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 the second Wednesday of each month at 1430 hrs.
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.
Chichester Festival Theatre
Each year we are able to purchase tickets for both the Festival and Minerva Theatres at Chichester. These tickets come with a very favourable discount. In the past we have only obtained tickets for the summer season but as from 2020 we will also be looking at the productions during the winter months. The winter season tickets come with a smaller (10%) discount but still offer very good value. Unfortunately for these winter production discounted tickets are only available for certain productions but we will keep members informed as to those which will be available. The programme for next year will be published on the theatre’s website in February. In order to book tickets for the shows that appeal most it would help us if members could look at the website and let us know their preferences. Chris and Julie Burton can be contacted at theburtons76@gmail.com or on 01730 267609.
(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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| October 2019 | ||
| 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 13th | Science Forum | Mike Piatek - a discussion on Mobile Telecoms at the Liss Triangle Centre Mike Piatek is an electrical engineer who has worked in the mobile telecommunications businesses (commercial infrastructure) since 1992 in several countries. He will give a review and conduct a discussion covering the development of mobile communications systems from its early “two way” radio inception to the currently introduced 5G networks, mentioning the overlapping special services like TETRA and satellite networks. This is intended to be a stimulating discussion in an informal setting, seated in the round as a small group over a cup of tea / coffee. Contact John Charnock-Wilson at charnockwilson@gmail.com |
| 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 | ||
| Mon Dec 9th | Social | "Christmas Do" - details to follow soon. |
| Tue Dec 10th | Family History 2 | Mince pies again Format tba |
| Wed Dec 11th | Science Forum | "Recycling" with Peggy Pye. |
| January 2020 | ||
| Wed Jan 8th | Science Forum | Nuclear Power with John Charnock-Wilson |
| Mon Jan 13th | Meeting | "Across the lake - the Donald Campbell Story" with Phil Holt. Phil has had a lifetime of flying and is now a top Speaker aboard cruise ships. His talk is about Campbell, a charismatic, daring and brave man who held both world land and water speed records in the same year, and this talk covers his fateful attempt at the world water speed record at Coniston Water. |
| Wed Jan 15th | Arts and Heritage | "How did a dead Roman shape London's Streets" with Andrew Ryder. Properties in the outer areas of London in 1600 were not owned by the Crown but by private landowners who wished to turn barely profitable market gardens into residential neighbourhoods. In 1630 London got its first "Vetruvia" Square (Covent Garden) from a copied piazza in Italy and from that time onwards London developed on the Vetruvian principles. |
| 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 |
| Mon Feb 10th | Meeting | "Spotlight on Scandinavia - 1939 to today" with Christopher Massy Beresford. Denmark, Norway and Sweden- how they fared during WW2 and how they are today. This talk covers the different experiences of these countries during WW2 and their development into 3 of the world's most successful countries. It also covers the many different ways in which the behaviour of these peoples varies - from sensible to strange and amusing! |
| Wed Feb 12th | Science Forum | "Assisted Dying" - Carol Watson. Details to follow |
| 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 |
| Wed Feb 19th | Arts and Heritage | "Gulliver's Travels, the Book & its Illustrations" with Brian Tippett. This fully illustrated lecture tells the history of "Gulliver's Travels" which was written as a satire on politics and human nature. Its brilliance appealed to children and adults alike and in turn inspired cartoonists images ridiculing politicians. |
| March 2020 | ||
| Mon Mar 9th | Meeting | "My Love of Africa" with Tom Way. Tom is a professional photographer based in the U.K. and has won awards in many international competitions. He spends most of his time focusing on large mammals around the world but his main passion is always with the Elephants and Lions in Kenya and Leopards in Zambia, so look forward to a stunning afternoon of photographic magic. |
| 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 |
| Wed Mar 11th | Science Forum | Sewage - Frances Press e details to follow |
| Wed Mar 18th | Arts and Heritage | "Isadora Duncan - Mother of Modern Dance" with Elizabeth Blake. Our Speaker this month is a professional dancer, actor and choreographer. Her presentation is part talk and part live performance, and includes speech and dance extracts from her celebrated production "Isadora-- I Dance what I am" |
| 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 |
| Mon Apr 13th | Meeting | Easter Monday - No Meeting. |
| Wed Apr 15th | Arts and Heritage | "My Life in Films" with Alan Grace. |
| 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 |
| Mon May 11th | Meeting | "Will Russia Survive the 21st Century?" with Andrew Ryder |
| June 2020 | ||
| Mon Jun 8th | Meeting | "History of the City of London" with Sally Botwright |
| July 2020 | ||
| Mon Jul 13th | Meeting | "Everest and the Seven Summits" with Rebecca Stephens |
| August 2020 | ||
| Mon Aug 10th | Meeting | No meeting |
| September 2020 | ||
| Mon Sep 14th | Meeting | "A Photographic Odyssey of Shackleton's Endurance Expedition" with Mark Cottle |
| October 2020 | ||
| Mon Oct 12th | Meeting | AGM followed by "Berlin from 1931 to 1989" with Alan Grace |
| November 2020 | ||
| Mon Nov 9th | Meeting | "What the Butler Saw" with Bob France in costume. |
| December 2020 | ||
| Mon Dec 14th | Meeting | The Christmas Event |