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USEFUL LINKS & RESOURCES FOR THIRD AGERS
Please note: Mansfield & District U3A are not responsible for the contents or reliability of the linked web sites and do not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. Listing should not be taken as endorsement of any kind. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and we have no control over the availability of the linked pages.
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In the table below, clicking the fast-links in the left hand side column will take you to the relevant section of the web page.
| U3A and Third Age Links |
The Third Age Trust and useful U3A sites. |
| Learning the Internet (and other software) |
For beginners or those wanting to
know more, visit these sites for assistance. |
| The
Arts |
Arts related
sites |
| Financial |
A selection of financial websites. |
| Seniors |
A small but
growing list of sites for over-50s and senior citizens. |
| Local Interest |
Local interest sites - e.g.
local government, counties and districts information, local history, community websites etc |
| Low Cost Purchases |
Let the web save you money! Use these sites to find the bargains |
| The Legal System and the Royal Family |
Legal matters, parliament, royalty, etc |
| Leisure Sport & Travel |
Sports, crosswords, gardening, pets, travel, flights, languages, street maps etc |
| Newspapers and Other General Links |
Newspapers, current affairs, DVLA, weather, etc. |
| The Third Age Trust and useful U3A sites |
| U3A National Office/ The Third Age Trust |
| U3A Sources - an educational bulletin online |
| The International Network for Universities of the Third Age - to encourage the use of the internet for more effective communications and learning for U3A members in the UK |
| Harrow U3A - including www links to U3As online in the UK and abroad |
| U3A Online courses |
| Ashfield U3A |
| Mansfield U3A |
| Southwell U3A |
| The Association of East Midlands U3As |
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| Learning the Internet (and other software) |
| U3A UK's Internetwork Group website for technical
support - NOT for definitive answers to your problems, but a
good place to check before you spend money on repairs or on
new equipment |
| BBC Webwise - the BBC's guide to the internet |
| Digital Unite - the new (2006) name for Hairnet, the internet training initiative for silver surfers and the older generation |
| University of Albany - internet tutorials |
| Web Teacher - tutorial and reference site for beginners and intermediate users. Clear and easy to navigate, it includes a Web
Primer and a Web Tutorial covering all the basics including electronic mail, mail lists, newsgroups and much more |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology - OpenCourseWare - FREE downloadable courses and course materials on an astonishing range of subjects. Listings of All Courses and older Archived Courses |
| GetNetWise - a detailed resource provided by a wide range of public-service and internet industry bodies including Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo. This site offers safe-surfing advice, also tips on everything regarding the safety and protection of your computer from hackers and viruses as well as advice on stopping unwanted e-mails and spam. |
| Bank Safe Online - run by the Association of Payment Clearing Services, this site deals with safety issues relating to online banking and includes an e-mail address and encourages people to forward any suspect messages |
| AVG Anti-virus Free Edition software from Grisoft - this free download has both a scheduled update built-in and a manual update feature. (Minimum system requirements: Win95; 24MB RAM; 12MB hard drive space) |
| Spybot: Search & Destroy v.1.4 anti-spyware software - this free well-recommended programme can detect and remove spyware hidden on your PC which is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile that can be sold to companies. Select one of the download centres from the screen. (Minimum system requirements: Win95; 12.5MB hard drive space) |
| Setting up a free e-mail address with Yahoo! |
| What is.....? - Confused by net terminology? Then try this online glossary |
| Search Engines - listing of the most popular ones (Google, AltaVista, Hotbot, Search.com etc) |
| Computer Hope, free computer help for everyone - Computer Hope - the location for free online computer support and computer related information. Founded in November 1998, Computer Hope offers free technical support to everyone no matter what type of computer, hardware, software, or operating system by email, Newsletter, Forum, FAQs and other lists. [This website appeared in U3A Signpost No 76] |
| Zamzar.com - Have you ever wanted to
convert files without the need to download software? It would be great if there was only one type of digital file for videos, another for music and perhaps a third for photos, but this is not the case. It can be frustrating trying to watch videos online, or transfer music to an incompatible music player. Help is at hand, however, at this handy web site which offers a free on-line file conversion. It converts most common file formats free of charge and works with multiple files whether stored on your computer or online (in which case you enter the site's URL). Either way, you are emailed a link to download the converted files. |
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| The
Arts |
| Cantamus - world renowned girls choir from Mansfield, who in 2006 retained their World Choir Olympic Champions titles. The Cantamus choir is considered by many leading musicians to exemplify all that good choral singing should be.
