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TECHNICOLOR TOWN
We all know where this is, don't we? If you don't recognise the place right away, find the answer in The Buzz.
FREE AT LAST
With the recent easing of Covid restrictions some of our members are getting together again for outdoor activities, socially distanced of course, as is evident from this photo. See more in Groups.
WHAT'S UP THERE?
What's this chap reaching for? Find out in Picture Gallery.
CHAT LINE
Chit-Chat needs readers to keep sending in pictures, anecdotes, funny stuff etc. You can send it to me via the message bird, or post it on the ERU3A page in Facebook.
MAKE CONTACT
Use the link incorporated in the Chit-Chat heading to access our website, and the various message birds to contact group facilitators, as well as the Chairman, Secretary, Groups Coordinator - and me. Safe links to other websites may also appear.
If you don't have access to the Internet, phone 07758 344 252 for information about groups etc.
Jim Hamilton
FEATURES THE BIZ 2 THE BUZZ 3 GROUPS 4 DID YOU KNOW ...? 10 FUN AND GAMES 13 WHIMSY 14 PICTURE GALLERY 16 EVENTS 18 PUZZLE SOLUTIONS 18 CONTACTS 19
CHIT-CHAT
THE NEWSLETTER OF
EAST RENFREWSHIRE U3A
SCOTTISH CHARITY NO. SCO44004
No. 94 April 2021
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THE BIZ
COMMITTEE NEWS
With the end of the financial year, the Annual Report and Accounts, approved by the Independent Examiner, will be issued with the papers for the AGM on 16 June. Look out for the notice which you will receive in May.
A key task for the Committee has been the ongoing planning for u3a Day on 2nd June. The Marketing and Publicity Sub-Committee, which fortunately has a member with extensive marketing experience, has designed new bright and eye catching tri-fold leaflets and posters for event. These reflect the new u3a branding and will be available, with little updating, for future use. In the run up to u3a Day, and on the day itself, you should see some more publicity and activity taking place around East Renfrewshire.
While Zoom continues to be the main means of meeting up, we hope that with most of us having had at least our first jag, and restrictions having eased significantly from 26th April, meeting in person will be more likely in the coming months. Meantime, the Groups Co-ordinator has been providing guidance about meetings to the outdoor groups.
The next joint Committee and Facilitators Meeting will be on 17th May. The twice-yearly event will be on Zoom once again.
MONTHLY MEETING
Members will again be asked to register their intention to take part in our next Zoom meeting on
Wednesday 19th May. Guest speaker John Hope will be talking about Time Through the Ages.
Anyone needing help with downloading and using Zoom should contact June Weston ([email protected] or 07876 315981).
AMAZING
ER u3a has reached agreement with Robert Kerr who recently opened a franchise Amazing Results estate agency in the Clarkston area.
Robert and his wife Jane will give advice to u3a members and their friends and family. They offer free home valuations for all areas in East Renfrewshire and the whole of the southside of Glasgow. Robert has agreed to donate £100 to our u3a from every sale generated through the u3a. This doesn't mean that our u3a endorses Amazing Results. Any ER u3a member or any friends/relatives of theirs must make their own choice when choosing an estate agent.
Find out more about Amazing Results and Robert through these safe links - https://www.amazingresults.com/ https://www.amazingresults.com/press-releases/
Robert and Jane Kerr 0141 639 0404 07791 246394 [email protected]
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THE BUZZ
APRIL MEETING
Douglas Yates started the latest virtual meeting on 21st April by mentioning a couple of events in June - U3A Day on the 2nd and our AGM on the 16th - and confirming that the membership remains steady at 475.
Guest speaker Norman Newton was born in Glasgow in 1944, spent his teenage years in Nelson, New Zealand, and attended college and university in the USA. In 1971 he returned to Scotland to work in university and public libraries, in Glasgow, Campbeltown and Inverness. He has written extensively on Scottish islands, Highland history and archaeology, and is now the reference librarian at Inverness public library.
His talk, entitled Muckle Flugga to Kintyre, took us on a tour of Scotland's islands, starting at Muckle Flugga, the northernmost point in the UK.
Muckle Flugga Lighthouse
In the Northern Isles Shetland's prehistoric sites include the most complete broch on the Island of Mousa in Shetland, while Orkney's prehistoric wonders include the Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae,
the burial mound at Maes Howe and the standing stones at Stenness.
Mousa Broch
Skara Brae
The Hebridean section of the journey took us to Skye, Raasay, Staffa, Lewis, Barra, Mull, Lismore, Coll, Tiree and Colonsay.
