Our General Meetings take place at 2pm on the third Tuesday of each month (except for August) at The Bridge Church Community Hall, Evesham Road, Headless Cross, B97 4JX. The hall is situated about 25 metres up the road from the Church heading towards the Co-op at the crossroads in Headless Cross.
There is a varied programme of guest speakers covering a wide range of topics. A charge of £2.00 is made to cover the cost of the speaker, room hire and light refreshments.
Prospective members are welcome to turn up to try us out but if you let us know you intend to join a meeting, our Membership Secretary, Jill Barrett, will be pleased to look out for you. (click on her name to open up contact page)
The topics vary in subject but are always informative and enjoyable. Forthcoming talks will include: Annual General Meeting with special Music in Our Time presentation, Mary's Meals, Boudicca - The Warrior Queen, Citizens Advice Bureau and Hornsea Pottery.
Check out our exciting lineup of speakers for 2026 - click here to view.
Forthcoming events
Short reports of some of General Meeting presentations, previously published in the monthly newsletter, can be found by clicking on one of the blue buttons below.
Short reports of General Meetings held in 2026 will appear below when available.
April 2026 "West Midlands Safari Park" presented by Nicola Anslow and Morgan
I’m sure those of you who attended the General Meeting on Tuesday 21st April were thoroughly appreciative of the presentation given by Nicola Anslow, Education and Conservation Manager at West Midlands Safari Park, together with her colleague Morgan.
The talk covered zoos, starting with the first one which opened in the 13th century, called the Royal Menagerie. It was at the Tower of London and consisted of three lions, a polar bear and a cheetah! Nicola and Morgan then outlined the changes and improvements made over the centuries in zoo-keeping up to the 21st century.
The talk also covered how improving the human v. wildlife conflict for all forms of life, including plants, through their work and donations to many charities around the world, has achieved many successes in slowing down the extinction of endangered species. I have to say it was quite horrifying and inspiring at the same time!
Together with the artefacts they brought with them, which included skulls, antlers, ostrich eggs and even elephant dung, their presentation was both entertaining and informative!
The Safari Park runs a u3a Club with four morning and four afternoon sessions during the summer months and if anyone is interested in attending one of these, please watch this space, as we will provide more information as soon as we receive it.
Carol Rogers, Programme Administrator
March 2026 "The Joys and Perils of being an Author" presented by Colin Wade
The General Meeting on Tuesday, March 17th was an excellent afternoon. The level of friendly chat before the speaker was introduced reflected the warm, social nature of our group. Colin is an accomplished speaker and had his audience gripped from the start.
He spoke frankly about the challenges of finding a readership for his books, opening our eyes to the processes involved in getting a manuscript published and marketed. His message was, however, a very positive one. He started writing because he loved it and
continued, despite discovering the reality that self-publishing was the only way forward, because he had discovered his passion. He proudly displayed copies of the seven crime and murder mystery novels he has published to date and gave us advance notice of number eight: ‘Murder at the Book Club’, due out later this year.
Colin shared with us the secrets of successful crime writing and encouraged us to try writing ourselves. As Sylvia pointed out in her introduction and concluding remarks, strengths of Colin’s work ( she had ‘been doing her homework’ reading ‘Death at the Manor’) are the authentic use of police procedure - and the strong female investigator! Colin told us he had worked as a civilian in the police force for many years but encouraged us to write about whatever interested us, even our autobiography. He told us that he had not set out to write a
crime series - the seven novels published so far represent different crime/murder mystery genres - but that Sylvia would be pleased to know that the same strong, female investigator in ‘Death at the Manor’ would be returning in his latest novel. After the talk, there was a steady queue buying books and chatting to Colin. I wonder whether either of our u3a book groups will choose his new novel as a subject when it comes out - or would it be too close to home?
Sue Smith – Vice Chair
February 2026 "Lord Horatio Nelson" presented by Max Keen
Well, what can I say, what an informative and entertaining presentation by Max Keen, retired teacher, who stated his interest in history was due to reading Ladybird children’s history books in his early years. He entered the stage wearing full Admiral Uniform and took on the role brilliantly.
Although there were technical issues with the presentation itself, it did not in any way impact on the very lively and entertaining talk which included many anecdotes, debunking myths and partial striptease! It covered Horatio Nelson’s life history from childhood to his fast-track rise through the ranks in the Navy. A very comprehensive coverage of his victories and defeats, injuries and personal life including his affair with Lady Emma Hamilton. To all accounts he was a very impulsive person and this forged the way he lived his life both in his professional and personal life.
We look forward to inviting Max back next year to cover yet another historical legend.
Carol Rogers
Programme Administrator
January 2026 "Vintage Garden Tools" presented by John and Carol Matthews
John and Carol Matthews delighted us with a huge array of vintage garden tools! John was very knowledgeable and explained about all the different garden tools that were made nearly 100 years ago but are not available to buy anymore. Who knew there were so many different spades and forks and so many different tools for every job! It was also clear that the manufacture of these tools in Britain, many years ago, was far better than anything we can buy now and which probably won’t last - a sad reflection on the “throw away” society we live in now. I believe some of you bought some of the tools and I hope they will last you another 80 years!
John was very entertaining and a good speaker who baffled us with some “odd” implements which are not in use now.
Reported by Jill Barrett
