Our Programme of Morning Presentations and Afternoon SIG Sessions are coordinated by Jocelyn Welch and Sandra Hill. They can be contacted by email by clicking on their names and using our "Contact Us" page.
Autumn Term 2026
Studio (St) Meeting Room (MR)
| Date | Morning Speaker and Topic Studio 10.30 - 12.00 | SIG Programme First Session 1.15 - 2.15 | SIG Programme Second Session 2.30 - 3.30 |
| 17 Sept | Theresa Haine "Madagascar" | Welsh Words and Pronunciation (St) Bookshelf 'One of Us' by Elizabeth Day (MR) | Earth Science (St) Poetry (MR) |
| 24 Sept | Richard Walker "We the people - Another idea of America" | British Constitution and Human Rights (St) Creative Writing 'A Dialogue' (MR) | Art Appreciation (St) What the Papers Say (MR) |
| 1 Oct | William Gibbs "Eric Ravilious at Capel-y-ffin" | Archaeology Tim Hoverd "Recent Archaeological Digs" (St) | Philosophy "What constitutes an acceptable political compromise" (St) |
| 8 Oct | David Mitchell "Russian Roulette - the rise and ....? of Vladimir Putin" | Gardening (St) Family History (MR) | Play Reading (MR) |
| 15 Oct | Peter Ford "Matilda, Lady of Hay" | Welsh Words and Pronunciation (St) Play Reading (MR) | Science Questions Answered (St) Creative Writing 'A Premonition' (MR) |
| 22 Oct | Nikki Mitchell "Victorian Baby Farms" | 60th Anniversary of the Aberfan Disaster | |
| 29 Oct | HALF TERM | HALF TERM | HALF TERM |
| 5 Nov | John Rath "Ravanna" | Corinne Thomas "Aspects of Byzantium" (St) What the Papers Say (MR) | British Constitution and Human Rights (St) Poetry 'Animals' (MR) |
| 12 Nov | Martin Weaver "Canal and River Trust" | AGM | |
| 19 Nov | Henry Yeomans "Finding the Holy Land" | Archaeology (St) Family History (MR) | Art Appreciation (St) |
| 26 Nov | Windsor Griffiths "Experiences in the Soviet Union during the Brezhnev Era" | Philosophy "How free do you want to be?" (St) Play Reading (MR) | Earth Science (St) Creative Writing 'A Tragedy' (MR) |
| 3 Dec | Philip Grant "The Siege of Mount Moorosi Basutoland (now Lesotho)" | Archaeology "The disappearing Houses of Powys and Beyond" Jenny Hall and Paul Sambrook from Trysor (St) | Gardening (St) Play Reading (MR) |
| 10 Dec | Anna Westlake "Tales from Alaska" | Earth Science (St) Bookshelf 'My Name is Eva' by Suzanne Goldring (MR) | Science Questions Answered (St) |
| 17 Dec | Play Reading SIG "Snow over Ambridge" |
Background Information about the Morning Speakers and their presentations
17 September - Theresa Haine - Madagascar
'I first went to Madagascar as a Quaker volunteer teacher in 1967. I initially signed up for just one year but fell in love with the place and stayed for four years. In the 1980s, the then President wanted to minimise the connection with France and turned to the USSR instead. This proved disastrous for the country. Poverty increased hugely and there was starvation in the south. A friend and I wrote to some of the big charities who said that they knew about the situation in Madagascar but were fully stretched alleviating poverty elsewhere in the world. My friend then said to herself that if no one else could help then she would have to do something. So in 1986, with the help of Swansea Quakers, she set up Money for Madagascar. She and her husband ran the charity for ten years. Then I took over and ran it for 17 years. We have recently handed the charity over to a very efficient team of Malagasy people. The hand-over has not been easy but I think everything is on track now.
Since the early 1990s, until COVID hit the world, I visited Madagascar every two years. I spent 5 weeks there last year. I am still an active trustee.'
24 September - Richard Walker ‘We the People’ Another idea of America.
In 1974 a memorable conversation took place between Henry Kissinger and the Chinese
premier Cho En Lai, in which Kissinger asked him what he thought the long-term effects of
the French Revolution were. Cho En Lai apparently answered that “It’s far too early to tell!”
He later clarified his answer and said he thought Kissinger meant the student riots in Paris
in 1968, but he may well have been right the first time. Both the American and French
Revolutions laid the foundation for a bold experiment in Democratic Government and the
250 years of history that separate the Founding Fathers from the America of Trump Mk.2
have witnessed wars and social upheavals which have cost the lives of millions of men
and women. In this presentation I attempt to look at America through the relatively sharp
focus of the two most famous phrases in the “Preamble” to the American Constitution: “We
the People” and “A more perfect Union”. It begins with the “Mayflower Compact” of 1620
and ends on a note of “Radical Hope” supplied by the leader of the Crow Nation, the first
American settlers who made the perilous journey across the Bering Strait from Siberia at
least 15,000 to 30,000 years ago, and who were often the forgotten and persecuted
element of “We the People” as the America of today emerged.
