Sex and the City – a guided tour through the lovely centre of Cambridge which explores the inspiring, shocking and delightful stories of its women. From poets to bedders, from scientists to social reformers – get to know some of these amazing hidden figures.
This guided tour, led by Cambridge Green Badge guides (some of whom are U3AC members), reveals the parts played by women in shaping the university, the town and the world beyond. The founders of some of the oldest colleges were women yet Cambridge was the last university in the UK to award women degrees. The university has the oldest police force in the world; find out how it was used to arrest and imprison women simply for being out on the street. Discover which of Henry 8th’s wives saved all the colleges from destruction.
Learn about the great women scientists, such as the American who transformed cinematography, and even played a part in WW2 submarines. Then there were those who made great advances, but whose male colleagues got the Nobel prizes. And much more.
Cambridge – where women are called “Masters” and men could become “Mistresses”!
There’s lots for everyone to enjoy. Cost: £15 per person
Tours run on Thursdays at 6pm and on Sundays at 2.30pm Book through Eventbrite on https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sex-and-the-city-cambridge-women-town-and-gown-tickets-154860212063?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
This series of lectures themed around subjects relating to the Civil Wars.
Wednesday 23 June at 7.30pm – Keith Dowen on ‘With Swords by their Sides: Arms and Armour of the Civil Wars’
Wednesday 30 June at 7.30pm – Prof Steve Murdoch on ‘History v. Heritage: the Mythology of Marston Moor’
You can find out more information on each of the above talks by following the links, where you can also purchase individual tickets for each talk. You can also get discounted season tickets for the whole series by visiting: https://www.cromwellmuseum.org/events/cromwell-museum-civil-war-lecture-programme-2021 .
As per the last series talks will be held online via Zoom, with the talks recorded for ticket holders to be able to view afterwards via a private section of our YouTube Channel – so don’t worry if you can’t watch the talk live as ticket holders will be able to view it afterwards.
Cambridge is the cycle theft capital of the UK and cycle theft is the most-reported crime in the city. If you own a bike see how to keep it safe at www.camcycle.org.uk/cycletheft
Thursday mornings 10.30-12, including refreshments
At St Clement’s Church, Bridge Street
20 May – 8 July 2021
No charge
This course, on the craft and composition of poetry, is for those who want to deepen their appreciation of poetry, and/or to write their own poems.
The tutors are Sarah and Clinton Collister. Sarah has taught English Literature in Britain and the US. Clinton is currently researching the link between theology and literature.
The sessions are actual: real people in a real place – socially distanced.
The sessions are:
Contact: sarah@vandeweyer.co.uk
Bookings for the Virtual Summer Festival of Learning run by ICE (the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education) are now open. Anyone can book: people of all ages and from across the globe will participate.
The Festival brings together over 85 one-week courses and 60 talks delivered by leading Cambridge academics and invited subject specialists.
Courses are designed to introduce you to new topics or further your studies in familiar disciplines, whilst our series of talks provides fascinating glimpses into a variety of themes, recent research and global current affairs.
To find out more and book places, visit the Festival website
A series of linear walks along the 5m contour, the Fen Edge Trail, is being created and published by the CGS at www.fenedgetrail.org. Most are from 5-7 miles in length.
The links between geology, ecology, history and present day life in the Fens reveal themselves and the more you look, the more you discover and the more fascinating it becomes!
CGS website: http://www.cambsgeology.org/
Now offers Online Study Sessions on a range of great literary works, taught by leading scholars.
Online Study Sessions on Shakespeare, George Eliot, Dickens, Katherine Mansfield, Siegfried Sassoon, Toni Morrison, and more: https://www.literaturecambridge.co.uk/online-study-sessions
Virginia Woolf Season
https://www.literaturecambridge.co.uk/vw-season
We are still here – continuing to deliver the highest quality of French lessons through our online platform throughout this uncertain period!
Our courses are now available online, and the cultural team continues to carry out our activities, such as the book club. Keep your quarantine interesting and improve your French language skills!
The Alliance Française, offers a 15% reduction on our courses for every member of U3AC. Flexible, tailor-made and diversified, there is a course for everyone. Make the best out of this quarantine and join us online!
