Come and join us at the movies on 24th June, 2022! For full details, please click on the link below:-
u3a Outdoor Promotion
On Saturday 21st May, Hucknall and District u3a took part in a Rotary Club activity on Hucknall Market Place, open from 10am to 3pm. Over twenty local activity groups took part and it was very well attended by the Hucknall public.
Quite a few folk took interest in our display, we had several interested in joining, and one guy actually signed up and paid his enrolment fees.
On Saturday 18th June, we have a similar activity organised by Ashfield Council on Titchfield Park, we are looking for a few volunteers to share the load of attending the stall,
Please see Lynda Smeathers if you can help.
Scams – June 2022
Unfortunately, we will always be plagued with swindlers, fraudsters and scammers who are only too keen to relieve us of our well-earned cash. They also have absolutely no conscience and are more than happy to target the elderly.
Fake Energy Bill Rebate Scheme
It’s not taken long for scammers to jump on the back of soaring energy bills. Emails using the logo of the energy regulator Ofgem claim to offer an ‘energy bill rebate scheme’ worth up to £450 per household. The email gives a link to click on which directs you to a fake online portal where victims are urged to share personal and payment details in order to claim their refund. As always do not open the link and give no details
Council Rebate
A recent scam that I am aware of, is a telephone call, claiming to be from your local authority council asking for your bank details so that they can pay you the fuel rebate. If you pay your council tax by standing order, direct debit or bank transfer, then the council already have your bank details and will automatically pay your rebate into your account, by mid-May. If you do on-line banking, check that this payment is made. You should all have received your rebate by now – bands A – D.
Santander Impersonation Scheme
Most of us receive dodgy texts but it’s nice to know the latest one doing the round.
This scam begins with what appears to be a warning text from Santander about so-called suspicious activity on your account. The warning is then meant to lure you into clicking a URL to notify Santander if wasn’t you. As always, ignore and delete without opening any links
Parcel Delivery
Still doing the rounds, you will receive an email stating that there is a parcel due for delivery which has an insufficient amount of postage and cannot be delivered until the additional postage is paid. This is usually a very small amount, there is a link for you to click on which leads to a very realistic web site asking for your bank details. This will never happen from any delivery company.
Never give your bank details to anyone you don’t know or do not trust and never give your bank card PIN number to anyone you don’t trust implicitly. Likewise, your PIN number should never be written down. When drawing cash out of an ATM always cover your hand as you enter your PIN number.
u3a – 40th Anniversary
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the u3a organisation in the UK and The Notts u3a Network are planning a week of events from Sat 18th to Sat 24th September 2022 and are looking for participants.
The weeks activities have still to be discussed at our committee stage to see how we will be joining in. However, Notts Network organisers want to know if anybody is interested in taking part in the main event on Sat 24th September, 2022.
On Saturday 24th there will be a Grand Finale in the Market Square in Nottingham. This will include a flash mob, local celebrities and the final arrival of the beacons.
The Flash Mob will be a general gathering of u3a members, initially just hanging about the Square and, at a signal, they will all join together and perform a Square Dance or something similar, depending on the number of participants. There would be a couple of lessons to train for the dance prior to the event.
If you are interested as a single person, a couple or a group, please let me know and I will pursue more details for you or give you contact details. At present we have a few names, but could do with more.
Melvyn
Message from our Chair
Our next monthly meeting is on Wednesday 13th May, 2022 and is our first with the new committee. Our guest speaker for May is Mike Newbold and he will be talking to us about his experiences as a TV extra.
Easter has now passed and with the arrival of Spring, hopefully dryer and warmer weather and possibly the chance to get away for a change. As mentioned above we have half the committee as newly elected and half being re-elected, I would like to bring them and their roles to your attention:
Myself – Melvyn Francis as Chair
Tina Holmes as Vice Chair/One off talks organiser
Mark Jackson as Business Secretary Beacon Administrator
Gary Holmes as Treasurer
Greg Umney as Membership Secretary
Angela Cornish as Webmaster
Sandra Green as Secretary
Diane Heenan as Speakers Secretary
Sue Tedstone as Groups Co-ordinator
Lynda Smeathers as Events Organiser
Elizabeth Attenborough as Equipment Manager
Christine Eagle as Committee Member
We must also mention Steve Lawrence who, whilst not on the committee, prepares our monthly newsletter and does a great job.
We have been most fortunate in keeping the majority of our members during the corona virus and have also had quite a few new members, which we are very thankful for. One reason we have done so well is having David Rose as our Chair during the past two years. He has worked very hard keeping things going and we must all be very grateful. Unfortunately he will be a very hard act to follow, but I/we will do our best.
If there are any interest groups that you are interested in, please don’t be afraid to ask somebody.
Finally take care, there is still a lot of covid out there, I know as I have just tested positive, so be careful.
Melvyn Francis, Chair