The original chair of Chorleywood u3a is celebrating its 15th anniversary by reminiscing on the forming of the group.
Jill Menghetti (pictured right) explained that she had looked to join a u3a group after she left full-time employment, but there wasn’t a group in Chorleywood.
The u3a is a nationwide network of groups run by members, aimed at encouraging people no longer working full-time to share their skills and interests.
Longtime Chorleywood resident Jill joined forces with Georgina Barton (pictured centre), who was already wanting to start a u3a, and Juliet Hale (pictured left) to launch the group.
Jill explained: “We booked the Chorleywood War Memorial Hall for the launch meeting in May 2010 to see if there was any interest, and the whole hall was completely packed; it was full of people!
“My favourite memory is that very first launch meeting. It was so exciting to see everyone coming into the Memorial Hall. They all had a look of great anticipation on their faces!
“That was lovely, to see it fulfilled a need. It brought a lot of joy and pleasure into people’s lives, and for me that is such a great memory.”
Jill, who had just returned from a line dancing class at the u3a on the day she spoke to CHORLEYWOODnews, explained that the trio decided to appoint her as the chair of the steering group, with Georgina the membership secretary and Juliet the speaker secretary.
Other members quickly joined the fledgling committee and soon Chorleywood u3a boasted hundreds of keen members eager to try new activities including art, music, and languages.
Jill continued: “We hit the ground running and the interest was massive. It was wonderful; it brought so many people together.”
Jill was chair for eight years before David Griggs took over. Gordon Pell was appointed to the position in November.
She said: “I think something like the u3a is so good, because it’s self-run and very low cost to join.
“It’s a great way to meet people over a shared interest. People round here do a lot of volunteering, some have grandparenting duties as well, but the u3a is something just for them.”
Chorleywood u3a’s next main meeting is at the Memorial Hall from 2.30pm to 4pm on Wednesday, March 26, when Pauline Martindale will speak on ‘Behind Closed Doors – The Life of a Prison Officer’.
To find out more about the group, please visit www.cw-u3a.org.uk
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