Monks Brook U3A, Chandlers Ford
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A monthly meeting is held on the first Wednesday of every month at 2pm in St Boniface Hall, Hursley Road, Chandlers Ford.
Parking is available for the hall in the Church car park. Following announcements concerning u3a business, invited Speakers give a talk. The list below details the current programme. Tea and biscuits are served after the meeting
| Subject | Talk about the National Coastwatch Institution 'NCI' |
| Date | 3rd June 2026 at 2.00pm |
| Speaker | Nick Stanley |
| Venue | St Boniface Hall |
Nick Stanley is the Station Manger at the Lee On Solent National Coastwatch. His background is 40 years in the Royal Navy during which time he commanded 2 warships (a mine hunter and a frigate). He then left in the rank of Commodore in 2017 in the mistaken hope of a quiet retirement. He has been Station Manager at NCI Lee-on-the-Solent since September 2025.
The National Coastwatch Institution is a charity staffed and managed by volunteers whose mission is to help save lives at sea and around the UK coastline. If you, a family member or friend uses the coastal waters or the shoreline – maybe canoeing, fishing, boating or even walking on our beautiful but sometimes treacherous coastline – we are watching and keeping you safe.
| Subject | Beyond Beliefs – One Family’s Incredible Story |
| Date | 1st July 2026 at 2.00pm |
| Speaker | Sohail Husain |
| Venue | St Boniface Hall |
After 6 years’ research, Sohail published an epic memoir about his parents and grandparents. He will talk about his amazing journey of discovery that revealed the extraordinary story of his Jewish mother and Muslim father, and how their own and their parents’ lives were impacted by momentous events of the 20th century, most notably the Holocaust and the Partition of India. It is an unbelievable tale that spans continents and cultures, exposing the horrific consequences of war and violent extremism, and the struggles faced by refugees and immigrants. But it is also a testament to indomitable human spirit and love overcoming tragedy and adversity.
| Subject | The Chocolate Cream Killer. |
| Date | 5th August 2026 at 2.00pm |
| Speaker | Steve Herra |
| Venue | St Boniface Hall |
The Chocolate Cream Killer.
Steve will tell us all about The Chocolate Cream Killer.
| Subject | A Beginning, A Muddle and an End. |
| Date | 2nd September 2026 at 2.00pm |
| Speaker | Bobbie Darbishire |
| Venue | St Boniface Hall |
A BEGINNING, A MUDDLE & AN END
Bobbie Darbishire is a novelist and will tell us where novelists get all their ideas? Drawing on the experience of many well-known authors, in an entertaining, informative talk, Bobbie Darbyshire will explain how the complex fictional world arrives in a novelist’s mind. Winner of the 2008 fiction prize at the National Academy of Writing and the New Delta Review Creative Non-fiction Prize 2010, Bobbie is author of five novels, including “The Posthumous Adventures of Harry Whittaker” and “The Third Bus”. She has worked as barmaid, mushroom picker, film extra, maths coach, cabinet minister’s private secretary, care assistant and volunteer adult-literacy teacher, as well as in social research and government policy. Bobbie lives in London and hosts a writers’ group.
