Thank you for joining us to celebrate our 35th Anniversary.
As Redditch u3a enjoys unprecedented growth under the inspired marketing efforts of Sylvia and Jill, it seemed an appropriate moment to look back and celebrate its founding. We voted at the 2025 AGM to use our accumulated surplus funds to host a 35th Anniversary Party in 2026. A small working party began to make plans.
We chose a date close to midsummer in the hope of reasonable weather and a light evening and, after researching various venues, selected The Boathouse at The Arrow Valley. We could not have predicted that Thursday, June 25th would be one of the hottest evenings of the year. Sue Gee had sourced balloons and helium canisters and a small group of us wrestled with newly-inflated globes determined to escape in the sweltering temperature at the top of The Boathouse. Hopefully, by the time members started to arrive, we looked like the ducks outside on the lake: calm on the surface even if we were paddling furiously below the water!
Grant and his team at The Boathouse were equally calm in the face of the extreme heat, serving us with a very welcome drink of Pimms or orange juice and, later, a delicious buffet. The room looked lovely, with each table decorated in blue and gold and anniversary booklets recording highlights of the previous 35 years. Jill Hitchcock’s recorder group provided an elegant welcoming atmosphere and the tables soon filled with members dressed in their finest outfits ready to enjoy each other’s company and the entertainment.
Magic tricks performed at our tables were a popular surprise but a highlight of the evening was the performance by Chris Tobin of songs we
all remembered and enjoyed. He is not only a skilled guitarist and singer but also an engaging presenter. I looked around the packed venue at the faces of the members and saw that all were enjoying his set as much as I was. A few short speeches followed Chris Tobin’s performance and presentations made. We were so delighted that Margaret Lampard, a founder member, was able to attend with her son and we recognised Ros Williams’ many contributions as a long-standing former Committee member and her current role as games mistress! It was then time to sample the celebration cakes, ordered and collected from Coventry by Steve Prosser. Thank you, Steve.
Cake was followed by a disco for the most energetic members. The sight of a group clustered round a handbag, bopping away, took me back to another era, long before 1991 when our u3a was founded. I didn’t personally see it, but apparently some balloons were expertly popped with
scissors by a skilful dancer. Other balloons were taken home for grandchildren to enjoy the next day but, like Cinderella, their finery didn’t survive the night.
Like me, I am sure you have many happy memories of Redditch u3a events and its happy occasions shared with friends. I know that the 35th
Anniversary Party will be amongst my favourite memories and I very much hope that all those who were able to attend feel the same. Here’s to another 35 wonderful years.
Sue Smith – Vice Chair
