At 10.30am following announcements concerning U3A business an invited Speaker will give a talk. These cover a wide range of topics and interests.
The meeting finishes about 11.55am
Parking is limited at Capel Berea but plenty of parking is available a short distance away in the Matalan /B and M shopping complex. Just follow the footpath and steps to the side of B and M.
The Current Programme for 2026
The programme will be subject to additions, changes and updates - please check back regularly.
| Subject | The Home Front in World War One |
| Date | 5th February 2026 at 9.45 |
| Speaker | Tesni Bevan |
| Venue | Capel Berea |
This talk will focus on the courage and endurance of the women who kept their villages going while their menfolk were at the front, and the challenges facing returning veterans trying to assimilate back into civilian life.
Tesni Bevan is the author of Poppies Grow on Broken Ground, the first of four novels set on the home front in Cymru during WW1.
| Subject | 200 Years of the Menai Bridge |
| Date | 12th February 2026 at 9.45 |
| Speaker | John Cole |
| Venue | Capel Berea |
John will talk about the life of the Menai Bridge over 200 years.
| Subject | Liverpool Lost |
| Date | 19th February 2026 at 9.45 |
| Speaker | Paul O’Keeffe |
| Venue | Capel Berea |
Paul O’Keeffe will talk about the Liverpool that existed in the past and is now no longer here.
Dr Paul O'Keeffe is a writer and former lecturer in art history at Liverpool Hope University.
He is the author of a number of biographies and works of military and social history. His latest book - Trafalgar: Battle and Aftermath - is being published in March 2026.
| Subject | Bangor University’s Civic Mission |
| Date | 26th February 2026 at 9.45 |
| Speaker | Iwan Williams |
| Venue | Capel Berea |
Bangor University’s Civic Mission: How we work with and support our communities
An overview of how Bangor University works with its communities, how the university’s civic mission helps the wellbeing of communities, and how the university’s knowledge and research can make a difference across North Wales
Iwan Williams is the Senior Community Engagement Officer, Bangor University, and formerly worked for the Welsh Local Government Association, as the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, and for Gwynedd and Anglesey councils.
| Subject | The Life and Symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams |
| Date | 5th March 2026 at 9.45 |
| Speaker | Joe Cooper |
| Venue | Capel Berea |
Joe became the Director of University Music at Bangor University in January 2023, and was until recently the Director of Music at Saint Deiniol's Cathedral in Bangor. He studied conducting and the organ at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and also holds performance diplomas with the Royal College of Organists and the Associate Board of the Royal School of Music.
| Subject | Henry Kennedy, Architect to Bangor Diocese |
| Date | 12th March 2026 at 9.45 |
| Speaker | Adam Voelcker |
| Venue | Capel Berea |
Adam came to North Wales in 1979 to work with the architect David Lea, and from 1982 to 2014 he ran his own practice with his wife Frances. On retiring in 2014, he embarked on a degree course in Fine Art at Bangor University, and after living for nearly 40 years at Pant Glas, they moved to Bangor in 2021.
| Subject | Mary’s Meals - a simple solution to world hunger |
| Date | 19th March 2026 at 9.45 |
| Speaker | Hannah More |
| Venue | Capel Berea |
How a charity went from a tin-shed in the Scottish Highlands to serving school meals to over 3 million children.
Hannah Moore is based in Shrewsbury in Shropshire and looks after Mary’s Meals supporters and volunteers in the West Midlands and North Wales. She has spent much of her career based in schools, both here in the UK and in Zambia, Southern Africa.