FROM THE CHAIR
SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
This is to give formal notice, as required by the Charity Commission, that our speaker meeting at the Grosvenor Museum on October 21st will start at 11a.m. with a short Special General Meeting to consider a proposal put forward by our committee that the annual subscription due on 1st January, 2027 should be £20.
The original subscription, when our u3a started in 2006, was £15 which was more than sufficient to cover all our expenses. We had a bank balance of over £6000 in 2019, and we agreed to reduce this by lowering the subscription to £12. We did not pay any subscription in 2021 due to covid. The rate was increased to £15 in 2022.
Room hire costs, speakers’ fees and the capitation we pay to u3a HQ have all increased and our income has been less than our outgoings during the last years. Our balance has now dwindled to less than £2000 and this year our payments will exceed receipts by about £800. If the
subscription is not increased now we will have no funds left within 2 years. The committee ask you to give your support when we take the vote on the proposal at the SGM.
Hazel J. Fraser.
CHRISTMAS LUNCH.
This year we are again going to ARTEZZAN in Pepper Street for our Christmas lunch and the date is Wednesday 2nd December. The menu is very similar to last year and the price is the same;
2 courses for £29-95 or 3 for £35-95. The menu is attached at the end of this Newsletter and we shall again be seated upstairs in the mezzanine, a pleasant room with a bar, seasonal decorations and soft music. There is a lift to the room and buses stop close to the restaurant.
If you wish to book, please bring a £10 deposit in cash or cheque payable to R M Armitage in an envelope addressed to me and marked with your name, or contact me if you prefer to pay by bank transfer. Menu choice and payment of balance is required no later than our November Speaker meeting. And please round up to £30 or £36 if you are paying by cash!
NEW GROUPS.
Do you have a particular interest and would like to see a group for like-minded people, as part of our u3a? Some u3as have Jigsaw groups meeting in people’s homes; bus pass groups where they go together on a journey eg. to Nantwich or Shrewsbury for a day out: or book places on a coach holiday to somewhere exciting! Or you may have other ideas. If so, please speak to one of our Committee members.
U3A MAGAZINE - Third Age Matters
We have had a reminder for the Direct Mail Scheme 2026. Members in the scheme receive 5 copies of the magazine. The charge is £4.00/year.
If you wish to receive the magazine, please confirm at the next meeting 18th Feb, or contact me with the cheque at the address below, payable to ‘Chester City U3A.
I will have some copies of the magazine at the next meeting for anyone who hasn’t seen it.
B. Howard, 76, Crossfields, Tarvin, Cheshire. CH3 8EP (Ph: 01829741129)
U3A GIFT AID
A WORD ABOUT GIFT AID
Chester City u3a is a charity and your annual subscription is regarded as a gift on which we can claim Gift Aid and boost your sub by 25% if you are a UK taxpayer and are willing for us to do so. Media reports suggest that over the past 3 years, when the HMRC tax free allowance has not increased, more than a million people paid income tax for the first time. If you fall into this category
and are willing for us to reclaim Gift Aid please complete the form, which is at the bottom of this Newsletter, and email it to our treasurer or hand it in at our meeting. Our committee suggest that everyone who is eligible should do so to ensure that we have a correct record and are not underclaiming from HMRC. Gift Aid is one of our few sources of income and provides about 10% of our budget.
Click button below to print a gift aid form.