1 October - William Gibbs - ‘Eric Ravilious at Capel-y-ffin’
William Gibbs was born in Llangynidr where he now lives on his farm between the river
and canal. His professional working life has been spent in education in Africa and Asia, including spells in Sierra leone, Zambia, Bhutan and the Solomon Islands before finally
working in the School of Education at Leeds. He has been chair of the Brecknock Art Trust
since its foundation in 2000 and been keenly involved in the redevelopment of y Gaer in
Brecon and the Trust has helped to build an art collection of some importance in its art
gallery. He has been particularly fascinated by the artists who painted in the Llanthony
valley which of course includes Eric Ravilious, the subject of his talk.
8 October - David Mitchell - ‘Russian Roulette - The Rise and ….? of Vladimir Putin’
David Mitchell has, over the last three years, presented portraits of three major Russian
rulers. Now he takes the opportunity to consider the current president who has taken
Russia from communism to imperialism. In spite of a vast literature about him, his true
personality still remains something of an enigma, only partially revealed in his responses
to the turbulent events in and around Russia since 1989 when the Soviet Union fell.
15 October - Peter Ford - ‘Matilda Lady of Hay’
After 45 years in the NHS Peter retired to Hay. Here he became interested in local history,
and that led him to give town, bookshop and Armstrong tours, as well as write local history
books. Peter is a volunteer at Hay Castle and has been a guide there since 2016, which is
when he discovered the legends of the giantess Moll Walby, the Welsh witch. Intrigued he
explored the tales, and this led him to write the book 'Matilda Lady of Hay.’
22 October - Nikki Mitchell - ‘Victorian Baby Farms’
Nikki Mitchell is BBC South’s Home Affairs Correspondent, covering crime, justice and
social affairs. Keen to uncover untold stories, she is passionate about giving survivors of
trauma a voice and works across TV news, documentaries, radio, online and social media.
Outside of work, she’s probably up a mountain somewhere.
5 November - John Rath - ‘Ravenna’
John Rath has been a member of u3A for a good many years and has already given a talk
on Adelina Patti. Ravenna was the capital during the disintegration of the Western Roman
Empire in an era known as Late Antiquity. It is famous for the art of Tesserae. Miraculously
many of these glorious mosaics have survived for 1500 years. Was Ravenna the link
between Constantinople and the crucible of Europe?
12 November - Martin Weaver - ‘Canal and River Trust’
19 November - Henry Yeomans - ‘Finding the Holy Land’
My hope is to talk from my own experience and my study as an academic of the
complexities of understanding the different perspectives of changing geopolitical
situations, encouraging questioning rather than promoting a particular view.
26 November - Windsor Griffiths - ‘Experiences in the Soviet Union during the Brezhnev
Era’
The Soviet Union was, and Russia still is, a major producer and consumer of agricultural
products. This talk outlines experiences of the people and places gained over 9 visits, of
varying length, during the decade of the 1970's’, including a tangential brush with the KGB. It
covers the challenges and difficulties dealing with the development of a new product, in
which the Soviets were particularly interested.
3 December - Philip Grant - ‘The Siege of Mount Moorosi Basutoland, now Lesotho’
The 1879 Siege and Battle of Mount Moorosi was a protracted conflict between British Cape
Colonial Forces and Chief Moorosi and his people in Southern Basutoland (now Lesotho)
Southern Africa. Even though three Victoria Crosses were awarded during this campaign, the story has been eclipsed by the narrative of Britain's ignominious defeat by the Zulus at Isandlwana, their face-saving defence of Rorke’s Drift, and Britain's ultimate rout of the Zulu Nation at Ulundi and occupation of Zululand, all of which also took place in 1879!
The Siege and Battle of Mount Moorosi, followed almost immediately by the unsuccessful
attempt to disarm the Basotho during the Gun Wars of 1880-81, proved to be important
foundations for the fledgling Lesotho Nation’s moves towards autonomy from both South
Africa and Britain, with ramifications lasting to the present day.
10 December - Anna Westlake - ‘Tales from Alaska’
Anna Louise Westlake was born in Abergavenny and raised in Brecon, where her love of the outdoors first began. She studied Outdoor Sports and Tourism Management through college and university before launching a career in the travel industry with The Travel Corporation (TTC), initially through work placements.
From the age of 18, Anna worked across Europe in a variety of roles and travel brands until the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a career change into logistics, where she has continued to build on her strong organisational skills.
After spending the last few years in the Netherlands, Anna is excited about returning home to Brecon, where she looks forward to reconnecting with the local countryside and outdoor lifestyle.
A lifelong runner with a passion for travel, art, photography and outdoor pursuits, Anna enjoys exploring new places whilst appreciating the beauty of the natural world and it is her recent trip to Alaska which she will talk about today.
17th December - Playreading SIG ‘Snow over Ambridge’