Our Singalong group continues to be well attended , although the March numbers were down , due to organised trips out.
The theme for our next meeting in April (16th) will be number 1 hits from the 1960s – by popular request .
If you enjoy singing and good music come and relive the memories of your youth again!
Lloyds Bank
Scammers are setting up fake phishing websites peddling the new weight loss drug Ozempic, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has warned.
The websites ask for your personal details including your name, address and banking information.
Scammers impersonating PayPal are sending recipients a ‘receipt’ for a high-value order in an attempt to get them to call a dodgy phone number.
The number is provided if you ‘didn’t authorise this charge’ and leads to a phone scam where a fraudster will try to obtain your personal details.
Don’t click on the links in these emails and don’t respond to them.
This scam email impersonating ITV offers a subscription to the ITV X streaming service for just £2 a year.
The link in the email leads to a phishing website which asks for your address, phone number, email and bank details.
Please beware scammers and thieves are after your money; never respond to any email or text you are not 100% happy with.
Our Real Ale outing on Thursday 14 March, stopped local in Hucknall and indeed only visited one hostelry. This being our very own Wetherspoon’s ‘Pilgrims Oak’.
The reason was that Wetherspoon’s during mid-March were having their own Beer Festival, providing a selection of 30 different beers from 25 new breweries alongside their normal offering.
As the real ales are normally well kept, selling for half the cost of beers in Nottingham and allowing those of us in CAMRA to use our 50p a pint vouchers, it seemed too good an opportunity to resist.
A total of twenty men and women gathered, hijacked an area, pushed a few tables together and settled down to sample some different ales. A very congenial evening developed and was enjoyed by all.
Our April jolly will be using the tram, starting at New Basford and working our way back to Hucknall, by Old Basford, Bulwell and home to Hucknall.
Welcome to our April Newsletter
First of all, just a short vote of thanks to Mark Thornley for organising the trip to Kendal in March. Fifty two of us went and had an excellent time, coach, driver, hotel, food, staff, entertainment, walks, outings, were all very good, well done Mark.
I trust you all put your clocks forward on the 30th, it meant we had one hours less rain!
Well with the AGM next meeting, it means that my term as Chairman has come to an end and we will be voting in new committee members and re-electing some existing committee members, I would like to give you just a few details.
Diane Heenan has served her full 6 years and has been an excellent Speakers Secretary, sourcing some very good speakers, thanks Diane.
Angela Cornish has also served 6 years and has been an outstanding Webmaster, keeping our website fully up to date and setting up our new Facebook page, thanks Angela.
Mark Jackson has also completed his 6 years as both Business Secretary and Beacon Administrator. Mark has been a mainstay of the committee and has helped and mentored others whenever needed, many thanks Mark.
The are 4 new candidates for the committee – Helen Rose, who was co-opted during the year as Minutes Secretary (to replace Sandra Green), Robert (Bob) McEwen to stand as Vice Chair, Kevin Varey to stand as Business Secretary and John Pretty to stand as Beacon Administrator.
There are 8 current committee members who are willing to be re-elected, these being – Tina Holmes as our new Chair, Gary Holmes to continue as Treasurer, Greg Umney to continue as Membership Secretary, Sue Tedstone to continue as Group Co-ordinator, Elizabeth Attenborough to continue as Equipment Manager, Lynda Smeathers as our new Webmaster, Christine Eagle as our new Speakers Secretary, thanks to them all for being willing to continue, and finally myself, Melvyn Francis as committee member.
I must not forget the fabulous work that Stephen Lawrence, our Newsletter Editor does all year, collating, editing and producing our monthly newsletter, helped as required by Kevin Varey as required.
And, of course, where would be without the thankless task of providing our refreshments that John and Christine Berrill carry out, not only at every monthly meeting, but at many specials and one-off events, thanks to both, (don’t forget to volunteer to help).
Finally, I would like to thank you all for making my two-year Chairman’s post so enjoyable. It has been hard work at times, but the privilege of serving our u3a and meeting so many wonderful folks more than compensates. Many, many thanks to you all.
Look forward to seeing you at our next monthly meeting on 10th April.
God Bless
Melvyn Francis
For their second activity of the month the NSGOM, boosted by a small number of real Grumpy Old Men, paid a visit to the Rock cemetery and catacombs at the junction of Mansfield Road and Forest Road in Nottingham. We all agreed that the site was one we had passed thousands of times before on our travels in to Nottingham over the years. Now it was time to stop and find out about the site and its wonderful history.
Meeting up at the entrance to the site we were met by our guide for the morning. A leisurely tour of the site led to many stories about the famous and indeed the less famous people buried there. Edwin Patchitt, clerk to the local magistrates founded the site in 1848. Other famous names spotted on headstones included Watson Fothergill and James Shipstone.
Later going underground we visited the catacombs where many a worker lost his life while working in the sandstone caves. Here many a visitor, when standing quietly, has claimed to hear the sound of footsteps of former workers, pounding the caves. Perhaps not surprising as above ground, stood Gallows Hill where Nottingham’s public executions were held.
Anyway escaping the catacombs safely we walked back into the daylight and returned to our starting point. After thanking our guide we then walked down to the nearby Grosvenor Inn for a pleasant lunch before returning to Hucknall on the tram or bus.
An unusual but very interesting morning completed.
April sees the group taking part in a driving experience while blindfolded!!!!!!!!!