Lunches
The lunches are held on the third Thursday of each month at 11.30 for 12.30 in the Homestead Court Hotel in Welwyn Garden City. Dress is normally smart casual with a jacket and tie for the men. Expect to get away by 3pm. The three course lunch with coffee costs £30 and includes a starter, meat main course, a dessert or cheese and biscuits, and coffee. An alternative main course “chef’s selection of fish”, may be pre-booked when registering for the lunch.
On arrival for lunch members check in by the hotel reception. Those who have ordered a variant from the menu will receive an envelope containing cards which indicate a diner's choice of alternative for the 'Starter, Main Course and Desert or Cheese and Biscuits’. They should be displayed on their lunch table to help the waiting staff. A cash bar is open for drinks before, and with the meal.
Lunches must be booked no later than the Friday of the week before the lunch. The club has recently introduced an online lunch booking scheme which has made life easier for both lunch attendees, the Lunch Secretary and other committee members. Links to the online booking forms are emailed to members about one month ahead of each upcoming lunch. Details of the lunches, along with the necessary booking forms are also included in the Newsletter. The club also strongly encourages lunch payment by online bank transfer.
Any Member who is unable to attend after booking is responsible for the cost unless a cancellation is notified by the Friday previous to the booked lunch.
Some individual members reserve seats for themselves and their guests by placing cards on the tables. Whilst this has disadvantages and is less than ideal, nobody has yet come up with a more acceptable idea!
Details of the talks to be given at the next two lunches are given below. The dates and times of Lunches, outings and other upcoming events, can be found on the Google Calendar of HELC Events. This is currently set as Agenda view, but you can change to Week or Month view; you can also print a list of events over any range of dates you choose. Public Holidays are shown in green text, all HELC items are a different colour. Click on an event to see full details, including a link to a map of the meeting point or venue.
17 July 2025
The Women of Bletchley Park
Mike Barbakoff
This talk provides a view of the material contribution made by the women of Bletchley Park to its extraordinary success in codebreaking and intelligence against the Axis powers in World War II. Women represented 70% of the Bletchley Park workforce of nearly 9,000. Consisting of civilians, WAAF, WRENS and ATS, the women of Bletchley Park undertook an extraordinary range of work from codebreaking to operating the various technologies developed to tackle the challenges of the Government Code and Cypher School, both at home and abroad. The talk also covers their recruitment, off-duty activities and brings to the fore some of the famous names associated with Bletchley Park.
After a career in Information Technology and Management Consultancy, Mike decided to volunteer at Bletchley Park about eight years ago, having visited there quite regularly over the previous ten years. Initially serving as a steward, Mike soon was invited to join the Turing-Welchman Bombe Team and trained as an operator and demonstrator of the device. The Bombe was transferred to The National Museum of Computing a few years ago and Mike continues to demonstrate it there along with explaining Enigma code-breaking. About five years ago, he was invited to become a Guide at Bletchley Park and now regularly conducts historical tours for visitors around the estate. He regularly speaks to U3A Groups, Rotary Clubs, Historical Societies and other interested parties. Mike has built a comprehensive reference library on Signals Intelligence in WWII and has authored a book on the US Army Cryptologic Bombe in WWII. He is currently working on his second about the cryptologic use of Hollerith Punched cards in WWII having researched at the National Archives over the past couple of years.
21 August 2025
Gardening in the Third Age – Gadgets & Gizmos
Anne Luder
Whether it be purpose bought or just an old milk bottle adaptation; this talk is a look at ways we can make gardening easier and enjoyable, not outdoor housework. Anne also talks about the benefits of gardening for health, exercise and relaxation.
Anne has worked as a garden designer for over twenty-five years, designing both public and private gardens and specialising in allergy-free and challenging gardens and incorporating edible plants into her planting designs. When planning a garden she encourages and involves the owners so that they learn about how to maintain the garden.
At the beginning of Anne’s horticultural career, she spent four years in charge of propagation at a nursery in Essex where many of the staff had learning disabilities. Anne was a lecturer at Capel Manor College, specialising, in therapeutic horticulture for severe physical disabilities and grew the provision of this therapy at the college.
Anne is involved in the landscaping and is a Trustee of a Natural Burial Ground in Cheshunt where much of it will eventually be a new British native woodland.
