LAUNCESTON and District u3a are a group who not only enjoy making the most of life with like-minded people in around 30 sociable activities, but during the past year have also raised a considerable amount of money for both local and national charities.

Every month, except December, a coffee morning is held at the Central Methodist Church hall, when different groups take it in turn to donate the money raised from refreshments to a charity of their choice.

The charities for 2025 ranged from mainly local, to countywide, regional and national and we are happy to report that the total amounted to £2,486.02. South West Children’s Hospice was the main beneficiary, the sum of £589.22 being raised from our Christmas Market in November – an event open to the public which has now become an annual event.

Members look forward to welcoming new members at the coffee mornings, (10am to noon, last Friday in the month, at the hall), where they can meet new friends and often enjoy listening to an interesting speaker.

If anyone has some spare time on your hands and are looking for something interesting and worthwhile to do, why not check out our website and come along?

Website: launceston.u3asite.uk

A FINE congregation was in attendance at Rehoboth Singalong, on March 8, to hear Christopher Andrew the Pastor of Torrington Baptist Church, who led the meeting well.

Delightful music was provided by the Tresmeer Handbell Ringers who played "Amazing Grace" as well as other much loved tunes, including "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's ninth symphony.

Barbara Uglow played for the hymns. The splendid acoustic of the chapel greatly portrayed the harmonic beauty of the bells. A fine supper prepared by the ladies of the chapel, concluded the evening.

The charity box continues at the back of the chapel.

ON Saturday, April 11, at St Paternus Church in South Petherwin an information and consultation afternoon will be held in the Village Hall from 1pm to 4pm.

There will be a presentation in the Village Hall at 2pm and tours of the church from 1pm to 4pm.

A spokesperson said: “Come and have your say! Is the building redundant? Could you be a Friend of St Paternus.”

“Help decide the way forward. We are in danger of closing the church as a redundant building.”

BUDE and District U3A open monthly meeting was held at the Parkhouse Centre, Bude on February 19.

The chairman, Jim Buck, welcomed everyone and made a few general announcements. Nick Faulks, deputy chairman, then introduced the visiting speaker for the afternoon, Nick Cole whose talk was entitled ‘Weaving through Bude’s early history’ which was divided into four themes.

Atlantic Trading Facade and Gateway into Cornwall. Throughout pre-history and the Middle Ages most trade was by sea. Each harbour and promontory was an essential trading post. Trade routes extended right along the western and southern coasts of Britain. The harbour at Bude will have been an essential haven along the 50 kilometres of open sea between Padstow and Bideford Bay and as result of the tidal currents North & South from the Bristol was navigable.

The penultimate Ice Age left our coast with raised beaches and exposed rocks which created a significant natural breakwater.

The recent Exeter LIDAR project plotted a potential Roman installation and predicted linking roads. This image shows their findings and our region as a gateway. Each headland promontory and harbour was a major trading centre and navigation facilitator for the inland community.

Tintagel in the 6th century had more houses than London with goods from Turkey and Europe and the occupants dined on wine and oysters! 12th Century Estuary & Tidal Mill. There was a deep navigable haven and harbour to Helebridge. 10 Salt houses in at time of Doomsday. There will have been a lime kiln then or soon after with housing at Ebbingford Manor. Hiding behind the sand Hills. Sir John Arundell built a Tide Mill here, in 1577.

Richard Grenville, with Blanchminster help, made improvements to the Quay area. This painting shows the dry dock with a ship being loaded. When researching the Tide Mill book, Nick did some measurements from the bridge and that showed that the mill pool would have less than a metre to store even at Spring tides.

As a result Nick decided to do some climate and sea level research. Binhamy farm area has a long history ofsettlement. Mesolithic Research Findings. The archaeological research conducted in 2019 revealed evidence of Mesolithic settlements – Flint workings etc. The research found – amongst other things – cremated bones carefully buried in a pit, covered by a capping stone. This dated to around 3700 3641 BC. This is the very start of the Neolithic locally. Interesting to ask why this burial? The latest thinking is that the Neolithic farmers may have soon exhausted the soil and kept moving settlements and even took up pastoralism – particularly cow husbandry. It is thought this may have been a statement on their Strategic Northeast Cornwall.

Nick has long argued that our northeast region played a significant role in our early history. It was also the bastion of Cornwall. If you could not control the northeast, you could not enter deeper Cornwall. This image shows the nightmare of dangers faced by an aggressor trying to make way between the deepening Tamar and Bodmin Moors. Not until Egbert, in 814/15 AD, fought his way westward and held an Estate at Kilkhampton, was he shortly after able to move south and defeat The Cornish and Vikings at Hingston Down in 839.

The region, probably from Roman times, held controlling warlords. In the 6th century identified by St Sampson as Pagus Tricurius. A name that King Alfred also mentioned in his will. To the North of Stratton is Herdbury settlement. This is the largest Cornish settlement I have seen. It is enormous at around 100 metres diameter. It enjoys a massive controlling panorama on the North-South watershed.

Whoever was the settlement leader here, he had enormous manpower at his disposal. The protecting ditch is dramatic and will have been more than 300 metres in circumference. Maybe even prove of their being there, should they want to return.

The afternoon concluded with the usual tea and biscuits. In between monthly meetings Bude U3A members enjoy pursuing a wide variety of interests. If anyone would like to find out more they will be very welcome to drop in on a coffee mornings held on the first Friday of the month at The Weir, or the third Friday of the month at the Falcon Hotel from 10.30am, or visit our website at www.budeu3a.co.uk

YOUNG entrepreneurs from Marhamchurch C of E Academy have been crowned winners of the Rotary Club of Bude Enterprise Challenge.

Working with staff member Sharon Herzog, the Year 6 pupils were tasked with designing and creating festive items on a minimal budget before selling them to the public. Their handmade Christmas decorations were stocked in a local village shop, where the team’s creativity and business planning helped them achieve the highest profit in the competition.

The challenge, organised by the Rotary Club of Bude, encourages young people to develop business skills, teamwork and creativity through an “Apprentice-style” project. Entries are often judged by local experts from the community.

Thanks to their success, the pupils won prize money to share between the school and their chosen charity, Born to be Wild, a Bude-based wildlife rescue. The charity is a favourite among the children at Marhamchurch due to its work caring for local wildlife and the environment.

The project gave pupils the chance to experience the full process of running a small enterprise, from designing and making products to budgeting, marketing and selling to customers.

THANKS were expressed to all those who supported the past concerts at St Stephen’s Church in Launceston.

The team behind them hope people have been enjoying the music.

The legacy fund for local children's access to music is beginning to grow and we are thrilled to be welcoming our next International Artists Geirthrudur Gottmansdottir and Antoine Preat to give a Spring Recital on April 16 as part of the St Stephen's Concert Series.

Tickets are now on sale at buytickets.at/ststephenschurch/2077640

Masterclasses are also available, and places are limited so book early.

Able to join the team?

A spokesperson said: “We need more helpers to ensure the success of our concerts now that they are growing! People who can make posters, print posters, deliver posters, do admin, email people, run refreshments, host musicians, feed musicians, transport musicians, generally offer support... even create a website for us... very much needed! If you could offer a few hours each year to help make these concerts a success please email me to find out more. Thank you for your enthusiasm for our dream!”

Email [email protected] for more information.