Our Current Affairs Group had a lively range of discussions at its meeting on Monday 20 November 2023.

The well-attended session raised topics such as fake QR Codes stuck over genuine QR Codes in public car parks, scams associated with charitable donations at this time of year as well as experiences with ransomware (threats to lock your computer and all your data)! The advice was never to let a stranger have access to your computer, tablet, or laptop.

After a quick listing of significant obituaries, the discussion moved on to the question of Rwanda, its relationship to HM Government, its history and the judgement of the Supreme Court concerning illegal immigrants. The recent changes on HM Government’s front bench were also examined. The moral position, as well as several pragmatic solutions, were presented, including a role for u3a members(!), and even an ancient Arabic proverb was offered for our consideration.

The discussion then moved on to End of Life decisions for patients in hospital, and who is entitled to make the decisions and who should be.

After that, the role and the challenges facing the Metropolitan Police Service came into the discussion, particularly in the context of peaceful demonstrations, and the not-so-peaceful protests in London. In a time of pervasive social media, everyone has become a ‘publisher’ but the traditional laws dealing with publication do struggle to keep up. There was agreement that the lot facing the Metropolitan Police Service “is not an easy one”.

The session ended with a review of whether there can be a link between popular competitive television programmes and service to the country, and whether there should be. All of this was accomplished in two hours within a friendly and courteous atmosphere.