University of the Third Age

The title needs some explanation. University of the Third Age is not a university and Third Age refers to the elderly, so the group, always known as U3A, are elderly people who associate to take part in a wide variety of interests. The U3A is a national organisation with semi independent branches in many towns and cities.. In the branches special interest groups who are largely self  governing are formed by interested members.

In my part of the West Midlands, Burton, Lichfield and Tamworth all have branches. We joined the Lichfield one about 5 years ago. Philip joined Bookworms book club and a science and technology group and has attended both quite frequently since. Annette joined creative textiles and photography groups but dropped out of both. Part of the reason was that photography was on the same day as her Women’s Institute meeting and she didn’t want to go to two in one day. Recently her interest has been heightened by the bird watching group which has been newly founded. We have written about Bookworms before.

We were urged on by my cousin George and his wife Brenda. They were very keen members of branches in Penrith and Carlisle. Before he died George led a walking group and attended a philosophy group. However they have been in various special interest groups such as gardening, bridge and IT in the past.

Periodically the U3A branch holds a display of all the special interest groups. The groups put on a small display at the Town Hall with the idea that members can see what is going on and groups can recruit new members.  The groups are listed in the branch handbook but it is sometimes not totally clear what they do so display and chat is helpful.

As usual I was amazed at the range of interests within the U3A branch. Some particular ones are so popular that they split into  smaller subdivisions. Many groups meet in peoples houses so that imposes a rough limit of 10 to 12 on the size of the group. I go to science and technology 2 but there is also S&T 1 ( I have been once when they had a space ) and S&T 3. Curiously I met a former colleague from Unilever Port Sunlight at S&T1. We didn’t know one another well and didn’t recognise each other. It was only when invited to give our backgrounds that we realised.

I said the range was huge. Writing in various forms, poetry, history in several variants ( local etc ), music ( choral, appreciation etc. ) and very many more. There are 3 bookgroups all fairly similar as far as I can see. We had a joint meeting with one which seemed fairly similar to mine. We draw our books from the Staffordshire county reading sets so I guess that sometimes we must look at the same books. I also lead our village bookgroup drawing from the same source so it is not surprising that we sometimes duplicate.

While the age range is 50 upwards most join when they retire as groups meet during the day. As might be expected from the demographic women outnumber men by perhaps 60:40. In so far as there is a general background I would say generally middle class with mildly intellectual interests. I wouldn’t want to exaggerate this as the only intellectually demanding group is the mathematics special interest. The science and technology group I attend has members mainly retired from technological jobs although it isn’t essential. We have an ex accountant for instance.

The emphasis varies, most rely on their members but some get outside speakers. Our S&T2 relies on the format of a member talking about a topic and then a general discussion over tea. We use the Tesco community room because the current convenor didn’t want to use his house. Until recently we always met in past convenor’s houses. The Bookworms group circulates around members houses.

The central U3A costs £12 per year. Interest groups generally cost 50p a meeting to defray the cost of tea and biscuits. The annual cost includes a quarterly magazine which gives news of various branches and resources available to members.