Newsletter 1
Winter 2012
Message from Anna
Christmas Party
Dear all,
My name is Anna Richmond and following
Finola’s retirement I have joined the team as
the new LifeLines Manager.
We hope to see as many of you as possible at
the Christmas Party on Friday 14 December at
the Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton.
I have been pleased to meet some of you and
brieﬂy visit some LifeLines activities. I greatly
enjoyed the Sunday Strollers and Rollers walking
group where I was treated to great company
and celebration mufﬁns.
I attended a memory group volunteer
meeting and was impressed to hear all your
plans to support the memory groups and
new volunteers. I also enjoyed popping into
the games afternoon, new meditation taster
sessions, encaustic wax and the art group. I look
forward to visiting more activities when I can.
Thank you as always for volunteering with
LifeLines. We have so many wonderful activities
and important one to one support on offer due
to the skills and interests you kindly share. I
very much look forward to seeing you all at our
Christmas Party on 14th December and I hope
you enjoy the festive break.
Anna Richmond
Ofﬁce Hours
Over the festive period: The ofﬁce will be closed
from the end of Friday 21st December until
Wednesday 2nd January.
Come along and enjoy yourself with good
company and a buffet lunch. We plan to get
you in the party mood with a fun quiz and a
sing-along.
The party starts at 12 noon and ﬁnishes at
2:30pm. If you haven’t let us know you are
coming can you please do so ASAP.
Call 01273 688117 or email [email protected]
Important date:
Next volunteers meeting
We have set a date for the next LifeLines volunteers
meeting: Friday 8 February from 9:30am to 12
noon. Healthy snacks and refreshments will be
provided. We will let you know the venue and more
about the meeting after Christmas, when we will
want to know what you want to talk about.
New to LifeLines – Mike’s story
More budding artists wanted
As a newcomer, I have been made most
welcome by everyone at Lifelines, Memories
fellow volunteers and members of groups.
The weekly Wednesday morning Art class has
been ticking along nicely, but could do with
some more regular students.
‘Shadowing’ different sessions helped me to
understand how meetings were conducted
and could go. The roles of the two facilitators
became clearer as did the need to sensitively
invite everyone in on discussions. It was very
good to be able to watch and listen without
having any responsibility for how things went.
If you know anyone who might like to give Art
a try please let them know about the class on
Wednesday mornings from 10am to 12 noon.
One new member of the group had never done
any art before, having been put off at school,
and now enjoys it so much she comes along to
the ceramics class as well.
I became aware of those who were usually quiet
and a few who talked a lot, with most people
somewhere in-between. Facilitators in their
different styles had ways of making meetings
successful. I attended in ‘Shadow’ and ‘Support’
capacities. Then very recently there was a ‘Lead’
role about which I was very nervous, even with
reassurance from Linda.
The class will take a break after the session on
the 5th of December and will re-start in January
ready for 2013.
New Meditation/Relaxation
classes
It has been a delight to see and hear older
people recalling experiences and have them
valued. Listening is also impressive. There is
real enjoyment in gatherings and quite a bit
of laughter. It is clear that some members of
groups have more social contacts than others.
For all those regularly coming to meetings, they
seem very valued. That shows in people coming
along even when they are not well.
Cavan, who used to run the Old Spice group,
and then set up and ran the Men’s group, has
diversiﬁed once again and is now using his
passion and talent for Meditation to introduce
his methods to new students. In Cavan’s words:
‘Meditation is very simple and natural. All we
have to do is breathe and relax’.
Cavan ran two successful taster sessions in
November, and is hoping to run further classes
in January. Please contact the ofﬁce if you are
interested in joining him.
Memories meetings make me feel more useful
and give me much pleasure. I am so glad that I
discovered Lifelines.
Mike Ezard
Painting with an iron ..... never ..... you can’t do that!!
Oh yes we can! And make magical pictures in beautiful colours. Wax is melted on the iron and then
ironed onto shiny card and hey presto - a masterpiece is born.
Even those who say they are not artistic can create these lovely pictures easily and quickly using
this technique.
There will be another four week session in January at Patching Lodge so why not come and have a
look; or better still try it.
