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January
Hindu Temple Neasden
Monday 15th January 2018
 21
members of “Out and About” together with 6 other U3A members to make up
the 27 people to fill the coach.
After a
comfortable journey with an excellent driver we arrived at the temple
in plenty of time for our booked visit to the temple There was some
concern expressed regarding the return time and where we would be
lunching. The majority had opted to eat at the Shayona Restaurant and
the half a dozen who did not want the vegetarian Indian food were
transported by the coach driver to the nearby Ikea store.
As we
entered the foyer into the richly carved teak and oak columns and
panels with stunning carpets to the floor we were met by a volunteer
and taken into a partitioned area of the Haveli prayer hall and
introduced to Hinduism and the building of the Temple leading
to its opening in1995. An interesting video showed how the marble was
bought from Italy and India together with Bulgarian Limestone and then
taken to craftsmen in India who were able to undertake the intricate
hand carving 
before every part was labelled and numbered before transporting back to
London.Here it was reassembled in just two and a half years.
After further discussion we were taken upstairs to the inner sanctum,
under the dome and the ornately carved pillars, to witness the ceremony
of the sacred images.
Downstairs again and we had more information and a question and answer
session before breaking for lunch. Most of us who went to the Shayona
Restaurant enjoyed a delicious buffet whilst others selected a smaller
plate.
Prior to returning to the coach we went back into the Temple where we
had pre-paid for the Understanding Hinduism exhibition and very
informative exhibition Guidebook.
All who attended agreed it had been very worthwhile and some members
are planning to return in the summer to spend some time in the gardens.
Skittles Evening
25th January 2018
30
of us (from Out and About, MOTO and Times Out ) enjoyed a
Skittles evening held at Binfield Club. This is a fun event
which
enables members from these 3 social groups who do not normally meet on
a regular basis to get together and socialise.
Skittles
evenings, Quiz evenings etc. are organised adhoc by a few
BFU3A
members of these 3 Groups as and when someone decides to host one. Once
you have socialised with a few members, it becomes a lot easier to put
names to faces. There were 5 faces that were new to me at the
event which is a good sign that our BFU3A is continuing to thrive. This
particular evening was organised by myself and Di. Jones (Co-Ordinator
of MOTO1). These events are getting more popular as this
particular event was over subscribed.
This is the
first time I have been in a winning team, although I don’t think it was
my efforts that made it so. It was a tie finish so we had to have a
play off. Marian Cook won the play off for the Blue team.
Natural History Museum
21st February 2018
  5
members travel by 702 bus to London It was a longer than usual journey
due to roadworks but agreed it was well worth it. On our arrival we
spent most of the time in the red zone where there were excellent
exhibits on the forces that shaped our planet alongside Volcanoes and
Earthquakes.
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Visit to the City of London Police Museum
12th March 2018
  Thanks
to Joan Cooper Who arranged the visit for 10 members to this small but
packed museum where a volunteer ex city Police Officer gave an
interesting talk before we were free to wander around the exhibits
The City of London Police Museum takes visitors on a unique journey,
which includes the last hours of Catherine Eddowes, one of Jack the
Ripper’s victims; bomb damage during the Blitz; being at the forefront
of technology to counter terrorism and the current work against
economic crime and cybercrime.
The City of London Police has been responsible for policing the Square
Mile since   1839.
Over the course of more than 175 years, the force’s priorities have
remained the same: keep the City safe. It is also the UK’s leading
police force for fraud and economic crime.
The purpose-built museum is collaboration between the City of London
Police and the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Library, which is
situated next to the new museum at Guildhall, the City’s historic
headquarters. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded a grant of
c.£90,000 towards the development of the museum and associated
community engagement.
After lunch some of the group went to the local art gallery and London
Roman amphitheatre
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