Hi U3Aers

This is us, editing our page... 

Here's a picture from the outing to St Paul's Cathedral on 29th October

St. Paul's was awesome and we all thoroughly enjoyed our visit.  The guided tour took nearly two hours and the guide was absolutely brilliant, pointing out relevant features and answering our questions with patience and humour.

One thing did puzzle us - why are there so many leaders of war honoured in the cathedral - their tombs, banners, etc.  When did war equate with religion?

Thank you Jeanette for a really inspiring outing - we look forward to the next one - Buckingham Palace perhaps???

If you wish to air your views on any valid subject, which you think may be of interest to others, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Eve and Howard - pictured above - waiting at our computer for your input.

Contact:-   hemarks@talktalk.net

 Is there anyone out there who wishes to say something?  Funny, serious, topical - it doesn't matter - it's good to talk!!!!!

Thought today's talk (Tuesday 21 October 2008) at Southend U3A on 'Fingerprints' was really brilliant. Terry Rockall was fluent in his subject, concise, humorous and never boring.  Hope he makes a return visit sometime.

Today (4 November) we viewed on screen the tombs of Ancient Egypt courtesy of Malcolm Taylor who went there nearly thirty years ago.  If you were messing about during history lessons at school it was certainly an interesting talk, but we wonder how many in the audience were inspired to visit this hot and dusty Middle Eastern country? 

We have seen many advances in our lifetime - some small:- electric irons, washing machines, dishwashers, 'phones, etc., some big:- man on the moon, computers, mobiles, television, to name but a few, but who of you expected to ever see during our life span an African/American voted in as President of the United States of America?  And, what do any of you think could be the next BIG THING to happen during our existence? 

The man from Tiptree Jams gave us a history lesson as well as a talk on their products.  He spoke about when the farm was started (in the seventeenth century) and how it progressed through to today.  However, the highlights were the fact that migrants have to be used to pick the fruit (three different kinds of strawberries, loganberries, gooseberries and medlin) - English people, apparently, find it too much like hard work, despite the fact that so many are unemployed and on benefits.  He touched briefly on the actual way the jams, marmalades and chutneys were cooked, but the method didn't seem too different to homemade only quicker. 

Also, the bee epidemic is affecting the production of honey, sad for the bees and us.  The Firms clients include the Royal Family (three Warrants so far) as well as the larger stores in London - Waitrose, John Lewis, etc., and, of course, supermarkets, Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrisons and so on.  They have three tea rooms, none of which are in this area, but he did say that if anyone knew of a suitable venue around here they would be willing to open one locally.  Our Chair thanked Mr. Came for his interesting talk given on the 11 November 2008. 

I always thought that Cook's was a big impersonal company, but Mr. William (Bill) Cook who came to give us a talk this afternoon (18 November) soon put us right.  He described how the firm was started by his great-great grandfather and the intricacies of running a coach company.  Spoke of how it evolved from its humble beginnings by selling coal from a horse and cart to the short and long tours of today.  From my point of view the coach trips give enormous pleasure to people who cannot drive and those who like to explore different venues without the hassle of driving.  When Mr. Cook asked if anyone had any questions, so many people put their hands up we didn't stand a chance, we wanted to know 'Did they employ lady drivers?'  What did the drivers do during the long gaps between drop-offs and pick-ups'?  Oh well, we could put these questions to him on his next visit.  Perhaps you could 'HAVE YOUR SAY' by regaling us with any anecdotes relating to coach outings. 

And we thought that the Salvation Army only rattled tins and tambourines, Mr. Gordon Parkhill soon put us right.  Way back Mr. William Booth bought land and property in Hadleigh and brought guys in from the East End of London, drunks and dropouts, put them to work on the farms, making and transporting bricks and generally pointed them in the right direction of doing some good in this world.  He also sent a generation of lads to Australia, New Zealand and Canada for a better life than, apparently, they could have in this country. 

The talk was informative and interesting today (25 November) Mr. Parkhill showed us slides and spoke well, but, I would really like to know to whom does the land and properties belong to seeing that the majority must have been purchased with the monies collected by the Army from the poor people of the East End of London.