Senior Forum – Bob’s Blog Part 5

Bob’s Blog Part 5 – Appears first in Congleton Chronicle 

Bob's Blog Senior Forum

Remembrance Day is the time of year when lots of us older folk think back to war time – but it’s nice when youngsters mark the occasion!   My grandson was at my house the other evening and his pal called to collect him. He was wearing a poppy for his night out on the town– he’s just signed up for the army, starts his basic training on Monday .  Good on yer lad and God speed!

I was still a kid in the Second World War, but I remember my cousin signed up – he was accepted, though he was barely 18.   Turned out to be a crack shot – a natural – and he volunteered for the Airborne Division.    Not long after he was really in the thick of it –  caught up in the Battle of Arnhem Sept 1944..

The history books tell of how the 1st British Airborne Division was part of  the plan to  advance into Germany’s industrial heartland.  However,  they encountered far more resistance than was expected.   A night-time evacuation of the remnants of the 1st British Airbourne Division rescued 2400 men.   Unfortunately my cousin wasn’t one of them.   He told me,

“We were holed up in what was left of a house in the outskirts of the town, when we heard the rumble of an advancing tank coming ever closer.   It stopped outside the house and swung it’s turret to face the house – we were looking down the barrel of a very big gun – that was the end of my war! “

It’s incredible to imagine that these things have happened in my life time! Anyway, there was a happy ending to the story…  When my cousin got home he visited his best pal, who he’d met in basic training  and spent most of the war with, and fell head over heels for his sister –they’ve  just celebrated 69 years of marriage!!   Now that’s a nice ending!

When I think of Remembrance Day I think of the Royal British Legion .  The Legion was set up to help those returning from the First World War. Almost a century on, they’re  still there helping Service people, Veterans, and their families. The Royal British Legion  volunteers have been out in force selling poppies  But that’s not all they do.  Gillian McKinnon from the Royal British Legion was telling me that they have funding from Cheshire East Council and are all geared up to identify and address social isolation for the elderly in the area.  They want to work with other organisations that have links to the armed services in any way –  Gillian wants people to know that the Royal British Legion  are there to support anyone in the area who may have served or are currently serving and who needs some support .   I also discovered  that my dear cousin could apply for a free ‘Care Phone’  – they’re worn on your wrist or around your neck and if they are pressed , a call goes through to a 24 hour response centre who will get help.   He’s 90 now and some days is a bit wobbly  – it would be great for him.   And it’s all free for  Service and ex-Service persons

Gillian says they always need more volunteers,

“We are really keen to encourage local people to volunteer for us, to help support local heroes.”

Volunteers are trained to be caseworkers, visitors, information volunteers , fundraisers and much more.   To find out more have a look on their website or ring  0808 802 8080

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Forum – Bob’s Blog Part 4

Bob’s Blog Part 4 – Appears first in a weekly column in Congleton Chronicle

 

Well, I’m now the proud owner of an email address Bobbearcong@cvsce.org.uk . Apparently this will open up a whole new world to me!  Bob's Blog Senior Forum

I’ll be able to do my shopping while still sitting in my front room.  Funnily enough my old front room was only a stone’s throw away from our local bargain store – otherwise known as May Brogan’s!! I have it on good authority that when May passed away she was such an icon in Congleton history, that the editor of the Chron wrote her eulogy himself, saying that it was far too important to hand it over to a reporter!   Back to shopping – I have done some –online …with  help!   I’ve ordered a much loved  book from my youth that I’d love to read again – “The Blue Book Guide to Cornwall”  Got it from www.Abebooks.co.uk  – not touting for trade here  but it seems good for the old and obscure books ( Remember a few years back – “Fly Fishing” by JR Hartley?)  Getting back to the point, we used to go to Cornwall  every Summer, so getting the book will really bring back memories.     I think it’s lovely re-visiting good times in your life.  I love getting out the photos – they’re kept in an old biscuit tin in the cupboard and everybody crowds round to see who they can recognise!

