speaker Mr Vince Williams started the New Year with a talk and slides on his 1997 trek to K2 in the Himalayas.

He went to place a plaque commemorating Mr Jeff Lakes, who died on K2 in 1995 following a terrible storm.

The storm also claimed the lives of six climbers, including Alison Hargreaves who, earlier in 1995, was the first woman to climb Everest without oxygen. Accompanying Vince was Jeff's father and another friend. Temperatures can drop to -20C so thorough preparations were essential.

They flew to Islamabad and after a six-hour jeep ride, guides and porters took them to the base of K2, where they attached the plaque to a cairn. The scenery shown was both stunning and awe inspiring, truly an amazing trip.

Condolences were sent to Mrs Beryl Colloff on the death of her husband, Sydney, a long-standing member of the U3A. Best wishes were expressed for the speedy recovery of our chairman, Mrs Alexandra Waters, currently in hospital.