Callanish Standing Stones, Lewis
Castlebay, Barra
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Tobermoray, Mull
Kiloran Bay, Colonsay
The Kintyre peninsula is included in the list of islands because it is alleged that 11th Century Norwegian King Magnus Barelegs persuaded the Scottish King Edgar to renounce in his favour Scottish claims to every island west of Scotland that a ship could circumnavigate with its rudder set. By sitting at the rudder of his ship, as it was dragged across the narrow ithsmus at Tarbet, Magnus managed to get Kintyre included.
GROUPS
AMBLERS
This month some socially-distanced amblers gathered in Eaglesham for their first outing in many months. They enjoyed a lovely sunlit walk round the Orry, where they admired all the pretty daffodils. Despite social-distancing ruling out coffee
and scones at the Wishing Well Cafe, our ramblers appreciated just being able meet again.
Facilitator Jean Swinbank hopes that from now on the group will be able to resume their twice monthly meetings.
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ENJOY THE ARTS
Lilias Dunlop reports on increasing activity on the cultural scene.
The V & A Dundee is to re-open on Saturday 1st May. Their new exhibition, Night Fever: Designing Club Culture, explores the relationship between club culture and design from the 1960s to today. Book now at: [email protected] or call on 01382 411 611.
The Royal Opera House launched the new season on 9th April by screening a new production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's operas The Seven Deadly Sins / Mahagonny Songspiel. This is available for £10 until 9th May.
Also, National Galleries of Scotland re-opened on 26th April, Glasgow Concert Halls are taking bookings for new shows and Eastwood Park Theatre has a fun-packed online programme.
This year's online Aye Write festival runs over two weekends (14th-16th and 21st-23rd of May). A £50 pass allows access to over 60 events featuring 100 authors.
The Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, running until 30th May, includes artworks across a wide range of media at a range of prices.
The Citizens Theatre is now taking bookings for The Macbeths, which will be screening from 3rd June at 8.00 and will be available to watch for 4 weeks. Tickets are free but a donation would be appreciated.
The RSNO | Digital Season is being from April to June 2021. It is available
on subscription or a pay-per-concert basis.
Amazon Prime is screening an eight-part series on The Life of Leonardo Da Vinci, starring Aiden Turner (Poldark) and Freddie Highmore (The Good Doctor).
FILM APPRECIATION
At the Group's April meeting, hosted by Bruce Cutler, the film selected for discussion was Colette , a 2018 biographical drama about the life of French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. Everyone agreed it was an interesting story about an adventurous woman, superbly played by Keira Knightley, and her controlling husband, played very convincingly by Dominic West, who took the credit for writing the books penned by his wife.
The group then discussed films and TV programmes seen during the month. Our film buffs are all very keen to get back to in-person meetings and cinema outings, but meantime they are enjoying keeping things going on Zoom.
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HANDS-ON GARDENING
In Barshaw Walled Garden our gardeners agonised for some time over how best to treat a window blocked up with grey concrete blocks, that jarred with the surrounding Victorian red bricks. They eventually decided to make a feature of the eyesore by fixing a frame around it and installing a natural art sculpture made from the ivy they were removing from the wall. One of the more 'arty' volunteers added dried grasses, teasles and twigs.
The new feature can be added to throughout the year.
MOVIE APPRECIATION
This month's movies all made political statements, and were both thought-provoking and harrowing.
Dark Waters is the story of the litigation against Dupont re TEFLON. Our movie buffs were shocked at the whole scenario, and
made the parallel with Asbestosis. They agreed that this well-acted dark and emotive film with a message was one to watch.
The Mauritian is the horrendous story of Guantanamo Bay and the people incarcerated there. The group hated to see what was being done to the detainees in their awful situation, but accepted that it is a story which must be told.
The screenplay, cinematography and the acting were excellent and the movie buffs highly recommend this film with a message for the politically-minded who are not easily upset by man's inhumanity to man.
First They killed My Father is the horrendous story of the Cambodian genocide, told from a child's perspective. The brutality of the Khmer Rouge, as they selected
children to indoctrinate is horrible. The victims starved in vile conditions just because they were the wrong type of people.
Disturbing as the subject matter was, the screenplay was good and the cinematography showed Cambodia beautifully. However, some of the descriptive passages
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were a bit slow. This is yet another film with a message - moving but not entertaining.
At the Group's next meeting on 21st May the films to be discussed are Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley on Netflix and Leonardo - a serial on Amazon Prime.
NATURE WATCH
Spring has Sprung was the theme for April. Here is a small taster from our nature lovers.
