6th Nov – Charles Dickens Museum – Visits

48 Doughty Street in Bloomsbury was the London home of Charles Dickens 1837-1839.

The five-storey house opened as a museum 100 years ago on 9 June 1925. It holds the world’s most important Dickens collection. It contains many mementos from Dickens’s life and writings.

The house is furnished throughout as it was when Dickens and his family were in residence. There are thousands of objects on display, including the writing desk where he wrote Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. I

n the basemen kitchen is the washhouse copper, which was cleaned out every December so they could boil the Christmas pudding. The artefacts, manuscripts, paintings and furniture give a valuable insight into Dickens’s life,

his family and the times in which they lived.

Only small handbags or backpacks are allowed in the Museum and must be worn on the front, or carried by hand.

After the visit, to round off your day, you may want to spend time in the British Museum, which is a short walk away from Dickens’s house.
Date: Thursday, 6 November

Meeting Time/Place: 10.15am, Waterloo Station opposite platforms 1-4

Travel: We leave the Station via the escalator to walk to the bus stop and take a bus to Russell Square (details to follow). After refreshments at the Caffè Tropea in the Square (not included in the price), we set off for the 15/20-minute walk to the Museum. Depending on the group size, our entry may be staggered, with half entering at 12pm and half at 12.15pm. If this is the case, the second group will stay a little longer at the Caffè to avoid congestion outside the Museum.

Cost: £11.35 (entry to Museum and self-guided tour). There is no reduction for National Art Pass holders when in a group.

Accessibility: There are five floors with many stairs. There is a staff operated platform lift as far as the 4th floor, then stairs to the attic.

To join us, please fill in the form in the centre of this newsletter and send it with your cheque, made payable to Kingston u3a GAS, to Hazel Burr.

07950 687553

Please keep this page for reference.

London Region U3A Talks and Walks August to October

Surrey Network Study Days

Study Days 2026

Friday 17th April 2026 – “England’s Glory”: Development of British Battleships, 1860-1945
Presented by Andrew Choong Han Lin, Curator at The National Maritime Museum

Friday 15th May 2026 – Truth, Lies, Risk & Reason ***
Presented by Philip Harris, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Sussex

Friday 19th June 2026 – 300 Years of English Theatre: From the Rise of the Elizabethan Playhouses to the Fall of Oscar Wilde ***
Presented by Giles Ramsay, Independent Theatre Producer, Director & Lecturer

Friday 18th September 2026 – The Bayeux Tapestry: Its Creation & Its Interpretation ***
Presented by Imogen Corrigan BA MPhil FRHistS FRSA, Lecturer on Medieval History

Friday 16th October 2026 – World Affairs in the Middle East & Africa: Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa & Nigeria
Presented by Steve Bird, Lecturer on Military History & Current Affairs

Friday 20th November 2026 – The Music & Satire of Gilbert & Sullivan ***
Presented by Bernard Lockett, Gilbert & Sullivan Society

Kingston U3A

Welcome to Kingston U3A

Prospective members: Welcome to Kingston U3A! If you have recently retired, or are coming up to that exciting third age phase of your life, there is so much to do! We have an extensive range of groups you can join, covering everything from literature through arts, music, walks, discussions, dancing and table tennis to games, languages and science.   There are regular monthly meetings with an interesting talk, introductory get-togethers for new members and a chance to meet people and make new friends. There is a wide monthly programme of visits to places of interest and a holiday, abroad or in the UK, every year. This website will give you a lot of information about all of these and many other activities. Please browse and let us know if you would like to join us.

Existing members please make regular visits to this website as we will be posting up-to-date information as it becomes available.

To find out more of the U3A s history please follow the link :-    U3A History

Other Organisations

These cover a wide range of events and activities notified to us by the organisers, which may be of interest to you.  These have no direct connection with the U3A.

London Region U3A

This is the site of the London Region of the University of the Third Age (U3A). We have 33 autonomous U3As in the Region. The U3As are self-help, self-managed lifelong learning co-operatives for older people no longer in full time work, providing opportunities for their members to share learning experiences in a wide range of interest groups and to pursue learning not for qualifications, but for fun.

This site is useful for seeing events happening across London. We highlight some events and Shared Learning Projects on our own website as well but this gives you a fuller picture of what is available

https://u3asites.org.uk/london-region/welcome

Kingston U3A Records Archive

There is a small but growing collection of Kingston u3a archival material. This has been deposited with Kingston Heritage Service, and is available on request for consultation at Kingston History Centre. It is stored off-site and you need to give about two weeks’ notice of items you would like to see. Please click on the link below for more about Kingston History Centre.

Current Archive Collection – Listing

The Catalogue is listed in two file versions as some members have had problems seeing the excel version.

u3a ARCHIVE CATALOGUE May 2024

excel version

u3a ARCHIVE CATALOGUE May 2024

pdf version

Please email  Jacqui Humphreys for more information or if you think you have any suitable material to add to the collection.

jacquihumphreys3@gmail.com

____________________________________________________________________________

Nomination form to stand for Kingston U3A Committee

Nomination-Form-2020-2

Kingston Constitution Update 2021

KU3A Constitution 2021-04-12

Kingston U3A Data Protection Policy

Kingston U3A Data Protection Policy 2018-06-15v4

Principles of the U3A Movement

Principles of the U3A Movement

Terms and Conditions of Membership

Kingston U3A-Membership T&C 2018-19v1

Third Age Trust – National U3A  Body  – Research Participation Advice

We are often asked to publicise research studies and trials to our members.  Where we do so it is because we believe it may be of interest to you and we are not endorsing or promoting the research study in any way.  U3A has not undertaken any checks or due diligence on the relevant department or the study and accepts no liability whatsoever if you decide to agree to participate.  If you choose to take part in any study, you do so at your own risk and in your own capacity (and not as member of U3A).  You should make sure that you understand all the risks associated with any study before you sign up and ensure that you understand the time commitment, any restrictions and possible side effects.  You should also ensure that you will be insured as part of the study.

Incident Report Form – for U3A related activity were an insurance claim might be incurred.

Incident Report Form2017

Shared Learning Projects – Explanation !

If you are interested in research and want to work with other people on topics that interest you, then a Shared Learning Project could be the thing for you.

These Projects are agreed with an organization or institute (such as a museum, art gallery, library, stately home or charity) and focus on activity that will be stimulating to the participants and of benefit to the institution involved.   Projects may also be set up by U3As together to explore a local theme or topic.

Since they started 12 years ago, London Region members have participated in over 50 projects in partnership with a variety of organizations from the British Film Institute to the Foundling Museum. Subjects have included nursing, family and social history, education, archeology, natural history and historic buildings. A list indicating range of projects undertaken can be found on the U3A national website.   Research subjects have included social and local history, archaeology, natural history, music and literature.  There have also been some evaluation projects. A list indicating the range of projects undertaken can be found on the U3A national website

The projects last for twelve weeks and a group of twelve or so people are recruited from U3As across London to work together. Members of the team carry out agreed research individually or in pairs and meet fortnightly to share their work. There is usually a presentation at the end and the outcome of the work is written up as a report or leaflet or sometimes the material is placed on a website.  

See link for more details

http://u3asitec.org.uk/live/code/u3asite.php?site=368&page=14992