30^th Anniversary Event

Our 30 years as a u3a

Over 30 years Swanland u3a has enabled all of its members to enjoy an active and positive retirement - it came about due to the vision and drive of the founding members. As part of the 30th anniversary I interviewed our first Chairman Peter Bingham and founding member Pauline Dennison to get their views on the u3a: past, present and future.

Some aspects of our u3a have also changed, primarily due to the popularity of personal computers and the Internet. Susan Shaw ( Convenor, Writing For Fun) and Mike Sheridan ( Convenor, Photography) discuss how ‘New Tech’ has changed the activities of their Interest Groups over the years while I recall how we used Zoom to continue both our learning and social activities during the Pandemic.
John Munson

Zoom

The Covid Pandemic presented a serious challenge to all u3a’s and many other similar organisations - interaction with each other is at the heart of all that we do and this became impossible. A sense of isolation was accompanied by considerable concern about our health and that of loved ones. As we celebrate our 30th Anniversary it is worth reflecting on how we successfully met this challenge.

Swanland u3a had the potential enable members to remain connected and to follow both their established and new interests but was in danger of becoming irrelevant in what was a terrible situation for everyone. To counter this I both encouraged as many groups as possible to meet online either by Zoom or email as well as using Zoom to host our whole u3a events, principally the Thursday meetings.

I unfairly gained the reputation of being a ‘Tech Expert’ , something very far from the truth! My son helped me to master Zoom by delivering tutorials through the Conservatory window, making me realise that If I could do it so could anyone! Accordingly Keith Taylor ( i/c our Website) and I offered training to as many members as possible thereby not only enabling them to keep involved with the u3a but also to keep in touch with family and friends.

French, Literature Groups 1and 2, Science and Technology plus the Writing group conducted activities by Email and Zoom. The Photography Group used the Screen Share facility on Zoom to view and discuss their work and also enjoyed a joint session with the Writers on Zoom sharing both photographs and writing together with the creative choices underpinning both. As far as I am aware this is the only occasion where two of our groups have collaborated on a joint venture. Now we do not have the pressures of Lockdown to consider it Is a way of working that might be of interest to other groups.

We maintained our lecture programme being able to host speakers from across the UK ( at bargain prices!) as well as our own members who volunteered. These included a member of the production team of ‘Dads Army’ ( two lectures); a noted amateur historian on the Battle Of Britain together with the ‘History of Aviation in Yorkshire’; developments in the Covid Vaccination programme plus ‘Nutrition in Elite Sport’. We also hosted a regional ‘u3a Day’ Zoom event on ‘Positive Ageing’ where our guests were local councillors.

Other lectures concentrated on how to keep safe. We hosted a Community Banker speaking on Internet Scams; Humberside Police on general Internet Safety and a representative of the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office on developments in policing.

Zoom enabled us to maintain the social aspect of the u3a. We had a regular virtual Coffee Morning and an Event Day on Chatsworth House - this was followed by a concert featuring ‘Fools Gold’ who played to us from their studio in Newcastle. My highlight was the Zoom Christmas Party where we enjoyed Music, Quizzes and Carols.

As restrictions eased we moved to Hybrid Lectures ( screen in the Hall and Zoomed on home laptops, tablets etc) where the dedication of our Tech Team was invaluable.

Finally our Website was used to maintain our members engagement with learning. The ‘Creations’ project showcased some of the activities they undertook during Lockdown - from Assistance Dog Training to writing poetry through to Knitting and Model Making. The ‘Discovery’ section provided guides written by Convenors for anyone wishing to take up a new interest including Painting and Photography.

Our experiences during the Pandemic show how we could develop aspects of our u3a’s work.
Above all, we should celebrate how our organisation came through such a difficult time due in large part to the hard work of many members - lack of space prevents me mentioning everyone but I would like to single out Keith Taylor, our Web Administrator who willingly gave both his time and technical knowledge for the benefit of others.
John Munson.

Pauline Dennison, Founder Member

Pauline is one of our Swanland u3a’s founder members and has thoroughly enjoyed her 30 years of membership. As part of our 30th Anniversary celebrations, we discussed her views of our u3a, past present and future!
John Munson

Pauline’s membership number is 10 making her the first member to join after the Committee. A former Librarian at Hull University her contribution to the u3a has been exceptional having served on the Committee as Speaker Finder; convened French, Latin, Literature and Walking Groups; organised activities for those enjoying a u3a weekend break and also helped start up other u3a’s in the locality.

Pauline saw retirement as an opportunity to start a new life rather than being the end of her working life. We agreed that this attitude is vital to both mental and physical health and that the u3a ‘…offers a perfect way to make this a reality. It has always offered many activities; challenges and friendship.’

Pauline contacted Hull u3a ( long since closed) and found that they only offered one lecture type meeting per month. She contrasted this with the enthusiasm generated by our founder members Jim Wilson and Peter Bingham and attended Swanland u3a’s inaugural meeting, held in the Hall at Christchurch. Pauline recalls: ‘Their enthusiasm for the u3a project was marvellous to see and contagious! The Hall was full and Jim had to keep going out to find more chairs. Some of those present didn’t quite know what the u3a was about or where it originated but everyone understood Jim’s vision which was that the u3a’ s activities should be ‘for us, by us’. I asked what was required of those interested, Pauline answered quickly: ‘Here are the details on how to join, now what can you offer?’

