Who We Are & What We Do

Originally from West Yorkshire, I have lived in Devon for the past 18 years . I came to Devon to be near my Daughter, when I retired as Headteacher of a Special School for children and young adults with severe and complex learning difficulties.

I joined Culm Valley u3a at its first meeting and since then I have served as Membership Secretary.

Culm Valley u3a, although still fairly young, is a vibrant group with lots of interest groups.

Janet was born and bred in Gloucester where she trained as a radiographer. She arrived in Devon in 2005, after acquiring a husband and three sons, to restart radiography after 26 years. She retrained to do mammography in the RD&E Breast Care Unit. Janet retired in 2016 from paid work but has kept herself busy in the meantime. She is an active member of St Andrews Church in Cullompton.  

Originally from Scotland, Lorna lived in Durham and Ilkley, West Yorkshire, before going to Birmingham to study Home Economics for three years.

Her first job was with Bejam in Milton Keynes in the 70s, then AEG Telefunken Ltd, before moving to London and having children. One last move brought her to Bradninch where she has worked part-time in the shop, playgroup and as Clerk to Bradninch Town Council for 15 years.

Alison is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the English institute. Over the past 40+ years she has worked as an accountant in many different industries including oil & gas, architecture, plastic manufacture, venture capital and most recently for a firm of accountants in Exeter.

She joined CVu3a when it first started and enjoys the monthly talks and selected interest group activities.

Due to his work, Marian, her husband and their twin sons, born in America, have moved around quite a bit. Marian's last job was with the  MoD at an RAF base in Northamptonshire.

After retiring Marian and her husband toured Europe with their caravan.

In 2014 they moved to Fife, but when her husband became ill, they moved nearer to their two boys in Devon.

While in Fife u3a Marian was the Business Secretary and Beacon Administrator. Marian is also a member of the National Beacon Team and  u3a Regional Team and attends the Pilot Council meetings set up by the Third Age Trust. 

Marian was in touch with CVu3a during the move to Devon in 2019, and when she arrived in Cullompton she offered her services as Beacon Administrator to CVu3a and was gratefully accepted. 

Marian continues as Beacon Admin for CVu3a and has now taken on the role of  Membership Secretary.

She now lives with one of her sons and her daughter in law in Cullompton

Barbie and her husband moved to Ashill from North Somerset in 2015. Their 5 children had all left home and they wished for a quieter life! Barbie was a Nanny for much of her working life, living with families around the South of England. She has been actively involved with Scouting for 30-odd years, which has been extremely rewarding. Her passions include family, reading and volunteering, but not always, in that order.