MONDAY CLUB

Back from her break, Jo Chambers was once again happy to welcome

those members who had come along to the club despite it being a Bank

Holiday, which was reflected in the numbers in attendance.

Before introducing the speaker she reminded everyone of the

forthcoming events; namely the change of the next meeting from Esme

Node, who is unwell, to Pamela Patterson with “Just a little Ballroom

Dancing for Fun”. Events at the Day Centre were also mentioned.

Pamela begged a moment to highly recommend the Handy Van service

which she had taken advantage of as it had been promoted at the meeting

on 12^th August.

Jo then introduced this weeks guest speaker Charlotte Bennie and her

trusted companion Whitney.

The report by member Margaret McLellan follows on “Just a Few Gadgets and Help for the Visually Impaired”:

“Although fewer in numbers on Monday this week, the members of the Monday Club thoroughly enjoyed the talk given by Charlotte Bennie on aids for sight impaired people.  From Talking Clocks and Computers to Buzzing liquid depth indicators, things we do not think about when our sight is not a problem, but for those whose sight is problematic, they must be a great help.

Charlotte was attended by the patient and beautiful Whitney her main help - her guide dog”.

Following a vote of thanks by Jo, on an inspirational talk, it was time to hand over to Pam for her Gentle Exercise session to end the morning.

If you wish further information on the Monday Club or the Self Management Programme, please contact Building Healthy Communities on 01988501111.

“Afore Ye Go”

Fiona from Neighbourhood Links has passed on information about two financial planning events Age Concern are hosting in our area:

                 Stranraer Library - Tuesday 3 September.

                 Riverside Centre NewtonStewart - Wednesday 4 September.

These free events offer professional information for us over-50s - timely advice  about making a will, power of attorney, mortgages/equity release, care options and costs, funeral plans, tax advice, living wills and advance directives.  Both events run from 9.45 am - 3pm and lunch is included.  Places are limited, so you will need to book.  Contact Fiona Marshall on 0792 0540765 or Fiona.Marshall@dumgal.gov.uk, or contact Karen for more details.

Click here to view the flyer.

Laptop Heaven

Laptop Heaven resumed after a two week break for holidays. The members of the group brought their difficulties to the table and were assisted in solving the problems. The group runs every Tuesday from 1pm to 3pm at The Day Centre Newton Stewart.

New members always welcome.

Laptop Heaven

Laptop Heaven resumed after a two week break for holidays. The members of the group brought their difficulties to the table and were assisted in solving the problems. The group runs every Tuesday from 1pm to 3pm at The Day Centre Newton Stewart.

New members always welcome.

Jills in the Community

The Jills have started back after a summer break and have been asked to be involved in two more community projects. The Community Centre in Whithorn has requested some tiling in the main room and the Management Committee at Newton Stewart Community Centre have asked the Jills to tackle the overgrown garden. This project will possibly be achieved in partnership with Addaction. Watch this space for before and after photos.

Volunteer Celebration – Macmillan Hall, Newton Stewart

With the final part of the fun size tour 2013 finishing in Port William last week, Friday was an opportunity to celebrate all the volunteers input into this successful 5 week programme.

Volunteers received Saltire Awards for their volunteering input which in total amounted to over 1000 hours across the summer. Well done to all!!

Many thanks to the funders for their support throughout the summer, The Holywood Trust, Wigtownshire Health and Wellbeing Partnership, Sainsburys, Mid Galloway Community Safety Forum and The Machars Lions Club.  Without their financial support, none of this would have been possible. 

Fun Size Tour 2013 - Port William

The final part of the Fun Size Tour of 2013 found us at Port William where 42  people braved the elements and enjoyed the activities on offer.

Another Healthy BBQ was prepared and cooked by the BHC team and was enjoyed by all.

This has been a great piece of partnership working and we hope to repeat the events next year.

A massive thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the events so successful.

Monday Club

We are fortunate to have a variety of interesting talks on our programme, and today we enjoyed hearing from two separate speakers. 

First up was Fiona Farr from the Isle of Whithorn.  Her talk “What a Good Idea,” was about simple but effective memory aids, including the use of coloured paper and stickers to organise keys, spectacles and a myriad of other household objects.  Fiona also shared what she calls ‘silly but clever’ ways to remember important information and dates. She then introduced a few simple gadgets for making life a bit easier around the home, and handed out information sheets containing handy tips and advice.  Fiona emphasised the importance of reinforcing the positive side of memory, which reflects our group’s self management philosophy of focussing on what we can do, not on what we can’t.  As she said, too often we tell ourselves we are stupid or useless if we forget things, when we should be kind to ourselves about the things we have successfully remembered.  Sound advice indeed.

Yvette Nutt was our second speaker, representing HandyVan/Small Repair and Home Support Service.  This charity offers a free service across Dumfries and Galloway to homeowners/private tenants aged 60+, or living with physical or mental health issues or domestic abuse.  Services include the supply and fitting of home security including door/window locks and smoke detectors, small repairs and household adaptions.  Yvette also described the Falls Prevention service, which provides gutter cleaning, fitting grab rails, and securing carpets and curtain rails.  Eligible clients can access this valuable service free of charge twice a year for up to two hours each time.  For more information please contact HandyVan on 0800 069 9173.

Our thanks to both speakers for informed and interesting talks, and we also had time for questions and discussions afterward, with an opportunity to share our own experiences and tips.

To finish off, ten members took part in Pam’s gentle exercise session.  Her choice of music is so inspired, and complements the activity beautifully.

All in all we managed to fit a lot into today’s meeting, and of course there was also time for chatting and catching up.  I think it’s fair to say we left feeling more informed, motivated and encouraged and looking forward to meeting again on 26 August.  Our speaker that day will be  Charlotte Bennie, talking about gadgets and tips on living with impaired vision.  

The Monday Club is open to anyone aged 50+ and meets every second Monday in Penninghame Church Hall, Newton Stewart,  from 10 am – 12 noon. For more information, please contact Karen Barbour on 01988 501111 / 0773 972 3563     or karenbarbour@nhs.net.  New members always welcome.

Fun Size Tour 2013

The Fun Size Tour “Tea in the Park” has had a further two visits to local communities. It was a fine evening in Wigtown on July 24^th where 67 people attending the event and all enjoyed the activities and healthy BBQ provided. It was a different story in Whithorn on the 31^st, where the rain fell all evening and this limited the activities to inside the community centre. The BBQ still operated from outside, Dave and Nathalie only got a little bit wet!!

Well done to all the volunteers who have assisted in these events.