Our new Health and Wellbeing group will start take place on the 2nd Thursday of every month at 10-12am starting 10th April at Popley Fields Community Centre.

The objective of the group will be to bring informative presentations from either healthcare professionals or charity groups to help us proactively manage our health.

One thing to remember is this group is not going to have the opportunity for people to discuss their personal issues as this is best dealt with by a GP. One of the key philosophies of this group is that we keep our members safe and provide the right information for this open environment.

Tea and coffee will be available and you will have time to interact with other u3a members.

Our confirmed speakers are:

10th April - Dr Fiona Barker - All things Ears - the importance of good hearing, how to protect your hearing, identify issues and manage them.

8th May - James Herbert - The dangers of Lymes disease. This vicious disease is on the rise as wildlife carriers move into towns. We will look at what it is, how to avoid, what to look for and the importance of early treatment. Age Concern will also be attending

12th June - Georgi Welch - Avoiding and managing dementia There are many things you can do to avoid dementia and we will explore them, but if you or somebody you know has it, what can you do?

10th July - Tyler Phillips - Macular society -Tyler will give an update on Macular degeneration.

August - no group meeting

11th Sept - John McCarthy Sepsis Society - A number of years ago John innocuously banged his leg, this led to 4 months in hospital 3 weeks in ICU and discharging with his right leg amputated above the knee. John's talk is based on his journey following this and his understanding of Sepsis of which I had no prior knowledge.

9th October - Rob Heard - Driving safely in later life Driving becomes more difficult in later life. Rob an ex police officer, will look at what causes the issues, what can we do to allow us to drive for longer.

Dec - no group meeting

13th Nov - Jo Cummins - Arthritus

8th Jan - Lydnsey Browning - Sleep key to health and well being. How to improve your sleep

The first presentation will be on "All things Ears". It will be given by DrFiona Barker who is a healthcare scientist specialising in hearing and balance at Windsor ENT Department. Over a 30 year career, she has worked in the NHS and private sector. In this 60 minute interactive talk, Fiona will be discussing all things ear-related. There will be plenty of surprises and lots of opportunity to ask questions.

If you are interested and have not already registered for the group, please use Beacon to do so or contact Elaine Budd on Elainesecu3abasingstoke@outlook.com

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Future subjects already booked are: Sepsis, breast and prostate cancer, caring for your feet, improving your sleep, managing arthritus. So as long as we have enough people, we will be running for a long time:)