RECENT NEWS
1st Year Renewers Event
Recently an event was held
targetted at our newest members (those who joined last
year). It was an opportunity for them to provide feedback on
their first year — what was good, what was not so good. It
was also an opportunity to try to encourage them to take
part in running their u3a — to help in some small way. All
said that they had enjoyed the event and the chance to chat
to other new members. Some longer term members who were
current volunteers also attended, to explain how they helped
out and how they enjoyed supporting iU3A.
AGMs
We hold our Annual General Meetings in November. In 2022 we held it as a face to face meeting. Full information on both meetings held and information of the resolutions passed can be seen here.
u3a Week
In 2023 Islington u3a joined in the cross
London 'Table Tennis Turnout'. The invite to particpate in
this regional event was open to all London u3as. 27 members
representing 7 u3as attended the event at Bounce' in Old
Street. A mixture of doubles, singles and 'Round The World'
insured a good opportunity for all to mix and have some fun
togther to support the national u3a Week celebrations.
In 2022 the national u3a started a programme of events to celebrate its 40th birthday. One aspect was to plant trees and help the climate. iU3A has played its part by procuring a copse in this new wood in the Brecon Beacons (see our Certificate here). You can see more information regarding 'our' copse here.
Also for the 40th anniversary our Picnic in the Park event went very well with over 80 members attending on a cool June day. We needn't have worried about not having enough food, members brought great quantities and variety to share. To mark the national u3a '40th Anniversary' we had a cake to cut and the new borough mayor was there to cut it. We also then featured in the Islington Tribune.


Islington U3A supported the London Region initiative of 'Walking Around London' — over 230 miles of Capital Ring and the LOOP — our Shorter Walks and Longer Walks groups took part.
Digital Strategy
National
u3a Week
In 2021 iU3A participated in this nationwide
event to celebrate the u3a movement and
attract new members. We kicked off our activities with an
attractive stall in Chapel Market flying the banners of u3a.
It was supported by many members giving out literature to
the passing public. 15 signed up on the spot and many others
took away our literature. On the actual day of 02 June we
had a public demo from our Petanque group in Caledonian Park
and a day-long online programme of events. The programme,
again open to the public, showcased some of our Groups
(Current Affairs, Classic Films, Bird Watching) and our
Courses (past and future). We rounded off the day with an
external entertainer (telling us the tale of a gory murder
in Victorian London) and then another of Mary White's
popular quizzes.
Last Monthly Meeting
For information on our last monthly meeting and all our previous monthly meetings see here.
Shared Learning Projects — London Met
In collaboration with London Metropolitan University we are undertaking some Shared Learning Projects (SLPs). The first of these was regarding 'Hybrid Meetings' and the future shape of our Groups using online and physical blended learning techniques. The feedback from this first SLP can be seen here.
New Members' Teas
We've been running
these for a number of years now with a variety of formats.
The intention is to offer a direct welcome to new members to
iU3A and they have always proved to be a great success. The
new members appreciate the individual invite and the
opportunity to meet some new members in the same posi
tion as themselves, learn a bit more about
iU3A from the attending Executive Committee member(s),
discuss their interests and what groups they may sign up
for. Due to Covid restrictions these have had to be held
outdoors and with few people attending.
Pub Quizzes
These are becoming regular events. We held a further three in 2020 all on Zoom.
Our last physical pub quizzes was in February 2020, again in the Canonbury Tavern (just before lockdown). As always it was well supported, with 58 members buying a ticket for the event. A number of members met beforehand to eat at the Tavern and then we took up our team places upstairs.
Again we were using Jez Worsnip as our professional quizmaster for the evening. Jez designs the questions especially for iU3A and of course the judges' word is final! As always it's a great opportunity to test the grey matter and get to know other members.
Ten teams
battled it out with mixed
fortunes. The first half's
musical round had caused
some pains to most teams and
there was a clear leader. In
the second half the
favourites lost ground. The
winning team was the Steely
J’s. They got 37 points. It
was a close contest with
only seven points between
the first and last
teams:
another successful event
enjoyed by all. Thanks to
Mary W and Margaret O for
organising the event. We are
all looking forward to the
next one in the Autumn.
We've now held a few of these 'Pub' quizzes in
2020.
The first was
held online on
Zoom in May
2020. Covid-19
has caused
some of our
activities to
be cancelled,
so this was a
replacement
activity,
working much
like our
previous
'physical' pub
quizzes. It
was run by our
usual
quizmaster
Jez, in
'virtual'
teams which
communicated
with each
other through
WhatsApp,
Skype, phone
or other
means. Each
team had one
electronic
scorecard,
which was then
sent to Jez
electronically
for marking.
50 took part,
over 10 teams.
It was
different! But
it was enjoyed
by all.
Team K, which consisted of Helen Wright (quizzing from loc
kdown
in Italy),
Norman and
Jean Wilson,
Jayne Forbes
and returning
member Rob
Townsend, won
with a score
of 32 points
out of a
possible 42.
Well done to
them! And
thanks to Mary
White for
organising!
Open Days