Memory is a strange thing – you can remember things so clearly from 60 years ago but forget what day it is!   So I was interested in going to the ‘Dementia Together’ event last week, and I was so impressed with the work that’s going on behind the scenes to help people who are living with alzheimers disease or dementia, or who can become forgetful or confused.    For example the staff at Crewe station have all had dementia awareness training, and there is a ‘safe’ room at the station complete with memory boxes and memorabilia – things to help someone in distress to find their bearings until a family member arrives.   I think that’s so caring!

I know that using public transport can be a bit tricky and scary if you’re feeling fragile!

But did you know that people living with alzheimers disease or dementia can apply for a ‘disability’ bus pass which ensures extra support from the driver – like  he won’t start to drive away until you are safely seated and he can see you are OK.   You can apply for these bus passes at Congleton Library.

Whatever you age, it’s good to keep the old grey matter moving – so here’s a few more ideas for keeping on keeping on…

Heathview – top of Heath Road in West health, opposite the shopping precinct on Sandbach Road, has a good selection of things going on and it’s open to any older person  who wants to join in – there’s a reading club on Tuesdays 2.00pm-3.00pm, board games Thursday 2.00pm-4.00pm and Needles and Natter on Sundays 2.00pm-4.00pm.    If you want to check it out or to book a place, give Wendy Townley a ring on 01260 281484

Phew – just not enough days in the week!!    And don’t forget if you are computer savvy you can email me at Bobbearcong@cvsce.org.uk – let me know about events or useful info and I’ll gladly pass it on.

Bob Bear signing out till next week……

Bromley Farm Wellbeing Hub Job Club Congleton

Bromley Farm wellbeing hub Congleton

Job club at Bromley Farm Wellbeing Hub every Tuesday morning, 9:30am until 12 noon. Receive help with:

  • CV writing
  • Interview Practise
  • Advice and information
  • Informal and friendly drop in service
  • Browse the net at your leisure
  • Socialise and enjoy the experience
  • Complementarity refreshments available

 

For more information contact Usman Ashiq of Plus Dane on 01260 288 422.

Senior Forum – Bob’s Blog – Bearing up! Part 2

Bob's Blog Senior Forum

‘Bob’s Blog’ appears in the Congleton Chronicle:

 

Bob is a born and bred Congletonian, and in his younger days lived in Back Park Street with his family. Bob says he’s getting on a bit now, but he’s in the know about anything worth doing or hearing about as far as older people are concerned .  Over to you Bob……

 

I love my back yard, I grow lots of things in pots and I’ve got a nice little border that catches the sun – the best this year have been the bright orange marigolds and the antirrhinums tall as you like!   But I don’t have the space or energy for growing any veg these days. – it’s a shame.

 

Then I got a phone call from  Victoria at Age Uk, and she tells me that from the beginning of October they’re taking over an allotment plot at the Hilary Avenue Allotment Association.

They want volunteers to help  – people who’ve got gardening, planting and growing skills .

Do you know I’d love that!   I could do as much as I like and not have the worry of maintaining the whole plot on my own – I’m going to give it a go, do you fancy joining me?  Victoria says to give her a ring on 01625 612958 .   Or do the email thing victoria.lockett@ageukcheshireeast.org

Yep, a bit of gardening helps  keep me ‘ in the pink! ‘   And that reminds me, I’ve had a letter from the Doc saying I can have a CVD check – cardio and diabetes.   Have to go up to the War Memorial for a blood test first (must remember no supper or brekky that day!)  but then the nurse sees me and tells me how I’m doing and the likelihood of me developing problems.   Like they sat ‘prevention is better than a cure!’   Sounds like a good idea to me.  I’ll let you know how I go on…

 

Bob Bear signing out till next week….

Senior Forum – Bob’s Blog Part 3

Bob’s Blog Part 3 – Appears first in the Congleton Chronicle.