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QUIZ
This month's quiz was won by Margaret McRobbie and Jean Swinbank, with a magnificent score of 87.
READING
Mearns 1 is the latest reading group to have chosen the 2020 Booker prize-winning novel Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart and, as with the other groups, the members found it provoked interesting discussion.
Mearns 2 read 29 Seconds by T M Logan. The plot follows Sarah who is given the opportunity to change her life around by making her unbearably sleazy
boss ‘disappear’ with a 29 second phone call. Full of twists and turns, the somewhat unbelievable story holds its readers in suspense right to the end. Mearns 3 enjoyed The Lost by Claire McGowan, a crime thriller set in Northern Ireland where the past still casts a shadow over present events. Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire returns to her hometown to support her ailing father, and to investigate unsolved cases of missing girls. Since she’s a local girl and her own mother also went
missing, she seems well placed to solve the crimes.
Mearns 4 read You Don’t Know Me by Imran Mahmood. Written in the first person by the accused in his closing speech at
his murder trial after he sacks his lawyer, the book makes the readers feel they were in the jury. The narrator flannels his way, spinning story after story, claiming that he certainly was no angel, but that he did not kill in this instance. Areas for discussion included writing style, the justice system, racial stereotyping and gang culture. At the end our readers had some fun when they delivered their own verdicts. Mearns 5 read My Dear, I wanted to tell you by Louisa Young. Essentially a love story it follows the lives of Riley Purefoy and Nadine, the girl he falls in love with just before the outbreak of the first World War. The heartbreak, traumas and consequences experienced by those injured both physically and mentally, and the wonderful work the surgeons of the day did to heal barely imaginable wounds makes compelling reading. The general feeling was that this was an
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alternative view of a much written about period in our history.
The Spoken Word Group's choice was Night Boat to Tangier written and read by Irish novelist Kevin Barry. Two aging ex- drug dealers, Maurice and Charlie, are in
the Spanish port Algeciras hoping to encounter Dilly, Maurice’s 23 -year old daughter who neither has seen for 3 years. As the reader eavesdrops on their conversation their story unfolds. Most of the group enjoyed the lyrical language, but others criticized the lack of structure in a style reminiscent of James Joyce. WALKING
Walking Group members were pleased to be able to get out again for the first time this year following the partial easing of restrictions. The two walks started at Neilston Station, from where Elspeth Robinson led the groups on a scenic 4½ mile circular walk up and around the popular Neilston Pad, with reduced numbers and safe distancing observed.
The weather was warm and sunny on both weeks and walkers enjoyed fine views of the surrounding hills and fishing reservoirs plus an abundance of Spring flowers, blossoms and birdlife along the way. The walk climbs to a height of 260 metres above sea level, and a short break was taken by the cairn at the summit before descending again and passing by Craighall Dam, which made a
convenient and picturesque picnic spot before returning to Neilston.
Next month’s walk will be to Chatelherault and The Avon Gorge.
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DID YOU KNOW …?
TAX TIP
Tax Help for Older People's tip for April is about tax allowances for the
2021/22 tax year.
Personal Allowance Most people don't pay tax on the first £12,570 of taxable income (generally from work or pensions, including State Pension). But if you have taxable income over £100,000 you’ll find your Personal Allowance is reduced, and if income exceeds £125,140 you get none at all.
Blind Person’s Allowance (BPA) BPA gives an additional £2,520 of tax free income, which is transferable to a spouse or civil partner if the claimant is a non-taxpayer.
In Scotland BPA is available to anyone unable to undertake any work for which eyesight is essential. HMRC offers a dedicated helpline for BPA claims and enquiries on 0300 200 3301.
Married Couples Allowance (MCA) MCA applies for marriages and civil partnerships where at least one of the couple was born before 6th April 1935. You generally need to be living together, but if separated through circumstance rather than a decision to formally separate it can still be claimed. Although the MCA is £9,125 it is only given at 10% so is best viewed as a simple tax reduction of up to £912.50. It can be transferred between the individuals or shared, and is reduced proportionately for those on incomes above £30,400, but cannot reduce below the minimum allowance of £3,530.
Marriage Allowance (MA) If you’re too young for MCA you may qualify for MA, which allows the transfer of 10% of the Personal Allowance from one spouse or civil partner, who is unable to use it, to the other. This usually means one spouse or partner will have an income below the personal allowance and the other will be a basic rate tax payer (higher rate taxpayers can’t have it). The transferable amount of £1,260 can save up to £252 in tax. New claims can be backdated for up to 4 years if appropriate.
