- Is the monarchy at the end of its useful life?
- How Brexit is panning out
- Is Britain on the verge of bankruptcy?
- Do children still believe in Father Christmas?
- New Year’s resolutions
- The truthfulness of politician and social media news
- Children, mobile phones and Vapers
- Donations to political parties
- Should IVF be on the National Health?
- Should the water companies be nationalised?
- Should there be a world age limit and how do we deal with population growth?
- Trump and Musk (17th Feb 2025):
- Eight of the group met to discuss Trump and Musk. There was some depth in the discussion but generally it was felt that things did not look good for Ukraine, Europe, Canada and Mexico. It is almost as if we are placed in the same category that USA has with China.
- What have we learnt about wars, from wars? (19th May 2025):
- It proved difficult to settle in this subject and draw any conclusions. Everyone seemed to join in and enjoyed voicing about the Philistines, Romans and the new extreme horror WW11 produced with excess killing of civilians homes and cities. Drones, robots, and Ukraine got detailed attention.
- Tax (16th June 2025):
- Two of us brought web details of UK total tax take and where it is spent. The 12 of us present then went into details and found it difficult to decide how the books could be balanced. We all agreed that services have to be paid for somehow.
- Tourism (21st July 2025):
- This month eleven of us met to talk about ’Tourism’ . Many popular places were mentioned such as The Galapagos & Venice, both suffering from over tourism. How can it be rationed when it provides work for so many? We moved on to talk about world litter, especially in the seas.
- World Population (18th Aug 2025):
- Ten of us met for a coffee and discussion on world population. The discussion widened out as it usually does to the well known 2.4 to now 1.2 family unit. The demographics of several western country's population triangle is inverting to more old than younger working people.
- Eye Tests for Drivers Over 70 (15th Sep 2025):
- We discussed eye tests for drivers over 70. All felt it is essential even for younger drivers, not just left to a self access tick.
- The Inappropriate Flying of Flags (17th Nov 2025)
- Twelve of us talked about having seen The Union Flag being displayed as a protest rather than as a celebration, thus inappropriately, and unlike the Stars and Stripes, which has conditions set out how it is used.
- What is the Meaning of Christmas (15th Dec 2025)
- We met and discussed the meaning of Christmas for a short while but the terrible events on Bondi Beach involving extremism took centre stage.
- Should Wild Cats be Reintroduced into the UK? (19th January 2026)
- There was a general consensus that original wild life should be re-introduced. This idea came from the Devon Wildlife Trust who plan to reintroduce them onto Exmoor. Some concern was expressed that the wild cats would interbreed with feral and domestic cats with unknown consequences.
- Should National Service be reintroduced? (16 February 2026)
- It was pointed out that NS does not necessarily mean the armed services. The discussion revolved around that and in these uncertain times perhaps we should all have some training in how to defend our country. There seems no definite answer as reluctant youth would be difficult to train and the numbers eligible for NS could be too great for the current forces to deal with, possibly outnumbering the established services.
- What news can we believe? (16th March 2026)
- Eleven of us met to discuss what news can be believed. Many interesting suggestions were made that probably none is without some bias, but maybe the BBC & quality newspaper are most reliable in their reporting.
- Pensions (20th April 2026)
- During one and a half hours of enjoyable chat, many subjects were covered. We discovered that our State pensions are 17th lowest of 33 European countries. Some concern was expressed that there are now many self-employed workers who choose not to contribute to a private pension fund and the implications of this for the future.
- During one and a half hours of enjoyable chat, many subjects were covered. We discovered that our State pensions are 17th lowest of 33 European countries. Some concern was expressed that there are now many self-employed workers who choose not to contribute to a private pension fund and the implications of this for the future.
- ADHD (18th May 2026
- There were only 4 of us present because most of the group were away on a u3aholiday. We explored ADHD and found there was a great deal to it so decided it would be worth our whole group discussing it at our June get together.
- Two-Tier Policing (20th July 2026)
- Arising from the Henry Nowak murder in Southampton and the Stephen Lawrence murder 35 years ago, 8 of us met to discuss “is there two-tier policing?” The group decided that each of our backgrounds has a bearing on how we view things but it was generally felt that the police are making a real effort not to be prejudiced.
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