We were due
to hold one of these again in 2020 but due to the
Covid pandemic we had to postpone this to 2021. So
it was with great joy that we were relatively back
to normal in October 2021. We had a great turnout
from current members and from members of the public
interested in finding out about Islington U3A. Our
Interest Groups were on display some showing their
'wears' or activities.
We didn't
hold one of these in 2019 but in October 2018 our
Open Day was also our fifth birthday celebration.
Again this proved very popular and enabled
non-members to meet us and find out about all the
things iU3A does. As in previous years there was an
excellent turnout with over 200 attending (151
members and 50 non-members). Out of the 50, 23
joined iU3A on the day and many others took away
forms, so we hope to hear from them again soon. The
existing members who turned up used the chance to
see what other groups were on offer and sign up to
them. Everybody also enjoyed our delicious birthday
cake and had a good natter. This year the 'star' who
cut our birthday cake was our acting Vice Chair,
Ruth Gee.

With over 60 interest groups on
display there were many great displays. Eight
potential new groups were also being
advertised to gauge interest and support.
Visible and audible displays charmed the
audience as they strolled around. All the
existing Group Coordinators and their helpers
did an excellent job of explaining what their
group did and hence encouraged many to sign
up. Hopefully this exercise also encouraged
more members to be brave enough to volunteer
to be Coordinators.
A special thanks must go to the sub-committee which organised another successful day, particularly to Sue Welsford, Diane Austin, Margaret Wearing and Isabel Dickson for coordinating the whole event. The Open Day is our major showcase for members and to the public who might be interested in joining.
Summer Parties

100
members attended our Summer Party on 20th June
2023. As this is our 10th anniversary year we
decided to do something special. We held this
event at Culpeper Community Garden which was
looking absolutely beautiful. We were
entertained by Martin Klute and his Jazz Band
with their mellow summery music and we enjoyed
delicious food and sparkling wine. We are
grateful to all who helped, especially the
Garden staff. See the photos here: Summer
Party 2023
These are a regular annual
event. We had a very enjoyable gathering in
September (2021), with nearly 100 members
present. This was the first time after the
pandemic and lockdowns that many of our
members had met physically, so it was much
appreciated. The good food and drink might
have helped as well. Thanks to Margaret O and
all helpers who made this event a great
success.

In June we held our annual
Summer Party for all members.
The venue was the Olden Gardens and it was looking its
best — particularly the
rambling rose. This tranquil haven is a glorious
backdrop for our jolly party. This year we sold 108
tickets allowing us to just about cover the costs.
The weather forecast had threatened rain — again. However, it held off, but it wasn't that warm.
The booze lasted well this year so all were happy,
in fact the challenge was getting
people to vacate the gardens
at the end when our time was up.
There was much socialising, chatting to friends and making new friendships. Thanks to Lesley Delacourt for again bringing the bubbly back from France at a very low cost allowing us all to benefit from the low ticket price.
Thanks also to Diane Austin and other volunteers for organising this event.



