Orston Walkers – Tuesday 17th Sept – Radcliffe and Shelford Circular Walk
/in Noticeboard /by Pauline FazackerleyOrston & Thoroton WI Wed 11 Sept
/in Noticeboard /by Anne JohnsonOrston Walkers – Denton Reservoir and canal walk – Tue 3rd Sept
/in Noticeboard /by Pauline FazackerleyLe Rosbif
/in Noticeboard /by Fiona Winfield‘Le Rosbif’ informal French conversation group
Interested in practising your French? The Rosbif group meets every two weeks on a Monday evening for an informal session. Once every 4 weeks we meet in a local pub (usually Bingham, Radcliffe or Bottesford), with an online meeting in between.
There’s no charge, just the cost of your drink! Please note, this is not a class, although sometimes one of us brings an article or a quiz, to get the conversation going. We welcome all levels, but beginners may find it challenging. Don’t worry if you’re rusty!!
NB: you don’t have to discuss France or anything French – the key thing is to communicate in French!
| Upcoming meetings (autumn 2024):
Mon 2 September Wheatsheaf Bingham (7.30pm-9.00pm) Mon 16 September Zoom (8pm onwards) Mon 30 September Local pub TBC (7.30pm-9.00pm) Mon 14 October Zoom (8pm onwards) Mon 28 October Local pub TBC (7.30pm-9.00pm) Mon 11 November Zoom (8pm onwards) |
If you’d like to give us a try or want to find out more, email Fiona Winfield fmwinfield@aol.com, check out the Rosbif Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/RosbifOrston or send a message to Fiona via WhatsApp: 07505 888017.
A bientột!
Clothing choices don’t need to cost the earth
/in Noticeboard /by Fiona WinfieldAccording to a recent article by Arabella Ruiz, the world produces 92 million tons of textile waste annually. A whopping 87% of the materials used to make new clothing will end up in either incinerators or landfill, and only 1% of clothes will be recycled into new garments.
Waste is not the only issue, with almost 60% of all clothing material being plastic-based; this includes anything incorporating synthetic fibres, such as polyester, nylon and acrylic. Furthermore, each time a garment made from such materials is washed, tiny plastic microfibres are released into the water. As a result, up to 500,000 tons of microfibres end up in our seas and oceans annually.
Plus, as mentioned in a previous article, producing new clothes also affects water consumption, water pollution (linked to the use of certain dyes), and pesticide use (when growing cotton, for example).
What can we do to reduce our impact?
- Discover Slow Fashion, which encourages us to make choices that are kinder to the planet. Read more about it on the Oxfam website
- Support Second Hand September. The challenge is to buy only pre-loved and vintage clothing for the whole of the month.
- Avoid ordering lots of garments online. Research published in 2023 by the ‘Institute of Positive Fashion’ (part of the ‘British Fashion Council’) revealed that in the UK in 2022, 23 million returned garments were sent to landfill or incinerated – generating 750,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. It is just too costly to put them back on the shelves. Since many consumers are apparently not swayed by the environmental messages put out to deter the increasing habit of over-ordering, some retailers are starting to charge to return items. (More info can be found in the Retail Gazette.
- Organise a ‘Swishing’ event, where you get together to swap unwanted clothing and accessories with friends, villagers or work colleagues. This could be used to raise money for a charity too. Many organisations give advice on setting up such events (see for example: https://funded.org.uk/advice-hub/how-to-guides/step-by-step-swishing1/).
- Be rewarded for donating clothing you’ve finished with; John Lewis, H&M and M&S have such schemes (check their websites for info).
- If you have surplus workwear, Nottingham Trent University is working with the local White Rose charity to create the award-winning Professional Student Wardrobe initiative to assist those who need smart clothing for career-related activities (interviews/internships etc.).
Do you have suggestions to contribute on this topic or sustainability in general?
Head over to the Orston Sustainability Hub (OSH) FaceBook group or check out our Instagram a/c (or contact Fiona Winfield/Julian Humpheson).
An Increase in the Number of Scam QR Codes – Tips on How to Spot Them
/in Noticeboard /by Bob Clarke(This information is from “Which? – Scam Alert Service” 8th August 2024)
“Have you spotted a recurring payment to a company you’ve never heard of? You’re not alone, as subscription traps – often linked to dodgy QR codes – are one of the most commonly reported complaints to the Which? Scam Sharer Tool.
People find they’ve been charged for subscriptions they didn’t sign up for after trying to download apps on their phones, or scan QR codes in restaurants, pubs, shops, bus stops, stations and car parks. Others notice payments to brands they don’t recognise, but don’t know where these companies obtained their card details from.
There’s no doubt that scammers have sensed an opportunity to abuse Quick Response (QR) codes, those black and white patterned squares you scan with a smartphone, to be directed to a website. Only last month, Greater Manchester Police warned of a ‘steep rise’ in QR code fraud, particularly in open spaces such as car parks.”
Which? has come up with some tips on how to use QR codes safely…..
5 ways to use QR codes safely.
- Check for evidence of tampering when you scan QR codes in public spaces, as someone may have placed a sticker over the real one, or it may look out of place. If in any doubt, type in the web address manually to visit the correct website.
- Don’t use an app to scan QR codes as it increases the risk of downloading malware or being redirected to a misleading advert. Most phones have a scanner built into the camera, so use this instead.
- Preview the web addressas you start to scan it – you should be able to inspect the link by clicking on additional settings within the scanner, or you could turn off internet access for your device (put it on airplane mode) and open the link to view the address details first. If it doesn’t begin with ‘https’ or the website’s address is different to what you were expecting, then don’t visit it.
- Don’t use QR codes to download appsas this increases the risks of installing something malicious. Use a verified app store instead (Play Store at google.com or App Store at apps.apple.com).
- Avoid QR codes in emailsas scammers are increasingly using QR codes to disguise malicious links, as email security tools don’t always scan images
Which? provides a very useful and informative weekly ‘scam alert service’ by email to which you can sign up for free.
2024 Poppy Appeal
/in Noticeboard /by Nicola PayneVolunteers wanted for door to door collections