General Meetings
General meetings of Haddenham u3a usually have a guest speaker and are held on the second Tuesday of the month. Members arrive from 2.15 for a 2.30 start. Meetings usually last for an hour and a half, including time to socialise over a cup of tea.
Guest speakers cover a wide variety of topics of general interest to enable an increased awareness of our locality and our world, embracing history, travel, nature, science and culture, with a balanced programme to meet u3a aims.
We hope you will enjoy our meetings, learn something new, get to know other members, and occasionally volunteer to help out.
Venue
The normal monthly meetings take place at:
Haddenham Village Hall
Banks Park,
Banks Rd,
Haddenham
HP17 8EE
There is parking at the venue.
Costs
General meetings are free to members of Haddenham u3a.
Joining the Meetings
The General Meetings are open to all members of Haddenham u3a.
Angela Hart, on behalf of the u3a Committee, organises the speaker programme. If you have any suggestions of good speakers who would be suitable for the u3a General Meetings, please contact Angela on 01844 292070 or speakers@haddenhamu3a.co.uk
The committee organises the rota of volunteers for the preparation of the venue.
SPEAKER INFORMATION – u3a PROGRAMME 2025
Date: Tuesday 10th February 2026
Speaker: Katrina van Grouw
Talk: Art, Science and the Unfeathered Bird
When Charles Darwin contemplated how best to introduce his controversial new theory of evolution to the general public, he chose to compare it with the selective breeding of domesticated animals. In her book, Unnatural Selection, marking the 150th anniversary year of Darwin’s great work on domesticated animals Variation under Domestication, author and illustrator Katrina van Grouw explains why this analogy was more appropriate than even Darwin had realised.
Katrina is a science author, illustrator and fine artist, best known for her illustrated natural science books The Unfeathered Bird and Unnatural Selection. She has degrees in Fine Art and Natural History Illustration. She is a self-taught ornithologist with an interest in comparative anatomy, evolution, and the history of the natural
She gained a BA in Fine Art, specialising in printmaking, from the University of Plymouth in 1990, and an MA in Natural History Illustration from the Royal College of Art in 1992 with a research thesis on bird anatomy.
She was an elected member of the Society of Wildlife Artists, held numerous open and solo exhibitions, and won several awards including the Birdwatch Artist of the Year Award in 1997 and 1998, the Wildlife Art Gallery Award in 1993 and 1996, and the PJC Drawing Award in 2014.
Fine Art was put aside during the final push to write and illustrate The Unfeathered Bird, and after its completion Katrina found that producing illustrated books now “ticked all creative and intellectual boxes”.
Date: Tuesday 10th March 2026
Speaker: Jon Woodhouse
Talk: The Saxophone and my life as an Army Musician
Jon started playing the Clarinet from the age of fourteen, and quickly demonstrated an aptitude for music, joining the Army as a Musician at the age of sixteen. Jon served in Her Majesty’s Lifeguards Band for 25 years. During his time with the Lifeguards, Jon has enjoyed a long and varied musical career in the band playing Clarinet (even on the back of a horse!), Bass Clarinet, and Saxophone at many high-profile events. He has also participated in concert tours across Europe, America and Japan.
In 1999 Jon retired from the Army, and is now semi-retired, but still teaches, and can be seen playing in various local bands. Outside of music, Jon enjoys swimming, gardening and travelling the world!
Jon`s Talk will include a little background information about the Saxophone, and of course the experiences, and the people he met during his long career. He will also bring with him various Instruments, and demonstrate them for you.
Date: Tuesday 14th April 2026
Speaker: Alison Bailey
Subject: MODERNISM IN METROLAND
Metro-Land architecture was typically conservative rather than revolutionary with a strong leaning to so called “Tudorbethan” styling for housing and shops. Towns such as Harrow, Pinner and Wembley are all Metroland developments though now greatly expanded.
An exception is “High and Over” a Grade II* modernist building in Amersham, it was started in 1929 and completed in 1931 by Amyas D Connell (1901-1980) for Bernard Ashmole (1898-1988).
Marketing went into full gear with annual Metro-land magazines, promoting an idyllic country lifestyle with beautiful homes within easy reach of London. From the end of World War One through to the 1920s, Metroland boomed, as London’s new middle class taking advantage of affordable mortgages fell for the companies advertising. The “Live in Metro-land” slogan was even engraved on the carriage door plates!
Alison comes from the Amersham Museum and is one of their experienced presenters on historical aspects of the town.