Group Coordinators Lunch
These are becoming more frequent. In 2020 with lockdown and other restrictions these were all held online through Zoom. In April 2019 we held the annual Group Coordinators' meeting: a good turnout, over 60% of coordinators attending. As usual there was a full agenda and plenty of healthy debate. The Chair kicked things off with a welcome and then some feedback from recent surveys and initiatives. The full presentation can be viewed here.

In January
(2019) we held a 'thankyou' lunch for all our Group
Coordinators. 45 attended, a good majority of the
total we have. They were all thanked for the efforts
they provided in running their groups. Our activity
groups make up the majority of what we offer in iU3A,
so we are highly dependent on these volunteers. Unlike
the annual Group Coordinators' Meeting this was not
about training but merely a thankyou. However it still
provided an opportunity for the Group Coordinators to
exchange ideas amongst themselves and learn about
other group activities. While the service was a bit
slow the conversation flowed.
It was also an
opportunity to put a face to a name on an email. All
seemed to enjoy the event.
A big thank you to Sue and Judith for organising the event.
Results from the recent (June 2018) Group Coordinators' survey can be read here.
iU3A Outings
Outings are organised from time to time by members to places of interest in London and the Home Counties. Destinations are varied and can always be reached by public transport, usually within the Freedom Pass Zone, but occasionally a bit further afield. If you want to arrange a visit, please contact Judith at outingscoord.iu3a@gmail.com. Forthcoming visits are advertised in the Members' Bulletin.
These have been resumed after the pandemic.
June 2023: Winchester. Winchester is a most interesting small cit
y for
a day visit. There are frequent trains and the
journey takes only an hour from Waterloo
Station. Romans lived in Venta Belgarum from
70 AD for more than three centuries, followed
many years later by Saxons later who built the
Old Minster, which then became a cathedral in
c.676. The city was revived by Alfred the
Great (c.880), and by the Norman conquest the
city’s population was 8,000. The Normans
replaced the Old Minster with the present
cathedral, but the population declined as a
result of civil wars and outbreaks of plague.
Henry VIII closed abbeys and friaries. During
the Civil War the city changed hands several
times and was not very prosperous during the
17th and 18th centuries. By 1801 the
population was fewer than 6,000. Modernisation
in the 19th century revived the city: streets
were lit, piped water installed, and the
railway reached Winchester in 1840.
(https://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/things-to-do/history-heritage).
On arrival at Winchester our group of 18 walked first to the top of the High Street, past Oram’s Arbour, the site of an iron age hill fort, now a public open space, viewing en route the plague cross — a stone table on which people from the surrounding countryside put donations of food and money (the latter in bowls of vinegar) during the many outbreaks of plague within the city walls. We carried on past Peninsula Barracks — now housing and military museums of the Gurkhas, Royal Greenjackets infantry (riflemen) and Royal Army Pay Corps — and the ruins of William the Conq
ueror’s
castle, to arrive at the Great Hall with its
historic round table (once considered to be
the original table of King Arthur and his
knights). Cressida had provided detailed notes
on the Great Hall and members took some time
to guide themselves around the building and
Queen Eleanor’s Garden.
