Learn , Laugh , Live
My dream of retirement finally came true on a sunny summer ’ s afternoon . The feeling of freedom was wonderful and I spent several months enjoying life without the pressures of commuting . Travelling became a joy and I visited many of the places on my to-do list .
However , as the weather changed and days were shorter I was reluctant to venture far from my cosy home and I realised that daytime TV was not for me . I was missing my daily routine .
A friend mentioned the U3A and talked about the groups that she attended . Dancing , reading , travelling , learning languages , various craft groups and more .
I was intrigued but concerned about the cost . She laughed as she explained that for an annual fee of £ 12 I was welcome to attend a monthly meeting ( with coffee and biscuits and a talk from a speaker ) at no further cost . The groups cost between £ 1 - £ 3 and normally last about two hours .
Her final comment was “ where else can you get tea and biscuits and an interesting afternoon for £ 2 , and I ’ ve learnt to make rugs from old tee shirts ” at the slogan ‘ Youth Club of the Third Age ’. Looking further I found details of the monthly meetings and found a heading ‘ What ’ s on ’ this opened a drop-down menu and from that I clicked onto ‘ groups ’. Oh , the choice was amazing so I closed that menu and clicked on ‘ membership ’ where I found it really simple to join .
Here I am now feeling brave enough to write a short article after attending a creative writing group . I travel with Bus Trippers using my bus pass and attend various groups where I hear talks about local industries , railways and genealogy . There is now some routine back in my life and I am enjoying the chance to share my knowledge with new found friends .
U3A is a national organisation for retired folk or those approaching retirement and Dacorum U3A has approximately 1200 members and the choice of 80 + groups so if you are missing the daily routine why not check it out online just as I did . If you decide to join , just come along to a monthly meeting and introduce yourself to me - I ’ m usually in the kitchen serving the coffee .
Jane Campbell
I checked the website ( u3adacorum . org ) and smiled
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