At the June meeting of the Salisbury U3A the secretary, Neville Jennings, announced that he was now taking orders for U3A diaries for 2007. They cost £1.80. The Annual lunch will be held on 25 October, at 12 noon at South Wilts Grammar School. The hospitality contribution for courses is raised to 40 pence. There are vacancies in the coffee rota. Longstock Water gardens will be open on 16 July in aid of Salisbury Trust for the Homeless.

Christine Dickson explained how to register for next year’s courses, putting in order of preference the classes you would like most. Application forms and programmes are now out, and forms must be returned before 12 July.

John Ewington gave notice of the following outings: 19 July to Waddesdon Manor; 20 September, a mystery tour with cream teas, museum and views of the sea; 19 November a visit to the Fred Olson ship “Black Watch”.

Tesco has asked that U3A members do not park their cars near the store when going on outings. Please park at the recycling end of the car park.

Margaret Court gave a very moving account of her life in Rwanda from 1963 to 1983. She was administrator to a boys’ boarding school , and also took assemblies and taught RE and secretarial skills. In 1965 the first Rwandan was made Bishop of Rwanda, and Margaret became his secretary, and started a Church publishing company. This produced more Christian literature, which they sold from the back of the car. In 1983 she was asked to return to Britain to be General Secretary of the Mission for 8 years. In 1992 she returned to Rwanda to run a training programme for lay readers. The situation in Rwanda in 1994 was so tense and dangerous that she moved to South West Rwanda, where she set up training courses in a new diocese.

The genocide in 1994 was the result of several pressures: an obsession for power, a heavily populated area with little work for youths, propaganda in the media, and other countries selling arms to the dissidents. The general populace was pushed out of their homes to the neighbouring countries. The refugees suffered cholera. After 100 days of fighting the Rwandan Peoples Front took control. The situation currently is that traditional courts have been established, and thousands of refugees have returned.