U3A Zoom - NOT amateur radio

Every Wednesday, the Cambridge University of the 3rd Age holds a lecture open to members. Because of Covid, this is initially on Zoom this term. Yesterday there were at least 115 people on and next week the speaker is in British Columbia in western Canada! I am a great fan of Zoom talks as speakers and audience members can be anywhere.

University of the Third Age - NOT amateur radio

One of the joys of being retired is learning purely for the sake of learning. No exams! 

We are lucky in Cambridge having a huge range of courses on all sorts of subjects. Some are in Cambridge and some are on Zoom. Often they are given by ex-university people and are excellent.

Today, I had my first lecture. It was on Zoom and called "The Pale Blue Dot" about all aspects of the Earth. It was good to have this from an ex-university lecturer whilst drinking coffee at home.

On Friday I go on the bus into Cambridge for my course on Medieval History. As an engineer, this is a subject I know little about! Learning can be fun.

See https://www.u3ac.org.uk/ .

Park and Ride - NOT amateur radio

One advantage of being old is a free bus pass.

My University of the Third Age course has restarted (Italian Cities) and I drive to the outskirts of Cambridge, then get the Park and Ride bus. For me it is free. I enjoy the bus ride and the course. The photo shows the inside of the bus yesterday.

Cambridge on a winter day

Cambridge Punts

Every Tuesday I travel into Cambridge for my weekly U3AC course called "Maps in the Computer Age".  I am enjoying the course very much.

Usually I drive to the "Park and Ride" car park at Newmarket Road and get the bus into town. The U3AC course is at the U3AC headquarters in Bridge Street, which is about 30m from where the punts are on the River Cam.  At this time of the year the punts are quiet. Come the summer and this spot is very busy. Cambridge has lots of foreign visitors when the usual students go home. If you see a foreigner with a map wobbling along on a pink bicycle it is a good idea to be well clear!

Round Church - very old building

From the punt place you can punt right up via St John's, Trinity, Clare and Kings College.  Kings College Chapel is lovely from the river.   The secret is not to leave your punt pole behind. It is easily done. Luckily the Cam is not too deep. If you prefer, you can pay someone else to do the punting so you can just sit back and enjoy a timeless Cambridge moment.

Bridge St,  Cambridge

Some of the views have not changed much in centuries. The Backs in Cambridge are very beautiful and it is little wonder people travel from all corners of the Earth to visit this beautiful centre of learning.  It is all too easy just to take it all for granted. Certainly, when I worked in the city, I did.  Now being retired, I properly enjoy it. It is still a very beautiful city with fine very old buildings and the River Cam winding its way up behind the colleges. If you have never been, you are unlikely to be disappointed.

Many years ago I was with a friend who parked at the multi-storey car-park just off Bridge Street. We worked a VK6 (S.W. Australia) from the car on 10m SSB.