Elgin hosts national third age gathering
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THE Scottish Assembly of a learning movement for older people has taken place in Elgin.
Representatives from the U3A (University of the Third Age) travelled to Moray for the national gathering, which played out at Elgin Town Hall yesterday.
Elgin and District U3A hosted the conference, which attracted delegates from 16 Scottish branches and from as far off as Dumfries and Sutherland.
Welcoming those gathered was Kath Payn, the chair of the U3A in Scotland, with Eve Kersley, the Elgin chair.
Glen McDonald of Poppy Scotland then addressed the conference on The Unforgotten Forces Consortium - Supporting Scotland's Older Veterans.
Secretary Terry Ballard said U3A is an international movement for people who have retired from full time employment and, with the extra free time on their hands, wish to pursue an interest or develop new ones in a friendly and informal way.
Each branch offers a range of interest groups led by the members themselves.
They range from study-based subjects such as languages, science or local history to more recreational topics, including music, dancing, sports and visits. Whatever the topic, the emphasis is always on making friends and having fun.
Mr Ballard said it was an honour for the Elgin and District branch to host the event for the first time.
He said: "We were delighted, especially as we haven't been going that long. We started the branch in 2016, but we have 170 members so we are doing well."
Delegates gathered for a pre-event dinner on Monday night, before the annual gathering and official business got underway.
Mr Ballard added: "I think it was highly successful. The main objective of the session was to promote networks between the various branches in order to transfer best practise from one branch to another.
"We spent a lot of time talking to each other and making contact with neighbouring branches, for example the Moray coast, at Buckie, and Grantown-on-Spey."
That enables members to share ideas about sessions which work well and those that are not quite so successful.
You can log on to www.u3asites.org.uk/elgin to find out more about the Elgin and District branch.
