u3a News

Surveys are so fashionable nowadays. Every scientist has their own pet research project based on the result of a survey. u3a is not to be left out! This page’s short random survey of an unstatistical number of members showed an amazing result – not all members get the same from u3a! Would you have guessed?

Asked to name the highlights of their u3a experience, members said that friendship was perhaps the feature that figured most highly. Some members had made friends by organising a group, such as the member who ran a group over the summer season some years ago called ‘Bridging the Gap’. This was a discussion group which entailed lots of preparation by the two group leaders and guided members through some of the big themes of life – love, joy, loss, truth, justice, prejudice and grief, to name but some of the topics. Big ideas but ones that most people could contribute to and gain comfort from whilst discussing.

One member found friendships by attending a group. She says, ‘Through u3a I was introduced to a musical instrument which has given me hours of pleasure, even during Lockdown. In September 2019 four experienced players agreed to give about 10 rookie u3a would-be players an introduction to the ukulele. I arrived at the hall clutching my bright blue second-hand soprano uke and joined the others at a large table. We were shown how to loosen ourselves up, sit properly, hold our ukes, and strum a few simple chords. We even managed to play and sing some songs. It was fun, uplifting and we made new friends. It’s not easy at first to sing, strum in different rhythms and play the right chords, so it’s a workout for the brain as well as the hands’. The photo shows the ukulele group last summer.

Another member highlighted one particular group about Japan. During the course members looked at geography, history, customs, calligraphy, photographs and picture books, and tried both origami and some tasty Japanese snacks. It was led by a member who had close links with Japan and had visited several times. They provided a whole immersive and memorable experience.

One member described a ‘spin-off’ from the Astronomy group when one evening he was shown (in real life) the International Space Station moving at astonishing speed across the night sky.

Outings were mentioned by more than one member, encompassing art exhibitions of the National Trust’s ‘Prized Possessions’ at Petworth House and the William Morris Gallery at Walthamstow, history in the shape of castles, houses and cathedrals, with favourites being Hever Castle and St Paul’s Cathedral, fashion as in the visit to the Dior exhibition at the V&A, gardens as at the Chelsea Physic Garden and many other places visited. The outings organiser still harbours the hope that she will be able to run the outing to Westminster Abbey which fell victim to last year’s lockdown. Activities such as the tea parties, the pub lunches and Downs talks also had fans.

Fortunately Seaford u3a has members who enjoy the ‘techie’ side of the action, using the Audio Visual equipment, enabling online courses and hosting the virtual coffee mornings which are now replacing the old-style face-to-face ones. Each to their own. One member summed it up when he said: ‘I love to share sources of enjoyment and information with other people and learn from others’.

For more information about Seaford u3a (particularly pre-COVID) see the website www.u3asites.org. uk/seaford. To find out about membership, email seafordu3a@gmail.com sending your postal address for a welcome pack.

email info@blind-design.co.uk