Thank you to U3A member Vivienne Arkell for her video. Please keep sending your amazing bird photos and videos in to us! Get involved with BirdTrack

Dear <<First Name>>,

I hope you will all be able to enjoy the lovely weather this weekend and are all managing to be safe and well during this difficult time.

We have been offered something to keep you safe and something to keep you interested from the NatWest Social responsibility and charity partnership. They are running sessions on how to stay safe and protected from charity scams and a series of lectures for your interest - starting with the topic of robotics (see the details below).

If you think you know anyone else of your U3A colleagues who may benefit from scams awareness or might be interested to learn more about robotics, please do encourage them to sign up to the newsletter

There are lots of places available on these online sessions for U3A members which are all free so please sign up and let us know what you think of them.

The Newsletter Express aims to give you news and views when needed, so please look out for our main newsletter which will be coming out in the next few weeks and will be packed full of the latest news from across the movement.

With very best wishes

Sam

News From The Trust

We are delighted to offer a brand new series of free learning sessions on a variety of topics in association with experts from NatWest.

Friends Against Scams sessions

Experts from NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank will update you on the latest coronavirus scams and how to protect yourself from fraud. The sessions will be hosted by a Community Banker and are open to anyone who would like to know more about how to keep themselves safe from fraud and scams.

How the sessions will work

Sessions will be held by region, using video conferencing and we are asking you to register your interest by region. We will then send you the joining details for a session in your region. We are limited by the number of people who can join each one and so if the session is full up we will hold additional sessions in the following weeks to ensure that everybody is able to take part.

Please note your details will not be passed to NatWest at any time.

Sessions are region specific and will take place at the following times:

12 May 10:30am – 11:30am for members of U3As in the following regions:

•   South East
•   South West
•   East Midlands
•   West Midlands
•   East of England
•   London

13 May 10:30 - 11:30am for members of U3As in the following devolved countries and regions:

Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
North West
North East
Yorkshire and the Humber

U3A with NatWest Lecture Series

You are invited to take part in a series of live streamed lectures happening every Thursday at 2:30pm The first, on THURSDAY 14 May, will be on ROBOTICS.

These will be live streamed on the National U3A Facebook page here

Please note that you do not have to be following us on Facebook to watch - just go onto our page.

It will be screened simultaneously on the NatWest Youtube channel - links to this will follow. Each lecture will be recorded and recordings will be hosted on the U3A Youtube Channel for future viewings.

Trust U3A

We've launched Trust U3A, a way to join our amazing U3A community online whilst face-to-face contact is limited.

There has been a great response so far and we already have eight learning groups up and running with more on the way. Trust U3A is open to U3A members to join too.

Find out more about Trust U3A by going to our website or email secretary@trustu3a.online

Membership with Trust U3A runs from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021 and costs just £7.50.

You can register to join here

Learning News

VE Day

To mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day tomorrow (8 May) our Research Committee wanted to let you know about the Imperial War Museum releasing digital content to celebrate the event.

Archive film footage of VE Day is available on YouTube and on the morning of the 8th May, a Voices of War Soundscape will be made available. This is a curated compilation of interviews with people who remember VE Day.

Are you already part of a British History interest group or thinking of joining or starting one? There is information and advice on how to do this from the British History Subject Adviser

The Imperial War Museum’s Voices Of War consists of separate compilations of audio clips from the time and will be available on the Imperial War Museums website from the morning of the 8 May.

Find out more about how Imperial War Museums are celebrating VE Day

We'd love to hear how you marked VE Day - email us here

A photo of the bluebells in U3A member Dee Phesse's Garden that she shared on the U3A Keeping In Touch group.

National Garden Day

This Sunday is National Garden Day - a day dedicated to celebrating being in our gardens and open spaces.

You are using lockdown as a time to celebrate and spend more time in your gardens. Thanks for sharing lots of photos of your gardens with each other on the Keeping In Touch group.

The organisers of Garden Day encourage garden lovers to put down the gardening tools and spend time in their gardens, share it with the ones they love through FaceTime and make flower crowns.

Find out more about the day here and if you do get involved, we'd love to see your photos!

Please share how you got involved with the day here

Financial Matters

Financial Update

Finance Manager, Kevin Traynor said, "Thank you again for all the support you have given to the Trust in making your Membership Subscription payments by bank transfer or by cheque. It has been a pleasure to be able to speak with so many of you".

Holidays/Trips

The most topical subject of your enquiries has been the cancellation of holidays and trips and more importantly how to secure a refund. Many U3As have run into a number of issues with the tour/hotel provider. These issues are similar to those that have now been taken up by the Competition and Marketing Authority (CMA) following a huge rise in complaints to the watchdog and it is threatening legal action against tour operators.

The link here may be helpful for further information.

The Trust’s advice is that wherever possible:

Members should book the holiday direct with the tour operator and so outside the U3A books of account

Scrutinise the terms and conditions and pricing, beware contracts that refer to minimum numbers of travellers as the costs could increase significantly

Pay by credit card

Use an ABTA registered tour operator, check the cover is still in place when you pay

Keep updated with travel advice from both the UK and overseas governments

Zoom Tutorials

By the members for the Members …
If you would like to connect with other U3A members on video or want to take your interest group on-line or run a virtual meeting during lock down, then our Zoom Tutorials may be for you.

U3A Trust Volunteers are hosting Tutorials covering an Introduction to Zoom: The aim of this session is to help you become familiar with the basics of how to use the Zoom platform, what you can do on it, some of the functions (such as splitting into break-out rooms, instant polling, muting everyone!) and how to be safe.

Please see more details on this on Sources Online

Please email National Office if you have any questions.

Book yourself onto the Introduction to Zoom session

Email to learn more about Zoom for Group meetings

Next Dates

Monday 11 May - Introduction to Zoom 14:30-15:30
Tuesday 12 May - Introduction to Zoom 10:30 -11:30
Wednesday 13 May - Zoom for Hosting Group Meetings 10:30-11:30
Thursday 14 May - Introduction to Zoom 10:30-11:30
Thursday 14 May - Zoom for Hosting Group Meetings 14:30-15:30
Friday 15 May - Zoom for Hosting Group Meetings 10:30 -11:30

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