Any Suggesstions Please

Weekends can be lonely, I know.
Do you have a National Trust property or cathedral nearby? Those places often need volunteers at weekends and it can be very sociable.
Do you like entertaining? Why not invite others who live alone for lunch now and again? Most people are happy with soup plus bread and cheese.
Many people enjoy walking in a group.
Is there a language you would like to learn? Try Duolingo, it's free. Which reminds me, I haven't done my Spanish yet today.
Good luck!

Thank you Romola some good ideas ..yescweekends can be tricky when you are alone in the world

Do you have a dog? Walking the dog means you meet lots of people and get into conversation with them.

Why don’t you like hobbies? There are so many different things to do. It’s not all about stamp collecting and knitting! I’m not a hobby person but I love family history and social history. And if you have an outside space gardening can be very absorbing in the better weather.

I know what you mean about weekends, so if you need company I would recommend volunteering.

Find some interesting places to visit. Drive or get a bus. I enjoy pottering around somewhere new. If I have lunch there I find much of the day has gone by the time I reach home.
Also countryside or coastal walks are enjoyable too. You often meet people with dogs who will stop and chat.

I don't qualify for a bus pass yet but a friend of mine sometimes goes to the bus station in the morning.
She enjoys just getting on the next bus to go from the bus station and staying on it until the end of its journey. She regards it as her own personal mystery tour and has found herself in interesting places. She treats herself to lunch and then gets the bus back home.

Some of the happiest people I know are enthusiasts of something - whether it’s auctions, gardens, spotting the blue plaques on houses, collecting rare teaspoons, playing crazy golf on different sites - or whatever. Ask yourself what really floats your own boat, and spend some spare time enjoying it. If you’re stuck for inspiration, look on YouTube, where there seem to be people interested in any subject you can think of.

I garden, have an allotment, and volunteer at a community growing project. I am a volunteer tour guide with a national historical charity. Normally, I walk long distances, preferably in hills and mountains. I cycle a lot.

Since I can’t do most of these at present, I’m learning a new language (painful, I’m not a natural), I take my granddaughters swimming once every weekend, I’m going to the cinema more, and I’ve just begun talking to a nearby bookshop about starting a Saturday crime fiction book group.

My other half is a volunteer with a historic boat trust (mainly as a photographer) and goes fishing. He’s recently (he’s 75) re-started kayaking, and he’s a member of our local ‘good neighbour’ scheme, doing all sorts: some handyman-type stuff, dropping of prescriptions and library books, and the like.

Don’t know if any of those would suit you.

Ooh, yes: the National Garden Scheme, Greatvif you just want to visit nice gardens (all sorts from city courtyards, to rural acres) but there are volunteering opportunities too.

ngs.org.uk/get-involved/

Thank you

I am recently retired after a lifetime of working and looking after people so I’m in an ‘experimental’ phase of finding out what I want to do. My ‘go to’ hobby is family history, which has morphed into an interest in jobs and lifestyles of the past. I have exercises that I do to music each day, I regularly go to the cinema and I’ve found a painting style that, as a complete non-artist, I can actually do. I take long walks, have visitors round for meals and spend time on our allotment or in the garden. Today I wrapped up warmly and took my breakfast outside as it was such a crisp day.

My suggestion is to have a go at whatever takes your fancy and some of the activities will be just up your street. 😊

I lived alone for the best part of 15 years in my 20s and 30s ; Although I worked full time and was lucky to have some wonderful friends , particularly after I bought my own home , I often came home to an empty flat.
The things in life that have most helped my mental state, I have found , are physical exercise ( yoga, swimming , biking, jogging ( latter didn't last long , I am too heavy and it knackered my knees). I don't know what you would characterise as hobbies , so could I suggest yoga or other exercise classes ; join a choir (that enlarges your social circle); do you like to read ? so join a book club or form a book club if you can't find one.
Could you get or share or foster a dog if you like animals. Get a part-time job -do a few shifts in a pub ? ... that enlarges your social circle.
Meditation classes. Do the park runs.
Best of luck. Nil Desperandum.

The U3A seems to offer a lot. I’m not a member as we haven’t really much free time at the moment, but a neighbour is and she joins in all sorts of classes and activities - walks, writing, family history etc. Once the grandsons are old enough not to need us for childcare, I think I’ll be signing up.

