News From The Groups

Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying the warmer summer weather. I especially like the weeks around the summer equinox on 21st June when dawn starts really early and the evenings are so light. So, while still being extra Covid variants careful, I hope you are enjoying the warmth, the great outdoors, the garden flowers and the displays of wild ones around many of the local footpaths and grass verges.

Several of our groups, many of them the sports/outdoor groups, have re-started which is great news and we hope to support more activity over the coming months. I know that many members are looking forward to meeting up again soon with the friends made in our various u3a groups to enjoy our shared interests in person.

We are pleased to have a new group ‘Indoor Short Mat Bowls’ starting on Monday July 5th, 2pm to 4pm at a new venue, The United Reform Church Hall on Farleys Lane.

Since it is also the holiday season I have found a postcard from about 100 years ago which shows a comic seaside scene.

Many were produced by James Bamforth from West Yorkshire and one of the most celebrated graphic artists was Donald Fraser Gould McGill whose name has become synonymous with the genre of saucy postcards, particularly associated with the seaside. The cards mostly feature an array of attractive young women, fat old ladies, drunken middle-aged men, honeymoon couples and vicars. He has been called ‘the king of the saucy postcard’, and his work is collected and appreciated for his artistic skill, its power of social observation and earthy sense of humour. They were always a source of innocent blushes in those days and I remember being pulled away by concerned parents from the racks outside the novelty shops in Skegness.

The caption seems relevant as it looks like it will be a UK coastal holiday for most of us to enjoy this year –just like the couple on the card.

David Rose, Chairman

u3a Chess Network – Chess can be enjoyable (and good for you)

After two successful u3a Zoom meetings, support has been gathered from u3a members
representing all parts of the UK for the start of the u3a CHESS NETWORK. The Network aims to promote the study and playing of Chess in the u3a – both in local u3as and nationally on web-sites and Zoom, etc.

Chess, unlike Bridge, has never flourished in u3a – probably because it has the reputation of being a difficult, aggressive, complex game, played in silence. On the contrary the rules are straightforward and easy to grasp and after a short while interesting, thought-provoking games can be played. Also, we have shown in the last few years that a Chess Club can be sociable, interactive and co-operative – where the intention is to explore the theory and play well but also to enjoy playing the game and meeting other people. There is little doubt that playing a game like Chess improves concentration, memory, decision-making and spatial comprehension – so a real advantage for all of us in u3a!!

In September, we are starting a nation-wide u3a Chess League which will be available to all members of all abilities from learners to experts.

The objectives of the new u3a Chess Network are:

– to help and encourage new Chess Clubs; (one of the most common questions we have received has been `how do I start a Chess Club?`)
– to collect, and make readily available, information relevant to u3a chess players and
clubs.
– to encourage Zoom or on-line u3a Chess groups or leagues; (another typical complaint to the Subject Advisors is that there are no u3a chess groups in my area!).

It is now possible to join the u3a CHESS NETWORK by going to: www.u3aChessNetwork.org.uk – where it is also possible to register for the u3a Chess League starting in September. We need as much publicity and support as we can obtain to help give this initiative a strong start.

David Castle, Chess Subject Adviser

You are invited to join, in July, for a month of weekly online webinars to expose the
truths behind scams.

The webinars are FREE to attend and are open to anyone who would like to know more about scams, the psychology behind scams, prevention and how a fraud case is investigated.

The webinars bring together experts in their field relating to online fraud, a topic which we are all too familiar with and can affect anyone and everyone, as our lives are played out more digitally.

The dates of the webinars and their topics are as follows:

6th July, 5pm
Exploring the psychology behind scams and how scammers are so effective at their crimes. Paul Maskell, Fraud & Cyber Crime Prevention Manager, Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU)

14th July, 5pm
Insights into how a fraud case is investigated and how not to be the next victim. Ben Hobbs, Detective Sergeant; and Catriona Still, Head of Fraud Prevention & Training, Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU)

23rd July 5pm
Scams awareness training from the Friends Against Scams initiative. The National Trading Standards Scams Team (NTSST)

30th July, 5pm
Don’t get hooked by scammers! What you need to know about flubot and phishing scams. Christopher Budd, Senior Global Threat Communications Manager, Avast.

How to book your place
To register your place you can go to www.ourwatch.org.uk/webinars and click on the webinar that you wish to attend. You can attend all of them if you wish but make sure that you complete the registration page for each of them.