Salford u3a

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Salford u3a Fun, activities and learning opportunities for the retired and semi-retired of Salford

Looking forward to our monthly Social this Friday.Kath from the Craft group will be selling Christmas cards and gift tag...
14/10/2026

Looking forward to our monthly Social this Friday.

Kath from the Craft group will be selling Christmas cards and gift tags so bring along some spare cash. All proceeds will go to Salford Baby Bank https://daughtersofsalford.org.uk/

The Craft group meets monthly in Swinton and would welcome new members, particularly those with different craft skills e.g. needlework, knitting and crochet, to go with their paper work - it's all about sharing skills and ideas, in good company.

More details about the group and how to get in touch, here https://salfordu3a.com/groups/craft/

This month's guest speaker will be talking about the work done by Francis House Children's Hospice, for children and families throughout Greater Manchester.

If you're not a member and would like to know more about Salford u3a, you're welcome to drop in. We have a Meet and Greet team who will look after you.

Friday 16th October, 10am to 12 noon
Elm Bank, 46 Half Edge Lane, M30 9BA
On site parking (free) and a bus stop right outside.
Tea, coffee, biscuits and chat
£2 to help cover costs.

See you there!

https://salfordu3a.com/events/

14/10/2026

A Salford non-profit for retirees celebrated it's 40th anniversary and shared what makes it so special for the community.

LITTLE THEATRESOur Little Theatres group has had a great first year, taking advantage of the many “little” theatres arou...
06/10/2026

LITTLE THEATRES
Our Little Theatres group has had a great first year, taking advantage of the many “little” theatres around the area. Some have little in their title, some are little by capacity, all are little (compared to the big theatres) in terms of ticket price: the group stays below a maximum price of £20.

The latest trip was to see St Joseph’s Players in Leigh, performing the wartime escapist comedy, Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward. The cast made the most of the witty dialogue, and revelled in the larger than life characters, with some great opportunities for seances, ghostly shenanigans and dry martinis all round (not for the group, though).

Next up will be A Woman in Mind, at Bolton Little Theatre, and Betty and Joan, at Farnworth Little Theatre. New members welcome to the regular coffee morning where you can meet the rest of the group and plan future trips.

https://salfordu3a.com/groups/little-theatres/
https://salfordu3a.com/

Enjoy a free Beethoven concert in Manchester and help with research into music and hearing.On Thursday 29 October at 3pm...
03/10/2026

Enjoy a free Beethoven concert in Manchester and help with research into music and hearing.

On Thursday 29 October at 3pm, Manchester Camerata will perform extracts from Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony at The Stoller Hall in Manchester as part of a free research concert exploring the experience of listening to live music with hearing loss and hearing aids.

The research is part of the Cadenza project, which is looking at how hearing aids can be better designed for music. The concert is open to people with and without hearing loss, and you do not need to be a hearing-aid user to take part.

It should be a fascinating afternoon for anyone who loves classical music — and by taking part, you can help researchers understand how hearing technology could make listening to music a better experience.

The concert is free, but places need to be booked in advance at https://cadenzachallenge.org/docs/camerata/intro

Thanks to Trevor Cox, Professor of Acoustic Engineering at Salford University for this invitation.
(photo courtesy of pixabay)

The Plants and Gardens group found a fascinating local garden for their September visit. Thanks to Sheila for this repor...
02/10/2026

The Plants and Gardens group found a fascinating local garden for their September visit. Thanks to Sheila for this report.

“Monton's "Jungle" garden was the venue for our September meeting, where we were welcomed by owners Tony and Tracey.

Their gardens, both front and back, contain numerous exotic style plants, some with leaves that can best be described as enormous! We were able to learn a lot about this style of gardening and we were impressed with Tony's knowledge about these plants.

Many thanks to Tony and Tracey for opening their garden to us and showing us round.”

Rather strange-looking chap in the first photo - maybe getting ready early for Halloween.

The group will be going into hibernation for the next couple of months i.e. meeting indoors at Eccles Gateway. For October, they will have a talk on Tudor gardens and, on the 40th anniversary theme, gardens and gardening in the 1980s. Then it will be planning for next year's adventures. What a busy group!

https://salfordu3a.com/
Older people in Salford

The European City Breaks group has been on its travels again, this time to Bilbao. Nine of us explored the city, its old...
24/09/2026

The European City Breaks group has been on its travels again, this time to Bilbao.

Nine of us explored the city, its old town, galleries – including the Guggenheim, with Jeff Koons Puppy – museums, Ribera market, riverside walks and wonderful views courtesy of the funicular.

