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Just when you think the newsletter is all finished, the new lockdown is announced. This does mean some of the walking activities mentioned below will be postponed until further notice but PLEASE Join us for online activities if you can.
If you have any concerns or feel you need support then please contact us
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Charity News
We hope you enjoyed last months newsletter If you missed it here is a link: Click here to see
THIS SATURDAY IT'S OUR VIRTUAL QUIZ
1st Saturday of the month, which is Sat 7th November this month 11:00 am get your pen, paper and coffee ready.
Join the Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81119004060?pwd=Q3V1UXlOZ2Z1SUcyNFpCM3VxSkxqdz09
Or if you want to type it in its...
Meeting ID: 811 1900 4060
Passcode: 651463
You don't have to be Mensa material it is just for fun. Three rounds, General knowledge, Music and Pictures
Christmas Cards - a reminder
One of our exceptionally talented supporters, Pat Warren has made us some truly professional handmade Christmas Cards. The pictures do not do them justice – they really are such high quality. Sylvia has been selling these from the back of her car on Wednesday Walkies and Friday Frolics. We are now offering these out to everyone to own for a donation of at least £1.50 per card.
Pat has very kindly offered to make ‘one-off bespoke’ cards – see the mother, daughter card and the granddaughter cards. As these are complete originals we ask for a donation of £4 per card, if you would like us to post them with a personal message to the recipient or post to you, an additional £1 will be added. Or you could meet us on our walks to pick up your order.
Check out just a few on our Christmas Card page. The quality is amazing. Contact Sylvia with your questions or requirements and get some special cards. Ideal to send to someone special.
Pat also makes Personalised cards, the quality is amazing of course. To order Christmas cards or Personalised Cards just contact our very own Sylvia
Email [email protected]
Or fill in the newsletter enquiry form on our websiteHere are some examples,
you can see more on our website here
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Activity Planning
Any ideas or suggestions for support activities are always welcome
We don’t know what you need if you don’t let us know so we are waiting to hear from you
Our contact details are
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Update on Val Hamlin
Val is now feeling much better and thanks all for their good wishes.
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Some well-deserved thankyou's
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Those of you who know me, know that I am not partial to emotional mushy outpourings but I have to admit that recently I’ve been thinking about this new charity and the individual groups and people involved and the new people who are joining us and the people who are donating and I am so thankful that I am part of the team and can lend my support. It is just so heart-warming to witness how new people are welcomed with warmth, support and genuine friendship. Thank you so much, everyone, for all being so wonderful you make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Angela & Dexter
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Again, we have some MASSIVE thankyous to add to our growing list of supporters.
Firstly, everyone at Northants Parkinson’s People wishes to say thank you ~ thank you ~ thank you to *Sydney Lewis * who is Steve’s daughter. Steve is in the ‘Younger Men’s Group’ and Sydney raised money at her school – donating an amazing £100!!! - we are hoping to tell you more about how Sydney has achieved this soon….
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And also *Joe Jeffery* – recognise the name?
“Hello everyone, my name is Joe and Angela (one of your volunteers) is my Mum. I have been to Fit&Fab exercise group a couple of times and my wife Jas used to come on your Friday walks. So, we both know what a friendly, happy group you are. It is great that you now have a local charity that is here to help everyone affected by Parkinson’s. I am happy to help by donating my profits from the sale of my company logo’d t-shirts (a friend printed a limited amount). I am very proud of my Mum and everyone else who is involved with Northants Parkinson’s People. Keep up the good work.”
Joe & Jasmin
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A very special thank you to Pat Warren
This is a double thank you as Pat has been making some beautiful Christmas Cards and bespoke cards for us to sell and has already raised an amazing £50.
Before Pat made fantastic cards, she used to make and decorate equally, artistically, beautifully decorated cakes. Pat has decided to hang up her pinny so has sold her equipment and has donated an extra £50 to Northants Parkinson’s People as well from that sale – Thank you so much, Pat, you are an absolute star.
Picture: Pat, Les with grandchildren Jacob and Finley
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We also send HUGE SPECIAL THANKS to everyone who has joined up and become a member. We want as many members as possible so we can be strong, have a louder voice and support each other, everyone is important.
