BocRos Summer Newsletter 2011 Brothers of Charity Services

JUNE 2011

Inside this issue: COOGEE LANE, ROSCOMMON.

Coogee Lane 1 COOGEE LANE DROP-IN Coogee Lane is a very con- Computer Training CENTRE venient base that is centrally located within the town. Many Service Users from the Broth- of the Service Users work in The Hub Fashion Show 2 The Rossie Hit NYC ! ers of Charity have set up a local businesses in the town Drop-In centre in Roscommon so it is very handy hang out town called Coogee Lane. It is spot for lunch time and eve- Aoife’s Polish Experience 3 located in the prefab building nings or whenever someone ―Attack of the Edible Alien Bubbles‖ facebook School behind Cherry House which feels like some down time or Age outreach has been recently revamped a place to chill out with Rights Review Committee 4 into a funky drop in centre friends. The Services Users Film Review which will be run by the Ser- are planning to run commu- vice Users from Open Doors nity based activities in Day Service. The Service Us- Coogee Lane in the future so Speech & Language Dept 5 ers plan to use the facility as watch out for more details on Alive with the Sound of Music in Siamsa. a drop in service and for this in the future. If you are looking for a venue other events, activities and for activities or meetings, why not consider Coogee Roscommon Rural Trans- 6 meetings. It has two main Recently, Stacey Myers held a port Launch. rooms, wheelchair accessible coffee morning in Coogee Lane. Feel free to drop in any- bathroom, flat screen TV, Lane in aid of The Irish Heart time to see the place and DVD, Nintendo Wii, tea/ cof- Foundation which was a great have a coffee and chat. Please fee facilities, vending Ma- success, well done to Stacey contact Open Doors Day chine, computers with inter- and thank you to everyone Centre on 0906626057 and net access and a computer that supported it. the Service Users would be 6 with assistive technology for delighted to assist you. people with a disability who find operating a computer difficult.

SKYPE / COMPUTER TRAINING— SERVICES.

Brothers of Charity Roscommon have just completed a series of Computer/Internet/Intranet Skype Training workshops with Castlerea Services. The training took the form of Brief introdu tion to Computers & Microsoft ®Windows Operating System, Brief introduction to Internet / Internet access, Setting up email address for place of work, Training in supporting service users to set up Google E-Mail address & how to access their emails whenever they want, Training on how to access Intranet: bocros.org via internet and its contents & setting up and using SKYPE. Staff are now able to support Service Users to use email, internet, facebook & skype. Keep an eye out for this training coming to your area soon. Training is currently taking place in . Pictured above are Castlerea service staff during training session. John Feeney,in Croke Park recently, at the National League Final be- tween Roscommon and Longford. THE HUB SMOOTHIE BAR, .

The Hub Smoothie Bar in Strokestown held a Fashion Show on Friday 15th April in the Percy French Hotel. It was a great success with the proceeds from the night going to the Hub Smoothie Bar. Our models that representd the Smoothie Bar on the night were from the School Age and Adult Services and children and adults from the community. We would like to thank the following people who supported us on the night:- Anthony Beirne, Jim Mannion Insurances, Strokestown GAA Club and Percy Hanlys Spar, Calla Flo- ral Design, Blush Day Spa & Beauty Clinic, Annas Hair Salon, Angelika's Beauty Salon, Centra, McHugh's Gift Shop, Dawn til Dusk, Noel Dockery, Eithne Kelly, Annmaire Hourigan. We would also like to thank Ellen Collins who so kindly gave her time and put to- gether the powerpoint presentation and to David Pierce from Blackhole Studios who took some wonderful photos of the models on the night and all the people who helped backstage. Pictured below left to right are Sorcha Hegarty, Sarah Flynn, Francis Courtney

THE ROSSIES HIT NEW YORK CITY !

