11 January 2024

Kingston upon Thames and District Newsletter January 2024

Greater London Newsletters

Kingston upon Thames and District

Newsletter No. 42: January 2024

Group Meetings: Usually last Tuesday of every month (except July, August and December), 2pm, at The Girl Guide Hut, Marion Hill House, Tadworth Avenue, New Malden, KT3 6DJ. All welcome, including guests from other groups.

Chair (until the AGM): Brian Parks, 5 Trentham St London SW18 5AS, Tel: 0208 265 5190, baparks@btinternet.com

Business Secretary: Marion Williams williamsmarion408@gmail.com

Membership /Treasurer: Clive Scammell, 125 Windsor Ave, Cheam, Sutton SM3 9RY, Tel: 0208 644 5493, clivescammell@sky.com

The Chair writes :

MAY I first of all wish all our readers a happy, healthy and prosperous 2024. I should particularly like to welcome our new members who have joined us in recent months, and we hope to see you soon in person at our monthly meetings.

AS you all will know by now, this will be my final newsletter, and the forthcoming AGM on 30 January will mark my departure as Chair, although (if elected) I shall be happy to continue as a committee member. I took over from Geoff Paul as Chair in 2016. Prior to that, Geoff had been expressing the fear (echoed by many other groups) that unless someone was prepared to replace him, our group was likely to close. Our committee subsequently took the conscious decision to replace the three officer positions (Chair, Treasurer and Secretary) on a staggered basis every eight years, to reassure any potential candidates that their commitment would not be indefinite, and also to ensure the group would benefit from a consistent supply of fresh ideas and experience to sustain its survival. And so, I am confident that when you, the members, propose my replacement, your choice will be a wise one.

OUR group has always been run collaboratively as a team effort so I am not disposed to claim any personal credit for any of our past achievements, but I am pleased to note that we managed to keep group meetings going on schedule (with the help of Zoom and a selection of excellent guest speakers) throughout the lockdown. Many of you will also

remember our lengthy battle with CSPA headquarters to try to achieve some recognition for members in neighbouring districts without functioning committees (such as Epsom and Guildford), and, thanks to the efforts of our new Regional Representative, David Owen, I may have some further news on this to report at the AGM.

ANYONE with experience of voluntary committee work will know the huge amount of effort that goes on behind the scenes for the benefit of members. Thanks are due to the committee members, John, David, Brenda, Clive, and Marion, and most especially our catering manager John Kelly (he calls himself the tea boy) now well into his 90s, who is finally standing down, but has graciously agreed to continue as a fearless independent auditor of our annual accounts. Finally, thanks are due to the contribution over many years of Geoff Paul, my predecessor as Chair and now honorary Life President, and we hope both he and Maggie will be able to resume attending meetings in person before too long.

THOSE of you on my email list will receive the AGM agenda in the near future. As ever, if you would like to receive the monthly email updates, please let my replacement or any other members of the committee know. I look forward to seeing you on 30^th January. With all good wishes

Brian Parks

CAMPAIGN NEWS

TRAVEL INSURANCE
The current issue of The Pensioner carries readers’ concerns about the travel insurance product offered by CSIS. It seems to have been generally acknowledged that the former ‘fit-to-fly’ policy offered by Axa was no longer a sustainable industry proposition and that some sort of individual risk assessment would in future be involved in most cases. As most readers will appreciate, the cost of any premium is much less important than the eventual willingness of the company to settle any claim. But from the letters published, it seems that the CSIS product compares unfavourably on both counts. Members should therefore be prepared to do research before they commit themselves, in particular the reviews of third-party claims settlement agencies used by some insurance companies.

BANK CLOSURES
There have been contradictory reports in the press about the declining use of cash, on which the banks have been relying to justify the relentless programme of closures. It now seems the cost of living crisis has sparked a rise in the use of cash, possibly indicating an increase in caution and a reluctance to incur more credit card debt by online spending.

WHERE DID I LEAVE MY MEMORY?
The Earth’s population is about 8.1 billion. On a percentage basis, 11% are in Europe, 5% are in North America, 9% are in South America, 15% are in Africa and 60% are in Asia.

49% live in the countryside, 51% live in cities;
75% have mobile phones, 25% do not;
30% have internet access, 70% do not;
7% received university education, 93% did not;
83% can read, 17% are illiterate;
33% are Christians, 22% are Muslims, 14% are Hindus, 7% are Buddhists, 12% are other religions and 12% have no religion;
26% live less than 14 years, 66% die between 15 – 64 years of age, 8% are over 65 years old;

If you have your own home, eat full meals, drink clean water, have a mobile phone, can surf the internet, and have gone to college, you are in the miniscule privileged lot (in the less than 7% category).

Amongst 100 persons in the world, only 8 live or exceed the age of 65. If you are over 65 years old, be content and grateful. Cherish life, grasp the moment. If you did not leave this world before the age of 64 like the 92 persons who have gone before you, you are already the blessed amongst mankind.

Take good care of your own health. Cherish every remaining moment.

If you think you are suffering memory loss……. consider these statements:

1.”Those who are conscious of being forgetful have no serious problem of memory.”
2. “Those who suffer from a memory illness or Alzheimer’s, are not aware of what is happening.”
3. “The more we complain about memory loss, the less likely we are to suffer from memory sickness.”

Diary Dates

No meetings during July or August

30 January Group Annual General Meeting; election of Group Committee, approval of Annual Accounts; Speaker: Nick Cook, ‘Ban Conkers, that’s bonkers’.

27 February Group Meeting, Speaker: Pete Allen, ‘Rockin’ the Silver Screen, how the cinema learned to twist and shout’.

26 March Group Meeting, Speaker: Vicar Theresa Ricketts, ‘Ministry to Ministry – journey from Civil Service to Vicar’.

30 April Group meeting, Speaker: Maggs Latter, ‘Everyone Seems Normal Until You Get to Know Them’.

_________________________________________________________Local Group Subscription for 2024

The local group subscription is £10 annually. Subscriptions are due in January 2024. Payment can be made in three ways:

– pay cash to the Treasurer (Clive Scammell) at a monthly meeting.

– send a cheque made payable to CSPA Kingston & District Group to the Treasurer, Mr C J Scammell, 125 Windsor Avenue, Cheam, Sutton, Surrey SM3 9RX.

– pay by bank transfer or standing order to CSPA Kingston & District Group Lloyds bank account: sort code 30-94-77 and Account Number:02302098

If you have an existing bank transfer or standing order, please update the amount to reflect the change in subscription fee.

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Useful Contacts

CSPA Headquarters Tel: 0208 688 8418

Email: enquiries@cspa.co.uk

Website: www.cspa.co.uk

Civil Service Pensions Tel: 0300 123 6666

Email: contactcentre@mycsp.co.uk

Website: www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk

Civil Service Insurance Society Tel: 01622 766960

Email: insurance@csis.co.uk