LIKE-MINDED people have been celebrating 25 years of loving to ‘learn, laugh and live’ with an afternoon tea to remember.
Members of South Durham u3a descended on The Glasshouse Restaurant as Darlington College hosted the special silver anniversary event.
With 220 members, South Durham u3a, working in the Cockerton Area of Darlington, is a thriving part of one of the largest membership organisations in the UK. Members come together to learn for fun, sharing the mantra ‘learn, laugh and live’ as they make friends and find community.
South Durham u3a chair Dot Hullah said: “This is the first of four events we have planned for the year as we celebrate 25 years.”
Vice chair Jenny Hurt added: “We wanted to hold the first at Darlington College where children are learning and where our members can see where this all starts.”
Darlington College’s engagement and events manager Ross Lowcock said: “We are so pleased to have hosted u3a and to be involved in such a fabulous occasion. It was a great opportunity to learn for our catering students who prepared the afternoon tea and waited on guests.”
Darlington currently has two branches of u3a and South Durham was formed when founding member Sandy Hood approached the national body to approve a second, which started meeting in the basement of Coopers in Post House Wynd.
Sandy told members about her experiences of the fledgling u3a. “One of the first speakers was from New Zealand – and he didn’t even charge us travelling expenses,” she said.
“I haven’t been much in evidence since COVID and my stroke three years ago. But my daughter Katie has become the latest member, according to the newsletter – the first I’d heard of it – thus keeping alive the name for a few more years. Is this another first?”
Members, who are retired or semi-retired, meet every second Tuesday of the month to develop new interests, listen to speakers and make friends.
Interest groups get together at a variety of venues, including people’s homes, church halls, the library, restaurants, or Newcastle Building Society’s community room. Members, who all promote the values of life-long learning, also go on a range of visits to places of interest and receive a monthly newsletter.
Other events planned to mark the 25th anniversary include a fish and chip lunch at Cockerton Club, on July 2, at noon; tree planting and picnic at Elm Ridge Methodist Church, on August 8, from 1pm to 3pm; and cake decorating at Bowen Road Community Hall, on October 13, from 10am to noon.
