Category: Announcements

Ask yourself the following questions. If you answer yes to any of them, there’s a good chance it’s a scam.

1. Have you been contacted out of the blue?
Cold calls or unexpected emails or messages should raise suspicion, especially if you’re asked to give personal or payment details. It’s very unusual for legitimate organisations to contact you and ask for sensitive information if you’re not expecting them to. If you’re not 100% convinced about the identity of the caller, hang up and contact the company directly.

2. Have you been asked to share personal details?
Never share your personal details with anyone if you can’t confirm they are who they say they are. Phone scammers will often try and get valuable personal data from you, and they can use this to steal your money, or even to use your identity to use fraudulently.

3. Are you being asked to keep it secret?
It’s important you can discuss any agreements with your friends, family or advisors. Asking you to keep quiet is a way to keep you away from the advice and support you need in making a decision.

4. Are you being pressured to make a decision?
Fraudsters often try to hurry your decision making. Don’t let anyone make you feel under pressure – it’s OK to take a break and think things through if you’re not sure. Sales staff should always give you time and space to make an informed decision; anyone who tries to rush you should not be trusted.

5. Are there spelling and grammar mistakes?
Emails or messages littered with spelling and grammar mistakes are a scam giveaway. Legitimate organisations will rarely, if ever, make spelling or grammatical mistakes in their emails to you because they’ve been put together by professionals and checked before they’re sent.

David Rose

We are collecting various items – Two to recycle and one to be reused and made into something new.

1. Crisp Packets
Thanks for keeping up the good work by bringing your empties to the monthly meeting. It helps the staff at Rumbletums if they can be packed flat (as most of you already do).

2. Medication blister packs
Siobhan will be collecting medication blister packs (not the made up trays). Please bring to the monthly meeting or contact her directly.

3. Wool:
Jean Green writes requesting donations of wool. I have been making twiddle muffs for charity for a number of years mostly for care homes and a few private due to love one’s having dementia – it seems to help them. Also I knit knee blankets for cancer patients and heart patients. I am very grateful to those who have donated wool but I am always looking for more. To contact Jean, please use the form below:-

3. Books
Please hang on to any books that you wish to bring in until we can arrange a book sale. Thanks to those who bought some last month they are now in temporary storage.

David Rose

The newly formed Litter Picking Group has got off to a great start with members having collected almost 60 bags of rubbish since its inception at the end of August. One member has even found what is believed to be stolen property – a bicycle hidden in bushes and a rucksack with its pockets open and emptied. The Police have been informed and if the items are not claimed they will be ‘recycled’ respectively to a good home and a deserving charity. Group members go out either individually or in small groups as and when they are free and have garnered a lot of public support in the process. It’s just a pity there are still litter louts out there too.
For further information or if anyone else wishes to join please contact the group leader Val Gant on litter@hucknallu3a.org.uk

Some of the litter pickers ready for action:

Fake meal vouchers for Wetherspoon pubs

These are being promoted on Facebook, despite the chain shutting all its social media accounts in 2018. Facebook users who comment on the posts published by the fake Wetherspoon pages are told they will win meal vouchers if they receive comments from Wetherspoon. But these comments come from scammers who have set up the pages.

The posts read ‘Congratulations for those of you who have received comments from us, you have the opportunity to win them’. You are then asked to like and share the post with your friends.

Luckily, the fake profiles don’t have large followings unlike other competition scams, but they do have the potential to reach a large audience. Two false Facebook pages claim to be legitimate Wetherspoon social media profiles, both sharing posts following the same format. If received report it: to the 7726 service – a free text service that enables you to report all spam texts.

u3a Growing the Future

To mark the u3a movement’s 40th Anniversary in 2022, the Trust are creating a u3a anniversary woodland situated in the Brecon Beacons.

u3a member’s contribution to the u3a woodland will help benefit the environment, wildlife and climate for future generations. The movement’s target is for 5,000 trees to be planted between October 2021 and March 2022.

This project is launched in members’ magazine, Third Age Matters. u3a members can buy individual trees or a copse of trees and u3as are also encouraged to plant trees within their own communities.

The money for the trees goes towards establishing the trees and part of the cost for each tree is reserved as future payments for maintenance. Once they are fully established, they will be looked after as part of routine woodland management. We are fortunate to have secured the Woodland in an area of outstanding natural beauty and the trees will be expertly looked after by skilled arborists.

To buy u3a woodland trees, go to the u3abrandcentre.