IGO September 26 News Extra

Join all groups via Beacon

The Code of Conduct that we all abide by in Interest Groups Online.

Mutual respect, supporting and learning from each other and effective communication are key elements to our work. u3a staff, members, Volunteers, Trustees and Council Representatives have the right to carry out their responsibilities without being bullied or abused either verbally or physically.   

We expect u3a members, Trustees, Council Representatives, Volunteers, and contractors to:   

• Treat everyone with dignity and respect regardless of their age, gender, ability, race, cultural background, sexual orientation or religious belief.   

• Maintain a respectful attitude towards the opinions of others.  

• Act as a good role model with appropriate behaviour.   

• Act in the best interest of the Third Age Trust and not do anything which may bring the Trust or the wider u3a movement into disrepute or expose it to undue risk.  

• Uphold the Principles of the u3a movement.  

• Promote diversity, equality, and inclusion in everything we do.  

• Abide by Third Age Trust policies and procedures (as relevant to their role).  

• Use the Trust’s resources responsibly and only to further its stated charitable objects/purposes.  

• Reflect the current organisational policy of The Third Age Trust, regardless of whether it conflicts with personal views.  

• Ensure organisational and individual confidentiality at all times.  

• We expect everyone to contribute in a positive way and ask that everyone keep this Code of Conduct in mind to make the Third Age Trust a positive place to work, volunteer and be a part of.    

• The Third Age Trust operates a zero-tolerance policy towards violence, harassment, bullying and sexual, religious or racial discrimination of staff, u3a members, Volunteers, Trustees, Council Representatives, contractors and the general public. If this is identified, the Trust will take appropriate action to protect the relevant parties.   

• All those who are part of the u3a movement have a duty to report any safeguarding concerns either to their local u3a where it concerns a member of their own u3a, or the u3a Office if it relates to Trust Volunteers, Trustees or staff.   

• If you have any queries or concerns regarding the above, please contact the Third Age Trust office: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone 020 8466 6139 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 4.30pm).   

Additional rules for IGO 

• Not to promote goods or services within meetings. Lists of resources or services may be mentioned in passing if they will be helpful to other members. 

• Not to request payment for any of the activities offered by IGO. 

• To treat any sensitive information shared within groups with confidence. 

I stumbled upon U3A. Someone mentioned it on a Facebook music page I followed which piqued my interest. I then asked the question on my HIFI Dealers Facebook Forum page, of which I’m very much involved and to my surprise, several members said that they were U3A members and loved it. 

This was enough for me to delve deeper. I liked what I saw. In particular, the IGO. Interest Groups Online part. I noticed that there are many varied music groups so decided to sign up and join them to see what it was all about. 

My interest in music began at an early age when I heard the odd Motown track on the radio. Radio Caroline was bringing Soul and Motown to the UK, and I used to listen to it in my room. The only other comparison was my elder brother listening the Beatles. ALL. THE. TIME. Drove me nuts. 

I joined the Army as a boy Soldier at 15 ½ and my first real Posting was to Berlin where my friends’ secured tickets to the best concert I have ever seen, I’venow seen hundreds. That concert was James Brown, and he was at his peak. As a young lad from Yorkshire I’d never seen anything like it and it became engrained in my brain and cemented my love for all things Soul, Motown, R&B and of course, Funk. 

Over the next decade I had a few Music related weird moments. The first being in the late 70’s when after a successful tour as an instructor teaching Jungle Warfare with Training Team Brunie, I was on my way home and on a stopover in Hong Kong, visited the then famous bar/club called Ned Kellys last stand and heard an absolutely gorgeous song which was Native New Yorker by Odyssey. I had to have it and bought the album as soon as I got home. 

The second was even more weird. In 1979 I was in Rhodesia as part of the Cease Fire Monitoring force and stayed on after they gained independence and became Zimbabwe, Running a battle camp for the new Zimbabwe Army. One day whilst driving along I went through Fort Victoria, a one-horse town. I noticed a green fronted café and decided to stop for some fresh food and a decent brew. Wasn’t supposed to as it was still very volatile. When I got inside, I noticed they had a record player, and they started to play some fabulous music. When I enquired, it was Change and the album was The Glow of Love. I had to have it and at great expense bought the album from them. They definitely saw me coming. I then wrapped it in towels in my Bergan (Rucksack) and there it stayed for several months until I got back home to clean it and play it. Loved it ever since. 

More recently, some 3-4 years prior to retirement I decided to upgrade my HiFi game and ditched the B&O stull for serious HiFi components. By the time I retired in 2024, November, my stereo was in a fine place, and I could now play my music as often as I wanted instead of just when I had an odd day off from work. 

After I found U3A and saw what other music groups were doing I noticed a lack of Soul being played so set up the Group Soul Train, which I’m not only very proud of but is going extremely well. There is a fabulous bunch of members who all very actively join in. More recently I’ve started ‘Best of the 80’s and 90’sand also asked for a ‘Potential’ group to be listed to test interest called ‘Island Vibes: The best of Reggae. Hoping that one kicks off soon as I really want to further my knowledge of Reggae. I’d like to add also that the training new group leaders receive is absolutely brilliant making the whole process very easy and pain free. Big thanks to Alison and Catherine for putting up with my constant bombardment of questions. Appreciated. 

To sum up. If anyone is on the fence about joining U3A, don’t be. Sign up now. It’s certainly added some great fun and excitement to my life and of course, I’vemet some truly brilliant people as well. 

Roger 

The Old man of Soul 

1. In IGO you should ensure your screen is labelled with your full name OR your first name and IGO membership number

2. If you have Zoom installed on your device - find your profile then choose Display Name to enter your name

3. An alternative to this is to change the screen name once you have joined a Zoom meeting - go to participants, find your current screen name in the list and click on it to see the option rename and then enter your full name or your first name and your IGO membership number. This will last only for the duration of the meeting.

We know, at Interest Groups Online, how vital our Group Leaders are, but we’d love to hear about them from you!

• Is your group leader amazing?
• How have they helped you to enjoy your group?

Please write a few lines about how they have made your time in the group really worthwhile and email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. – help us celebrate our hard-working Group Leaders.