A list of booked speakers up to August 2026 may be downloaded here.

NEXT MEETING

27th May 2026
Life and Times of a Film Extra

Speaker : John Kinory

Please Note:AGM of High Wycombe and District u3a at 2pm on this date.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

22nd of April 2026

WPC Yvonne Fletcher and The Search for Justice

Speaker Paul Barfield

Paul told us about the build up to the murder of Yvonne Fletcher outside te Libyan embassy and the subsequent campaign to discover who had committed the crime. We were adised there is a memorial to her at the place where she fell.

25th March 2026 The Origins of the National Garden Scheme

Speaker: Clare Waters

Clare came at short notice to tell us how Elsie Wagg, a philanthropist in 1927, suggested that the wealthy should open their gardens to the public at a charge of one shilling. The money raised to be given to the Queen Alexandria Memorial fund for the training of nurses. In seven months the project came to fruition and hundreds of pounds was raised for this cause. Next year they are celebrating their Centenary.

---

25th February 2026 Nutribabble : An Overview of the Information and Misinformation regarding nutritional Advice

Speaker : Dr Steve Coles

Steve had worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry. He told us that medical claims are backed by research while good nutritional products are not well-regulated, however they can be very lucrative with $6 billion being spent each year on Collagen Supplements. He identified essential Macronutrients (Carbs, Fats and Protein) and Micronutrients including vitamins and minerals such as iron and potassium, all necessary with water and fibre to keep us healthy. All members were very interested in the talk and there were a number of pertinent questions from the floor which Dr Coles was pleased to answer.

28th January 2026 'Little Orchard: Creating a wildlife garden'

Speaker: Jon Mason

Jon was a geography teacher for 30 years but, having retired, he can now pursue his interests in conservation and photography. He encouraged us to leave areas of our gardens to nature which would ensure there are insects for birds and butterflies. We should use natural fertiliser and avoid slug pellets at all costs.

26th November 2025 " Water: How we use it and Abuse it"

Speaker: Jane Selwood.
Jane’s career as a Clinical Biologist led to a continuing interest in water viruses. She told us that our Uk water is of high quality and costs us 0.3p per litre. This is governed by the Water Act of 1991.
Modern Data Centres require 13% of our potable water and the average person uses 142 litres of water a day, cows drink 3 litres of water to make 1 litre of milk. Jane's message was DON’T WASTE IT!

22nd October 2025 - Chris Rattenbury from Wheelpower

Chris stepped in at short notice to speak to us about the Charity. He explained that Sport for Wheel chair users had been instigated at Stoke Mandeville by Ludwig Guttenburg in 1944 and in 1948 the first Stoke Mandeville games for Paraplegics was held. By 1952 they had become International. Chris, at the height of his career as a Power lifter, had been 4th in the World, winning medals at European and World Championships.He was proud to be a Games maker at the Paralympics in London 2012. He showed us slides of a variety of wheelcahirs that are custommade to suit each sport. Wheelpower 's role is to run festivals and camps to give wheelchair users the opportunity to try out differnt sports such as badminton, golf, skiing, archery and to train coaches to teach them.

24th September 2025 - "A Floral Tribute to Moorcroft"

Speaker: Angela Wall

Angela has a passion for Moorcroft Pottery. She told us how young artistic William Moorcroft became head designer for Mackintyres at the age of 26. In those days transfers were attached to the pots, however William met with William Morris and from then on his designs were all hand painted with tubelining. In 1913, with support from Libertys, Moorcroft built his own factory for 8 thousand pounds and designed and made pots with flowers, fish and peacocks. Each design had a number and a signature on the bottom. Angela explained that the firm had royal patronage from Queen Mary and sold around the World. Currently William's grandson has bought the business so the Moorcroft name continues to this day.

27th August 2025 - Guide Dogs for the Blind

Speaker:
Pauline Mines

Pauline brought her current Guide Dog, Dove. She told us that 100 years ago in Germany a doctor observed how a German shepherd voluntarily cared for a blind man, and so Guide Dogs began to be trained.. Puppy walkers look after a dog for a year until it begins its specialised training. Pauline sold medicinal creams, she had made, in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind.

23rd July 2025 - “Robert Maxwell: Did he fall or was he pushed”

Born into poverty in Eastern Europe, Maxwell became a British MP and a very rich and controversial businessman. He committed massive frauds and robbed his companies’ pension funds. Shortly before the discovery of the frauds he fell from his yacht and drowned. The talk tries to answer the question posed in the Title.

25th June 2025. - The role of the community First responders in Bucks. followed by the Home Fire safety team

Tracy Mould from the South Central Ambulance Service. talked about the work of First responders in our area and demonstrated the use of an Automated Defibrillator and CPR.

Tracy was followed  by members of the Buckinghamshire Fire and Recue service, community team. They explained  to us  the importance of Home Fire Safety.
There was an opportunity to register for a free home visit with, if necessary, the Free installation of smoke alarms.

28th May 2025 - "The Saxophone, My life as an Army muscian"

A 5'8" Lifeguard Soldier, Jon rode horses that stood 16 hands high while playing his Saxophone. He was in the Military for 26 years and went all over the World with the band. He delighted us with tales of the startled horses, when they saw camels for the first time at the Royal Tournament. Jon played Clarinet, and Alto and Tenor Saxophone with his own backing track. A delightful afternoon and we have invited him back in August 2026

Speaker: Jon Woodhouse

23rd April 2025 - Aspects of Indian Culture

Arriving in England at the age of 47 with his family, Ramji gave us an insight into the Hindu way of life. Family, education and savings are seen as key to success.Older members of the family are always respected and the mother in the household commands the kitchen. Indians are not comfortable with the Public Displays of Affection, which are familiar in western culture. He said he would never drive in the cities of India and he likes the zebra crossings he sees in England.

Speaker Ramji Abinashi

---

26th March 2025 - "Art, Science & the Unfeathered Bird"

British Science author, illustrator and fine artist, Katrina Van Grouw gave her talk 'Art, Science and the Unfeathered Bird'. Over 25 years Katrina had studied the bones and muscles of birds and created a bookwith drawings showing the 'unfeathered birds in realistic poses.

Speaker: Katrina VanGrouw

---

26th February 2025 - Speaker: Councillor Paul Turner "The Role of High Wycombe Mayor"

Paul's passion for High Wycombe came over as he explained that the Mayoralty dates from 13th Century. He showed photos of the chain of office and the Mace amongst many others. As Mayor, Paul attended 300 events throughout the year.
At the end of Paul's talk we were all invited to visit the Mayor's Parlour.

---

Our January 2025 - Hayley Scott " A Day in the Life of a Metropolitan Police Crime Investigator.

An engaging speaker with a relaxed style. Hayley gave an insight into crime Scene investigation