WTu3a@Home

Whilst we are all staying at home and keeping safe we have created a WTU3A@Home webpage. Hopefully this will go a little way towards not only providing information, but will give you some entertainment as well.

If our members have any amusing funnies, ideas or useful information to add to this page, please email webmaster@wtu3a.org.uk

AYLESBURY VALE U3A

Our friends in the Aylesbury Vale U3A have created a really great webpage – very aptly called Confined to Quarters.

Some WTU3A members attend the AVU3A Rock’n’Roll parties so may be interested to know that a number of new presentations are now on-line. Click here to enjoy!

There is lots more to entertain you from, singalongs, quizzes, music, videos, information, jokes, song parodies (some advisory as the lyrics are a little colourful!), Click the button below – you’ll have plenty to keep you occupied.

u3a Member Link Programme

The u3a is initiating a movement-wide Member Link programme.

The programme draws together ideas, innovations and experiences used by u3as in 2020 to face the pandemic, and rebuild the u3a community in 2021.

Things have been challenging for many of us during the past year so the u3a have produced this useful Member Link leaflet containing many clickable links to advice, tips and resources to keep us connected and learning.

You can also find all the resources in this leaflet on the u3a website.

UKToursOnline.com

UKToursOnline.com offer a variety of talks for cost of £10 (+booking fee) per household. There are brand new talks / tours of the River Thames, the Cotswolds and WW1 War Memorials, amongst others. If you sign up for their newsletter, they will provide details of their regular free talk offered to U3A members. You can also go to their our YouTube channel and you can see previous free group chats, take a tour of Parliament Square and see some of the treasures of the British Museum.

Free online creative classes

If you are looking for something fun and creative to do to help dispel the boredom of those dull winter days, we’ve got just the thing for you!

Arts organisation Kaleidoscope will be kicking off the new year in style with a brand new programme of online creative classes and workshops exclusively for older people. The classes are presented by Imagine Arts and will be hosted on Greysnet.com. The full details can be found here.

Rehab4Addiction – Mental Health during the Covid-19 pandemic

The Rehab4Addiction infographic provides not only facts and statistics about how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on mental health, but has included some useful tips and guidelines that you can practice at home. These will help you look after your physical and mental wellbeing.

You will also find some valuable information about looking out for signs and symptoms that your loved ones are struggling with their mental health, and how to help them if they are.

Contained within this infographic are also some useful pointers to keep in mind about mental health. We feel that reducing the stigma is vital, and we’re here to help you understand what yourself, or your nearest and dearest who are perhaps not coping well, need during this unprecedented time.

Remember, you are not alone in your feelings. And remember that those feelings – whether it’s anxiety, sadness, survivor’s guilt, or loneliness – will in time pass. Staying at home or abiding by lockdown restrictions can be difficult for some. But in the long-run, you’re doing what you can to protect yourself and others.

Take a look at our infographic below to learn more about coronavirus and mental health – and don’t forget to share it with others who you think will benefit from this expert advice.

LOCAL NEWS

Queens Park Arts Centre have many on-lines courses taking place via Zoom. For courses and costs click here.

KEEP CONNECTED – It’s good to talk!

Video calling has taken on special significance in 2020, but which service is right for you to stay in touch with your friends and family? Here is a run down of the technology available, courtesy of a recent article in the Third Age Matter magazine. Click here for details.

The U3A have also complied useful ‘How-To’ advice guides.

Online events with U3A – The U3A are now offering online events. These events will be held on Zoom and can be booked into on the Events Page.

Keep your money safe

There are many incidents of fraudsters trying to defraud us, but especially now during the coronavirus lockdown. So here are a few tips that can encourage you to keep your money safe so you can reduce the risk of becoming a victim and encourage family and friends to be aware too.

Report suspicious Phishing emails! You now report Phishing emails to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) at report@phishing.gov.uk.

The ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) has very helpful information on its website, including an article related to phishing posted on 31st March 2020 entitled ‘Stay One Step Ahead of the Scammers’.

For your information there are further details about scams, fraud and cyber crime on our Useful Info page on our website.

The NEC – Virtual events

With lockdown No. 2 meaning more time at home this month, why not attend an exciting event from the comfort of your sofa? Some of your favourite NEC shows have gone virtual this year. See the amazing content that’s on offer at The NEC.

NATIONAL TRUST

A behind-the scenes video tour of Coughton Court, Warwickshire.

Take a look here.

Other behind-the-scenes tours are at Bodnant Garden, Conwy, Hidcote in Gloucestershire and Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire.

