The last couple of messages from the Chairman, prepared for the Grange and District u3a quarterly newsletter are below:
September 2026
Dear Members
The main focus of this piece is looking among our 500 members for people to take up some of the Committee jobs which are empty and without which our u3a cannot run. This is not just me being dramatic, our branch HAS to have a Chair, Treasurer and Secretary to comply with Charity Commission regulations. However, we are still looking for a Vice Chair to take over from me, when my term of office ends in the spring. Without a Chair, we cannot continue.
At present, the Group’s most urgent need is for a Secretary, following the very sad death of Ged Jones and while a Committee member is taking minutes, sending out agendas etc on a temporary basis, she already has her own job on the Committee and should not be expected to continue with the double burden of two responsibilities. The main tasks of the Secretary are to prepare and send out monthly Committee meeting agendas in consultation with the Chair. The Secretary is expected to attend the meetings and take and then send out the draft minutes to Committee members. At the time of the AGM, they will need to prepare and distribute the agenda in consultation with the Chair, prepare and issue notice of the AGM to members, and invite nominations for Committee officers and members in advance of the meeting. Having attended the AGM, they take minutes and prepare them for distribution. There will be other activities that fall their way during the year in the way of liaising with both local and national u3a and occasionally the Charity Commission.
WITHOUT A SECRETARY, GRANGE & DISTRICT U3A WILL HAVE TO CLOSE DOWN!!
If you think you could step forward, please contact any of the Committee members listed on the inside cover of this Newsletter for a chat. The new Secretary will be given every help and support by the Committee.
On another matter altogether, there have been a number of attempts to hack members emails over the past months. The u3a will NEVER ask members to send money except into our official accounts for u3u specific activities. The u3a Beacon system has not, as has been rumoured, been hacked. If you receive an email that looks or reads dodgy, it probably is, so report it and then press delete.
To end on a more upbeat note, if you have not yet signed up for our end of summer afternoon tea at the Cumbria Grand on September 15th, you have until the end of August to do so. It costs just £16 and includes the aforementioned tea, a jazz band and various activities. Or just come for the tea and a chat with friends in a lovely setting.
Tricia Thomas
June 2026
It seems only days since I wrote the report for the last Newsletter and here we are again! Last month saw our Annual General Meeting and although we have enough Committee members, it was disappointing that there were no offers to join the Committee or indeed fill the position of Vice Chair. The former means that Janet and Ameer Tabarandak have agreed to continue for another year, though they have really done their stint and were looking forward to freedom! The latter means that there is no-one shadowing what I do as Chair, to step into my shoes at the AGM in 2027. Without a Chair the group can not legally continue.
The whole ethos of the u3a is self help. Every member is expected to offer something towards making things work smoothly, whether it be organising one meeting or event for an Activity Group, serving a spell on the Committee ( they are all very helpful and friendly ) or offering to help out flying the flag at events such as the Vintage Car Rally. There are lots of ways you can be an active member rather than a passive one who expects everything to happen with no personal effort. While I realise that chairing meetings is not everyone’s cup of tea, there are lots of other roles which involve minimal effort – maybe just organising one Activity group meeting a year for a group you enjoy attending.
While we are thinking about cups of tea, I would like to offer a HUGE ‘thank you’ to the refreshments team who supply drinks and biscuits at the end of every monthly meeting. They are Superstars who get on quietly behind the scenes, making sure everyone gets their choice of beverage and that the kitchen is left in a pristine condition when they leave.
As usual, Morag has organised some excellent speakers over the past few months. For me the stand-out one was the April talk about Bay Search and Rescue. I really did not realise quite how far their skills stretched, helping out with floods, mountain rescues and much more. I am sure you will be pleased to know that as well as their Speaker’s fee, they took away over £287 in donations which members dropped into the impromptu bucket as they left. While only a tiny bit towards it, it is good to know that we have added a little to the £400,000 they need to purchase a new all-terrain vehicle, their present one being in need of pensioning off.
As we look forward to the summer months, the Committee has been mulling over ideas for something special for our August get together. Maybe afternoon tea and some games? Maybe a trip on a boat or train? If you have any ( reasonably sensible and not too pricey ) ideas, do please get in touch with a Committee member to share them. We will probably set up a small sub-committee to organise something a bit special and we will need volunteers to help. IT COULD BE YOU!
Tricia Thomas