Cary-in-Bloom wins Gold
As reported by 'Castle Cary Real News' on the 9th October, Cary-in-Bloom were awarded the Ayre Gold Cup in the Small Town category.
A huge well done to our Art Monday, Art Tuesday and Digital Photography groups, who played their part by contributing so magnificently to the Cary-in-Bloom Art Exhibition (see earlier post for more details).
A Day at the Races - 6th May 2026
Our friends and colleagues in the Okehampton u3a, are now negotiating a deal with Newton Abbot Race Course to include:
- entrance to the Paddock enclosure
- access to a box (big room), overlooking the winning post, all afternoon
- Tea/coffee and canapes - small pasties, mini quiche, chicken nuggets, sausage on a stick, sandwiches etc.
It meeting will be held on May 6th and the cost will be no more than £40pp. The maximum number of spaces is 50. With 27 already booked ... If any member of Camelot Area u3a would be interested in going, please can they contact Dee asap on chair@okehampton-u3a.org.uk.
Annual General Meeting - 26th September 2025
Vice Chair's Report
Thank you to all of you who have attended this year’s AGM. I'm pleased to confirm that this end of year report will be included in the October Edition of Camelot-Area newsletter and on our website.
Firstly, I would like to thank the committee and your ever enthusiastic group leaders, for all their hard work this year. They have provided us with yet another year of memorable activities and much shared laughter. Long may it continue.
So, this year we have held two coffee-mornings, one for new members and the other for our group leaders. Our Open Day on the 19th June, was well attended and the new changes suggested by your feedback, met with approval of many.
We represented our Camelot Area u3a at the Market Place for two local events – ‘Volunteers in the Community’ and the ‘Cary In Bloom’ exhibition. Both were well received and highlighted our organisation well.
A few new changes for this past year include our excellent new website. Up-to-date, easy to use and visually stimulating; a big thanks to Alan Gibbons for making this happen. Alan and Peter Townley continue to maintain the website, updating and presenting new material. An additional thanks is also needed to Peter for him stepping into the role of our new minutes officer, anyone who can logically record our committee meetings is okay with me.
A massive ‘thank you’ must go to Caroline Reeves, who is sadly standing down as our membership secretary. Caroline has successfully overseen the new membership online application procedure, which has greatly reduced administration. She will be greatly missed.
Also, a good time to mention that we are enjoying the third year of membership subscriptions remaining at the same fee. Please look at Peter Kennedy’s Treasurer’s Report to see the healthy position we are in financially.
So, to conclude, please continue to enjoy your u3a for this coming year, we trust you'll continue to enjoy another period of sharing experiences with good friends, as well as making new ones, learning new ideas and completing exciting projects.
Stella
Committee Nominations 2025/6
Those wishing to serve on the Camelot u3a Committee should return their Nomination Forms no later than the 19th September to allow for their application to be included at our AGM on the 26th September.
Remember a strong committee ensures your u3a remains relevant and engaging for its members, fostering a positive and active learning environment.
As you are probably aware, we already have great competency and enthusiasm in our committee. However, we welcome new blood and ideas as the keystone to our maintaining ongoing sustainability and success. If you would like to know more about who we are and what we do, please contact our Vice Chair via the Contact Page.
Third Age Trust's SHORT STORY COMPETITION - Coming Soon
The Third Age Trust's annual Short Story Competition 2025 will be launched on Thursday 21 August. Details will be posted on the u3a Learning Activities webpage that day including a prompt to inspire your story.
As usual, the Trust is working with Bloomsbury Publishing who are providing generous prizes and one of the final judges, author Sara Grant. On Friday 3 October, Sara will conduct an online workshop to help you polish-up your story after it's been written. Details of how to enrol (free of charge for u3a members) will be in the September Creative Writing Newsletter.
The competition is open to all u3a members, not just those in our Writing for Fun group.
CARY-in-BLOOM Art Exhibition
As part of Castle Cary's participation in Britain in Bloom Competition, a national campaign that encourages communities to improve their local environment through gardening and community action, the organisers held a week long art exhibition in the Market House - Assembly Room.
We would like to congratulate our three amazing creative groups who helped make the exhibition titled 'CARY-in-BLOOM' such a success.
- Art Monday
- Art Tuesday
- Digital Photography
2025-26 Membership Application Forms - Now Available
Open Day 19th June - Save the Date
Extract from "Castle Cary & Ansford Spring Newsletter"
Your local u3a in Cary always warmly welcomes new members. If you fancy joining any of our 24 activity groups, or wish to start one yourself, please get in touch. You can join online by using our new website www.camelot-area.u3asite.uk or just Google ‘Camelot Area u3a’. You will find details of groups ranging from creative art, photography and music to walking and wine appreciation - just some of the activities on offer.
We are delighted to announce that our annual membership fee is remaining at £17 for the third year running.
Just one of the benefits of membership is the opportunity to attend a monthly free talk, refreshments included. You can catch Concorde on
March 28th, Mud2Fire on April 25th (pottery), and Countryside Detective on May 30th. Throughout the year we have extremely varied topics presented by some fascinating and entertaining speakers. Please join us on a Friday afternoon at Caryford Hall from 2-4pm. Non-members only £2. Hope to see you there,
From the Vice Chair
Short Walk Group - Inaugural Meet
Eleven members met Castle Cary on Friday 8th November for their first short walk. A table had been booked at The George Hotel, which enabled those within the group to submit lunch orders before embarking on a slow climb up Lodge Hill. Unfortunately, the clouds remained stubbornly low, so the group weren't able to appreciate the distant views, still it was still to look down on the site of the old castle and town below. Then it was downhill or flat all the way, even the cows were remarkably quiet and unperturbed by the walkers presence.
Having covered about 3.3 miles, the group repaired to the George where they were joined for lunch by other former walkers. A successful first venture will be followed, hopefully, by another on the 13th December.
This is a new group and open to new members. Those wanting to register their interest can do so via 'Group Contact' email that can be found on the Group Page.
Games, Puzzles and Talks:
When you find yourself at a loose end and are looking for something to occupy yourself and tax your mind, why not take a look at the puzzles & games section on the u3a's National Website. Here you'll find a selection of logic puzzles, mathematical and word games every month. Go to link below:
As well as puzzles & games, you can find a range of competitions, free talks, shared memories and so much more on the u3a's National Website. Go to link below:
Digital Photography Exhibition 2024:
The exhibition of pictures from Camelot U3a Digital Photography Group held recently in Shepton Mallet Library, was a great success. Visitors to the Library were able to view the photographs, at ease, as they returned or chose books. The theme of The Natural World fitted in well with the topics focused in The library itself.
Eric Rentall and Denise Bailey worked hard to display the photos when the exhibition started on 4 th November. “The Natural World” yielded many interesting pictures animals ( even wild boars!) flowers ( gorgeous orchids) unusual plants and vegetables as well as stunning landscapes and sunsets.
After a week, as only half the submitted photographs had been shown, it was decided to change the display . The Library was happy with this idea so a brand new set of photographs remained on show for another week, on the same theme and equally captivating.
The exhibition closed on Monday 21st November.
