January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s Promoting employment in Enfield Enfield Council has a range of projects, including a pop-up university, to help increase the employment rate in the borough he number of over 50s in Enfield who are long-term Tony Watts, Forum Secretary, pointed out that more and Tunemployed has fallen to its lowest level since March more jobs require people to apply online. “This not only 2009, according to the Labour Market Bulletin for Enfield requires the relevant computer skills, it also means that the Local Authority, Sept 2014. application will be judged initially on the inclusion of certain While this is obviously good news, unemployment rates in buzz words specified for that particular job and people have general in Enfield (8.5%) are higher than both the London to understand how to ‘play the game’.” (7.4%) and the national (6.8%) average. The council has identified certain sectors as having a So what is Enfield Council doing to try and increase the good potential for growth in the borough, including food number of employed – both among the over 50s and the manufacturing, health and social care, construction, logistics, population in general? biomedical and green projects. Brimsdown is the second largest industrial estate in London after Park Royal. The Forum invited Anna Loughlin, Acting Head of Business and Economic Development at Enfield Council, to talk about Ms Loughlin says the Council works with a range of employment at a recent meeting. organisations, colleges and voluntary groups to help people gain work or become self-employed as well as ensure people She explained that the council has four strategic ambitions: stay in work and increase their skills. • Help people to access and sustain employment She is especially excited about the plan to host a pop-up • Support local businesses to recruit local people temporary university from April-June 2015 in conjunction with • Help people to increase their skills and qualifications to Birkbeck, University of London. progress in work • Increase inward investment to the borough and number of “We plan to take over an empty shop in the heart of Enfield jobs available Town and run a wide range of activities including taster sessions, evening classes and talks aimed at helping people One initiative specifically aimed at the over 50s is the find ways to improve their skills and experience in both presence of a council officer at our regular Monday morning vocational and professional fields.” sessions at the Dugdale Centre (see ad on page 9). The project has run very successfully in other boroughs and “Lorna Clark or one of her colleagues talks to people about will require volunteers and helpers to ensure it achieves their skills, what sort of work they are looking for and what maximum impact, so watch out for further publicity about it. tools they need to get work,” explained Ms Loughlin. “The jobs market is changing all the time and, for instance, the Ms Loughlin also suggested that people could visit: structure and presentation of CVs are very different now www.tradingtimes.org.uk which seeks to link experienced older than when today’s older people first looked for work.” people to local job opportunities. Forum Meetings not to be missed Happy New Note all meetings are at 10am for 10.30 start Thursday 8 January 2015 (at Millfield House) Year to all our The Regeneration of Enfield: Sharon Strutt, Head of Enfield’s Neighbourhood Regeneration team, will outline the Council’s regeneration areas and its major plans to deliver growth within Readers. Enfield. Tuesday 20 January 2015 (at Southgate Beaumont) Dr Tim Ridge will talk about complementary therapies and the work of the charity, Enfield Centre for Natural Health,which promotes integration of therapies into the NHS. PLEASE NOTE Tuesday 27 January 2015 (at the Civic Centre) The Forum’s Office will be closed Council Leader Doug Taylor & Andrew Stafford (Cabinet member responsible for finance) and Isabel Brittain (Asst. from 4pm Friday 19 December and Finance Director) discuss the Council’s budget proposals for 2015/16 and seek Forum members’ views. will reopen on Monday 5 January For full details of all meetings see page 15 2015.
RegisteredRegistered charity charity number number 1122859 1122859 www.enfieldover50sforum.org.uk www.enfieldover50sforum.org.uk President: Monty Meth President: Monty Meth January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s Jan’s Journal Happy New Year to all our members.
Feed the Children - Tanzania All that Jazz ovember seems a long way off now but the presentation given by The autumn of 2014 was a jazzed NDavid Smith at our Millfield meeting was memorable. A few years up time for the Forum, with three back, David, a former film maker, was invited at the age of 60, to set separate performances from up a branch of Feed the Children in Tanzania. Altered Harmonies (previously JR Tanzania, a fantastically beautiful Jazz) – two at Millfield Theatre’s country, home to Mount Kilimanjaro, Bar and Kitchen area and the is also one of the poorest parts of third at our Jazz and Jacket event Africa. Sadly 2.5 million Tanzania in November. The band played children under the age of 5 are mellow jazz, latin rhythms with malnourished, over 1 million are HIV a touch of funk and gospel, all positive and 65,000 babies are born adding up to hours of relaxed HIV positive. enjoyment for our members. Altered Harmonies’ playing at Millfield Schoolchildren are equally badly Thanks to them and to the 75 Theatre’s bar and kitchen area on Friday affected with 45% anaemic and members who attended. 14th November 2014 30% deficient in vitamin A leading to Rural housing in Tansania blindness and ultimately death. Feeling the cold this Winter? Against this backdrop, David described a community of easy going We will be holding a Forum Winter Fair on Friday 20 February people; Christians and Muslims living side by side and extremely well at Enfield County School for Girls in the main Hall. It is all behaved, hard-working children with a joy for living. about Information, Advice and Activities. Come along to find David’s team provided food for schoolchildren on a participatory out more about the wide range of groups and Forum affiliated model, meaning that parents and volunteers ran the programme and associations in Enfield. children were charged a small amount for the Find out about ways of food. keeping yourself and your They also addressed house warm in winter. Attend some health issues a workshop to help you – in particular getting maximise your income or free medication for to learn about dealing with worms. They also depression and other health provided some sports issues. See the ad on page equipment and 7 for more details. This is a facilities for disabled Staying healthy in winter event www.feedthechildren.org/country/tanzania/ follow up to the Older Peoples children. International Day held at the Arts Zone in Edmonton. Again Where schools had land they were encouraged to grow crops, the event is being sponsored by British Gas and Enfield providing them not only with food but with a small income from Community Action Partnership you will be able to learn more the surplus. By the time David moved on after three years, 37,000 about their Free loft and cavity wall insulation on offer for all. children were being provided with school food and due to the participatory model, the volunteers were able to continue running the Don’t forget to ring the office to put your name down for a programme after David left. An inspiration to us all. programme. ( A full report on David’s presentation is available Jan Oliver from the Forum Office – 0208 807 2076). Office and Development Manager
WEA New Year VOLUNTEERS FOR NORTH MIDDLESEX highlight LEAGUE OF FRIENDS NEW SHOP Saturday January 31, 2015, 10am-12.15 The League of Friends at North Middlesex Hospital ‘Here’s Looking at You, Kid’ are opening a new shop on the ground floor selling Celebrating the 100th birthday of Ingrid Bergman with a review of her greatest films all kinds of bric a brac etc to raise money for the from Intermezzo to Autumn Sonata, Hitchock to hospital. We are looking for volunteers for 3/4 Rossellini, For Whom The Bell Tolls to Murder on hours a day. Couples are welcome to apply. Some the Orient Express … retail experience could be useful but not essential. An illustrated talk by Ruth Tosha Mulandi Enfield Baptist Church, Cecil Road, Enfield Town If you are interested and would like to start the Refreshments will be served. application process please contact, Jean Chappell Contact: Norma Chapman, 0208 882 0615 or Shirley Sandford, email [email protected] 0208 882 0207. Tickets £8 Workers’ Educational Association, Enfield and Southgate Branch Tuesday and Thursday 9.30am to 3.30pm.”
