Patrons: Mr Ken Jarrold CBE
Mrs E Armstrong MBE
Reg. Charity No 287936
One of the hospice’s used by EACH
Peterborough & District Branch NHS Retirement Newsletter
CHAIRMAN
Good afternoon,
Last month we had a very enjoyable meeting with a
visit from John Rostill our National Chief Executive
Officer. John arrived well before the meeting and was
very pleased to help set up and chat to members as they arrived.
Sandwiches and scones were provided for refreshments which I think
were enjoyed by all.
John gave us an update on plans to help the Fellowship in the future and
I must say I was very proud when he said what a well organised branch
Peterborough is.
Issue no 3 MARCH
2020
Branch Officers and Committee 2019-20 Membership Secretary Mike Collins 559095 Assist Membership Secretary Sandy Collins 559095
Visit our Website:www.nshrf-pboro.com National Website: www.nhsrf.org.uk Contact the Editor: E.mail: [email protected] Snail Mail: 54 Thorpe Lea Road, Peterborough, PE3 6BZ Tel: 01733 705681
Phillipa Graham from our Charity this year was unable to come and
talk to us, however we did have Alun Jones who stepped in at the last
minute and told about EACH.
I would now like to say that with things the way they are health wise I
don’t know how many members we will see today or what next month will
hold. You will probably know that the Government are planning to isolate
all over seventy. With this in mind it will cover most of us within the Fel-
lowship. In our village they are organising volunteers to shop for people
who need it. I sincerely hope that there will be no one within the Fellow-
ship feeling completely isolated. If however anyone is feel free to contact
me and I will try my best to get you some support.
That’s all from me, stay well and strong.
Dorinda
AUSTRALIA BUSH FIRES.
Can you knit or crochet if so your skills will be of use to help the ani-
mals recover from the devastating bush fires.
If you can help the website address shown below will be of use.
We can get them sent to Australia as Dorinda’s family are coming in
May and will take them back.
https://www.wires.org.au/wildlife-info/wildlife-factsheets/making-
possum-pouches
Clues: Across: 1. Micro organism. (8) 7. Stage performer. (5). 8. Beg for. (5) 9. City in the Rhur. (5). 10. Leading Aircraft Woman (in short). (4). 12. Bees home. (4). 14. Next Church festival. (6). 17. Small stem. (5). 18. Muscle and fat. (5). 19. South African antelope. (8). Down: 1. Has a wash. (5) 2. Current health scare. (6). 3. This years Charity (4). 4. Middle East Country. (5). 5. Principles of Christian religion. (9). 6. Fir for sailing. (9) 11. Perplex. (6). 13. Type of illness (2 down refers). (5). 15. Title of talk. (5). 16. Associated with 14 across. (4). Answers from the February Crossword. Across: 1. Allocate 7. Cubic. 8. Bream. 9. Lumme. 10. Nothing doing. 12. Sick. 14. Crumbs. 17. Onion. 18. Xenon. 19. Absented Down: 1. Album. 2. Lacier. 3. Cuba. 4. Trend. 5. Occlusion. 6. Ampersand. 11. Brexit. 13. Climb. 15. Mined. 16. Knee.
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EDITORIAL Well what a change the world is having since I sat down to write the last editorial and it appears that it will continue for some time. It is quite pos-sible that some of the information in this issue will have to be cancelled as things are changing at fast rate. By the time that you read this you will know
that our monthly meetings have been cancelled. There are several things that have still to be decided, e.g. subscriptions so we will let you know the situation on all these items. Please take care of yourselves and follow the advice being given, Trevor.
