Murder Mystery Xmas 2020

by WebmasterWine AppreciationPosted on Comments are Disabled

Not to be deterred from holding our annual Christmas murder mystery party, the Wine Appreciation group took to Zoom to solve the mystery of the death of Matt Finish, the well known interior designer.

In a theme that blended characterisations of the likes of Arthur Daly, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Mary Whitehouse, Alan Titchmarsh & Charlie Dimmock the group set about to solve the case. Officer Dibble was unable to remotely ‘cuff the suspects and failed to guess the murderer but the powerful deductive powers of others in the group meant justice prevailed.

Not quite the same as meeting up in person but everyone went the extra mile to make it a memorable evening.

Fun with Languages

by WebmasterFun with LanguagesPosted on Comments are Disabled

Well we are here and holding our own as a group despite a challenging 2020. We have sadly lost a few zoomers on the way, which is a shame, but understandable in these circumstances. As yet we do not know what 2021 holds for us, but we hope that things will gradually improve as we get vaccinated and feel more able (and rules allow) to meet in person. Until then we Zoom on.

Our December meeting went well with a variety of new vocabulary and video clips; plus a jolly Xmas French song. We also met for drinks in the evening (on Zoom) and a chat to wish each other a happy Christmas.

Our next meeting on Zoom will be Thursday 14th January 2021 at 10.30 am. I will email out a link and details nearer the time. We continue with French for a few more sessions then we shall take up some work again on Spanish.

May you all have a peaceful, safe and happy Christmas; and those who are ill a healing one!

Love Ann and Lizxx

History Group

by WebmasterHistory GroupPosted on Comments are Disabled

The History Group always welcomes all U3A members. Our indoor meetings are held at Central Methodist Church on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, commencing at 2pm. At present I am not sure when indoor meetings will restart – but – watch this space! I decided to re- schedule the visits due in 2020 to 2021 which means Richard lll is set for March 17th, 2021 – and remember money already paid for the trip is safe in the U3A bank. Please cross fingers, toes and anything else you can – that the visits will go ahead. Doddington Hall will be on 16th June. I am still waiting for Sharpes Pottery to reply. I look forward to seeing everyone but in the meantime please take care and stay safe.

No-one came back to me objecting or otherwise when I mentioned re-booking the speakers from this year for 2021 which means I will go ahead. However at present I feel booking for January and February is a bit iffy so if we can meet I will think of something history-based we can do to entertain ourselves. I have heard nothing about the idea for a book – Hucknall A – Z either and there have been no comments from anyone who has; or is; considering writing about their own history. I have nudged my brother to make an effort so it will be interesting to compare his memories with my own.

A while ago, I wrote about some bottles which had been found. Brenda Morris contacted me recently telling me what she knew about them. Brenda used to live on Albert Street and remembered the Walters dairymen bringing milk; she thinks at first with a horse and cart. Later they used a motorbike with not a sidecar, but a box on wheels attached, containing churns of milk. Customers went from their homes with a jug or container to the vehicle where long handled measures were used to dip into the churn and pour into the receptacle. This reminded me of Buckleys ice cream van coming round on Sunday afternoon and rushing out with a basin to be filled with ice cream to go with the tinned fruit for Sunday tea. Brenda also remembered playing with friends on Co-op Avenue. If they felt thirsty they knocked on the door of Mrs. Whyatt for a bottle of pop and she went to the ‘factory’ to fetch a bottle for the children. Would you like to bring any bottles you have to our first indoor meeting and I will bring mine? (Empty would be best? – or perhaps not!)

A member of the Catchpole family who lives away has contacted me asking for information. Catchpoles were in business as butchers on Annesley Road. One on the corner of Brook Street as a pork butcher and another general butchers shop. Can anyone remember them?

I have just realised that we will not have another U3A Newsletter before Christmas so I would like to wish every U3A member a happy, healthy and safe festive season hoping Santa brings us all a vaccine jab soon.

T.T.F.N. and God bless from Maureen

Scam – Fake PayPal E-mails

by WebmasterAnnouncementsPosted on Comments are Disabled

A current Scam Warning – Fake PayPal E-mails

Action Fraud is warning people selling items online to be on the lookout for criminals sending fake PayPal emails.

• Between January 2020 and September 2020, 21,349 crime reports were made to Action Fraud about fake PayPal emails.
• Victims reported losing a total of £7,891,077.44 during this time.
• Those targeted included people selling jewellery, furniture and electronics via online marketplaces.
• Reports of fake PayPal emails to Action Fraud made up a third of all reports of online shopping and auction fraud during this period.

How does it happen?
Criminals have been targeting people selling items online, by sending them emails purporting to be from PayPal. The emails trick victims into believing they have received payment for the items they’re selling on the platform.

Typically, after receiving these emails, victims will ship the item to the criminal. This leaves them at a further disadvantage having not received any payment for the item and also no longer being in possession of it.

How can you protect yourself?
• Sellers beware: If you’re selling items on an online marketplace, be aware of the warning signs that your buyer is a scammer. Scammers may have negative feedback history, or may have recently set up a new account to avoid getting poor feedback. Don’t be persuaded into sending anything until you can verify you’ve received the payment.
• Scam messages: Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to messages that ask for your personal or financial details.
• How to spot the difference: A PayPal email will address you by your first and last name, or your business name, and will never ask you for your full password, bank account, or credit card details in a message.

If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, report it to
Action Fraud online at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.

High Streets Project

by WebmasterGeneral News/EventsPosted on Comments are Disabled

The monthly U3A National newsletters have loads of information about projects which are in progress either locally or across the country, and in fact I find that it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees at the moment. However, a few months ago I spotted the national ‘High Streets’ project, right at the end of a very long newsletter.

This is a project which aims to look at High Streets before and after Covid-19. The project was proposed before the first lockdown by a member of the U3A National Research Network, whose former career was in retail. The basic plan is to compare today’s, and tomorrow’s High Streets with those of the past.

I expect that a lot of Hucknall U3A members will remember how our High Street used to look. My recollections go back 40 years, and no doubt many members can go back well before that. How the High Street will look in the future is probably anyone’s guess, but we can be certain that 2020 will cause many changes – will Amazon take over completely, or will local shops (especially food-related) prosper? Will all the estate agents disappear online, and will we still drink as much coffee? Will lots of shop units have been converted to housing?

In the temporary absence of our Easy Wheelers and Pickleball groups, I’ve been trying to keep up the exercise, so this looked like an opportunity to at least do some walking. I volunteered to survey Hucknall High Street pedestrianized section, and the end of September found me walking up and down photographing and taking notes of all the shops and offices.

Nationally, 533 U3A members took part, and a total of almost 9,500 premises have been surveyed, out of around 20,000 nationally. The next job is to compile a massive combined database (any volunteers?) and preliminary findings will go to the Third Age Trust December board meeting. The plan is to develop local projects during 2021, Covid permitting, then revisit all the individual High Streets in 18 months’ time to see how things have changed.

John Tedstone