2 January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s Make 2015 a year to remember You’ll know the old saying: ‘Another day; What message does this send out to the next generation struggling to another dollar’. Well, here we are entering make headway? Do you think we have got our priorities right when we 2015 and I reckon the same can be said of are supposed to have cleaned up the banks after they needed £150 another new year. A fresh start, another set billion of taxpayers’ money from across the world to keep them afloat, while people endured six years of economic recession and austerity? of opportunities and challenges – and some Just when we thought we were on the road to recovery, the warning old ones too that still need to be dealt with. lights are said to be flashing again on the global economic dashboard e moved into Enfield back in 1962 the same year as American and the Financial Times in its main editorial on 11 November said: Wcountry singer Wynn Stewart released his single: ‘Another ‘None of the major parties has come close to setting out an answer day, another dollar; that’s what I’m working for today. Another day, to Britain’s fiscal dilemma. At the very least, they should come clean another dollar; sure can’t buy my blues away’.So the start of another with voters about the nature of the questions that need answering’. New Year is a good time for me to reflect on these last 52 years in So, if 2015 is really going to be a landmark year – an agenda Enfield and, more importantly, to think about what lies ahead for our setting year for the next generation – I’d ask the next government children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren – and similar whether they can ignore the largely unreported findings of the thoughts, I’ve no doubt, will be crossing the minds of us all at this Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the world has just special time of year. Altered Harmonies’ playing at Millfield 16 years to avoid a carbon emissions calamity. In just over four months time we’ll be having a general election and Theatre’s bar and kitchen area on Friday Now, in case you feel I’m straying into forbidden territory, can I say I’d like to think it will set the agenda for the next decade or more, 14th November 2014 that from the day we became the Over 50s Forum we’ve always said so making this a year to remember. An election year that will set the we are ‘non-party political’ – not ‘non-political’. scene for the kind of country we want our offspring to grow up in and enjoy, just as so many of my generation have experienced. The difference is that as a Forum we do not support any one political Full employment, pay rises every year, the chance of owning your own party, but we reserve the right to comment on matters that are house – contrast this with the prospects facing many young people deemed to be political, because it is politicians and governments and young families today. Imagine what it must feel like working on a that make the policies we are concerned with. Whether this be on zero hours contract, not knowing how much income you will have this pensions, or the health service, or universal benefits such as the bus week, next week. No sick pay, no holiday pay, no company pension to pass and winter fuel allowances, free prescription charges and free look forward to. TV licences for the over 75s. A recent survey by the insurer LV revealed that young people expect And it is local government – our councillors – that decide on a vast to have as many as nine jobs over their working life – twice as many array of services in Enfield ranging from care for the elderly and as their grandparents. The ‘jobs for life’ concept has become virtually people with disabilities and mental health problems, to libraries and extinct – and they can expect to work well into their 70s. leisure centres; from housing the homeless to repairing roads and The Trades Union Congress claims that only one in every 40 new jobs footpaths – all matters of concern to the older people we seek to created since the recession began over five years ago is for a full- represent. time employee – most new jobs have been part-time or for the self- Elsewhere in this Newsletter you will see how we have had a very employed. While the older generation bemoan the low income currently friendly and productive dialogue with Enfield’s three MPs and we earned from our savings, young families fear an increase in the very are now having the same discussion with the council on its 2015- same interest rates would see them struggle with mortgage payments. 16 budget. All of them regard the Forum as an important non-party I suppose there have always been scandals to rock our confidence, political voice of older people in this borough and so I hope this but I can’t recall the Daily Mail ever running a front page headline understanding will continue during the years ahead, because there is like ‘Why aren’t these crooked bankers in jail’ when the Financial still so much to do if our hopes that the next generation will do better Conduct Authority merely fined five banks £2.6 billion for driving than us is going to be achieved. down the value of the pound against the dollar and rigging the foreign exchange market against not just the big multinationals, but the likes Monty Meth of you and me.
Enfield Over 50s Forum Council cuts are coming REGGAE DANCE NIGHT – But where and when? Having saved £75 million in the last four years (during which there has been no increase in council tax), Enfield Council, faced with a 25% cut in government grants, now has to make cuts of another £80million in the next four years. FRIDAY 23RD JANUARY 8.00 – 10.30pm You can have your say at the special budget consultation At All Saints Church Hall, Church Street, Edmonton, N9 9AT with Council leaders and the Forum. Tuesday 27 January 10am at the Civic Centre, Silver Street with Council COME ALONG AND DANCE OFF THAT CHRISTMAS STODGE!!! leader Doug Taylor, Doug Stafford, Cabinet member for Tickets £3 – please bring your own alcohol. Soft drinks provided. finance and Isabel Brittain, assistant director of finance. Telephone the Forum Office 020 8807 2076 to book your ticket. This is the chance to have your say on The last reggae evening was a sell-out so early booking is advisable rather than being disappointed on the door. the 2015/16 council budget
3 January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s State pension is a right – not a benefit The Department of Work and Pensions concedes that it needs to consider the tone and wording it uses when referring to the state pension
e have always argued that the State retirement pension While this produces a £2.85 a week increase on a full state Wis a right earned after a lifetime of work, paying pension, it will be £1.75 for many women who receive a national insurance and income tax – and not a welfare pension based on their husband’s contributions. The state benefit paid at the discretion of government whatever its second pension and many occupational pension schemes political complexion. will also only go up in 2015 by the CPI figure – not by 2.3% So it was good to see the Daily Telegraph reporting (29 if the Retail Prices Index (RPI) had not been scrapped by the October 2014) Minister of Pensions Steve Webb as saying government. that people earn their state pension throughout their Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the working lives by paying their national insurance contributions average wage for full-time staff went up in the last financial and feel “stigmatised” by the idea they are claiming benefits. year to £518 a week – just £1 more than in 2012/13. After The Daily Telegraph said that the Department of Work and allowing for inflation, real-term earnings fell by 1.6%. Pensions has conceded that it needs to consider the “tone and wording” it uses when discussing the state pension. It That 25p ‘bonus’ at 80 suggested that in future it would stop referring to the state The derisory extra 25p a week now paid to pensioners on pension as a benefit in documents. reaching the age of 80 will not be paid to people reaching The state pension is something that elderly people feel they state pension age on 6 April 2016 or later and so qualifying have “built up entitlement to” by working, the Government for the new single tier pension. admitted in a report. Mr Webb went on to say: “The law Existing pensioners will not get the new deal and will get refers to the state pension as a benefit and has done so the same 25p ‘bonus’ introduced in 1971 by the Heath since the war. As our research shows it drives pensioners up government when the state pension was £6 a week and the wall if you talk about claiming a benefit rather than the it has never been increased to keep pace with 43 years’ state pension. inflation, although the state pension is now £113.10 a “Absolutely rightly, it is yours by right, you have paid your week. national insurance contributions. There’s a certain amount In 1971, that 25p would have bought you ten second class of stigma about claiming benefits. When people draw their stamps. Now it won’t buy you half the cost of a first class state pension that’s NOT how they think of it.” stamp. But while the next generation of pensioners qualify Pension rises in April for the much-boosted single tier payment that excludes the Thanks to the triple lock, if you qualify for the full basic state 25p, it seems that existing pensioners will get it till they die. retirement pension you’ll be £2.85 a week better off come April 2015. Based on the inflation figure in September 2014, If it had kept pace with rising prices and earnings that which showed a Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of 1.2%, 25p would now be worth about £4.80 a week. The Forum earnings increased by just 0.9% which means April’s rise has complained to pensions ministers in successive will be linked to 2.5% (the guaranteed minimum put in place governments for years about their failure to raise the under the triple lock). amount in line with inflation, to no avail.
