Brackley U3A Monthly Speaker Meetings
The Monthly Speaker Meetings take place at 09:45 on the 3rd Thursday of each month at Brackley Baptist Church, Waynflete Close, Brackley (NN13 6AE)
Next Monthly Speaker Meeting - (Posted 16/7/2026):
| Thursday 20th August | Jonny Thomson | “The Philosophy of Multisensory Experience” | So much of our age is focused purely on what we see. But all of our senses provide us with a unique angle on the world and each of them provide a key element in meaningful, human relationships—something the always-on-screen visual age cannot substitute for. Jonny Thomson is a bestselling author of three books, a columnist at Big Think, a TEDx speaker, and the founder of Mini Philosophy—a thriving community of 800,000 curious minds, with 15,000 newsletter subscribers. His book “Mini Philosophy” has been translated into 22 languages, and he’s known all over the world for making philosophy accessible, relatable, and fun. |
Information about all our speakers for 2026 are detailed below.
2026 Meeting Schedule:
| Thursday 15th January | Chris James | "HS2 – Progress update” | Progress update and impact on Brackley & the surrounding villages |
| Thursday 19th February | Colin Wade | "The Joys and Perils of being an author " | The Joys and Perils of being an author that charts his author career, explains his influences and some of the things he wasn't expecting when it came to publishing and selling his books. |
| Thursday 19th March | Jenny Malin | “End of an Era” | In August 1947, two independent nations would be formed - India and Pakistan. Partition allowed for the establishment of two sovereign countries which could pursue their own political economic and social systems. Jenny will deliver a fascinating insight into two families: her parents who emigrated to the UK in 1954 who had to face post war Britain with its rationing and finding their own feet there to her father's baby sister who made the decision to stay in India. We explore the Anglo Indians' sense of belonging to their British ancestry with their family's historical background but also the juxtapose of their stronger feelings of rootedness in clinging to the memories of an India they were accustomed to. |
| Thursday 16th April | Open meeting | 10am, Brackley Baptist Church | Our Open Meeting is a chance for anyone to come along and find out more about Brackley u3a. Lots of our clubs will be represented, so you will have an opportunity to speak to the Convenor of each group to find out a little more about what the group offers. Please do pop in. |
| Thursday 21st May | Jackie Hibbert | “Outlaws, Sheriffs and Wild West Northamptonshire.” | Crime and Punishment in West Northamptonshire in the early 14th century in (with all the gory bits). |
| Thursday 18th June | Peter Gill | “The Wit and Songs of Noel Coward. ” | Noel Coward was an actor, writer, composer, director, producer, and in later life painter– and he excelled at them all. He said of himself ‘I am an enormously talented man, and there is no point in denying it’. This is a reminder of that talent and some of the wonderful songs and wit of the ‘Master.’ |
| Thursday 16th July | Roy Smart | “Another Icarus" | The great aviation pioneer and personality, Percy Pilcher, who came to grief at Stanford Hall, on the banks of Shakespeare’s River Avon on the Northamptonshire / Leicestershire border. While on the cusp of becoming the greatest name in aviation history he instead became the first Englishman to die in the cause of developing sustained ‘Flight’. His poignant story – Another Icarus - and that of his wonderful sister Ella Sophia Gertrude, - probably the very first woman to fly ! - is brought to life by Greek myth, poetry, music and art. |
| Thursday 20th August | Jonny Thomson | "The Philosophy of Multisensory Experience" | So much of our age is focused purely on what we see. But all of our senses provide us with a unique angle on the world and each of them provide a key element in meaningful, human relationships—something the always-on-screen visual age cannot substitute for. Jonny Thomson is a bestselling author of three books, a columnist at Big Think, a TEDx speaker, and the founder of Mini Philosophy—a thriving community of 800,000 curious minds, with 15,000 newsletter subscribers. His book “Mini Philosophy” has been translated into 22 languages, and he’s known all over the world for making philosophy accessible, relatable, and fun. |
| Thursday 17th September | Local Organisations | Local Organisations | The meeting is to inform our members of ways that local organisations can help them, and we have speakers coming from two organisations: Brackley Food Bank Joanne Barlow will talk about fraud and scam prevention. |
| Thursday 15th October | Stephen Barker | "Women in the First World War" | This talk looks at lesser known themes such as health, morality and social freedom, as well as women's’ changing roles in the conflict through contemporary cartoons. |
| Thursday 19th November | Carl Whitmore | “Scott of the Antarctic” | Was he truly a British hero, or was his attempt on the South Pole always doomed to failure because of his own incompetence? |
| Thursday 17th December | The Singing for Fun Group & Carl Whitmore | Xmas Social | The Singing for Fun Group will perform various Festive Tunes Carl Whitmore will give a monologue with a Comedy twist |