IGO July 25 News Extra

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The IGO Chess Club meets at 10:00 am on the 2nd and 4th Fridays during the winter months (Oct–Mar). In summer (Apr–Sep), meetings are 4th Friday only unless there is demand for meeting on the 2nd Friday as well. In addition to playing friendly chess games, we also work through learning exercises online and watch videos of games played by World Chess Champions. The group is not really intended for complete beginners. A typical member has played little chess since school days but is interested in taking up the game on retirement.

Group leaders are Ian Coldicott and Jim Lobley.

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Over the last 2 years, we have read over 20 novels, with authors including household names such as Agatha Christie, Elly Griffiths and Dorothy L Sayers.  Other less well known authors have been recommended (all of our recommendations come from our own group members): Cyril Hare and Ellen Wilkinson from the era of the Golden Age detective mystery to more modern writers like Stig Abel and M S Morris.   As you can see, we cover an eclectic mix.  One month, we might be considering the moody vibes of a police procedural and the next being dazzled by the clever twists and turns of a classic murder mystery.

Back in March 2023, we began our reading odyssey by alternating a classic British crime novel with a contemporary offering.  Our first choice was Whose Body by Dorothy L Sayers, Lord Peter Wimsey’s first outing. This was followed by Rachel Abbott, Francis Isles, Kate Atkinson and Ira Levin.   After a little while, someone had the wonderful idea of introducing a Scandi noir – we chose Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell, featuring his moody protagonist Kurt Wallender.   Then this year, we went international, starting with the USA. Our first choice was a classic of American hardboiled crime, The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett, and right up to date, in last month’s read, we found ourselves in India with Abir Mukerjee’s A Rising Man.  Who knows where we might travel next?

Our group has a staunch base of reading fanatics, but as with many things in life, it changes when some members leave and others take their place. We keep numbers to around 20, which we believe is the ideal size to enable us all to have the opportunity to give vent to our thoughts. 

Think you might want to join us? The only requirement is that you read the novel before our meeting and join in with our lively discussions. 

Look forward to seeing you there!

Jane and Linda – Crime Corner.

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Bridge

Calling all Bridge players and non-Bridge players!

The u3a Bridge Group invites IGO Bridge players to join us online. We play on the ‘BridgeClubLive’ (BCL) platform every Friday afternoon. If you have not played on BCL before, you can take advantage of the free 6-month membership of BCL for u3a members. For more information about the u3a Bridge Group please see our Group page.

Our group also welcomes IGO members who would like to learn to play Bridge – no prior knowledge required. We have friendly, experienced teachers who will help you on your Bridge journey. The next course for beginners starts in August so, if you are interested, please sign up now.

We look forward to meeting you.  Join via Beacon

Transatlantic Discussion Group

The Transatlantic Discussion Group is an independent group of U3A members from the U.K., Canada and the U.S. that has been meeting by Zoom since 2017. It runs two ”sister” activities, the Transatlantic Discussion Forum (TDF), which meets at 2:30 PM London time on the last Monday of every month to discuss international issues, and the Transatlantic Economist Readers Group (TERG), which meets at the same time on the second Monday of the month. TDF meetings kick off with a brief presentation on the topic to be discussed, while the current edition of the Economist provides the discussion menu for the TERG. The TDF’S present forward programme is:

Membership in both groups is free, and several IGO members already participate. For further information on either transatlantic activity, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. who will forward your email to Harry Belsey, the British anchor of the group.

It’s the international day of friendship on 29th July - here’s a bit of background

Sharing the human spirit through friendship

Our world faces many challenges, crises and forces of division — such as poverty, violence, and human rights abuses — among many others — that undermine peace, security, development and social harmony among the world's peoples.

To confront those crises and challenges, their root causes must be addressed by promoting and defending a shared spirit of human solidarity that takes many forms — the simplest of which is friendship.

Through friendship — by accumulating bonds of camaraderie and developing strong ties of trust — we can contribute to the fundamental shifts that are urgently needed to achieve lasting stability, weave a safety net that will protect us all, and generate passion for a better world where all are united for the greater good.

Background

The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.

The resolution places emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity.

To mark the International Day of Friendship the UN encourages governments, international organizations and civil society groups to hold events, activities and initiatives that contribute to the efforts of the international community towards promoting a dialogue among civilizations, solidarity, mutual understanding and reconciliation.

The International Day of Friendship is an initiative that follows on the proposal made by UNESCO defining the Culture of Peace as a set of values, attitudes and behaviours that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by addressing their root causes with a view to solving problems. It was then adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1997.

Actions to Promote a Culture of Peace

• foster a culture of peace through education;
• promote sustainable economic and social development;
• promote respect for all human rights;
• ensure equality between women and men;
• foster democratic participation;
• advance understanding, tolerance and solidarity;
• support participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge;
• promote international peace and security.

Deadlines for News Extra copy

If you want to add line or two in a forthcoming edition of News Extra here are our deadline dates :

• 15 August

• 19 September

Contact our editor, Helen, through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..