Tower and Town, December 2020

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Editorial: Making The Most Of Life

As 2020 draws to a close, we can look back on an extraordinary year in which everyone’s life has been changed. For some, it has been an inconvenience: missing a holiday, the challenges of home schooling, missing meeting up with friends and family. For others the impact has been much more severe: the loss of loved ones, months of isolation with little human contact, the loss of a job and income, missing out on medical treatments. We have all felt the uncertainty of not knowing what comes next.

It has been encouraging to see the growth in community support in this challenging period including the council, the churches and other voluntary organisations.

This issue of Tower and Town features the activities of u3a, formerly known as the University of the Third Age. Formed to support people to make the most of life when full time work is over, u3a is a UK-wide movement which brings people together to explore new ideas, interests and activities in a friendly and informal environment.

Make the most of life once you’re no longer in full time work by exploring new ideas, skills and interests with your local u3a

You can read about several aspects of u3a in the rest of this issue: the local dimension, how u3a has continued and adapted during the Covid-19 crisis, a couple of examples of our groups, the contribution u3a makes to health and well-being, the plans for a Special Interest Day on Climate Change and a national u3a day in 2021 and how we reach out to new members.

There is more information about u3a on the national website: u3a.org.uk or on our local site at u3ainkennet.org.uk

David Hammond