JOHN LITTLE - “Sal Madge” 4th February
We have been lucky enough to have had a packed house for John Little to give a talk on the local heroine Sarah (Sal) Madge. Many of the audience had been to the Sal Madge musical at Rosehill theatre and were keen to know more. John began by mentioning other names...  more

SUZANNE BARNINGHAM - Energy Savings Trust “Take Charge” 21st January.
Our speaker this week was Suzanne Barningham from the Energy Savings Trust who came to tell us about the national electricity grid, how it operates and how we can benefit from the various services it offers. The company that operates near us is ‘electricity north west’ which is responsible for delivering...  more

St Begh’s School Choir “Christmas Songs and Carols” 10th December.
The pupils of St Begh’s Junior School sang lots of Christmas Songs and Carols. Some of them also used sign language. There were lots of Christmas jumpers and cheery smiles. A great start to the Christmas period....  more

TERRY HARVEY-CHADWICK “Moorforge Viking Settlement” 29th October
We were lucky this week to hear from Terry Harvey-Chadwick as he took us through the evolution of the Moorforge Viking Settlement at Gilcrux. It began when a man called David Watson inherited the land in 2004 and made a family home there. He was a blacksmith and was fascinated...  more

BRIAN TOPPING “Life as a Customs Officer part 2” 17th September
We had a really interesting talk this week when Brian Topping joined us again to tell us more about his life as a customs officer. Subtitled “a world of mules and minders” he began by taking us through the history of customs and excise in the UK from AD 743...  more

JONATHAN “Building Shadow Factories: High Duty Alloys Distington” 9th July
Jonathan Aylen joined us to tell us about the development of the High Duty Alloys factory just before the 2nd World War. Dubbed a ‘shadow’ factory it was built with a degree of camouflage and wasn’t given a high profile, despite its’ vital contribution to the war effort. Jonathan highlighted the...  more

ALAN CLEAVER “ The Demise of Handwriting and why it matters” 25th June
On 25 June Alan Clever came to talk to the group about the demise of handwriting in the digital age. Our members remembered Alan from his previous talk about Postal Walks and were delighted to see his finished book and to hear about its successful launch. Alan was talking to...  more

ANTHONY PAYNE “The Road to Morocco” 11th June
Anthony gave us an illustrated talk about his recent trip to Morocco. A North African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, distinguished by its Berber, Arabian, and European cultural influences. It is a country of dazzling diversity; epic mountains, sweeping deserts and ancient cities. ...  more

JOHN LAWSON “The Local Steel Industry” 14th May
John Lawson came to U3A this week to give us a potted history of steel making in Cumbria and we were all surprised at how long iron and steel has been important to our county. Iron had been smelted by the Romans with the earliest iron ore mining taking place...  more

IAN SAVAGE “Conservation of Red Squirrels” 30th Apr
Ian Savage...  more

WHITEHAVEN FIRE BRIGADE “Fire Prevention and Safety” 16th April
We’ve just had a really interesting presentation by White Watch from Whitehaven Fire Station, they came to talk to us about fire prevention and how we can minimise the risk of harm. Rachel was the key speaker and along with 3 of her colleagues gave us a run down of potential...  more

BECKS SKINNER “Wool Stories - the History of the Wool Industry” 2nd April
We discovered the rich history and craftmanship of Wool. For thousands of years, sheep farming and wool production have shaped the country’s economy, culture, language and landscapes. In the medieval period wool was so valuable that kings-imposed taxes on its export and it became a cornerstone of international trade. Many...  more

IAN JACKSON “The Rocks at the Edge of the Empire” 19th March
Ian told us how the landscape of the northern frontier shaped the Roman occupation through stories about various remarkable places revealing secrets about places you thought you knew. His new book explores how the rocks of the Roman frontier in northern England shaped its history. What did rocks ever do...  more

JENNY GARBE West Cumbria Rivers Trust “Rewilding Walkmill” 5th March
A major four year conservation project is happening at Walkmill, Moresby and Jenny Garbe from the West Cumbria Rivers Trust came to tell us all about it. After the closure of the coal mine lots of trees had been planted during the 1990’s in an initial project to rewild the...  more

JANE LASKEY “Reimagining Roman Maryport & the Senhouse Museum” 5th February
We’ve had Jane Laskey from the Senhouse Museum at Maryport to talk to us before, but those talks were always about interesting artefacts in the museum …..this time she was telling us about the building itself and their plans for the future. She explained about the site’s Roman heritage and...  more

WILL RAWLING "A Year in the Life of a Hill Farmer" - 8th January 2025
We had a really interesting talk by Cumbrian Hill Farmer from Ennerdale called Will Rawling who took us through a typical year up on the fells, explaining how he and his family look after his flock of Herdwick sheep. Will talked about how the hill farmers worked together to bring...  more