SEPTEMBER COTSWOLD LINK MEETING

 

This September the Ross-On-Wye District were hosts to the Cotswold Link meeting. (I can hear some of you asking "Whatever is that?")  The Cotswold Link is the name given to our REGIONAL U3A. The definition in the Articles of Association of the Third Age Trust is 'groupings of local U3As which meet to provide mutual support and encouragement, to share ideas and information and to organise regional events'.

 

The meeting was held at the Larruperz Centre on 26th September, along with three representatives from Ross and District there were members from Cirencester, Evesham and District, Cheltenham, North Cotswold, Tewkesbury, Hereford, Bishop's Cleeve, Fairford, Leominster, North Leach, Stroud and Worcester.  A good representation of most of the groups in the area.

 

After the welcoming speeches Terry Hardie ( national treasurer as well as a member of the Cirencester contingent) reported on the fire at the National HQ, and the recent AGM. As we have seen from our magazine the head office hope to return to HQ in the near future, and with their new start they hope to be more flexible to all our needs.  He highlighted the growth of the movement, and how the national body were mindful that systems were going to have to be

updated to cope with the increase in membership.

 

There followed a short discussion on the use of technology, and the fact that there are now some  U3A on-line courses which are short and mostly free to use. ( Some have a notional fee.)  These can be downloaded and used by individuals or by groups as a basis for some of their activities.

 

We shared ideas about future "study days" which may be useful to us all, and came up with the development and support of group leaders, communication between speakers secretaries, and closer cooperation.

 

Eileen Gilder, from Tewkesbury, told us all about our obligations regarding the use of portable appliances in hired venues.  ALL electrical items must be PAT tested and approved before using in hired premises, a legal requirement introduced in 2007.  She has a member in Tewkesbury who has volunteered to perform this duty for the U3As represented in the Cotswold Link at a charge of the cost of his petrol only. A saving of some hundreds of pounds per year to us!

 

She also brought to the attention of the meeting the fact that we are eligible for grants through the "Awards For All" scheme funded by the lottery.  How did she know?  Because Tewkesbury had applied and had been successful.

 

All in all it was a useful and successful meeting which met all its intended aims.  To top it off, we had a 25th anniversary cake made by one of our members, to celebrate the end of the first 25 years - and hopefully the start of many more to come.