The staff and trainees at Rumbletums wish to extend their thanks to all members of Hucknall u3a for their valued support in the crisp recycling venture.
Science
At our March meeting we had a presentation about the different types of defibrillators and how they work. When the John Godber Centre model arrives we will have a demonstration of how to use it in practice.
Bob McEwen then enlightened us with his interesting illustrated talk about flies. He explained that flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek for two and wings.
Bob explained that Diptera is a large order containing millions of species including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies and many others. Although they themselves are usually considered to be annoying pests he explained how they actually help to control a variety of pests. Many dipterans such as bee flies and hoverflies are also important pollinators of crop plants. Other types are scavengers and aid in the decomposition of dead animals and plants.
After the break we had a presentation about weather predicting and the different types of rainfall. Members then selected the name of famous and often unsung women scientists to report back with a max 2 minute summary at a future meeting.
Please note the next meeting is Friday, May 20th, as April 15th is Good Friday.
April Scams
TV Licence scam
I have been contacted by two of our members who have recently experienced a current scam around TV Licences. Fraudsters are sending out fake TV Licence refund emails that lead to convincing looking websites in a bid to steal a would be victim bank account details. They claim that TV Licensing have been trying to get hold of recipients regarding an overpayment refund or that due to invalid account details a credit was not possible. The refund links lead to cloned TV Licensing websites that are designed to harvest bank account and credit card details.
TV Licensing’s tips for spotting a scam email:
• Check the email contains your name – TV licensing will always include your name in any emails they send you.
• Check the email subject line – anything along the lines of “Action required”, “Security Alert”, “System Upgrade”, “There is a secure message waiting for you”, and so on, should be treated as suspect.
• Check the email address – does the email address look like one that TV Licensing use? For example donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk. Look closely as often the address may be similar.
• Check for a change in style – often the scammers will take the real emails and amend them. Look out for changes in the wording used, especially if it seems too casual or familiar.
• Check for spelling and grammar – are there any spelling mistakes, missing full stops or other grammatical errors?
• Never provide details by email – TV licensing will never ask you to reply to an email and provide bank details or personal information.
To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040
A phone call scam
The other member reported scam is a phone call attempt to get your bank details because:
‘You have overpaid on your electrical appliance breakdown protection policy’. It goes on ‘Please let us have your bank details in order that we can refund £100.00’. Put the phone down and block the caller.
David Rose
National Trust Group
Bookings are now complete for the next four visits, which are firstly to Kedleston Hall on Thursday April 28th. Coach fare is £7.50. Seats are still available if you would like to contact me via the form below.
Secondly to Cannons Abbey in Northants, on Tuesday 17th of May. Coach fare is £10.
Thirdly to Packwood House in Warwickshire, on Monday 13th of June, Coach fare is £10.
Finally to Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire on Wednesday 20th of July. Coach fare is £14.
The first three visits will depart from Hucknall Market at 9.30am with the visit to Waddesdon leaving at 8.30am to allow for the extra distance involved. All visits will see us leave the venue at 4.00pm.
I hope all the venues prove to be interesting but a special mention goes to Waddeston Manor which is owned by the Rothschild Family and really makes for a wonderful day out. The cost of entry to Waddesdon is £25.20 for non National Trust members which gives you an idea of how good the day there will prove.
I have kept coach fares to the lowest level possible but I am having to pay considerably more for the coach hire for obvious reasons.
NOSTELL PRIORY VISIT MARCH 23RD 2022
Firstly a big thank you to Anne and Steve Lawrence who stepped in at short notice to lead the visit when Sue and myself tested positive for Covid. I hope the other members of the group ,who also tested positive, are now fully recovered. Steve knows Nostell Priory very well and was the ideal person to pass over information about the venue. The sun shone all day and the mild conditions provided the backdrop to a lovely and interesting day. Members feed back was very positive, apart from lengthy waits at the cafe!!!
To contact Barrie, the group leader, please use the form below:-
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Litter Picking Group
March has been quite a busy month for the litter picking group members.
On the 23rd, seven members of the group met up on Hucknall bypass with the education officer and photographer from Veolia Waste Management to participate in promotional material for Veolia’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Scheme from which we were granted our initial funding. Photographs and videos were taken whilst the group litter picked and one member, Terry Hill, even gave a brief interview. The attached photograph shows the group with their final 9 bags of litter.
On 26th March, five members participated in the BBC Radio Nottingham’s One Big Clean Up whereby as many people as possible litter picked their local area. Once again Hucknall bypass was targeted by our group and yet again another 9 bags of litter were collected. Hucknall bypass is clearly a magnet for litter louts! A reporter from BBC Radio Nottingham briefly attended and clearly put Hucknall & District u3a ‘on the map’.
The number of bags of rubbish collected by the group in March totals 47 which is commendable considering quite a few members of the group were either away on holiday or isolating due to Covid.
Should anyone else wish to join our group please contact me on litter@hucknallu3a.org You will be made very welcome!
Val Gant