Events
Petersfield U3A Events
Petersfield U3A organises a range of events including three monthly meetings, trips, day workshops, study visits and occasionally two or three day residential breaks. These are open to all members (subject to space available) and may be organised by the main Committee or by one of the subject groups.
Monthly Meetings
There are three monthly meetings all held in the Petersfield Community Centre.
The Main General Meeting is held on the second Monday of every month between 2.30 and 4.00 p.m. with a different speaker talking about a general subject of interest each time.
These meetings are the flagship events for Petersfield U3A. They are held in the extended large hall at the Community Centre on the second Monday of each month (except for August and December). The topics are varied and are intended to be of general interest to all of our members. They commence with a welcome by the Branch Chairman and they conclude with tea / coffee and biscuits whilst members enjoy a convivial chat with the speaker, committee members and their fellow members and friends. The presentation normally lasts for approx. an hour with up to 30 minutes of comments and discussions.
U3A activities are mentioned and some Group Leaders have tables at the back of the hall for Group Business. At the back also are tables for discussions with new members and for recruitment and renewal of membership. Copies of the latest News and Views are available for members to take home, if they are not able to receive it by e-mail.
These meetings are seen as being of special interest due to the greater numbers who attend and the possibilities of socialising and carrying out Branch Business.
The Arts and Heritage meeting is open to all members on the third Wednesday of every month 2.30 – 4.00 p.m. and there is a charge of £2.50 per meeting. Each meeting has a speaker who is well qualified in a subject relating to the arts or a heritage topic. Occasionally talks are linked with visits to local sites or exhibitions. Please note that the meetings originally programmed for September and November 2019 have had to be swapped over, due to changes in speaker availability. Those now shown in the programme are the correct entries.
The Science and Technology meeting is open to all members and is held on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 2.00 to 3.30 p.m., with a charge of £2.50. per meeting. We invite speakers on a range of subjects to give a talk followed by questions, discussion and debate. The current programme of meetings is complete up to March 2020 and will include a wide variety and type of topic. Meetings are held at the Petersfield Community centre. The Science Forum is an offshoot of this Group and offers informal learning and discussion on a topic of the day, these meetings being held at the Liss Triangle on an irregular basis at present.
Other Events
There is a regular series of other events ranging from theatre and concert trips, heritage visits, and special interest sessions organised through individual groups but open to everybody. Other one day subject sessions, short courses and occasional social events are held and publicised on this website and members can receive a regular updating “News & Views Extra” email to keep you in touch.
South Bank Group The Group attends concerts on the South Bank of the Thames in London. These are held at the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room. Availability of tickets and further information may be obtained from Derek Bowtell by contacting him via the South Bank Group page.
(See below for details of the upcoming meetings and events)
Past Meetings
Click the link above to see descriptions of our last few meetings for Arts & Heritage and Science & Technology
| Dates for your Diary | ||
|---|---|---|
| September 2019 | ||
| Mon Sep 9th | Meeting | Malcolm Nelson on “40 years of Catching Smugglers-Part 2 –You're Nicked” Malcolm gave us a fascinating talk in 2018 and it was requested by many members that he return again, so here we go with Part 2. Drugs having been found, now show the concealments with real life stories behind the pictures. |
| Tue Sep 10th | Family History 2 | Chris Lightfoot: writing up your family history Bringing your family history to life. Getting started - uncovering the stories but who wants to know? How to make it interesting and avoid boring people. |
| Wed Sep 18th | Arts and Heritage | Mark Watts on “The History of Winchester Prison”. There has been a jail in Winchester since the 13th century at Jewry St (now a pub). The present one built in 1849 in the “Classical Victorian Radial Design”, covers 6 acres of land and has stood punishment, hangings and rehabilitation. Mark joined Winchester Prison in 1988 and retired in 2017 as Head of Security, so will be well qualified to unveil it’s secrets, both dark and humorous. |
