COME AND JOIN US!
On this page are listed all the events held by our u3a. They are listed chronologically and include the monthly meetings and committee meetings.
We hold Monthly Meetings, usually on the third Monday of each month (with the exception of July & August). A £2 fee (cash only) is asked to help with operating costs. Now held at the Melrose Parish Church Hall in Melrose, the meetings begin at 2 pm. There is a speaker and then time for socialising when complimentary tea, coffee and biscuits are served.
Our Chairperson opens the meeting with any u3a news. There is a rota for those serving refreshments at each meeting. If you wish to be added to the Tea Rota, please email any Committee member via the CONTACT US page.
Please consider bringing your own mug to save the washing up.
If anybody has suggestions for speakers at our monthly meetings, please contact any member of the Committee (click here). Please give as much information as possible about your suggested speaker, so that the person is then easy to contact.
Although we do not have monthly meetings in July or August, we try to have a Summer tea party in August to which all members are invited. The venue is usually the Kingsknowes Hotel, Galashiels.
Click on any of the Events listed below (either the picture, or the underlined title in blue) to see more information.
Forthcoming events
LIST OF PAST MONTHLY SPEAKERS
16th March 2026
Our speaker was Stefan North-Sagrott, Senior Cultural Resources Advisor (South) for Historic Environment Scotland, discussing the work and the organisation of HES with special reference to our Scottish Borders.
16th February 2026
John Davidson, MBE, national campaigner for Tourette's Syndrome, whose story unfolds in the recently released film 'I Swear', told us how the condition adversely affected his life.
19th January 2026
Neil Fisher revealed The Volcanoes of the Southern Uplands. A tale of when these lands of ours were simmering and seething, bubbling and blowing, red and raw!
17th November 2025
Andrew Poole, until recently owner and manager of Pavilion Cinema in Galashiels shared his cinematic memories with some historic pictures to boot. His has been a most interesting career choice, aided by his family,
20th October 2025
Thanks to Janine for her most interesting presentation on behalf of Sukie('s Scones). It was heartening to hear of the great progress being made by Opportunities Zambia in bringing education, skills and employment (not to mention confidence to young women).
15th September 2025
Gemma from Borders Pet Rescue told us about the Charity's valuable work in our local community
16th June 2025
Rob Longworth delivered his presentation on his Svalbard/Sahara journey. Rob not only happens to be the Heritage Officer at Trimontium Museum, but he is also an adventurous traveller who entertained us with his intrepid tales.
19th May 2025
This meeting included our Annual General Meeting.
We were delighted to welcome Mark Nicol, eminent, enthusiastic historian of the Scottish Borders to recount the stories behind '12 Towers of Galashiels'.
21st April 2025
Borders Eco Flowers, is a thriving business near Duns owned by Bridget and Mike Bevan. It produces traditional and unusual seasonal flowers and a variety of foliage, seed heads, grasses and herbs to create gorgeous posies, bouquets and wreaths.
17th March 2025
John Crawford revealed a long and interesting history concerning all you never knew about 'SCOTLAND'S RELATIONSHIP WITH WINE'.
There was a chance to taste some wines with a connection to Scotland.
17th February 2025
Rene O'Reilly from Citizens Advice Bureau was the speaker. Members were told of the dedicated work carried out by CAB, its history, the different fields in which it is able to offer advice and training procedures for volunteers.
20th January 2025
Gordon McKay revealed more fascinating facts about outer space in his presentation 'Faster than Light - journey to the stars'.
18th November 2024
Stephen Scott from MILLS OF TWEEDDALE PROJECT explained how the Scottish Borders was transformed from a sleepy backwater to a world centre of textile manufacturing.
21st October 2024
Robin Sloan is an expert on munros, corbetts, grahams and donalds. He's bagged a few in his time! We followed Robin's ramblings in A JOURNEY ROUND THE SCOTTISH HILLS.
16th September 2024
We were fortunate to welcome members of the EARLSTON UKULELE CLUB to entertain us. As well as hearing some jaunty tunes, we learnt about the history and popularity of the ukulele too. The Club also promotes the instrument in local schools.