Real Ale Group

On Thurs 19th May, 2020, fourteen of us caught the tram and spent the evening visiting and sampling the ales around Hockley, in Nottingham. Starting at the Six Barrels, then onto the Angel micro-brewery, then a very disappointing The Curious Tavern (majority of beers returned), which meant that we had no choice but to end up in Wetherspoon’s Lloyd’s No 1, before catching the tram back to Hucknall, only just remembering to sign our bus passes into the tram network before 11pm. A reasonable evening out, always disappointing when a pub doesn’t sample its own beer before serving.

Our future adventures include:-
On Thurs 16th June, Mark and Lynda have generously agreed to organise a “BEER B Q” at theirs in Linby, starting about 6pm to 6.30pm. Obviously, we will have to arrange our own transport to and from. However, we can catch the 141 bus at 5.59pm arriving at the Horse and Groom at 6.11pm. Taxi’s, walking, spouse pick up or car sharing home.

There will be a cost of £5 each which will cover food and a couple of free beers. Additional beers will be available at substantially below even ‘Spoons prices. On my last visit Mark had 9 beers available, all very good indeed. Alternatively, you may bring your own drinks should you wish for anything other than Mark’s home brew. Promises to be an exceptionally good night.

On Thurs 28th July, it is intended that we attend the delayed Hucknall Beer Festival at the John Godber Centre at 7pm. This is the first night of the festival and has the best beer selection and not as busy as Friday or Saturday. I will send a reminder out in early July.

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

History Group

Meeting dates: 3rd Wednesday of the month
Usual venue for indoor meetings: Central Methodist Church.
Time: 2.00 pm prompt.

The History Group always welcomes all U3A members. Our usual indoor meeting place is Central Methodist Church and for our last meeting we were in the Church Room and found it was much better for those members who have hearing problems. If you wish we can continue with this booking.

Our visit on May 25th to Bennerley Viaduct with our guide Kieran Lee was stunning. I think we learned something about almost everything from geology, to natural history, engineering and a bit of old English in that Erewash meant a winding river. The explanation of the views we could see from the viaduct was also outstanding. It was possibly one of the best visits we have ever had.

At the next main meeting Kath and Kathy will be taking bookings for our much delayed visit to Doddington Hall on Wednesday June 15th, price £22. We leave Hucknall at 9.30am to get there for a tour of the house and leave Doddington at 4pm returning to Hucknall 5.30pm ish. There are still a few seats available if you would like to join us.

Bye for now – Maureen

Meeting Dates 2022

June 15th 2022 Much delayed visit to Doddington Hall & Gardens. Leave Hucknall 9.30: Leave Doddington 4pm. Return Hucknall 5.30 (ish) Cost £22 Price cut to the bone.

No meeting July or August – Holidays

September 21st 2022 Denis Hill is coming to talk about Victorian Housing Conditions which is a century or so before most of the bureaucracy and health and safety rules came into being. It would cover the lifetimes of our great grandparents.

October 19th 2022 Visit to Derby Museum and Art Gallery. We will have a talk about Joseph Wright of Derby (Famous artist) then a self guided tour of the museum. Leave Hucknall 1pm. Leave Derby 5pm. Arrive Hucknall 5.45pm(ish) Cost £10

November 16th 2022 Trevor Lee is coming to talk to us. He usually provides us with mind pictures of entertainers; sometimes even their voices. Lots of reminiscing at this meeting.

Pub Quiz

The Monday, 9th May, Pub Quiz was attended by 25 members and was won by “Minus One”.

The next Pub Quiz will be on Monday, 13th June at The Nabb Inn at 12 noon.

Here are the answers to the May newsletter quiz.
1. Which character features as a clergyman in the stories of Robin Hood? Friar Tuck
2. What star sign would you belong to if you were born on October 29th? Scorpio
3. What type of beetle is sacred in Ancient Egypt? Scarab Dung Beetle
4. What C is a sign at the beginning of a musical staff indicating the pitch of the notes? Clef
5. Which national flags are in the Union Jack? The crosses of St.George, St.Patrick, and St. Andrew
6. What’s the name of the 1st Scotsman to be voted European Footballer of The Year? Denis Law
7. Which Las Vegas hotel did the party stay at in the 2009 film ‘The Hangover’? Caesar’s Palace
8. What is the highest number visible on a dartboard? Twenty
9. How many days did the Falklands War last: 74
10. How many yards are there between the wickets in a game of cricket? Twenty
11. What type of vegetable is known as celery root? Celeriac
12. Who is the author of Peter Rabbit? Beatrix Potter
13. How many lines does a Limerick have? Five
14. Who released a hit song in the 1980s called ’99 Red Balloons’? Nena
15. What is the name of the longest river in France? Loire
16. Which famous poet wrote ‘An Ode to a Nightingale’? John Keates
17. What is the largest planet in our solar system? Jupiter
18. Lateral Epicondylitis is a condition commonly known by what name? Tennis elbow
19. How many players are there in a baseball team? Nine
20. What is the softest mineral in the world? Talc

And the June quiz is a mixed-up Alphabet General Knowledge quiz. The first letter of each answer is a letter from the alphabet and it is used only once in the answers.

1. The Right Honourable William Pitt had what nickname?
2. Professor Dumbledore is in charge of which school?
3. With which book do you associate Captain Ahab?
4. Who wrote Dracula?
5. Who sang with Elton John on ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’?
6. What is the name of the hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining?
7. Who had hits with ‘Lets Twist Again’ and ‘The Twist’?
8. Which Monarch’s reign started in 1837?
9. What is the highest waterfall in the world?
10. Which dog breed is a cross between a greyhound and a collie?
11. Thermal Imaging uses what type of electromagnetic radiation?
12. Who owned Bagpuss?
13. Which natural feature lies between the two Great Lakes of Ontario and Erie?
14. The Underwood brothers played for England at which sport?
15. Which letter is the car registration for Germany?
16. Which band’s debut album was called ‘Boy’?
17. What is 40 in Roman numerals?
18. Who originally sang, ‘I Will Survive’?
19. Which children’s TV character lived on Scatterbrook Farm?
20. What is a group of lions called?
21. Where do Tribbles first appear, Star Trek or Star Wars?
22. What investigative character was played by Angela Lansbury?
23. Which is the closest planet to Earth?
24. What is the name of the boys’ gang in ‘Grease’?
25. What hat do you associate with Tommy Cooper?
26. The Hindenburg disaster featured what type of airship?