Chairmans May Message
I don’t know about you, but the recent commemoration of Queen Elizabeth the Second’s Centenary stirred up a whole range of memories for me, from dim and distant childhood recollections of watching the 1953 Coronation on a new-fangled ‘television’, to hearing my parents discussing in hushed voices whether the Queen should have allowed her sister to marry Peter Townsend, to Princess Ann showjumping in the 1972 Olympics, to Michael Fagan breaking into the Queen’s Bedroom in Buckingham Palace, and to Her Majesty enjoying a marmalade sandwich with Paddington.
For most of us, I guess, Queen Elizabeth has, until very recently, been the one common constant throughout all of our lives, and her passing four years ago in 2022 was a milestone, therefore, for all of us, and the Centenary of her birth in 1926 – a foreign country now , to most of us – gives us a nudge to reflect on our own lives and what we have made of the world we share so far, and how, like the late Queen, we can strive to make the world a better place for our being here.
And on that same issue, I was absolutely delighted with the sheer joy of the Easter Bonnet Parade at our recent Monthly Meeting. The sheer imaginative invention which had gone into the construction of the bonnets, not to mention the bounce and flounce of the models, brought a smile to all of our faces – and, sometimes, that’s all it takes. Inspirational, too, was George Nelson’s description of rowing the Atlantic with his brother in law for Dementia charities, including Vicki McClure’s Our Dementia Choir based in Nottingham. What a celebration of the capacity of the human spirit to triumph over adversity!
Finally, I should like to remind you all that, in place of our regular Monthly Meeting on Monday May 18th at 1pm, we shall be having our Annual General Meeting where you will have the opportunity to hear reflections on the year just past and to vote to elect next year’s Committee. You will find all of the information you need on the Dukeries U3A website – just follow the links to the 2026 AGM - together with the forms you need if you wish to put yourself forward for election, or if you have an issue you would like to raise at the AGM.
Please do note, though, that the deadline for the receipt of nominations or proposals is fast approaching, and that no late paperwork or applications can be considered.
With Every Good Wish,
Mike