News
QUIZ MORNING
24th November 2026
Back by popular request, u3a Bromley’s wizard quiz creators will keep the audience scratching their heads. ...
Theatre Group trip to Jesus Christ Superstar at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
5th November 2026
With the first four chords I was reminded that this is a rock opera; and with the first solo song, that the protagonist is Judas. A simple set allowing use of height as well as depth of the stage; the orchestra semi-hidden behind scaffolding and off we went for a rollercoaster of a ride round a...
LOWE trip to Dalston on 15th October
28th October 2026
We walked from Dalston station to Canonbury Place via De Beauvoir Square and some very select, almost traffic-free roads. Canonbury Tower, a Tudor Grade II listed building was impressive. New River walk was surprisingly peaceful - the watercourse was constructed in 609-16 to bring...
Guy Bartlett on Concorde (General Meeting talk)
26th October 2026
Guy Bartlett, an aviation historian and a UAV pilot, (Photo), came to talk to us about the fabulous UK/France Concorde project. This had started life in the UK in the 1950s and led to the establishment and provision of a World supersonic jet service. It changed air...
The Standard of Living at Theatre Royal Haymarket
22nd October 2026
This play by James Graham concerns the life of John Maynard Keynes (Pronounced Kaynes!). Who would have thought a production about an economist could be so entertaining and amusing! This was the West End trip for the theatre group in October. Rory Kinnear is fantastic as the bi-sexual...
Theatre Group walk in Penge on 15 October
17th October 2026
Theatre group members assembled for our rescheduled walk on the Thursday afternoon of 15 October in Empire Square. Its name not known to many of the local residents but clearly labelled. We learnt it was so named after the Empire Theatre which was on this site until demolished in the 1960s. It...
The Vortex at Bromley Little Theatre Saturday 10 October
12th October 2026
43 Theatre group members attended the October matinee of The Vortex. Written by Noel Coward in the mid 1920s and set in the same era, this 3 act play is about a self-obsessed middle aged woman who surrounds herself with sycophantic friends who are only too happy to pander to her belief that she...
Lullingstone Castle and the World Garden by Tom Hart Dyke
12th October 2026
Tom Hart Dyke (photo), gave a superb talk at Local Studies on 6 October on Lullingstone Castle in Eynsford, Kent and the World Garden of plants. He is an extremely passionate and enthusiastic gardener/horticulturist, plant hunter and author. Lullingstone is his family seat and he proudly described...
High Society at the Churchill Theatre 7 October 2026
8th October 2026
The musical High Society was the summer show at the Barbican with an all-star cast including Helen George and Julian Ovenden. We nearly booked but then discovered it was coming on tour in the autumn and was at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley. Consequently 51 U3A members from Bromley and Beckenham...
u3a Bromley open day attracts 32 new members
8th October 2026
Held at the United Reformed Church in Bromley, our promotional event on Saturday 3rd October attracted 32 new members to sign on the day and more will follow by joining online or by post. The Mayor of Bromley, Councillor Christine Harris, attended and chatted to our members showing off some of...
Barnam at The New Wimbledon Theatre
30th September 2026
A select group from Beckenham and Bromley U3A Theatre Groups took the tram to Wimbledon again this year to see another musical and this time we were in the stalls. The show was the circus musical, Barnum which many remembered seeing many years ago at the London Palladium with Michael Crawford as...
Lowe trip to Haggerston
30th September 2026
Lowe trip to Haggerston on a beautifully warm, sunny September day. This involved a lovely walk alongside the Regents Canal up to the Islington tunnel. Followed by a wander through Duncan Gardens and return journey via the Angel Islington. ...
How to date a feminist at Bromley Little Theatre (matinee)
26th September 2026
Bromley Little Theatre is such a thriving place that apart from monthly shows in the main theatre they also have a monthly bar show with matinees on Saturday for both main auditorium shows and bar shows. This month a small group went to see 'How to date a Feminist'. This is an intimate experience...
The Comedy About Spies at the Adelphi Theatre
25th September 2026
A smallish group from Bromley and Beckenham theatre groups attended the matinee of The Comedy about Spies on 24th September. This play is performed by the same company, Mischief, as The Play that goes Wrong which they announced at the end although some members had spotted actors they knew from...
General Meeting talk - Fay Tennet on 'A Terrorist Attack'
22nd September 2026
Fay Tennet returned to us on Tuesday 15 September (photo) to share more about her fascinating tenure as Deputy Director of Operations at the Houses of Parliament. Her talk today centred on her perspective of a major terrorist attack in 2017 and drew on materials in the...
u3a Theatre Group - Apologia by Alexi Kaye-Campbell
20th September 2026
It was hard to believe that this was an amateur production (Bromley Little Theatre - 12th September) - all six cast members were quite brilliant. Kristin’s birthday party turned into a disaster starting with the oven not working and featuring family tensions and clashing views. Kristin’s...
