The Castle Bank Biota: a Middle Ordovician Burgess Shale-type fauna from Wales

🗓️ Start: Tue 10 Feb 2026 10:30 am
⏳ End: Tue 10 Feb 2026 12:00 pm
📍 Location: Zoom

Speaker: Doctor Joe Botting

This month Dr Joe Botting will be talking about the Castle Bank Biota, this dates back to the middle Ordovician and hosts Burgess-shale type fauna.

The site was discovered by Dr Botting and Dr Lucy Muir near Llandrindod Wells during the Covid-19 lockdown. The nature of the rocks has preserved the soft bodied creatures in exquisite detail and Joe and Lucy are working to reconstruct the development of the ecosystem in as much detail as possible.

You can see some of the creatures discovered by Joe in this article on the Museum of Wales’ website. Joe also has a YouTube channel, Life through time, with some videos you may find interesting.

Subscribe to Geology

https://u3acommunities.org/event/the-castle-bank-biota/

Mysteries of Memory

🗓️ Start: Wed 11 Feb 2026 10:30 am
⏳ End: Wed 11 Feb 2026 12:00 pm

Memory: What and where is it, how does it work, what can we do to improve it, and why is it sometimes so tantalisingly elusive? In this intriguing, interactive presentation, Sue Foy (Chester u3a) will reveal the answers.

To contact us about the Science & Technology group, click here… Get in touch

https://u3acommunities.org/event/mysteries-of-memory/

An old and rusty John Deere farming tractor sits abandoned, forgotten, and slowly being overtaken by rust and decay in an auto wrecker's yard near Rockwood, Ontario.

#BuyIntoArt #abandoned #Rockwood #Ontario #AtRest #Retired #DiscoverON #VintageTractor #RustyBeauty #JohnDeere #AbandonedPlaces #DecayPhotography #OldFarming #AutoWreckers

https://jrtphotography.com/featured/old-abandoned-farming-equipment-john-twynam.html

Art History February 2026

🗓️ Start: Tue 24 Feb 2026 12:00 pm
⏳ End: Tue 24 Feb 2026 1:00 pm

The next Art History meeting is February 24th at noon. All welcome. We may be having a guest speaker.

In the meantime, have a look at the picture featured. It is, ‘The Honeysuckle Bower’ by Rubens. What do you see? What strikes you about the painting? What would you ask the couple if you met them?

Image: Public domain using wikipedia.org

Keep looking at this webpage for updates

https://u3acommunities.org/event/art-history-february-2026/

From Fuming Volcanic Vents to Extinction Events

🗓️ Start: Tue 13 Jan 2026 10:30 am
⏳ End: Tue 13 Jan 2026 12:00 pm
📍 Location: Zoom

Speaker: Professor Tamsin Mather, Professor of Earth Sciences, University College Oxford 

This month Professor Tamsin Mather will be investigating how volcanic eruptions can alter Earth’s atmosphere and climate, sometimes with devastating consequences for life.

Drawing on her expertise in volcanic gases and atmospheric chemistry, she links present-day volcanic emissions to episodes of extreme environmental change in the past. Her talk explores how massive eruptions have triggered global cooling or warming, disrupted ecosystems and contributed to major extinction events.

Subscribe to Geology

https://u3acommunities.org/event/from-fuming-volcanic-vents-to-extinction-events/

Donald Trump’s Unforgettable First Year

🗓️ Start: Thu 15 Jan 2026 10:30 am
⏳ End: Thu 15 Jan 2026 11:30 am

Barely a year has passed since his inauguration, yet even the most fanciful of apocalyptic predictions about how Trump’s second term as US President would unfold, have fallen way short of the jaw-dropping reality. So, for our first meeting of 2026, we’ll be taking a look back at the extraordinary events of the last twelve months, and ahead to what may be coming next, both for Americans at home, and for the rest of us around the world. But whatever happens, one thing is certain – the ‘white-knuckle ride’ has only just begun – so why not join us for an hour of nervous crystal-gazing!

If you haven’t yet done so, there’s still time to join our mailing list, which will ensure that you receive those all-important Zoom log-in details… just click here: Subscribe to the Current Affairs group

https://u3acommunities.org/event/donald-trumps-unforgettable-first-year/

Had a 4pm doctor's consultation today. Getting there and back, I just caught the start of flush, er rush, hour.

Very peoplely and they are all in a hurry. Not recommended.

I don't miss dealing with rush hour. #Retired

#OldPeopleOfMastodon

Hello there! This is my #introduction. I'm a lifelong resident of the "Triangle Area” in North Carolina and currently reside on a very rural 5 acres northwest of Hillsborough NC with my spouse and animals.

I'm a huge #Americana music fan, I get all my news from #LastWeekTonight, #TheDailyShow, and #JoshJohnson. I'm newly #retired from #highered and trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. Most days you'll find me #hiking the #eno with my #rescuedog - a #miniaussie named Chaos.