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54 Shopping Days to Christmas
It won't be long now, and we have a big favour to ask. if you or any of your family and friends are shopping online can you please sign up to EasyFundraising. It does not cost anything but every purchase made gets Northants Parkinson's People a small donation.
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We’re now registered with easyfundraising, which means you can help us for FREE. Over 4,000 shops and sites will donate to us when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – at no extra cost to yourself! All you need to do is sign up and remember to use easyfundraising whenever you shop online. It’s easy and completely FREE! These donations really mount up, so please sign up to support us at
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Current Activities
Fit&nFab Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 am Virtual sessions via Zoom. Angela puts you through your paces in the safety of your own home. Seated exercise only if you are on your own.
Wednesday Walkies and Friday Frolics – up and running – well walking with poles to be more accurate! Please join us if you want. We are wishing to get back to some normality and we want to see friends we haven't for so long - so we have decided to make walks a permanent fixture..... (unless the rules change!)
Wednesday and Fridays Walkies at 10:30 am meeting at Racecourse Pavillion - Kettering road. plenty of free parking next to the pavilion. We are observing social distancing by keeping 2 metres apart and wearing our masks during any 
closer exposure - such as when Sylvia sells her plants, delicious jam and AMAZING CARDS - made by Pat Warren - from the boot of her car!!! Fools and Horses style
(all proceeds going to Northants Parkinson's People)
PLUS when there are more than six of us, we split into two groups - which is what we usually do anyway.
If you would like to join us, please bring your camping chairs and a flask so we can all sit and have a catch up after the walk. It would be nice to see a few old friends but….
Please only consider joining us if you can confirm you are COVID-19 symptom-free and/or outside the infection isolation period if you have had symptoms or contact with an infected person.
Virtual Pub Quiz Every 1st Saturday of the month. 11:00 am Zoom in with the in-crowd. Several rounds of General Knowledge, Music and Pictures. A bit of a social at the end. Use any of the contact methods above to get your invite.
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The Warm Home Discount
The Warm Home Discount is a Government scheme introduced to help tackle fuel poverty.
If you are eligible you could get £140 towards your energy bill this winter.
There are two ways that you can qualify for the £140 Warm Home Discount:
- The Core Group
- The Broader Group
The discount will not affect your Cold Weather Payment or Winter Fuel Payment.
(Energy Companies with less than 150,000 customers are not obliged to offer the scheme)
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The Core Group
If you receive the Guarantee Element of Pension Credit then you are eligible for the Core Group.
If you are eligible for the Warm Home Discount as part of the core group, you should receive a letter in the post between October and December 2020. This letter will confirm that your Warm Home Discount will be deducted from your electricity bill and may ask you to call a helpline to confirm your details.
If you don’t receive your letter by December 2020 and think that you may be eligible, then contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme team on 0800 731 0214, available Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
If you don’t meet the criteria for the Core Group then you may be eligible for the Broader Group.
The Broader Group
This group eligibility is decided by the energy companies. Each company decides if it will offer the broader scheme and how customers are eligible. This is not really helpful and to make matters worse most suppliers require an account number before you can find the eligibility requirement. Also the broader scheme is usually available to a limited number of customers.
We have found a list of energy companies that offer the scheme HERE If your energy supplier is on the list it may be worth checking if you are eligible and applying. Discounts are applied to accounts before March 31st 2021. Pre-payment customers will receive Paypoint energy vouchers.
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Charity Commission Annual General Meeting
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 In my role as the chair of Northants Parkinson’s People, I attended the recent AGM of the Charity Commission of England and Wales, the regulator of registered charities in these two countries. The Commission maintains a public register and is an independent, non-ministerial government department accountable to Parliament.
The first part of the morning was spent listening to explanations from the Commission for its oversight in acting on reports of wrongdoings by some quite well-known charitable bodies, some of which had been reported in the national media. The Commission reported that historic backlogs had now been largely eliminated with 8,739 new charities registered during the last financial year.
On my further independent research, I was shocked to discover there are many investigations into suspect practices by charities which include alleged abuse, fraud, silencing of ex-staff and money laundering both here and abroad.
