Tuesday 13 May at 1 pm – Film Group screening will be Our Man in Havana
Wednesday 14 May at 2.15 pm – Wednesday Lecture – A lab of one’s own: Cambridge women in the First World War by Patricia Fara. Booking is now open to attend in person in the Pink room – please email the Office.
Please note, this is the last Wednesday Lecture of this term and academic year.
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
Tuesday 8 July.
This visit is now full, we are taking names for a waiting list in case anyone cancels their place.
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.
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.
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.
Note: This visit is now full, we are taking names for a waiting list in case anyone cancels their place.
Thursday 5 June 2025.
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.