Chair of Islington u3a Paula Kahn and members welcome Islington’s mayor Marian Spall

• IT was a fine Monday afternoon when 100 members of Islington University of the Third Age, u3a, met for a double celebratory picnic in the fields.

— Celebration one. Islington u3a, started only nine years ago and has grown to 700 members.

— Celebration two. The 40th anniversary of the creation of the first u3as in the United Kingdom. There are now more than 1,000 local u3as with 400,000 members in total.

The chair of Islington u3a, Paula Kahn, welcomed the Mayor of Islington, Cllr Marian Spall, who warmly congratulated the u3a as a charity that depends totally on its members to run all its 90-odd interest groups, including the purely social and a variety of physical activities.

This organisation clearly makes a huge contribution to the lives of people living in Islington, and even attracts members from further afield.

The tagline “Learn, laugh, live” seems very appropriate. To join Islington u3a you need only to have stopped full-time employment.

Learn more at islingtonu3a.org or call 07784 336 219.

ISLINGTON U3A