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4 January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s Local MPs support universal benefits NPC Pensioners’ The three local Enfield MPs have pledged support for the principle of universal benefits after meeting Manifesto with a delegation of Forum members The National Pensioners Convention launched its The principle of universal benefits – benefits paid to all Pensioners’ Manifesto with a packed meeting in a room and not means-tested – is one of the essential elements in in the House of Commons on 5 November. maintaining living standards for pensioners today and in the As well as encouraging voters to lobby their MPs about future. pensioners’ concerns, the NPC has issued a five point manifesto: “We need to fight now to keep universal benefits such as bus passes, TV licences for over 75s, free prescriptions and the • A basic state pension for all set above the poverty winter fuel payments, as once this principle is lost, future level of £175 a week pensioners will never get it back,” says Monty Meth, Forum • Increases in pension be linked to the best of RPI, CPI president. earnings or 2.5% “Apart from anything else, the cost of administration would • Maintain universal benefits without means-testing outweigh the savings made because there are only a small • A National Health and Care Service free at the point number of pensioners with incomes high enough to make of use and funded through general taxation them ineligible for these universal payments.” • A legally binding Dignity Code to improve the quality About 20 Forum members travelled to the House of Commons of care to see our three local MPs in private meeting rooms off the historic Westminster Hall and lobby them about universal benefits – and various other topics. They were there on 5 November 2014, the launch day for a nationwide campaign organised by the National Pensioners Convention. The group first spoke toAndy Love, MP for Edmonton (Labour) and then to David Burrowes, MP for Enfield Southgate, and Nick De Bois, MP for Enfield North (both Conservative). Andy Love reassured the delegation that he was committed to supporting the principle of universal benefits despite some support in the Labour Party for taking the winter fuel payment from the 5% most affluent pensioners. “I agreed to pursue all options in Parliament, including lobbying the front bench and the Parliamentary Labour Party to drop the proposal regarding the winter fuel payment and to agree a clear statement of support for the principle Forum delegation at Westminster on their way to of universal benefit,” he stated. meet the Borough’s three Members of Parliament Nick De Bois said the Chancellor George Osborne’s instincts were not to look at pensioners first when seeking to make savings. “My party pledged at the last election to protect universal benefits for pensioners and that’s exactly happened during this parliament. I have no doubt that this policy should be continued into the next parliament. I hope that it will be once again be a centre piece of the Conservative Party manifesto for the next General Election. From left: Forum Chair John Ball, Secretary Tony Watts, I for one will continue to support the case for this policy.” Andy Love MP and Executive Member Joan Stephenson David Burrowes said universal benefits should continue to be protected for pensioners who have worked hard, saved hard and done the right thing. “I am committed to supporting universal benefits for pensioners and will do what I can to make my party’s manifesto clear on this issue.”
Forum members joined with the National Pensioners Convention in the lobby to the House of Commons on 5 November and meetings with our Enfield MPs Monty Meth, Forum President talking to MPs David Burrowes (left) and Nick De Bois
5 Jan/FebJanuary/February 2013 2015 EnfieldEnfield OverOver 50s 50s Solicitor Michael Stennett tells us: Winter Deaths What you need to know about care home fees espite last winter being exceptionally mild - the average Dtemperature was nearly double the norm - 15,900 A number of clients have come to us worried about their people aged 65 and over - out of a total 18, 200 - still died own care needs or those of their loved ones. How to unnecessarily because they lived in cold homes and suffered ensure that there is enough to cover care and some left for from a cold-related illness such as the ’flu, heart attacks and beneficiaries tends to be the biggest concerns. strokes. Here is a list of the issues that need to be considered: Although the 2013/14 “excess winter deaths” figures for 1. Do you have a will and if so, is it up to date? Does the England and Wales released on November 28 were 42% lower will cover the possibility of either you or a beneficiary than the previous winter it still means that over the last ten years a staggering quarter of a million older people have died needing care in the future? from the cold. It is estimated that some 8,000 people die from 2. Do you have a power of attorney allowing someone you flu related illnesses, so remember you can get the flu jab from trust to manage your affairs should you need care? If your GP until January 28. you do not it is more difficult for someone to be your While we won’t know last winter’s Enfield figures for another advocate when you need help. year, we do know that in the 2012/13 winter, 150 older people 3. If you are funding your own care, have you considered in the Borough died from cold-related illnesses and in the applying to the Local Authority for a financial 2011/12 winter 170 over 65s died. assessment? It costs nothing and you may be paying for The Forum’s Winter Fair on February 20 following our October your care when you should not be. It is not uncommon Beat the Winter Cold - Beat the Winter Flu event are part of for Local Authorities to incorrectly calculate the value of our constant campaign to cut many winter deaths that are assets. avoidable. 4. Do you or someone you know have a nursing health need that is complex, intense or unpredictable? If so, the full cost of the care should be met by the NHS. It costs nothing to ask the NHS to carry out a continuing healthcare assessment. 5. Are your savings and deposits getting government protection through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so no money is vulnerable in the event of another Credit Crunch? 6. Are you minimising the amount of tax that needs paying? With care costs running at around £45,000 to £60,000 a year in the South East a lot of tax can be paid unnecessarily on the costs. This means you may need another £15,000-£20,000 to pay the taxman if you haven’t planned carefully. 7. Again with regards to your savings, are you getting the best rates of return on your money? Even if this is simply a few percentage points per annum, by utilising 3-5 year deposits it will protect the money from fees and inflation. 8. Look at a Care Needs Annuity? Not appropriate in all cases, but it should be considered in many. For a fixed amount of money this will guarantee to produce an amount up to the full care fees tax free. In many cases this isn’t suitable but it can be a good value option to protect the rest of the family’s assets. Most important seek professional advice at an early stage so you have the correct information to make an informed choice. At Stennett Solicitors we specialise in care fees advice. We Disclaimer: This newsletter is for general information. hold a free advice clinic on the first Wednesday in every You are urged to seek competent professional advice month at our office in Southgate. before doing anything based on its contents. For more information call Michael Stennett on The Forum takes no responsibility for any of the services provided by any advertisement in this newsletter. 020 8920 3190.
6 Jan/FebJanuary/February 2013 2015 EnfieldEnfield OverOver 50s 50s Which? reports on hearing aids: Enfield Over 50s Forum They’re free from the NHS while the private sector charges £500 to over £5,000 Winter Fair lack of price transparency in the hearing care market Ameans many people buying hearing aids are not sure what constitutes a fair price, says consumer watchdog Which?. It found the average cost paid by people they surveyed was £2,523.The consumer’s champion says there are big differences between private providers and there is some Friday 20 February evidence of upselling – people being encouraged to buy more expensive aids – and there’s a general gripe that people At Enfield County Upper School, Holly Walk, aren’t sure what they should be paying. EN2 6QG Which? ran a survey among 1,215 of its members and found that Hidden Hearing had a customer score of 62%, (Opposite the Civic Centre) Specsavers 68%, Amplifon 69%, Boots 79% and local independents 84%. • Advice on keeping warm Although the majority of Which? members have NHS hearing • Clubs and hobbies in Enfield aids their survey did not cover the NHS audiology services • Advice on health issues and moderate such as those at Chase Farm Hospital which provides free depression high-tech digital hearing aids manufactured by Siemens. • Maximize your income (CAB advisor) The cheapest private hearing aids, says Which?, came from • Advice to keep you safe at home Specsavers at £1, 560 and the dearest supplier was Hidden • Exercise sessions Hearing at £3,228, although Which? claims it heard of prices • Bring your laptop, tablet or phone for being as high as £14,000!! an IT drop-in advice Which? estimates there are 4 million people in the UK • Dancing, keep fit, art and floristry needing a hearing aid but don’t know it – and those who are workshops losing their hearing typically wait ten years before seeking help. So if you often ask your spouse or partner to turn up Please ring the office for a programme the telly or radio, ask people to repeat what they saying, think Free lunch for those attending other people are mumbling, have trouble hearing on the telephone, find conversation difficult to have in a restaurant – Tel: 020 8807 2076 you may well be losing your hearing. or email [email protected]. All you need do is see your GP and a simple test will check Supported by British Gas and the Enfield if it’s wax in the ears or an ear infection. More likely if the GP thinks you are losing your hearing, you’ll need a hearing Community Action Partnership test and you can ask to be referred to Chase Farm where satisfaction among users is in our experience higher than with any private sector supplier. Raffle Prizes wanted: Louise Overton, an independent audiologist writing in Which? Raffle prizes are a small but important part of the says: “The longer you leave your hearing problem before you Forum’s income. So when you have a New Year sort do anything, the harder it is for your brain to adjust…..… through your surplus “pressies” please remember the the good news though is that good technology can really Forum. Call 020 8807 2076 if you want us to collect. enhance your hearing.”
