The Chair
Chair Autumn Report 2026
Swanland u3a Autumn Flyer from the Chair Includes details of Christmas Lunch and trip to view 'The 1066 Stamford Bridge Tapestry.' Chair Report Autumn 2026
Chair Report July 2026
Mark out Chair presents his July report:
The success of our 30th Anniversary Celebration held in May has already been well reported upon, so I will not dwell too much on it again. However, I would like to record my sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to making the day such a memorable occasion, and in particular to the members of the 30th Anniversary Sub-Group, whose enthusiasm, planning and hard work ensured that the event ran so smoothly. To read the rest of the report please follow this link Chair Report July 2026
Introducing the new Chair
I am Mark Sutcliffe and I have been a member of the Swanland u3a for a period of roughly 2 years. My wife, Janet, and I moved to the area two and a half years ago to be closer to family who live in Swanland and also to be closer to amenities now we are getting a bit older.
Previously we lived in a small village in North Yorkshire which we moved to from the Wirral on our initial retirement. I continued to work full time for 5 years or so at York Minster but inevitably that also came to an end I now only work very part time. I had been a police officer for over 30 years and my wife a teacher.
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Moving when in later life does create certain challenges as we leave behind established social connections, friends new and old and familiar surroundings. It can all seem a bit daunting and indeed a sense of solitude and loneliness can creep in and on occasions become overwhelming. I experienced some of this when first retired and this strongly motivated me to join u3a as I saw this as an opportunity to meet people and to actively engage and become involved in the running of the organisation. I strongly believe in the U3A movement and, coupled with my desire to do all I can to help those who do feel alone, lonely or to some degree lacking in purpose, I put myself forward to serve as the Chair.
During my career as a manager in the police and later when working at York Minster I gained experience chairing meetings in many diverse professional and multi-agency settings. Skills I acquired which I believe are transferable to assist me in the u3a role.
My undertaking to Swanland u3a and especially the membership is to do what I can to reach out to those who can benefit from the opportunities on offer, to find ways to increase the membership and reduce the loneliness that can affect older people.