On the 29th of April 2011, I flew in Riverdale. Later on, we went with Delta Airlines to JFK airport in back to Rooney’s bar in Manhattan New York to see the Roscommon where the team were socialising. I team take on New York. I stayed got the opportunity to meet some in the New Yorker Hotel in Manhat- of the players including Donal tan which was beside the Empire Shine (my favourite player). They State Building. On the first night I were all very friendly. I also met went to Astoria in Queens to at- Fergal O’Donnell who is a very tend the GAA banquet. The next pleasant man. It was a long day day, I got the Subway up to Wood- and a very late night but definitely lawn in Yonkers. This is an Irish a day to remember. The next two neighbourhood north of Manhat- days I enjoyed seeing all the sights tan. We went to pubs called Ned of Manhattan. The highlight was Devines, JP Clarkes and McKeon’s Ground Zero as Osama Bin Laden (which is owned by a Rossie!!). I was killed the previous day so had an early night because the other was a lot of excitement down next morning was the day of the there with lots of news reporters big game. and police everywhere.Seamus Conry A bus left from our hotel and we made the journey north up to Gaelic Park in the Bronx. The sun was shining, we had a good feeling about the game. The match was played on astro-turf. They played the Star Spangled Ban- ner and Amhrain na bfhiann before the game. The final score was Roscommon 3-21 New York 1-11. We were delighted with the win. There was a huge crowd at the game and the atmosphere was great. Castlerea man Donal Ward, pic below left, won man of the match. After the game we went to Terry Connaughton’s Steakhouse Aoife Hegarty Experince in Poland 2011

Monday 2 May I left the house at 2.45 a.m. The bus left the VEC centre at 3.00am. When I arrived at Dublin airport at 5.00 a.m. I checked in and then had something to eat. Then I got on the plane in time for it to leave Dublin at 7:00 a.m. When I arrived at the hotel I checked into my room. We went for lunch and then relaxed. After we met our guide he took us on a walking tour around Krakow. I saw two churches and I saw another church where they had chains where they used to punish peo- ple for doing wrong. I also saw where the man played the trumpet in different directions. It was an interesting experience. Tuesday 3May This was the day I visited the Auschwitz concentration camp. I saw photos of Jews who were brought from their homes to Auschwitz in Poland. I also saw photos of people with no hair on their heads because it was shaved off them. I also saw where they brought the Jews by train to the death camp, where they were sent to the gas chamber to be killed straight away. Then I saw where the house had bad conditions. Then in the next stage I saw things belonging to the people. For example, I saw two tons of hair, shoes and cases and other things belonging to the Jews in the camp. Then I saw where they used to put wooden planks on the windows so that they couldn't see what was happening outside the buildings. Then I saw a wall which is the wall of death where they used to use guns to kill the Jews . It was an experience that I won't forget. I will always remember that day of that visit to the death camp. Wednesday 4 May We also saw of sculptures of people made from salt. Then I saw a church which was made of salt like for example the lights and some of the stairs where made of salt. The floor looked like marble, because it was shiny. I walked 40 flights of stairs. When I got to the next level I heard lovely music played. I had to answer a few in order to get the lift back up to the top. It was a very good ex- perience. We also went to the Jewish quarter where I saw the wall that surrounded the building where they took the Jewish people from their homes and placed them into death camps. I saw the graves where the Jewish people are buried. The men had to wear red hats so that they can't see the back of their heads. It was an interesting tour. Thursday 5 May I went to visit Schindler's factory. Where Schindler saved 1,200 Jewish people by giving them jobs. That meant that they weren't sent to their death . He was a very brave man to do that for the Jews. I saw photos of the Jews in the war. It was an interesting ex- perience. After that I had free time to shop. I bought myself a new top and a pair of socks. Then I went back to the hotel to get ready for the night out. I went to a restaurant where I had a two course meal and when I was eating my dinner there was a concert. I enjoyed the meal and the music very much. After that I went to an Irish pub and had a few drinks with my friends from the VEC. Then we went back to the hotel and sat at the bar for a few minutes. We had great fun that night. Home tomorrow !

School Age Outreach Update

A school age group recently participated in making a stop-motion animation "Attack of the Edible Alien Bubbles", with David Pierce at Black Hole Studio, Frenchpark. The group devised their own story and set about creating all the characters and sets they needed. As stop-motion relies on taking lots of photo- graphs to document the movement in the piece, participants were offered the opportunity to learn a lot more about digital photography, lighting, and all the technology that goes with creating a short movie. They also created their own sound affects to enhance the production. You can see the results of all the hard work by looking at the link on http://www.youtube.com/creativenetworkunder "aero bubbles". Use the same link to check out "The Nativity" made by another school age group for christmas 2010.

June 21, 2011 FILM REVIEW: “THE KING’S SPEECH” By James Conway

I recently went to see this movie and enjoyed it immensely. It tells the story of George IV’s struggle with public speaking. The title is a reference to the king’s 1939 war declaration speech, and also to a book on the subject, called: The King’s Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy.

