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Hastings and St Leonards Seniors' ForumNewsletter HomeNewsletter Issue 9Previous - Page 1 - Next Welcome 2007The 70+ members who attended our AGM on 28th October last received words of great encouragement and support from our Mayor, Cllr Maureen Charlesworth. I was happy to announce that Pam Brown O.B.E., (who as you know launched us in September 2004 and supported us ever since) had agreed to be our President. Thanks to the dedicated work of our Management Committee, our four Special Interest Groups, and the growing support of our members at events we are achieving much. To be a successful forum - which means growing in membership, influence and activities - I believe we need to get the balence right between reacting and responding to issues out there that are of concern to us and being pro-active and setting our own agenda of activities, fellowship and fun which help enrich our personal well-being, fulfilment and value in society. Valuable teaming up with Age Concern and other older people's organisations in town over events such as the 'Manifesto' and 'Shaping Hastings' days are being achieved. We are increasingly working together with the voluntary sector on health and social care, well-being, transport and crime and safety issues. We recently joined 1066 business and aim to build good relations with the business sector. Our fellow senior forums in East Sussex are making big progress and we all are working together to create an East Sussex umbrella organisation. Each of us is being called upon to respond at county as well as local level on issues that affect us. Increasingly too, there are opportunities for our respective special interest groups to work together, on important issues on health and social care, transport and crime and safety. A promising 2007 lies ahead of us. John Appleyard - Chair NEW MEMBERS WANTEDDo you have a friend who is not a member of the Seniors' Forum? We are aiming to increase our membership to 1000 by the end of the year so we are asking all our members to ask one of their friends to join. As you know, it is free to join and they will receive this newsletter as well as information regarding and invitation to, all the forthcoming events held to benefit Seniors. If you would like them to receive an application form to just telephone Jocelyn on (01424) 451 855 and one will be sent to them. Previous - Page 1 - Next ReportsCrime & Safetyby Olive Birchmore (Chair Crime & Safety) The Crime and Safety SIG of the time the forum had gone out to 'meet Forum have just completed successful 2006. We are fortunate in retaining all our group members and it gives me great pleasure to welcome on board two very interested new members in Lauretta and Maggie for 2007. Our last event was a stall in Priory Meadow Shopping Centre on the 28th November. The aim was to emphasise the need for extra care and security while shopping over the Christmas period. This was the first time the forum had gone out to 'meet the public' it was so successful that plans are afoot to repeat something similar in the future. We are now in the process of planning the Crime & Safety calendar for 2007 and we already have lots of ideas! If you are enthusiastic and would like to join our group we would be very pleased to welcome you. Your involvement and participation in our events is very important to us and the Seniors of Hastings. If you are unable take an active role in our SIG we are still keen to hear your thoughts. So if you have any matters of concern regarding crime or safety please let us know. Contact Crime & Safety Chair, PO Box 270, Hastings, TN34 913T Quality of Lifeby Mary Crouch (Chair Quality of Life) We continue to work at providing ways for our minds to be kept active. At our last meeting prior to Christmas, we welcomed three organising members of U3A, and had a lively discussion about what they had to offer, and how we could persuade our members to take advantage of this. We wondered whether we could have a reading group of our own, also whether we could use the Electric Palace for cinema groups - Olive is exploring these possibilities. We continue to promote all the exercise activities provided by Active Hastings, and to be very grateful for the work they put in to providing these facilities. We have discussed the necessity for looking into 'Healthy Finances and have put this on the agenda for our next meeting. We remain concerned about the question of cycling in the pedestrianised areas of the town centre, and have had no definite answer regarding the trials. Transportby Alan Crouch (Chair Transport) Other than keeping a weather eye on bus services in the borough, we haven't been particularly active over the past month or two, due mainly to domestic circumstances slowing us down a bit. There is still a lot of dissatisfaction with the buses to the Conquest hospital, and with timekeeping of some local services. If you are experiencing problems of any sort, write to the Operations Manager of Stagecoach at Silverhill (or contact our group), because if we don't know anything about them, we can't DO anything about them. Perhaps it's a bit out of scope on the local transport front, but the cross-Channel ferries offer some interesting trips, if you don't mind doing a bit of research. Before you send off your pounds for a day out to France or Belgium, have a trawl through the offers you'll find on the internet (if you've got a computer, of course - if not, try your children or grandchildren). The proposed town centre cycling trial is back in the news again. We have had a very useful discourse with some of the local councillors and with HUB (Hastings Urban Bikes). A meeting is to be arranged between all interested groups and organisations, to thoroughly examine all aspects of cyclists and pedestrians using the same spaces. Some of you may have had (or had sight of) a questionnaire sent out by East Sussex County Council concerning local public transport issues. We think this should have been