On leaving the Hall, Judith, who had previously lived in Winchester for thirty years, led the group at a leisurely pace down through the attractive High Street, stopping to view the Hants CC offices and Hampshire Hog sculpture, the Westgate — once a debtors’ prison and now housing a small museum of Tudor and Stuart Winchester and historic weights and measures and the bronze Frink sculpture of man on horse (1983, a recasting of the sculpture on Bond Street in London). We passed the former wool processing area of Staple Gardens and Jewry Street, the Jewish Quarter, memorable mainly for the 13th Century benefactor, Licoricia of Winchester, who was also a money lender to royalty and nobility. Licoricia’s story has recently been revived and a statue of her erected outside the city library. Judith explained that the barracks area extended as far as Southgate Street and the former barracks church is now a Picturehouse cinema. Below Southgate Street and Jewry Street the High Street becomes a pedestrianised area. In this lower section of the High Street, Judith pointed out the former office of the Hampshire Chronicle founded in 1772, now a restaurant, a prominent clock jutting out from the bank building that was once the Guildhall. (The current Gothic-style Guildhall building, with more rooms and offices serving many local government functions was built in the 1870s.) We then came to a cluster of Tudor buildings, including the Royal Oak pub, which claims to be the old
est pub in England and 'God
Begot House', a restored 16th C house. Lower
down the High Street stands the 15th Century
Buttercross, gifted to the citizens by the
Bishop of Winchester, a favourite meeting
place, particularly in the punk era. From here
we walked through the narrow passage linking
the High Street to The Square, past St
Lawrence Church, the smallest church in the
city, and past the City Museum and the
historic Old Vyne pub to arrive at the
Cathedral Close. Judith recalled that the
avenue of lime trees leading to the cathedral
was destroyed in the great storm of 1987.
Rather controversially, a new avenue was
planted a couple of years later and this now
stands tall and makes an impressive approach
to the cathedral entrance.
We stopped for lunch at the Cathedral Cafe, (https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/welcome/cafe). After lunch, members had two choices for visiting the cathedral (https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk), either an official guided tour or a 1-hour self-guided visit followed by an exploration, with Judith, of several places of interest behind the cathedral close, including the flying buttresses, Dean Garnier’s Garden, the magnificent half-timbered Cheyney Court, formerly the Bishop’s Courthouse, Pilgrims – the cathedral choir school, the 14th Century Pilgrims’ Hall and the second remaining city gate, with the charming little church of St-Swithun-upon-Kingsgate above it. The afternoon tour co
ntinued
along College Walk, passing the Wykeham Arms,
the Winchester College shop and P and G Wells
bookshop, 8 College Street, where Jane Austen
died in 1817. We stopped briefly at Winchester
College, founded by William of Wykeham in
1382, and The Bishop’s Palace and Wolvesey
Castle (the former residence of Bishops of
Winchester). Several members dropped off the
main group in this area to pursue their own
interests, but the remaining few carried on to
the River Itchen, where we admired the clear
waters, the Weirs and the tiny section of
remains of the original Roman Wall. We finally
stopped at the medieval Watermill (a National
Trust monument) for a break and a welcome cup
of tea. We finished our walk at the Abbey
Gardens, near the Guildhall and the well-known
King Alfred’s Statue before boarding a bus to
the station and then the train back to London.

