Fratton Commuity Centre Live at Home charity

 Old folks get crafty at Fratton Community Centre

ELDERLY residents area showing off their creative talents at a weekly Arts  and Crafts Session at Fratton Community Centre.

The sessions are run by the Live at Home charity which was set up by Diane Brown, 56, of Fratton, w to help elderly people feel more comfortable living in their own homes into old age.

Participants are provided with a range of art materials and can share their creative skills and talents whilst getting the chance to meet and chat. Projects have included making Christmas cards, decoupage and tea-bag folding.

Ms Brown who previously worked for Age Concern, believes that the sessions are helping people feel better about living alone: “For those that live at home, we provide a chance to chat and to share which they might not get for the rest of the week,” she said.

One recently bereaved group member said:  “These sessions really are a godsend. You can come here and share something without having to always cry. It really has been a life saver.”

The charity which is funded jointly by Portsmouth City Council and the Methodist Housing Association, originally met in members’ sitting rooms but now runs sessions three times a week . Other activities include intergenerational games, theatre visits and lectures .

Volunteers at the centre have been amazed at how some group members have regained their self confidence after long periods spent living alone. Ms Brown commented: “more than anything else we have a great laugh. You can really see people coming out of themselves.”

However there are concerns that government cuts will mean the charity has to radically reduce its service in the near future. Ms Brown said:  ”We’ve bee asked to show the council how we could operate with 25, 15 and 100% less funding. The simple answer is that we just couldn’t continue to work in anything like the way we do now.”

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Lost Loved Gardens Feature

Printed in etc magazine, Nov 2010

A Lost Loved Garden

Ralph and Linda Nichols are fast developing a reputation for their award-winning organic gardens.
Martin Elvery discovers the secret of their success

NHS workers Ralph and Linda Nichols have always had a passion for gardening, but in 2008 they began
designing gardens of their own, working with The Royal Horticultural Society and local sponsors to create a series of imaginative set-piece gardens.

This began a journey that has seen them win two RHS bronze  medals, appear live on Gardeners’ World and take their garden to the Hampton Court Flower Show in 2010.




A Lost Loved Garden



There is far more to Ralph and Linda’s gardens than winning the support of the judges. They have an organic ethos which means growing all the plants in their own nursery.“We use wild plants which mature, grow and evolve bythemselves,” Ralph explains. “This means pruning should only be
required to strengthen the plant. Our organic ethos means that no insecticides or pesticides are used which may be damaging.”

This summer they took their ‘Lost-loved garden’ design to the Hampton Court Flower Show.
“The inspiration came from photographs of neglected gardens,” says Ralph who lives with wife Linda in Waterlooville. “The purpose of the garden was to demonstrate the importance of the conservation and preservation of buildings and gardens for future generations. The plan was that the derelict house would act
as a backdrop for a garden which until recently was still cared for by – perhaps an elderly neighbour,” says Ralph.


“The garden is losing its former glory as nature begins to creep in.”The bronze medal-winning garden achieves this, dramatically evoking the nostalgia of a hidden corner of granny’s garden. “We used the kinds of plants that would be found in a derelict garden: hops, brambles, white hydrangeas, hollyhox, scabious and even nettles,” says Ralph.


“We aimed to enhance the various greens of the foliage with the pastel shades of the pink, white and blue flowers,” says Ralph. “It’s a bit like painting with plants.”


It’s obvious that Ralph and Linda have been overwhelmed by the response to their design.  “There were over 180,000 people at the show,” says Ralph excitedly. “It was amazing just spending all day talking to people about the garden.We were especially pleased when one passer-by compared our garden to the TV show Cider with Rosie.”


Their design was also singled out as one of 10 must-see gardens at theflower show by former Chelsea award-winner Andy Sturgeon.


Yet this isn’t the only highly original design that Ralph and Linda have
created. In 2009 the couple appeared live on Gardeners’ World with their ‘Something in the Air’ garden.
This was another trip down memory lane with the centrepiece of the garden – a wrought iron 1960s table and chair – surrounded by the evocative scents of lavender and thyme. Structure and height was provided by rambling roses and willow, all planted on a raised bed.

The Something in the Air Garden from the 2006 Gardener's World TV show

As part of their conservation drive the couple use only reclaimed materials in their garden designs. They are sponsored by Tiger Enterprises, a Brighton-based reclamation company which salvages building materials such as bricks, windows and floorboards and re-sells them for renovation work. “The ethos of Tiger Enterprises is similar to the environmental considerations and organic nature of our gardens,” says Ralph.
Ralph and Linda are also working with Growing Southwark, a London-based charity which aims to create gardens in deprived and built-up areas.

The husband and wife team have exciting times ahead of them as they continue to establish themselves as eminent designers. “For next year’s Hampton Court Show we are planning a church garden
based on The Beatle’s song Eleanor Rigby,” says Ralph.

They are also hoping to use reclaimed railway sleepers to create a design called ‘Beach Station,’ which evokes an end-of-the line 1950s railway station with its faded seaside charm.

Because Ralph and Linda’s gardens make use of buildings as a central feature, they have drawn an unexpected response. “We’ve been told that our gardens have provoked a lot of debate in the
RHS about what a garden actually is,” says Ralph.