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| All About Opera - your gateway to opera on the web. A resources page for each opera with CD, DVD, book information, synopses, libretti and outside links for everything else. |
| The Tate Gallery - including Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives |
| The Louvre - admire some of the world's greatest pieces of art, take a tour around the world-famous Louvre in Paris |
| New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art - much to offer the serious student of art history as well as the casual browser in search of cultural stimulation. The museum's curators have picked out nearly 3500 objects for special treatment, including the entire collection of European paintings with more than 40 works by Monet. Most impressive is the Timeline of Art History. |
| BBC site 'Painting the Weather' - presenting the BBC's exhibition of weather paintings from 50 British galleries in an ingeniously accessible way with each one being 'zoomable'. |
| The Web Gallery of Art - a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods (1150-1800), currently containing over 12,100 reproductions. Maintained by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. |
| Art Daily, the first Art newspaper on the internet - for Art and Art History, an excellent resource, fully indexed. One interesting area is 'Art In Motion', another is 'This Day in History'. |
| Francis Frith photographic classics - 300,000 photos of 7,000 UK towns and villages taken between 1860 and 1970 |
| National Maritime Museum - a huge archive of maritime images |
| Artcyclopedia.com - a website for scanning 1200 cultural institutions to find the world's finest artworks. Enter artist, title or museum into the powerful search engine. |
| Nottinghamshire Arts Guide - 'what's on'; several brochures can be downloaded as PDF files |
| BBC History - a BBC website to help you get more out of your interest in history |
| HistoryWorld - magnificent history website, with 400 separate histories and 4000 tagged events |
| The Language Learning Advisor - for Languages Groups: a site with some suggestions, insights and information that can make your language learning experience more effective, fulfilling, and fun. A large range of links to online resources. [This website appeared in U3A Signpost No 76] |
| Imperial War Museum website - 45,000 objects, ranging from photographs and soundbites to maps, documents, paintings and personal diaries are being digitised and added to this website between now and summer 2006 |
| Arts around Mansfield - find out about all things cultural happening right on your doorstep |
| The Palace Theatre, Mansfield |
| Nottingham Theatre Royal and Royal Centre |
| Nottingham Playhouse |
| Sheffield Theatres - comprising the Crucible, Lyceum and Studio Theatres |
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| Financial |
| Department for Work and Pensions - pensions and retirement benefits |
| The Pension Service website - published by the Government, this website provides information for individuals about pensions and other pensioner benefits in the UK, whether you are planning for the future, are about to retire or have already retired. With a link to the Pension Tracing Service, for 'lost' pensions |
| Entitled To web site - enables families and senior citizens to check whether they are receiving the correct amount of tax credits |
| Immobilise Possession Register - Immobilise, the worlds largest FREE register of possession ownership and searchable register of stolen goods and blocked mobile phones, is strongly recommended by police chiefs throughout the country. It is the modern equivalent of marking electrical items with an invisible ultra-violet pen. The service improves the chances of stolen property being returned to its owner if any goods with a unique serial number are registered (eg TVs, mobile phones, MP3 players etc) |
| HM Revenue & Customs - the new department resposible for the business of the former Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise |
| UK Banks and Building Societies |
| MONEY Supermarket - compare each provider and apply online (current accounts, credit cards, savings accounts, ISAs, personal loans, home insurance etc) |
| Moneyfacts - independant financial website |
| Moneynet - presenting personal financial data in a clear and easy to understand format |
| FIND - internet directory for UK financial websites |
| Interactive Investor International - good investment and financial information |
| Morning Star - web site for checking the performance of your investments |
| Hoodless Brennan, online stockbrokers - a good, no-nonsense broker for the cost-conscious investor |
| The Share Centre, online stockbrokers - good for novice dealers, but the web site suits all types of investor - and most budgets |
| Hargreaves Lansdown, independent financial advisers - one of the biggest IFAs, also running good online stockbroker services. Sign up for the Share Account and receive three newsletters a month |
| Insurance Supermarket web site - web site to shop around for your insurance requirements |
| Insurancewide.com comparison web site - access to a wide range of insurance products, quick and easy to use quotation systems requiring minimal input. Get motor, home, travel, lifestyle insurance quotations from a range of insurers |
| Confused.com insurance web site - car insurance and/or home insurance online, only one form to fill, with searches of 96% of car insurers on the net and 65% of online home insurers |
| Which? Online - provides offers and advice on Travel Insurance, which becomes more expensive as we get older and can sometimes be refused. Other websites for offers/advice are http://www.flexicover.com/senior_citizens.jsp; and http://www.247travelinsurance.co.uk/. In each case make sure 'repatriation' is covered. [These three websites appeared in U3A Signpost No 76] |
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| Seniors |
| SAGA - over-50s website for health, travel, insurance and serious radio |