Bob is a born and bred Congletonian, and in his younger days lived in Back Park Street with his family. Bob says he’s getting on a bit now, but he’s  in the know about anything worth doing or hearing about as far as older people are concerned .  Over to you Bob……

Bob's Blog Senior Forum

At my school we used to learn to recite poems – don’t think the kids of today do that kind of thing anymore.    But Monday mornings at St Stephens’ that’s what we did.   So it wasn’t surprising that yesterday I woke up reciting ‘Ode to Autumn’ – John Keats  – one of my favourite poems from school days.   Says it all –

Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness…..!!  And… time to put the garden to bed for the Winter!  I need to find the time to bring in the begonias and geraniums before the frost gets them! Can be a funny time of year though – I often feel a bit down when the nights draw in.  I think it’s good to have things to do and things to look forward to.  A couple of things I will be going along to.- .Wednesday afternoon’s friendship club –known as FIR –Friends In Retirement.   A Cup of tea, another cup of tea, piece of cake, a few games of bingo, a raffle, lots of chat, and sometimes a talk on something of interest to us more senior citizens.  And all for a couple of quid!  And of course wherever Joan Myatt is you will be sure of a very warm welcome.  So put it in your diary, St. Mary’s Parish Centre, West Road, 2.00-4.00pm.  Wednesdays.   Another good one is the two- course hot meal at Wellspring Church up Canal Street.   It’s called ‘Senior Diners’, the last Wednesday in the month.  You can just have the meal or you can stay for the speaker afterwards – it’s up to you.  It costs just £4 and you need to ring Arthur on 01260 275 568 to book your place

Part of my ‘Getting ready for Winter’ is to get my flu jab sorted – I’ve missed the September ones so I’m popping down on 18th November.   And don’t forget if you’re not 65 yet or not entitled to a free jab, it costs less than £10 in most pharmacies-  even some of the supermarkets do it now, so add it to your shopping list!

I had quite a bit of interest after last week about that CVD check I had (Cardio Vascular and diabetes).  So just for the record, those checks are available to anyone over 40, and you can have them every 3 years.   They only cover things like blood pressure checks, risk of heart disease and diabetes so they don’t check for cancer .   My doctor sent me an invite but not all surgeries do it that way so you might have to ask.

But don’t all rush at once….I’ll be in the soup for overloading the system!

I’ve so much to say this week – but I must pass this on today or you’ll miss it!  Our CAB (Citizen’s Advice Bureau) are marking Big Energy Saving Week with an event at the Plus Dane Bromley Farm Hub on Parnell Square, off  Woolston Avenue, on Thursday 29th October from 12-2.00pm.  People can come along to get energy saving tips and advice on switching supplier, dealing with complaints etc., there’ll also be lots of freebies give-aways.  So if like me you don’t like wasting money it’s a ‘must’

 

Bob Bear signing out till next week….

 

Senior Forum – Bobs Blog – Bearing up! Part 1

Bob's Blog Senior Forum

‘Bob’s Blog’ a weekly column in Congleton Chronicle

Introducing a new columnist – Bob Bear will be sharing his weekly Blog.

Bob is a born and bred Congletonian, and in his younger days lived in Back Park Street with his family. Bob says he’s getting on a bit now, but he’s  in the know about anything worth doing or hearing about as far as older people are concerned .  Over to you Bob……

 

Well this is a first for me …  a Blog!!!  A friend is typing this up for me as I can’t use a computer (YET!)   I suppose it’s because I know a lot of people in Congleton that I get to know what’s going on.  Only this week I got an invite to the Congleton Senior Forum –WOW !  I found out some valuable stuff.   I thought you had to be a Plus Dane tenant to get one of those alarm thingies.   But No!  Karen from Plus Dane told us about all sorts of technology that you can buy for a few pounds a week .   There’s a pad for the bed  – if you’re taken short in the night (no, it’s not what you’re thinking – stay with me) and you have a funny turn, it knows you ‘ve not got back into bed and it alerts the care team who come and check .   Isn’t that amazing?   There’s a thing for your wrist too– if you fall or trip it knows and sends an alert!  And there’s loads more.  Call Plus Dane on 0800 169 2988 and ask for a visit, and Karen says there’s no pressure to buy –beat that!!   If you are computer literate ( jargon for  if you can use a computer) you can email them at support@plusdane.co.uk.

