Martin Fisher of Doncaster U3A in Yorkshire sent us this:
1. Name and location: Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK is a market town 20 miles from Sheffield, with a population of 70,000. Its main industries were coal mining and railway engineering. Sadly, both of these are long gone - some of the spoil tips are now grassed over, and planted with trees by the Forestry Commission. There is still a major railway station on the east coast route from London to Edinburgh. The market is held on three days each week: and it was very well known, with people coming from all over the North of England, but this has lost many fresh fruit and vegetable stalls, due to several supermarkets in the area.
2. How many members: We have over 300 members, with a committee of 11. Meetings will be at the Danum Hotel (pictured) from February 2011.
3. Range of Activities: There are 26 groups meeting at 13 different venues. Art and Calligraphy, Book Review, Canasta & Scrabble, Coffee Quiz (Do a quiz whilst having a coffee), Collectabilia (where members talk about the collections they have), Computers, Discussion, Easy French, French 1 & French 2 (for people who know French and want to practice it), Friendly Bridge, Genealogy (Family History), Jazz Appreciation, Literature, Local History, Looking at Art, Mah Jong, Move to Music, Music Appreciation, Philosophy 1 & 2 (Philosophy 2 is more advanced), Round & About (a group which runs mini-weekend holidays), Social Strollers (meet at a country pub, take a short walk-2miles at the most, return to the pub for lunch), Sunday Lunch ( a monthly meet up at one our local hotels for a Sunday Lunch), Travel & Theatre, Writers.
Three of these groups meet at member’s homes, but the rest meet at different venues in Central Doncaster. The two largest Groups are Travel & Theatre, with about 100 members going to it and Local History, which has over 30 members.
4. What I like best about my U3A: I like meeting and working with others of my ‘generation’, passing on my knowledge through running the Computer Group, and learning about Family History in the Genealogy Group. I believe we have a wide range of subjects covered by our groups, but I know the Committee are always willing to encourage new ones. The problem, often, is finding someone to be a Group Leader.
5. My personal message: Use it or lose it!