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Congratulations to Mary Hobbs (Elected Chair - April 2026 AGM)

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Moving On...

It was about three years ago that I read that there was a risk that Chatteris u3a might be at risk of closing down. The chairman was stepping down and there was no volunteer replacement. If a u3a does not have a chair, a treasurer and a secretary, it is required to close down, with remaining funds being distributed to other not-for-profit organisations with similar objectives - in most cases, this means another u3a in the region. As a fairly recent member, I was enjoying the discovery process of Chatteris u3a and the potential of all the groups I had not yet joined, so I gave an agreement with a significant caveat: "if no one else is available" - and so I ended up chairing the committee as well as volunteering for some other activities.

The Third Age Trust recommends that volunteers should not serve more than three years. As other chairs before me, I feel I have done my share, and believe that there are other areas in which I could offer some beneficial experience and willingness. Chairmanship is not an onerous task: it largely consists of understanding our constitution document and ensuring that the committee volunteers are acting for the good of the association and its members. This mostly means supervising other volunteers and encouraging them to complete their tasks in a timely fashion.

In April, we will be holding our AGM (Annual General Meeting) and electing our new committee. including a new chairperson. I will not be standing again.

Next month will be the last notes before the AGM, the "chair notes" are traditionally replaced by a committee note for this issue, in which the committee gives a wrap up of the main events of the past year and ideas for the coming year. So this is the last chair's note I will write.

Thank you for your support over the past three years. I have tried to bring in some new ideas and concepts, failed in some, succeeded in a few. I am still hoping to conclude my chairmanship with a live broadcast of our meeting now that the KECC has increased the power of the WiFi system - three years I have tried to do so, maybe at the last hurdle.

I close with a last plea that you don't let Chatteris u3a close down by not having the required volunteers to run it!

Peter.

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January 2026

In January’s meeting, I referenced a book I have been interested in that talks about the impact art has on both mental and physical health.  At a time when so many stories are spreading through the internet about false cures and miracle solutions, I think it only fair that I give you the credentials so that you check up on the facts and published research before believing me.  The book I was referencing is “Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives” by Professor Daisy Fancourt (ISBN 1-250-36453-1).  I like to quote my sources.

==#==

This relates quite nicely to the talk we had in January on silhouette art by John Thurman, one of the last to do cut-out black and white shadow portraits.  A beautiful form of art that is slowly but surely dying due to the facility of photography.  For those who missed this talk, it is currently available on our YouTube channel; with John’s permission, I have left it up a little longer than usual so he can use it as advertising if he so desires.  Of course, my notices are also available there for some time and the general film about the u3a Chatteris YouTube.  I will try to upload more events and information as we go along. Of course, there is more on our own webpage, but you know that because you are here.

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Finally, a reminder that we are always looking for volunteers to help run your u3a.  Please feel free to express your curiosity, we will not ambush you and get you suddenly doing something.  You are free to come and attend a committee meeting; these are held in the Vermuyden Room at Chatteris library on the second Thursday of the month from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon – you may find out more about how we work and what we need before deciding or recommending someone…

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Go Create!

The thing that differentiates humans from other animals is our creativity and our propensity to enjoy things simply for the pleasure of enjoyment.  If you are to believe the traditional scriptures, the creator created us in his image, meaning we are creators by nature.  Birds have built their nests the same way for millennia, but we have changed the world to fit our comfort.

If you are going to live your life to the fullest, you are called to create things, make art.

• Doodle and draw
• Write a rhyming poem
• Shape clay, plasticine, or dough into something strange
• Sing in the shower
• Pluck and strum guitar strings
• Play a tune on an elastic
• Bake a cake
• Wear crazy makeup
• Tell a ghost story
• Design a new building that could never be built
• Dress up to recite lines from a play
• Dance on your own to a melody no one can hear
• Plant a garden
• Write a best man's speech for the wedding of someone you don't know

Create, make art, discover the pleasure of having done something just for the joy of doing it.  It doesn't matter if it doesn't live up to your expectations; nobody else than you needs to know you have done it, but if you don't go ahead and do it, you will never know the intense creative pleasure that makes us human.

