ROMSEY and District
Low-down in the Lockdown Bulletin No.18 - 14 April 2021 Will you be returning to your town centre in the coming days and weeks, as shops and amenities start to open up again? We need to keep supporting our local facilities as much as we can and there will always be times when ‘online’ is not an option. Meeting up with family or friends is essential for our well-being and our u3a groups are starting to plan for getting together again, keeping to the guidelines. Do continue to take care and Stay Safe, Keep Active & Keep Well.
Monthly Meetings On 21 April, Ian Keable returns via Zoom to talk about ‘The Century of Deception’. Our virtual AGM is on 19 May when we have new Trustees (Officers and Committee Members) to elect. You will be sent more details very soon or you can check for updates on the AGM page of our website. Members of our Travel Group will then give an illustrated talk on their trip to ‘Uzbekistan - the Silk Road’ where a small group went in 2019. It should be a fascinating insight into the country, people and culture.
2021-22 PROGRAMME CARDS
SOUND FAMILIAR?
We’re starting to deliver the new Programme cards for members who have renewed: it also includes your Membership card with your name and membership number. If you would like to join a new group this year, you will need to tell the group leader your membership number so that they can add you to the group’s Beacon list.
In a recent Guardian news article Esther Rantzen was quoted as saying, “I’ve become one of the funny old ladies I used to talk to in the street”. That struck a chord with me. I was recently talking to one of our members who told me she and her husband were off to Lepe Beach for a picnic facing the sea (yes really!) and then she said, “My parents used to take me there as a child. I often wondered what they found so interesting; just sitting there, looking out to sea…” D L
THANK YOU SO MUCH to Brenda and Jean, our Membership team, who are still very busy working their way through renewals and putting the cards into labelled envelopes; and to over twenty of you who have volunteered to help with ‘local’ deliveries in the Romsey area, saving us postage costs.
ACTION FOR HAPPINESS It’s Active April - try these daily actions: Move as much as possible even if you’re stuck inside
Pause to stretch & breathe often during the day Get active by singing, even if you think you can’t !
Happier than Before Tue 20 April 7.00 pm strategies on how to build happiness into your daily life
Keep Calm, Stay Wise, Be Kind
HOPE FOR OUR PLANET DO listen to Liz Bonnin in conversation with Sir David Attenborough here on YouTube. Find out how sparrows on the Golden Gate bridge have been heard singing a new note since the pandemic has changed the traffic flow; that one of the best ways to encourage children to understand nature is to have a pond; and the difficulty of explaining how this inter-connected, finite system that we live in does not run on petrol! At a recent job interview I was asked if I could perform under pressure. I said I didn't know that one but I could have a fair crack at Bohemian Rhapsody!
Which? SCAM ALERTS OUTSMART THE SCAMMERS It’s now a year since Which? launched a free scam alert service. If you haven’t already, please think seriously about doing so and sign up here to receive regular emails. Over the last few weeks these have included: seven ways to spot a scam website, tips to keep your money and personal details safe, avoiding phishing emails, fake ‘Royal Mail’ texts and calls, fake ‘NHS’ texts, fake ‘Clarks’ adverts and investment scams. The latest phishing email promises ’prizes’ as part of a Dyson ‘loyalty programme’. Which? also have a Scam Sharer Tool so that anyone can report a suspicious scam to them, however they may have come across it, and help protect others, An email said I’d won a £million because I could read Macs backwards. I thought to myself, “That’s just a SCAM”.
And from Which? Computing: Five simple ways to keep your Facebook account secure. Page 1 of 2
My Grandfather’s Gramophone
GARDENING CORNER
A short YouTube talk by Art Society lecturer Toby Faber as he takes a closer look at the Mark 9 EMG gramophone owned by his grandfather, the founder of Faber & Faber.
Things to do in the garden in April. Continue to deadhead daffodils; to prevent them coming up blind next year, do not over-feed Prune back coloured stems of cornus & salix to a few inches from the ground Prune back hardy fuchsias to promote new growth and dead-head/prune hydrangeas Don’t prune penstemons until danger of frost has passed Sow sweet peas outdoors Take basal cuttings from herbaceous perennials like delphiniums & phlox to propogate in pots Sow patches of wild flowers in a bare patch in a border or lawn Sow beetroot, spinach, carrots outdoors Check for wildlife in compost heaps or hedges before cutting or digging out Pot on tomato seedlings & grow in a warm, sunny place Trim back pelargoniums over-wintering in the greenhouse, harden off next month Mulch around fruit trees Thanks to the Horticulture group & RHS magazine ‘The Garden’.
NAME THAT APRIL DAY… 11th National Pet Day 15% of British people use their pet’s name as a password. Change your ’paws-word’ to three random words. 18th World Heritage Day Raise awareness to protect historical landmarks & monuments and maintain their cultural significance. 20th-22nd Earth Day 2021 Restore our Earth
23rd All of these: St George’s Day 9 things you didn’t know about St George - English Heritage English Language Day Its history & its oddities. World Book Day The indisputable truth is that the world would not be the same without books.
A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, “I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.”
Shakespeare’s Birthday Was he born on this day in 1564? He did die on 23rd April 1616.
HAT QUIZ ANSWERS 1. Isambard Kingdom Brunel 6. Jackie Kennedy-Onassis 2. HRH Diana, Princess of Wales
7. John Wayne
3. Emmeline Pankhurst
8. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
4. Gregory Porter
9. Victoria Beckham
5. Admiral Horatio Nelson
10. Yasser Arafat
Sudoku Special
7
MAKE YOUR WILL A ‘MUST DO’
4 1 4 3
9
THEY SING BECAUSE THEY CAN
8 9 6 1 5 4 3 7 9 9 5 8 2 6 5 7 9 3 1
Which? wills have 50% off ending 30 April 2021, open to all. Type: which.co.uk/wills-mag i n t o y o u r br o w s er .
Are you a Night Owl? Singing with Nightingales: Earth Day 2021 22 April 11.00 pm — 23 April 1.00am A live audio broadcast on YouTube.
International Dawn Chorus day May 2nd A celebration of Nature’s Symphony Could you get up early enough for a dawn chorus walk? Get to know your garden bird song.
Bulletin 19 is due out on 28 April and the May Newsletter from 17 May. Contact Dave Lovell 01794 515316 news.copy@romseyu3a.org.uk This Bulletin will also be on our website: romseyu3a.org.uk ‘Low-down in the Lockdown’: Glenda Taylor, Janet Moody, Margaret Marchbank & Dave Lovell. Page 2 of 2