| On-line guide to Over-Fifties websites - a UK250 resource |
| Timewitnesses - memories of the last century |
| Ashfield Primary Healthcare - tables of GPs, dentists and opticians in Ashfield District |
| Mansfield District Primary Care Trust - select the option 'Family Health Services' for tables of GPs, dentists and opticians in Mansfield District |
| National Health Service Direct Online - your gateway to health information on the internet |
| NetDoctor - an independent health site which is a mine of information. More than 250 doctors and health professionals dispense advice in plain English. |
| Patient UK website - for all matters concerning patients, with links to medicines, operations, support organisations and leaflets on health and disease |
| Miniclip online games for grandchildren - Got small grand-children visiting and need to keep them occupied? Welcome to Miniclip.com the largest online games site where you can play free games, sports games, action games, puzzle games and more. The Telegraph said... "There are stacks of sites that collect online games, but this is the best, with relatively restrained advertising and an environment that parents would think safe." [This website appeared in U3A Signpost No 76] |
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| Local Interest |
| Mansfield CVS & Volunteer Bureau |
| Sutton Volunteer Bureau |
| Oultwood local government site - access to all the local councils in Notts and adjacent counties |
| Old Nottinghamshire pages - excellent reports on Mansfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Blidworth and Annesley, plus Notts church photos [Heather Faulkes local history pages] |
| Mansfield in the News - this began life as a series of short books, summarising 18th century newspaper items connected with Mansfield, England. [Compiled by David J Bradbury] |
| The Old Mansfield Society - preserving and presenting the past of this ancient community |
| Mansfield Sister Cities Association - includes details of leaflets published on early Mansfield |
| Forest Town - Local historian Pauline Marples' website Forest Town on the Internet. |
| Forest Town 2005 Centenary Celebrations - 2005 is a special centenary year - one hundred years since coal was found in Mansfield (Crown Farm) Colliery, and one hundred years since the establishment of the Church of England and Methodist churches in Forest Town. This website has been launched to help promote and record these events. |
| Creswell Crags - home of the Ice Age hunter, with tour of the limestone gorge and catalogue of related museum objects |
| Huthwaite Online - village website pictorially covering the history of the old past mining community at Huthwaite
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| WarsopWeb - community website for Warsop |
| Stanton Hill Community Website |
| Welcome to Rainworth - with history of the village and local events |
| Sherwood Archaeology Society - affiliated to the Council of British Archaeology, the local Archaeology Society provides a programme of lectures throughout the year and the opportunity to take part in archaeological excavations. Visits to places of archaeological interest; monthly meetings in Mansfield. |
| Picture the Past - Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire award winning historical website with more than 42,000 pictures illustrating the area's past. Winner of the Alan Ball Local History Award 2004. Prints can be purchased. |
| NottsNet - a useful site for everything about Nottinghamshire, including family history searches |
| Nottingham town guide - useful site for visitor services, tourism, events, etc plus A-Z searches. |
| Nottingham Local History Index |
| Nottingham City Council website - visitor services, tourism, events, etc and useful links. |
| Welcome to Sheffield - visitor services, tourism, events, etc and useful links. |
| The Peak District Tourism Website - provides daily weather forecasts too |
| The National Archives online - records of the UK government from Domesday to the present, including online census records from 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 |
| 1901 census online.com - trace your English and Welsh ancestors with the official 1901 census. |
| 1837 online.com - family research link for every birth, marriage and death in England and Wales since 1837 when records were centralised. (Otherwise dubbed Ancestors Reunited) |
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| Low Cost Purchases |
| EasyValue - comparisons for on-line shopping. Includes flight-finder for comparisons of prices of certain airlines |
| uSwitch - popular site for searching for alternative gas, electricity, broadband, bank services etc |
| Buy.co.uk - popular discount shopping site, with a built-in fuel calculator on the opening page for finding alternative utility suppliers. Look under Shopping to continue |
| CheckaPrice - price comparisons site which finds the cheapest stockist of goods and energy supplies (presents the opportunity to buy from the distributors provided) |
| PriceRunner - price comparisons website for finding cheapest stockists of goods |
| Bookbrain.co.uk - price comparisons for books over the internet |
| saynoto0870.com - a website listing cheap alternative telephone lines to 0870 numbers. A listing of 5000 firms that publicise expensive numbers that often cost three times the cost of a call to a landline number |
| Lulu.com - they say everyone has a novel inside them. If you've already written yours but have yet to find a publisher, you can publish it for free here |
| An author's dream - a site offering an innovative hardback and paperback publishing service using the web |
| AuthorHouse - an author services company which offers authors a large range of self-publishing options, starting with its standard paperback publishing package |
Lightning Source UK - (to enter the web site copy the web address www.lightningsource.co.uk/ into your browser). When on the first page of the web site click on the Union Jack for the UK content.