Have fun!

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Another Year Gone By

It is surprising to suddenly find oneself in December, writing Christmas cards to distant friends and relations, wrapping gifts for nearby relations, and accepting that the cold is here to stay, awakening arthritis and other physical problems.

The end of the year is a good time to reflect on what has happened, learn from lessons, and start planning for the next one.

It has been a busy year for Chatteris u3a, but then, aren't they all?

In my opinion, there are two key components to a u3a, and I would not want to judge which one is more important. They are the open meetings and the guest speaker on one side, and the many and various interest groups on the other. These have two key things in common: they are entirely run by volunteers, and they have high and low points through the passage of time.

I believe that our speakers this year have been quite exceptional. I struggle to remember one that I really did not enjoy (perhaps there was one, but, in that case, they were not memorable enough for me to recall who or why. Even our November speaker, for whom I did not really expect much, gave us a well-structured, interesting and at times amusing history of seating arrangements in British churches - a topic that, at first sight, would not have got me out of bed on a cold winter morning.

Last year, we launched the idea of broadcasting and sharing our meetings with those who were not able, for whatever reason, to come to the KEC on a Friday morning. We got a grant and some high-quality material, then ran a series of failures for various reasons. The strength of the internet connection at the KEC does not allow us to broadcast live, but we seem to have worked out a way to film and upload the talks after the event. Still some glitches, but we're getting better. (November meeting, the camera started its automatic tracking of the speaker, which meant we lost the illustrations that were being projected).

Interest groups have grown, died, been reborn, and/or continued throughout the year. Some groups, such as the games and puzzle groups, have been stopped due to a lack of participants; others have restarted in an attempt to regain interest. Over the past couple of months, the National Theatre group has gained some additional members, which has encouraged me to keep it going for another year. The Living Well group continues to attract interesting speakers every month. The monthly Quiz evening remains our most popular interest group. The recent Bereavement group has been very favourably received, and participants speak encouragingly of the support and comfort they found. The Church visit group has also had an encouraging start, with some very interesting visits to local churches

The trips and outings committee continue to plan and organise a large variety of events, with theatres, markets, gardens and more.

So, what about next year?

First, we need you. We need you to continue to participate in events, but we also need you to volunteer because, without volunteers, we will close down. I have said that I would not remain in the chair for another year; we need new blood, new energy, new ideas to revitalise and move our u3a forward; other committee members have also announced that they would like to step down... If we cannot find the volunteers, we may have to close Chatteris u3a, which I hope you also think would be a shame.

What about new groups? Is there something you would like to see happen? Could you put together a new group or help with the organisation of one of the existing ones? I recently heard mentions of fishing, cinema outings... Do you have knowledge and/or experience that you could format into a presentation (we can help you get prepared)?

Don't be shy. We need you.

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Let's Do Something Fun Together...

If you have ever had the "pleasure" of living with teenagers, you may have had the opportunity to "enjoy" listening to the complaints of someone moaning about boredom, but refusing to do anything that may be suggested; possibly, that same person has expressed dismay at seeing that there is "nothing to eat" while looking into an overflowing refrigerator.

It is not just young people, though. I am often frustrated at the sight of politicians who are not in government complaining about the fact that the government is not doing anything, when they could but aren't taking possible constructive and corrective actions themselves. I know some who are happy to point out that a painting is hanging crooked, but will not get out of the chair to straighten it themselves.

One of the key ideas behind the u3a is that we are not like that.

We have the abilities necessary to make the world a slightly better place. Of course, we cannot solve all the issues, but we can have an impact on our community and the people we encounter in our daily lives. A smile and a cheery "good morning" are not demanding concessions, but leaving a shop assistant or supermarket cashier a little less desperate than when we arrived might make all the difference for them. We are surrounded, both in our immediate vicinity and in the wider world, by people who are worse off than we are, and we should consider whether we can help them. One of the things that I love about the British is the manner in which we send and receive Christmas cards that benefit some charitable organisation. We can send cards to support charities that help medical research or outreach to some disadvantaged group. You may be surprised to know that this is not common in other nations.