As you can see from my pic I’m not very computer savvy!   But Alyssa who I’ve met at the Senior Forum – she’s a Community Agent – is going to come to see me and explain some basic stuff about emails.   And even better she knows someone who can get the thing out of the box and up and working –one of their volunteers, a computer expert who can fix the  technology or teach people how to use it properly. Fantastic I say!!

For older folk computer stuff can be life –changing.   Did you know you can even do your supermarket shop without leaving home!    If you’ re scared of computers and don’t want to be learning in a group with other people give Alyssa a ring on 07901787272

When I’ve done my first online shop I’ll let you know……

 

Bob Bear signing out till next week….

Congleton Partnership Executive Meeting 15.09.15

The latest Congleton Partnership Executive meeting took place recently, view the full minutes HERE.

Highlights included:

A special mention for our new Executive Members:-Peter Houldsworth ( Buglawton Community Group), Stuart Halliday & Vince Cutcliffe (Congleton Creative)

  1. Town Centre – Continue to have a change in shops but overall occupancy figures are remaining fairly static at town centre occupancy of 85% (91% without Capitol Walk) and over all Town occupancy of 87% which is 220 occupied shops and 34 empty units (some of which are in discussions). I think everyone continues to be frustrated at the lack of movement on the Princess Street/Market site and lack of any action from Clowes on Capitol Walk.

 

  1. £1 million public realm

The Town Council officers, partnership members and councillors working on the Public Realm have been chasing and waiting for an update meeting with Cheshire East. This has now been arranged for the 29 September. The previous meeting was on the 12th May and so hopefully there will be some positive progress to report

  1. Christmas

Planning is well underway for the Christmas Lights Switch on – Friday 27th November. We are advising in this week’s Chronicle for the charity stalls and craft stalls – so if you want one for your charity get the forms in quickly! We have purchased 5 new bigger lamppost lights to create more of a statement in the High Street. The partnership has agreed to sponsor some 12 ft penguins which will perform 3 x 20 minute slots at the Lights Switch on. As usual we would love help on the night (or in advance). Road Closures from 2-8.30 and event 4-7pm. If anyone is able to help for an hour or more please let me know.

4. Maps for the Town Centre

The Town Council and Congleton Partnership are working together on a project to get location and feature maps into the Town Centre car parks – and into the pedestrian area as part of the Public Realm works. We have had quotes from one company and are waiting for two others to come back. We also need some confirmation from Cheshire East that they can put into the pot and erect on their land.

5. Gas Works

I have had confirmation from Cheshire East that Balfour Beattie will not now be allowed into the Town Centre in 2015. Not sure what the programme looks like for next year. There appears to be communications issues with the company.

6.Bear Necessities

The Autumn edition will be distributed from the 12th October – with all the copy being sent off next Friday (25 November)

7. Neighbourhood

Neighbourhood Plan is getting back into gear with a Steering Group meeting on Wednesday. The second questionnaire will come out in October. We received 1400 responses from the first questionnaire – the results of which are on mycongleton.org and will feature in a double page spread in the next Bear Necessities .

8.In Bloom

Thank you to everyone who helped with the In Bloom efforts. As a town we have had lots of compliments this year. The results of the NW in Bloom competition will be known on the 30th October and the Community Pride Awards on the 15 October.

