Every summer Ilkley & District U3A runs a special Summer Programme full of events and taster sessions to tempt its members to try something new. Thanks to the innovation of Zoom, this year’s Summer Programme will go ahead despite the coronavirus pandemic. Members are invited to get together on Zoom during July and August to enjoy a feast of lively and varied events.
Local history, environmental issues, lockdown poetry, safety at sea and building a low-carbon home are some of the topics discussed by the speakers who are giving up their time to entertain and inform. Discover how climate change is challenging water availability and quality, find out more about how the Ilkley Clean River Group are taking action to ensure the River Wharfe becomes cleaner and safer, learn how to make a pizza or cheer yourself up by joining others to sing your ‘socks off’.
Two of the talks are about Bradford Economic history and Norman Simpson whose talk is entitled, ‘To Hell and Back: The Industrial History of Bradford’ will describe a very different Bradford in the mid 19th century when it was an industrial powerhouse. Norman quotes a German tourist in 1846 who describes the town at that point in time as saying, ‘If anyone wants to feel how a poor sinner is tormented in purgatory, let him travel to Bradford’.
John Hancock’s talk will fly you to Bradford using Google Earth. There he will give a virtual tour of the city’s stunning architecture, visiting some of Bradford’s most interesting sites including the beautiful ballrooms of the Midland Hotel, the Victorian cells and Court Room in the Police Museum, the underground complex of Sunbridge Wells and offering a chance to ‘get up close and personal’ with statues of past kings and queens on the façade of the City Hall.
Details of the full Summer Programme and booking instructions are available on the Ilkley & District U3A website. Although these are members’ only events it is very easy to join the U3A and become a member. As we gradually move out of lockdown in the autumn the U3A hopes to get back to as much of a full programme of Interest Groups and activities as possible. Membership is open to those who work part-time, are retired or unwaged. It is inexpensive at £13.50 a year and those joining now will get an extra month’s membership free. Ilkley & District U3A can be viewed on the website at ilkleyu3a.org on Facebook and Twitter.