May 2022 — St Albans: 17 m
embers
travelled
from St
Pancras Station to St Albans. Most of the
group walked through the town, and through the
rain, to the cathedral, taking in the sights
of the City Centre, including the City Museum,
the weekly market and the Old Courthouse en
route. A few decided to take a taxi to
conserve their energy. We all met up in the
cathedral cafe for a coffee before joining our
pre-booked guided Cathedral tour at 12 noon.
Our guide was excellent: he told us the
history of the building, including many
interesting anecdotes, and pointed out its
main architectural features.
The cathedral stands on the site of the tomb of St Alban, who was martyred in about 300 AD. A series of churches were built to house the shrine and the building of the cathedral itself was started in 1077 by the Normans. St Albans became an important abbey and centre of pilgrimage until it was dissolved soon after 1534. By the 19th century the building was in a poor state and extensive changes were made to the fabric of the abbey, including the installation of stained-glass windows. There are some interesting modern touches as well, such as statues of recent saints of various Christian denominations. St Albans is the only ecumenical cathedral in the United Kingdom. We viewed architectural details of all these many
phases, including the shrine to St. Alban and
the shrine to Amphibolus, a priest he
sheltered and then saved from execution as a
Christian by the Romans by exchanging cloaks
with him.
During recent restoration work an ad
ditional
carving was added to Amphibolus’s shrine to
commemorate the pandemic.
After a lunch break group members had a choice of activity; a few decided to explore St Albans on their own but the majority opted to walk through Verulamium Park, below the Cathedral, where only a few remains are visible above ground but there are intriguing humps indicating the site of the Roman city. Verulamium was one of the largest cities in Roman Britain, built in a valley which was the site of a tribal centre and occupied by Romano-British citizens from c.50 AD to 450-500 AD.
Our
destination was the Verulamium Museum of
everyday life in Roman Britain, which has many
artefacts as well as very fine mosaics
excavated from the site by Mortimer
Wheeler.
Afterwards, one or two visited the nearby Anglo-Saxon Church of St Michael built on the site of a Roman basilica, but the heavy rain deterred us from venturing to the Roman Theatre of Verulamium, built in about 140 AD. It is the only example of Britain of a theatre with a stage rather than an amphitheatre.
We returned to the station for the train back to St Pancras in our own time. Many managed the slog back up to the top of the town through the rain, although a few decided to call a taxi.
2021 Audley Village: a new block of retirement flats overlooking Clapham Common was the destination for 13 members on 16 November. The Audley "village" has 94 one to three bedroom apartments as well as a pool, cinema, restaurant, health club and in-house care team. There was a warm welcome with tea and cake and no hard sell. One member was impressed with the transparency and willingness to answer questions and came away “longing to move in tomorrow”. The Audley model operates in some 20 locations outside London, and the price of flats varies accordingly.
December
2019 — Bath Christmas
Market: on a sunny Monday morning in early December,
nineteen members of iU3A set off from Paddington for a day
out at the Bath Christmas market. It turned out that much
was on offer in addition to opportunities for Christmas
present buying, and food and mulled wine tasting at the 100+
pop up chalets in the centre of town. Some of the more hardy
set off for a walking tour taking in the Holbourne museum
(Raphael and Matisse exhibitions currently),
the Royal
Crescent, a quick look at the outdoor ice rink, frequent
reminders of Jane Austen and Persuasion, all of course in
the setting of the stunning honey-coloured sandstone of the
Georgian architecture. Others looked round the Abbey and
then the Roman Baths for what turned out to be a highly
recommended, fun guided tour. In the late afternoon as the
Christmas lights were at their best we all met up for a
delicious supper before a dash to the station for the
journey home. (Lisa Crispin and David McPhail)
To see more of our previous events and outings follow the links below:
For 2019-20 look here.
For 2016-18 look here.
Theatre Visits
Archive
To see more of our previous events and outings follow the links below:
For 2019-20 look here.
For 2016-18 look here.
Or you might want to read about 'Our iU3A Story' which maps our development over the years: Our Story.

