I call it u3a Monday, because I have a morning and an afternoon session, which always happens on the 4th Monday of the month.
The morning session is stargazing. At this group, we gather to talk about what we have all done over the last month, what events are scheduled in the month ahead, and whether we, individually, have any planned activity or projects.
Already written about at https://localitystories.com/2026/04/23/1973-the-lyrids/, last month I set myself the goal of staying up past 0200 on the night of the 22nd/23rd for the meteor shower that has as its radiant (the point from which meteors appear to radiate) the constellation Lyra, which I would have an excellent view of at the right time. Read the blog entry, let’s just say it wasn’t very successful. I gave a detailed explanation to the group (there were six of us this month, it doesn’t sound like many, but we all agree that it is a good size and that we all get a chance to talk.
I am becoming slightly more familiar with the sky, and feel sufficiently confident to start looking for things other than the main constellations. I’ve set myself 2 goals this coming month, to go out and observe on at least one night each week, and on those nights to look for asterisms.
An asterism is an informal grouping of stars, that are recognised in their own right. Common examples are Orions Belt, the greater and lesser ploughs (each part of their respective bears) and the Keystone, which is a group of four stars in the heart of Hercules. It is this Asterism that Antony, the group leader has asked me to try and find this month.
We left the morning session all feeling very satisfied with how it went. I did have a follow-on chat with one of the group, Liz, who is keen to start an Earth Mysteries group to ask her how that is progressing. She is about to submit the request to start the group. This has prompted me to think about the group that I want to start; Creative Writing. I really must get on with that. I think I do enough writing over the course of the month that I can contribute to that.
I walked into town, passing the Cockle Ponds. The Jellyfish were out in force today, not quite the numbers that I have seen in the past, but perhaps that is growing.
There wasn’t much going on along the waterfront, although I did stop for a chat with a friend whom I see there occasionally. I carried on walking onto the high street, ending up at the Craft Cafe, where I had a snack and a cup of tea, before moving on to the museum for the afternoon u3a session – History.
This is a popular and very well-attended group; today, there were thirty people. The group is organised so that if you wish to say something, a presentation, for example, then when you sign in, you put a comment on the sheet as I did.
The topic for today’s talks was resistance groups. I have to admit that I didn’t count how many people stood up and spoke, but there were more than enough to fill the session, and every talk was very interesting. I’m pleased to say that my talk appeared to be well-received. Whilst not talking about individual groups in great detail I talked about three uprisings and their impact; Boudicca, The Judea uprising and the 1916 Easter Rising.
Frustratingly, we were given the topic for the next session, but I didn’t write it down, and now I can’t remember what it was. In the meantime, I will have to get on with my Exploring Art project, as instructed by the group leader who quietly whispered in my ear as she left the session – obviously, my talk went down well with her!
Bills Posts 