ROMSEY and District
Low-down in the Lockdown Bulletin No.14 - 13 January 2021 Happy New Year! It is a year in which we all hope Vaccinations and sensible behaviour will bring us closer to life without severe restrictions. Welcome to our first ‘Low-down in the Lockdown’ of 2021 - it’s no. 14 and counting. Until we can meet again, be extra careful and Stay Safe, Keep Active & Keep Well.
Management of Romsey & District u3a We are very pleased to announce that our treasurer’s email early in December stimulated a number of offers to help with the financial management of our u3a. As a result, David Percival will be co-opted onto the committee with immediate effect and Sheila Prangle will, due to current commitments, attend committee meetings as an observer, with both standing for election as trustees at our AGM in May.
Would you like to join the committee to help with other roles? We are looking for a new Secretary and Chair, both of which are trustee roles. We would also like to have a separate Minute Secretary, to produce notes of typically 6 committee meetings per year, and we need a new Webmaster to manage the content on our website; neither of these are trustee roles, they both just require a careful methodical approach. If you are interested in any of the roles please do contact one of the following officers: Janet Payne chairman@romseyu3a.org.uk Dave Lovell vice.chair@romseyu3a.org.uk Janet Moody secretary@romseyu3a.org.uk Gill Hodge treasurer@romseyu3a.org.uk
How was your Christmas?
Play Reading
I think for most of us Christmas was certainly different this year. I spent most of the day at Lepe Beach! It was a gloriously bright and sunny day – bitterly cold, but very clear with amazing views to Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight and west towards the Needles. After a good walk, we set up our chairs on the beach under the overhanging cliff, out of the wind, and enjoyed our picnic in the brilliant sunshine - rugged up against the 4 ○c cold, grateful to be in good health, and able to share the day with a dear friend. Janet Moody
I can still recite lines from Macbeth, learned in 1965, but I’ve never thought of joining a group to read plays. Perhaps I should - perhaps you would like to? The u3a (TAT ) has a website page dedicated to it and we’ve recently been informed that a member of Tetbury u3a has co-authored 10 plays specially designed for reading on zoom. If you like the idea of play reading, recommended for those seeking to unleash their inner thespian, contact Margaret and let’s see if we can get a group going. Email: groups@romsey.org.uk . Be gentle with yourself when you make mistakes.
Coffee and Catch-up th
Coffee and catch-up resumes on 15 January, with the one after scheduled for the 28 th commencing at 10.30. Put it in your diary now and let me know if there is an activity you would like to suggest to amuse, entertain or inform your fellow members. Zoom links will be sent out nearer each date. Remember: Learn, Laugh, Live. Dave Lovell
COVID
We are again in Lockdown; the sooner everyone follows the rules the sooner it will be lifted. Some members have already received their first vaccine dose; if you haven’t yet, your turn will come. PLEASE do not telephone your Doctor's surgery asking when you will get your vaccinations, they will contact you. The vaccine is free from the NHS, so beware of text message or email scams asking you to book an appointment - they lead to a fake website asking for your bank details. Wait for a letter or phone call.
Download a texting scam leaflet here for hints. Don’t become a victim of fraud! Page 1 of 2
Tree Quiz
Spring will soon be on its way - can you identify these trees?
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Thanks to Kay Lovell
Answers next time
Do you collect Stamps?
Serenity Prayer Send me a slow news day, a quiet, subdued day, in which nothing much happens of note, save for the passing of time, the consumption of wine, and a re-run of Murder, She Wrote. Grant me a no news day, a spare-me-your-views day, in which nothing much happens at all, except a few hours together some regional weather, a day we can barely recall.
You can help the rnib with their community fundraising by removing stamps from envelopes - leave 1cm around the edge - and request an envelope to recycle them.
Have you seen Someone Else? Where are they?
HAPPIER JANUARY 2021 “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Gandhi ACTION FOR HAPPINESS
The government in Egypt has instructed the city's taxi drivers to drive around Cairo sounding their car horns. It's hoped the return to familiar city sounds will help restore calm in the pandemic. Operation TOOT-N-CALM-EM will last for a week!
Brian Bilston If you haven’t come across Brian’s poems before, you may like to explore his work a little more on his Poetry Laboetry website .
ISLANDS OF BRITAIN (part 2) Answers © Madeley & District U3A
21. ARRAN
31. SOUTH UIST
22. LUNGA
32. TIREE
23. MULL
33. TRESCO
24. FOULNESS ISLAND
34. BENBECULA
25. HARRIS
35. COLONSAY
26. MUCKLE FLUGGA
36. GUERNSEY
27. ISLE OF MAN
37. JURA
28. EIGG
38. FARNE ISLANDS
29. GIGHA
39. IONA
30. ORKNEY
40. NORTH RONALDSAY
My Favourite Things In u3a Eye I really enjoyed the descriptions as well as the photos... in particular the typewriter. I left school at 16 and took a secretarial course at Salisbury Tech College, training on a similar typewriter! I have been fortunate to travel the world with those skills, living & working in Canada, Australia and New Zealand: only unemployed for three days in 45 years! JM I liked the teddy on a trig point picture in the same link, recalling a lifetime of working for the Ordnance Survey. DL
Which photo brings back memories for you? (We previously showed you our Snappers GL, Mike Driscoll’s photos in Things Beginning with T and Yellow.)
Big Garden Birdwatch January 29 - 31, 2021 Enjoy an hour with nature and discover the wildlife on your doorstep. What will you see? Why not take a photo? New online this year: photos, footage & facts about the birds seen, answering any questions you may have.
Bulletin 15 is due out on 27 January — please share your stories with us. Contact Gill Hodge 01794 511529 treasurer@romseyu3a.org.uk This Bulletin will also be on our website: romseyu3a.org.uk ‘Low-down in the Lockdown’: Gill Hodge, Glenda Taylor, Janet Moody, Margaret Marchbank & Dave Lovell. Page 2 of 2