AFTERNOON TEA Bury St Edmonds
July 10th
THIS HAS BEEN CANCELLED
CYBERCRIME I have just received information that criminals are exploiting the Corona
virus situation and although I cannot give you all this information as it cov-ers more than 2 pages, it gives us a warning to watch out for strange
things and emails, which once clicked on lead to devices being infected. These phishing attempts have been seen in several countries and can
lead to loss of money and sensitive data. In recent days the NCSC has taken measures to automatically discover
and remove malicious sites which serve ‘phishing’ and ‘mal wares’. These sites use Corona virus as a lure to make victims ‘click the link’
10 3
ANYONE FOR BOWLS? Ken and I recently spent an enjoyable week at Potters Resort, which is situated between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth. Ken was bowling in the All England Bowls Competition, however, non bowlers are well catered for, with everything from archery, shooting, swimming and quizzing. Su-perb food and excellent evening entertainment made it a super holiday in a dull January, and we didn’t get any rain! During the week prior to our visit the World Bowls Championships were held there, these were tele-vised, and if you saw Yaxley’s Nicky Butt slip past two of his opponents woods to win the shot, you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s easy, I can assure you it’s not as easy as it looks! This made me think that there may be some of you, now that you are retired, who would like to take up a new activity, so why not give indoor bowls a try? However I can say that it can be seri-ously addictive. Bowling ticks all the boxes for mild exercise for both body and mind. It’s a wonderful sport for anyone whatever your age or physical abilities, and it’s not just for men, ladies are always welcome, in fact at Potters last year, one of our ladies in her eighties, who had been playing for only a year, made it to the semi-finals. You can play whatever the weather, any time of the day, 7 days a week, and it’s cheap at only £3 for a two hour session. The club provides coaching every Saturday morning at 9.30am, when you can learn to play the sport under the guidance of qualified coaches. They will provide a set of woods, all that you need is a flat pair of shoes with a smooth sole, (or you can play in your socks). There are regular social activities, and with a new restaurant there is hot food, and once a month a Sunday lunch, and the holiday to Potters has become an annual event. The comment we hear most of all is ‘I have met and become friends with so many lovely people at the Bowls Club’ Why not give it a go? The club is in Burton Street, Peterborough, PE1 5SH. If you would like more information call Martin Bunning on 07879853349 or the Chairman, Jeff Pitt on 07976034180. Perhaps I’ll see you on our next visit to Potters! Margaret Inglett.
We have been informed that EACH will be having a collection day at Tesco (Serpentine Green) on Thursday April 2nd from 9am to 5pm and would appreciate some help. The time is split into a maximum session of 2 hours each. Please let Dorinda know if any one can give a cou-ple of hours to help swell their coffers. This note was sent by Phillipa Graham.
DUE TO THE VIRUS THE ABOVE HAS BEEN CANCELLED
TRIP TO HARTLEPOOL Several of you know that our middle granddaughter is studying for a qualification in costume and design. This last term they have been design-ing and making hats and felt that they could organise a fashion show so that other university colleagues and family were able to go and see the re-sults. The date was set for March 5th in the evening, so four set off at 9am on the 5th and had a good run up north. Our daughter was driving and her mother in law also came along. We arrived at about 12.30pm after an uneventful journey, booked into our hotel, then went to a small café that our granddaughter had recommended for a bite to eat. June and I then had a short walk, whilst our daughter and her mother in law had a longer walk around the marina. Our eldest grand-daughter was also coming across from Manchester, but had to change her plans and drove across as trains had been cancelled. An evening meal was eaten before going to the place where the show was held. Each one of the students were allowed to present a maximum of 4 hats, which were worn in the show by other students. Unfortunately the audience was not allowed to take pictures but the range of design, colours and imagi-nation was fantastic. The show finished so we waited to meet our grand-daughter so that we could all have a drink and a jolly good chat. Next morning we arranged to meet up again and have a walk around more of Hartlepool before going of to the see the sea at Seaton Carew. A quick visit to a small but very busy café before leaving to come home. A good couple of days was had by all. Trevor and June.
4 9
BRANCH MEETINGS
Are held on the last Wednesday of each month
in
St Andrew’s Church Hall,
Ledbury Road, Netherton, Peterborough. members must not go into the hall until vacated
by the previous users.
NEXT MEETING
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th 2020
WE WILL KEEP YOU AWARE OF THE SITUATION.
Doors open 2pm, refreshments (50p) from 2.15pm, meeting
2.30pm
The usual sales table and Raffle.
PETERBOROUGH & DISTRICT BRANCH
NHS RETIREMENT FELLOWSHIP
2019/2020 AGM
Will be held later in the year.
IN ST ANDREW’S CHURCH HALL
We are a Fellowship, the dictionary definition of this word is as follows -
participation, sharing, community of interest, companionship, friendliness. We
come from a caring profession and it is important that we all do our best to uphold
this ethic, which includes taking care of each other when to need arises. If you
know of any member who is ill, bereaved or in need of some TLC, and this
includes yourself, please contact our Welfare Officer, Sandra know (telephone
number is on the back page) or if she is not available let one of the committee
members know.
At each committee meeting we get a report on members who have not been
well and need our thoughts.
We wish all members who have been poorly a speedy recovery.
Application forms for help from the National Benevolent Fund are available
from Central Office Telephone 01305 361317. Complete the form and return as
directed. If you need help please contact Sandra, Helen or any member of the
committee.
The National Website is in the process of being updated. As soon as it is ready
for members use we will give you the necessary information.
Trevor Caunt, Editor.
