Andrew Negus gave a talk to the North Hampshire National Trust Centre on November 13 called Bishops, Buildings and Bones, Part 1. Winchester BC to 1100 AD.

This was a highly entertaining, light-hearted and somewhat impious talk, neatly illustrated by Andrew’s diverting slides.

He told members how and why Winchester grew from a collection of Iron Age huts into the splendid and artistic capital of England.

He introduced them to a colourful cast of characters, including Saints Birinus and Swithun, Kings Alfred, Canute and The Conqueror, and most exciting of all the irrepressible Queen Emma.

Andrew also told members about the rich and crafty bishops who created magnificent buildings, including two minsters, two abbeys and the longest cathedral in the world.

The afternoon finished with tea, cakes and a fervent hope that Andrew would regale members with Part 2 in the near future.

The North Hampshire National Trust Centre organises monthly visits in the summer and monthly talks in the winter. New members are always welcomed – apply at https://www.nhntc.co.uk

On January 16, after a friendly lunch, members of Milford Probus Club and visitors - who are always welcome - will hear Bring Me Sunshine, a lively and fun talk about the most illustrious and best loved double act that Britain has ever produced.

Tricia Thompson, who has a background in music and performance, will visit the huge television success of Morecambe and Wise, whose ritually ridiculed guests included Penelope Keith, Laurence Olivier, Glenda Jackson, Harold Wilson, André Previn and Angela Rippon. It will be a decidedly fun start to the new year. Lunch and the talk will cost £32.

Milford Probus Club is for retired and semi-retired business and professional men and women who enjoy comradeship, informative talks and wider activities.

Anyone interested should visit www.milfordprobus.com or book lunch - the week before - by calling Miranda O’Brien on 01483 423398 or emailing her at [email protected] /

The club’s activities include organised outings and enjoyable walks ending in a fine pub. Established in 1999, it has welcomed women members since 2016 and now has a female president.

Prospective members are invited to join lunches as paying guests while considering membership. There is a friendly bar and plenty of parking.

People who would like to learn, laugh and live life to the full, and who have spare time they would like to fill while making new friends, are invited to join Alton U3A.

It has more than 75 activity and interest groups from which to choose, including art and craft, dance and fitness, games, history, literature and music.

There are also social, cultural and weekend activities. For more information visit https://alton.u3asite.uk

Most activities take place at Alton Community Centre but there are some outdoor activities such as cycling and walking. Monthly talks and coffee mornings are open to all.

New members are always welcome and membership fees are reduced until the end of May. Fees are between £7 and £38. People can join via the Alton U3A website or by completing a membership application form available from Alton Community Centre.

The annual programme is available from Alton Community Centre, Alton Library, the Allen Gallery and the Curtis Museum.

For more information about a particular group, contact the group leader via the website. For general membership enquiries, email the membership secretary at [email protected]

On December 4 The Harting Society’s subject will be Space, the Ultimate High Ground and members will be welcoming the head of policy at UKspace, Stephanie Ayres.

UKspace is the official trade association and leading voice of the UK space industry, which it promotes in government and parliament, nationally and internationally.

Stephanie is responsible for co-ordinating policy and procurement campaigns in the defence and aerospace sectors.

Her objective is to help the UK space industry speak with one powerful voice as the country develops its capabilities in space.

This talk will be followed by the society’s Christmas party.

Talks are at Harting Village Hall and begin at 7.30pm, with the bar opening at 7pm.

Non-members and guests are very welcome, and invited to make a contribution of £5. For membership enquiries email Sarah Wilcox at [email protected]

At the end of October Farnham town councillor Brodie Mauluka, and Norma Corkish and Ann Foster of Farnham Rotary Club, visited Malawi as guests of the Malawi Schools Trust charity.

For six years the charity has been providing support to secondary schools in Malawi, a country which is consistently recorded as one of the poorest countries in terms of gross domestic product and development.

Most of the population depend on subsistence farming. Only 15 per cent of secondary school age children have secondary education, and just four per cent of girls complete it.

In 2012 a UNICEF Malawi Annual Report stated that an extra year of secondary school in Malawi increased earning potential by 15 to 25 per cent. The Malawi Schools Trust has developed a model for sustainable improvement of these schools so that more children can complete their secondary education.

The Malawi Schools Trust supports secondary schools with materials and resources to build sustainable improvement in school enrolment and performance.

This includes a range of materials including text books and teaching materials, bursaries, bikes, building materials, electrical power and materials for making uniforms and menstrual pads.

Working in partnership with local communities, the charity is able to build local initiatives including counselling for community groups. This helps the schools stand on their own once the charity’s three-year programme is completed.

The charity has completed work on two schools and is now working on its third and fourth schools.

Peter Everett, chair of the Malawi Schools Trust, said: “The results of our support have included hundreds of additional children accessing and completing their secondary education.”

During the visit the delegation from Rotary were able to deliver teaching materials, textbooks and a printer from money raised in Farnham.

And Brodie, who grew up in Malawi, was able to re-acquaint himself with his homeland.

Ann said: “We had a wonderful visit, and visited three schools and a local hospital. Perhaps the best part was listening to the stories of parents and pupils.

“It was fantastic to deliver the donation from Rotary and to see for ourselves the needs of the schools.”

Brodie added: “I was gobsmacked by the kindness of the people from the Malawi Schools Trust and how they are working.

“It was very good to see the impact of the work of the Malawi Schools Trust. I want to go back as soon as possible.

“It was also lovely to see the kindness and generosity of the Rotary Club of Farnham. I am working with the chair of the Malawi Schools Trust, Peter Everett, to organise a fundraising concert in 2026 to support the work of the charity.”

For more information visit www.Malawischoolstrust.org or email [email protected]

Lizzie Dunford, the director of Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, and Nicola Pritchard-Pink will be the speakers at the Hampshire Writers’ Society’s Jane Austen’s 250th Birthday Party at the Tower Arts Centre in Romsey Road, Winchester, on December 9 at 7.30pm.

Lizzie’s illustrated talk is called From the writing table to the world: the living legacy of Jane Austen’s House.

She will explore the extraordinary literary legacy of Jane Austen’s final home, and its ongoing global impact. As the place from which Austen revised and wrote all six of her novels, Jane Austen’s House holds a unique significance in the rise of the novel.

Using the extraordinary collection of letters, first editions and objects held at the museum, this talk will celebrate Austen’s life and storytelling within the walls of this special place, in this special anniversary year.

An avid reader from a young age, Lizzie has spent her career working in and caring for writers’ houses and historic house museums. She is a dedicated exponent of the power of storytelling through objects and space and has been director of Jane Austen’s House since 2020.

She writes and presents regularly on Austen and literary houses, as well as having a background in conservation and historic house management.

Nicola Pritchard-Pink’s talk is called What would Jane do? Austen’s writing practices.

In a year celebrating 250 years of this great novelist, this talk explores Austen’s writing practices and habits. Using her letters as sources for how she approached her writing throughout her life, the talk examines her earliest writing exploits as a teenager, and her attitudes to editing and publishing in her later years.

Nicola has a master’s in 18th-century studies from the University of Southampton and specialises in Georgian and Regency social history, with particular emphasis on Jane Austen, landscapes, country houses and domestic vocal music.

Specially commissioned for this event will be a Jane Austen birthday cake from an authentic Georgian recipe.

Admission costs £10 at the door (£2 students, free for Hampshire Writers’ Society members).