On Sunday February 13th the John Godber Centre held an open day and a group of us were there to represent Hucknall and District u3a. It was a wet and windy day which contributed to the low attendance.

However it is good to have opportunities to spread the word about our u3a and several people came to talk to us.

Councillor John Wilmott was in attendance and we spoke to him about how we contribute to the local community. Of particular interest was the Litter Picking Group and the outcome of this conversation was that we were able to submit a successful bid for £200.00 from the Ashfield Council community grants fund. The litter pickers, led by Val Gant, are very active and the funding will support buying the collecting bags and kit such as litter pick-up sticks, gloves and safety tabards for members.

At the February monthly meeting we were royally entertained by the speaker, the Rev Alan Haydock, with his tales of life as a country vicar.

This month our speaker is ex-journalist, Andy Smart, –details on this website on the Monthly Meetings page.

Please remember next month on April 13th it is our AGM, our first live one since 2019.

David Rose

Rumbletums have confirmed that from the end of the month they will no longer be collecting empty crisp packets.

Recycling points are being set up in local supermarkets including Tesco.

They wish to extend their thanks for all your donations which certainly helped them over a difficult period when closure was a possibility.

This means that this month will be your last opportunity to eat as many crisps as possible and to bring your empties to the March monthly meeting.

We are hoping to arrange another trip to see the spectacular ‘Kynren’. A mind blowing 90-minute romp through two millennia of British history, all taking place in front of the backdrop of Bishop Auckland castle in the North East.

It will be a 3 day trip, 2 nights, leaving Hucknall on Friday 5 August, staying at the Jury’s Inn Hotel, Newcastle within easy walking distance of top city attractions, returning home on Sunday 7 August.

The package will include coach travel, two nights dinner, bed and breakfast, ‘Deluxe’ Kynren tickets for the Saturday 6 August evening performance of the spectacular.

Price is £269.00 per person sharing either a double or twin bedded room, single supplement will be £70. If you are interested, please register your interest at the March monthly meeting with Rose or by completing the form below stating which type of room you require.

A deposit of £50.00 per person will be required to secure the booking – cheques made payable to ‘Skills Holidays’.

Thank you
Rose

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Scams Caution: frequent scams from 2021 that are resurfacing this year

1. ‘There’s a problem with your Amazon account’
This scam targets victims through phone calls using a recorded message that prompts you to call back to fix an issue with your account. Sometimes a real person may be calling from a call centre. They may threaten to close your account if you don’t act quickly – which usually means handing over your payment details. Amazon never calls customers like this, unless it’s to follow up on an issue you’ve raised.

2. ‘Your National Insurance number has been compromised’
One phone scam that peaked last year and continues to do the rounds, is a recorded voice message claiming to be from the National Crime Agency.

If you listen carefully, you can tell that the recorded voice is not a real person speaking – it’s a ‘bot’ that’s been auto-generated by software. The call tells you to ‘press 1 to be connected to an agent.’ But this is a hotline to a scammer who will try to extract information and bank details from you. The National Crime Agency doesn’t communicate with members of the public. Realistically, there’s not much someone could do with your National Insurance number without other personal information either.

3. ‘You’ve missed a delivery’
The most common text message scams last year were warnings about missed deliveries or outstanding delivery charges. The delivery company most impersonated last year was Royal Mail, according to the number of reports received, followed by Hermes and DPD.

Other text scams operating like this include fake texts from banks. The message is often an alert that a new payee has been set up or an unknown transfer has taken place, which asks the recipient to click on the link to check the details. The link takes them to a cloned bank website which will likely ask for login details, PIN, and other personal information. Avoiding clicking on links in texts is your best bet to avoid text scams.

4. ‘Apply for your Covid passport now’
Many people have reported texts, calls and emails impersonating the NHS. Be aware that there are some very convincing cloned NHS websites which are cleverly designed to dupe us into entering sensitive information e.g. thinking they were booking their vaccinations.

The key thing to remember is that Covid services are always free on the NHS to British Citizens and those who reside in the UK. Be suspicious of anyone claiming to be from the NHS asking for money or payment information.

David Rose