Message from our Chair

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Our next monthly meeting is on Weds 10th August, look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible. Please ensure that you enter the building from the car park rear entrance and book in at the desk.

Please try to remember to wear your name badges so that folks (especially new members) know who you are, if a group leader or committee member, again pleased wear your ID so that others know who they are talking to. I would remind us all (myself included) to either turn off or silence our mobile phones, we had several ringing last month during our guest speakers talk, not nice.

I trust that we are all coping with the very hot weather, whether at home or on holiday, please remember to use plenty of sun block and drink a lot of fluid.

This month’s guest speaker is David Skillen, talking about ‘Gretton Girls and Devils Porridge’ sounds intriguing.
After our coffee break a couple of our group leaders will be telling us about their group’s activities.

If you are a new member, looking for activity groups to join, there is now a list on our website showing which groups have vacancies, or talk to Sue Tedstone our groups’ co-ordinator.

As always, thanks to Steve for preparing and editing our newsletter, we are very lucky, not many u3a’s have monthly newsletters. However, even Steve has to have a holiday, so we are looking for a volunteer to prepare October’s newsletter at the end of September. If you can help, please talk to either myself or Steve.

Melvyn Francis,
Chair

Scams

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The never-ending battle against fraudsters continues, we are still 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.

Energy Crisis Scam
Due to the extreme increase in energy costs, scammers are exploiting the situation and our desire to cut costs by pretending to offer energy bill refunds to get your bank details and providing access to government grants to help with cost – BEWARE

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

Fake BP Fuel Credit Cards
A scam offering petrol and diesel at reduced cost, all you have to do is purchase a prepaid card to get your discount, just sign up and pay, – too good to be true? Always a scam.

Car Insurance
Getting a quote or quotes online for your car insurance, then just after receiving your quote receiving an email offering to undercut all previous quotes and asking you to supply your bank details and sign up. This is called Ghost Broking.

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 then always cover your hand as you enter your PIN number.

u3a – 40th Anniversary

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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.

Unfortunately, the organisers couldn’t get the use of the Old Market Square in Nottingham, however, have managed to book an area at Highfields Park which is situated on University Boulevard at Lenton, NG7 2RD and is accessible via the NET tram service from Hucknall.

The days activities will be:-
12.00 noon Set up
13.00 Steelband
13.30 Beacons & Banners arrive
14.00 Flash Mob
14.30 Steel Band
15.30 Finish

We will be sent details of the actual Flash Mon dance so that we can practise. If you have already put down to participate, please confirm that you still want to take part, due to the change in venue.

Still time to participate if you are not already doing so.

Melvyn

Group Leaders’ Meeting

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On Friday 22nd July, 2022, I held a Meeting for all our Group Leaders.

We started with briefings on Beacon, the Website and the Newsletter, which we found very useful. One purpose of the meeting was to look at how we advertise our Interest Groups. We also redesigned the back page of the Newsletter, making it more user-friendly. This will be launched in the September Newsletter.

We also looked at the possibility of introducing some new Interest Groups. We have a long list of ideas, ready for the Committee to consider! If any of you have any ideas for new Groups, please let me know.

Sue Tedstone,
(Groups Coordinator),
email – coordinator@hucknallu3a.org.uk

Pub Quiz

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The Monday, 11th July, Pub Quiz was attended by 21 members and was won by Team 3 Plus 1.

The next Pub Quiz will be on Monday, 8th August at The Nabb Inn at 12 noon. All welcome – we can always add another person to a team if you would like to attend but haven’t got a team of your own.

Here are the answers to the July quiz,
1. What is the name of the Greek dip consisting of yoghurt and cucumber? Tzatziki
2. In Indian cooking, what is a Tandoori? A cylindrical clay oven
3. What is a mocha? Coffee made up of espresso and hot chocolate milk.
4. In the UK it is sweetcorn, but what cereal grain is it a variety of? A variety of maize
5. Enchiladas originated in which country? Mexico
6. In French cooking, what does ‘en Croute’ mean? Encased in a pastry shell
7. What are the two main ingredients in a bellini cocktail? Pureed white peaches and Prosecco
8. The beer brand ‘Old Speckled Hen’ was acquired by which brewery in 2000? Greene King
9. Which fast food company used the advertising slogan “I’m Lovin’ it”? McDonalds
10. What is unusual about the tomato-based soup known as Gazpacho? It is a cold soup
11. What body of water separates Saudia Arabia from Africa? Red Sea
12. Catalonia is a region of what country? Spain
13. What is the largest island is the Caribbean Sea? Cuba
14. What are the five boroughs of New York City? Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx & Staten Island.
15. Which country has the longest coastline in the world? Canada
16. In what mountain range is Mount Everest located? Great Himalayan Range
17. In which English county is the town of Stevenage? Hertfordshire
18. Sofia is the capital of which country? Bulgaria
19. What are the three official languages of Belgium? Dutch, French, and German
20. In which city is the Vatican City? Rome

And the August quiz is as follows:
1. The title of which popular 1898 Italian song, often played by ice cream vans, means “my sunshine” when translated?
2. Animals that are classified as arboreal have adapted to life in which environment?
3. Translated, which Japanese martial art means “sword path” or “way of the sword”?
4. The following is the opening line from which 1991 Hollywood film? “Three billion human lives ended on August 29, 1997.”
5. Which small shark with an unusual bite is named after a baking implement?
6. In 2006, who became the first player ever to be sent off in a UEFA Champions League final?
7. With 85 m, the world’s shortest land border is shared between the Spanish territory Penon de Velez de la Gomera and which other country?
8. The name of which famous automobile manufacturer means ‘blacksmith’ when translated?
9. Which European country abolished its monarchy on June 1, 1973? a. Albania b. Italy c. Greece d. Portugal
10. Constantinople and Moscow excluded, what were the five most populated European cities in the year 1700? One point for each correct answer.
11. What is the commonly used French word for scampi?
12. Which company, headquartered in The Hague, is usually found in the worldwide top 10 in terms of revenue?
13. In biology, which taxonomic category lies between Kingdom and Class?
14. What was the first song by The Beatles to use backwards vocals? (One word)
15. Name the film in which Dustin Hoffmann plays a character married to a character played by Meryl Streep?
16. What is the name of the whale with the distinctive unicorn like spiral tusk?
17. Gregor Samsa does not recognise himself in which famous novella?
18. Located in Chile and Peru, what is the name of the desert which is considered to be the driest place on Earth?