Our Social Event brought many members together to enjoy an afternoon to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of the founding of our South Solihull u3a.  Members were treated to two challenging quizzes, which not only tested their recall but also how to keep their answers from being overheard by the next table!  One team won a rather marvellous selection of chocolates for their impressive score.

The excitement of the quizzes was followed by two narrated Powerpoint presentations, both of which sparked many happy memories for us all, from our founding through to our development, proving just how much we have thrived.

A traditional English afternoon tea, accompanied by Prosecco, was then served to round off the afternoon, causing many to linger in conversation - so much, that ‘time’ eventually had to be called!

Thanks to everyone who organised and took part in this very successful event.

Speaker: Roger Browne

For our June Core meeting, we had a return visit from Roger Browne, a very accomplished pianist and raconteur.

His “Golden Years of Radio” presentation recounted funny anecdotes and fascinating historical facts woven around a selection of famous, old radio theme tunes, which prompted our audience to break into song.  It was a lovely trip down memory lane for our members.

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) occupied the first part of our Core Meeting this month.  Following the Chair's annual report and approval of the Accounts, the nominated Committee and Support Group members were approved by the attendees.  As usual, the Minutes are available on the Documents page and will be due for approval at next year's AGM.

All the usual business was concluded speedily, leaving plenty of time for early refreshments, followed by a recital by Dorridge u3a Choir, who proved to be a merry band of singers with a wide-ranging repertoire.

No one can have failed to see the huge impact that the London to Birmingham High Speed Rail Link (HS2) has had on our local road network and the surrounding countryside.  This talk was by a local resident, Richard Clifford, who first developed his interest in HS2 whilst cycling along Kenilworth Greenway (a disused railway route) during the first lockdown in spring 2020.

Wanting a better view of what was happening along the construction route, he dug out his drone and started to get views of what was happening from vantage points high above the construction sites.  His talk shared with us those aerial views and many others that he has subsequently collected, and gave us a better understanding of the vastness of this project that has had such an impact upon us, and continues to do so.

This was a fascinating talk giving us an insight of HS2 from a most unusual perspective.

We learned about an emergency service that we are grateful for the existence of, but which we hope never to have to use!

Kay Starkey, of the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC) gave a brief overview of their history, shared what they bring to the scene, the procedures they can undertake and some of the equipment they use.  We heard storeys of past patients, share updated news on what they are up to, and why they attend to people on what is probably the worst day of their life.  The talk ended with a short video that bought to life the impact that the MAAS can make.

The MAAC is a charity and, unbelievably, receives no support from the government, the National Lottery nor the NHS!

Speaker: Javed Hashemi

Dr. Hashemi, a well-known local speaker who has addressed our u3a twice before, came yet again, this time to share with us his knowledge of the history of the silk routes.  These ancient routes have, for many centuries, brought goods and ideas from the Far East to the West, changing their routes over time, but still continuing up to the present day.

Javed illustrated his talk with many images including maps showing the changing routes.

A fascinating talk which members found very enlightening.