Welcome to our News page. Here is where we keep you up-to-date with what's going on in our HHD u3a.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our new Suggestion Box

HHD u3a has introduced a suggestion box. The suggestion box will be on the entry table when you attend monthly meetings, so please do make your anonymous suggestions. We’re happy to hear about what we have done well, but also what can be improved. Any ideas for future events are welcome, as is feedback on what we presently do. It’s your u3a so we want to hear from you.

For those who don't attend the monthly meetings, there is a virtual suggestion box - go to the Contacts page on this website and use the "General Enquiry" contact - when it asks for your email address, if you want to be anonymous, please enter "hhdu3a@gmail.com" rather than your own email address.

Or you can email your suggestions to hhdu3a@gmail.com (these won't be anonymous).

What's New

August 2026 -

Novel Writing Group - A new u3a group is just about to start. It’s for members who might like to try their hand at writing a novel. The first meeting on Novel Writing is on Monday 7th September 2-4. There’s still a couple of places free. See the group's page to get in touch, this is now called Creative Writing - Novel Writing.

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We have a new group to study The Odyssey - go to our Groups page to contact the leader of this new group, who says -

"The new film adaptation of The Odyssey has made me realise I’ve never read it and know very little about it. I mentioned this to a few people and they expressed interest in forming a short-term u3a group to study it. I’m delighted to announce I’ve found someone willing to share their extensive knowledge to make this accessible and enjoyable even for those of us unfamiliar with classical studies.

We’ll meet on the first Friday morning of each month for six months starting in October. The first introductory session will provide background and context, distinguishing between historical fact and fiction, the setting and time of the story, its authorship, and an overview of the Greek gods. This will give us the necessary information to understand the text when we begin reading.

Members will then read the Odyssey independently and come together to discuss themes, issues, and favourite passages. Short presentations on archaeological background and Homer’s influence on art from ancient Greece to the present will also be included. You might be surprised at the far-reaching impact Homer’s work has had on later artists and singers throughout history!"

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If you have any u3a news or photos you would like us to feature, (ensuring that anyone in a photo has agreed to it being used online) please send them to us at hhdu3aweb@gmail.com or via the blue link below -

Website team

More Groups News

From the Pickleball group leader - "Christmas came early for our pickleball players when the exec generously agreed to buy enough bats and balls for our use over three courts at a time. So, members — we have 24 listed already— now need to pay only towards the court fee per session. Discover how our three-month subscriptions work by getting your name and email on our update list ready for when we get a fortnightly booking from September. If you haven’t played before, or you’re not sure whether pickleball is for you, now’s the time to give it a try!"

There is plenty of space for new members in Art group 2 which meets fortnightly on Thursday mornings in term time.

Our third Creative Writing group has now started and is open to more members. Please contact the group's leader or the Groups Coordinator.

This brings our total number of groups to 76.

The number of our members wishing to play Table Tennis is increasing but is still not quite enough to be viable at Adastra Hall.

It has also been suggested that we might have a Computer Skills group or workshop if there is sufficient interest.

More people expressed an interest in Spanish at the open morning. We still have no Spanish “expert”, but there are ongoing conversations about the possibility of a “self-help” group. If you are a Spanish speaker who would like to help, please contact the Groups Coordinator.

There is now a significant waiting list to join the Local History group and the option of spinning off a separate group specifically interested in the history of Hurstpierpoint is being considered.

Other potential new groups that have been suggested are Astronomy, Swimming, Gym, the Philosophy of Religion and Boules or Petanque.

If you are interested in any of the above potential groups, please contact our Groups Coordinator through the Contacts page.

Future Lives

Future Lives Event – Housing, Planning Ahead

This was held in the Green Room at the Adastra Hall on Thursday 18th June.

The majority of older people in the UK prefer to stay in their own homes as they age. However, many homes become unsuitable because they are too big, have tricky steps, have a garden we can’t manage any more, have no downstairs bathroom, are expensive to heat and our hearts sink when something else goes wrong and needs repairing. Sometimes, a crisis happens forcing an unplanned move because living in the house is no longer possible.

At our event, the Senior Occupational Therapist from West Sussex Council advised what her team can do to help with aids and adaptations to make our houses safer. We also heard about the small but increasing provision of various types of retirement housing, in particular, local developments. Residents who are currently living in specialist provision shared their experiences and a solicitor and accountant were on hand to field questions about the financial considerations involved in downsizing to a retirement property.

We also now have a lot of information on Future Lives. This can be found in its own section on the Documents page.

Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath u3a info

As part of your HHD u3a membership you are able to attend meetings and up to two groups at both Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath u3a.

Here are the links to their websites -

Burgess Hill

Haywards Heath