sent to every householder in the borough, because judging from the comments made at any meeting we have, much improvement is required. Reading between the lines, it might be another cost-cutting exercise in disguise, so it will bear the closest inspection! To get anything done, we need YOUR SUPPORT at every level, so, please, contact us with your problems, suggestions or enquiries, by Telephone on 01424 451855 Letter to PO Box 270 Hastings TN34 913T or Email to crouchfred@supanet.com but DO CONTACT US Health and Social CareFred Cullen On Friday 19th. January the Health & Social Care SIG was held at the Town Hall and was well attended. The major topic discussed was the future provision of hospital services and the reported plans of the Hospital Trust. This was a fruitful first meeting of the SIG where various options and solutions were explored. Poetry CornerAnother contribution from our resident poet Anton Organ. Red and white and gold and blue
Conversations at the Bus Stop"Gloomy going home in the rain
By Margaret Cornell THE AGEING PROCESSWhen the wife and 1 go
No Orchids for Miss BlandishWe all remember the book and the film of that title and for most of us in those far back days it would have been our only contact with those exotic plants known as Orchids. A rich woman's status symbol was an Orchid corsage, us young lads had to impress the on going apple of our eye with a bunch of violets or primroses freely picked from the railway embankment. Today it is a different matter, these exotic flowers are now readily available from most supermarkets or garden centres and not only at affordable prices but growing in their own pots. Next time you feel in the mood to buy some flowers to brighten up the home forget the roses, carnations and chrysanthemums buy a flowering Orchid. Not only will you have beautiful blooms to gaze on for many weeks but also a potted plant that with loving care will bloom year after year. Orchids are not as you might expect difficult to look after. All they require is to be placed in a position where they get plenty of light, but not in direct sunshine. Orchids like us can suffer with sunburn and like us too much sun will do the plant harm. Watering needs to be done once a week (once a fortnight when the plant is resting) but it is important to know that the roots must not become waterlogged so good drainage is essential. When in flower the plant can be fed every other week. Any well known brand of plant food will do fine but only feed the plant at half the strength recommended on the packet. If for some reason the plant has an abundance of roots growing in and out of the pot, good strong healthy leaves but no signs of a flower stem try moving the plant to another window. This generally seems to do the trick, but if this fails, remove the plant to a much cooler room for a couple of weeks, this manoeuvre seems to kick start the plant off on return to the warmer room. Do not be afraid of the plant getting too cold, the Orchids that are on sale in the supermarkets are of the cooler variety and are used to low temperatures at night in their native habitat. So go on and spoil yourself, next time you are shopping put an orchid in your trolley and enjoy the beauty of this plant in your home. Local Development Meeting ReportMembers of the Seniors Forum came out in force on Thursday 30 November 2006 to find out about future plans for Hastings. Changes in the national planning system mean that Hastings Borough Council has to produce a series of documents and policies over the next few years that will help guide development in the town up to 2026. Age Concern joined forces with HSSF to organise the event to make sure that that older people were able to feed in their ideas. Over 60 people attended the meeting in the Friends Meeting House to hear about the planning documents, which will be part of the something called the "Hastings Local Development Framework LDF". Part of the presentation at the event explained that the Hastings 'LDF' is like a shopping trolley full of different documents. Some of these documents will give a strategic, "high level" view, whilst others will be more detailed and will focus on exactly where building can take place and specific planning policies. The information session went onto explain how people could take part in the consultation about one of the early Hastings LDF documents, called "Shaping Hastings - Core Strategy. Some challenging comments were made and it was obvious that everyone taking part cared very much about the future of the town. Following the presentation that explained more about the LDF and the current consultation, everybody worked in smaller groups to focus on some of the questions being asked in the consultation. Groups discussed what type of image should the town focus on and also made comments about the expected growth in the town in the next few years. Georgia from Planning Aid helped facilitate the group sessions. The comments were summarised to enable group responses from Age Concern and the Seniors Forum to be submitted as part of the consultation process. The consultation period for this particular part of the LDF has now closed. However, there will be further opportunities to have your say on other parts of the LDF process in 2007. Opportunities to comment will be advertised in the local press and through local groups. A summary of comments made in this consultation will be published early in February 2007. For more information about the Local Development Framework please contact Hastings Borough Council's Forward Planning team on 0845 274 1098 or visit www.hastings.gov.uk/ldf By Phil Aldis, HBC University of the Third Age (U3A) UpdateThe University of the Third Age (U3A), has been working closely with the Quality of Life (QoL) SIG to help keep the members of the Seniors' Forum minds active. There are now many Activity Groups in the Hastings & St Leonards area. Groups are convened by members of U3A who have particular skills or expertise to share. Most groups are