Author: Webmaster

Once more we are approaching the end of an eventful year with some optimism for the situation gradually changing in 2022. Between September and December we are very pleased to report that most of our groups were up and running again.

For their continued support throughout this challenging year I would like to thank members, committee members, social committee members, group leaders, their assistants, Steve Lawrence for producing the newsletter and Graham Daft for printing it. The fact that our u3a has ended 2021 in such good shape is entirely due to you all and we cannot express our gratitude enough.

On a cheerful note it was lovely to see ours and all the other Christmas Trees and Christmas Wreaths displayed in the church in December.

The Christmas Lunch was enjoyed by 105 members who were well spaced out in the Portland Room at the John Godber Centre. It was good to hear live music thanks to Paul Haigh and his string quartet and the diners were also entertained by a raffle and Terry’s (new) book of jokes.

The Christmas film was also enjoyed by 61 members and at both events generous donations were collected towards the defibrillator fund. The amount raised so far in total for the defibrillator is £630,

Member Linda Baker took on a personal challenge of a sponsored walk to raise money towards the fund and raised an amazing £105. Much appreciated and very well done Linda.

With all the increasing infections around at the moment, we hope that you are keeping safe and well. At the time of writing we may need to revisit the current infection rate situation and possible further guidance as we move into the January. The committee are meeting via Zoom on the 5th January and will keep you informed on any decisions and developments.
On behalf of the committee, we would like to wish you and yours a very Happy, Healthy and peaceful New Year.

David Rose Chairman

This month we will look at two of the strangest scams of 2021
It’s been a turbulent year in the pandemic, with the recent rise of the Omicron variant turning the tide of earlier optimism into one of concern about our Christmas and New Year festive plans. Even as we were enjoying the relative freedoms of summer – with some people even jetting off on holiday – fraudsters didn’t take a single day off.

But for every sophisticated scheme spun by scammers, there are the more preposterous attempts which are capable of raising a smile – even in these worrying times. Read on to see some of the strangest enticements, from caves stuffed with ‘gold and crystals’ to random windfalls from Hollywood actors.

1. How about this for an optimistic Spam email
This is a creative variation of the classic ‘Nigerian Prince’ scam which promises fabulous riches, if only you stump up a small fee to ‘release’ your windfall. It’s the ‘let me know if you are interested’ that really makes it.

2. The 007 impostor

Can someone please forward this to Daniel Craig. I thought he should see , someone is running a scam with his name

It looks like Daniel Craig has found his post-Bond calling as the unlikely star of this ludicrous scam attempt. As with the Iraqi cave of gold above, this is likely another ‘advance fee’ fraud, which aims to con you out of an upfront payment and probably your personal details too. In this case, the fraudsters are employing the common trick of using a celebrity’s reputation to seem more credible – though arguably it has the opposite effect here.

Let’s keep vigilant in 2022 and remember: Never share your personal details with anyone if you can’t confirm they are who they say they are.

David Rose