Pauline started Cottingham u3a and was present at Beverley u3a’s inaugural meeting supporting Peter Bingham. ‘ I remember asking for advice from Cottingham Adult Education Services, placing notices in local papers and putting up posters around the village. I understood from the Swanland meeting that the inaugural meeting was going to be pivotal. It went well but it was difficult to find convenors.’

Pauline has maintained a positive attitude over her 30 years of membership : ‘If I see a need and I can do it so I will’. This led her into the diverse roles outlined above. However she has always recognised the importance of the u3a as a national movement: ‘Many of our members are loyal to their group which is good but there doesn’t seem to always be the loyalty to the national organisation or a recognition of the international dimension…after all the u3a originated in France.’

We discussed the current Swanland u3a.

Pauline considers that the friendly atmosphere, something consistently remarked upon by our members, is a real positive. She commented: ‘A friendly atmosphere in groups is really important for learning and this comes about because members are not at work, so there is less stress and people are more relaxed.’

Following from this, Pauline felt that this sense of friendship had to be cultivated. ‘Our Literature Group grew too big and had to split into two to make it workable. But I was anxious to maintain a sense of unity between them so organised an annual Garden Party, made possible by the kindness of Ursula Winder who let us use her lovely garden.’ I reminded Pauline that as a new member I attended a Celebration Lunch for both groups and was impressed by that sense of unity that she felt so important.

A wide range of groups is also very important so that as many activities and interests as possible can be offered. In this context Pauline felt that our ACCORD was vey important: ‘The u3a should be about expansion wherever possible - closed groups and waiting lists although sometimes necessary sends the wrong message.’

And what of the future? We both agreed on the importance of recruiting new members who had recently retired or whom were not currently at work. Hopefully these would go on to be Convenors or serve on the Committee. Pauline commented on an inescapable fact : ‘We are obviously a group of older people - it is our demographic and no harm in that but it could deter younger people from joining.’

Pauline also reflected on our geographical situation - again something inescapable. She commented: ‘ Swanland is a relatively small and defined area. Also I think there are fewer older people in the village and more young families or working couples. I feel that AWAKE takes members who would otherwise have joined us.’ We agreed that recruitment and finding volunteers have both been pressing issues for a number of years not only for the u3a but also other groups which led to the formation of the Swanland Community Forum.

We discussed some of the possibilities inherent in ‘New Technology’. Pauline recalled the Covid Pandemic: ‘ I was very grateful for Zoom then. Both Literature Groups and my French Group used Zoom to keep meeting and I know this was the case with other groups. The u3a was very important in that terrible time.’

I will conclude with Pauline’s feelings towards Swanland u3a: ‘I feel a strong sense of commitment to the u3a, it has given me so much and I have always wanted to give something back.’

Swanland u3a Writing For Fun Group - 30 Years Of Change

Writing and Digitalisation In common with all writing, publishing and printing the work of Swanland u3a Writing For Fun Group has changed significantly over the last 30 years due to the advent of Information Technology especially personal laptop computers.

As well as being a member of our group for 14 years and Convenor for two I have also published novels and short stories on various digital platforms.

I began writing 30 years ago when many people used the old-fashioned typewriter. It was the normal practice to do the first draft of a piece of writing in long hand; many still sent the sample chapters of a book to a possible publisher in this manner. The way to find a publisher or literary agency was to look in the Artists and Writers Yearbook which was revised every year. Computers, Word Processing and later developments such as Zoom changed all this.

‘Authors Online’ introduced an e-reader, similar to a Kindle which did not catch on. ‘Vanity Publishing’ became popular where writers had to pay a large sum of money to get their books published and again it was up to them to sell copies of their books. Writers were tempted by this but rarely made a profit from this way of publishing.

Digitalisation means that a book could be submitted and printed as it was ordered, instead of storing copies in a warehouse. A charity developed a service called ‘You Write On’ whereby they would print a book for free and would make their profits by people ordering the book online and then they would print it. This service no longer exists but our u3a Creative Writing Group used it to publish a book of stories and poems jointly with the Swanland School in Nairobi in order to rase money for their charity.

E-readers especially Kindles have been available for almost 20 years. Their storage and battery capability have improved and many have inbuilt lighting and Internet access. There is now a service called ‘Kindle Direct Publishing’ where you can download your written book onto Kindle for people to purchase to read in that format. They have now advanced this so once the book is downloaded, you can be given an ISBN number, create a front and back cover and request it to be published in paperback.

How has our Writing Group changed? When I first joined members were bringing their stories along written by hand. The writer had to read it out aloud but none of us had a copy to follow this reading. This meant that opportunities to learn from fellow group members and to give feedback to the writer were both limited. However the Swanland u3a Writing Group has embraced ‘New Technology’, thereby making us more effective as a group.

We now produce our work on a computer and email a copy, prior to the meeting, to each member of the group, so it can be read in advance and any comments then can be discussed at the meeting. This is more beneficial than all having to sit through listening to many stories being read out and it is much easier this way to get the full appreciation of a story. Also this innovation helped our writing group during Covid, as we were still able to continue our writing and send our stories out via email. At a pre-arranged time, we would meet on Zoom and discuss the stories as we would have done had we met in person. Yes, it was still much more pleasant when we could meet in person after Covid, but at least with this technology the group kept going and also tried something new…
…We did a joint project with the Photography Group where they submitted photographs which we used as a stimulus for creative writing. The creative choices for both were discussed over Zoom.

Who knows how writing groups will develop in the next thirty years.
Susan Shaw, Convenor ‘Writing For Fun’.