The Exmouth & District u3a Connect & Learn Group is an exciting and radically different group which has no limit on the number of members. Everyone is most welcome to join! The direction it will go in will be driven by the wishes and needs of our members. It's a dynamic group which takes full advantage of 21st century technology. We have our own website - Connect and Learn

The aim of the Connect & Learn Group is to offer all members opportunities to benefit from a very wide variety of online learning, to suit all interests and tastes. We will share and recommend a range of online learning resources which are high quality, free and easily accessible. All you need is an email address and access to the internet via a computer, tablet or smartphone. And this will be very flexible as you can do this from the convenience and comfort of your own home - or from anywhere else in the world - at any time to suit yourself.

We have a very large range of topics which we add to from time to time, together with a number of recommended online resources. These resources include websites, online courses, videos, podcasts and other audio, apps, blogs and articles, ejournals and ebooks.

This will give plenty of opportunities for individual learning in a very flexible way. Then, if we wish, members may take this to another level and also arrange conversations and discussions about these resources and other connected learning, and share their own learning and learn from each other. The choice is entirely up to you.

So the Connect & Learn Group will evolve and grow in whatever way you, its members, wish to see. Flexible learning, with others, at its best - and it's all free!

From January I launched two new interest groups within the u3a Connect & Learn Group - the Action for Happiness Group and the Live Well Longer Group.

The Action for Happiness Group. This has a theme of the month which is determined by the national Action for Happiness charity (see its website at Action for Happiness website), providing an opportunity to follow suggested action outlined in its monthly calendar (for example, a recent theme was about being kind and helping others). There are videos to accompany the theme each month and additional reading and resources are available free from the national website. Then we have the option of joining the local Action for Happiness Group (of which I am a co-facilitator) to discuss the theme of the month and agree action. This currently meets online on Zoom at 7.00 pm on the third Tuesday of every month. More details are on the Happiness section of our u3a Connect & Learn website. Just click or tap on this link – The Action for Happiness Group

The Live Well Longer Group. This was a short-life group that met monthly online on Zoom from January until August 2025. We explored a health-related theme or topic of the month with suggested guided reading and/or a video or piece of audio, and we then had the chance to discuss this together. There was the opportunity to do a short gentle stretching or flowing exercise known as Qi Gong (which can be done from a standing or sitting position). We finished our session with an optional guided meditation. More details are on our u3a Connect & Learn website. Just click or tap on this link and scroll on down to find out more - The Live Well Longer Group. Although the group has now come to an end, the good news is that the links to all the resources we referred to (websites, books, articles, videos and audio) are all there where they will remain indefinitely as a resource for everyone to look at at any time. So do take a look at The Live Well Longer Group.

If you wish to register your interest in joining Connect and Learn and/or the Action for Happiness group, please email me at website@exmouthu3a.org.uk. This is all free of charge and there is no limit on numbers – but to get the greatest benefit it would be good to register your interest as soon as possible. So why not sign up now? It could transform your life!