At our Maritime group meeting on Monday 6th January, our speaker was Ian Kirby who gave a fascinating and very interesting talk entitled My River Thames. His talk covered his memories of growing up on the banks of the river Thames in Vauxhall, Central London, and of the people that he met later as a City of London Guide. Ian took us on a trip downstream from Putney to Greenwich recollecting the riverfront changes with stories and information from people that he had met. He highlighted the old and new buildings, monuments, and industries on the riverfront and the ceremonies and festivals that have taken place along this stretch of the river Thames. The talk finished at Waterloo Bridge, which is also known as Ladies Bridge as the rebuilding of the bridge was completed by women as most of the men had gone off to war. Ian then played his signature tune Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks. This was a most interesting talk, both factual and, at times, very amusing.

The next meeting of the Maritime Group is on Monday 3rd February, starting at 10:00am at the Blackwater Sailing Club, Basin Road, Heybridge Basin, Maldon. CM9 4SD for a talk by Alison Mainwood on A brief history of Navigation. Early navigators used the position of the sun and stars to navigate. In this talk Alison will discuss how scientists and sailors developed tools to measure positions accurately, including the compass, the sextant, the chronometer and finally GPS Please join us. All u3a members are very welcome. Malcolm Case