Katy Smith - Encaustic Wax volunteer organiser
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Computer Club News
A spot of confusion over the dates and the timing
of the ﬁrst session meant that not everyone
experienced the full course but I feel immensely
gratiﬁed that everyone that made it to the classes
has thrown themselves into the activity, whatever
their previous experience of working in clay.
Around ten people joined us for another
Computer Club live demonstration. This time it
was showcasing the enormous potential Skype
can offer to anyone with friends or relations
around the world.
Barbara shows a great eye for detail and
precision in her ﬁnely made pots and objects.
Both Jim and Sally progressed from a standing
start to make excellent slab built pots – no easy
skill - and Sylvia only managed one week but has
already succeeded in making good headway.
Pat had already completed my previous six week
course, so extended herself to embark on a more
ambitious project. She’s coped remarkably with
the challenge and produced a skilfully made
large coiled vessel. Mary too has persevered with
coiling to produce a lovely little pot.
Projected on to a large screen Judy led the
demonstration by contacting her friend in the
North of England. We had a conversation with
him while watching him in his lounge after a
long walk in the hills.
Paul took his iPad into the Patching Lodge
garden and demonstrated how these portable
devices offer ﬂexibility to the Skype system.
Live pictures and sound can be sent from
anywhere in the world to anyone with Skype on
their laptop, desktop or tablet computer, or even
their mobile smartphone!
They should all be proud of what they’ve
achieved in such a short time. I’m very proud of
them and have thoroughly enjoyed working with
them all.
Alison McGechie
www.alisonmcgechie.com
Finally, it was the “Full Monty”. Judy contacted
Barry, one of the Computer Club volunteers in
his holiday home in Cyprus. Barry showed us
outside his house on his laptop. Needless to say,
it was hot and sunny!
Having fun with clay - Pat and her Pot
The Computer Club keeps going from strength to
strength. We recently welcomed our 6th tutor,
Brian, to the fold, meaning that we can now
give 13 hours of computer lessons every week!
And we are now teaching our 50th student, with
more waiting to be seen. If you know of anyone
that would like some computer lessons, please
tell them about us!
More fun with clay!
We’re coming to the end of this, the second six
week Ceramics Course and I hope that everyone
that has come along would agree that it’s been a
lot of fun.
As before, I’ve covered the basic skills of pinching,
coiling and slab building but within that there
has been plenty of opportunity to experiment
and everyone has put their own personal spin on
working in clay.
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Leach Court knitting group gets started
I moved into Leach Court in April 2012 and chatting to Sarah, the warden, I said I had had a wool
shop for many years in Elm Grove. She was delighted, as Leach Court was going to start a knitting
and crochet group. I met Gywn and Val Kinast from the Patching Lodge group, and soon everything
was organised.
Joan Roberts and Dorothy Warburton worked very hard, sorting donated wool etc. in the right boxes
in order – so we began. We have a very cheerful morning, with refreshments, knitting scarves, baby
clothes for Trevor Mann, and learning to crochet. We have one lady, Maria, who couldn’t crochet,
had made a beautiful blanket for charity. We are very proud of her.
As yet we are a small group. Val Kinast has been a great support, and comes every month.
Hopefully we will grow, as time goes by.
Iris Baskwell
Portslade knitters
The Portslade LifeLines knitting group meet at Evelyn Court, Windlesham Close, Portslade on the
second Monday of every month from 2pm - 4pm.
We are a lively group of 12 members and enjoy the camaraderie this brings. The items we knit are
taken to the hospital by Ruth Onslow, Anne Church and June Stenning. These consist of matinee
coats, hats, gloves and bootees, sometimes in matching sets, and beautiful blankets. June also
takes the teddy bears to the ﬁre service. Anne Crouch has also been making hats for the soldiers in
Afghanistan, which are very much appreciated.
Every September we celebrate our birthday with a party, and this year we celebrated the Jubilee
with our Christmas Party in January.
Barbara Fisher
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Patching Lodge knitting group
LifeLines Dorset Gardens and Patching Lodge knitting groups are now joined by Leach Court.
We have been busy throughout the year knitting for the premature baby unit, warm gloves, hats
and scarves for our soldiers in Afghanistan and we also sent a large consignment of blankets and
warm clothing and teddies for the Communication Workers Humanitarian Aid Group, which will
hopefully keep the children they support warm this winter. A big thank you to all our knitters and
we would like to send get well wishes to June and Muriel.