At various points during the presentations, the speakers emphasised that standards must be maintained and that charities must operate in the public interest. The public register is being strengthened to ensure that charities and their trustees can be seen to operate with both responsibility and accountability. Transparency with respect to each registered charity is essential to ensure that all money paid to charities is well spent. Salaries above £60,000 per year will be identified and reported in the register.
The Commission is determined to ensure that all professions and vocations are represented in the group of trustees as a whole and within each charity, each trustee should bring expertise which is not duplicated by other trustees. This should ensure better decision making and more efficient use of the resources available to each charity.
It was quite a morning to be an observer at this meeting and I was glad that I attended.
Doug Buckle |
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Sylvia's Gardening Tips
So many jobs in the garden at this time of year.
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- Greenhouses need cleaning ready for storing tender plants. Also, if you have a water butt to catch rain from the greenhouse roof. you need to check the guttering. I thought mine was ok until I stuck my finger in and came out with about an inch of slime! Yuck!
- Time to pot up your amaryllis bulbs. Rescue them from under the bench in the shed where they should have been in last year’s pot lying on its side. Gently rub any loose debris from the bulb. The bulb should be quite firm when gently squeezed. Choose a pot which is just a couple centimetres wider than the bulb. Half fill the pot with compost and place the bulb on top. Gently fill in the sides of the pot with compost, there should be at least half of the bulb exposed above the soil surface. Now give it a good watering. Place in a cool place indoors until you see the green shoot of growth at the top. Then put the pot on a bright window sill. Water regularly.
- It is also time to pot up hyacinths for a colourful scented display around Christmas time. They will grow well in a glass vase filled to just below the neck. Set the bulb on the top so that it is not quite touching the water and place in a cool dark place until you see a green shoot about a fingernail long. Then bring out into the light and warmth of the house and that’s it. Young children find this quite interesting as they can watch the roots forming in the water.
- Cut back Buddleia by half to prevent winter wind rock loosening the roots. Any bush roses which are particularly tall can be treated in the same way. Do not prune either of these shrubs properly as this is done in early springtime.
- Now is the time for planting bare root fruit trees. If you haven’t much room dwarf varieties can be grown in pots quite successfully. The newest addition to my garden is a semi-dwarf pear, Concorde variety, which has been planted into a border.
- Dahlias can be uprooted in the next week or so and then the soil gently rubbed away from the tubers. These can be stored in a dry frost-free place to be planted next year. OR. do what I do! Leave them in the ground (marking the spot with a stick) and nine times out of ten they sprout up the following year. Must say though that mine are in a sheltered spot.
- Finally, keep deadheading winter primroses and pansies and you will be rewarded with more flowers. If these are planted in pots don’t forget to water them regularly as they dry out very quickly in the strong winter winds.
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Hallucinations –By Doug
I have progressed along this journey through my later years, seeking my way through the rocky paths and experiences that beset you, when one suffers with Parkinson’s Disease. Having been diagnosed 6 years hence, I have come across a few problems such as balance, constipation, mobility (lack of) and “freezing” whilst walking. But on the plus side, I have met some nice folks that I have
become friends with. However, over the last 12 months or so I have encountered a new phenomenon; Hallucinations.
Now, although I am not of a religious nature, I do think that there is something beyond after we leave this spinning ball of earth and I do sometimes address my late wife (who passed away 2003) but that was more a courtesy than an expectation. More recently, as I have said, I started to get a feeling that there was something or someone in my flat with me. I must say at this point that I have never
seen any spectre, ghost or apparition; it is just a feeling. When I mentioned this to the Parkinson’s nurse, she pointed out that I had started a new medication 2 months prior and a possible side effect was hallucinations, but as I was not bothered about it and the meds were helping, it was decided to carry on but keep a check on the matter.
That was nearly 12 months ago, the feeling has not dissipated in the meantime, and I will admit that it is definitely a friendly and benign feeling. It has not gone away, but it doesn’t bother me. I do not think that I am going “do-lally” as we used to say in the army, or that my memory or brain capacity, or my ability to reason has been in any way impaired or diminished. So, I for one will keep calm and
carry on... regardless.