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7 January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s Prescription medicines – cutting the waste Value your local pharmacy Dr Mo Abedi, Chair of NHS Enfield Clinical Commissioning nfield residents are being approached by a private company Group, explains how we can all help to reduce the problem Ebased in Leeds called Pharmacy2U offering to supply their of wasted or unused medicines prescription medicines without leaving home. Sounds inviting: asted or unused medicine is a serious and growing you don’t have to go out in the cold weather, find a spot to park Wproblem within the NHS. In Enfield alone, it is estimated the car or, in some cases, wait for a bus. that well over £500,000 each year is wasted on medicines Local pharmacies tell us that many older people receiving these which are either not being taken properly or over ordered and unsolicited, personally addressed letters, are confused into stockpiled. thinking the mailshot is being sent out by their surgeries (which On an individual basis this may not seem significant, the odd are named) or by that pharmacist. And some who have signed wasted packet of paracetamol, cholesterol tablets, tub of are now trying to rescind it. cream or inhalers, but collectively this all adds up very quickly. So who are these faceless people offering this supposedly new Even if medicines have not been opened, the law requires service? How did they obtain our names and addresses and the that once they have been prescribed and dispensed, they names of our surgeries? Who sold them this information that is cannot be recycled and used for anyone else. This means that an invasion of our privacy? any medicines returned to GPs, hospitals and pharmacies have to be destroyed. The local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group denies all knowledge and surgeries tell us that they would not divulge the There are bags full of wasted, returned, expired and information which would breach the Data Protection Act. unused medicines being kept towards the back of our local Perhaps one of Enfield’s three MPs can help us find the answer. pharmacies, waiting to be destroyed. One of the big problems is repeat prescriptions, which are Pharmacy2U tell us we’ve nothing to lose except our trips to the ordered and collected by patients but then not used. Think surgery and chemist, but this is precisely the personal contact carefully before ticking all the boxes on your repeat we value and need to retain – and improve, not end. Pharmacy2U claims to be an approved provider of NHS prescription forms and tick only those for medication you are prescription medicines serving “hundreds of thousands of running low on. people in the UK”. But it undercuts the work of our local Wasted medicines means wasted money. There are small pharmacists whom we can approach at any time for advice, and changes you can make to help reduce the amount of it undermines the regular check-up we all ought to have with our medicine being wasted by following these practical and easy GPs. steps: They offer to have a detailed chat about your medication, but • Check your medicines cabinet and order only what you you’ll have to make and pay for a costly phone call to Leeds. The need. Electronic Prescription Service between GPs and pharmacies • Make sure you understand exactly why and how to already operates in Enfield, so there’s no advantage in dealing take your medicines properly. Many pharmacies offer a with Pharmacy2U in Leeds. Medicines Review Service, which gives you a chance to Pharmacy2U say they deliver your medicines free to your discuss your medicines and any concerns you may have, address, but what happens if you are out and the package is with your local pharmacist in a confidential environment. too large to go in the letter box? You’ll still have to collect it from Ask your GP, nurse or local pharmacist for more the postal sorting office. And what happens if they dispense the information – they are here to help. wrong prescription – mistakes do happen. • Do not request antibiotics for coughs and colds as they So who gains from this “no hassle, no fuss” service other than don’t work. Use over-the-counter medications instead. Pharmacy2U increasing its profits at the expense of pharmacies • Make sure that if you are prescribed antibiotics that you that you can visit for much more than your medication and which finish the course and don’t stop them when you feel better you can call on when you don’t need to see the GP. or try to save them for next time. Your pharmacy is a vital part of the lifeblood of the local • To get the best from your prescribed medicines, take them community. One pharmacist told us that prescription medicines as prescribed. Give any recommended changes made generates some 75% of his business – lose that and there’ll be by your GP to your medicines a try - especially when they more shops boarded up in Enfield. really do work in the same way. That’s why we say: Don’t sign up. • Return unwanted, expired or unused medicines to your local pharmacy so that they can be destroyed safely. Never throw away medicine in the bin, burn it or flush it Enfield Borough Over 50s Forum down the toilet, as this can harm the environment. Ensure Millfield House, Silver St, Edmonton, N18 1PJ that you keep medicines well out of the sight and reach of Tel: 020 8807 2076 children at home. email:[email protected] Unused medicines are a waste of NHS resources, so with New Year 2015 here, this is an ideal opportunity for us all to take Secretary: Tony Watts action and order only the medication needed. Development & Office Manager: Jan Oliver Dr Mo Abedi is a GP at East Enfield Medical Practice Admin Assistants: Diane Barron & Liz Delbarre and Brick Lane Surgery and also the Chair of NHS Enfield Office hours: Mon-Friday 9.30am - 4pm Clinical Commissioning Group.
8 January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s Always look on the bright side of life Interview Another child’s eye view Hattie Mae MacDonald of Feague, Kentucky, was interviewed on her My young grandson was attending his first wedding. When his Mum 101st birthday by the local radio station. It went like this: asked him how many girls can a man marry, he said 16. “How do you Reporter: Can you give us some health tips for reaching the age of come by that,” asks Mum. “Easy”, said the little lad.. “All I did was 101? add up what the vicar said; 4 better 4 worse; 4 richer 4 poorer.” Hattie: For better digestion, I drink beer. In the case of appetite loss, I drink white wine. For low blood pressure, I drink red wine. In the And another case of high blood pressure, I drink scotch. And when I have a cold, Teacher: ‘Now tell me Simon, do you say a prayer before eating?’ I drink Schnapps. Simon: ‘No sir, I don’t have to, my Mum is a good cook.’ Reporter: When do you drink water? Hattie: I’ve never been that sick. Things people say “Old songwriters don’t die, they just de-compose” says Herbert Don’t take chances Kretzmer,who wrote the lyrics of the world’s most successful musical, A man and a woman were having a quiet, romantic dinner in a fine Les Miserables. restaurant. They were gazing lovingly at each other and were holding hands.The waitress, taking another order at a table a few steps away, “What is our task.? To make Britain a fit country for heroes to live in.” suddenly noticed the woman slowly sliding down her chair and under – David Lloyd George, from a speech reported in The Times (1918) the table - but the man stared straight ahead. “Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is The waitress, thinking this behaviour a bit risque and worried that it thought necessary” – Robert Louis Stevenson (1882) might offend other diners, went over to the table and, tactfully, began by saying to the man “Pardon me, sir, but I think your wife just slid Questions that haunt me under the table.” Why does a round pizza come in a square box? The man calmly looked up at her and said, “No, she didn’t. She just What disease did cured ham actually have? walked in.” How is it that we put a man on the moon before we figured out it From the mouths of babes would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? This is a story about the bond formed between a little girl and a group Why is it that people say they ‘slept like a baby’ when babies wake up of building workers. It’s allegedly true and might help to confirm your every two hours or so? belief in the goodness of people and that there is hope for the human Why are actors IN a movie, but you’re ON TV? race after all. Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in A young family moved into a house next door to an empty plot. One binoculars to look at things on the ground? day, a gang of building workers turned up to start building on the plot. If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song The family’s 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in all the about him? activity going on next door and started talking to the workers. If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from She hung around and eventually the builders, all with hearts of gold, vegetables, what is baby oil made from? more or less adopted the little girl as a sort of project mascot. They Why does someone believe you when you say there are four chatted with her, let her sit with them while they had tea and lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs to do to make her feel important. billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet? They even gave the child her own hard hat and gloves, which thrilled Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you her immensely. throw a revolver at him? At the end of the first week, the smiling builders presented her with If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes? a pay envelope - containing two pounds in 10p coins. The little girl Why is it that no matter what colour bubble bath you use the bubbles took her ‘pay’ home to her mother who suggested that they take the are always white? money to the bank to open a savings account. Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that At the bank, the female cashier was tickled pink listening to the little something new to eat will have materialised? girl telling her about her ‘work’ on the building site and that she had Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try? a ‘pay packet’. Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that’s falling ‘You must have worked very hard to earn all this’, said the cashier. off the table you always manage to knock something else over? The little girl proudly replied, ‘Yes, I worked every day with Steve and Wayne and Mike. We’re building a big house.’ ’My goodness In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in gracious,’ said the cashier, ‘And will you be working on the house summer when we complained about the heat? again next week?’ How come you never hear father-in-law jokes? The child thought for a moment. Then she said seriously: “I think so, provided those wankers at Thompsons deliver the bleedin’ bricks Now send this on to your friends and make them on time.’ smile too! Free confidential advice Visit the Dugdale Centre (corner of London and Cecil Roads, Enfield Town) Every Monday 10am to 12 noon l An adviser from solicitors Stennett & Stennett l LBE advice on council tax, housing benefit, pensions l CAB adviser Loraine Hopwood on benefits, debts etc l Jobs adviser Lorna Clark l Tax adviser Jeff Rodin (12 January) l Health trainers advice on lifestyle l Screening for hearing tests 1st Monday of the month – no booking necessary. Please note: The advice service will resume on Monday January 5 and is available every Monday except bank holidays. An Enfield Over 50s Forum initiative in partnership with Enfield Council.