So, how can you best use your time to reach out to someone? Of course, you could consider volunteering for your local u3a. I know we are not the only ones who need your support, but I am not here to promote other organisations. We have some interest groups that are looking at closing down due to a lack of participation; we have people suggesting new groups that could be started. There are so many activities we do not yet cover. Should we start a line-dancing group, a current affairs discussion group, science and technology, acting, classic films, scrap-booking, sewing and knitting,...

Can you put together a group for our members? I know you know something that I don't, what could you teach me?

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Story Time

No other living animal tells stories, so perhaps the other hominids didn't either. Of course, like other animals, they could communicate that they were hungry, cold, angry, etc. But what about a good story? A story involves abstractions, imagination, and the ability to share those between individuals. We tell stories of our ancestors, our dreams and fears; we use gods and other forces to explain what we cannot understand. We educate our children through stories, sometimes with moral endings. We developed imagination and language in parallel and used them both to grow. Politicians gain power by telling stories; artists communicate stories in various formats. The main engine of our culture in the XXI century is based on storytelling: films, television, magazines, social media, and more. Businesses are built on the stories that the founders hope to create, Our own u3a monthly meetings are based around someone telling a story.

Why is this important? Because stories communicate ideas, transmit concepts. There is no learning without stories.

And, because we are human, we differentiate between stories and treat some with more respect than others: why is it that old men prophesy but old women tell tales? History is written and interpreted by the victors. Perhaps it is time for us to listen to stories and accept them for what they are: just stories.

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Information, Misinformation, Disinformation and Artificial Intelligence

It was once believed that if people had access to more information, they would make better choices and decisions. Current news items appear to contradict this.

When the Internet was first launched, I thought it was a miracle. You could rapidly read articles, news items and research papers from across the world. Information was being made available to everyone. Businesses, academics and others could share their knowledge and inform people rapidly and reliably.

And then it all went wrong. Everyone decided that they should also start sharing their ideas and opinions. The pub bore, the village idiot, the crooked politician could share their thoughts with the whole world instead of just the few poor people who bumped into them. Flat-Earth, crazy conspiracy theories, extremist propaganda, hate, snake-oil, deep-state, scapegoats... everything was published, shared and promoted. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the others opened their doors freely to whoever wanted to say anything, without controls or peer reviews. You no longer had to pay a ghost-writer and find a publisher to tell the world what a wonderful, smart, generous person you were, and everything wrong was because of the others - you could write it a publish it immediately to the whole world.

Disinformation is when you say something blatantly false; many populist politicians have built their careers on this. Misinformation is when you believe them and repeat it without realising that it is a lie. Slowly, the word spreads. Modern technology allows for the easy use of doctored or misused photography to reinforce the disinformation.

Then along comes Artificial Intelligence (AI). Computers are reading all this misinformation, disinformation and information and creating a new version of it without any sanity checks or limits. We have already had students who have found that believing AI gets them into trouble, as they quote papers that were never written by respected scientists. But most people still tend to believe a lot of what they read on the internet. A while back, I asked four different AI tools to tell me about myself; three of them gave me very serious complete nonsense biographical data, including one that included a completely false summary of things I have written and published in the past. As AI continues to spread more false information, it self-analyses its own texts and gives them more credibility and visibility by quoting itself.

Please beware of what you are reading. What are the sources? Who originally said this? What is their bias? What are they trying to achieve? What benefit will they get from your buy-in? I have written about this previously on the website (https://chatteris.u3asite.uk/chair-notes/#Miscommunication), but I feel the problem is only getting more urgent...

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Eudaimonia

The American Declaration of Independence starts with the words "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This phrase raises several questions as to the meaning and ideas behind it. The most obvious ones include the question of "all men" as defined by the slave-owning authors... The idea that has bothered me the longest is the concept of the "pursuit of happiness". Life and Liberty are defined as things that you can have as a right, but happiness is only something you can pursue, and never obtain.

