Tuesday 3 June at 1 pm – Film Group screening will be Léon Morin Priest
Thursday 5 June – Visit to Windsor Castle and The Savill Garden – this is full
Friday 6 June – Listen to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Darryl Preston –details further down
Our organisation’s patron and co-founder, Nick Coni, will be 90 years old tomorrow, 29 May. On behalf of all of our members, staff and volunteers we would like to send him our warmest wishes for a really Happy Birthday!
A programme of Summer Events is now on the website: https://www.u3ac.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Summer-Event-final-MAY.pdf
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.
Sea shanties, summer songs, spirituals, and some Burt Bacharach for good measure: all will be part of this summer’s free concert by the U3AC Choir, directed by Brian Watkins. All are welcome, so come along to hear your U3AC friends and colleagues and bring your guests too. The concert is on Thursday 19th June, starting at 11.00am, at St James Church, Wulfstan Way, CB1 8QJ (on the Number 2 bus route), and will last about an hour. Light refreshments will follow, donations towards costs are welcomed.
A trip has been arranged on Thursday 9 October to this major exhibition featuring more than 350 exhibits charting the evolution of Cartier’s legacy of art, design and craftmanship since the turn of the 20th century.
Application forms available from 29 May on the Trips and Visits page of the website. Cost: £38. Places allocated on a first come first basis.
We have a number of items in the lost property box which will all be donated to the charity shop at the end of term. If you feel you may have mislaid something please do check with the receptionist.
We have been approached to run a whiskey tasting session, much like our wine tasting sessions, but we will need to know if there is enough interest for it, it would cost approx. £35 and be held at Bridge Street on one evening in the Autumn term. If this is something you would be interested in, please could you email the Office by the 6 June. (No obligation to attend if the date does not suit you).
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
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.
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.
With the new U3AC 2025-26 Programme launching in July, we want to make sure you receive your copy! Please take a moment to check your contact details on ‘Your account’ are correct. This will help ensure your programme reaches you without delay.
The Locker cafe in Kings Street, Cambridge, is showing paintings and digital prints by U3AC member Colin Whitworth. Until the end of June, on both floors.
U3AC supports other local organisations by listing their activities on the Other organisations page of our website.