Monthly Meeting – Monday 1 June 2026

Boxmoor Playhouse

MONDAY 3 Augusty, 10:00 REFRESHMENTS,

10.30 AGM & PRESENTATION

doors open 09:45

John Tyler has worked in nature conservation for over thirty years, first with the Ecological Parks Trust creating urban nature reserves for children to experience wildlife at first hand and then as the Warden of the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve in Kent, 135 acres of wetland and woodland where he created and managed habitats and guided schools and adult groups around the reserve. He has a particular fondness for Glow-worms. As well as wildlife, his interests include photography, prehistory, carving and coracles.

In 2023 John fascinated us with his spectacular photographs of the crabs and other animals on Christmas Island. 2025 had him taking us closer to home and exploring The Changing Wildlife of the Chilterns. From warm seas, through Ice Ages, tundra and forest to the farmland and beechwoods of today, we travelled through a hundred million years to follow the story of the Chiltern landscape and its wildlife.

In 2026 he describes the seasons all around us and reminds us to look at the wonderful natural world around us.

No fee to be paid

Contact: Groups via this link (select addressee: Groups)

The meeting will be hybrid, if you wish to participate on Zoom, use the link that will be supplied in the Group News closer to the date.
If you experience difficulty with the sound, turning on Captions, at the bottom of the Zoom screen on a PC or by clicking on More … on an iPad, should assist greatly. Please bear in mind that the task of getting both sound and picture to members on Zoom is fraught with difficulties. We continue to struggle on, it may not always be totally successful.

Directions

Boxmoor Playhouse
72 St John’s Rd
Hemel Hempstead
HP1 1NP

Parking round the Moor OR 55 – 57 Park Road, HP1 1JS

Directions

Buses between Hemel and Berkhamsted: 500 and X500 bus.
Buses are approximately every 30 minutes: Red Eagle Buses

Local buses running in St John’s Road past Boxmoor Playhouse

H10 https://www.intalink.org.uk/services/9e20e052-b756-4ff5-afeb-f0a0ce466e1c?date=2024-12-02&direction=outbound

H11 https://www.intalink.org.uk/services/9077ed51-eb28-40df-8838-8c69504b3299?date=2024-12-02&direction=outbound&all=on

Last updated: 7 Jul ’26

News Index

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u3aDacorum Facebook Page

2026 AGM – Monday 3 August 2026

Monthly Meeting – Monday 3 August 2026

Exploring London – 27th and 29th July 2026 – Hammersmith Bridge to Chiswick House

Monthly Meeting – Monday 6 July 2026

CANCELLED Exploring London – 25th and 26th June ’26 – Shoreditch and Hoxton

Minibus Hire for Day Trips

Cancelled Groups

Web Conferencing using Zoom

Last Updated: 4 Jun ’26

Exploring London – 27th and 29th July 2026 – Hammersmith Bridge to Chiswick House

Explore London – Hammersmith Bridge to Chiswick House
Tuesday 19 and Thursday 21 March

Tony will be leading a walk in the Hammersmith Bridge to Chiswick House beside the Thames on Monday July 27th and Wednesday July 29th.

We will discover pubs, brewing, ghosts and connections to the Arts and Crafts movement. The walk is just over two miles in length and mostly flat. The return journey from Chiswick House to Hammersmith Tube stations is by bus.

If you wish to apply for this walk, please email the coordinator via the group page after 09.00 on 1 July with a maximum of 4 persons per application.
If you miss the 1st July you can still apply, especially If you can do both dates, so numbers can be balanced on both walks.

Remember if you apply for others, you are responsible for passing on messages. Please give your full names and U3A numbers and preferred date and indicate if you are flexible on the dates. Please use the following link to checkout the Exploring London Webpage: https://u3adacorum.org/?page_id=1168

If you have any queries please contact Hilary via Coordinator

Last updated – 5 Jul ’26

Exploring London – 25th and 26th June ’26 – Shoreditch and Hoxton

Exploring London, Thursday 25th and Friday 26th April

April Walk: Shoreditch and Hoxton

John will be leading a walk through Shoreditch and Hoxton on Thursday June 25th and Friday June 26th.
It is a flat walk from Liverpool Street Station through Shoreditch and Hoxton tracing the history of the area from Tudor times to the present.
The area saw the first performances of Shakespeare’s plays and following the opening of the Regents Canal in 1820 there was a property boom. Unfortunately the houses were shoddily built with few amenities, no running water or proper sanitation. The area was very poor and many public facilities were provided by philanthropic patrons. It was not until the 1980’s and 90’s when artists began moving into the area attracted by the cheap studio space that things began to improve. This creative explosion earmarked Hoxton as possibly the trendiest place in London.

