Tweeddale u3a Trustees’ Report 2024-2025
Membership
Membership over the last year has remained constant at 269, an overall increase of 4 over the year.
Interest groups
There are currently 29 interest groups, one, perhaps not surprisingly wine tasting, having a waiting list. A new group is the Scottish History and Culture group, which considers the many aspects of Scottish history and culture throughout the ages – political, social, literary and artistic.
Details of all the groups are on the Tu3a website, and also now shown at each meeting on the digital board.
The committee
After last year’s drama of needing to fill five posts to replace retiring committee members, this year we have no retirements. We are particularly grateful to Kathy MacInnes, who took over as secretary during the year.
Details of the committee are also now shown at each meeting on the digital board. Thank you to Paul Bretherick for facilitating this.
The current committee is:
| Chair |
Helen Narracott |
|---|---|
| Secretary |
Kathy MacInnes |
| Treasurer |
Colin Duncan |
| Membership |
Margaret Semple |
| Programme | |
| co-ordinators |
Helen & Alistair Currie |
| Group | |
| co-ordinator |
Clive Murray |
| Publicity | |
| co-ordinator |
Lesley Smith |
| Members | |
| without portfolio | Nancy Norman |
| Bruce Irvine |
Volunteers
We receive technical support at the monthly meetings and other digital assistance from Paul Bretherick and Ian Rodwell and Eileen Fletcher for welcoming members and Carol and Jim Ramsay for the tea and coffee.
Communication with members:
Newsletter
The newsletter is sent out each month, sent by email, with a printed copy to the members who are not online (these can be large print copies). The newsletter gives details of forthcoming talks, news from interest groups, and occasional items which could be of interest to members.
Website
The website has been transformed in the last year, thanks to Ian Rodwell, moving from an older, not very user-friendly format to a new design, with each group having its own page for photographs or updates, it’s generally a much more attractive and easier to navigate site.
As well as Ian we depend on the support of Jim Strachan for maintaining the Beacon database used to keep member details and communication.
The Tu3a Facebook group now has 65 members. It’s a private group, so you must be a member to use it, and as with all private groups, all posts have to be approved by the administrator. It’s another way to show news about groups.
Peeblesshire News/Peebles Life
Details of forthcoming meetings are listed in both the Peeblesshire News and the monthly Peebles Life magazine.
Monthly meetings
Meetings for the general membership are held each month between October and June, with the AGM each September. There is a speaker at each meeting, sometimes one of our members. This is followed by a chat over a cup of tea.
Topics in the last year have included: Pine martens, the Butcher’s wife, the original investors in the Bank of Scotland, the Trimontium museum,
Scottish Mountain Rescue, the Woodland Trust, and the Tweed Valley Osprey Project.
Attendance at meetings varied from 23 to 78, with an average of 44. We have discontinued running meetings as a hybrid through Zoom.
At last year’s AGM committee member Nancy Norman arranged a competition to create a 3D model depicting the title of a film. This year’s challenge is for a 3D model depicting a piece of music— classical or popular, or perhaps grime or hip-hop. There are 29 entries, and the winner (a prize of two tickets to any of the Music in Peebles concerts at the Eastgate Theatre) was Jim Strachan.
Annual outing
There was not enough take-up for the proposed outing to New Lanark (we need a minimum to cover the cost of the bus), so sadly the outing was cancelled. Although last year’s outing to Dumfries House was popular, the proposal the year before to Abbotsford also failed to get enough support, The committee has discussed this and wondered if a u3a lunch might be more popular. It would be more flexible on numbers and be easier for the less agile who might find a coach trip and tour a challenge. We sent a questionnaire to members asking for feedback about a future outing/lunch.
Helen Narracott
Helen Narracott Chair 28 October 2025