This month's "Previous Chair" reflection is from Marjorie Bramhill, our Chair from 2018 to 2021:
I arrived in Southwell after living in France for 10 years. Although France was wonderful in many ways, we decided we wanted to be back in England. We joined the u3a just after we came to Southwell. There were no volunteers to be Chair in 2018, and I said to my husband, "I think I could do that." "Of course you could," Peter said. And that was it—I was Chair.
The Committee met at the Minster Chambers on the top floor. There were refreshments for members and a cupboard which held a lot of equipment available to our u3a groups, including projectors, a photocopier, papers regarding u3a records, wine glasses (for I don't know what), and Christmas decorations which were displayed in Southwell Methodist Church with details about Southwell u3a.
In March 2020, the Covid lockdown was declared. This heavily affected our u3a. We had to stop using the Leisure Centre for the Monthly Meeting, and I had to learn how to use Zoom to organize this meeting—carried out on my laptop on a card table in my lounge. I also had to learn how to use my Microsoft u3a laptop, as I was using Ubuntu at the time, and then Apple for my text messages and emails.
Some groups had to close, but other groups found they could meet outside or online. Phone calls, Newsline Extra, and National u3a Newsletters all helped to keep our members in touch. We extended membership fees for six months, and subsequently another six months.
In October, we moved within the Minster Chambers to the first floor, which was more accessible than the top floor. Later, we decided to stop using the Minster Chambers altogether as it was more expensive than using the Library in Southwell. This helped to protect our funds, having lost membership subscriptions during Covid.
I had started a 'Singing for Fun' group, which was for those of us who claim to be unable to sing. I used YouTube for backing support and displayed the words on the wall at Edingley Old School, a really nice venue. It was great fun, but unfortunately, Covid intervened, we were all staying home, and the group had to close.
I had to find out how Zoom worked and ran the monthly meetings from my lounge. This worked fine until the AGM, when a member pointed out that we didn't have a quorum! We had to have another try with sufficient members present, and hurrah—it worked that time.
Southwell u3a has grown a lot since then, and the National Office offers many other activities, including online talks on a variety of topics. If you've got the time, give it a try! Find further details here.
My last effort as Chair was to grab Brian Platts in the wine department at the Co-op and suggest he stand for Chair to succeed me. He said yes, he would—and the rest is history!
Marjorie Bramhill