There are always things that could be better or different, but the "pursuit of happiness" naturally focuses on the things that are stopping you from being happy, the things you need to overcome. Happiness, for me, is profoundly linked to the concepts of contentment and satisfaction. As long as you are pursuing happiness, you cannot attain it. Contentment does not mean resignation; being satisfied with your conditions does not mean you are resigned that things can never get better.

Aristotle defined the concept of eudaimonia based on the Greek words εὖ (meaning good) and δαίμων (meaning spirit, as derived from the word meaning division), leading to the understanding that eudaimonia is the divine act of sharing in a good way. A literal view of eudaimonia means achieving a state of being similar to a benevolent deity, or being protected and looked after by a benevolent deity.

Rather than pursuing hedonistic ideals or the accumulation of worldly goods, eudaimonia focuses on living well, flourishing and doing what is worthwhile. It is not about selfless sacrifice for some presumed greater good, but realising one's own potential through cultivating "virtues" such as reason, courage and wisdom. Eudaimonia is basically about doing a bit of good and the good feeling that comes from doing it.

In a world where we are encouraged to accumulate more stuff, where we are meant to feel guilty by ten thousand charities to which we cannot afford to give, where we are made to feel envious of the little that others may have, where the wealthiest and most powerful people act as victims... In a world where we are tempted to flee the excess of distressing news that is published and broadcast every hour of every day... In a world where we may be tempted to give up, I wish you eudaimonia.

I wish you find the feeling of serenity that comes from having done what you could.

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Cheating a Little?

I decided that instead of writing something profound, I would celebrate summer with a picture of a picture of the view from my garden. Enjoy the summer.

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Time for Change?

I was impressed by how every major political party during the recent local elections advertised that they were the party for change. It appears that the mood for change is pervasive and we all want something different, even if we cannot agree on what needs to be changed or how it could be changed for something better, but - if the people who counsel politicians are to be believed - everyone wants change.

Perhaps we need to wonder how we can change ourselves rather than just wanting other people and things to change. One personal change that will affect us all in one way or another, and, in my opinion, one of the scariest changes, is that which is inflicted upon us by diseases such as Alzheimer's, in which we progressively lose our memories, our skills, our abilities, our selves. Its relentless progression makes it one of the cruellest diseases you can imagine. Even if there is no cure available or expected, there are things one can do to reduce its progression, gravity and impact.

Three things appear to be key in reducing the devastation of mental degradation: social interaction, exercise, and intellectual stimulation (learning). This brings me to the good news: as a member of the u3a, you are well placed to benefit from better mental health.

Our monthly meetings, as well as our interest groups, are a natural place for socialisation. The more groups you join, the more you will be able to benefit from socialising with like-minded individuals. We offer physical exercise in several formats, including the chair-based exercises from "Living Well", several walking groups, from easier local walks around Chatteris to longer, more challenging rambling through the countryside, or learning more about the fauna and flora, and we have more specialised activities like golf. Intellectual challenges can be found all around us, from book discussions to whist drives, from Scrabble to quiz nights. Finally, just to keep you sharp, you can join many groups to learn new things without pressure (British Sign Language, Crafts and Arts, French, genealogy, jewellery, wine...)

Check your website to take full advantage of what is going on and, if we are missing something that might interest you, get in touch. We could start a new group to fit your needs or desires. Let's change our habits and enjoy a longer and healthier life.

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A Time of Renewal

We are approaching the end of the financial year, and it is time to start looking at who should be on our committee and filling various roles moving forward. Our AGM has been moved to May as we expect a lower attendance at our April meeting, which falls on Good Friday. Many will be busy with family, church, travelling, last-minute shopping, etc.

