The scandalous ejection of the Music Appreciation & Modern Art Movements groups.

The statement below, slightly edited, was circulated to some members attending the AGM in November:-

The case is that the Baldrys have moved their Music Appreciation and Modern Art Movements talks series to the Claremont Project, on the quid pro quo that Claremont members, who are mostly too poor to afford our £30 subscription can attend: the Claremont is free. As soon as they heard of this, the committee threw both series off their web site, without so much as a courtesy call and on the excuse that the U3A members would not be insured. However, the Claremont is a registered charity and is fully insured. They then stated that this was in breach of the U3A Rules, just so but it is an intelligent, multiple-win situation as:-

1. More space is available for the expanding talks series.
2. This costs the U3A nothing. (Some groups pay per meeting for space. This is contrary to the spirit of the U3A, where one subscription should cover all except externals such as opera tickets and trips).
3. The Claremont acquires more educational offerings for those autodidact members wanting to compensate for their limited formal education.
4. Some of the U3A aim of ‘outreach’ is thus achieved.
5. The Baldrys no longer have to rearrange their Drawing Room, as these are audio-visual shows, to the detriment of their antique furniture.

When they were members of the Steering Committee, Ken had been tasked with registering “islingtonu3a.org.uk”, which he would have handed over in due course but the Chair registered “islingtonu3a.org”, leaving the Baldrys owning the original domain name, so now they set up this alternative, easier-to-use, web site, listing all the groups, including their own. The committee did not spot this for weeks until Ken leaked its existence. They then tried to push him into taking it down but he offered them the reasonable deal that, if the talks were reinstated in the official programme, the unofficial site would go. This was “an offer the committee could not refuse” yet they have refused it. Not only do the Baldrys demand the reinstatement of their talks (and Ken’s membership) but feel there is almost a vendetta here against them whereas at Hampstead U3A, they are well respected.

Additionally...

It is hard to fathom the motivation of what is now the Executive Committee of Islington U3A. One suspects that there may be some deplorable lower-middle-class snobbery against the by & large working class membership of the Claremont. However, neither Ken nor Avis are too proud to belong to it. Certainly, we have found in the past, & worked hard to overcome, the inhibiting effect of our obviously powerful intellects on some people, which are only the result of our lucky draw from the gene pools of ancestors & not to our merit.