Standing ovations don’t happen at U3A talks but the recent one by Captain Anna Swan, Royal Engineers was the exception.  Captain Swan, a former pupil at TPS who grew up in Petersfield, held a packed house enthralled with her story of her career to date. 

The U3A heard that having chosen the Army as her profession she progressed from TPS (1996)to sixth form college (Havant) to University ( Bath ) before being accepted for officer training at Sandhurst .   After the rigours of Sandhurst she joined the Royal Engineers and served in Britain and Germany before tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan .

Captain Swan conveyed both the toughness of these tours and the very human aspects.  The great respect and mutual support of the soldiers, the genuine friendliness of the Iraqi and Afghan peoples and the tragedy of losing friends and comrades in the conflicts came across clearly.  Only a week previously one of Captain Swan’s close comrades had died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan .

But it wasn’t all serious stuff.  The audience also heard of Captain Swan’s leisure activities of skiing, cycling in Switzerland and, notably, sky-diving.  It was a talk that will be long remembered by Petersfield U3A.

 Those attending donated over £500 to a collection in aid of “Help for Heroes” which was greatly appreciated by Captain Swan.

Captain Swan with a young Afghan

Open Meeting on Monday 10^th November 2008

                             A Surrey Safari

Speaker, Geoff Lunn

Over ninety members who braved the wind and rain to attend this month's meeting were treated to an amusing and informative talk which accompanied superb photography of Surrey wildlife. 

Using his own garden pond and bird-feeding station in Seale and Sands as a starting point, Geoff showed us photographs of a huge variety of birds, some common and some more rare, such as crossbills, siskins and bullfinches.  The clarity and detail of the photographs shown on such a large screen, together with an expert's commentary was an ideal way to learn how to identify many of these less well-known birds.

There was amusing anecdote, as well, with a chronicle of the saving and hand rearing of a very young, green woodpecker which had been ejected from its nest, and the pursuit and capture of a cunning, money-stealing mouse. 

As well as birds there were photographs of many wild mammals to be found in the area, all the outcome of many, many hours of patient waiting, sometimes in ingenious 'hides'.

Our own hour of nature watching went by enjoyably and quickly and left us feeling much cheered.

Dawn Mason