April is a time of hope, awakening, and renewal. Spring is bringing colours to a grey drab winter world and this is celebrated in various religions around the world; Christians (including Coptic and Orthodox) celebrate Easter, with the resurrection of Jesus and the renewal of life; in Jainism, the birth of Mahavir who brought the Jain teachings of non-violence and truth is celebrated on the April 10th; Jews are celebrating their release from captivity with the Passover on April 13th; Sikhs will be celebrating the Spring harvest on April 14th with Vaisakhi. Of course, the spirit of renewal and growth is also seen in the celebrations of rebirth in our shops full of eggs and chicks.

I hope that the coming year will be one of renewal and growth for the Chatteris u3a as the committee evolves and more members join our numbers. In the coming year, we hope to take some steps forward in the use of technology and the internet, allowing our homebound members to participate in various meetings and activities and in the creation and evolution of interest groups. Remember that the community is the heart of the u3a, you bring, you receive, you participate, you enjoy. If there is something you wish we were doing, speak up: this is your u3a, and you need to guide the organisation in the ways you want to see it.

As no one stepped forward, I have agreed to put my name down as candidate chairman for one more year (there is still time to suggest someone else!). This will definitely be my last year in the role as I believe it is critical to the good running of the organisation that new people bring new ideas aboard.

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A ship is safe in the harbour, but that's not what ships are for.

I don't know the origin of that quote, but it is a good one. We all fear leaving our comfort zone and trying things unknown. However, I believe that life is for living and living means discovering something new. The u3a byline "learn, laugh, live" is key to the work we do.

Learning is something we all do in our lives, but there comes a time when the effort to learn new things appears daunting, How can I learn a new language if I can't remember three new words I learnt last week? And yet, the effort is worthwhile. As our brains shrink and change with age, engaging in mentally stimulating activities is as critical to fighting dementia and other illnesses as the elderly as a healthy lifestyle and diet.

Laughter is said to be the best medicine. The belly-laugh, unique to humans has been seen to be beneficial in many ways through the release of endorphins that promote a mild euphoria and increase our natural resistance to pain. They also increase your likelihood of creating bonds, friendships. As we mature, we tend to have fewer really good laughter sessions than in our childhood and adolescence. I do not believe that is the only reason we feel more aches and pains, but we should seek out more slapstick comedies, funny books, etc.

Living is listed last in the u3a byline because, while it is as important as the previous two, it is also to some extent the consequence of the previous two. Living for me always involves pushing some boundaries and daring to do something that I have never done. Until I was diagnosed with osteoporosis as well as arthritis, I always promised myself a parachute jump (the insurance companies will not allow me to do that now). Stepping up, stepping in, stepping forward to take on a new challenge. Frequently I failed, and sometimes I succeeded to some extent but why not try it and find out? I took on jobs I didn't understand, I created groups to share experiences without knowing whether I could find enough people to cover my initial investment in the group. I agreed to give talks and workshops on topics of which I had only the slightest awareness. I started new activities, bought materials that I did not know how to use and even dyed my hair green for no apparent reason.

The u3a is here to help you try new things, but it is also there to encourage you to live, to take up challenges: you have a unique combination of experience, stories, skills and aptitudes that would benefit other people in our community. I want to encourage you to come forward and try something new. Don't play safe, don't hide in your comfort zone, come out and conquer a new world!

Learn how to build your unique knowledge into a lesson for others; laugh at your failings as at your successes; live the life for which you have been prepared.

References: How the Aging Brain Affects Thinking | National Institute on Aging, Study reveals laughter really is the best medicine - BBC News

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An Urgent Appeal!

The u3a is an organisation run by the members for the members.

It is easy to enjoy the benefits of great speakers and interest groups, but we need you to join the small group of volunteers who make things happen.

We don't need a lot, but we need your skills and willingness to give some time.

After our April AGM, I hope personally to be able to spend more time coordinating communication across the community to attract both members and volunteers, advertise more widely what we do and raise awareness. This means that I plan to step down as chair of Chatteris u3a to be able to start concentrating on the other aspects that need promoting. As you know, we are an organisation that is largely focused on people who are past working age, but we need to attract younger members, we need to bring in members who are in their sixties and even younger to bring fresh blood, new ideas, and challenges.

