THE September meeting of Alcester U3A was well supported and included two visitors.

The anniversaries of past Augusts were; the death of the only English Pope, Adrian IV, in 1159 and the first blood transfusion in London in 1818.

Members were then warned about telephone frauds where you are told you have won a holiday and then asked to press 9.

If you do this then you are connected to a premium rate line and it could cost you £50 or more!

This month the Ambling Group is to visit a sculpture park during its walk and the Church Group will be visiting Pebworth church.

There followed a very interesting talk by Mr Nigel Dimmer called "Silver".

His family firm started in 1806 in Cheltenham and he brought many beautifully decorated and engraved pieces of silver.

Hallmarks denote where pieces were made, for instance the leopard for London, the crown for Sheffield and, surprisingly, the anchor for Birmingham; possibly because a crucial meeting was at "The Crown and Anchor".

Many early silver items were lost, being melted down and converted into coinage.

The pieces which were passed round included a tiny nutmeg grater, a vinaigrette for holding an aromatic restorative, a snuff box, a baby's rattle with a coral teething stick, a Charles II beaker and a Victorian mint sauce boat which started life as a toddy scoop and then had legs and handles added. Mr Dimmer's talk was interspersed with fascinating insights into the way the various pieces would have been used.

Altogether a most entertaining afternoon.