Welcome! The U3AC Bulletin is emailed out to members every Wednesday. It contains the latest news, courses and events.
As advised to all members last Thursday the premises will remain closed due to small traces of legionella bacteria found in a routine testing. This is precautionary and we hope to reopen Monday 28 October. Until then courses held in the Bridge Street premises including Hybrid courses will not take place, unless your tutor has communicated otherwise to you. Zoom only courses and those held elsewhere will continue as usual.
We will contact everyone with an update at the end of this week.
Today’s Wednesday Lecture at 2.15 pm entitled MAiD-The Journey So Far – The Road Ahead by Dr Jean Marmoreo.
Please note: This is a Zoom only talk, so is not affected by the building closure. However, the Pink room is not available to view in person.
Tuesday 29 October at 1 pm – There will be no Film screening due to the CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL
Tuesday 30 October at 4.30 pm – Norah Boyce Science Lecture – Scientists and politicians, why are they incompatible? by Professor Herbert Huppert. This will take place at the United Reformed Church, Downing Place. (Doors open at 4.15 pm), there is no Zoom option. All welcome, there is no need to book for this event.
Wednesday 30 October at 2.15 pm Wednesday Lecture will be Trailblazer: the extraordinary life and work of Barbara Leith Smith Bodichon by Jane Robinson. Booking is now open to attend in person in the Pink room – please contact the Office.
The lift has now been fixed and will be working when we re-open.
We regret that the first ‘Chat with the Chair’ which was to be held today, cannot now take place due to the premises closure. The first one will now take place on Monday 18 November 2-4 pm in the Social area on the 2nd floor of the U3AC premises.
We have been made aware that several members with Gmail accounts did not receive our email last week about the closure. We believe this is due to their spam filters which block large numbers of email sent as ‘blind copies’. We are looking at alternative methods of sending the next notification in the hope that everyone receives it.
CCSO will be giving its next concert in West Road on Saturday 30 November at 7.30 pm. You can support U3AC by buying your ticket through us as 50% of the ticket revenue will come to us. Cost £20, £10 (students), £6 (under 14).
The orchestra will be playing 3 pieces: Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Prokofiev’s Symphony no.7.
George Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris’ is a cheerful and humorous overture portraying the impressions of an American visitor strolling about the city. The hustle and bustle of continental street life (complete with real taxi horns!) blends with nostalgic elements of jazz and blues in this entertaining cameo.
Erich Korngold emigrated from Austria to the USA during the 1930s, establishing himself as a film composer who brought symphonic techniques to the studio. By 1947, the year of his violin concerto, he was doing the reverse: his violin concerto is built on themes from his film music and is full of soaring melodies and rich harmony.
Prokofiev who, like Korngold, was also an accomplished composer for stage and film, composed seven symphonies over the course of his far from easy career. The seventh symphony was completed in 1952, the year before he died, in an attempt to improve his finances by winning the Stalin prize. Prokofiev originally ended the symphony on a sad note but was persuaded to add a more cheerful coda to impress the judges. How the symphony (and the concert) will end at CCSO’s performance in November will be up to the audience to decide; you can be part of that decision.
To buy tickets for the concert, go to the CCSO website https://ccso-online.org . There is a link on the home page to BUY TICKETS. When you get to the check out, there is an option to enter a discount code, where you should enter the code CHARITY. Please do remember to enter this code, as doing so means U3AC will benefit financially from your attending the concert.
The contribution that our members make by volunteering is crucial to the ongoing success of U3AC – it is highly valued and there is no doubt that we could not manage without you.
Members who volunteer say they have found it enjoyable and fulfilling, it is also part of the ethos of the U3AC, as a member organisation.
Please come along to our Volunteers’ Day in the U3AC premises on Wednesday 6 November between 11 am and 2 pm and find out about all current volunteering opportunities.
Do you have a recent background in communications, PR, marketing, events or advertising?
We are looking to create a team of members who are willing and able to represent U3AC at various local events and networking opportunities. This would be a voluntary role that may require some travel within the city. For instance, we missed the opportunity to represent U3AC at this year’s Seniors’ Fair at the Abbey Football Stadium, as we didn’t have a team to staff an exhibition stand, put up a banner, hand out flyers and talk to attendees about U3AC.
Being a U3AC Champion requires a good understanding of the organisation, what we offer, how membership works and a keenness to share the benefits of being a member (e.g. staying physically and mentally active, learning new things and making new friends).
You would be provided with an in-depth brief before starting to represent U3AC at events.
If you’ve got a relevant background in communications, PR, marketing, events or advertising and the time and willingness to promote U3AC when opportunities arise, please contact the Office.
The closing date for finding our U3AC Champions is 1 November.
If you are unable to attend one of your allocated courses, please let us know so that the place can be offered to someone on the waiting list. Thank you.
Climate Change Adaptation
Speaker: Nigel Blackmore
Date and time: Friday 8 November, 12.00 – 1.15pm
Venue: U3AC, Pink room
Places:30
Climate change is inevitable and worsening. It will, in the near future, have a devastating impact on all aspects of human lives, especially food production. We, and our government, must prepare now how to live in a new, frighteningly different world. This talk explains the problems, with evidence, and proposes solutions.
Nigel Blackmore, now retired was a civil servant, Budget Manger for the £1 billion Standards Fund at the Department of Education.
Our Changing Water Environment – Challenges and Opportunities
Date and time: Friday 15 November, 10:30 -13:00
Venue: Main Seminar Room, Cambridge Conservation Initiative, David Attenborough Building
Location: Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ
Speakers include: Chris Gerrard, Anglian Water, Andy Turner, Environment Agency, Matthew Bullock, FenlandSOIL, Rachael Brown, CambsACRE
Places: 60
Water is fundamental to our health. Globally, access to water is being affected by climate change, and in Cambridgeshire, a high growth area, the added demands to build additional houses is placing more and more stress on our water infrastructure. Our challenges include water quality, flooding and water resource management. These challenges are affecting our chalk streams, agriculture and the future of farming. Our speakers will cover how these environmental considerations are impacting our water resources and their management and how some of these issues are beginning to be addressed. There will be an opportunity for questions, discussion; and identifying personal actions we can all do to help. The event is open to members of the U3AC and CCF. With thanks to the Cambridge Conservation Initiative for kindly allowing us to host this event at the David Attenborough Building. Please contact the Office to book a place – the deadline for applications is Wednesday 13 November.
Cases of Covid and colds are again rising and as U3AC members are a high-risk demographic group we politely request you to consider your fellow U3AC members and if you feel unwell, particularly if you have a temperature and display symptoms of a respiratory infection, please do not attend your courses or enter the Bridge Street premises or any of our external venues used for courses and activities.
If you are interested in applying for additional courses, there is a Vacancy list on the website showing all courses with current spaces; this is regularly updated.
A visit to Spencer House and Tate Britain has been arranged on Monday 25 November 2024. Cost £45.50. Application forms are now available from on the Trips and Visits page of the website or to collect from the U3AC premises. Closing date for applications is Monday 11 November.
As mentioned by the Chair in the August Newsletter, the U3AC member pin badges are now available to purchase from the reception desk at a cost of £1 (cash only please).
Several tutors have advised us that members have not been receiving their emails and when the member has checked they have found them in their spam or junk folder. It is a good idea to check these folders regularly so that you don’t miss any important information.
U3AC supports other local organisations by listing their activities on the Other organisations page of our website https://www.u3ac.org.uk/news/other-organisations/