Unfortunately, some other committee members are also stepping down from their roles at the AGM, which creates a crisis. While some committee members do not need to have a specific role and some roles (or parts of roles) can be fulfilled without being on the committee, there are three key roles without which the u3a will be forced to close down. Other than the chair, we need urgently to find a new secretary. Our current secretary has been doing an outstanding job for many years and would like a bit of a breather.

Please do not hesitate, we are not asking you for an enormous commitment of time, but we desperately need new people to help out with key roles, committee members, and interest group leaders and aides. If you are hesitating, please tell us you would like to come and observe a committee meeting to find out. Your personal experience is unique and valuable, you can help organise groups, trips, collect monies, or help with admin tasks.

I can assure you that just like every interest group, the committee does have fun in their meetings and the team is great at supporting one another in time of need or doubt.

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New Year - New Dawn

Many of our members find it difficult to come to the monthly open meetings, but we hope to soon be able to broadcast our meetings live so they can listen to the talk and possibly interact with the speakers through YouTube. YouTube is largely available on smartphones and televisions, as well as computers, so we hope this will present the fewest technological problems. Meetings will be broadcast live for members only (you will receive appropriate instructions), they will not be recorded or available after the fact to protect the copyright of our speakers.

On Saturday the 25th of January, we will have our first "Theatre Inning" (not outing) with a projection at the KEC of the National Theatre's version of "London Assurance", starting at 2:00 pm. As this first session will be used to test the technology, attendance will be free of charge. Subsequent monthly projections will be charged depending on the number of participants, as usual.

Other new interest groups starting up include: "Churches and Buildings" a visit to local historical places of interest (starting in Spring), Arts and Crafts, Darts, and Book Group.

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Christmas time, Yule tide, Happy Holidays…

December is dark and cold in the Northern Hemisphere. We need reasons to celebrate, and therefore, I would like to wish you a very happy celebration of your choice, both personally and on behalf of the committee. I hope you stay warm and safe and are surrounded by hope, loved ones, and laughter.

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Sidenote on Getting Scammed

Maybe it is just me, but I doubt it. I appear to be getting more and more scam requests, some of which are very subtle. I think it is important that you learn to protect yourself against these people who appear to desperately want to take the savings of those who may be less technically savvy. Remember to be careful when you are online, on the phone, or in any case when you are interacting with someone who could be pretending to be someone else.

Please be careful when you are online, try to check the information you are provided and never provide financial or personal details if you are not completely sure that you are in contact with the right person (the one whom they claim to be). A typical warning sign is when you receive a request that contains unlikely language or spelling mistakes. For instance, in the above email, reference is made to "our driver Oliver, Will Turner". These scammers do not want to waste time on people who pay attention to details and realise that something is not quite right, they want the people who are less sure of what they are doing and don't quite understand what they are being asked to do.

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November 2024

The u3a in general and u3a Chatteris in particular are run by volunteers who offer their time, knowledge, and skills to the community.  One of the pleasures of being in this community is that I have something to offer and can provide to the community, even after my retirement.  Many people find real satisfaction in the possibility of offering something to their peers, their friends and family.  It is a bit like the pleasure you get from looking, getting and wrapping up presents for other people rather than just expecting and receiving yours on Christmas morning.

Volunteering is something that truly satisfies something deep down.

Your u3a needs you.

Oh, I know: volunteering means work, responsibilities, preparation, and more.  But most of the volunteering at the u3a is not as onerous as one might believe.  You are not alone, you will be assisted, supported and possibly trained by someone who has done the task before you.  You do not have to be at every meeting, you do not have to invest more time and effort than you are willing to.

You could help the convener of an interest group, you could assist in some of the jobs that are being performed by the committee members, you could help serve refreshments, or, better still you could share your passion, your experience, your special competency or knowledge with the others – help others understand why you like doing something so much and teach them the basics.