9 January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s Helping over 50s who want/need to work The government has recognised the benefits to both older people and to society in general of supporting those over 50s who wish to work he government’s publication Fuller Working Lives – A Framework saw their overall household income immediately drop by more than TFor Action sets out the benefits to individuals, business and the half. economy as a whole of people aged over 50 staying in work. There is also a loss of potential workplace pension income, because Steve Webb, Minister of State for Pensions, and Esther McVey, those leaving the labour market early stop paying in, and their former Minister of State for Employment, launched the document saying: employer stops contributing too. “It’s time to change the conversation about extending working life Furthermore, there is evidence that work is generally good for from one about working ‘until you drop’, to one about a fuller working physical and mental health and well-being. Research suggests that life, that means working as long as is necessary to create the future unplanned early labour market exit can be harmful to overall well- you want. The business case is compelling, and this document sets it being, particularly where there is less social interaction in retirement. out clearly for individuals, employers and the State.” There are currently around 2.9 million people aged between 50 and Not taking jobs from younger people state pension age out of work in the UK. While the UK employment The document also addresses the widespread belief that increasing rate for this age group is around 60% and growing, many other the employment of older people would limit opportunities for younger countries achieve rates of around 70% or higher – so there is clearly people. “There is a broad span of evidence to suggest that this is not significant potential for more older people to participate in the labour the case. market for longer. “In fact, the evidence from a number of countries suggests the The document explains that, on average, men leave the labour contrary, that increasing employment rates amongst older workers market earlier now than they did in the 1950s and 1960s, and often does not lead to fewer jobs for younger workers, and increases the this is not a planned early retirement, but people forced out of work total size of the workforce.” by circumstances beyond their control. Employers losing skills Of the 2.9 million people aged 50 to state pension age who are out Redundancy can often lead to early labour market exit. Around a of work, only 0.7 million see themselves as ‘retired’, yet 1.7 million quarter of economically inactive people aged 50 and over were made think it is unlikely that they will ever work again; and more than half redundant from their last job. Older people are not significantly more of men and women have already stopped working before they reach likely than younger people to be made redundant, but they are much State Pension age. less likely to find work again afterwards. Many of these are sick or disabled, caring for loved ones, or have Evidence suggests that employers who fail to retain their older given up looking for work after losing a job. This early exit from the workers are losing important skills from their workforce, and the labour market can have serious implications for the health, wellbeing premature loss of older workers can lead to loss of output and higher and incomes of individuals and comes at a significant cost to the recruitment costs for employers. Despite some outdated stereotypes economy, business and society as a whole. there is no systematic evidence that older workers are less productive Living standards fall than younger workers. Leaving work before state pension age makes it much more difficult Effective back-to-work support is crucial to ensure that older to maintain living standards into retirement. A third of people who jobseekers are able to get back into work quickly and avoid becoming stopped work aged 50 to state pension age between 2008 and 2010 long-term unemployed, or economically inactive. Random round-up Older Persons’ Jobs Day Men shun housework - is this you? As we reported in the last issue, Enfield MPs Nick de Bois The majority of men still shirk from doing the housework. They are and David Burrowes have set up an online jobs forum for four times more likely not to have done any cleaning in the past the over 50s in the borough. It is running a Jobs Forum month, leaving the women to do the ironing, clean the toilet, clear the Day on Thursday 26 February at Southbury Leisure Centre. fridge etc. For more information visit www.eo50s.com A survey by Housekeep, a cleaning agency, said that men are more likely to be blinkered about what needs to be done. They are happy to take out the rubblish, and cut the grass, but are more reluctant to put on a pair of Marigold gloves. Sixty-six per cent of women said that tackling a grimy oven was their most disliked job and 47% hated Taster Sessions Have you always wanted to try a new hobby or doing the ironing. learn a new skill but don’t know where to start? But chores may cut Parkinson’s Or even if you’d like it? An hour’s housework every day could reduce the risk of becoming a You can check out our list of affiliated groups – and visit victim of Parkinson’s disease by 43%, according to Swedish scientists. their stands at our Winter Fair on February 20 (see details They claimed it lowered the risk compared with people who did less than two hours housework a week. The findings come from a study of advertised on page 7). 43,368 people over 12 years and was published in Brain, a journal of Or you can contact us with suggestions for ‘taster neurology. sessions’. Whether you want to try something new – or Road sign is discriminatory have a skill/hobby to share, let us know. You know that road sign depicting a hunched old couple clutching It could be poker or bridge; making cup cakes or children’s a walking stick to warn drivers there’s old people about. Well, the toys; playing golf or walking football; mastering wildlife government is being asked to change it because it could be putting photography or writing short stories; using Twitter or a employers off offering jobs to older people. power drill. The list is endless. So says the newly-appointed business champion for Older People, Ros Contact the office and we’ll see what we can set up. Altmann, who wants to see the over 50s offered “returnships” to Tel: 020 8807 2076 or Email: [email protected] begin a new career, just as younger people are offered “internships.”