Although the house is currently closed, you can still glimpse inside the home of the Throckmorton family as the National Trust delve into their connections to the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Unearth stories of uprising, take a closer look at a 16th-century protest document and discover a priest hole that’s not what it seems.

Waddesdon Online

Enjoy highlights of the art collections and gardens with our online trails, films and virtual room tours.

Furniture on Film – May usually marks Open Furniture Month in the House, so this is a unique opportunity to look inside some of its remarkable pieces of furniture.

Explore the gardens – Discover the story of the gardens as well as special highlights.

THEATRE/SHOWS/MUSIC

THE SHOWS MUST GO ON

If you’re a fan of musicals and shows, you definitely won’t want to miss The Shows Must Go On. Now taking a break, a new season of shows will return again every weekend from mid-August.

As always, the show will appear at 7pm on The Shows Must Go On YouTube channel. The musical will be available to watch for 48 hours from 7pm on Friday on The Shows Must Go On YouTube channel.

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CIRQUE DU SOLIEL – Let’s stay connect CirqueConnect

A new CirqueConnect ”Best of” special featuring some of the best aerial acts from Cirque du Soleil! Sit back, relax and fly away with the aerialists from ”O”, Amaluna, LUZIA and more! Click the link to view this and many other Cirque du Soliel ‘Specials’

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ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET

Click the link to view on the English National Ballet YouTube Channel.

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ONLINE – LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

For those of you who enjoy classical music, the London Symphony Orchestra will be streaming concerts twice a week during the current Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Visit their website www.lso.co.uk select ‘What’s on’ then select ‘Always Playing: Our Online Season’ to see what’s available.

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COMPOSER IN ISOLATION

Join Andrew Lloyd Webber on his website to see what he’s been up to insolation. Click here to see more.

Crooner Sessions

Gary Barlow has found a brilliant way to keep fans entertained while more of us stay at home and events get cancelled. The Take That star has began his own ‘Crooner Sessions‘ series on You Tube, where he performs a live duet over video call.

VIDEO CLIPS

There have been various amusing (and clever) video clips going viral over the past few weeks. Here are a couple more (in case you haven’t seen them)…

Something to keep the brain cells ticking over!

U3A Weekly Quizzes

New! -TRAVEL QUIZ 3

Click here for the questions
(answers here)

TRAVEL QUIZ 2

Click here for the questions
(answers at the end)

TRAVEL QUIZ 1

Click here for the questions
(answers at the end)

PUB QUIZ

Rounds 1 – 6 including Sport, Music, Science and Movies/TV.

Click here for the questions
(the answers follow at the end)

FREE ONLINE EXERCISES FOR ACTIVE OLDER ADULTS

If you enjoy keeping active through exercise, why not try out the following:

www.ymca360.com have a wide range of videos available for all ages, including active older adults!

To see these videos, open the website, then select ‘browse videos’ , scroll down and open ‘Active Older Adults’. You will find they have something for all abilities and a choice of exercises, be it sitting yoga or something more active.

You could also try out Joe Wicks 10 Minute Full Body Seniors Workout, which is available on www.youtube.com.

For the more energetic of us, Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock has filmed five exercises for us to try out in our homes during the coronavirus outbreak.

Click on the link here and try not to do yourselves any damage!!

Tom Way

A popular speaker who has been to the WTU3A twice to talk about his wildlife photography has created a short video for us all to enjoy.

WORLD POETRY DAY

Poetry is celebrated internationally on various dates throughout the year with our own UK National Poetry Day falling in October, but Sunday 21st March is regarded as World Poetry Day.

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Topical poems by Pat Aylett (Courtesy of Aston Hearing Services), March 2021

Lockdown Roadmap

and an earlier poem

Next slide please…..

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An amusing poem entitled:

There is nothing the matter with me

A new one from Pam Ayres

Pam Ayres is absolutely essential to British humour, reminding us all to be tickled by the small joys and ridiculousness of everyday life.

PoetryGeneration

Ellie Levenson, a journalist and author, recently set up a project called PoetryGeneration after her four year old son asked her mother to record a video of his grandmother reading the poem he likes her to read him, so he could watch it at home given they cannot see each other due to coronavirus isolation.

So now every day Ellie uploads a video of an older person in coronovirus isolation reading a poem. The idea is to keep older people visible in a positive light as well as create a free library of poetry for all to enjoy. Here is the website – www.poetrygeneration.co.uk

If you would like to take part in providing a reading, the submission guidelines can be on the website.

Peter D Hehir – poem – The World is Closed

If you have further ideas or information to add to this page, please email webmaster@wtu3a.org.uk