9. 150 Years Celebrations

The Town Hall first opened to the Public on the 10th July 1866 – and so next year we are looking to host a number of celebrationary events – including a High Tea for descendants of those who attended the original opening, a grand exhibition – providing that the schools are interested. Investigating whether there is a way of replicating the original intention for the shields on the outside of the Town Hall to represent significant local families, and a number of other ideas are still being explored. Anyone that wishes to help with the project or has ideas please get in contact with Jackie MacArthur .

Congleton Partnership AGM 2015

The Chair Steve Foster opened the 9th Partnership Annual General Meeting by welcoming everyone to the event and invited them all to stay to the Executive Meeting that followed on from this meeting if they so wished. Download the full minutes HERE.

Overview 2014/15.

Steve gave a brief overview of projects that had taken place / were still active across all of the subgroups. This was not an exhaustive list but a sample/range of the activities The Partnership is involved in.

Neighbourhood Plan

Get Involved Directory

New Website

Food & Drink Bike Park

Back to Back Gardens

Art Workshops

Festivals Open Space / Hidden Places etc

Apple Juice / Cider (990 / 500)

Established Senior Forum

Eco Schools (14 green flags)

Hydro Scheme (Havannah)

SLIC courses

Cenotaph Restoration

Uth Festival

Cycleway Signage

Xmas lights ( Lawton St Lights / Penguins)

Congleton Learning Centre

Commenting Team / Planning / Developers

MMW Memorial Project

 

Steve closed the AGM by reminding everyone that bringing in new volunteers remains a key challenge.

He talked about the new Partnership dedicated website and the need for all subgroups to play their part in updating information on a regular basis to help improve public awareness of The Partnership.

Succession planning was highlighted, in particularly in Steve’s case as he felt that whilst he would still be involved with The Partnership in some form another, he had served his time as Chair (4 years) and would be working on recruiting a new Chair for 2016/17.

Steve remarked on the importance of continuing to deliver projects and support of community activities that benefit Congleton. He then outlined some of the new projects planned for 2015/16. These included:-

 

Heritage/Bear/Cycle Trails

Town Centre Destination Maps / Carparks

Community Orchard –Pathway / Accessibility

Moody Street Greenspace

Mountbatten Way – Green Boulevard

Hydro Scheme – CSG

Congleton Sustainability Group Meeting Minutes 7.09.15

The latest meeting of Congleton’s sustainability group met recently, download the full meeting minutes HERE.

Highlights from the meeting included:

Neighbourhood Plan Questionnaire Results.

The results are now on mycongleton.org website the link is http://www.mycongleton.org/public/uploads/pdfs/24891436366350.pdf

Town Hall 150 years celebration 2016.

Glen advised the meeting that Congleton Town hall would be 150 years old during 2016. As part of the celebrations CSG may like to consider how we help make the Town hall more sustainable for the future. PA to add a discussion around this item to the next CSG meeting.

Eco Schools – P.Pinto.

We have 13 schools with Green Flags in Congleton & District Eco cluster, three schools at silver (W. Well, EBA, CHS) working towards GF.

  • Schools due to renew their Green Flag status in 2015 are:

Marton (expecting assessment in September), Astbury (to renew by 10 October),

Havannah, Bosley, Daven (working in the Autumn term)

  • Schools working towards their first Green Flag: Congleton High School, Eaton Bank Academy, Woodcocks’ Well Primary
  • PP assessed two schools in West Midlands for eco-schools in June

News:

Scholar Green and Saint Mary’s were in the Cheshire East annual JRO finals.  Scholar Green won with Saint Mary’s Runners Up

Astbury St Mary’s were runners up in the CE Fibre Guys competition and were invited to display their models at the Tatton Show.

Saint Mary’s Catholic Primary is one of only seven eco-schools to have won a ‘Bees needs’ award from KBT Eco-schools.

Next Meeting:-

Monday 5th October.

Astbury Mere Visitor Centre. 10.00am to 12.30pm