10 January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s 2015: Here we come New system for inspection of aving now stabilised the Forum as a vibrant go-ahead Horganisation with well over 5,500 subscribing members, we care homes are now ready to face the new year with a strong and efficient The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has reformed the organisation, determined to continue to serve the ever-growing numbers of over 50s in the borough way it regulates, inspects and monitors care homes The Romans, I’m told, began each year making a list of promises – he Care Quality Commission has recognised that specialisation that’s how the traditional New Year Resolution were born – one of Tbrings about better results and so has split its inspectorate into which was always to pay their debts so that they could live a simple, three teams: adult social care, hospitals, doctors and dentists. sincere and serene life. David Hastings, part of the adult social care inspectorate team in Well, I’m delighted to say we have no debts. We’re financially solvent Enfield, gave a presentation about the inspection of care homes to a and strong. lively meeting of Forum members at the Civic Centre in November. Over the past eleven months we have averaged 125 new members every month and this figure does not include those members who let He explained that the new approach was developed in response to their membership lapse for a year or two and have now returned. the results of consulting a wide range of people, including patients, residents of care homes, their family and friends as well as health We have welcomed ten new groups as Forum affiliates who have professionals and providers of care services. joined us this year. At the same time we have been very sorry to have lost some notable members who have given so much time to the The CQC describes its role as: “We monitor, inspect and regulate Forum. Some have moved on to pastures new although some have services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality kept their membership so as to receive our well loved newsletter. and safety and we publish what we find, including performance ratings to help people choose care.” I’d like to think that this is further evidence of the Forum’s value in helping to make each of us feel we are not on our own; that we each All adult social care services are required to register and to be subject support one another with help, advice, and information whenever it to both ‘intelligent monitoring’ is needed. There are still far too many people living on their own who and ‘expert inspections’. “We would have a better life if they were befriended by the Forum - like ask five questions which add up the lady we heard about aged just 70 who won’t go out and won’t to the ‘Mum’s test’ – even answer the door. • Is it safe? Thanks to our energetic social committee, I think there is something • Is it effective? for everyone to be found in this newsletter and for a fee of just £8 • Is it responsive to people’s a year for individuals and £12 for couples. £20 for affiliated groups needs? you can come along with us. And if you feel there’s a gap in what we • Is it well-led? offer, then there’s a special place for you in the Forum. • Is it caring? Anyone who joins the Forum between now and the start of our membership year which runs from April 1 to March 31 will not have And this adds up to: Is it good to renew their membership until March 31 2016 - 15 months for enough for my Mum?” David CQC’s David Hastings being the price of 12. And we are more than happy to welcome you as a said. questioned by Monty Meth life member for £100 and £150 for couples’ life membership – but I The assessments now include much more sharing of information have to remind you that the discounts at the leisure centres we have with external partners, such as local councils, charities and negotiated do not apply if you live outside Enfield borough. Healthwatch, and also calls more on specialist advisors and ‘experts by experience’ - for instance people with relatives in care homes. Joyce Pullen The care facilities and services are then given one of four ratings: Membership Secretary outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate. In the past, the home would simply be compliant or non-compliant with the regulations. “So we now give people a lot more information which they can use to assess whether a care home is suitable for them or their ENFIELD TOTAL REMOVALS relative,” explained David. The programme is still being rolled out and it will be March 2016 before all special care services have one of MOVING HOUSE? the new ratings. The audience raised a number of questions, including the issue of REQUIRE STORAGE? care homes being on best behaviour when the inspector calls. David lFree quotation & advice explained that the CQC now does unannounced inspections, but he l emphasized that the CQC encourages confidential feedback from Packing-unpacking staff, residents and family/friends. l Friendly male & female team People can call 03000 616161 or use the ‘Share Your Experience’ lFully insured link on the commission’s website www.cqc.org.uk lHigh quality storage facility At the CQC Board Meeting on 19 November 2014 chief executive lEstablished since 1999 David Behan stated that CQC has a problem in recruiting sufficient inspectors and analysts to carry out the required programme of lArrange parking permits if necessary inspection activity. 10% discount to Over 50s forum members However in Enfield the situation is relatively good. The social adult care inspection team has six full-timers and one part-time person and 020 8367 8348 is recruiting to bring it up to the specified team of eight. They cover www.totalremovals.com Company Reg No. 04109912 the 88 general residential homes, 13 homes which provide nursing care and the domiciliary care agencies.
11 Jan/FebJanuary/February 2013 2015 EnfieldEnfield Over Over 50s 50s Make a healthy start in 2015 hy not make the start to 2015 a really healthy one and Wchoose the Fusion Over 50s activity days available at all Fusion-managed leisure centres in Enfield. Activities include swimming, gym session, exercise classes, badminton, short matt bowls and much more. It is a great way to meet new people and make new friends over tea or coffee or lunch if you opt to stay for an all day session. We have also introduced a brand new session at Southbury so you can now take part on the following days from 9.30am- 3.30pm: Monday - Edmonton Leisure Centre Tuesday - Southgate Leisure Centre Tuesday & Wednesday - Southbury Leisure Centre Millfield House Thursday - Albany Leisure Centre As well as running the Activity Days, Fusion Lifestyle offers Snowtime Springtime discounts for Forum members attending the centres at any The snow lies thinly on the ground time. Forum members purchasing the Fusion concession card And all you hear is a muffled sound will pay £7.50 for the year – a great saving of £13.50 on the The barely covered branches sway concession card paid by non-Forum members. Towards a sky that’s dull and grey. To obtain this concession you must produce a valid Forum Where once the river gently flowed membership card and must be a resident of the London Looks now just like a snow clad road Borough of Enfield. Through the snow and grass are peeping With the concession card, you get half price sessions so Daffodils that once were sleeping swimming costs just £2; gym sessions £3.85; various classes Spreading word both far and near (yoga, pilates etc.) £3.85; sauna & steam session £3.85. Over 50s activity day just £3.80. “Although it’s snowing Spring is here”. Fusion also offers a range of other discounts and special Sara Davis offers for off-peak times. Sara has been a member of the poetry group for a Visit or call one of the centres. www.fusion-lifestyle.com/ number of years and writes a poem each month. This contracts/Enfield_Council/Centres has inspired her to build her own website with some of her funny poems and pictures. http://www.picspluspoems.talktalk.net/ TURKEY - YAKAMOZ HOTEL Yakamoz is a small, friendly hotel situated in between Fethiye and Oludeniz in SW Turkey. Offering traditional Turkish hospitality, fabulous Mediterranean cuisine and delightful gardens. Yakamoz enchants all who enter our gates.
Yakamoz is also situated close to the Lycian Way which makes it an excellent location for self guided walks for individuals and groups.
For more information and special offers check our website - All rooms en-suite and with balconies. -Open late April to late October. -Adults only Hotel except School Holidays - 2014 Rates – from £17 pp per night B&B (less 5% discount for ENFIELD FORUM MEMBERS)
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12 January/February 2015 Enfi eld Over 50s John’s jottings
Happy New Year! But self-funders cannot cover the full shortfall, Southern Cross, the then largest care home provider, went belly-up in 2011. The owners of hristmas is gone. Old friends and family Four Seasons, currently the largest chain, plan to break up the group Chave been seen or remembered. New Year to make bits saleable. resolutions made and possibly forgotten by the time you read this. The end of Winter is Our Council will present Budget plans at the Forum’s 27 January starting to approach and, hopefully, we will be meeting at the Civic Centre. This is our chance to have a say in where enjoying the relatively mild weather we had at this time last year. we think the very limited money should go. One very unusual feature of this Christmas was the gyration of To end on a cheerful note, perhaps, things could be a lot worse. prices of Christmas items. For example, large boxes of Quality On present trends, both Spain and Germany will lose 10% of their Street in the local Asda were either £5 or £4, seemingly varying workforce in the next 10 years due to ageing. with the day of the week. Germany will lose nearly 30% of its workforce by the middle of the Alcoholic drink prices also fl uctuated massively. Is this an century. (Figures from “Rising from the Ashes”. International Longevity attempt to bamboozle the customer or a response to the growing Centre, Nov 2014). We, the UK, will have a more or less constant competitive impact of Lidl and Aldi? Either way there were some workforce until 2060 which is as far as projections go. bargains to be had if you had time to look. It will be far easier for us to face an ageing population than for Meanwhile the Forum goes from strength to strength. We are countries with a declining labour force. Obviously, the solution is for entering the New Year with over 5,500 members. Obviously everyone to retire later but we start in a much better position than membership is seen as a bit of a bargain. More members give us some other countries. more infl uence when campaigning for change and campaigning both There is a delicious irony here. Our politicians are getting severely at a local and national level is likely to be increasingly important. twisted knickers over immigration just at the time when demography is With the news in December that despite all the cuts to date the likely to reduce the problem. Germany is likely to once again become Government still has to borrow around £100bn this fi nancial desperate for “guest workers”. Who knows, an updated version of ’Auf year, austerity will remain the watchword. Resources will be in Wiedersehen Pet’ might be made when the spectacle of Brits working desperately short supply both for the local authority and local abroad again becomes familiar. health service. Once more Happy New Year, or, Frohes neues Jahr, if you want to One unfortunate effect of the cuts is that care homes are getting prepare. ever deeper into the red as councils cut the fees they are willing to pay. Self-funders in care homes are effectively paying a hidden tax John Ball as their fees are increased to cover the shortfall caused by Council Chair parsimony.