Val Kinast
Dorset Gardens Knitting Group
We thought we should bring you up to date with our group.
We still have a great morning and enjoy each others company. We had 21 knitters the other Friday.
We had a good Jubilee morning, had eats, ﬂags, plates, and serviettes - Union Jack style, and we
all waved our ﬂags and sang the National Anthem to the Queen. We do work as well, still supplying
the baby unit, Fire Brigade etc. with plenty of knitted articles. We sent off to the ‘orphanage’ in May,
20 large sacks full of goodies - blankets, small, medium and single bed size, plus scarves, gloves,
hats, cardigans, jumpers etc.
We had sold some of our knitting and bought 100 pairs of boys and girls pants – all sizes,
toothbrushes and toothpaste, baby soap and wipes, ﬂannels, towels. We also bought pencils,
crayons, books, cars, teddies, rag dolls, sweets, biscuits and large packets of pasta.
As well as our ‘normal’ knits, we knitted the Royal Wedding and a nativity scene, both of them on
show in the church window. The Royal Wedding was given to the Argus and was auctioned off and
raised £100 for the Argus Appeal Fund. So as you can see we keep ourselves busy, but enjoy it also.
One lady from the group said: “Our members really enjoy the group. Sybil Rogers and June Cooke
go out of their way to make the experience most pleasant with home made cakes and other
delicious items.”
“We meet on the ﬁrst Friday of every month and the mood is so uplifting you forget your troubles
for the two hours with a wonderful group of friendly ladies.”
“We knit for the hospital and other needy causes here and abroad.”
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Sybil and June
From a member of the Rollers and
Strollers group
The ever-popular Tea Dance
After another very successful and enjoyable
Tea Dance in October, Dot and Cliff took a welldeserved break in November to celebrate Cliff’s
birthday – Happy birthday Cliff from us all!
The last day
It is the last day of the walking group
Everybody is happy
Blue skies above, bright sun
Light yellow ball in the sky
High up in the sky
I will miss coming down every Sunday
I enjoy it very much
Thank you everybody for the time I had
throughout the year
I can’t wait to come back next spring
Hurry up and be quick
In their absence, Dancing Dave Romaine,
who usually holds a Dance Class before the
Tea Dance, held a stand-alone lesson in the
Community Room at Patching Lodge.
The class was so popular and successful that
the participants asked for the lesson before the
next Tea Dance to be held in the Community
Room again!
All welcome!
Activity Partners!
Our team of volunteer Activity Partners continue
to provide 1-1 support to help people get out
and about - whether it be trips out to the local
garden centre, a walk to the local park, having
a cuppa in a local café or even going to a music
recital.
Activity Partners also work with small groups
such as the Strollers and Rollers who visit
Queens Park on Sundays (weather permitting!).
Janice Smith 11 November 2012
HealthLink
In June, funded by the Big Lunch, they organised
a fabulous picnic, in which 10 older residents
were able to take part with volunteer support.
The picnic coincided with the annual Dog Show
and everyone had a wooﬁng good time!!
HealthLink, the LifeLines scheme that provides
volunteers to take vulnerable and isolated
people to medical appointments is proving
popular.
Overall, the Activity Partners scheme is about
helping people get out and enjoy themselves.
Volunteer Silva, who has been running the
Strollers and Rollers group, explains what
volunteering with the scheme means to her:
Many people don’t have family or friends living
nearby who can help. This scheme provides vital
support to people in real need.
So far 17 appointments have been covered by
the amazing HealthLink volunteers.
“I love seeing how much they enjoy the walks;
it helps reduce their loneliness and makes
me happy too. With my health I can’t work
so it’s great that I can make a difference
volunteering.”
If becoming a HealthLink volunteer appeals to
you or if you know someone who could beneﬁt
from the service please let us know.
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And so to bed
My electric bed has arrived at last
I hope all my problems are a thing of the past
It is a little higher than I originally thought
Perhaps I’ll need to get a jump start
Well, perhaps an observation like that was a
bit strong
I hope you’ll agree that conclusion was wrong
So back to the subject of the bed once more
I’ve a few more thoughts on that
particular score
The moment of truth at last has arrived
Time for bed, now I’ve got to decide
Shall I try the Fosberry Flop?
Or is that going a bit over the top?
