Number 21 - February 2020 Welcome to the first Bulletin of 2020. It’s beginning to feel like spring already with primroses in bloom and daffodils poking their heads through the soil. At the January meeting we had another enjoyable quiz, devised and compered by Laurie, assisted by Christine. Our thanks go to both of them and to those who helped with refreshments on the day. See Trudi’s write up later in the Bulletin. This month’s speaker will be PC Tom Lee from the Cyber Crime Unit with advice on staying safe on line. Attached is a helpful advice sheet on avoiding cybercrime, circulated by the U3A Eastern Region. Also attached is an advert for an Easter 3 day study course to be held at the old Hampstead Town Hall. We have had a suggestion for a monthly Board Games Group; if you are interested then please contact Melody, especially if you would be willing to act as convenor for the Group. You may have noticed our recent advert in the Dagenham Post; we are also planning a leaflet campaign in the next few weeks to attract new members. These have been funded from the NCIL grant we were awarded from the Council. We have used some of the grant to buy equipment such as the new projector used at the quiz. The Council has kindly agreed that we can spend part of the grant, originally earmarked for a bespoke website, on publicity instead. Are you interested in joining the Committee or finding out more about what we do? If so, please speak to one of the Committee or join us at one of our meetings on the first Friday of each month. I hope you enjoy February’s activities. Best wishes, Felicity Hawksley
Transcript
Number 21 - February 2020
Welcome to the first Bulletin of 2020.
It’s beginning to feel like spring already with primroses in
bloom and daffodils poking their heads through the soil.
At the January meeting we had another enjoyable quiz,
devised and compered by Laurie, assisted by Christine.
Our thanks go to both of them and to those who helped
with refreshments on the day. See Trudi’s write up later
in the Bulletin.
This month’s speaker will be PC Tom Lee from the Cyber Crime Unit with
advice on staying safe on line. Attached is a helpful advice sheet on
avoiding cybercrime, circulated by the U3A Eastern Region. Also attached is
an advert for an Easter 3 day study course to be held at the old Hampstead
Town Hall.
We have had a suggestion for a monthly Board Games Group; if you are
interested then please contact Melody, especially if you would be willing to
act as convenor for the Group.
You may have noticed our recent advert in the Dagenham Post; we are also
planning a leaflet campaign in the next few weeks to attract new members.
These have been funded from the NCIL grant we were awarded from the
Council. We have used some of the grant to buy equipment such as the new
projector used at the quiz. The Council has kindly agreed that we can spend
part of the grant, originally earmarked for a bespoke website, on publicity
instead.
Are you interested in joining the Committee or finding out more about what
we do? If so, please speak to one of the Committee or join us at one of our
meetings on the first Friday of each month.
I hope you enjoy February’s activities.
Best wishes,
Felicity Hawksley
History Group
A write up of our visit to Rainham Hall will be in next month’s
Bulletin.
Our next visit will be to the British Museum on Friday 20th March to
hear a talk on the Museum’s Japanese Collection. Contact Felicity for
more details.
Request for Volunteers
We’ve been contacted by the charity Schoolreaders, who have asked us to circulate this message to you: Have you ever thought about volunteering? Why don’t you make 2020 the year you try something new, and volunteer as a Schoolreader? Schoolreaders is looking for new volunteers in Dagenham. All you need is some spare time, a good command of English and the desire to make a difference. Currently one in four children leave primary school unable to read well. With your help we can change this. To find out more, and apply, please use the link below. https://www.schoolreaders.org/…
Ukulele
The Ukulele group met twice in January and we are
making slow progress. In February we meet on the 10th
Book Club We combined our December meeting with drinks and lunch along with a discussion of ‘Rubbernecker’ by Belinda Bauer. All members present enjoyed what they agreed was a well written and engaging novel featuring Patrick, a medical student with Asperger’s syndrome and his suspicions that a body his class are examining in an anatomy class has been murdered. Our planned meeting in January didn’t go ahead as several members were ill. The book we read was ‘A Good Year’ by Peter Mayle (who also wrote ‘ A Year in Provence’ ) This was, in my opinion, a light hearted and easy read about a London financier whose uncle has left him his estate in his will - an 18th century chateau and vineyard an hour’s drive from Avignon . Russell Crowe starred in the film of the book in 2006. Our next meetings and books chosen are as follows: Friday 14th February - The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell Friday 13th March - Munich by Robert Harris Friday 10th April - When The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens Friday 8th May - Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
The group meets on the second Friday of each month at Dagenham Library from 11.00am to 12.30pm. We are always on the lookout for new members who will be warmly welcomed to our friendly group.
Chris Carter
Theatre Group - Watch this space!
I’ll be sorting out dates and shows for the
Theatre Group shortly and will be contacting
everyone in this group
A belated Happy New Year to you all!
