National u3a Day in Honiton!
NATIONAL u3a DAY
Despite the rather threatening weather forecast, everyone was determined to put on a great show for National u3a Day on June 2nd. The team gathered outside St. Paul’s Church on Wednesday morning as planned, only to have to immediately take cover as heavy rain started to fall. But once the rain had passed, which miraculously it did just as 11 o’clock approached, banners were unwrapped, displays put up and the musicians got ready to play.
The event was officially opened by the Mayor, Councillor John Zarczynski, accompanied by Dave Retter the Town Crier, and by our Chairman Peter Halse.
An excellent selection of music was played by our Folk Dance Band and by the Recorder Group, and was enjoyed by the many members of the public who stopped to listen. We were also delighted to see so many members come down to visit our stall. The event was a great success, as we spoke with many new potential members and got a chance to meet a number of our recently joined new members.
A big thank you to the organising group, to the Committee and other members who helped on the day, and to all the musicians who did so much to create the atmosphere at the event.
In the afternoon, members and their invited guests enjoyed a special u3a Day Zoom talk given by Dr Alun Withey of Exeter University. In his talk, entitled To Beard Or Not To Beard, he took us through the really important matters of the day, such as: Why were big bushy beards once the height of fashion? When was it better to have a smooth face? And what were the perceived health benefits of whiskers, moustaches or goatees? Alun took his listeners on a journey through shaving and grooming trends from 1650-1900.
June 8th will see the closing date of our Spot the Teddies competition, in which the public and members are asked to hunt out the knitted teddy bears hidden in shop windows all over Honiton town centre. A huge thank you to everyone who kindly knitted teddies for this event. They were: Karen Hicks, Gill Spoerry, Jacqueline Jones, Brenda Miller, Marilyn Adhamy, Janet Driscoll, Angie Crabb and Val Frood. Prizes for the competition were donated by several local businesses. The results will be announced later.
We look forward to building on the success of National u3a Day next year, when the u3a is planning to celebrate its 40th birthday with another major event.
Martin Long