Singing for Pleasure - December 2025
"Singing for Pleasure" have had a fun-filled year, the time has gone so quickly, our thanks to all our musicians who have supported us in an amazing way, Keith and his "Vintage Band" Sue Overy and her "Ukulele group" and Pauline our Pianist. In December 36 singers gave a sterling performance to the "SunnyBank Trust “at St. Barnabas Church Epsom, the trust support their members who have various forms of disabilities enabling them to have a voice, to feel connected, confident and supported in everyday life, we were accompanied by the "Vintage Band"
Messages from the Sunnybank Trust
"We just wanted to thank "Singing for Pleasure" for yet another wonderful afternoon of singing , the Choir were fantastic and the dancing definitely started the Christmas season for everyone," Best Wishes Dorothy Watson CEO
"Once again, many thanks for coming to sing and play for us, we will definitely love to invite you all back again next year" Lina Jardin - Operations Coordinator.
We finished off our year by singing our favourite Carols to the Members of Longmead Community Centre accompanied by our Pianist Pauline, another fun session finishing with our annual Christmas Quiz.
We return February 2026,
Group Leader
Jenny Sparrow
Exploring London 8
Our December walk is always held earlier in the month than usual. It was Sue’s turn to lead and due to the unpredictable weather in December a visit to the National Portrait Gallery seemed a perfect solution.
We concentrated on the second floor which covers the period between 1850-2000. There are numerous famous men and women, some household names and some that have never had the recognition that their work deserved. A few names for you to research if you are interested in a few who we looked at: Octavia Hill, Sir Ernst Chain, Helen Brook, Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart, Emmeline Pankhurst, Leslie Hore-Belisha, Hilda Matheson, Eglatyne Jebb, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin.
In 1911 the gallery was bequeathed a portrait of the recently deceased Gertrude Elizabeth – Lady Colin Campbell. She was no stranger to scandal during her lifetime but she also had a very successful career in publishing. At first, they had to decide: Was she famous enough? Was she too scandalous? Would it be wrong to turn down such a brilliant portrait?
The next hurdle was the ten-year rule which stated that the National Portrait Gallery could only accept a portrait ten years after the sitter’s death. This was an issue as the bequest had a clause attached that said the portrait had to be accepted in the same year as the sitter’s death. The solution was to ask the National Gallery to display it for ten years on behalf of the National Portrait Gallery. This led to an article in the Daily Telegraph in 1912 about the ‘public dissatisfaction’ and suggestions were made that it should be displayed somewhere more suitable such as the Victoria and Albert!
Wussie Wheelers
The Wussie Wheelers had their Christmas ride and cycled through Horton Country Park to Ewell Court and the Wetlands. We then enjoyed a 'bring and share' (with mulled wine) at a member’s house to end the year's cycling! We are looking forward to continuing our cycling in 2026. Unfortunately, the group is now full, but we do have a waiting list for anyone interested. Merry Christmas to all U3A members!
We have a new beginners scrabble group starting in January. If you are interested in learning how to play scrabble contact Maureen via the website.
Our Tuesday Bridge group has space for more players. This group is not suitable for beginners. They play duplicate bridge.
Contact Christine via the website.
This is a fund raising event for the All Saints Community Centre.
This is a community event so is open to all, not just u3a members.
Live music and the caller for the dances will be our u3a Group coordinator Libby.
For further information and tickets contact Libby via the link on the event on our website.
Our Jazz group moves to a new venue and a new day for 2026
The first concert of the year will be on Monday January 12th at St Josephs Church Hall, Epsom when Wee Five will be entertaining us.
Check the group page on the website for full details.
Our new science group will be holding its first meeting on Wednesday January 7th at Banstead Community Hall.
This group is organised jointly by three local u3a's, Banstead, Epsom & Ewell and Sutton. Members of all local u3a's are welcome to attend.
There is a £5 per head charge at the door to cover hall hire and speaker fees. (£10 for non u3a members)
We have been notified of a new venue which opened two months ago to play Padel Tennis. Our friends at Sutton u3a have already started to use the facility and we would like any interested Epsom & Ewell members to let us know if there is sufficient interest to move forward with setting up a new group for our u3a.
The S3 Social Sports Society is located at The London Cancer Hub, Cotswold Road, Sutton SM2 5NS
Jo Robinson - our raquets leader is currently working with Sutton u3a on Monday mornings each week. Sessions cost £5per hour per person which includes bat hire and coaching.
The link below will take you to the Riviera Travel Affinity Scheme - This scheme pays our u3a a commission on bookings made by u3a members who book through their affinity scheme. They will ask you for the name of the u3a that you wish to nominate.
Riviera Travel Affinity Scheme
It's that time of year when we start thinking about summer holidays.
In 2025 Epsom and Ewell u3a received over £2000 thanks to members nominating us through the scheme. Thank you.
- Call our dedicated Affinity team on 01283 248 304 - Be sure to mention the Affinity Partner (charity/organisation/club) at the time of booking, as this is not something which can be added at a later date.
- Book online - Please contact us within 24 hours of making your booking either by emailing affinity@rivieratravel.co.uk or calling 01283 523 470 with your booking reference and the name of your Affinity Partner (charity/organisation/club). The donation/commission is not valid on bookings made through a travel agent or third-party booking site and is not valid for departures that are made exclusive to one publication.