Protecting Politics by Fay Tennet (Local Studies talk)
10th September 2026
Fay Tennet, previously Deputy Director Security at Houses of Parliament shared with our Local Studies audience the challenges of protecting members of Parliament and Houses of Commons and Lords Staff in a main building of 1100 rooms, the two Chambers and various other gathering points. As a...
U3a Theatre Group – The Oresteia
10th September 2026
I love Greek mythology, with its combination of the spoken word (so important when the actors wore masks), and the cautionary tales it tells. In this production at The Bridge Theatre, we are told that the writer and director, who is Australian, has written a modern retelling “after Aeschylus and...
Theatre Group tour of Theatre Royal Drury Lane (3 September 2026)
10th September 2026
There were so many of us (around 40) so we had to split into two groups to do this very interesting tour. I was on the second and we had a very competent and interesting guide as was the guide for the first group. The history of the theatre spans over 350 years and four successive buildings. The...
BINGO BONANZA
9th September 2026
u3a Bromley is holding its first ever Bingo event on 9th September 6-8pm. Open to members, who can also bring a partner or friend. Online booking. How Bingo Reached Britain Bingo’s British story starts well before the modern bingo hall. In the Elizabethan era, lotteries were...
Bromley's new Mayor to attend Explore u3a Bromley Open Day on Oct 3rd
26th August 2026
The new Mayor of Bromley, Councillor Christine Harris, will be attending our Explore u3a Bromley open day on Saturday October 3rd 11-3pm at the United Reformed Church Bromley. She will be finding out about our many interest groups and meeting Bromley members and the public. ...
General Meeting Talk on Fraud and Scams
23rd August 2026
Ian Davidson drew on many years of Bank of England work to tell a packed General Meeting on 18 August about Fraud, Scams and Home Security. With more people on the Internet than ever, we need to know how to protect ourselves. Ian also answered questions post event. His key messages were: Fraud...
A school girl's war (General Meeting)
25th July 2026
At the July General Meeting we welcomed Mary Smith (photo), a former Headmistress who regaled the story of 'A school girl's war'. It was more than a story as evidence revealed the real lives of school girls at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls during World War 2. Mary had produced a book on the...
Sinatra The Musical at the Aldwych Theatre
21st July 2026
32 members of Bromley and Beckenham U3As attended this new musical about Frank Sinatra. Starting on New Year’s Eve 1942 a skinny 27-year-old Italian-American singer is about to step onto the stage of New York City’s Paramount Theatre and give a performance that will change music history. But...
Mamma Mia Singalong at Bromley Little Theatre
15th July 2026
Thanks to Bromley Little Theatre for providing their wonderful air-conditioned theatre for our Mamma Mia Sing-along. After a few technical hitches the film started and at every song, the words showed nice and large on the screen. With about 90 people in the hall, we nearly drowned out the...
u3a Bromley wins private tour of Cutty Sark
14th July 2026
I have no idea how, but I was awarded a private tour by the Greenwich museums after filling in a questionnaire on behalf of u3a Bromley. Their aim being to encourage u3as to visit. I invited group leaders and the committee to make a small party and five of us made the trip by train and DLR to...
Theatre Group visit to see The Watsons
4th July 2026
I love Jane Austin and her prose is super, so it was no surprise to me that when she left an unfinished novel someone would be asked to finish it and turn it into a play. The brilliant Laura Wade stepped up and The Watsons was born. The play opens with a bed, in which the snoring old Mr...
LOWE Group trip to Shoreditch
1st July 2026
We were treated to a tour of the Victorian Town Hall by their Cultural Programme Manager. She told us of its history both as a municipal building and then a venue for various activities after Shoreditch merged with Stoke Newington and Hackney in 1965. It is presently run by a Trust as a thriving...
Theatre Group trip to Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre
25th June 2026
On an extremely hot day it was really pleasant to sit in the cool Sondheim Theatre to watch a great version of Les Misérables musical with Ian McIntosh as Jean Varjean, Oliver Saville as Javert who played their parts particularly well. The rest of the cast were hugely enthusiastic in their...
Janie Ramsey's talk on The Windsor Style
23rd June 2026
Janie Ramsey told a packed recent General Meeting audience about the Iconic lifestyle of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. After time in the Bahamas and at the end of World War 2 they moved to the French Riviera to enjoy two swimming pools and sea bathing, chauffeured limousines, furniture...
Switzerland at Bromley Little Theatre (bar show)
20th June 2026
Bromley Little Theatre not only has a play in the main theatre every month, running for just over a week, it also has a monthly “bar” show in the area where people congregate for the main shows. These are always very intimate and now they have started having a matinee for these shows too, as...
General Meeting talk by Sohail Husain
7th June 2026
We had a very interesting speaker for our May General Meeting. The audience was totally engaged in the subject he presented. Sohail was born in 1951 to mixed-race immigrant parents who lived in London. They worked in London’s famous street markets. Leaving school he studied Geography at the...