Allowances for Savings Interest Interest payments from or credited to ISAs are not taxable and don’t count towards any of the allowances mentioned below. Individuals can put up to £20,000 into ISAs each year.
The Personal Savings Allowance (PSA) permits £1,000 of taxable savings interest to be received tax free by anyone paying no more than basic rate tax, or £500 for higher rate taxpayers.
The “Starting Rate for Savings”, currently 0%, may be relevant and if general income is very low then some unused Personal Allowance may also be available. If your total taxable income for the year (including savings interest outside ISAs) comes to less than £18,570 then any part which is interest should be tax free.
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Dividend Allowance Dividends payments from ISAs are not taxable and don’t count towards the separate Dividend Allowance which permits £2,000 of non-ISA dividend income before any tax is due on it. If any Personal Allowance is unused by other incomes the spare could be used to cover further dividend income.
Property Allowance and Trading Allowance These are separate allowances of £1,000 each which work in a similar way. Income up to £1,000 from a property business (rental income) is tax free, as is income up to £1,000 from self-employment (trading income). Where income is over £1,000 the taxable figure is calculated by deducting either actual expenses or a flat £1,000, whichever produces the best result.
Note: Some of these allowances are allocated automatically – for
example, banks and building societies now don’t generally deduct tax at-source from interest as most people will be eligible to receive it tax free, but HMRC is sent reports on interest payments which it uses to check if tax might be due. Some allowances are only given to those who claim them, so if you think you're not getting an allowance you're eligible for it may be one you need to actively claim from HMRC, either on-line or by ringing 0300 200 3300.
This article is by Tax Help for Older People (Scottish charity No. SC045819), which offers free tax advice to older people on low incomes who cannot afford professional help. Their helpline number is 01308 488066. The full article can be accessed at April Tax Tips in Word, April Tax Tips in pdf or via the charity's website (www.taxvol.org.uk/faq-category/taxtips/).
BEAT THE SCAMMERS
In How to spot a scam - Which? Consumer Rights you can find out how to spot and protect yourself from scams. If you answer yes to any of the following questions, there's a good chance someone's trying to work a scam.
Have you been contacted out of the blue? Cold calls or unexpected emails or messages should raise suspicion, especially if you’re asked to give personal or payment details. If you're not 100% convinced about the identity of the caller, hang up and contact the company directly.
Have you been asked to share personal details? Never share your personal details with anyone if you can't confirm they are who they say they are.
Are the contact details vague? Contact details on scam websites can be a PO box, premium rate number (starting ‘09’) or a mobile number. Premium rate numbers are also a favoured trick for squeezing every penny out of you.
Are you being asked to keep it secret? This is a way to keep you away from the advice and support you need to make a decision.
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Is the offer too good to be true? If it seems too good to be true, it inevitably is.
Are you being pressured to make a decision? Sales staff should always give you time and space to make an informed decision, anyone who tries to rush you should not be trusted.
Are there spelling and grammar mistakes? Emails or messages littered with spelling and grammar mistakes are a scam giveaway. Legitimate organisations will rarely, if ever, make spelling or grammatical mistakes in their emails to you because they’ve been put together by professionals and checked before they’re sent.
Tips to protect yourself from scams:
Tighten your social media privacy settings so your profile and the things you post are only visible to your friends and family. You can choose settings that will stop strangers from sending you messages or friend requests.
Use an email provider with strong spam filters. We’d recommend Gmail.
Use a call blocking service to stop unsolicited calls. If you sign up for the free Telephone Register Service, companies shouldn’t call you. You can also cheaply buy phones that you can set up to only receive calls from known numbers, while blocking all others. Network providers also
offer call blocking services, but some do charge a fee.
Change your contact details It might be worth changing your number and/or email address if you’re being bombarded by cold calls and spam.
Protect your private information Avoid giving out your phone number, email address, postal address and payment details whenever possible.
Keep your PIN number to yourself Your bank will never ask for your PIN.
Pick tricky passwords Setting a different password for each of your important accounts is a good idea. If one password becomes compromised, scammers can’t use it to access anything else. And the less sense the password makes, the better, so it’s not easy to guess.
Keep an eye on your credit file By regularly checking your credit file you’ll pick up on any fraudulent applications that might have been made in your name.
Sign up for scam alerts
Share scam details
Latest Scam News
Scam alert: Dyson V10 ‘loyalty program’ email An email purporting to be from Dyson is promising ‘prizes’ as part of a fake loyalty program. Dyson has confirmed it has nothing to do with the communication.
