknowledge all the hard work and effort Sue made to our organisation over very many years.
Ros Gowers - Chair
We post more ad-hoc news on our two Facebook groups:
- Evesham and District u3a Facebook for members only, please request to join - and if you are not sure how to do things on Facebook please ask for help.
- Public Facebook group for news about our interest groups and their activities, and some news from u3a around the country
u3a in the media
Let's chat Evesham u3a
In October 2024 Cath and Ally joined Katie Gilbert of Evesham Noticeboard for The Vale Matters Podcast to talk about the u3a and especially about our Open Day on Tuesday 29 October 2024.
Lights, Camera. MUSIC!
In December 2023 the Concert Band was asked to participate in a TV program, Christmas in the Cotswolds. The program is available on catch-up on My5 for channel 5.
Evesham u3a radio interview
In June 2021 two members of u3a Evesham and District were interviewed by Peter Lewis for NCCR (North Cotswolds Community Radio). Here is the interview footage, released with permission to broadcast for u3a publicity. The broadcast was part of In The Cooler, 25 June 2021 7-9pm.
National and Regional u3a
Spotlight on the Cotswold Link
What is Cotswold Link?
It is a network of 28 u3as covering Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Do you know about the Cotswold Link reciprocal arrangement?
In the interests of sharing and perpetuating the aims of the u3a movement, the Link has set up a reciprocal arrangement between its member u3as. Any member of a Link u3a may attend one Group activity in another Link u3a, without having to become a member of that other u3a. General meetings of the u3a do not count as a group activity. Session fees for the group activity will still apply. This is an entirely voluntary agreement between Link u3as but most participate.
So what can Cotswold Link do for me?
Cotswold Link organises an annual Special Interest Day, which is open to members of all u3as affiliated to the network. The subject last year was Our Brave New World. Three expert speakers spoke about Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security and our interface with computers using Human Factors. The subject topic for this year was The Influence of Music on Our Society and Culture. Four presenters talked on a variety of topics illustrating how music has been absorbed into our everyday lives. The events were held at The Pavilion, Cheltenham. For a report on the meetings by an attendee see the Special Interest Day page on the Cotswold Link website. If you want to tell other u3as about things your u3a is organising, our webmaster will be happy to add them to the website.
And what can Cotswold Link do for your u3a Committee?
The whole ethos of the Network is to share knowledge and best practice between members. Cotswold Link has Zoom peer support groups for Treasurers, Business Secretaries, Group Co-ordinators and Membership Secretaries at which they can share their knowledge with other in the positions in other u3as. Cotswold Link puts on two very informative meetings a year, which two delegates from each Cotswold Link u3a can attend. Your u3a is already a member of Cotswold Link so ask your committee about how they communicate any news to members or go to the Cotswold Link website and find out more about us.
- The u3a West Midlands Region has news and articles about our region and links to other local u3as.
- Read the u3a National Friends newsletter which is distributed online by the Third Age Trust. The latest issue is April 2026
- download the u3a Radio Podcast with captions from all major podcast platforms, and the u3a YouTube channel.
- check our Links page for regional and national events, and study like u3a learning opportunities and discounts.