AGMs
We hold our Annual General Meetings in November. In 2022 we held it as a face to face meeting. Full information on both meetings held and information of the resolutions passed can be seen here.
u3a Week

In 2022 the national u3a started a programme of events to celebrate its 40th birthday. One aspect was to plant trees and help the climate. iU3A has played its part by procuring a copse in this new wood in the Brecon Beacons (see our Certificate here). You can see more information regarding 'our' copse here.
Also for the 40th anniversary our Picnic in the Park event went very well with over 80 members attending on a cool June day. We needn't have worried about not having enough food, members brought great quantities and variety to share. To mark the national u3a '40th Anniversary' we had a cake to cut and the new borough mayor was there to cut it. We also then featured in the Islington Tribune.


Islington U3A supported the London Region initiative of 'Walking Around London' — over 230 miles of Capital Ring and the LOOP — our Shorter Walks and Longer Walks groups took part.
Digital Strategy
The
u3a movement
is creating a
'Digital
Strategy'.
This is to
support
delivery of
its overall
five year
strategic
plan. The
Digital
Strategy will
define how we
help the u3a
Movement (the
u3a Office,
Networks,
Regions and
local u3a) in
embracing more
digital
methods. More
information is
available
here: Digital Strategy
In 2021 iU3A participated in this nationwide

Last Monthly Meeting
For information on our last monthly meeting and all our previous monthly meetings see here.
Shared Learning Projects — London Met
In collaboration with London Metropolitan University we are undertaking some Shared Learning Projects (SLPs). The first of these was regarding 'Hybrid Meetings' and the future shape of our Groups using online and physical blended learning techniques. The feedback from this first SLP can be seen here.
New Members' Teas


Pub Quizzes
These are becoming regular events. We held a further three in 2020 all on Zoom.
Our last physical pub quizzes was in February 2020, again in the Canonbury Tavern (just before lockdown). As always it was well supported, with 58 members buying a ticket for the event. A number of members met beforehand to eat at the Tavern and then we took up our team places upstairs.
Again we were using Jez Worsnip as our professional quizmaster for the evening. Jez designs the questions especially for iU3A and of course the judges' word is final! As always it's a great opportunity to test the grey matter and get to know other members.

We've now held a few of these 'Pub' quizzes in

Team K, which consisted of Helen Wright (quizzing from loc

Open Days





A special thanks must go to the sub-committee which organised another successful day, particularly to Sue Welsford, Diane Austin, Margaret Wearing and Isabel Dickson for coordinating the whole event. The Open Day is our major showcase for members and to the public who might be interested in joining.
Summer Parties





The weather forecast had threatened rain — again. However, it held off, but it wasn't that warm.
The booze lasted well this year so all were happy,

There was much socialising, chatting to friends and making new friendships. Thanks to Lesley Delacourt for again bringing the bubbly back from France at a very low cost allowing us all to benefit from the low ticket price.
Thanks also to Diane Austin and other volunteers for organising this event.



Group Coordinators Lunch
These are becoming more frequent. In 2020 with lockdown and other restrictions these were all held online through Zoom. In April 2019 we held the annual Group Coordinators' meeting: a good turnout, over 60% of coordinators attending. As usual there was a full agenda and plenty of healthy debate. The Chair kicked things off with a welcome and then some feedback from recent surveys and initiatives. The full presentation can be viewed here.



A big thank you to Sue and Judith for organising the event.
Results from the recent (June 2018) Group Coordinators' survey can be read here.
iU3A Outings
Outings are organised from time to time by members to places of interest in London and the Home Counties. Destinations are varied and can always be reached by public transport, usually within the Freedom Pass Zone, but occasionally a bit further afield. If you want to arrange a visit, please contact Judith at outingscoord.iu3a@gmail.com. Forthcoming visits are advertised in the Members' Bulletin.
These have been resumed after the pandemic.
June 2023: Winchester. Winchester is a most interesting small cit

(https://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/things-to-do/history-heritage).
On arrival at Winchester our group of 18 walked first to the top of the High Street, past Oram’s Arbour, the site of an iron age hill fort, now a public open space, viewing en route the plague cross — a stone table on which people from the surrounding countryside put donations of food and money (the latter in bowls of vinegar) during the many outbreaks of plague within the city walls. We carried on past Peninsula Barracks — now housing and military museums of the Gurkhas, Royal Greenjackets infantry (riflemen) and Royal Army Pay Corps — and the ruins of William the Conq

