Other Interests

What do we do?

The thrill of seeking out antiques (items over 100 years old) is the history associated with them – for example, what stories a wine glass from the 18th Century could tell!

However, items from any period have their history. Currently, the trend is towards furniture, lighting and other items from the 1950’s and 1960’s (Mid-century). A sideboard my Mother had when I was a child is now worth a good price much to her surprise! Another item “on trend” at the moment is Scandinavian jewellery, especially by Georg Jensen which is very elegant and chic. Old metal advertising signs (even with the added rust!) are also very popular.

In terms of collectables, people can collect many different things e.g. silver pin cushions, art glass, militaria (medals etc), railway memorabilia, toys from the 1950’s and 1960’s. Really, anything can be collected – it is up to the individual. I like to collect German porcelain for example, by Graff and Kaiser and am always looking out for pieces on my visits to the various Centres.

The Antiques and Collectables Interest Group will continue to meet in 2024 on the last Wednesday of the month where we shall continue to visit Antiques Centres across Suffolk.

I am also hoping to arrange visits to local Auctions for people who may not have had experience of them and wish to understand the process. We could also visit some Antiques and Collectable Fairs which also take place, where an array of interesting items can be found. A list of such Fairs can be found at the “Antiques Atlas” – http://www.antiques-atlas.com

If you would like to walk through history via the medium of Antiques and Collectables, then come and join us!

What do we do?

We are a recently formed mutual support group for family carers who are looking after someone living with dementia.

We currently meet on the second Tuesday of each month. Our meetings provide information with short talks from experts and providers, as well as providing an opportunity to exchange information and provide mutual support. Costs are shared and we each pay £5 per head to cover meeting room hire and incidental expenses.

In addition, we hold a monthly walk for family carers and those they care for on the fourth Tuesday of every month at Nowton Park. No charge is made for the walks but anyone attending, both carers and cared for, needs to be u3a members to ensure that full public liability cover is in place for all attendees. Geoffrey Webb, a very experienced wellness walk leader, has offered to act as a walk leader for our initial walks.

The Nowton Park café is also a good place to get coffee or tea afterwards.

We are open to new members, and open to ideas from members on what else they would like the group to do.

We are hoping to attract new members from u3A. In addition we are in contact with the healthcare professions working in dementia care in the NHS and independent organisations such as Alzheimer’s UK. There are numbers of forms of dementia and the group exists to support any dementia carer.

What do we do?

We are looking for someone to take on the role of Leader/Co-ordinator of the Internet & Computer Clinic.

In the past, we have run weekly drop-in sessions and several workshops built around getting started on the internet and on-line safety, which members very much appreciated. Ideally, we need someone with an IT, telecoms or tech-related customer services background to take on this role. The future direction of the group would be in the hands of a new group leader. Website co-ordinator Martin Saul and other committee members would be able to assist and advise.

To find out more and discuss the role, contact Martin on websitecontent@u3aburystedmunds.co.uk

Separate to the workshops, members who wish to discuss a particular problem with their device, please email Martin, giving a brief description of your problem and we will try to help you by email.