Monday 5 May – U3AC premises closed due to the Bank Holiday
Tuesday 6 May at 1 pm – Film Group screening will be The Teacher’s Lounge (Das Lehrezimmer)
Wednesday 7 May at 2.15 pm – Wednesday Lecture – Gardens: wildlife refuges or impoverished in diversity by Dr Julian Doberski. Booking is now open to attend in person in the Pink room – please email the Office.
A trip has been arranged to Chartwell, near Westerham in Kent, on Tuesday 8 July 2025. Cost £40.80 (£21.00 for members of the National Trust). For over 40 years Chartwell was the family home of Sir Winston Churchill and he lived there until shortly before his death in 1965. You will see the dining room where he met with the supporters of his campaign against the rearmament of Germany in the 1930s, the study where he wrote his speeches and books, the beautiful gardens and lakes, which he helped to construct with his own hands, and his painting studio. The property now belongs to the National Trust.
Application forms are now available from the Office and on the Trips and Visits page of the website. Places will be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
A visit has been arranged to Knebworth House & Gardens, set in the 250 acre Knebworth Deer Park, on 11 September, which is a day not open to the general public. The morning will include a private guided tour of the house and in the afternoon a guided tour of the gardens, followed by free time to explore the gardens. Sir Edwin Lutyens created the present layout of the 28 acre formal gardens. The herb garden was designed by Gertrude Jekyll. In the morning we can also visit The Exhibition Space showcasing details of all the famous films, rock and classical concerts that have been held at Knebworth. Refreshments and lunch can be purchased in the Terrace Cafe. Cost of trip £44.50.
Application forms are now available from the Office and on the Trips and Visits page of the website. Places will be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
New towns and Garden cities
Speaker: Ian Hunter
Date and time: Monday, 2 June, 11.00 – 12.00
Venue: U3AC, Pink room
Places: 30
I have taken an interest in Garden Cities, having briefly worked in Letchworth Garden City, and lived in Longstanton for 12 years, adjacent to Northstowe, prior to moving there 18 months ago. I became a Northstowe Town Councillor a few months ago.
About me: I am a retired Further Education Lecturer and Manager
Index Trackers
Speaker: Ian Hunter
Date and time: Monday, 2 June, 13.00 – 14.00
Venue: U3AC, Pink room
Places: 30
A presentation of how index trackers work, by buying a range of shares in proportion to their size of the index like, for example the FTSE 100, or the S&P 500. This is cheaper than buying individual shares,or managed financial products. This approach will not suit everyone, as it depends on individual circumstances, and therefore does not constitute financial advice, but an educational presentation.
About me: I am a retired Further Education Lecturer and Manager
Neutron Stars – nature’s most extreme objects
Organiser: Alan Richardson
Date and time: Friday 13 June, 10.30 – 12.00
Venue: U3AC (Pink room)
Places: 30
Neutron stars are the densest matter we can see and as such are the densest laboratories for high energy physics. They feature wild conditions with extremely fast rotation and unimaginably strong magnetic fields. Their cores may be home to unique states of matter not seen since the early universe. They are fundamental to life since most of the elements heavier than iron were created in neutron star mergers. The talk will cover their properties, theories about their composition and the observations that inform our knowledge of them.
Health Technology – Important or not?
Organiser: Liz Miller
Date and time: Thursday 22 May, 12.30 – 13.30
Venue: U3AC (Green room)
The purpose of the meeting is to bring together people who might be interested in such a group next year. At the moment there are few links between Fitbits and future health. However it does seem likely that if the Nation’s health is going to improve it will be through the use of scaleable interventions such as health watches and rings, as well as screening blood tests. It is impossible to manage something you don’t monitor and for the most part once a medical illness has set in, you are left repairing damage rather than steering clear of the rocks.
The group will be about finding positive science-based answers to keeping young and healthy. Gym kit not required! Even if you can’t make this meeting, please let me if this is a topic of interest to you. If you interested in coming along please email me at liz.miller901@icloud.com
About me: My name is Liz Miller, I am a U3AC member and retired medical practitioner who is concerned about the increasing number of “unhealthy years” and looking towards ways to predict those at risk and at personal health technology to help identify and manage those risks.
Thursday 15 May – Cohousing
Speaker: Frances Wright, Head of Community Partnering at TOWN
Date and time: Thursday 15 May, 11:30 – 12:30
Venue: U3AC, (Pink room)
Places: 30
Cohousing offers a more connected, sustainable and convenient form of living where people occupy individual homes with additional shared spaces and facilities which they jointly manage and make use of with their neighbours. Come along to find out more about what cohousing is, its origin and spread, how design is used to achieve the social objectives, and what it looks like in practice, drawing on Cambridge’s cohousing community in Marmalade Lane. After a presentation and Q&As, time permitting there will be an activity on possible interventions in existing streets.
About me: Frances Wright lives in Marmalade Lane and is a director of UK Cohousing Network as well as employed by SME developer, TOWN.
Matthew will be delivering another wine tasting session entitled Springing into Summer – wines for a balmy Cambridge Ball season. On Wednesday 14 May at 5.30 pm. Please arrive after 5.15pm. Cost is £17 per person.
Places can be booked via Eventbrite (who charge a non-refundable booking fee):
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wine-tasting-may-tickets-1279211378669?aff=oddtdtcreator or in person at the U3AC Office, or by Bank Transfer:
Payee: U3AC no2 account
Sortcode 08-92-99
Account Number 65863363
Reference: your surname and wine tasting
Note: This visit is now full, we are taking names for a waiting list in case anyone cancels their place.
Thursday 5 June 2025 to Windsor Castle and The Savill Garden. Cost £65.
As you know David sadly died last month, and we wish to honour his significant contribution to U3AC with a memorial. Our plan is to purchase a ceramic pot and plaque, accompanied by an olive tree, to be placed on the second-floor terrace. If you would like to contribute, a collection box is available at the reception desk until Friday 16 May. Please note that contributions are cash only. Thank you for your support.
We will again be organising a programme of sporting and other outdoor activities over the summer, details of which will be advertised in the weekly Bulletin at the end of May.
U3AC supports other local organisations by listing their activities on the Other organisations page of our website.