Tricia
Walks Group
On a damp Friday morning in January, twelve members gathered at Kings Cross station for our latest walk. After the hustle and bustle of the streets outside the station, we soon entered another world of peace and quiet as we encountered the pleasures of Bloomsbury, once a village on the outskirts of London. It was later to become the haunt of writers and medics, now obvious by the number of blue plaques adorning walls of residencies. Gardens and squares were named after prominent members of the community including the Russell family who also had the title Duke of Bedford. Cartwright Crescent was an unexpected sight of Georgian houses very similar to the Crescent at Bath and overlooked a garden area now utilised by university students. Hidden away in a quiet corner, we came across the Foundling Museum recalling the days of the Foundling Hospital, created by Thomas Coram to care for neglected and unwanted babies. We learned of the unorthodox way of selecting ‘inmates’ where mothers pulled a coloured ball out of a bag. A black ball signified rejection, hence the expression in use today of ‘blackballing’, whilst a white ball guaranteed acceptance. We explored Tavistock Square, which contained many statues including Gandhi and Virginia Woolf, and Russell Square and admired many fine houses on the way. This was yet another walk discovering an area of London which I had never previously encountered and probably would never have visited if it had not been for the U3A. Many thanks to Maria for suggesting and leading this walk. Laurie
CUPPA CLUB
Come and join us!
The Cuppa Club meet on the last Friday of each month at Tesco, Roneo Corner at 11am. Join us for a chat and a cuppa on Friday 28th February
Margaret
Speakers’ Corner
What a great start to 2020!
Instead of our usual speaker, we decided to have a
quiz afternoon. There were several raised eyebrows
as members came through the door and several
thought about leaving before the afternoon had
begun, but by 3 pm I think everyone could safely
say we had a fantastic time. Tables were set out so
members could chat and get to know each other better and the
questions were set at a level that everyone could contribute.
Refreshments were provided on each table to feed the mind as we
progressed through the questions.
Thanks to Laurie and Christine for
the hard work setting the quiz and to
Christine and Jo for the
refreshments.
Our 2020 programme is nearly
complete and will be posted on our
website soon
Trudi
Birdwatching group
Early winter coughs and colds put paid to our November trip so our
next trip was a visit to Walthamstow Wetlands in
December. Give me a ring if you’d like to know more
about joining this small friendly group
Jill T
07789 918396
Singing for Fun There is still a lot of interest in this group although we haven't met for a while. Unfortunately I had to step down as contact and host but if anyone is interested in continuing in these roles then please let me know. The emphasis was on 'for fun' and the group did not want or expect to perform so there's no pressure on the contact person. Please speak to me if you can help in any way.
Trudi
Notes from your Treasurer
I shall be doing a final Gift Aid claim for this accounting year soon, would you please check that I have a completed Gift Aid form from you if you think that you qualify? If you pay any tax to HMRC, it enables us to claim some of it back for Dagenham U3A at no cost to you. For each £1 of membership that you have paid, Dagenham U3A can claim 25p of it back if you have Gift Aided it.
THE NEW £20 NOTE IS COMING
Next month, (Issued 20th February 2020,) the new £20 note will begin to appear in ATMs and tills across the UK. It is printed on polymer, features the artist JMW Turner on the reverse but retains the distinctive £20 purple colour. The new £20 note is the most secure banknote yet with detailed security features
making it difficult to forge but simple and quick to check: See-through windows: look at the metallic image over the main window. Margate Lighthouse appears in gold foil with the Turner Contemporary gallery in blue, and the foils are silver on the back. There is another small see-through window in the bottom corner of the note. Hologram image: the metallic patch under the main window contains the word 'Twenty'. This changes to 'Pounds' when the note is tilted from side to side.
Tai Chi There will be a meeting at my house on Tuesday 18th February(1.15 start) for anyone interested in this group to plan a way forward depending on numbers. Please note this is a planning session not an activity session but, hopefully the tutor will also be available to talk to us about what is involved etc. Please contact me for the address or via the website contact. Trudi
Yoga Group It is always rewarding to find out that there are things that you can do that you thought you couldn’t, no matter what age you are. Obviously, there is a right and wrong way to do things and it is always helpful to know that guidance is available.
In our Yoga Group, we are lucky to have this guidance in the form of Jill Cook, who is not only one of our U3A members but also a qualified Yoga Tutor. I am saying this because the yoga pose, (asana), shown in the photo was only attempted after many preliminary movements to get the body ready for it. Jill demonstrated first, together with another member. A couple of ladies said “I can’t do that.” but they DID DO IT.
However, please do not try this at home, why not come along and laugh with us at our fortnightly Yoga meetings at Wantz Hall. Further details are available on the website.
Jan
OUR NEXT MONTHLY MEETING IS
MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY
DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR OWN MUG!
EATING OUT GROUP
Our next venue is Melih BBQ Restaurant. 1177 High Road, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Essex, RM6 4AL, (0208 590 3692).
Date: Saturday 8 February at 1pm.
Melih is a traditional Turkish Restaurant.
Please note, this Restaurant does not have a set menu for a special price. This makes payment rather difficult as it would take a long time trying to sort out who pays what….
So to make this easier, I thought that if you pay your bill with a friend, you can then sort it out between you. I am sure that you can see that this would be easier than trying to sort out the bill for at least 15 different priced choices.
Next date for this Group is Wednesday 11 March 2020 at 5pm
Do come and join us - eating together is so much better than eating alone!!
Marion
And finally thank you Marion for organising the post-Christmas visit to Romford Dogs. I think the pictures show that a good time was had by all!
