A current passion for personal history has found expression in a fantastic new course on turning your own life into a great story that is being offered this term at University of the Third Age (U3A), Dubbo.

Hard-hit by the pandemic lockdowns, the local group has now bounced back with record membership recently being celebrated for Term One, 2025, and more than 30 courses on offer in classes starting next week.

These range from regular favourites such as Calligraphy, Cryptic Crosswords, Jazz for Beginners, Military History, to more active pursuits such as Line Dancing, Exercise Monday, and Tai Chi.

Other offerings range from Craft and Sewing, Ceramics, Dubbo Personalities, Endangered Species, Escape Into Books, Sing for Life, Photography, and Painting and Printmaking.

Yet it is the first-up offering on authoring your own life history, that has U3A Dubbo Registrar Annette Priest particularly excited.

“This year we have a new course, ‘Writing Your Memoir’, that is being led by Ken Phillis, who wrote his own memoir a few years ago, and has had an interesting and fascinating life,” Annette revealed.

“There’s a lot of preparation that goes into getting a course up and running, and this one should be fantastic,” she enthused.

The course, she explained, will be run across two terms in eight two-hour sessions each fortnight starting Wednesday, February 12, and will be held in a workshop style with participants sharing their ideas and something of their own story each lesson.

“We do genuinely offer a wide variety of courses, to keep our more mature citizens mentally and socially active, and we are offering a number of health and exercise classes as well,” Annette said.

“This year, we also have a number of guest speakers coming along to classes offering unique perspectives to the group.”

If you’ve never been before, she explains, there’s no reason to feel daunted by subjects you may not have much background knowledge or experience in.

“We make sure we keep it as low-key as possible, and we call them ‘class leaders’, not teachers.

“I’m taking a course in iPhone Tips, for instance, and we’ve got Kim Goldsmith – who’s an expert in digital content – coming along to show how to get the best out of your photos and videos,” Annette revealed.

U3A, she added, is all about personal growth with fresh ideas and new blood encouraged all the time. Membership is a flat $35 per year, classes start the first week in February, and you can take as many or as few courses as you like.

“We always welcome new ideas for classes, we do everything from ‘Armchair Travel’ to ‘Ukulele’s for Fun’,” Annette said.

“We’re growing all the time: we now have 460 members, more than before COVID, which is a record,” she concluded.

For more information, go to www.dubbo.u3anet.org.au, or email adm.u3adubbo@gmail.com