Good health and good luck to all, like Arnie… I’ll be back.
Doug
Angela’s reply.
When Doug mentioned he was going to write about his experiences of hallucinations I was concerned that our readers would automatically think that everyone who has Parkinson’s Disease (PD) will also experience hallucinations, but this is not true. Along with
everything else about Parkinson’s – everyone is different, and everyone will experience different symptoms. Therefore, some people with PD may have hallucinations. Usually, they are experienced by people who have had PD for a long time who are on higher levels of dopamine replacement medication. Doug’s experiences are known as ‘feeling of presence’ hallucinations but more commonly visual hallucinations are reported. I’m sure it must be very frightening when any type of hallucination is experienced and any advice would not suit everyone. However mostly, once people realise they are not real, then they do become more manageable. As Doug advises, Keep Calm and don’t panic but it is important to speak to your Parkinson’s Nurse if you are having any of these experiences.
Take care – Angela x
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Quiz
- What is the largest lake in the British Isles?
- In which novel do J., George, Harris and Montmorency feature?
- What is the capital of PAKISTAN?
- Who were the opposing sides in the battle of LARGS (1263)
- “GOOD FRIEND FOR JESUS’ SAKE FORBEAR
TO DIG THE DUST ENCLOSED HERE
BLESSED BE THE MAN THAT SPARES THESE STONES
CURSED BE HE THAT MOVES MY BONES”
This is the epitaph on the headstone of which famous playwright?
- What is the capital of PAPUA NEW GUINEA?
- What was the first story to feature SHERLOCK HOLMES?
- A play by EUGENE O’NEIL first performed in 1940, is titled
“The _ _ _ _ _ _ Cometh” what word is missing?
- Which Group in the Seventies had several hits, in particular, the best known is... The COMBINE HARVESTER song.
- Which Roman Emperor's last words before he committed suicide were
“WHAT AN ARTIST DIES IN ME”
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Recipes Of the Month
Spicy Apple Chutney
Ingredients
- 1 kg cooking apples
- 450ml cider vinegar
- 2 ripe mangoes peeled and chopped
- 275g onions peeled and chopped
- 100g sultanas
- 275g soft light brown sugar
- 40g fresh root ginger peeled and grated
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 red chilli finely chopped/ 1 tsp salt.
Method
Peel, core and chop the cooking apples roughly. Place in a saucepan with the vinegar and simmer for ten minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer until the sugar is dissolved stirring occasionally. Now bring to the boil stirring continuously. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes stirring now and then.
Test by running a wooden spoon through the mixture and it should leave a track showing the metal pan base. The mixture is quite thick and a pulpy consistency.
Pot up into sterilized jars in the same way as jam. Store in a cool dark place for a month before opening as this gives the chutney time to mellow.
These quantities make 4 x 1lb jars.
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Quiz Answers
- LOUGH NEAGH (Ulster)
- THREE MEN IN BOAT (not forgetting the dog, Montmorency is the dog)
- ISLAMABAD
- SCOTLAND AND NORWAY
- WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
- PORT MORESBY
- A STUDY IN SCARLET 'ICEMAN' (The Iceman Cometh)
- THE WURZELS
- NERO
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And Finally
The Lighter side of Covid-19
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Corona Beer has been renamed to distance its brand from the current epidemic
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- The World Health Organization announced that dogs cannot contract COVID-19. Dogs previously held in quarantine can now be released. To be clear, WHO let the dogs out.
- I purchased a world map and then gave my wife a dart and said, “Throw this and wherever it lands—that’s where I’m taking you when this pandemic ends.” Turns out, we’re spending two weeks behind the fridge.
- If you wish you had a dog right now but then remember that old slogan.. a dog is for life, not just for a global pandemic.
Social Distancing Dating tales
I looked into her eyes, deep into the emerald green, my heart fluttered, I felt a connection, something deeper, something magical, I was transported to another place and I thought, blimey these binoculars are brilliant.
If you are looking for something unique as a present for the lady in your life, something that will remind her of this year and the times you have spent queuing, isolating, sanitising together
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