U3A Science, Technology and Society Network Annual Residential Seminar

Monday 15th - Thursday 18th August 2011
Ty'r Morwydd (Mulberry House) Environmental Study Centre, Abergavenny
Open to all U3A members

The seminar format is a mixture of talks, visits and socialising. Talks are at a general interest level so no specialist scientific knowledge is needed - just a general interest in the world around you. The programme starts at 2.00pm on Monday 15th and finishes after a buffet lunch on Thursday 18th August. Tuesday will include visits to the Rhondda Heritage Park and St. Fagins and Wednesday's visit will be to the new science museum at Bristol.

The full programme will be available in May or June

Cost

The half board cost is £200 per person in either single or double rooms including all visits. There will be a limited number of places for day visitors at £100 including all meals and visits

Accommodation

Ty'r Morwydd Environmental Centre (http://www.mulberrycentre.com) is a good quality hostel rather than a hotel and has 30 single and 22 twin bedrooms on two floors. There is no lift. All rooms have washbasins but they are not en-suite. There is a well-equipped shower and toilet room near the bedrooms on each of the first floor (female) and second floors (male) and an additional unisex toilet on each floor. There are also toilets on the ground floor.

The dining and seminar rooms are on the ground floor. Please note that most of the single rooms are on the second floor (male shower room). Those who have particular problems with stairs should state this and ask for a first-floor room but it cannot be guaranteed.

There are a limited number of day places. To arrange alternative accommodation contact Abergavenny Tourist Information on 01873 853254 (Web site www.visitabergavenny.co.uk)
Meals

The meals are very good and mostly 'help yourself to as much as you want'. Our first meal will be an evening meal on Monday 15th. Thereafter the price includes cooked breakfast, evening meal, coffee/tea for the breaks when we are working at the Centre. There will also be a buffet lunch before we depart on Thursday.

Please advise us if you have special dietary requirements.

Sunday 14th August
We have arranged for rooms to be available on Sunday night 14th August at an additional cost of £25 including an excellent breakfast.

Bookings now being taken
Numbers are limited so book early to secure your place. Send a deposit of £100 (resident) or £50 (day) to secure your place. Balance due by 15th June

Queries
Organised by members of the U3A Science, Technology and Society Network:

• Jo Livingston (speakers - 01322 440 539), 
• Elsie Denham (bookings & general admin - 0191 521 2760) and 
• Reg Thirkettle (visits).

General questions about the seminar can be addressed to either Jo or Elsie. Please address all enquiries to the organisers: The Third Age Trust, the Ty'r Morwydd Centre, and the Abergavenny U3A are all supportive of the Seminar but unable to answer queries.
Full joining details will be sent out in June/July.
Correspondence will be by email but if you want postal acknowledgments, please send an sae.
Web site: https://sites.google.com/site/u3ascienceseminar/
Email: u3ascienceseminar@gmail.com.

Tea Dances

Tea Dances
Are held in the Harnham Memorial Hall the 2nd Friday in the month 2.30 - 4.30 pm.
Contact Eileen Forder on 01722 333405

Wiltshire Community Health Services

Wiltshire Community Health Services. Here is a document outling how these services are to be transformed.  Click HERE to read all about it.

Light Reflections

Spire U3A had a talk about Butterflies recently.   As a follow up Brian Dicker sent us this information that may shed light on butterflies wings.
Professor Alan Miller will talk about Optoelectonics and how it has become a well established and pervasive technology, combining the basic physics of electrons and photons. These particles have some remarkable properties that can be combined in a plethora of ways to create photonic devices.

How is it possible to create pulses of laser light on the timescale of a few femto seconds and how can these pulses be used to monitor the physics of electrons in semiconductor layers on the dimension of a few nanometers?

This talk will address the physics of the ultrasmall and the ultrafast in the context of nanostructured semiconductors and ultrashort pulse lasers. Research combining these areas of technology will be illustrated by personal observations from a career that has included research in universities on both sides of the Atlantic, as a government scientist, and as a senior manager with responsibility for research and knowledge transfer in two UK research intensive universities.

Coffee available from 19:00, talk starts at 19:30.

Attendance is free but please reserve tickets by emailing salisburyiop@physics.org.

Tue, 18 Jan 2011  19:30

St John’s suite, Mercure White Hart Hotel, 1 St John Street, Salisbury, SP1 2SD

Butterflies

Following the fascinating Butterfly talk on 11th January by Brian Dicker you may like to explore some of the links on the BBC site. If so click HERE

The Sci-Tech Group have arranged to go on a Butterfly walk on 29th July starting from the Stag Inn, Charlton All Saints at 10.00am. 3 miles on the downland.  Led by Arthur Bryant.
For more detail see the programme HERE or for those on dial up or if you wish to print the programme HERE

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Calendar 2012 Competition

To celebrate The Wiltshire Wildlife Trusts 50^th anniversary we are offering everyone the opportunity to put forward a photo for our 2012 anniversary calendar. The theme is ‘Wild Wiltshire’ and we want your best wildlife and landscape photos to show off our county and its wonderful wildlife throughout the year.  The calendar will be sold across the county and online and should be available from the end of May 2011.  We invite you to send your photographs to photos@Wiltshirewildlife.org or to Anniversary Calendar 2012 at the Trust.   Please include your name, contact number or email, and the location of where the image was taken.  Remember all photos must have been taken in Wiltshire and we are unable to return hard copies.  Make use of the dark evenings to go through your photo collections or get out there and click your way into our anniversary celebration.  Closing date for entries is 11^th February and we will notify winners by the end of February.  We look forward to seeing your entries.

Regards

Keely Everson

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust has 18,500 members and manages 37 nature reserves in Wiltshire.
The Trust also endeavours to lead by example in the protection of the environment. Visit our
website at www.wiltshirewildlife.org