Tight-budded daffodils are in the shops for trivial sums, bursting into flower within hours at home, and there is – intermittently – a feeling that spring is nearly here.
This regeneration effect is also making itself felt in our U3A. We have new groups in the planning stage, people coming forward for some of the roles we have advertised, our Annual General Meeting on 10 May to start a new year, and a summer event which we hope to announce soon.
All of this is very encouraging – but don’t hold back! If you were thinking of volunteering for anything we have announced recently, there is probably still a space waiting for you. In particular, more people joining the Really Useful Group would lighten an already not very onerous load. You can offer any talent or just a pair of hands, and we could have you on the list to be called on when we need help. The more people on the list, the less frequently you would be called upon.
Bring your suggestions for new interest groups to the groups co-ordinators. Offer to join the committee – perhaps as an observer initially. Pass on imaginative ideas to the committee. It is easy to forget that this is a self-help organisation because those who keep the whole thing running do so very willingly and unobtrusively, but we always need your involvement too.
My own involvement with the Surrey U3A Network will mean that we should have much closer connection with other Surrey U3As. For example, in the Network we are planning a development day on 27 October to highlight issues which interfere with participation in U3A activities. We shall be focusing on issues related to hearing, sight, mobility, etc, and on how we can best overcome these. The Network also enables us to pass on information regarding events taking place in other Surrey U3As to which we are invited (see the notice – above, right – from Guildford U3A about their annual lecture). And of course there are the monthly study days at the Menuhin Hall organised by the Network.
Watch out for a new online course we shall announce soon: Strategies for Successful Ageing, provided by Trinity College, Dublin, available on FutureLearn.
Doreen