Henley u3a

POET Jean Hill presented her ever popular, funny, topical and nostalgic poems as part of a talk called “The rhythm of life using poetry” following Henley u3a’s annual meeting held at Sacred Heart Church Hall in Walton Avenue on April 10.

Jean has presented poetry to many groups over the years and has read some of her poems on BBC Radio Berkshire.

She has written poetry since the age of nine and has published nine books, five of which are of poetry.

Jean opened her talk with an audience participation presentation which captured their attention from the very first minute.

It’s clear that the members of Henley u3a are “a much-travelled lot” from countries listed from A to Z.

It was clear throughout the presentation that Jean has a wonderful sense of humour.

This was apparent to members of her family from a very early age as she gave them a good “chuckle”.

Jean kept enthralling the audience with a barrage of funny poems and anecdotes that they could relate to.

One rendition that greatly amused the audience was called Calling Susan. It reflected on how two sisters were addressing the issue of “what to do with their elderly mother”.

It turned out that mother had other ideas about life as a “senior”, which included taking her “toy-boy” on exotic holidays and cruises — certainly not planned by the conservative sisters.

Throughout the talk the audience appreciated the pacy renditions that kept them entertained.

Sadly, Jean lost her
husband in September 2019 but she promised to carry on presenting and has kept her promise.

Henley u3a offers more than 20 interest groups and new members are always welcome. It holds a programme of talks for members and the public at 2pm on the second Wednesday of each month.

The venue is Sacred Heart Church hall in Walton Avenue, off Vicarage Road, with parking available.

For more information, call 07879 380736 or visit u3asites.org.uk/henley-on-thames

Stewart Redman