Literature, Theatre & Film Groups
Jan Tuffs
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Monthly, second Tuesday at 10.30 finishing at 12 noon.
Venue: upstairs at the Apex.
We now have 1 vacancy.
What do we do?
Our aim is to promote friendship through reading. Our book choices are suggested by members for an annual reading list. We try to cover a wide range from the classics, thrillers, historical novels, biographies, detective fiction, as well as current best sellers. Members volunteer to lead the monthly review. We also recommend and chat about other books we’ve been reading.
Click here for a picture of our group
Read our latest book reviews here
Other books we’ve been reading and recommend are:
THE INK BLACK HEART by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling, the 6th and latest and longest Cormoran Strike.
A LITTLE LIFE by Hanya Yanagihara – four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way in life.
OH WILLIAM! by Elizabeth Strout – novel about the husband of fictional writer Lucy Barton.
THE DICKENS BOY by Thomas Keneally – Charles Dickens’ youngest son was sent to Australia at 16. This combines fact and fiction detailing his adventures in the outback on a remote sheep station.
THE CICERO TRILOGY by Robert Harris: Dictator, Lustrum, Imperium.
It’s that time of year again when we suggest titles for the next (academic) year’s reading list. Categories we consider when casting our votes are autobiography, best seller, biography, crime, classic/or twist on classic, comedy, espionage, fantasy/science fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, overseas author and psychological drama.
The Group is currently full and there is a short waiting list.
Alternatively, waiting list members could start a new Group – please fill in the form, section 1 https://www.u3aburystedmunds.co.uk/joining-a-group/
Maureen Lion
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
2nd Monday of the month, at the Market Cross Cafe (in the centre of town), from 10 am to midday
What do we do?
Our Group members decide on a range of books that they would like to read and discuss over the coming months. This results in a wide and enjoyable selection.
Unfortunately, this group is currently full. However please contact the group leader if you’d like to be added to the ‘interest/waiting’ list and also email secretary@u3aburystedmunds.co.uk so that when there are enough numbers you can be contacted to learn how to start another book group – all support and help provided.
Sue Lewry
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
1st Wednesday of the month at 2pm, at a members home.
What do we do?
Our aim is to promote friendship amongst u3a members through reading.
The group does not have a formal leader, but functions as an informal co-operative. Each monthly meeting is led by the member who suggested the book for that month.
A quarterly reading list is assembled from suggestions submitted by members of the group. Over time a wide range of genre is covered. This includes old and new classics, historical novels, biographies and autobiographies, thriller and crime novels, factual and fiction. Current best sellers are included once they are available in paperback or on Kindle.
The Group is currently full please contact the Group leader to be added to the waiting list.
Alternatively, waiting list members could start a new Group – please fill in the form, section 1 https://www.u3aburystedmunds.co.uk/joining-a-group/
Desme Smith
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
First Wednesday of the month
2-4pm at Oakes Barn
What do we do?
With a shared obsession and love of reading, we are a small group who thoroughly enjoy discussing a diverse range of books.
We have no set genre.
One of the joys we find of being in a book group is reading books we wouldn’t necessarily choose.
Read our latest book reviews here
The Angel Book Group is now full. Should anyone like to be added to the waiting list then they should email Desme directly to be added to the waiting list.
Norman Dann
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
We meet in the Abbeygate Cinema Cafe, at 2pm on the 4th Tuesday of each month.
There is lift access.
What do we do?
We aim to read books of all types, which will be suggested by members, but the emphasis will be on modern(ish) fiction.
The many pleasures of belonging to a book group include reading books you wouldn’t have otherwise read and listening to a surprisingly wide range of opinion on each book!
The group is currently full but if you wish to go on a waiting list please contact the group leader. In addition, you can also complete the form section 1) Joining an Interest Group – u3a Bury St Edmunds
Maggie Wotherspoon
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
We meet on the 1st Monday of each month at 11am upstairs at the Abbeygate Cinema, Hatter Street.
What do we do?
We choose one or two films to see independently and then we discuss them at the following meeting. Normally one person gives a short presentation on each film.
We now have space for 3 members. Please contact Maggie for more details.
David Dunnett
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
We meet on the first Thursday of the month (apart from August) at 11am to 1pm, at Abbeygate Cinema, Hatter Street.
What do we do?
We are a group of like-minded people who enjoy movies. Meeting once a month, over a cup of coffee, we have the opportunity to share what movies we have seen and what is coming up.
Due to the difficulties over the past 18 months, we have expanded our viewing to include streaming platforms such as Netflix.
Time is also given for individuals to make a presentation to the group on aspects of the world of movies that are of particular interest such as favourite directors, actors, music etc.
The Group is currently full and there is a short waiting list.
Alternatively, waiting list members could start a new Group – please fill in the form, section One https://www.u3aburystedmunds.co.uk/joining-a-group/
Kate King
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
We meet on the second Thursday of the month at 10.00 at Edmundo Lounge
What do we do?
Writing and story-telling have played different roles in our lives, but we share a common love of words and stories, and a wish to improve our writing abilities.
We have capacity to take on new members.