Date: Tuesday 12th May 2026
Talk: A day in the life of a Metropolitan Police Crime Scene Investigator.
Speaker: Hayley Scott
ALSO AGM AT 2.15PM
The television abounds with dramas involving ‘Crime Scene Investigations’. Have you ever wondered about what this role actually entails ?
This is your opportunity to hear all about the life of a real ‘Crime Scene Investigator’ when Hayley Scott shares her experiences working for the Metropolitan Police for 14 years as a CSI.
Discover what actually happens behind the crime scene tape and learn about the science involved as Hayley tells us about forensics, DNA and fingerprints. For example, just one tiny piece of toilet paper can expose an arsonist in Heathrow airport. She will help us understand how important preparatory work is at a crime scene and how much documentation and recording is involved.
At the end, there will be an opportunity at the end to ask questions which Hayley will be delighted to answer.
Date: Tuesday 9th June 2026
Talk: Good News Bad News
Speaker: Bill Hamilton
Including 25th Anniversary Celebrations
Bill Hamilton, who hails from Dundee, has enjoyed a 60 year career as a journalist and broadcaster. He started from very humble beginnings as a junior reporter on the Fife Herald before later becoming presenter of BBC Scotland’s flagship news programme, Reporting Scotland.
Bill’s talk covers aspects of his work in broadcasting, both at home and abroad over a long period of time.
He moved to London in 1979 and served successively as Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Special Correspondent with BBC Television News.
His role took him to some of the worst trouble spots at home and abroad – from arctic winter in Scotland (where he took part in the extraordinary rescue of snowbound train passengers) to inner-city riots in Brixton and Toxteth, and from IRA bombs in Brighton and London to a tragic war in Lebanon, the terrible consequences of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the Soviet Union’s nuclear testing programme in Kazakhstan and the plight of dying and neglected children in Stalinist Albania.
It was his exclusive reports from Albania that sparked a huge international aid effort –involving among others, Norman Wisdom (Albania’s favourite comedian) and the Duchess of York – and won him the Order of Mother Teresa, the country’s highest civilian award. He was also honoured by The Royal Television Society and Rotary International.
A Paul Harris Fellow, Bill is the author of three books, I belong to Glasgow, Albania Who Cares? and his recently published autobiography, Man on the Spot. Bill is also a football referee. Having begun as the youngest in Scotland at age 14, he is now officiating in his 66th season, having refereed over 2,000 matches.
Date: Tuesday 14th July 2026
Talk: Don’t Get Tricked! How to Avoid
FRAUD & SCAMS and Safeguard
Your Home & Car
Speaker: Ian Davidson
Cybercrime is now the biggest threat in the UK, with new scams emerging every single day – each one designed to deceive us and steal our hard-earned money. The impact of falling victim to fraud is not just financial; it can be emotionally devastating, causing immense stress and anxiety. That is why Ian is passionate about helping people stay informed and protected.
In this talk, Ian shares real-life stories that highlight just how easy it is for anyone to be caught out. More importantly, he provides practical advice on recognising and avoiding scams before they happen, empowering you to stay one step ahead.
But it is not just our finances at risk—our homes can also be targets for criminals. Ian will discuss simple yet highly effective ways to enhance home security, many of which are easier to implement than you might think.
This presentation is not just informative – it is a wake-up call. Packed with real-world insights, expert advice, and actionable steps, it empowers you to protect yourself, your business, and your loved ones from the ever-growing threat of cybercrime. This presentation will leave you more aware, more prepared, and far less likely to fall
With a distinguished career presenting for The Bank of England spanning nearly 40 years, Ian has honed the art of delivering impactful messages that engage, educate, and inspire, sharpening his ability to communicate complex topics with clarity and authority.
Date: Tuesday 11th August 2026
Talk: Mysteries and Conundrums
Speaker: Andy Smith
Has science and technology got it all worked out, or are there aspects of our human existence, environment and experience about which boffins and psychologists are still pretty clueless?
Why do some beetles have an integral satnav system? Why do we fall in love … and then out of it again? Could you be swallowed by a whale and survive?
Andy Smith offers a tentative response to such questions in this poetic presentation – and comes to very few definite conclusions.
Andy is a performance poet, entertainer, author and former business communicator who has two artificial limbs, a wonderful wife, three fine children, a whippet called Tamba and a tabby called Toby. (And he had two feisty chickens until Basil Brush made their acquaintance). Andy also encourages, supports and motivates the disabled and victims of trauma at home and abroad.
He engages live and digital audiences with stimulating poetry and related commentary … interspersed with history, humour and the occasional thought-provoking insight.