based in members' homes such as Art Appreciation, French, History, Jazz and other groups interested in reading and science. Painting needs more space and from now this group will be meeting at the East Hastings Sea Angling Association. Several groups do not need a permanent base. The Gardening Group goes on trips to see famous gardens in the summer; the Lunch club usually visits Channel Heights at Hastings College; Evenings Out will be to a theatre, restaurant, cinema or to a recital. A meal is usually included. Theatre outings mainly involve going to Eastbourne or Brighton and the Walking Group goes all over the place! There is also a stimulating monthly meeting for everyone where news is shared, various items can be purchased and there is an interesting speaker. There are study days on Saturdays including a day at University College Hastings where we will be learning about Victorian popular culture. To further stimulate the mind the SE Area U3A runs a summer school which offers a variety of courses over three days. Last year's Summer School was like a holiday social as well as educational. All this plus Hastings & Rother Bulletins bi-monthly,U3A news and Sources (National U3A publications) for only £10 a year. If you would like to join or find out more contact our membership secretary Tony Bailey on 01424 851771. We are always looking for people to start new activity groups, so if you are interested in any form of dancing or crafts or genealogy or................ we will be pleased to hear from you. The Important Issue of FUNDINGThere is a need for the forum to find funding to cover the cost of our success. With an ever increasing membership coupled with our growing popularity which may be good news for the seniors of Hastings it does mean an ever spiralling financial burden to keep the ship afloat. With government funding being cut it does mean that the committee needs to look elsewhere for money. The committee is at the moment looking at many options including approaching the private sector, becoming a registered charity, charging for advertising in the newsletter-to name just a few and, more importantly, funding from within the membership. This is where this article becomes an appeal to you, our members. Voluntary funding is what the committee is seeking and have come up with two ways of achieving this. Firstly there would be a donation box at all open meetings and events in the future. Secondly an introduction of a saving scheme. You save what you can when you can for the forum. The forum will supply small saving boxes for you to have at home into which you can deposit any loose change when you arrive home from the shops. The idea is, when the box becomes full we will exchange a new box for your full one. The committee believes that both of these schemes will raise much needed funds without any firm commitment or financial burden to the individual. We 'the committee' would ask you to consider both options and look forward to your participation. Mike Rose treasurer on behalf of the committee of the Hastings & St Leonards Seniors' Forum. If you have any ideas for fund raising for the Forum please contact the Treasurer at PO Box270 Hastings TN34 913T or mike@hssf.org.uk Engaging with Hastings CouncillorsTaking up an idea first muted quite suggestions in a manner some time ago, Olive Birchmore (Crime & Safety), Fred Cullen (Health & Social Care), and 1 (Transport), met with councillors from all three parties, at the Town Hall on 22nd November, to discuss various issues of particular concern to the older person. We like to think this was a very useful exercise, with a frank and open debate, allowing us to appreciate the other person's point of view. We did not see eye-to-eye on all topics, but we were able to ask questions and make suggestions in a manner not previously available to us. Amongst items on the agenda were the propose town centre cycling trial, the Conquest hospital, street lighting in the Old Town ' and future plans for the redevelopment of the Summerfields leisure facilities. These meetings are to continue every other month and we are confident much good will come from them. Alan Crouch - Vice chair & Transport A little ReminderYou don't need us to remind you not to let a stranger into your house. Always ask for an identity card and IF IN DOUBT KEEP THEM OUT Top Tip If you are pestered by telesales calls and want to get your own back answer their questions with a question of your own! For example start off by asking them if they are married, where they are going on holiday etc They will soon get fed up and stop pestering you Seniors' ThoughtsI'm the life and soul of the party even if it lasts 'til 8 pm!
Previous - Page 6 - Next Cherry Stuffed Sussex LambIngredientsFor the stuffing:
For the lamb:
Method
And Finally ...Ideas for unwanted umbrella coversWhat do you do with your umbrella cover? Do you neatly roll your umbrella after use and replace the cover? Or do you leave off the cover and eventually throw it away? You could ...... Make a glove puppet for a small child with an embroidered face, woollen hair sewn on top and loose clothing attached to it's neck to cover the user's arm. A collage face could be stuck on the umbrella using scraps of materials and hair made out of shredded paper. Umbrellas don't last long when it is windy so soon you could have a collection of glove puppets. They would make amusing presents for small children who might then entertain the family with them. Active hastings January to March 2007ExtendTuesdays
DanceTuesdays
Ten Pin BowlingTuesdays
Tai Chi/Chi KungTuesdays
Boccia, Short Mat Bowls and New Age CurlingWednesdays
BadmintonWednesdays
Green Fingers Garden GroupThursdays
Led WalksOrganised and led by the BTCV
CyclingHastings Urban Bikes (HUB) and Age Concern Hastings have linked up to get older people on their bikes and get fit in the process. For further details contact lan Sier at Age Concern on 01424 426162 Previous - Page 6 - Next |
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