Please contact Kate, the group leader for details.
Information for prospective members:
Writing is a solitary activity but telling your stories requires an audience. Each month we agree on a writing prompt, and over the following weeks we write a story of some 1500 words (just a guideline, not a requirement) to read to other members. Do we laugh or gasp at the right moments? Can we suggest a word or phrase that better conveys your intention?
Together we get better at expressing our thoughts and finding our own voices.
If you are already working on a writing project and would like to bring chapters along to try out, that is also encouraged.
Each year Let’s Talk Suffolk magazine runs a short story competition to select the stories that will appear in the magazine over the next 12 months. This year, three members of the Creative Writing Group have had stories chosen for publication. Congratulations to Eunice Roberts, Susan Daniels, and Kate King.
Maggie Pearson
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
1st Tuesday of the month , in the afternoon 2-4pm at Oaks Barn, St Andrews Street South.
Please contact the group leader for more information.
What do we do?
The English Medieval Literature group (previously Chaucer Group) will be continuing from September onwards in a slightly revised format.
We’ve had such an enjoyable time reading the Canterbury Tales that we’ve decided to spread our wings a little next term, embarking on Seamus Heaney’s translation of ‘Beowulf’. No knowledge of Early English required.
We are currently full, but please email the group leader to be added to the waiting list.
Maggie Pearson
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
or
Mary Ramsay
When do we meet?
Re-starting January 18th, 2024, and then every third Thursday of the month, 10:00 – 12:00 (Except December).
Venue – Quaker Meeting House, St Johns Street
What do we do?
Western theatre has its roots in the theatre of Ancient Greece. Written over 2,000 years ago, the Tragedies deal with the big themes of love, loss, pride, power, and the relationship between man and the gods.
We read and discuss the plays and share any information we discover from other sources.
THE ODYSSEY
Having covered most of the main tragedies, we’ve decided to move on to The Odyssey in Emily Wilson’s modern verse translation, beginning at our next meeting in January.
This would be a good time for anyone thinking of joining us to try a ‘taster’ session, as we now have vacancies for two new members.
We meet at 10am on the 3rd Thursday of the month at the Quaker Meeting House, next meeting on January 18th.
John Byrne
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Starting in September we will meet on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, from 10 am to 12 pm
If you can’t make this day or time please contact John, the Group Leader.
Venue to be confirmed.
What do we do?
This is a new group, where we will be looking at the work of 3 Irish writers of the modern period (19th century through to mid 20th century).
We’ll devote a term to each.
Sept – Dec: W.B.Yeats Selected Poems
Jan – April: James Joyce (Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man)
May – August: Seamus Heaney New Selected Poems 1966-1987
We have space in this group for up to 4 more members. if you’re interested to join, please contact Group Leader, John Byrne.
Jan Tuffs
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
We meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 2.15.
Venue – usually at the house of a member who lives in Bury St. Edmunds.
What do we do?
We are a lively, informal group who meet fortnightly to read poems aloud over a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Each person chooses a few poems on a pre-agreed topic and a brief discussion follows a reading.
Topics include individual poets (Jackie Kay for example) or particular themes (Sun, Moon and Stars for example).
And sometimes we try to read a longer poem ‘in the round’ (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for example.)
Unfortunately, this group is currently full. However please contact the group leader Jan if you’d like to be added to the waiting list.
Please also add your name to Section 1, “If the Interest Group is Full and you would like to add your name to an additional group of the same Interest subject” – click here https://www.u3aburystedmunds.co.uk/joining-a-group/
John Byrne
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Second and fourth Thursdays of the month (September – June) at the Quaker’s Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds from 10am to 12am.
What do we do?
We read, study and discuss a selection of Shakespeare’s plays. The idea is to have some intellectual stimulation and plenty of fun.
We have space in this group for up to 4 more members. if you’re interested to join, please contact Group Leader, John Byrne.
Angie Roques
The group organiser details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
The theatre group meeting dates for the remainder of the year are:
28th April
23rd June
8th September
24th November
All meetings held at Horringer community centre at 2pm
What do we do?
The theatre group is up and running again managed by a small Committee comprising of Angie Roques, Pam Colebourn, Mary Blaseby and Helen Crowthers who all assume different responsibilities for running the group.
There are currently around 100 plus members but with a core group of around 40/50 who attend the various productions staged in a range of theatres across mainly East Anglia and to a more limited extent London.
The Group meets 5 times a year at the Horringer Community Centre in Bury St Edmunds with an early Christmas celebration following the November meeting.
The purpose of the group is to join like minded people who enjoy a range of theatre productions including plays, musicals, ballet and where feasible opera. We also visit Abbey cinema.
A coach delivers you door (Ram Meadow car park Bury St Edmunds) to door for the performances and the timings of the journeys always allow opportunity for eating together or visiting the local shops or markets prior to the start of the performance.
However, given the number of our membership, theatre tickets are allocated on a first come first serve basis following agreement by the membership of the productions to be booked.
If anyone is interested in joining the group or requires more information then please contact Angie Roques.
Read our latest review of ‘Strictly Come Ballroom’
