Back into Level 3 lockdown and back to zooming for Ponsonby U3A!
From the beginning of the first lockdown in March, president Christine Hart was concerned about how to keep connection with members, particularly those living alone or with limited mobility. In the first week of lockdown, she and a proactive member, Hazel Hodgkin, who had experienced only one Zoom meeting with family members internationally, decided to experiment with Zoom and agreed that it would be great to encourage the special interest groups to try virtual meetings during the lockdown. Several group leaders led the charge and responded enthusiastically. Members, ranging in age from 60s to 90 plus, were learning on the job. Several 80 plus-year-olds arranged for someone in their bubble to install Zoom, and others were talked through the process by phone. Some members became hosts of meetings and soon Ponsonby U3A was buzzing, albeit virtually.
Came the second lockdown and with the minimum of fuss, Zoom took over where it left off. Since March there has been only one face-to-face general meeting, in July, and one zoomed general meeting, which was a great success and drew an enthusiastic audience to hear Dr Gavin Ellis speak about developments in the media in New Zealand.
Speaker for the next meeting on September 11 (likely to be held by Zoom), will be Jenny Lynch, former magazine writer and editor. She will draw on material from her memoir Under the Covers. Jenny worked on magazines principally in the 1960s, 70s and 80s – decades often seen as the golden years of journalism. Her 32-year career was bookended by the NZ Woman’s Weekly and was full of drama.
Ponsonby U3A continues to grow – five new members in August alone – fulfilling its aim of people coming together to continue their enjoyment of learning and sharing knowledge and forging new friendships. It is a movement for people in their “third age” post career and family.
U3A was started in France in 1973 and has spread throughout the world. In Auckland there are more than 25 groups with a total membership of over 3,600. Throughout New Zealand there are over 80 groups.
The lifeblood of the U3A movement are the special interest groups. Ponsonby has over 20 groups - Antiques and Collectibles, Appreciating Architecture, Armchair Travellers, Art History, Bijou Home Cinema, Concert Going, Current Affairs, Dining Out, Drawing Group, Gallery Visits, Green Fingers, History ad hoc, M-aori Language - Te Reo me Nga Tikanga M-aori, Music Appreciation, New Zealand History, Petanque, Poetry, Public Art, Ramblers, Science, Scrabble, Ukulele, and Sing-along. The groups mostly meet in members’ homes, giving members the opportunity to get know each other well and develop new friendships. Because of their popularity, it is planned to duplicate a number of groups and to develop a number of new groups before the end of the year.
Ponsonby U3A normally meets at the St Columba Centre, 40 Vermont St, Ponsonby and hopes to be holding face-to-face meetings again shortly. In the meantime, meetings will be held by Zoom. Ponsonby U3A meets on the second Friday morning of the month (10am to 12 noon) and features an invited guest speaker and a ten-minute speaker drawn from the membership. Guests are welcome to attend a meeting when meetings are resumed in person at the St Columba Centre, but are asked to first telephone Philippa Tait on T: 027 452 3108.
(PHILIPPA TAIT)
NEXT MEETING: Friday 11 September
ENQUIRIES: Philippa Tait, President, Ponsonby U3A (2017), M: 027 452 3108, www.ponsonby.u3a.nz