Ann Elms on working together to arrange group trips for the Guildford U3A, how she stays super organised and the quirky ideas she finds for the group.
How long have you been a group organiser?
Since 2017. My husband was about to have a major heart operation which unfortunately he didn’t survive and my local group, Guildford U3A, was looking for somebody to help out. I didn’t want to be at home not doing a lot, so I took on the role and organise jointly with Jackie Ring who you have featured in the magazine before.
“It’s good to find different places, for example we went to a Sikh temple near Gravesend which was fascinating.”
How does it work with the two of you?
We’re a great team. We have a planning meeting, usually with wine involved (after we’ve done the planning), each month where we discuss our ideas and decide where to go. I’m a keen gardener so I do more in the summer, visiting houses with beautiful gardens, while Jackie tends to look more at winter visits. We have a trip at least once a month, sometimes more, and we go on all of the trips. We’re both very active and incredibly well organised. We look after people.
Ann’s group at a glance…
Group name: Guildford U3A
No. of members: 1,500
Time organising: Nine years
Based: Guildford, Surrey
Tell us about communicating with members
Once we’ve planned a trip and booked the coach, we draft the application form and then advertise the trip in the Bulletin which is circulated by email to all members of the Guildford U3A every Sunday. Sometimes a trip is full by the Tuesday! The applications have to be posted or hand-delivered to us so that we can ensure fairness. We also advertise the trips on the Guildford U3A website. We then enter the applications on a database and email successful applicants to confirm and if necessary, start a waiting list. A few days before a trip, we’ll email all those coming reminding them of their pick-up points and any other essential information.
What have you got coming up this year?
We’re going to Waddesdon Manor and having a private tour of the house before it opens to the public. We also have the Living Crafts festival at Hatfield House in May, Great Dixter and Bateman’s in June, Dover Castle also in June and then we’ve booked to see the Queen Elizabeth: Her Life in Style exhibition at the King’s Gallery in London in October. We’re also investigating doing a trip around the canal by Camden and combining it with something else. We’ve already got tickets booked to see Anything Goes at The Mill Theatre, Sonning in January. I’m also looking at Blenheim Palace for Christmas lunch and to see the lights.
What works particularly well for your group?
We’ve always got to find somewhere where people can have a coffee and use the bathroom. Supposing we’re doing two events on a day trip, somewhere in the morning, and somewhere in the afternoon, we’ll be looking at where we can go for lunch in between. If it’s a long journey, we’ll want somewhere to stop. I will do a recce to places if I can as well.
How do you come up with new ideas of where to go?
It’s very often word of mouth or we spot an article or something. It’s good to find different places, for example we went to a Sikh temple near Gravesend which was fascinating. We had a talk and lunch there and then went on to Rochester in the afternoon. Group travel shows are also very useful for ideas.
Are any trips more popular than others?
The gardens are always popular, but people love the unusual trips, like the Crossness Pumping Station, which was very interesting. They also enjoyed the Milestones Museum in Hampshire. We recently went to the BMW MINI Plant in Oxford which was fascinating. We combined it with a visit to the nearby Oxford Bus Museum which nicely filled the day. We do musicals as well – Chichester Festival Theatre is very popular.
What do you enjoy about being an organiser?
I enjoy thinking about places we’d like to visit – we’ve got to like the idea after all! But we also listen to people, for example one member kept talking about Blenheim Palace and so we’re now looking at that. I love working with Jackie – we complement each other with our different interests and ideas. Jackie obeys the rules, I tend to flout them given half the chance! We’re both very efficient and I enjoy organising things.