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13 January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s SOCIAL CALENDAR Our first offerings for 2015 which we hope you will find interesting and exciting. Your Social Committee is always thinking about and searching for new attractive events. As always, if there is something you have a particular interest in organising which you think would be of interest to other members please tell us about it and we will help you make it a reality. You can contact, me, Irene Richards on 0203 715 0946 or by email [email protected] WISHING EVERYONE A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR FROM YOUR SOCIAL COMMITTEE!! Monday 19 January. Buffet lunch. SO GOOD THEY DID IT TWICE! travel depending where in the borough you live. Contact Heather Cole £17 two course buffet lunch and the Myra Terry Duo. 12 noon - on 020 8363 7286 after Easter if you are interested. 4pm at the NECC Baker Street Enfield EN1 3LD. Near Hop Poles Travel to Cuba and/or India with Olivia Pub. Buses 191 W8, parking available. Come and enjoy a festive There are just 4 places left for both the Cuba and India trips so for afternoon, delicious food, great music/dancing, and celebrate details of either/both adventures, contact Olivia on 020 8447 8841 or the New Year with your Forum friends and colleagues. As always, email [email protected] a warm welcome is extended to our newer and unaccompanied members. Phone Jacky Pearce 020 8482 3575. A FEW TICKETS March 19 - April 3. Come to Cuba!!! Join us on this very special ARE STILL AVAILABLE. Travelsphere 16 day escorted trip to the fascinating island of Cuba, with its natural beauty, vibrant culture and incredible history. The Friday 23 January. Reggae Dance Night. Come along and dance neon-green fields of the Vinales Valley, out-of-this-world scenery in the the winter blues away at our 3rd reggae dance night at All Saints Sierra Maestra Mountains and Guardalavaca’s sunbaked sands are Church Hall, Church Street, Edmonton, N9 9AT. Ticket includes just some of the highlights of this Cuban adventure. This holiday still some soft drinks. Please bring your own alcohol. has places available and costs from £2,519 per person. Contact Olivia Contact the Forum office 020 8807 2076 for a booking form and further details about excursions, visa and single or email [email protected] supplements. Friday 13 February. Tour of the Globe Theatre. Our visit will begin November 5-14. India here we come!!! Beyond the Golden Triangle. at 11am with tea/coffee/biscuits on arrival. There will be a tour Ever more adventurous, how about this 10 day Forum trip in autumn? of the exhibition housed beneath the Globe Theatre: an audio Sun dappled forests with stalking tigers. Frenetic street bazaars, with guide will be provided giving additional insights, background and sizzling food stalls. Imperial cities, with jewel-studded palaces. Discover detail to stories of play-going in Shakespeare’s lifetime and today’s India’s intoxicating cultural cocktail on this soul-stirring 10 day tour Globe Theatre. This will be followed by an Elizabethan dressing with Travelsphere. The itinerary is too packed to describe in few words, demonstration using clothes from the Globe Theatre wardrobe. so contact Olivia for a booking form and for more information. The There will then be a guided tour of the Rose archaeological site holiday cost is £1,756 per person. There is a single supplement and a and finally a tour of the Globe Theatre. The visit will end around visa is required. 2.30pm. Please note there will be some walking involved. Cost £20. For further details please contact Jean Mittins on 020 8367 2102 or email [email protected] Thursday 26 February. Eat out in style!! Lunch with us at 12.30pm at the new Buckle and Vaughan Mediterranean When the East End came to Enfield restaurant on the Green in Winchmore Hill. This £12.50 lunch deal includes a glass of wine, beer or soft drink and two courses (to be What a ’Rum tiddly um pum time’ we had at the Wonder Pub in pre-selected) and tea or coffee to finish. On this occasion, members Enfield. Pie, mash and gravy – sorry the pie wasn’t upside down are welcome to invite a non-member of Forum age but all bookings and no green liquor, oh and the mash was politely placed on our should be pre-paid. The restaurant is within easy walking distance plates not the usual straight slab on the side! from the W9, 125 buses and Winchmore Hill train station. For the That apart, the evening was just like we remember with our menu choices and to secure your place, please contact Olivia on mums and dads – well me anyway! 020 8447 8841 or email [email protected]. Honky Tonk Dave on the piano, Mick on Spoons and Monday 20 April. The only way is Essex - take two. Join us for another delightful and informative day out to our neighbouring Washboard. Members Rena Rowley and Roddy Beare gave us county of Essex as we explore the coastal town of Maldon and, a song or two accompanied by football rattles, hooters, and after lunch, have a two hour guided tour of beautiful, bluebell tin can drums to name but a few. Plenty of knees on show by covered, privately owned and managed Hazeleigh Wood. Coach Mother Brown. travel, guide and afternoon tea and cake are included in the very Just a wonderful evening thanks to Janka, Vit and our fabulous reasonable price of £20 but only 25 places available so contact members. Olivia for further information by email Oliviaharrod@virginmedia. com or on 020 8447 8841. This trip is not suitable for anyone with ‘We WILL meet again’ Jacky Pearce mobility problems. Tuesday 5 May. Advance notice of a coach trip to Leamington Spa and Kenilworth castle. Cost approximately £18 excluding meals Please note: If you have to cancel your place on and any entrance fees. Further information will follow in the March/ April newsletter so put it in your diary if you are interested. a Forum social activity/trip, we will make every attempt to fill your place. If this is not possible Thursday 14 May. Visit to the re-vamped William Morris Gallery at Walthamstow. If you fancy this, a few of us are going, meeting you may lose your booking fee/deposit. at 10.45am in the entrance to the Gallery. Entry is free, it is well laid out so no need for a guide. There is a small tea room, shop Disclaimer: The Enfield Over 50s Forum is not and facilities. The Gallery is in Lloyd Park which was restored in liable for any personal injury/accidents that may 2012 and offers lovely walks and a larger cafe. You could use your occur during any of its activities/events. Freedom Pass to get there and there are many permutations of
14 January/February 2015 Enfield Over 50s Club News Forum meetings Woodwork Group in Enfield Town The Woodwork Group members are busy working away on their (At the Civic Centre) projects along with the usual items brought in from home for Tuesday 27 January at 10am for 10.30am start Council repairs. One of the group, Martin Janu, has just finished a seat Leader Doug Taylor & Andrew Stafford (Cabinet member for his hallway and other items underway are Hop up (for the responsible for finance) and Isabel Brittain (Asst. Finance Director) kitchen), jewellery box, children’s games, plant stands and a full discuss the Council’s budget proposals for 2015/16 and seek Forum size candy cart. (See photos in next issue). members’ views on the implications for the coming year. For further information on the group, contact John Lombard on 0208 367 5921 Tuesday 24 Febuary at 10am for 10.30am start A discussion on Transport provision for Older People in Enfield. There Poetry Group will be presentations from “Dial-a-ride”, Enfield Community Transport The Forum’s Poetry Group continues to flourish and this has and BEVAD, and the London Taxicard Scheme. Speakers include prompted us to print a short poem in each issue of the newsletter. Carol Reilly and Andy Rollock from LBE, Concessionary Travel Team. If you would like to submit a poem to be considered for the newsletter contact Irene Richards on 0203 715 