But what role does Ralph think his wild nostalgic gardens can play in the modern, neat urbanised world of the south coast? “Our hopes are that more people will want to renovate their gardens in a natural way,” explains Ralph. “I would like to see local nurseries take on
garden designers so they can advise people on organic gardening.”


And maybe we could all benefit from a little untamed organic wilderness in
our busy consumer-led lives.
For more details visit http://www.lindaandralphgardening.co.uk/

Old folks bridge the generation gap

FRATTO Community centre is breaking down the generation gap with a new games project.  Elderly people from the Fratton area are teaming up with groups of youngsters including pupils from City Girls School, to play a range of modern and traditional games.

Centre co-ordinator Mary Breeze, 56 has been amazed by how willing both groups are to learn from each other: “Many of the young people have never played board games before but the oldies are having great fun on the Wii,” she said.

A firm favourite with both generations has been New-Age Curling, an indoor form of the sport which involves rolling pucks with wheels across the floor of the sports hall:  ”Its perfect for older folk as it can be played by those in wheelchairs or with very limited mobility,” said Mrs Breeze who has worked at the centre for 30 years,

The sessions which are partly funded by Portsmouth City Council, are linked to the Live-at-Home project  which aims to make it easier for elderly people to continue living in their own  properties. 

Residents say it is a welcome response to  a spate of muggings in the Fratton area which have left  elderly  residents  feeling vulnerable recently.

Injured Jockeys Fund Feature

FONTWELL racecourse on a dark, blustery November day.  The low buzz of excitement as windswept punters gather around the kiosks to place their bets for the next race, the usual mixture of the  suited-and-booted and  hard nosed regulars staking more than they might like to admit on the next horse. I’m here for an afternoon race meet in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. It’s great to see so many people attending an event  in aid of such a worthy cause and nice to see punters dropping their change into the purple buckets carried by smiley-faced volunteers.

Colin and Astrid Wilson

But amidst all the fast food vans, sponsor’s stalls and betting booths  I come across an insignificant –looking tent just off the main concourse. On closer inspection it turns out to be more important than all of the grandstands and sponsorship hoardings put together.  It’s  the home of the Injured Jockeys Fund,  the organisation that is really responsible for allowing us to enjoy horse racing.

Approaching the stand I come across, two surprisingly sprightly retired volunteers, Colin and Astrid Wilson who are selling a range of goods embossed with the fund’s logo such as calendars, bags and Christmas cards. They are enjoying themselves enthusing about the good work of the IJF to an audience of regular race-goers who wait in the rain to buy their favourite gifts..

Injured Jockey''s Fund stand

Colin’s support  for the organisation is infectious:  “We’ve been doing this for fifteen years now,” he says, “It all started when we retired. We both love going to the races and we decided we’d like to put something back in to the sport.

“People come back time and again to buy the goods because they know they are supporting such a good cause. They especially love the diaries,” he smiles.

And its clear that this is no small concern: “The fund does about £1 million turnover around the Christmas period,“ says Colin, “ it’s very well supported but what’s great about it is that its well organised so that a very high percentage of donations are actually used for good work unlike some charities which I could mention,” he grins.

Wayne Kavannagh

Mrs Wilson, 74 who looks twenty years younger, is equally enthusiastic about the work : “Its absolutely vital for the younger jockeys in particular,” she says. “We met one young man who had fallen and broken his neck during training. The fund looked after him and helped him to pass his driving test so that he could start a new life.”

Peter Toole

And it may have been a dark November day which was hard going for the jockeys but many of them took the time to sing the praises of the IJF. Wayne Kavannagh, 2006 winner of the United House Gold Cup at Ascot  said: “I had a fall last year and spent six months in a wheelchair, and went through rehabilitation at Oaksey House. I really don’t know what I’d have done without the organisation.”

And up and coming jockey Peter Toole, 22 said: ”The thing is as a jockey you need to be riding four or five races each day if you want to make a decent living from it. It’s  not as easy as many people think. If you’re injured and can’t race you’re left with no income at all. The majority of lads who are here today will have been injured and have received help from the IJF. You’ve got to remember that if you’re injured you’re easily forgotten.”

The fund was originally set up 1964 by current president John Oaksey, following the devastating accidents to Tim Brookshaw, and Paddy Farrell in the 1964 Grand National. Both were left with severe paralysis and had virtually no compensation available to them so Oaksey set up the Brookshaw-Farrell fund to provide assistance.

The IJF has since spent over £16m in helping over 1000 jockeys whose injuries have forced some of them to give up riding. Its stated aim is to provide medical, financial and pastoral care to jockeys and their spouses or dependents who have suffered through injury.

The organisation has done much work to heighten awareness of the risks of race riding resulting in the  implementation of many safety initiatives for the protection of Jockeys.

It has also created a specialist facility at Oaksey House in Lambourn, Berkshire which has accommodation for disabled jockeys as well as physiotherapy, gym facilities and specialist medical care. Plans are currently afoot to build a new facility in the north of England.

