Christmas Film Show

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 CHRISTMAS FILM SHOW – FRIDAY DECEMBER 17TH

Doors Open 12.45pm

1.15pm to 2.45pm         A Christmas Story

2.45pm to 3.15pm           Refreshment Break

3.15pm to 3.45pm        ‘The Disappearing Husband’

  “A Christmas Story,”

A Christmas Story is a nostalgic holiday comedy set in 1940s Indiana, following young Ralphie Parker’s quest for a Red Ryder BB gun. Blending humour and warmth, it captures childhood dreams, family quirks, and festive traditions. Iconic moments include the leg lamp, the tongue-on-a-pole dare, and Ralphie’s relentless wish despite warnings he’ll “shoot his eye out.” Its timeless charm and relatable family chaos have made it a perennial Christmas classic cherished across generations.

 and the premiere of a supporting short film, “The Disappearing Husband.”

Following from a chance meeting with an old friend a recent retiree begins to wander off at random. Where to? Nobody knows. A case for shady private detective Vince and his equally dodgy assistant. (They are not that good, but they are cheap)

Holmes and Watson they are not.

Hucknall Food Bank Donations

At the film show there will be a voluntary collection of non-perishable food and cash.

David Rose

Short Walks

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The November walk was led by Liz and Phil Attenborough

On a sunny, frosty Thursday morning, 12 “short walkers” made their way via Waterloo Promenade to the Arboretum, walking up Elm Avenue to the high point of the Bellevue Reservoir – a little-known landmark which serves the City of Nottingham where we enjoyed uninterrupted views over the city.

Belle Vue Reservoir is a hidden Victorian engineering gem, built in the 1850s to secure the city’s water supply. Located near Mapperley Road, it consists of two underground chambers holding millions of litres. Rarely seen by the public, its brick vaults and arches showcase remarkable craftsmanship

A stroll back over the forest recreation ground to where we boarded a warm tram back to Hucknall.

A very interesting and informative walk.

December Walk

On Thursday 18th December we are catching the 9.39am 141 bus from Linby.

Our walk is 4 miles from Larch Farm into Newstead Abbey grounds via Kirkby Road and Haggnook Wood. We will have a café stop at the Abbey before returning to Papplewick and then onto Linby.

David Rose

Pickleball

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On Saturday 22nd November a team of 8 ‘Picklers’, made up from the Monday and Thursday pickleball groups, took on a team from LoCo Pickleball for a friendly competition. LoCo are a local, non u3a, team, meaning some of them were much younger than us!

From left to right: Mick Frings, Steve Swift, Karen Guy, Diane Swift, Hayley Leeming, Phil Pickwick, Dave Jackson, Julie Bridges

Both teams consisted of four ladies and four men and we played a mixture of doubles and mixed doubles, swapping partners each time. Games were played for 11 minutes, rather than to the more usual 11 points. Carol, who is the coach for LoCo, took charge of the whistle and schedule and the scoring was done by adding each teams score at the whistle to provide a cumulative score per team.

It was neck and neck all afternoon with the lead passing backwards and forwards. Hucknall u3a team went into the final round with a 5 point lead, but unfortunately LoCo had a strong round, beating us 287 to 282 overall. Just 5 points in it shows what a great afternoon it was and how evenly matched the teams were.

We finished off the afternoon with a trip to the Horse and Groom at Linby for a very well earned drink and some great conversations with our opponents. Everyone agreed it had been a really enjoyable afternoon and we are hoping for a rematch soon.

Karen Guy

Vegetarian Cookery

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The group met in November and were shown a vegetarian option for a Christmas Day dinner, in addition to alternative cheese scones and Florentine cookies. All were enjoyed as usual. It was good to get back to the meeting after an absence of two months.

There will be no meeting in December as it will be too close to Christmas, so we meet again in January and the recipes for 2026 are all ready and waiting!

My thanks to those who help in any way with these meetings, it is always much appreciated.

This group has a limit on numbers, but we do have a couple of vacancies now as some members have other commitments on a Monday. If anyone is interested in joining us please do have a word with me at the main u3a meetings.

Anne Wilkinson

Gardening Group

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In November the group welcomed back Karen Gimson who gave a very amusing and interesting talk on 365 Days of Colour in the Garden. She also gave us suggestions for places to visit as well as lots of hints and tips, such as cutting snowdrop bulbs into 6 pieces to get more of them. We were informed that we were the friendliest group in the East Midlands circuit, and she has visited lots of different groups so she would know!  What an accolade!  We will certainly be having her back to the group in future.

There will be no meetings in December and January, and we are taking names and monies for our February trip to Easton Walled Gardens to see the snowdrops.

Anne