On leaving the Hall, Judith, who had previously lived in Winchester for thirty years, led the group at a leisurely pace down through the attractive High Street, stopping to view the Hants CC offices and Hampshire Hog sculpture, the Westgate — once a debtors’ prison and now housing a small museum of Tudor and Stuart Winchester and historic weights and measures and the bronze Frink sculpture of man on horse (1983, a recasting of the sculpture on Bond Street in London). We passed the former wool processing area of Staple Gardens and Jewry Street, the Jewish Quarter, memorable mainly for the 13th Century benefactor, Licoricia of Winchester, who was also a money lender to royalty and nobility. Licoricia’s story has recently been revived and a statue of her erected outside the city library. Judith explained that the barracks area extended as far as Southgate Street and the former barracks church is now a Picturehouse cinema. Below Southgate Street and Jewry Street the High Street becomes a pedestrianised area. In this lower section of the High Street, Judith pointed out the former office of the Hampshire Chronicle founded in 1772, now a restaurant, a prominent clock jutting out from the bank building that was once the Guildhall. (The current Gothic-style Guildhall building, with more rooms and offices serving many local government functions was built in the 1870s.) We then came to a cluster of Tudor buildings, including the Royal Oak pub, which claims to be the old


We stopped for lunch at the Cathedral Cafe, (https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/welcome/cafe). After lunch, members had two choices for visiting the cathedral (https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk), either an official guided tour or a 1-hour self-guided visit followed by an exploration, with Judith, of several places of interest behind the cathedral close, including the flying buttresses, Dean Garnier’s Garden, the magnificent half-timbered Cheyney Court, formerly the Bishop’s Courthouse, Pilgrims – the cathedral choir school, the 14th Century Pilgrims’ Hall and the second remaining city gate, with the charming little church of St-Swithun-upon-Kingsgate above it. The afternoon tour co



May 2022 — St Albans: 17 m


The cathedral stands on the site of the tomb of St Alban, who was martyred in about 300 AD. A series of churches were built to house the shrine and the building of the cathedral itself was started in 1077 by the Normans. St Albans became an important abbey and centre of pilgrimage until it was dissolved soon after 1534. By the 19th century the building was in a poor state and extensive changes were made to the fabric of the abbey, including the installation of stained-glass windows. There are some interesting modern touches as well, such as statues of recent saints of various Christian denominations. St Albans is the only ecumenical cathedral in the United Kingdom. We viewed architectural details of all these many

During recent restoration work an ad

After a lunch break group members had a choice of activity; a few decided to explore St Albans on their own but the majority opted to walk through Verulamium Park, below the Cathedral, where only a few remains are visible above ground but there are intriguing humps indicating the site of the Roman city. Verulamium was one of the largest cities in Roman Britain, built in a valley which was the site of a tribal centre and occupied by Romano-British citizens from c.50 AD to 450-500 AD.

Afterwards, one or two visited the nearby Anglo-Saxon Church of St Michael built on the site of a Roman basilica, but the heavy rain deterred us from venturing to the Roman Theatre of Verulamium, built in about 140 AD. It is the only example of Britain of a theatre with a stage rather than an amphitheatre.
We returned to the station for the train back to St Pancras in our own time. Many managed the slog back up to the top of the town through the rain, although a few decided to call a taxi.
2021 Audley Village: a new block of retirement flats overlooking Clapham Common was the destination for 13 members on 16 November. The Audley "village" has 94 one to three bedroom apartments as well as a pool, cinema, restaurant, health club and in-house care team. There was a warm welcome with tea and cake and no hard sell. One member was impressed with the transparency and willingness to answer questions and came away “longing to move in tomorrow”. The Audley model operates in some 20 locations outside London, and the price of flats varies accordingly.



To see more of our previous events and outings follow the links below:
For 2019-20 look here.
For 2016-18 look here.
Theatre Visits
We hold these at least once a year. These
are in addition to our two Theatre Groups that we have
(for more information see the Groups
page. Thanks are due to Sue Welsford for organising these
events.
Clues Trails
We are pleased to
be able to announce the restarting of these after
lockdown. This one in October 2020 was in the
King's Cross area (one of the benefits of London still
being quiet is that we can hold these midweek). Three
teams battled it out around a mixed area —
starting in the redeveloped Granary Square but then
through the refurbished gasometers, across to the old St
Pancras Gardens where so many famous dissenters are
buried. Then we completed the circle through King's Cross
and St Pancras stations before returning to Coal Drop
Yard. The scores were very
close:
68-67-67.
Thanks again
to Elizabeth
Mansbridge for
organising
another of
these
successful
events. The
trail can be
read here. Try it out yourself!

