25 Ways to Celebrate 25 Years of Chandlers Ford u3a

Chandlers Ford u3a member Dave talks about the varied ways they celebrated their 25th Anniversary in March.

March 2023 saw Chandlers Ford u3a celebrating their 25th Anniversary with 25 different events.

The meeting featured video interviews with inaugural members and their memories of the early days of setting up a new u3a. Every member attending was given a Celebratory Bookmark. A competition was held to agree a logo for the Anniversary to appear on all elements of the event. A celebratory poem was read out by it’s author, a lucky dip with prizes, recipe books and revisits of the first meal, visit and walk.

With an excellent in-person turn out the servery crew were working at top speed to provide the Anniversary Cake and Tray-Bakes to all. An additional display area had been set aside where members could wander, mingle and chat whilst looking at first five Newsletters, some travelogues and photos of previous anniversaries. They could also take up the challenges presented by our cryptic crossword and topical quiz.

Central to the event was the display of installations of the Chandlers Ford u3a Post-box Toppers. 25 Toppers had been installed across the community, the design and content reflecting the various groups and their activities of Chandlers Ford u3a - including birdwatching, foods of the world and geneology (pictured left to right, above).

The local Mayor was happy to install the first two Toppers by Chandler’s Ford main centre and photographs of this event featured in local newspapers and publications. Our Birdwatching Group Topper was photographed by a local resident and put on Facebook. This received over 7,500 likes, soon attracting comments from all over the world. The response around the community has been immensely positive, certainly raising awareness of Chandlers Ford u3a, and has brought a smile to our members faces and a sense of pride and achievement.