The lectures are usually, but not always, held on the third Friday of the month (no lecture in August) at 11.00 am in Cinema 4 at the Showroom, Paternoster Row, Sheffield. The Showroom café is open from 9.00 am for coffee, snacks and lunches. Lectures will usually finish by 12.30 pm.
The lectures are free to all members and usually no booking is required. Greeters wearing u3a lanyards are at the door to welcome members and you may be asked for your Su3a membership number.
A voucher, obtainable from the box office, enables half price parking at Q-Park (the Cheesegrater car park) on Charles St off Arundel Gate.
The lectures are organised by Deborah Beetham and Mo Cave. Details of upcoming lectures are shown in both Links magazine and the enewsletter. We will also send out a reminder to all members a few days before the event. You can contact the organisers at chair@Su3a.org.uk
TourTalk system
The Showroom theatre does not have a loop system for hearing aids. However, Sheffield U3A have purchased a TourTalk system that can be used by both people who have hearing aids and others with slight hearing loss. We have a transmitter that is connected to the sound system and individual receivers (14) that can be used with (a) your own headphones, (b) one of our earpieces in one ear only, or (c) with a neck loop which works with a hearing aid ‘T’ position.
Please book a device in advance by sending a request to U3AChrisCarter@gmail.com on a first-come-first-served basis.
NB If the receiver stops working, please check that the channel number on it is 40, that you have your hearing aid set to the ‘T’ position (if applicable) and that you have adjusted the volume control on the left. To switch on and off hold the bottom right button down for a few seconds. Do not touch the other buttons.
Dates and topics for 2024
| 21 June 2024 | The Prizewinners: Ameli Vidanearachichi Jessica Callister | Ameli and Jessica. joint winners of the 2023 Su3a/ Sheffield University Prize for best undergraduate dissertation, will give a talk on their research into Intergenerational Co-Living and the Social Experience of Video Games for Aging Policy. |
| 19 July 2024 | A Radioactive Walk In & Around Sheffield. Dr Bianca Sala | Naturally occurring radioactivity is all around us as Dr Sala of Sheffield University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy will demonstrate. |
| August | No lecture | |
| 20 September 2024 | The Impact of Climate Change on Designed Gardens & Landscapes. Prof. Ros Cameron. | Professor Cameron is a landscape horticulturalist and senior lecturer at Sheffield University’s Department of Landscape Architecture. His talk will be of interest to gardeners, plant lovers and environmentalists alike. |
| 18 October 2024 | Our Polish Families’ Long Road to Freedom & Sanctuary in Great Britain. | A story of brutality, hardship & Polish resilience presented by our Polish Culture & Heritage Group. “We are a group of 2nd generation Poles whose parents survived war and persecution at the hands of Nazi Germany & Soviet Russia, to find a home in Great Britain”. Poland is, this year, commemorating 80 years since the Warsaw Uprising as well as the Battle of Monte Cassino. |
| 15 November 2024 | Sweet Remembrance: The Confectioners of Sheffield General Cemetery. Andrew Littlewood. | There are at least two confectioners buried in the cemetery which most of us will know, George Bassett and perhaps the lesser known Henry Dixon. Andrew is a researcher and a volunteer with Sheffield Cemetery Trust. He wrote the book Sweet Remembrances which is available from the Trust bookshop. |
| 13 December 2024 | The Ghostwriter. Neil Hanson. | Last Christmas Neil spoke to us about the trials and tribulations of running Englands highest and most remote inn. This time he’ll be telling us about his experiences being a ghostwriter to celebrities of stage, screen and sport. |
Previous Lectures
There are a number of previous lecture reviews available here.