How would you like to volunteer to help your u3a grow into something more like what you would want it to be?

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October 2024

Nature group met after the September meeting to discuss how they will get started, I have enough on my plate right now and did not attend the discussion, so I hope to hear more soon.

The National Theatre group will start meeting monthly from January, and a pre-selection of plays is posted on the group’s website.

Arts and Crafts group will bring together all our creative people to lead each other in creating wonderful things.  This will (probably) also start in January.

Darts group is in the process of finalisation, I hope that we will be able to share more news about this soon.

Finally, a word of thanks to the amazing work, patience, and issue management demonstrated by Jan Fieldhouse over the many years that she has been running the trips and theatre visits.

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A Side Note on Communication

I believe a lot of good has, does and can come from the Internet, global communication and "social media". However, it has also generated a lot of bad stuff, and I would like to discuss this. I know that this falls outside the remit of the u3a or my role, but I have encountered some bothersome facts, and our age group is among the prime victims of some of these issues.

The second issue related to social media and the internet is the spread of false news. We are currently inundated with "news sources", many of which are not news, but political and social rumour mills - even if they contain the word News in their official description. You have surely heard of former President Trump's claim that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Ohio (there is no trace of this ever happening and apparently originated in a picture of a man carrying two geese). Similar stories are being spread by political and cultural propaganda websites and even businesses that claim to be news in most countries around the world. Some of these sites are based in the UK, others are based in foreign countries such as Russia. All seek to discredit an idea or individual based on anonymous repeating of made-up stories. Fact-checking and misinformation reporting services are trying to quell as many of these rumours as they can, but they are fighting an uphill battle against YouTube, Vimeo, X, Facebook, TikTok and the others: you don't like politician A, you read something disparaging about him/her, you share it with your friends without checking the truth and you become part of the problem.

It is important to consider who is producing this information. Is this story possible? Why has no other news agency reported on this? Is this really a news agency or is it a foreign or British business that benefits from spreading this news? Are they closely affiliated with a political party and only sharing bad news about the other parties and politicians? Are they calling for tax reforms while based in a tax haven?

Read the opinion pages of a few papers to understand how their biases play against the news. I have found the chart hereunder useful when deciding who to trust or not. No I have not read or analysed every news agency listed in this chart, but I know enough of them to trust the rest.

Please do not implicitly trust (or, worse, share) news stories if you are not certain of the bias or reliability of the source.

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September 2024 Chair Note

We had a great speaker at our last meeting, possibly one of the best so far.  He talked about his experience with the team behind “Dad’s Army” and other British TV classics without notes or projector (and even without microphone) easily, fluently and perfectly tailored to his audience.  Towards the end, we had some comments about the lesser quality of current programmes; broadcasting is at a turning point with online streaming creating a different communication world.  Only the future will tell us if this change is for better or worse.

Humans generally remember good things better than painful ones.  I will leave you to decide if that is by design or the result of some evolutionary advantage. Still, when you think about it, you can’t help but see examples of it all around us... a woman agrees to have a second child, it was always nice weather in summer when I was young, it snowed at Christmas every year...

This has an impact on many aspects of our lives, but generally, as we get older, it is hard to escape the feeling that the world is becoming a more dangerous and frightening place.  We become more aware of things that are not as good as we remember, while so-called improvements are often confusing.

I am currently reading a book* that goes through the evidence showing all the ways the world has become a safer place in our lifetime and why we think it has all got worse.  Fewer people die in terrorist attacks, riots, natural disasters, plane crashes, wars, preventable diseases, poverty and starvation than at any time before.  But the media can catch your attention and sell more newspapers by focusing on the tragic so we become more aware of every little incident, believing them to be more common than they are.  Remember, you should start worrying when these dramatic events cease to be newsworthy.

In the meantime, we should rejoice in the fact that things are better (not perfect, things can simultaneously be bad and better than before) and listen to the hopes and aspirations of younger and future generations.

Peter.

*“Factfulness” by Hans Rosling