Wine, Drums and Pickleball

Winter draws on. Yes, I know right now the tarmac is melting off the roads, Calippos are only available on prescription and if it gets any hotter, the sky will become flammable. But before we’ve had a chance to stuff our pillows with ice cubes in the hope of a good night’s sleep, autumn will be here. 

Oh, that’s better. Stylish jumpers and swooshy long coats, instead of everybody dressing like toddlers. Crisp air and rich colours on the trees, instead of a trip outdoors feeling like inhaling a piping hot bowl of sweat and petrol. 

And a brand new academic year, giving everybody – yes, everybody (16 or over) – the chance to learn some new skills, make some new friends, and generally go “Look what I can do”.

How so? Well, the lovely people at UCM (University College Isle of Man to use its Sunday-best name) are champions of lifelong learning.  It’s really never too late to learn something new, and UCM has a range of 200 Leisure and Recreation courses, including nearly 50 brand new ones for this year. They’re stress-free ways to get some new skills and polish up some existing ones.

Come along and meet amazing new people. Or bring along some of the current lovelies in your life: bring your pal, bring your partner, bring that nice lady who fixed your microwave. The social aspect of UCM is as important as the learning.

As Cathy Lord, who’s the Programme Manager for Adult Continuing Education ‘Every year, we develop a programme of leisure and recreation courses from the feedback and comments we receive from the Manx public. We’re excited to be launching nearly 50 new courses this year across a wide range of subjects. It’s always fascinating to see the incredible skills that people in our community have and want to share with others. If you’ve never tried one of our leisure courses, this is a great time to try something new.’

If it isn’t convenient for you to get to UCM’s main campus, then the news is good – courses are held in a whopping 13 different venues covering the north, south, east, and west of the Island.

For full details, download the plumptious gorgeousness of the prospectus by clicking here https://www.ucm.ac.im/media/4190/leisure-courses-guide-2022-23.pdf 

Always keen to feed our brains, we’ve had a browse through the prospectus ourselves. Here’s just a small selection of titles that jumped out at us:

Wine For Beginners  – OK, there are not too many members of the Gef team who would describe themselves as ‘Beginners’ in this subject, but we can heartily endorse this as a way of knowing your Merlot from your Malbec or your Chateauneuf du Pape from your corner shop tonsil-stripper. 

Pickleball for Beginners – no, we haven’t got a scooby what Pickleball is either. But did we mention lifelong learning? So let’s sign up for this course and get our Pickleball mojo quite considerably on.

Woodwork for Improvers – we’re not saying the cost of living crisis is going ballistic or anything, but having the ability to make your own furniture could be very handy very soon.

Face Painting for Fun – we had a practice run for this in the Gef office. Kate is now a roarsome tiger, Sam is a lovely butterfly, and the Amazon delivery guy is kind of like Munch’s Scream because he wouldn’t keep still. 12/10 – would recommend.

An Introduction to Special Effects Make-Up – make your nearest and dearest look like the strangest things off Stranger Things. With a gruesomely realistic collection of wounds, scars, blood and guts, you’re sure to send any unwanted Hop Tu Naa callers running up that hill.  

Drums for Intermediates – everybody needs good neighbours, as an old TV show used to say. But if yours are a tad irritating, this could be the course for you.

From macrame to model engineering, from acting to computer skills, there really is something for everybody to learn. This year, with a little help from the team at UCM, it’s your turn to shine.