| Tue Sep 24th | Science and Technology | The "evolution of flight" with Peter Buckroyd, who will take us through the fascinating history from the very early days with Cody and Bleriot,right through to the present day. This follows on from the excellent visit that we made to Farnborough on 23rd July. The presentation is based on the important role that Farnborough has played, including the massive wind tunnels that were built, involving their own power station and railway link, the testing carried out there and much much more. (This is a change in the published programme.) |
| October 2019 | ||
| Tue Oct 8th | Family History 2 | Topic: On-Line Parish Clerks The origin and development of OPC projects, including Hampshire; and how they can help our own research |
| Mon Oct 14th | Meeting | Malcolm Wells with “So far so good”. Malcolm has been recommended as a Speaker with a presentation both informative and humorous. It covers his life as an army musician for 24 years, 15 years working with Canine Partners and lastly an insight into the experience of receiving the MBE at Buckingham Palace. |
| Wed Oct 16th | Arts and Heritage | Alexandra Loske on "Chinoiserie. Alexandra returns once again, this time to talk about the decorations every grand home in mid 18th century had, inspired by the Far East, predominantly China. This lecture (always beautifully illustrated) will explain the origins, with particular focus on various East India Companies around the year 1600. |
| Tue Oct 22nd | Science and Technology | Keith Betton - "Hampshire's Special Birds". |
| Wed Oct 30th | South Bank Group | South Bank Group Programme 2019/2020 at Royal Festival Hall WEDNESDAY 30 OCTOBER 2019 AT 7.30 PM Robert Trevino Conducts Shostakovich |
| November 2019 | ||
| Mon Nov 11th | Meeting | Colin van Geffen on “Lawrence before and after Arabia” The legend of Lawrence of Arabia is well documented, but what of his life before the Desert War? Described as one of the most influential Englishmen of the 20th century, but he wasn’t even English! There are many myths, but the truth is far more fascinating. |
| Tue Nov 12th | Family History 2 | Topic: Ireland and Irish records, using Genuki records Format tba |
| Wed Nov 20th | Arts and Heritage | Ryan Watts on “People and Archeology of Petersfield Heath”. Ryan studied at Exeter University with a keen interest in Prehistoric people of Britain. He now works as Learning & Community Engagement Officer at Petersfield Museum & hopes to expand the museum’s reach to schools, colleges and special interest groups. His talk will cover the Prehistoric Petersfield exploring those who lived here 4000 years ago. There have been exciting discoveries on the Heath over the last 4 years and Ryan will talk about the first people to live here, as well as about the artefacts & monuments left behind. |
| Thu Nov 21st | South Bank Group | South Bank Group Programme 2019/2020 at Royal Festival Hall THURSDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2019 AT 7.30 PM Herreweghe Conducts Beethoven & Schubert |
| Tue Nov 26th | Science and Technology | The Battle of Britain - the making of the movie, with Phil Holt. |
| December 2019 | ||
| Tue Dec 10th | Family History 2 | Mince pies again Format tba |
| January 2020 | ||
| Tue Jan 28th | Science and Technology | Prof. McGeehan of Portsmouth University - "Plastic Eating Bacteria / Enzymes". |
| February 2020 | ||
| Fri Feb 7th | South Bank Group | South Bank Group Programme 2019/2020 at Royal Festival Hall FRIDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2020 AT 7.00 PM Mozart's Final Flourish Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Ivan Fischer conductor |
| Thu Feb 13th | South Bank Group | South Bank Group Programme 2019/2020 at Royal Festival Hall THURSDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2020 AT 7.30 PM Shani Conducts Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet |
| March 2020 | ||
| Tue Mar 10th | South Bank Group | South Bank Group Programme 2019/2020 at Royal Festival Hall TUESDAY 10 MARCH 2020 AT 7.30 PM Thierry Fischer Conducts Stravinsky |
| Tue Mar 24th | Science and Technology | Controlling 911 with Phil Holt |
| April 2020 | ||
| Thu Apr 2nd | South Bank Group | South Bank Group Programme 2019/2020 at Royal Festival Hall THURSDAY 2 APRIL 2020 AT 7.30 PM Heras-Casado Conducts Russian Classics |
| Fri Apr 3rd | South Bank Group | South Bank Group Programme 2019/2020 at Royal Festival Hall FRIDAY 3 APRIL 2020 AT 7.30 PM Vasily Petrenko Conducts Prokofiev |
| Sun Apr 26th | South Bank Group | South Bank Group Programme 2019/2020 at Royal Festival Hall SUNDAY 26 APRIL 2020 AT 3.00 PM Fantasy and Fairy Tales Philharmonia Orchestra Jakub Hrůsa conductor |
| May 2020 | ||
| Sun May 10th | South Bank Group | South Bank Group Programme 2019/2020 at Royal Festival Hall SUNDAY 10 MAY 2020 AT 7.30 PM Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony Philharmonia Orchestra Juraj Valcuha conductor |