Tuesday 2 October 2018

Tuesday

At least I think it is Tuesday.   When one is retired it is easy to muddle up the days and really I need pointers/markers to identify what day it is.   Tuesday - alternate weeks - is that day when W and I go down to TOSH (The old school house), which is a community centre with all kinds of activities.   Every other Tuesday lunch time A cooks a meal for whoever likes to turn up as long as they are over 60.   Today it was lamb casserole.
A is a volunteer and gives her services (and provides the recipes) along with another lady who provides a pudding.   Usually there are around a dozen of us there; we all get along well together and we have an hour and a half of chat and a delicious meal.   Today the lamb casserole was delicious - the lamb had been provided by W; she has a few fields which she lets to a local farmer and he pays her in kind.   Pud was Dutch Apple Cake and custard.   Followed by coffee or tea the meal costs  five pounds and worth every penny.

This afternoon there was a dancing group in the hall - another afternoon there is Tuesday club when members either have a speaker  or play a vaiety of games.  Our ukulele group meets there twice a month.   There is a film every Friday night.   These activities are all run under the auspices of the U3A which is very active in our area.   This afternoon the Garden Club have gone on an expedition to Ampleforth.

Now I am home and shall watch Antiques Road Trip.   I started to watch it last evening but fell asleep so need to catch up tonight.   Then it will be time to take Tess for her last walk before we shut the bungalow up for the night and get warm and cosy.   A sure sign that winter draws near.

13 comments:

busybusybeejay said...

Isn’t U3A great.We go to lots of groups and everyone is so friendly.We are only a small market town but have over 70 interest groups.

Rachel Phillips said...

U3A is very big round here too, as is the WEA, with many groups. I get the days muddled now that I don't work.

Sue in Suffolk said...

I enjoyed Antiques road trip, all round the bit of Suffolk where we used to live.
I think there is a U3A in Stowmarket, shall look it up

Derek Faulkner said...

If there are such groups here on Sheppey, I've never heard of them but that could be because I'm never looking for them. You certainly find good ways of filling your days up, coupled with eating out, it's nice to see. The only thing I get involved with here on a monthly basis, is the Parish Council.

diana said...

You seem to be blessed to live in an area/village where there are so many activities and fellowship opportunities for mature adults. Not so many here in the states...or at least not near me.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I can't speak too highly of U3A. But it does sometimes concern me that it only it attracts a certain type (ie retired professional people) and it still leaves many local retired people who are lonely and have nothing much to do. Many of the local ladies round here have brought up their families and been good housewives but really have little or no interest in the sort of clubs etc that U3A provide. Not sure what can be done about it though and maybe I should not worry as they might wish me to mind my own business.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

My mother goes to U3A and enjoys it, it means she gets out of the house which she doesn't do enough these days!

Joanne Noragon said...

Our weather has turned back to summer. Hard to figure!

Heather said...

Those U3A activities are so varied and no doubt greatly appreciated, and the lunch sounds wonderful value for money.
Yesterday I was cold by evening and put the heating on, but this morning it was very mild again and I hardly needed a jacket when I went for my walk. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
I will be lunching out myself tomorrow, along with several other residents from the flats in our development. We are having an outing to a large garden centre with excellent cafe and shopping outlets. I daresay money will be spent!

Bea said...

I love that every other Tuesday at TOSH the 'over 60 crowd' is able to have such a lovely lunch.

Cro Magnon said...

Mondays I go shopping. Fridays I go shopping. Saturdays are for our tiny market. The rest is a muddle.

Librarian said...

The U3A really makes life a lot more interesting for many people, by what I know from your blog (I'd never heard of it before). Like you say, there are other elderly people who are still loneley, but they need not be - they could just as well join in, couldn't they? It is probably not that they don't know about the activities. My mother-in-law in Ripon is 84, and she has always been a very private person. The only outings she likes these days are when her daughter takes her shopping and she can retreat to her own cottage instantly afterwards. She reads a lot, potters about in the house and garden (weather permitting), watches some TV, talks to one of her sisters or a friend on the phone (and every few weeks to me) and usually goes to bed early. She does not like having many people around; our family gatherings are always a bit too much for her.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for the comments everyone.