I really do not want to complain
It’s getting on and off the bed that causes
most pain
If I can just ﬁnd an easier way to get my
right leg over
That’s when I reckon I’ll be in clover
At last I’ve made it onto the bed
With a fair bit of difﬁculty it must be said
From a recumbent posture I located the control
The problem is getting it out from its hole
When I limp into my living room,
what do I see there?
It’s a welcoming sight, my electric armchair
I sit with my remotes, for my chair, TV, DVD,
CD and cable
Not forgetting my circulation booster remote on
my little side table
For a right-handed person with a left-handed
control
It’s the very devil getting it back in its hole
I think I’ll manage, I hope I am right
I’ll ﬁnd out for certain after tonight
A still small voice came into my head
It said “Wake up, time to get out of bed”
Drat, I was having such an interesting dream
It involved golden sands, Frank Sinatra and lots
of ice cream
I freely admit now that I am pretty old
I realise now I am battery controlled
If I am quiet and still and you wonder
what’s the matter with me
Don’t be alarmed, I may just need a
new battery.
Time for my exercises, one, two three,
one two three
Good, that’s my eyes open, now I can see
Perhaps now the remote will come into sight
I can’t remember where I parked it last night
By Winifred Pilkington
A member of the Listen, Read and Laugh group
who was inspired and encouraged to write and
share her poems by attending the group.
Now I can see it, I’d let it just dangle
I wonder how it got to that particular angle
Perhaps that will explain how my eyes
and my nose
Were on the same level as my knees
and my toes
We will publish more of Winifred’s poems on our
website, so keep checking there!
Online with LifeLines
How I got to my feet, well, that’s another story
At last now I am quite ambulatory
I must get myself all coiffured and curled
And ready to greet the outside world
The LifeLines website has been up and running
for several months now. With the latest
information about the project, it’s a great way to
ﬁnd out what’s going on. Have you had a look
yet?
But when I look in the mirror, who do I see?
Is it my mother’s image looking back at me?
No, the face is a bit like the one on TV
Is it the extra terrestrial, the one known as E.T.?
www.lifelinesbrightonhove.org.uk
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Yoga – new teacher, same
success story!
Training opportunities with
Neighbourhood Care Scheme (NCS)
What we eat – getting the balance right
NCS ofﬁce
After Janaki decided she could no longer run
Yoga sessions for us (thank you Janaki for all
you did and continue to do for LifeLines!) we
were determined to build on her success in
attracting people from far and wide to her class.
Wednesday 9 January 6pm – 8.30pm. Evening
session includes food at 6pm
Have you ever wanted to ﬁnd out more about
healthy eating, food groups and what makes a
diet balanced?
We were very lucky to ﬁnd Felice Rhiannon,
who started new classes at the end of October.
The ﬁrst class attracted 15 people, and it was a
squeeze to ﬁt them all in the Community Room!
Since then the class has continued to be very
popular, and will continue in the New Year.
Janette Smith, Community Nutrition Manager,
Brighton & Hove Food Partnership
Supporting someone with depression
– NCS ofﬁce
Dementia awareness – NCS ofﬁce
Tuesday 15 January 6pm – 8.30pm or
Thursday 17 January 10am – 12 noon
Many of us already have some experience of
dementia, be it personally, through a family
member or through the television, but few of us
feel conﬁdent that we know what the condition
actually is, and how it can change the life of the
person living with it, and their family and carers.
ession includes food at 6pm
NCS Volunteer Co-ordinators
Tuesday 29 January 2pm – 4pm or Tuesday 29
January 6pm – 8.30pm.
Leading mental health charity MIND will provide
this awareness raising session, helping us to
understand more about depression and how to
support someone with depression.
Evening session includes food at 6pm
New Silver Screen Club
Come and see Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif and Alec Guinness on
Thursday 20th December at 10.30am.
This new club plans to visit the silver screen showings at the Duke of Yorks cinema. Tickets cost
£3.50 for 60+ and includes free tea and biscuits before the ﬁlm starts.
LifeLines contact details
Postal address
Montague House, Montague Place, Brighton BN2 1JE
Telephone
01273 688117
Email
Anna [email protected]
Gwyn [email protected]
Helen [email protected]
Cathy [email protected]
Alan [email protected]
Lynne [email protected]
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