In
2019 we held two of these popular
events. The first was held in June and was in
the Hoxton/Shoreditch area with a street art
theme. We gathered at the beginning point for
food and drinks, then six teams
of four or five set off from Great Eastern
Street in a radial direction on the circular
three-mile route. Teams used their observation
skills to follow directions, use the clues
provided to spot features (often street art)
and also to spot the location of provided
images. All teams avoided the late-back time
penalty and final scores were close. However
there was a clear winning team. While the pub
made it awkward for us, all had a great time.
You can do this trail by yourself at your own
time. The trail can be read here.
The second was held in August and was around the Tower of London area. While quite a tourist hot spot, even on a Sunday morning, there were amazing quiet hidden pockets that were a delight for the four teams that puzzled their way around the course. We were lucky with the weather and had just enough sun to make it a pleasant stroll round this just under three mile course. However, there wasn't too much time to dawdle as there was a time penalty if you were late back. As always, it was the round of photo images that provided the difference between the first and last teams. Thanks go to Elizabeth Mansbridge for organising another great event (and to Isabel for doing the tickets and team selections).
In 2018 we held two of
these popular events. The first of these was held in
June and the second in September. For the June one a
warm Sunday meant a very pleasant event with three
teams this time (numbers a bit down from the last
one). This one was based again around the city and
followed byways and alleys that most people didn't
even know existed. Great views over the river at one
point. Most teams got the majority of the clues and
got back to the starting & finishing point pub
in good time. However the photo images were the
differentiating aspect. No team spotted all the
images during their route but the 'Poached Eggheads'
saw the most and hence were the winning team.
The September one (arranged by Elizabeth Mansbridge) saw us in a new area for this Clues Trail — Canary Wharf. While the image might be of tall skyscrapers and not much else, we discovered an amazing collection of street art, historic corners, and interesting architectural features. Numbers attending were a bit disappointing considering the effort put in to organise these events. But maybe a Friday just coincides with too many other iU3A activities.
In 2017 — in August on the day 22 members turned up to form five teams, then followed the trail to seek out the clues. Additional points were awarded for spotting the location of some photographic images during the trail and a special round at the end back at the pub tested teams' knowledge of the London Guilds. Again everyone thoroughly enjoyed the event. Thanks to Elizabeth Mansbridge for organising this one — and we all look forward to the next one.
Clues Trails



The second was held in August and was around the Tower of London area. While quite a tourist hot spot, even on a Sunday morning, there were amazing quiet hidden pockets that were a delight for the four teams that puzzled their way around the course. We were lucky with the weather and had just enough sun to make it a pleasant stroll round this just under three mile course. However, there wasn't too much time to dawdle as there was a time penalty if you were late back. As always, it was the round of photo images that provided the difference between the first and last teams. Thanks go to Elizabeth Mansbridge for organising another great event (and to Isabel for doing the tickets and team selections).

The September one (arranged by Elizabeth Mansbridge) saw us in a new area for this Clues Trail — Canary Wharf. While the image might be of tall skyscrapers and not much else, we discovered an amazing collection of street art, historic corners, and interesting architectural features. Numbers attending were a bit disappointing considering the effort put in to organise these events. But maybe a Friday just coincides with too many other iU3A activities.
In 2017 — in August on the day 22 members turned up to form five teams, then followed the trail to seek out the clues. Additional points were awarded for spotting the location of some photographic images during the trail and a special round at the end back at the pub tested teams' knowledge of the London Guilds. Again everyone thoroughly enjoyed the event. Thanks to Elizabeth Mansbridge for organising this one — and we all look forward to the next one.
Archive
To see more of our previous events and outings follow the links below:
For 2019-20 look here.
For 2016-18 look here.
Or you might want to read about 'Our iU3A Story' which maps our development over the years: Our Story.
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