Some travelled further afield, up the river to Portugalete and the oldest operating transporter bridge in the world – an impressive sight – or along the coast to beautiful San Sebastian. And plenty of opportunity for our Spanish-speaking members to get some practice.

To mark Salford u3a’s 40th anniversary, we set ourselves the challenge of eating 40 different pintxos (mini tapas) between us. Chris was tasked with keeping a record and created this poem in honour of our efforts.

There once was a group in Spain,
To try 40 pintxos their aim.
From bar to bar in Bilbao,
Squid, prawns, bacalao...
The u3a European City Breaks Group was their name.
(and they reached their target, so they claim)

Where next? That’s yet to be decided but I’m sure we’ll come up with something for the Spring.

Lots more photos here to give you a fuller flavour of Bilbao and the area https://salfordu3a.com/galleries/ecb-bilbao2026/
https://salfordu3a.com/groups/european-city-breaks/

This year’s holiday, organised by our Social Secretaries, Janet and Ken, was to Norfolk. Thanks to Sheila for this repor...
21/09/2026

This year’s holiday, organised by our Social Secretaries, Janet and Ken, was to Norfolk.
Thanks to Sheila for this report.

“Sandringham, Wroxham and a boat trip on the Norfolk Broads were just a few of the places which we visited on our recent u3a holiday to Norfolk.

Sandringham, in particular, was certainly a highlight for many with access to some of the rooms in the house and walks in the beautiful formal gardens. Fortunately for us, it was a beautiful day weather wise too.

Our accommodation was a little different than usual - Potters Resort at Hopton on Sea. The holiday centre had a really interesting history, well worth investigating. We were very impressed with the standards of food, drink, entertainment and facilities - all enhanced by the excellent staff."

Sounds like a great trip!

https://salfordu3a.com/trips/
https://salfordu3a.com/

Our first Book Club started in July 2010 and can claim three original members, including their Convenor. Their first pic...
06/09/2026

Our first Book Club started in July 2010 and can claim three original members, including their Convenor. Their first pick was The House of Special Purpose, and John Boyne had been a favourite author ever since.

They plan their programme for the year and meet monthly to discuss their choices. Covid didn’t stop them as they took to Zoom to keep up with their reading and to maintain contact, as did several of our groups.

They’ve had three trips to London to join the audience for Radio 4’s Book Club with James Naughtie, and they regularly attend Manchester Literature Festival and other author events.

For the 40th anniversary, they are reading Chernobyl Strawberries by Vesna Goldsworthy, a book about the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, 40 years ago.

We usually have a couple of spare places in one of our Book Clubs so if you're interested, get in touch. If you have an idea for a "special interest" book club, let us know and we'll see if there's interest and help you get it going.

https://salfordu3a.com/

Outdoor theatre is always a risky venture, even in a summer like this, and members of the Let’s Go group were looking at...
01/09/2026

Outdoor theatre is always a risky venture, even in a summer like this, and members of the Let’s Go group were looking at the weather forecast with some trepidation, but the theatre gods were smiling on us.

We had a fine evening for Folksy Theatre’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at Ordsall Hall. Billed as “love, laughter and a little bit of lunacy”, it lived up to its billing and, with a fair amount of audience participation, we were glad we weren’t on the front row!

Ordsall Hall is such a wonderful venue, having survived since the 16th century (with earlier foundations) amidst all the many changes Salford has seen over the centuries.



You'll find all our groups here https://salfordu3a.com/groups/

We had a busy Social morning this month.Our guest speaker was Eleanor Roberts, Archivist for the Halle Orchestra. She ga...
30/08/2026

We had a busy Social morning this month.

Our guest speaker was Eleanor Roberts, Archivist for the Halle Orchestra. She gave us a very interesting introduction to the Permanent Principle Conductors during its 168 year history, highlighting their commitment to making the orchestra central to Manchester’s cultural life. Charles Halle believed that music should be within the reach of everyone, not just subscribing members of musical societies, with the cheapest seats costing 1/-. Halle is unique in having an orchestra named after him.

Our Social Secretaries announced an outing to Castle Howard on 4th December for A Dickens of a Christmas. That went down very well and may well be fully booked by now.

And Kath, convenor of the Craft group, had cards and other items for sale, with proceeds going to Salford Baby Bank https://daughtersofsalford.org.uk/

Next month, the Craft group will be selling Christmas cards etc., so start planning early and bring along your cash.

Our monthly Social mornings are open to all. If you’re interested and would like to know more about Salford u3a, you’d be welcome to drop in. Our Meet and Greet team will make you welcome.
Here’s a list of future dates and speakers https://salfordu3a.com/events/

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