The leading Print-on-Demand supplier in the UK, helping authors to get published in the first place. POD allows books to be printed in very small quantities. |
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| Leisure Sport & Travel |
| One Across - crossword clue solver! |
| Grandma Alice's Crossword Cracker! - the site for crossword, anagram and acrostic lovers... uncluttered, powerful, free and fast! (Use dots for missing letters) |
| HotCourses.com - if you want to learn a language, or just something to stimulate your mind, then this site offers everything from German and Gujurati to golf and sailing. Also useful for keeping grandchildren occupied! |
| ClassicReader.com - where you can read, search and annotate great works of literature by authors such as Dickens, Tolstoy, Shakespeare and many others free. The collection currently contains 3061 books (including 1703 short stories) by 320 authors. |
| Antiques and Collectables - welcome to Dorling Kindersley's collection of antiques and collectables. Identify and value what you are looking for clearly and quickly by using the detailed search facility. With over 30,000 full colour photographs complete with guide prices and detailed descriptions, this is your essential guide to buying and selling antiques and collectables. |
| W Slack & Sons, Outdoor Equipment Retailer - located at 38 Rosemary Street, Mansfield. Discounts to members of the Mansfield & District U3A walking group. Stockist of most major brands |
| Planet Rugby - topical news about club and international rugby from across the world |
| Cricket365.com - cricket news from (quote) 'the world's ultimate cricket resource' |
| Crocus - 'gardeners by nature', a site offering copious advice to all gardeners. Extensive tips and 'problem solving' sections |
| PetPlanet.co.uk - for a serious look at your pet and information on different breeds and their characteristics. Database of useful contacts including vets, kennels and (when travelling) pet-friendly hotels |
| Streetmap.co.uk - locate streets by entering just the street name (or postcode) in the QuickSearch box. Streetmap will list all possibilities in the UK for you to select from, followed by a display of the relevant street map, and partial postcode. |
| Nottinghamshire TravelWise Service - just about everything concerning public transport in Nottinghamshire! Includes bus and community bus information, Nottingham Express Transit (the new tram system), rail and airport information, weekly roadworks incidents, taxi information in Nottingham, bus and rail timetables, parking, a bus planner, Robin Hood Line, and even locations of speed cameras! |
| The National Rail website - the gateway to the national rail network. Invaluable site for all rail travellers looking for latest news and emergeancy rail news. Has links to the Train Operating Companies, Eurostar, Heathrow Express and Rail Europe. |
| The Trainline.com - book tickets online. Also access timetables |
| The National Express website - for journeys throughout the UK by the National Express coach network |
| Stagecoach - bus travel and timetables |
| Trent and Barton Buses - bus travel and timetables online |
| Web Weekend Breaks - lets you book weekend breaks according to your interests |
| Bargain holidays.com - package holidays, cheap flights and short breaks |
| LastMinute.com - special offers on last minute travel, flights, hotels, and entertainment |
| Travelcare, part of the Co-op group - for on-line flights, accomodation, commission-free travel money, late charter flight search, as well as scheduled flights. |
| Skyscanner - Need a cheap flight to Almost Anywhere? Try the amazing Skyscanner website |
| Travelocity - a catch-all site for every form of journey. Has a Fare Watcher to help browsers locate best flight deals |
| Travelleronline - the independant traveller's club, offering travel magazines, links to other sites, maps, language tuition, and flight arrival times |
| Laterooms.com - good for late bookings in hotels, including the UK |
| The Foreign Office website - advice, assistance and travel tips for British nationals travelling overseas |
| The Lonely Planet Travel Guide - frequently updated site that offers all you need to know in planning a trip |
| Geographia website - Travelling abroad later this year? Useful site for cultural and historical backgrounds to many counntries |
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