Virginie Friend info.alliance.cam@gmail.com
Website chatLive http://www.alliance-cam.co.uk/
We run a secondhand book stall on Cambridge market and started a website at the beginning of lockdown. We sell carefully selected paperback books, mainly fiction, and offer £1 delivery in central Cambridge (free delivery for anyone shielding or isolating). There is also the option to order books on the website and collect from the market at no extra cost.
We offer U3AC members 10% off their first order with us. All you need to do is enter Bookish10 as a coupon code and 10% will be deducted at the checkout.
We are trying to reach people who may not have heard about us and who would like to support a local business.
https://bookishcambridge.co.uk
Dr. Lúcia Tavares, researcher at Universidade Portucalense (Portugal), is working on a project with the objective of studying some protection factors of the senior population’s mental health. The results of this project will be useful to understand how to improve the psychological well-being of this population.
Your participation is very important and will be greatly appreciated!
To participate, you must be aged 65 years or older. Then you will simply answer some online questionnaires, in different moments, during the time period of one year. The estimated response time won’t be more than 10-15 minutes for each moment.
Your participation won’t have any costs or expenses, and there won’t be any risks for your physical and mental health. The anonymity of your answers and the confidentiality of all the data collected about you are guaranteed, and you will have the right to quit participating at any moment.
You can access more information, as well as the initial questionnaire, by clicking this link:
Help us to help you!
(If you have any questions or would like to know more about this research project, please contact Dr. Lúcia Tavares through email: rafaela85tavares@gmail.com)
Current as at 1 June 2021
Even if you don’t, please consider signing our petition asking Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner to back calls for medical research to find a cure:
https://www.change.org/Daniel-Zeichner-help-us-cure-ME
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (aka chronic fatigue syndrome) is a devastating chronic illness following a viral infection. It Is not understood and there is still no cure, although it has been recognised for over 65 years. Long COVID appears to be its latest manifestation.
Cambridge ME Support Group (CBME) is run by people who have the condition to support fellow sufferers.
Our website: https://cambridgeme.org.uk
The Trustees of Millington Road Nursery School are looking for a new Chairperson to take over from the current chair in September. The role includes chairing meetings but also involves regular contact with the friendly principal and staff as well as with parents and children.
Millington Road Nursery in Newnham is one of the oldest Nursery Schools in Cambridge and is known for its outstanding educational standards and practices and also for its secluded site and garden.
Details of the Nursery can be found on its website: https://millingtonroadnursery.co.uk/
Please contact Rachel Edwards (Rachel.edwards@mac.com) for further details.
Cambridge Talking News produces recordings for the blind and partially sighted and is looking for a new secretary to join this voluntary organisation later this year. We have a team of about 30 people in various roles, and we produce and send out an audio version of CTN on USB sticks every week. We are hoping to find someone who can organise rotas for the different teams, maintain our client database and respond to requests for new clients or for removals, and manage and monitor the CTN email address. The secretary is also responsible for receiving the post and organising wallets, and this is done at our base at the Cam Sight offices in Green End Road, Cambridge where equipment is stored and where recordings are usually made.
Cambridge Talking News has a website – https://www.cambridgetalkingnews.org.uk/ – which gives more information about the working of this organisation. In addition to the weekly news programme we also produce CamMag, an audio magazine for visually impaired people, eight times a year. We have documentation which explains how all aspects of CTN are run. If you think you might be interested and would like to know more about the role, then please contact Sue Richards on 01223 353296. We would love to welcome you to the CTN team.
Current as at March 2021
St Thomas hospital and Kings College London are running a virus tracking system using crowdsourcing.
This uses a simple app on smartphones getting people to report their symptoms. They are particularly short of “more mature people”; they have 2,000,000 “kids”.
The initial form looks daunting but you will be hitting “no” most of the time.
The daily report only takes about a minute.
Pick it up at: https://covid.joinzoe.com/?fbclid=IwAR318mbVgdfCFOtBoJWGKIhEUklyD3LqzPKWK90u8OcuUQP9nnp3tGOt0S8
COPE (Cambridgeshire Older People’s Enterprise), a registered charity, has introduced a new programme. TALKING TOGETHER is a free, telephone based series of 45-minute, weekly discussion groups serving older adults.
We are seeking volunteer facilitators who are:
If you would like further information, or are interested in exploring a role as a facilitator, please contact Deborah Katznelson dkatxnelson@outlook.com
Please contact the Office if you would like to post something here.