Following his brother’s abdication in 1936, King George VI (played by Colin Firth), who had previously been Duke of York, suddenly finds himself in charge of the British monarchy. With a severe speech impediment, the king has a huge difficulty with his public speeches causing him serious irritation even before his appointment to the throne. Since 1926, he had been in contact with Australian-born speech therapist Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush), with the aim of solving his speech trouble.

In this movie, released in January 2011, the king and his interactions with his speech thera- pist are described in detail. The king’s wife, who makes frequent appearances in the movie, is played by Helena Bonham-Carter. The movie storyline begins in 1924 with the opening of the Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium in London, where the Duke of York makes a broadcast, and continues through the Duke of York’s earliest communications with Lionel Logue in 1926, and King Edward VIII’s abdication in December 1936. It then describes King George VI’s coronation in June 1937, and ends with King George VI’s notable speech on the BBC Home Service on the declaration of the Second World War in September 1939. This film is a must see for anyone interested in this period in history. It was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won four, all in major categories: Best Picture, Best Director for Tom Hooper, Best Actor for Firth and Best Original Screenplay for David Seidler. It is now available on DVD. Speech & Language Dept.

MUSIC IN SIAMSA, E.C.S. , FRENCHPARK During May and June, Siamsa was alive with the “Sound of Music” every Wednesday. Rachel and Mandie, from the Creativity Mill in Castlerea visited Siamsa to carry out Kindermusik Lessons. The session lasts for 30 minutes, for a duration of 5 weeks. Both staff and children loved these music sessions. Kindermusik is an International Programme of Music and movement for children and their families. Kindermusik includes listening, singing, dancing, games, stories and playing instruments. The course covers 5 themes—Beats & Rhythm, Musical concepts and contrasts, the Voice, Instrumental families & ensemble. WEEKLY BUSES TO YOUR TOWN Boyle, Carrick on Shannon, , Castlerea, Longford and Roscommon* RRT pilot summer travel service. Five Roscommon Rural Transport (RRT) services have been targeted for a pilot programme to encourage people to use the local public transport in their areas. The new summer bus services will operate weekly from late June to the end of August.

The areas served are:BALLAGHADERREEN Cloontia - Cloonmna - Cloonlumney -Hawkford - Ardkill Kiltimaine - Lisacul - Curraghard - Cloontowart - Loughglynn - Moyne - Buckhill - Lisdrumneill X Frenchpark - Mullan - Banada

CARRICK BOYLE Ardcarne Parish - Boyle on Thursdays - Altoghil - Strandnooan - Greaghnafarna - - Ardcarne - Drumshanbo - Leitrim Village Aughrim - Dangan - - Kiltoghert - Jamestown – Drumsna

CASTLEREA Druninagh - Loughglynn - Demesne - Cloonbunny - Ballyglass East - Eden Mullaghashee - Leitrim - Cloonfinglas - Lisanny – Cloonarragh

LONGFORD Route 1: Tully - Glen - Legan - Lagan - Ballykilcline - Knockhall - Kon – Tiki Cross - Rooskey Route 2: Tully - Ruane - Ballymoylan - Cullaghmore - Moher - Slatta Slattamore - Cloonshannagh - Clonfad - Derrymoylan - New Rooskey

ROSCOMMON Creemully - Donamon - Kilbegnet - Creggs - Runabracken - Ballymacurly - Runamote - Cloverhill Jamestown (four roads) - - Rahara -

More details of the summer services are available on Facebook under ―Roscommon Transport‖ For further information please contact: Dick Hinchy Roscommon Rural Transport – 0879002752 Howard Preston Roscommon Co. For a Development Officer, 087 9954993

LEAN AR AGHAIDH. Handbag Heaven !

Easter Saturday was a hive of excitement in Gleeson’s Town house Roscommon as the ―Friends of Lean Ar Aghaidh‖ were hosting Handbag Heaven. This was a sale of pre owned handbags and jewellery that was generously donated. Bargains galore were available and everyone went home happy with their bargains. Many celebrities donated bags such as Philomena Lynott, Lisa Duffy, Mary Kennedy, Mary O’Rourke and many more. Philomena Lynott’s handbag did not reach the reserve price in the auction and was not sold. Philomena has said that she would like the bag to be raffled and that she would love it to be kept within the county. We still have some more bags to sell and we will have another handbag sale in the au- tumn.Watch this space………..

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