A WELSH conversation group where members learn and laugh together has boosted family time for a Swansea grandmother.
Lynn Smith is a member of Swansea u3a – the movement where people no longer in full-time work come together to learn new skills as diverse as card-making to Egyptology.
She joined the Welsh conversation group and hasn’t looked back – having learned a new skill and made lots of new friends.
Lynn says: “I had wanted to learn Welsh for quite a long time. My daughter married someone who was first-language Welsh and their children go to a bilingual school.
“It is nice to talk to our granddaughters in the Welsh language. They are always in concerts so it’s nice to be able to go to the events and understand what’s going on and to be able to talk to their friends in Welsh.
“In the conversational class we’re all different standards, we come from different areas, but nobody worries if you make a mistake.
“If there is a problem, if we don’t know a word, we can ask. We all feel pretty comfortable just speaking our Welsh.”
Lynn appears with other members of the group in u3a’s latest Learn Something Brilliant film. It illustrates how there is absolutely no pressure in the u3a – you learn in an informal and fun way just for pleasure.
Sam Mauger, chief executive of u3a, says: “Learning new things, connecting with people and helping others are the main factors that make members tick and encourage them to age positively.
“Through interest groups as diverse as kayaking and climate change, the u3a increases people’s quality of life by boosting confidence, enabling a sense of purpose and feeling valued.
“The u3a movement provides many wonderful opportunities to people who are no longer in full-time employment, and supports people to age positively by tackling isolation and loneliness and giving members real quality of life.”
There are more than 1,000 u3as across the country with 400,000 members who learn in groups and online. The u3a movement costs, on average, less than £20 a year to join. To find out more, visit u3a.org.uk