My gym is excellent at the weekend. Since Covid things have got very friendly and its easy to strike up a conversation, you just ask someone else to help you adjust the machines. One chap who is 82 goes in there to cycle very gently for twenty minutes and is always up for a chat. There are quite a few people with disabilities too, a lady who had her leg amputated, a girl with Downs Syndrome, a chap who had a stroke and one with Parkinsons, plus all ages and states of fitness. Its just a small private gym, nothing fancy and you dont need to be a keep fit fiend to join.

Do you have an odeon cinema near you? I’ve just booked a silver screen. A 3 hour film for £3.50.
I used to go to the silver screen regularly pre COVID. I hadn’t realised it was back.
I’m going on my own but I know that I can chat if I want to because it’s a “shared” experience.

Check out the meetup website. It is not dating, just way to find groups with similar interests. For single people it is great way to find people who want to do stuff but lack people to do it with. You search by area.

The Ramblers have local groups who do a range of things:,walking campaigning, footpath maintenance etc

www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/ramblers-groups

and they have wellbeing walks - local, free, short and accessible - which are a good way to pleasurably fill some time and meet other people

www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/wellbeing-walks

You could pick an area - local or a little further away and research places of interest to visit i.e galleries / museums etc.

A friend did this and said she was surprised at what was actually 'on her doorstep' that she didn't know about!

If you live near a major city, you could visit the cathedral or do a tour of the art galleries. I live near Liverpool and really enjoy repeat visits to look at the huge paintings- spot something new every time!

What about antiques fairs, you might find a bargain?

I volunteer as an usher at my local Arts Centre. I really enjoy meeting and talking to people and I see a variety of shows and plays. I have made friends with some of the other volunteers. I thoroughly recommend it!

Crochet
Gardening
If no garden grow herbs in pots
Dog walking. Borrow my doggie website to walk someone else's dog. Lots of elderly people very grateful to a person who will walk there dog once or twice a week. It does have to be a long walk.
Aquarobics at local swim pool.
Geniology. Find my Past.
Swimming
Join a fitness class. Stepping
Duolingo for learning a language from the very beginning. It's free
National Trust/ English Heritage
Join a walking/rambling club
Volunteer at local library (It's in the warm and you meet people).
Community groups food banks always want volunteers.
Charity shops like volunteers too. My Mum used to wash clothes and put on hangers (sometimes even iron too). She didn't want to have to learn honuse the till and credit card machine.
Flower arranging. Some churches like volunteers.
Chess club
University of third age have loads of different activities to chose from
Learn to play bridge.
Volunteer to help with Rainbows/cubs/brownies/Scouts/
Guides.
Crossword puzzles
Jigsaws
Join a reading group.
Evening classes at local college for soft furnishing and restoration of a little project e.g. coffee table or similar.
Do a car boot sale if you have a lot of stuff you want to get rid of and declutter.
Make home made gift cards. Hobbycraft.

So many lovely things you could fill your time with:-

Gardening
Reading, join a book club
National Trust/ National Heritage days out
Look and see if there’s a theatre club near you, we have amazing one which also provides a coach and many local pick up and drop off points
You could also join a dining club group
Part time college course?? So many to choose from, on line or in person

Good luck x

I have started going to country dancing after my husband's death.

All right, you probably cannot do so at the weekends, but you will get to know some new friends, who might, who knows, be on their own too.

If you live in the countryside, choice may be more limited than in a large town or city, where you could visit art galleries or museums, if you can get there, and can afford the entrance prices.

In a smaller place, going for a walk and greeting the people you meet, will make you feel a little less lonely, and after a while you may find yourself talking for a while instead of just saying Hullo, nice day, or the like.

I know the feeling of the empty h ouse and no-one to talk to. I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what you choose to try, as long as it gets you out of the house for a while, preferably if not every day, then two or three times a week.

Maggiemaybe

The U3A seems to offer a lot. I’m not a member as we haven’t really much free time at the moment, but a neighbour is and she joins in all sorts of classes and activities - walks, writing, family history etc. Once the grandsons are old enough not to need us for childcare, I think I’ll be signing up.

Yes look up your local U3A and see what they have to offer you might be interested in… I joined over a year ago ( I’m 78) but it’s open to anyone retired or semi retired over 55.
I go to an evening meal, backgammon , scrabble and a book club ( all MY interests) and all just once a month, but there are groups for all sorts…walks, gardening, IT, history, coffee and chat, etc etc… you could fill all your days with one club or another IF you really wanted to! Nice to meet new people too.

Check if you have an U3A in your area, they have all sorts of 'clubs' to join?
Also plenty of charity shops are crying out for your help!