It is my great pleasure to present the Chair’s report for the year 2024 – 2025. In brief, our u3a is thriving. We remain the largest u3a in the Two Moors Network and we are still growing.
Membership. As of Saturday 15th February, we have 515 members registered on the Beacon database. 83 new members have joined since March 2024. Other than having a stand at the Tavistock Wellbeing Fair in Butchers Hall to promote our u3a, we have not actively recruited new members. People have come to us because of word-of-mouth recommendations and after viewing the website.
Membership numbers may fall a little in the next few weeks when we take account of those who do not renew their subscription for various reasons. May I take this opportunity to remind you that you should have paid by now. If you have not yet paid, and you do not do so soon, then I am afraid you will be removed from the membership list and you will not be able to participate in any u3a activities. If you have any queries about your subscription, please contact the treasurer, Angela Pitt, who will be very happy to help you.
Monthly Speaker Meetings. The attendance at the monthly speaker meeting is increasing. Approximately 160 members came to the last one. In 2024/25 our speaker secretary, Jane Ward, arranged an impressive variety of speakers and topics. It would be iniquitous to pick a favourite but there were some that stood out. Two talks were given by Tavy District u3a members. David Benzie spoke about “Artificial Intelligence – how does it work and why does it matter” and Dan Bishop, a retired Punch & Judy Professor, entertained us at Christmas with “ Seeing the World with Mr Punch – Reminiscences of a puppeteer and reflections on the legacy of Punch & Joan”. We are very fortunate to have such talented and interesting people among our membership. Two other talks that impressed concerned the Second World War. “Listening to the Enemy”, told the story of an MI6 listening station at St Erth, and “A schoolgirl’s war” recounted life in a girls’ school in Kent. The latter was accompanied by illustrations painted by an art teacher at the school at the time. Our August meeting took the form of our fourth “Party in the Park”. Fewer members attended than on previous occasions, not helped by the torrential rain that fell a couple of hours before we were due to start, but we will try again this year. Speakers have been booked for the remainder of 2025. Jane is now “retiring” from the role of speaker secretary. I should like to thank her on your behalf for her loyal service and the wonderful talks we have enjoyed over the last three years. She will be a hard act to follow. I would also like to thank our “technical officer”, Graham Foster, who sets up and manages the audio-visual equipment and looks after our speakers’ technical needs. Graham also advised the committee on the choice of the new projector that we bought after some members told us that they had had difficulty seeing the screen from the back of the room. The new projector produces a brighter and higher resolution image that should be clearer and easier to see. Finally, the speaker meetings would not be the same without tea and coffee enjoyed after the talk, so thanks go to Isobel Davies and the volunteers for organising and serving refreshments.
Groups. Whilst the number of special interest groups varies with time, our groups co-ordinator, Sonja Armstrong, reports that there are 59 active groups listed on the Beacon administration platform although the true number is a little more because some groups are duplicated, e.g. walking groups. The formation of new groups has been slower this year although the pace has quickened in the last few months. There are newly established groups offering Italian for Beginners, Scrabble, and Short Walks. Emergent groups currently include two new discussion groups and two new art appreciation groups. Sonja is now standing down as groups co-ordinator so I would like to offer her my sincere thanks for a difficult job well done. I would also like to thank all of our group leaders. Without your guidance and enthusiasm our u3a could not offer such a wonderful range of learning and social opportunities.
Theatre Visits. We had a good mix of shows on offer appealing to differing tastes. Productions included two musicals - one old - The Wizard of Oz and one new - The Devil wears Prada, two ballets, one classical, La Fille Mal Gardée, and one modern, Matthew Bourne’s interpretation of Swan Lake and, in the autumn two plays, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and Alan Bennet’s The History Boys. In January four members went to the comedy musical The Book of Mormon. This is supposed to be a show you shouldn’t take your Granny to see - luckily our four grannies loved it!
We are still having to book and pay many months in advance for some productions - the big deal last year was booking for 28 members to see Hamilton in August 2025, booked and paid for in May 2024. We also booked ahead to see BRB’s Cinderella this April.
I would like to thank Carole Thompson and Shona Dickinson for their dedicated work making the theatre accessible to all our members.
Events. The Events Committee had a very successful year providing a variety of events that were almost always oversubscribed. Activities included a quiz and cream tea, trips to Tiverton & Knightshayes, the Exeter canal and Exmouth, the city of Bath, and the seaside town of Looe. There were also visits to the “Energy from Waste” facility in Plymouth. The u3a Holiday in 2024 was a very successful visit to the North West. Highlights included The Anderton Boat Lift, the Manchester coach and walking tour with a blue badge guide, Salford Quays and Quarry Bank Mill, and the newly opened RHS garden Bridgewater.
I should like to thank Janet Hunt, Chris Webb, Shirley Smith and Norma Woodcock for working so hard to deliver a wonderful programme of events for our members.
Newsletter. A big thank you goes to John Noblet who edits and produces our excellent newsletter. I am seriously impressed by John’s skill and professionalism. Please remember that the editor relies on members to submit content such as articles and photographs for publication. All members, not just group leaders and committee members, are invited to contribute articles and photographs for publication.
Website The Tavy District u3a website is often the first point of contact for prospective members and for those offering to provide services such as speaking at our meetings. Contacts are referred to the relevant committee member or group leader as appropriate. I am grateful to the webmaster, Jan Draper, who manages the website and tries to keep it up to date. Jan relies on all of us to provide her with information that she can post. Please let Jan have anything of interest to promote our u3a and to demonstrate how much it has to offer.
NB If submitting photographs with recognisable members in them, please check that everyone is happy for their photograph to appear in the newsletter and/or on the website. I am aware that some members may be happy to be included in photographs in the newsletter but are reluctant to appear on the website.
Miscellaneous. At Christmas, Craft Groups 1 & 2 again participated in the annual Christmas Tree Festival in the parish church and decorated a tree to represent our u3a. The recorder group performed a recital of modern and ancient music and earlier performed in the Tavy Fringe festival in July.
Apologies. It is very difficult to capture all our u3a’s activities in a single report and I apologise for anything I have omitted.
Committee Whilst most of our activities are organised and run voluntarily by members in accordance with the self-help and mutuality principles of the Third Age movement, your committee assures compliance with the essential administrative, financial and legal requirements associated with being a registered charity, regularly reviews and updates our policies and procedures, and determines our overall direction of travel. During the year, a mini member survey was undertaken that indicated that 92% of respondents were very happy with their experience of our u3a. Angela, our treasurer, and I, represent Tavy District u3a at meetings of the Two Moors Network, where we have an opportunity to meet with committee members from neighbouring u3as and discuss issues of mutual interest. We are also meeting occasionally with the officers of West Dartmoor u3a to explore the possibility of joint activities that would be of interest to members of both u3as.
In addition to the “office” functions, members of your committee have organised and delivered specific events including coffee mornings for new members at the Wharf and the Bedford Hotel, a group leaders’ lunch in the Parish Rooms, the Picnic in the Park event in August, and the catering for the Christmas meeting.
We now say farewell to our secretary, Randall Williams, our groups co-ordinator, Sonja Armstrong, our speaker secretary Jane Ward, and our membership secretary, Tony Rose, all of whom are retiring from the committee. Thank you to all of you for everything you have done for Tavy District u3a and its members. We now look forward to welcoming your successors following election at the AGM.
And finally …
I wish to congratulate and thank all our members for contributing in so many ways to another very successful year. Tavy District u3a would not exist without your active participation. We now look forward to the next twelve months.
Paul Ward
Chair, Tavy District u3a
15th February 2025