10th Anniversary meeting
At our April meeting we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Olton & District u3a. Geoff T. curated a slide show with photographs of the many activities we are involved in from various interest groups. Glenys was responsible for the display tables and three members of the Poetry Group composed some celebratory poems, which were read out at the meeting.
The star of the show was the 10th Anniversary cake, which was cut by Jo R, our first Chair. Everyone enjoyed a cup of tea and a piece of cake and a chat at the end of the meeting.
Poetry Group
Gerardine S. Gill W. and Sheila R. each wrote a poem to celebrate our 10th Anniversary. Gerardine's poem is shown below. Click on the Poetry Group button to read the other poems.
The first meeting was held
In March 2016
The locals of Olton were clearly keen
To join and be part of
This new U3A
And so Olton and District
Was here to stay
And now 10 years on
It’s grown year by year
Its success and the progress
Is abundantly clear
10 interest groups then
More than 30 today
If you swim walk or cycle
Have a ukulele to play
For singing or scrabble
You’re in the right place - this U3A
So we’ve good reason to celebrate
And say thanks to all those
Who've worked hard for us all
As this U3A grows
As we live laugh and learn
And remembering still
That a decade has passed
Since our first daffodil
Thank you to our amazing volunteers
The inaugural meeting of Olton & District u3a was held 10 years ago - and what a lot has happened since then! The number of interest groups has increased from just 10 to 30+ and we now have over 300 members. We have had lots of fun, entertainment, interesting outings and new experiences during this time. Members have made lasting friendships along the way.
We kept everything going during the Covid lockdown with Zoom meetings, weekly quizzes and regular newsletters to make sure that all our members felt connected with each other and could maintain their interests and their friendships that are so important to us all. We even held the line dancing classes, hosted by Sue M. in her kitchen.
The committee would like to thank all those that have contributed to the success of our u3a - all committee members, past and present, group facilitators, volunteers who help with refreshments at the core meetings, the speaker secretaries, newsletter editors, website editors, people who help set up the chairs for the core meetings, everyone who has volunteered to help in any way. You are the heart and soul of our u3a and your dedication is very much appreciated. Without you, there would be no Olton & District u3a.
We are compiling a file of the photographs that have appeared in our newsletters over the past 10 years. Thanks to Lynda M. for assembling all the photographs for us from her newsletters. We still need photographs from 2016 and more photos taken between 2023 and 2026.
Watch this space! We hope to complete this exercise soon, and we will all be able to enjoy a trip down memory lane.