So it’s clear that despite the pomp and circumstance of racing it’s the unobtrusive presence of the IJF that really makes the sport possible, and the likes of Colin and Astrid Wilson who support it in all weathers, that the jockeys, sponsors, bookies and spectators alike owe a real debt of gratitude to.

Fans outraged by Solent Sacking

Hundreds of radio Solent fans have expressed their outrage at the sacking of producer Geoff McQueen, by delivering an online petition to the station which broadcasts across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight..

The petition was masterminded by avid Solent fan Ann Stanmore who described the BBC’s refusal to renew McQueen’s contract as a ‘disaster.’

‘listeners feel very strongly about this,’ says Mrs Stanmore, 70 of Windsor, ‘even professional people in the business feel the same way.’

Mrs Stanmore spoke of the special contribution that McQueen makes to the Paul Miller show;  ‘When you call in to the show he makes you feel very at ease, and the repartee between him and producer Paul is absolutely superb. He has a great sense of humour and it has such a different feel when he is involved in it.’

Mrs Stanmore is certainly not alone in her views; 310 people signed the petition which was delivered to the station today by Lin Gell of Southampton, a fellow fan of the show; and it seems that radio Solent has been helping to build bridges in the community. Mrs Stanmore spoke of how fans of the Paul Miller show have met each other on the show’s facebook page and have even travelled from different parts of the country to meet up for social events

There are fears that  that the refusal to extend McQueen’s contract is part of a wider cull at the BBC which is reducing the quality of programmes. ‘We seem to be getting a quicker turnover of producers at the moment and they just aren’t listening to us. We’re the ones who know what people like after all.’

The news comes just months after the announcement that BBC six music and the Asian network could soon face closure after a major strategic review was announced by the corporation.

Story as it appeared in Southern Daily Echo

Academy deal closed in Southampton

Academy deal closed in Southampton

Work will begin on the first of two major Academy building projects within the
month after the city council closed a £15m deal with construction partner
Carillion.

The Oasis Academy Mayfield in Sholing is the first of two projects in the
city worth a combined £35m.

The scheme looked set to be scrapped in July when Tory education minister
Michael Grove announced that the government was pulling the funding on the
Southampton’s  £200 million ‘building schools for the future’ programme.

However pressure from influential figures including Test Labour MP, Alan
Whitehead and Southampton’s Tory education chief, Paul Holmes, helped to salvage
government funding for the Oasis academies.

Councillor Paul Holmes, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services & Learning said:
"Less than a year after setting out to rebuild these Academies we have been
successful in securing an excellent construction partner and gaining planning
permission for an iconic school. Not only that, this project has come in on
budget

The new Oasis Academy Mayfield will boast a large central learning space that
can be adapted for a multitude of uses, including group work, exhibitions and
community use. There will also be a state-of-the-art theatre space that can be
adapted for different performances.

The building has also been designed with the environment concerns of the city in mind including solar panels and natural ventilation, which will help to reduce the carbon footprint of the school by 60
percent over its lifetime.

Aredi Pitsiaeli, Director of Business and Strategic Development at Oasis Community Learning, said: "We are delighted that following recent uncertainty, we have now got the green light to move forward.

The new building will most certainly enhance the learning experiences of each student, but will also
provide some wonderful facilities for the wider community to use. It will
definitely bring the ‘wow factor’ to all who see and use it."

As part of the Academies programme, Carillion has underlined its commitment
to learning in the Southampton area by pledging to create apprenticeships and
work placement opportunities for school pupils and adults in the area.

Carillion is also the preferred bidder for Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill on the west
of the city and is finalising its designs for this school. A planning
application for the scheme was submitted on Monday September 20th.

BLOB Images and a virtual tour/fly-through of the new Oasis Academy Mayfield,
which is due for completion by September 2012, are available to view at: http://www.oasisacademymayfield.org/.Story as it appeared in Southern Daily Echo

Pirate Pete to visit Carnegie LIbrary

A buccaneering event called  ‘Pieces of Eight’ will give children the chance to hear readings of their favourite swashbuckling tales and take part in craft activities.

The event, hosted by Library manager Tom Williams, 32 is aimed at children over the over the age of five who will get to read children’s classic Pirate Pete and make money pouches to take home.

Library manager Tom Williams, 32 said, “This summer we ran reading challenges for  90 children so we are hoping to build on that success by offering more fun activities.Pirate Pete may not be a literary classic but the children absolutely love it”

Similar events will be happening at libraries across the city as part of Pirate Week, which will help to introduce the seafaring world to hundreds of children in time for a new musical production of Treasure Island which will be showing at the New Theatre Royal between December 8 and Saturday January 1.

The new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel promises to be a swashbuckling musical adventure which will give a contemporary local twist to the classic tale. Children will meet a host of colourful character such as Billy Bones and Jim Hawkins, and in an innovative piece of castingLong  John Silver will be replaced by Tempest Silver the pirate girl.

Mr Williams would not give details on whether or not he will be donning his pirate costume for the event, but simply said, “Its not unknown for me to turn up in fancy dress.”

‘Pieces of Eight’ takes place at the Carnegie library in Fratton during half-term week.