Visiting u3as in the East of England

East of England Trustee, Barbara Cordina, discusses two recent visits to u3as in her area: Limebrook and Bishop's Stortford.

Limebrook u3a

I was delighted to spend an afternoon with the members of Limebrook u3a, together with team member Marilyn Walker, on 10 March. We received a warm welcome to a very crowded hall in Maldon and very much enjoyed speaking with the members, joining them for coffee and listening to their speaker.

This is definitely a very successful, proactive and well organised u3a, led by chair Brian Harris and the committee, and clearly the members are very proud of their achievements. There is a big demand from prospective members wanting to join and become part of Limebrook u3a.

Brian has worked tirelessly with me on several national issues and has given considerable time in assisting the movement generally.

Their agm is due in the near future and I am confident that they will recruit a full team of volunteers for the committee.

Best wishes to everyone at Limebrook from Marilyn and myself.

 Bishop's Stortford u3a

I was very much looking forward to my visit to Bishop’s Stortford u3a for their AGM on 13 March. Many years ago I lived in the vicinity and spent many afternoons walking around the shopping area with our young son and enjoying the park and facilities. I was actually married there in the Registry Office in 1975 so this visit would bring back fond memories.

In the event I became very lost when navigating the streets – so many changes and – which of course I should have expected. Two distress calls to the chair later I arrived at the Methodist Hall and met up with the delightful members. I had been asked to give a short presentation on the u3a movement as a whole and worked through my PowerPoint presentation, prior to the AGM. I was pleased to see how interested the members were. During refreshments following the AGM, many said how informative my talk had been and that they had learnt a lot about the movement which they did not know before.

The AGM proceeded professionally and quickly. Chair, Jim Paterson, was stepping down and new chair, Dr Sue Rayner Jacobs, spoke to the meeting briefly and was generously received by the members. A new treasurer has also been recruited, Dr Alice Dain, so Bishop’s Stortford u3a can confidently move forward.

I look forward to joining the members again in the not too distant future and know I can look forward to friendly conversations.