So, what does Gran do with herself when she’s not (ho hum) pole dancing?

I was invited to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the High Wycombe & District branch of the U3A at an extraordinary venue, St Katherine’s, Parmoor, Henley-on-Thames. This estate was once owned by the Knights Templar, and was probably a farmhouse, which over the years, like Topsy, has ‘growed’.

It has changed hands many times, and intriguingly King Zog and his family  arrived here in 1941 in exile from Albania, and on his departure, a few years later the Community of St. Katherine  of Alexandria, a High Anglican Religious Community took refuge here, after being bombed out of their home in Fulham during the war. At St Katherine’s they found  peace and tranquility for the next 51 years after which it became the  home of The Sue Ryder Prayer Fellowship.

Now it welcomes people from all walks of life and denominations for day and residential retreats, and a small permanent staff encourage St Katherine’s to be used for  meetings and celebrations.

So here we were, lunching in a paneled dining hall which has seen many extraordinary people: celebrating many more who are members of the U3A.

So what is the U3A?

The University of the Third Age (U3A) movement is a unique and exciting organisation which provides, through its regional U3As, life-enhancing and life-changing opportunities. Today’s retired and semi-retired are not quite ready to sit knitting in front of daytime television, if indeed, they ever were and the U3A facilitates our need to continue to develop our knowledge and expertise.

Within each regional U3A, members share their skills and life experiences by running classes in anything from creative writing, to exploring art, to archery, to – heaven knows what, perhaps even pole dancing.  What’s more, there is no charge beyond the annual fee, which amounts to VERY little.

Every month there is a speaker, to continue the University thread. There are day trips, and holidays, the most recent to Tuscany.

So, this is one of the things Gran does, and Gramps too probably. But this is just a tiny bit of a grandparent’s life. Some of us work, still. But more about that next time, because retirement ain’t what it used to be. We grans and gramps still have miles to go, and promises to keep… to quote Robert Frost.

The U3A movement is supported by its national organisation, the Third Age Trust.

http://u3asites.org.uk/highwycombe/welcome
http://www.u3a.org.uk

St Katherine’s, Parmoor, Henley-on-Thames http://www.srpf.org.uk