Cycling
Our cycling group is up-and-riding on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. See Fitness & Wellbeing.
Days Out
Leaders: Barbara Bliss & Denise Randall
- Thursday July 27 — visit to Buckingham Palace and Gardens. This will include a new exhibition of Coronation robes and a guided tour of the gardens which is only available to groups.
- Wednesday August 23 — day trip to Margate including the Anthony Gormley statues in the sea and the Turner Exhibition.
Further information will be sent out shortly to members of the Days Out group. Contact groupsorg@hgsu3a.uk if you want to be added to the group’s mailing list.
Grow Your Own Vegetables
Leader: Eric Hess
Join Eric for advice on how to get the best out of your vegetable garden or allotment. Eric has a background working in agriculture abroad. After he returned to the UK he established a Horticultural Project for Adults with Learning Difficulties, focusing on growing and selling vegetables.
Learn about growing winter vegetables, preparing for the spring, dealing with pests, and sowing. Although the main focus is on vegetables, Eric will also try to answer other questions you might have related to gardening.
Eric also maintains a blog dedicated to vegetable growing.
- Location: Gordon Road Allotments, London N3 1EL — off Elm Park Road and Nether Street near Finchley Central Station
History and Heritage Outings — 2023
Mark King, a professional Blue Badge tourist guide, has kindly offered to share some of London’s remarkable history, heritage, and current happenings with our u3a. He is a former chair and Life Fellow of the British Guild of Tourist Guides. Author of The Blue Badge Guide’s London Quiz Book, published in 2016 by The History Press, he acted as consulting editor for other books in the series covering Oxford, Liverpool, and Edinburgh.
In the course of lengthy and typically enthusiastic research for his book, his long-suffering family felt it necessary to bring in a house rule limiting him to ‘Three Facts Per Meal’. Mark tells us ‘suffice it to say that this programme of tours and visits to be organised for HGS U3A will be entertaining, unusual, and never knowingly under-informed!’
The following visits have been arranged (see HGS U3A Newsletter for details of how to book, first come, first served).
VISIT TO THE LONDON CENTRE – 30 JUNE
On Tuesday 30 June at 2.00 pm a member of staff at the London Centre in the Guildhall complex in the City will give us an introductory talk about the Centre’s role and its world-class models of the London area. The centrepiece of the Centre’s exhibition is the New London Model. This covers more than 85 square kilometres of London and highlights buildings that have been completed recently, are under construction or have just received planning consent – giving an unbeatable overview of the future of London.
A charge of £15 will be made to help cover the cost of this private talk.
GUIDED WALKS IN JULY AND SEPTEMBER
Looking ahead, there will be one more date before taking a short summer break. On Tuesday 11 July in the afternoon, Mark will lead a guided walk through High Barnet and Monken Hadley. There will not be any charge but a voluntary donation to a specific good cause will be requested.
Farther ahead, in September there will be a thematic guided walk in the afternoon of Friday 8 September in Finchley Central.
‘Hold the dates!’, as they say.
Outdoor Sketching
See Arts & Crafts.
Photography in London
Leaders: Michael Jacobs & Roger Cookson
We have now resumed outdoor shooting, followed by sharing our best shots a fortnight later on Zoom. For the foreseeable future, outdoor locations are being chosen where parking is possible to enable the participation of members who don’t want to travel on public transport.
It’s intended to be a fun-oriented group rather than a technocratic, competitive society.
- When: Wednesday 10.30 am – 12 noon
- Frequency: Fortnightly, alternating between outdoor shootings and review sessions.
- Number of places: 15
Walking Groups
From September, we will have two walking groups. Walking Wednesdays meets once a month for a gentle walk from Golders Green station. Thames Path in London & Other Walks ventures further afield for longer walks twice a month.
Thames Path in London & Other Walks
Leader: David Powers
Walking is an excellent way to get and keep fit. We try to get into the fresh air away from busy roads, exploring not only the Thames, but London’s canals, waterways, and green spaces. The length of each walk varies, but is generally 4–4½ miles, sometimes longer. We walk at a moderately brisk pace, but not so fast that it’s impossible to talk. In fact, good conversation is one of the many pleasures of this group.
Walks start and end at different places, so participants need to be willing to travel by public transport (or make arrangements for someone else to drop them off and pick them up by car).
We normally stop for coffee after about an hour, and then find a nice pub or restaurant for lunch. Staying for lunch is optional, but most people join in.
- When: 2nd and 4th Friday of the month throughout the year, except when the leader is away (NO walks on 23 June, 10 November, 22 December 2023)
- Time: Walks normally begin at 10.15 am and end around 12.30–1.00 pm (not including travel time)
- Travel: Instructions are sent to members several days in advance of each walk. Members in the Golders Green area normally travel together from Golders Green station after 9.00 am (time depends on destination). Others join at the start of the walk.
Walking Wednesdays
Leaders: Arlene Hyman & Carol Rogers
Once a month, on the first Wednesday of each month.
Meeting outside Golders Green Station Booking Office at 10.15 for a 10.30 start. The walk will be approximately 2–3 miles , finishing at 12.30 with a coffee break and chance to use toilet facilities.