Monday 26 May – The U3AC Office will be closed for the Bank Holiday. A small number of classes meeting elsewhere will take place so check with your course organiser.
Tuesday 27 May at 1 pm – Film Group screening will be Sweet Smell of Success
Thank you to everyone who has helped organise one of the many events which are part of the Summer Events Programme. There are over 30 events available. Places will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. You may initially request 3 events and places will be confirmed on application. If you request further events (up to a maximum of 6) you will be placed on a holding list and be contacted if the event still has places, about a week before the date.
A programme of Summer Events will be available from Friday 23 May on the website.
Do you regularly attend the Zoom Wednesday Lectures? Would you be interested in joining the team of moderators who put the chat questions to the speaker at the end of the session? A list of speakers is circulated to moderators before each term so that they can decide if they want to attend in person or are free to moderate at home. For further information please contact Nicholas Russell or Suzan Griffiths at lectures@u3ac.org.uk
With the new U3AC 2025-26 Programme launching in July, we want to make sure you receive your copy! Please take a moment to confirm or update your current address with us. This will help ensure your programme reaches you without delay. Thanks for your help!
Thursday 9 October, departure from Madingley P&R 08.15, Trumpington P&R 08.30 returning from London 15.45.
Application forms available from the end of next week.
Your Council is seeking a member who is willing to take on the job of organising and running the Annual Ron Gray Day Conference (see for full details: https://www.u3ac.org.uk/lectures/gray-conference/). Recently, this Conference was subsumed into the responsibilities of the Director of Studies (Lectures), but this role has increasingly become a demanding one in its own right.
Luckily, the Ron Gray Conference itself is no longer so demanding because our Trustee, Mark Sanderson, has most kindly made arrangements with Emmanuel College to act as the physical host, the College providing both the necessary rooms and refreshments.
What is now required is a member (or members – two co-organisers would be most welcome) who will: (a) select the controversial topic for the year; (b) seek out two to four relevant outside speakers, along with U3AC member commentators; and (c) act as a general host and chair on the day of the Conference.
The Ron Gray Conference is specifically set up to address currently controversial issues in a balanced and courteous way; the very first in 2014 took on the issue of the Scottish independence referendum. Since then, there have been Conferences on many similar subjects, including Brexit, Identity Politics and Culture Wars, Re-wilding, and even ‘Ageing as Adventure’. The Conference is normally held in the U3AC’s Spring Term.
If you are interested in being considered for this rewarding role (for which you do not have to be a trustee), the Council will be most grateful if you could let the Office know by Friday, May 23rd, perhaps with an indication of the topic you might like to organise for the Spring Conference 2026. We see the appointment as one that will normally run for three years, with a right for a further three-year extension if agreed by both parties.
Thank you in advance for your kind consideration of this important request.
Philip Stott
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.
Speaker: Police and Crime Commissioner, Darryl Preston
Date and time: Friday 6 June, 11.00 – 12.00
Venue: U3AC, Pink room
Places: 30
An introduction – Darryl was re-elected Police and Crime Commissioner for the county on 3rd May 2024 for a second term in office. Having served as both a front-line police officer and a senior detective for 30 years (10 years in the Met and 20 years in Cambridgeshire), Darryl’s knowledge, skills and experience enable him to progress his Police and Crime Plan through holding Cambridgeshire Constabulary to account for its performance. This includes bringing agencies together and listening to the views and concerns of the public and local communities. Darryl is currently the national Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) Lead for forensics and biometrics.
Darryl will talk about his role and will also introduce the content of his current Police and Crime Plan – published in December 2024, the Plan sets the strategic direction for policing and has at its heart community safety.
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 11 September;
This visit is now full, we are taking names for a waiting list in case anyone cancels their place.
Tuesday 8 July.
This visit is now full, we are taking names for a waiting list in case anyone cancels their place.
Thursday 5 June 2025.
This visit is now full, we are taking names for a waiting list in case anyone cancels their place.
The Locker cafe in Kings Street, Cambridge, is showing paintings and digital prints by U3AC member Colin Whitworth. This month and next, on both floors.
U3AC supports other local organisations by listing their activities on the Other organisations page of our website.