If you wish to apply for this walk, please email John at Coordinator after 9.00 on 1 June with a maximum of 4 persons per application. Please give your full names and U3A numbers; and indicate if you can do either date.

Remember if you apply for others, you are responsible for passing on messages.
Please indicate if you are NOT willing for your email address to be shared with other successful applicants.

If you have any queries regarding this walk, please contact Steph via Coordinator. Late applications will be accepted.

Last updated: 31 May ’26

u3aDacorum Facebook Page

u3aDacorum Facebook Page.

u3a Dacorum now have their own Facebook Group, which reflects the various group activities that u3a members can join.

It is also where Group leaders can submit their own group’s information to be shown on the u3adacorum Facebook.

Here is the link to view the u3adacorum Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1214692039477191

Monthly Meeting – Monday 1 December 2025

Box Moor Playhouse, Hemel Hempstead

MONDAY 2 FEBRUARY, 10:00 REFRESHMENTS,

10.30 PRESENTATION

doors open 09:45

Jeremy Holmes presented a very well received talk to us in 2024 on the 200^th anniversary of Byron’s death. Jeremy is a past CEO of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and has spent time investigating the challenge facing the countries in East Africa and beyond. The experience was fascinating, sobering but also sometimes uplifting.

East Africa is facing enormous healthcare challenges, all the more so, in the light of current cutting of international aid. As the population enjoys increasing life expectancy and more people adopt a Western lifestyle, rates of diabetes, heart disease and cancer are going through the roof. But the supply of medicines, almost all of which are imported, falls a long way short of demand.

No fee to be paid

Contact: Groups via this link (select addressee: Groups)

No fee to be paid

Contact: Groups via this link (select addressee: Groups)

Boxmoor Playhouse
72 St John’s Rd
Hemel Hempstead
HP1 1NP

Parking round the Moor OR 55 – 57 Park Road, HP1 1JS

The parking outside St John’s church now has a 3 hour limit and no return for 2 hours. This is to discourage commuters going to the station using it for all day parking. The three-hour limit works for our monthly meeting. Warning, there is someone who checks!

Directions

Buses between Hemel and Berkhamsted: 500 and X500 bus.
Buses are approximately every 30 minutes: 500 and X500 Timetable

Local buses running in St John’s Road past Boxmoor Playhouse

H10 https://www.intalink.org.uk/services/9e20e052-b756-4ff5-afeb-f0a0ce466e1c?date=2024-12-02&direction=outbound

H11 https://www.intalink.org.uk/services/9077ed51-eb28-40df-8838-8c69504b3299?date=2024-12-02&direction=outbound&all=on

See Hemel Map

Last updated: 13 Nov ’25

Group Cancellations

We are sorry to say that the following groups have been cancelled, for various reasons.
If you would like to re-start the group, please contact the Groups Secretary
You do not need to run the group by yourself, often someone is willing to help.

A Cappella (147)
Belleplates (062)
Board Games (070 and 212)
Bowls (006)
Creative Writing A (077)
Computer Support (069)
French and Fun (015)
French Conversation (014)
Garden Appreciation (016)
Geology 1 and 2 (021 and 184)
Line Dancing (022)
Music Appreciation (034)
News (Have Your Say) (362)
Painting Unlimited (09)
Painting for You (196)
Playing early Music (043)
Recorder Ensemble (148)
Sign Language (227 and 189)
Short Day Trips (186)
Shorter Walks A & B (050)
Sunday Scrabble (055)
Swimming Berkhamsted (226) But see Swimming (221) ex HH
Ukulele 2 (192)
Whist (091)

Last Updated 17 Jun ’25