0946 or email Millfield House, Silver Street N18 1PJ [email protected] . If you wish to join the poetry group (which meets on the third Thursday of the month in either Oakwood or Thursday 8 January at 10am for 10.30am start Enfield Library), contact David Blake on 01992 637 829 or email The Regeneration of Enfield: Sharon Strutt, Head of Enfield’s [email protected] Neighbourhood Regeneration team, will talk about the Council’s regeneration areas, and its major plans to deliver growth within the Council’s largest priority regeneration area - Meridian Water, and also Book Club provide an update on regeneration projects underway in Ponders The Book Club meets in the Community Room at the Enfield End, New Southgate and Edmonton Green. Library 10- 12noon Thursday 15th January The Collector by John Fowles Thursday 12 February at 10am for 10.30am start Tuesday 17th February The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion Dr Hemi Patel runs the Enfield Chiropractic Clinic and will describe For more information about the club, contact Sue Scott by email: the methods practitioners of chiropractic use when treating disorders [email protected] of the bones, muscles and joints. Thursday 12 March at 10am to 1pm Knit& Natter “An IT workshop” Following the successful introductory talk and Knit & Natter has two weekly sessions at the Dugdale Centre, 39 workshop held in October Forum grey surfers Sagar Nair, Peter London Rd, Enfield: Tuesday afternoons 2-4pm and Wednesday Smith, Tony Watts and Phil Mirams will run a further workshop mornings 10.30am -12.30pm. Both experienced knitters and covering broadband, WiFi, laptops, tablets, iphones, social networks complete novices are welcome. 50p per session. and for non-users where and how to get started. Members with their Organiser Liz Gilbert says: “If you would like to knit for charity (we own laptops, tablets or phones are welcome to bring them along if supply the wool and pattern) but cannot get to the Dugdale, I am they have queries or problems they would like help with. happy to deliver/collect. We especially need knitwear for 1-7 year olds to meet the demand. And we are also looking for people to Southgate Beaumont, 15 Cannon Hill, N14 7DJ donate wool.” The group makes charity donations mainly to the This is the Forum’s regular venue for meetings in the third Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice. week of the month. Note days and times may vary. For more information, contact Liz Gilbert on 0208 360 7386. Tuesday 20 January at 10am for 10.30am start Over 50s Choir Dr Tim Ridge will talk about complementary therapies and the work The morning choir meets on Monday 11am-1pm at The Holy of the charity, Enfield Centre for Natural Health,which promotes Trinity Church, Winchmore Hill N21, and the evening choir integration of therapies into the NHS. meets Tuesdays 7-9pm at Millfield Arts Centre, Silver Street Tuesday 17 February at 10am for 10.30am start Edmonton N18. There are no auditions and no need to Kawoo Mak from Richer Sounds of Southgate will talk about read music. £5 per session. For more information, contact convergence of the latest digital technology for Television, Home choirmaster Simon Gilbert on [email protected] Cinema and Audio. or call 020 8360 7386. Tuesday 17 March at 10am for 10.30am start Ayshe Ibrahim, from the Backbone osteopathic practice in Southgate and Muswell Hill, will discuss pain management, Osteopathy and Mozart Concert non-medical approaches to managing back and joint pain for over An Evening with Wolfgang - Enfield Choral Society 50’s. and orchestra with an all Mozart programme The Southgate Beaumont Care Community is the large care including the Requiem and Ave Verum Corpus. home at 15 Cannon Hill, N14 7DJ, diagonally opposite the Cherry Tree Pub. Buses 121, W6, 298, 299, nearest station Southgate Saturday 28 February 2015, 7.30pm Underground. There is ample car parking space. St Stephen’s Church, 43a Village Road, Bush Hill Park, Enfield, EN1 2ET Correction: Please note that the correct contact details Tickets: Hotline 07856 793434 for the Friends of Jubilee Park are: Quentin England, or email: [email protected] chairman: tel 020 8350 5857.
15 January/February 2015 Enfi eld Over 50s
Cineworld – Southbury Road Over 50s Film Club every Monday at 10.30am Admission £3 is less than half normal prices 5 January Maze Runner 12 January If I Stay 19 January The Judge 26 January A Walk among the Tombstones 2 February Fury 9 February Gone Girl 020 8882 0141 16 February Mr Turner 23 February The Imitation Game Experienced world-travelled staff, Films are subject to change Note the dates and tell your friends of some great fi lms you Large stocks of brochures, can see for half the normal price. Expert cruise consultants, Corner of Southbury Road and A10 Wide range of coach tours, Buses 121, 191, 307and 313 to the door Luxury long haul specialists, Enfi eld Poppy Appeal 2014 Thank You he organisers of the recent Poppy Appealin Enfi eld Town, Loraine THopwood, the CAB adviser at our Monday advice session at the Dugdale Centre, and Rebecca Davies would like to thank the local community for their efforts and generosity in supporting the Poppy Appeal this year. In this the 100th anniversary of the First World War, the appeal in Enfi eld Town area has raised over £28,000. Across North Enfi eld, nearly 200 local shops, businesses and organisations including 18 schools helped by selling poppies In addition, some 40 volunteers gave their time to collect around shopping centres, high streets and at stations. Even more contributions were made by residents and visitors at the Remembrance Sunday service on Chase Green. Visit to Kitchens and State Apartments of Windsor Castle George Lockwood Gardens Sixteen Forum members visited the Great Kitchens & State Horticultural Consultant with over 10 years experience! Apartments of Windsor Castle recently. Windsor Castle is the largest 26 Woodridge Close, The Ridgeway, Enfield, EN2 8HJ inhabited castle in the world and the Queen’s favourite weekend Mobile: 07983 948526 • Tel: 020 8363 7015 home. Email: [email protected] Unbeknown to us the date of our visit – 20 November – was very signifi cant. Firstly it was out of season, a good time to visit. More INVITES GARDENING CLUBS importantly: it was the anniversary of the great fi re at the castle in AND SOCIETIES FOR ‘TALKS’ November 1992, and it was the date of the Queen’s 67th wedding ON GARDENING TOPICS anniversary. The day was bright and the sun was shining as we toured the castle • Soil structure and its grounds. We enjoyed coffee, tea and biscuits at the start • Healthy Soil whilst looking at a slide show and learning about past kings • Benefits of humus and queens’ attitude to food and their eating habits. My goodness • Pruning they ate and drank a lot at each meal!! • Silty, clay and sandy soils The kitchens date from Edward III, circa 1360s. On our way to the • Plants that flowers each month kitchens we walked through areas of the castle that are normally • Bulbs that flower each month out-of-bounds to the public, for example, the main entrance • Plants for shady gardens used by the Queen’s guests to the State Banquets. We also toured • Shrubs for the seasons the semi-state apartments which are only open during certain • Seed types and planting months. • Indoor/outdoor seed planting We were fortunate with the weather, visiting the castle was very • Popular plants and their habits interesting and we enjoyed each other’s company. On top all this • Plants for early summer/midsummer good fortune, we were told, our ticket is valid for a year so we can go • Fragrant shrubs back anytime and enjoy not only the castle and its kitchens but also • Plants to encourage wildlife Windsor town, and Eton across the river. • Plants for rockeries • Plants for dry gardens Cheryl Byamukama
CONTACT:Published by Enfield Borough Over 50s Forum. Millfield House, Silver Street, Edmonton, N18 1PJ Tel: 020 8807 2076 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.enfieldover50sforum.org.uk