U3A Creative Writing Group

The U3A Creative Writing Group are a small but diverse group that meets once a month in Bradford City Library to write to given cues.
We have a cue chosen the month before from a ‘pot’ that we can prepare at our leisure, and a surprise cue brought by a group member to the session. This can be an object or collection of objects, a picture, an audio cue or smell. Past surprises include an Iraqi war rug, live music and a collection of objects with smells. These present challenges to our spontaneous writing skills, and what we are used to writing about.
We decided to make an anthology of some of our work to coincide with Bradford 2025 City of Culture and show that retired people have a depth of experience and insight to offer to their community.
Members of the group come from a variety of backgrounds: musicianship, teaching, legal advice, children’s literature, and a historian of Bradford’s wells.