8 5
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) We care for children and young people with life threat-ening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk and support their families. Our services include: specialist nursing care, symptom management nursing, short breaks, well being activities, therapies, counselling and volunteer services in the fam-ily home; all meeting the individual needs of the child, young person and whole family. The families addressing care and those who have
been bereaved, EACH is a lifeline at an unimaginably difficult time. When time is short, we help families make the most of their precious time together and create memories that last for ever. More than half of our care and support is delivered in the family home and community, in surroundings familiar and comfortable for the family. We offer families flexibility and control over where they receive their care and support, including where their child dies; at home, in hospital or at one of three hos-pices at Milton (Cambridge), The Nook (Norfolk) and the Treehouse (Ipswich). Our hospices aren’t just about end of life care; they’re often very happy and fun places, where young people can live life to their full potential. Our hos-pices are places where families feel safe, at home and where they can spend quality time together; enabling parents to be carers not caregivers. We are recognised as leaders in our field, with a reputation for excellence and commitment to pioneering development and innovation. We share our expertise with colleagues in our sector and work in partnership with health, social care and education colleagues to ensure continuity of care. We provide our specialist medical and emotional support completely free of charge. There are currently more than 2,000 children and young people in our area living with a life-threatening condition, who may require an aspect of our ser-vice. This figure is growing rapidly and could be as high as 6,000 by 2025. We rely on voluntary donations for most of our income and each year need to raise more than £6.4 million from fundraising and over £4.9 million from our shops. Phillipa Graham.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS
FOR APRIL 2020
05 Michael Collins 05 Bernie Gourley 07 Harold Joyce 17 Susan Nightingale 19 Jean Lawson 28 Gloria Coster
7
FEBRUARY 26th.
6
Dorinda welcomed everyone to the
meeting and introduced John Rostill
to the members. He spoke in general
terms about the future of the Fellow-
ship concentrating on members and
how it may be possible to get current
NHS retirees to come and join us.
He also spoke about the Heritage
money that has been granted to the
Fellowship and the way that our
Branch can use part of the allocation
through Bob Middleton and also via
the local Trust who also have some
Heritage funds. Your committee
would like you all to try and think
about your memories of working in
the NHS and than talk to any one of
us so that we can start to get things
rolling.
Dorinda then welcomed Alun Jones,
a member of the EACH local group,
to talk to us about how EACH oper-
Marian Julyan
I am sure that several will remem-
ber Marian but I have to report on
here passing on February 24th,
aged 93, down in Chippenham.
Marian moved to the south to be
with her family a few years ago. She
was a founder member of our
branch, was a nurse, working in the
hospital we think. Her funeral was
held on 17th March 2020 at the
Baptist Church, Melksham.
THE GIFY OF FRIENDSHIP
True Friends
Are like good books.
You don’t always use them,
but you know where they are
When you need them.
A friend never asks you for a reason
A friend never asks you
why or when?
A friend pays no heed
to time or season, she’s a friend
A friend never asks
for smiles and laughter.
A friend is there in
gladness and in tears.
A friend is there,
tomorrow and hereafter,
through the years.
A friend is a precious possession
whose value increases with the
years.
Someone who doesn’t forsake us
when a difficult moment appears.
Someone who lights
up the darkness
with a smile that’s
as warm as the sun.
Who rejoices with us
when we are happy,
who praises the good we have
done.
And our roads will be
smooth and untroubled
no matter what cares life may send;
If we travel the pathway together
and walk side by side
with a friend.
Friends are like jewels,
precious and rare,
loved and respected
and treated with care.
friends reveal facets in good times
and strife,
Compassion, strength, humour,
fashioned from life.
Friends sparkle like diamonds,
or quietly glow,
Their love and companionship
on us bestow.
Friendship’s a jewel of
priceless design,
Strong as a rock
and constant as time.
This was taken from a tea towel
that we have had for several years.
Trevor.
ates and where it’s money comes
from. Quite a bit of his talk is already
included in the article on page 5 so I
will not duplicate the details.
Refreshments were served and a
general hubbub was heard through
out the room as members chatted
amongst them selves.
The meeting closed at about 3.45
with Dorinda wishing all a safe jour-
ney home.
We have had correspondence from
Central Office about the outbreak of
Corona Virus which I was going to
include in this issue but as the infor-
mation coming out of Government is
changing so fast I do not feel that it
is necessary to duplicate it. PLEASE
continue to check what is being
broadcast on the TV and radio and
react as the recommendations are
published. If you are unsure how
should react then contact 111 or
your GP for advice. If you want to
just have a chat Dorinda is willing for
you to phone and I am sure that
other committee members will also
be happy to receive your call.