January 2022 Issue 2 'It All Depends on Us' What's On Thursday 10 February, Monthly Meeting, 10.00 am (online only): Mark Mullally and Sally Schofield: Keeping you safe from frauds and scams. Mark and Sally are Customer Support Specialists for NatWest Bank in the North London Region. They have been in the banking industry all their working lives, including some time as managers, and now educate people about scams and fraud as well as supporting vulnerable customers. For details see the What's On page here. Zoom link details: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81640635254?pwd=bHVPbGdVc2FoVFFpWkY5SlgzLzhJdz09 Meeting ID: 816 4063 5254    Passcode: 313914 Groups and Courses Slow Book Group: What’s so good about the ‘Common Good’?: Concepts of what constitutes the Common Good can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks and were later explored by the great moral philosophers and political thinkers. Is there a contemporary definition that has relevance in today's fiercely meritocratic world? In the next series of the Slow Book Group, we propose to explore the concept of the common good by reading individual chapters from seven different books to understand it from different perspectives. The chapters will be available in electronic form through the iU3A Copyright Licensing Agreement. We will meet on Zoom at 4.00 pm on 1/2, 15/2, 1/3, 15/3, 29/3, 12/4 and 26/4 for about 90 minutes. The final meeting at 4.00 pm on Tuesday 10 May will hopefully be in person to reflect on what we have learned. If you would like to join Georgia, Facilitator of the discussions, in exploring these important and topical issues, please email Vivek at: bitesize.iu3a@gmail.com. Further information here. Zoom Bookings: Please let Vivek (bitesize.iu3a@gmail.com) know if you are planning to use Zoom for your Group's meetings early in 2022 and for how long you would like the Zoom meetings to be booked. Other Opportunities and Extras iU3A Outings: With Howard Stone taking over as Groups Coordinator now, Judith Altshul has volunteered to take on the role of Outings Coordinator. But she is looking for help and ideas. If you are willing to help Judith organise outings please get in touch with her at outingscoord.iu3a@gmail.com   u3a's 40th Anniversary: We are still looking for members to help with planning of a programme of events. We'll be publishing details as we firm up on ideas. Some of the Groups are also planning events. Let Judith know your plans so we can add to our programme (at outingscoord.iu3a@gmail.com).   u3a's 'Plant A Tree': this initiative as part of the national 40th Anniversary Programme has now achieved over 6,000 trees being purchased and planted by u3as across the country. Islington u3a has contributed by buying a copse of 100 trees. History Webinars: The British Museum and Camden Adult Learning are running a set of free 90 minute history webinars (on Zoom) this term. The courses are free and available for all adult learners across the UK. They do not require travel to the Museum and the talks cover different aspect of British, world and museum history. No prior knowledge needed with a chance to ask questions at the end of each talk. For details see the Other Opportunities page here. Gentle Dusk: have a January initiative to provide Islington residents the opportunity to obtain free advice by contacting the Age UK Islington Support Helpline. For details see the Other Opportunities page here. Unfortunately due to the Covid restrictions they are still unable to provide a face to face Death Cafe. For February they will be continuing with online events: the next Virtual Death Cafe has now been set up for Thursday 24 February, 7.00 pm-8.00 pm. For further information and to register via Eventbrite click Virtual Death Café Tickets, Thu 24 Feb 2022 at 19:00 | Eventbrite. u3a Radio Podcast: this has now launched on podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify and Google Podcasts. The episode can also still be listened to on the u3a YouTube channel, with captions. In the January episode, the team discuss the Kindertransport learning initiative, talk to a member of u3a in Australia and hear about the milestone of 5,000 trees being planted in the u3a 40th anniversary wood. If you have a story to share with u3a radio, please get in touch. London Region of U3As Summer School — Save the Dates, 26th & 27th July: LRU3A will be holding a two-day Summer School in 2022 at the usual venue, St. Bride’s Institute, off Fleet St. Activities will include talks, workshops and guided walks. There will be a wide range of subjects to choose from such as Art, Current Affairs, History, Literature, Music, Sciences and Social Studies. In addition, this year London has been selected as a general theme. LRU3A want everyone to be safe and will be closely following Covid guidance from the government, Third Age Trust, and working with St. Bride’s. The full programme and booking details will be publicised from mid-April.   It All Depends on Us Help: if you'd like to help your u3a in any way please do add your name to our volunteers list: contact Sally on volunteersiu3a@gmail.org. General concerns or queries: Please call us on: 07784 336219 or email chair@islingtonu3a.org. Bulletin compiled by Wil Ransome. For any contributions to Bulletin content please email them here.