| Status: | No longer meeting |
Antiques & Collectables Groups 1 and 2 are no longer running.
The group members share their knowledge and interest in all things antique and/or collectable. They learn from one another and from invited speakers. We also have visits to antique centres, antique fairs, auctions, National Trust houses , etc. There is a small charge of £3 per person per meeting - to cover the cost of the hall hire, refreshments and occasional speakers.
NOTE
As the Newsletter article (Aug 2024), on Pam's retirement from running the A&C groups has had to be edited due to space issues, below is the article in full.
The last Friday in June was a very sad day for Antiques and Collectables Group 1, as Pam Whitfield, our wonderful group leader, was having to stand down due to her worsening mobility issues. As members of the group, we had anticipated this day for some time, as we had seen Pam stoically struggle on, in pain, for some months.
Antiques and Collectables was one of the first groups to be formed after Chiswell Green u3a started in 2014. It soon became very popular and a long waiting list developed, so in 2019 a second group was formed making Pam even busier, as she was also a member of the Committee, from its inception, helping with the start-up and running of new groups. Pam was a Committee Member until finally standing down in 2023, after taking on many different roles .
Through Pam's enthusiasm and hard work the group enjoyed learning about all aspects of antiques and collectables. This also included day trips visiting various towns known for being hubs for antique shopping. Alan Phillips kindly arranged for us to travel in a mini-coach, so it made the trips even more enjoyable. The group has visited Arundle, Lewes, Wendover, Charles Rennie MacIntosh's home Deangate in Northants, The Red House in Bromley (Arts & Crafts movement), Ely, Hungerford and many more too numerous to mention. We also visited auction houses and it was through Pam contacting Peacocks Auction House in Luton, that our evening trips to Peacocks, organised by Joy, began and have become so very popular and eargerly anticipated. Alan also arranged group lunches at local hostelries during the year, which were very popular and well attended. Thank you, Alan.
One of the early trips, which was organised by David Samuelson, was to visit the London Assay Office, which is housed in the spectacular headquarters of the Goldsmiths' Company. Dave Merry, Chief Assayist, gave us a tour of the assay workshop and an interesting talk on the history of hallmarking. We each left with a bag of goodies which included a brochure covering the history of the Goldsmiths' Company and gold coins - chocolate, unfortunately, but very tasty. Through this visit Dave was invited to come along to give a talk to our group, the first of quite a few as it turned out, when we were able to bring along silver and gold possessions for him to look at and advise. On one occasion Dave, accompanied by younger colleagues/apprentices, brought along pieces of silver that were found to be fakes and forgeries and had been confiscated. Dave kindly gave a talk on Fakes & Forgeries at one of our monthly u3a meetings, which was very interesting and enjoyable. He also came to support a Macmillan fund raising day held at the home of Mary Ennis. Pam and Dave became such good friends that Pam was invited to his retirement party, held at the spectacular headquarters of the Goldsmiths' Company.
Pam also made contact with David Palmer, freelance Auctioneer, who is known to many through his time on the TV show Bargain Hunt. He has visited our group meetings on a number of occasions, when we were able to bring in family heirlooms for valuing. David also joined us for Macmillan fund-raising meetings, held at Mary's home. On one occasion he auctioned off one of his famous very bright waistcoats to help raise funds. Steph Hedges was the highest bidder and her husband is now the proud owner. David also came, on two occasions, to our u3a monthly meetings as a Speaker, where he gave lively talks about his life as an autioneer. He and his family have since become close friends with Pam. Last November Pam arranged for David Palmer and Stephen Drake (Bateman's Auctioneers) to hold a Valuation Day at Park Street Baptist Church, so that any member of our u3a could have items valued and put into auction, if so desired. It proved to be a very successful event.
I think you will agree that Pam has been an exceptional leader and made every effort to make our interest and love of antiques and collectables even more enjoyable. A collection was made to thank her for all her hard work, so we were able to present her with a lovely orchid and money to enable her to buy an antique of her choice to remind her of her time running a very popular and much enjoyed group. THANK YOU, Pam.
