News
DESCRIPTION ON GENERAL MEETING SPEAKERS
Tuesday 23 April 2024
'Life in Nepal' - Peter Reid
Peter Reid retired in 2001 after 13 years as Head of a Plymouth secondary school.
In 2005 he and his wife Rosemary left Plymouth for a three-year placement in Kathmandu as volunteers in the Nepal Ministry of Education. Rosemary died of cancer in 2012 and not long after Peter returned to Nepal for three years. He also completed an OU Masters in Development, linked to his work in the Foreign Aid Coordination Section in the ministry.
Expect to learn something about the country, travel within Nepal and to neighbouring countries, and about the wonderful people of Nepal and the challenges they face.
“As a member of Rotary International I made many Rotarian friends in Nepal,” Peter writes, “and after the earthquake Plympton Rotary Club won two major grants of $60,000 each, to help a school and village damaged in the 2015 earthquake, and just recently to provide equipment for a new hospital for marginalised people.”
There’ll be a few surprises, a quiz, statistics, and (according to Plymouth U3A who Peter spoke to about Ghana) it will be thought-provoking.
Tuesday 28 May
'Gershwin, how we love you!' - James Murray
During a career that lasted a mere 20 years, George Gershwin (1898-1937) rose from song-plugger in Tin Pan Alley to a composer equally respected on Broadway, in the West End, in Hollywood and concert halls around the world. Few songwriters have been so widely performed by so wide a variety of artists and compilation recordings continue to find new and ever younger audiences. However, in common with many artists, fame and adulation during his lifetime did not necessarily bring happiness and the circumstances that led to his death at the age of 38 are tragic indeed. James traces Gershwin’s remarkable career from Broadway to the West End and Hollywood with the aid of numerous illustrations from his life and recordings both old and new.
Tuesday 25 June 2024
Alexander the Great and the Founding of the Great City of Alexandria
Janet Diamond
On the murder of his father, King Philip ll of Macedon, Alexander succeeded to the throne at the age of only 20. To this day he is still regarded as one of the greatest generals this world has seen, and he is widely considered as one of history's most successful military commanders.
Having defeated Darius lll of Persia, on entering Egypt, Alexander was hailed as a liberator and was proclaimed as Pharaoh of Egypt; thus making him King of Macedon, King of Persia and Pharoah of Egypt. Yet he did not stay long, and in 323 BCE died too young in Babylon aged only 32.
Alexander’s most enduring achievement was the founding of Alexandria in 331 BCE; a new Greek city in on the Mediterranean shores, on the Nile’s the western delta. The jewel in the Crown that was the ancient Egypt, Alexandria was a major Mediterranean port, in ancient times and still today. It was the City of the famous Pharos Lighthouse, which illuminated the seas far and wide and the City of the fabulous Library of Alexandria, and renowned centre of academia, knowledge and learning.
Tuesday 25 June 2024
'Alexander the Great and the Founding of the Great City of Alexandria' - Janet Diamond
On the murder of his father, King Philip ll of Macedon, Alexander succeeded to the throne at the age of only 20. To this day he is still regarded as one of the greatest generals this world has seen, and he is widely considered as one of history's most successful military commanders.
Having defeated Darius lll of Persia, on entering Egypt, Alexander was hailed as a liberator and was proclaimed as Pharaoh of Egypt; thus making him King of Macedon, King of Persia and Pharoah of Egypt. Yet he did not stay long, and in 323 BCE died too young in Babylon aged only 32.
Alexander’s most enduring achievement was the founding of Alexandria in 331 BCE; a new Greek city in on the Mediterranean shores, on the Nile’s the western delta. The jewel in the Crown that was the ancient Egypt, Alexandria was a major Mediterranean port, in ancient times and still today. It was the City of the famous Pharos Lighthouse, which illuminated the seas far and wide and the City of the fabulous Library of Alexandria, and renowned centre of academia, knowledge and learning.
FEBRUARY 2024
Being a member of u3a is really important to me – I was in the Harborne & Edgbaston group as Speaker’s Secretary before my move to Plympton in 2022. We were on Zoom during lockdown so continued to be part of our members’ lives bringing the u3a ethos of Learning, Laughing and Living into their living rooms. I don’t think though, that members realised that we could see them as much as they could see us, unlike watching the TV!
When I moved to be nearer family in the South West, the first thing I did was to contact and join Plympton u3a - quickly segueing happily back into the Speaker’s Secretary role. It is through u3a that I was able to get out and about, finding out more about my adopted area through Short Walks group, Local History group and at the General Meetings. And, of course, I made friends and learnt new things at Art Appreciation and other groups.
When it looked as if Plympton u3a might be unable to find a Chair, I decided that I did not want this to happen and, despite my commitments to family in Australia, took on the new role with the support of the u3a Committee to ‘fill in the gaps’.
Our future plans include continuing to give a warm welcome to newcomers to u3a, to encourage the start-up of new groups bringing new ideas, skills and interests to our members - and to continue to make the u3a ethos come alive in Plympton -
'Learn, Laugh and Live'
Best wishes
Lesley
Chair Plympton u3a