At last a public meeting is to be convened, next Wednesday, August 27, to discuss methods of extracting the rich seam that runs throughout the whole district.

The valuable resource is, of course, the untapped wealth of knowledge, expertise, skills and knowledge of the 0ver 50s (the Third Age) in our community.

The purpose of the Public Meeting is to endorse the establishment of Gloucester U3A (University of the Third Age), to explain its functions, goals and scope, and to form a steering committee whose job will be to develop the organisation into a vital, functioning entity.

The meeting will begin at 10am in the Uniting Church Hall in Cowper Street. The Agenda will include an explanation of the U3A concept by Ern Hollebone from the Taree U3A while wife Pam will outline the functioning and benefits of the organisation at a local level.

Chair Sue Dixon will call for a motion to establish Gloucester U3A and the formation of a steering committee. Membership forms and the opportunity to sign up for 2009 membership at an early-bird price of $25 ($45 per household) will be available. Morning tea will be provided for those with a keen thirst and hunger for knowledge. As well, expressions of interest for first courses in 2008 will be sought.

U3As are a world wide network which began in France in 1968. Initially designed for retired people and closely tied to Toulouse University, the organisation has evolved into a much less formal structure where there is to be no distinction between the teacher and the taught – members can be teachers as well as learners, a self-help approach based on the reality that “experts” of every kind in every field abound as semi or fully retired members of every community, often very willing to share their talents without remuneration.

A quick mental whip around Gloucester will endorse that fact with a vast trove of knowledge and expertise in fields as diverse as art and agriculture, computers and quilts, woodwork and weaving leaping readily to mind.