NATURAL SELECTION
Marcus Chown's recently published book Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand
describes fifty wonders of the Universe.
His chapter on evolution begins with the revelation that we share a
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third of our DNA with fungi, confirming Darwin's discovery that all life forms on the planet have a common ancestor.
Darwin recognised that, as most creatures produced a lot more offspring than could be sustained by the available food, those best suited to exploit resources persisted while those least suited perished. What he didn't know, and what we now know, is how characteristics are passed on from generation to generation and what created the variation in offspring.
The blueprint for any organism is recorded in its DNA, which is carried
in every cell, and variations in offspring arise from mutations in DNA. 'The capacity to blunder slightly is the real marvel of DNA,' according to American biologist Lewis Thomas. 'Without this,' he said, 'we would still be anaerobic bacteria and there would be no music.'
The first tentative evidence of life on Earth dates to about 3.8 billion years ago. The first cell, dubbed the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) arose around 4 billion years ago, but nobody knows how the step from non-life to life was taken.
FUN AND GAMES
NAME THE CITY
Marbe McNeil sent us this poser.
Each of these rather fuzzy pictorial clues suggests the name of a capital city. Can you name
them?
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Here is another from Marbe.
RIDDLE ME THIS...
1. I am full of holes but I can hold water 2. What gets wet when drying? 3. What are 2 things people never eat before breakfast? 4. What has a face and 2 hands but no arms or legs? 5. What is the more you take away the larger it becomes? 6. What can't be used until it is broken? 7. What has many keys but cannot open any doors? 8. What has 4 legs but only 1 foot?
WHIMSY
PARAPADOSKIANS
Marbe McNeill sent us this whimsical piece.
Have you heard of paraprosdokians? They are a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and is frequently humorous. (Winston Churchill loved them).
1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it. 2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you ...but it's still on my list. 3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak. 4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong. 5. We never really grow up -- we only learn how to act in public. 6. War does not determine who is right, only who is left. 7. Knowledge, is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. 8. To steal ideas from one person is
plagiarism. To steal from many is research. 9. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you. 10. In filling out an application, where it says, "In case of an emergency, notify..." I answered "a doctor." 11. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy. 12. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice. 13. I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure. 14. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target. 15. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. 16. You're never too old to learn something stupid. 17. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.
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FUNNY THINGS
Marbe also sent in these.
And this.
This Lockdown Poem is a parody of several well-known pieces of poetry. How many can you identify?
I won’t arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
I’ll sanitize the doorknob and make a cup of tea.
I won’t go down to the sea again; I won’t go out at all,
I’ll wander lonely as a cloud from the kitchen to the hall.
There’s a green-eyed yellow monster to the north of Katmandu
But I shan’t be seeing him just yet and nor, I think, will you.
While the dawn comes up like thunder on the road to Mandalay
I’ll make my bit of supper and eat it off a tray.
I shall not speed my bonnie boat across the sea to Skye
Or take the rolling English road from Birmingham to Rye.
About the woodland, just right now, I am not free to go
To see the Keep Out posters or the cherry hung with snow,
And no, I won’t be travelling much, within the realms of gold,
Or get me to Milford Haven. All that’s been put on hold.
Give me your hands, I shan’t request, albeit we are friends
Nor come within a mile of you, until this trial ends.
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PICTURE GALLERY
EASTER PARADE Allison Kershaw sent in the cheery picture of decorated eggs.
And Anne Sykes sent us the Easter egg tree.
BACK IN THE FOREST Here are a few more of Allen Walker's
Pictures from Canada's Grouse Mountain.
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EVENTS
DAY DATE EVENT Wednesday 19th May John Hope - Time Through the Ages Wednesday 2nd June u3a Day Wednesday 16th June Fool's Gold - AGM
PUZZLE SOLUTIONS
NAME THE CITY
1. Wellington 2. Baghdad 3. Brussels 4. Canberra 5. Athens 6. Stockholm 7. Katmandu 8. Moscow 9. Belgrade
RIDDLES 1. A sponge 2. Atowel 3. Lunch and Dinner 4. A clock 5. A hole 6. An egg 7. A piano 8. A bed
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CONTACTS
Mobile enquires call/text 07758 344 252 www.u3asites.org.uk/eastrenfrewshire Chairman: Douglas Yates Vice Chair: Marbe McNeill Group Secretary: June Weston Treasurer: Graham Greenhalgh Membership Secretary: Roy Bryce Groups Co-ordinator: Rosalind Holmes Webmaster: Rosalind Holmes