Date: Tuesday 8th September 2026
Talk: A Collection of Countries We can’t Tell Apart
Speaker: Andrew Baker
This is how Scandinavia and the Nordic countries have been described. Is that true? What are the distinctive characteristics of and contrasts between, these countries? Are they saying something to us? Ought we to listen?
Andrew Baker taught in Grammar Schools for over 40 years and is the author of a best-selling book on Contemporary British Politics. Drawing on his experience of over 22 years as Headmaster of Westcliff High School for Boys, he recently published a further volume on Education and the Pursuit of Values: A Headmaster’s Reflections. He now works as a freelance lecturer.
Date; Tuesday 13th October 2026
Speaker: Timothy Walker
Talk: FROM DIAZ TO DIAMONDS –
Plants and places in Southwestern South Africa
The Western Cape region of South Africa is one of the most botanically diverse areas of the World. This talk takes a route from the southernmost tip of Africa to the border with Namibia looking at the plants and the ethnobotany of one of the most fascinating countries in the World.
Timothy was born and brought up in South Buckinghamshire, reading Botany at University College Oxford. After graduation, he worked for two years as a trainee at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, then took a National Certificate in Horticulture at Askham Bryan College York. This was followed by a one-year traineeship at the Savill Garden Windsor, and 15-months as a diploma student at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. In 1995 he was awarded a Master of Horticulture by the Royal Horticultural Society of London.
From January 1986 to July 2014 Timothy worked at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden & Harcourt Arboretum, firstly as General Foreman, then as Horti Praefectus (from 1988) and finally as Director (from 2002). Between 1992 & 2000 the OBGHA won 4 gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show London. In 2009 the Botanic Garden was one of seven Oxford collections to be awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for providing imaginative educational programmes for adults, students, children and the general public, thereby breathing new life into education for people of all ages and enriching their lives
Date: Tuesday 10th November 2026
Speaker: Phil Holt
Talk: Keep Calm I’m an Air Traffic Controller
To the casual observer, looking up on a summer’s day, you see the white contrails and perhaps the inkling that there is a pattern to it. Who controls it? What are the systems and procedures? How will they keep on sharing out the airspace in “The Crowded Sky”?
Phil has been an Air Traffic Controller for over 30 years “and I’ll keep at it until I get it right” he quip’s. A humorous yet factual talk on air traffic control will fascinate you, so, standby for take off!
Philip Holt began his career in 1972, since when he has given over five hundred presentations to audiences, formal and informal, male, female or mixed audiences. He joined National Air Traffic Services (NATS) in 1972 as an Air Traffic Controller, a career spanning almost 40 years serving at seven locations, including London Heathrow, the busiest airport in the world.
He has served as a reservist in the R.A.F. as a flying instructor and in Maritime Air Region operations. Phil, involved with airshow organising, continues as an active pilot and can count amongst his flying achievements parachute dropping and flying for the St John’s Ambulance air wing.
Date Tuesday 8th December 2026
Talk: Shepard’s Christmas
Speaker: James Campbell
Ernest H Shepard was an artist, illustrator and cartoonist whose illustrations to A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” and Kenneth Graham’s “Wind in the Willows” are the most well-known and enduring of all his works.
James Campbell, lecturer and author of two books on E. H. Shephard’s life and illustrations will give a humorous and entertaining lecture on a much broader view of E.H. Shepard’s work, from his cartoons for Punch and the IIlustrated London News, to his many Christmas cards (some 350 a year) which he sent out initially as a kind of self-promoting publicity. James has a number of original pencil and pen and ink Christmas cards that Shepard sent out over the years, where his dexterity and artistry express Christmas in unconventional ways.
He fought with distinction during WW1 gaining the Military Cross, all the while sending cartoons back to Punch magazine. After the war in 1923 he was approached to illustrate a book of verse by A. A. Milne “When we were very young” which proved so successful that he was commissioned to illustrate all of A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books thereafter. Later, Kenneth Graham was delighted with Shepard’s illustrations for his book “The Wind in the Willows” (1908) which were published in the 1931 edition.
From 1935 into the 1950s, Ernest Shepard was the chief political cartoonist for Punch Magazine and often brought the lighter side of life to his political drawings, which also included amusing Christmas cartoons each year.
E.H.Shepard drew in many different artistic styles which changed over the years, developing fewer background details and more emphasis on the main characters. He continued to work right up to the end of his life, all the while living quietly on Martha’s Hill, near Guildford. He died in 1976 at the ripe old age 97.