Registered charity number 1188652
Charity News
Welcome to issue 21, the 1st newsletter of 2021. Let's all hope it's a better year for everyone.  

We hope you enjoyed last month's newsletter  If you missed it here is a link:   Click here to see

SATURDAY 9th JAN IS OUR VIRTUAL QUIZ
Usually the 1st Saturday of the month, for one month only (hangovers and vast amounts of turkey to get rid of) the quiz is on  Sat 9th January this month only. Its at 11:00 am get your pen, paper and coffee ready. 
Or if you want to type it in its...
Meeting ID: 835 6344 0501
Passcode: 645316
You don't have to be Mensa material it is just for fun. Three rounds, General knowledge, Music and Pictures

Christmas Catch-up
We had a little get together on Sunday 27th, Virtually, a short quiz, and importantly a good old chat.  It put our Covid woes into perspective as we learned some of us were evacuated from their home on Christmas eve due to flooding and made do with bacon sarnies for Christmas lunch. Despite this they were in good spirits and we hope all attendees enjoyed the catch-up.

Christmas Cards - an update
Pat's hand-made Christmas cards have been selling really well. Thanks to her hard work and Sylvia's tenacious car boot selling, the cards have raised a massive £195.  Thank you both for your hard work.

Talking about selling stuff from their car boot
Sylvia has raised a whopping £250 from the sale of jams (mostly made by Sylvia) and plants (also mainly grown by Sylvia.)  Again we thank Sylvia for her hard work!
Well, as announced on Wed 23rd, the whole of Northamptonshire will move to Tier 3 as of Boxing Day. Below is a summary of Tier 3 restrictions.
  • You can't mix indoors, in private gardens or in most outdoor venues, except with your household or bubble
  • You can meet in a group of up to six in other outdoor spaces, such as parks, beaches or countryside
  • Shops, gyms and personal care services (such as hairdressing) can stay open, as can swimming pools
  • Bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants must stay closed, except for delivery and takeaway
  • Collective worship can take place - with no mixing outside your bubble
  • Small wedding ceremonies can take place, but not receptions
  • Sports fans cannot attend events in stadiums
  • Indoor entertainment venues - such as bowling alleys and cinemas - must stay closed
  • People are advised not to travel to and from tier three areas
365 Shopping Days to Christmas !!
Yes, I know its over for now.  But 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. 
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
https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/northantsparkinsonspeople/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_content=en-n1
Current Activities
Fit&Fab 1st Session of 2021 is on 5th Jan. Thereafter on 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. 
 
Walkies:- meet at 10:30 am in the Racecourse Car Park (Kettering RD)  - On Wednesdays and Fridays. Be aware that Tier 3 restrictions apply so groups need to remain under six, please wear your masks. 

Follow this link for some pics of previous walks...
 Gallery – Northants Parkinson's People

 
 
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. (except this month when it's actually the 2nd Saturday) 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.
Sylvia's Gardening Tips
A couple of small jobs for January. If you have any hellebore plants you should cut off all of the old leaves right down to the ground. Be careful not to damage the emerging buds. By doing this it will give the emerging flowers the chance to be more upright and also help to control leaf spot fungus.
Hellebores (commonly known as Christmas Rose) are a beautiful addition to any garden as they flower very early in the new year. They belong to the buttercup family. I have two in my garden, one which has pink freckled flowers towards the end of February beginning of March. The other one is the newest addition to my garden, it is white/cream coloured called Jasper and in full flower now. It is planted in a shady corner and really lightens up that area of the garden.
Chilli seeds can be planted in January but need either a heated greenhouse or kitchen windowsill. Mine go on the windowsill. They take a while to germinate, sometimes as long as three/four weeks. When large enough to handle carefully put each plant into individual pots and then a month or so later acclimatise them to colder weather by putting outside during the day and bringing back in at night time and after a while they can go into a cold greenhouse. Around April time pot on into even larger pots or grow bags.

Following on from the last bit of writing I did for newsletter number 20 I thought I would continue with the theme of carnivorous plants. You will recall I mentioned three plants which are found wild in the wetlands of Alabama, North and East Carolina. These can be bought in most garden centres in our country. So this made me wonder if any carnivorous plants are native to the UK? A little research soon made me realise the answer was yes! There are, in fact, several but the most common are as
follows:
Butterworts (Pinguicula vulgaris) are still found on bogs, fens and wet moorland throughout the UK. It has lovely purple flowers from May to July, providing its common names of Bog Violet or Marsh Violet. Its bright yellow-green leaves excrete a sticky fluid that attracts insects. Once trapped the leaves slowly curl around their prey and digest it. It is still growing wild in Cambridgeshire.
Sundews (Drosera longifolia) are still found in the fenlands of Norfolk. It has a similar technic as the Butterwort in catching prey. Having a sticky glue-like substance on the tip of the hairs on the leaves which trap the prey and the leaf then curls around it. Sundews were one of the very first carnivorous plants to be studied and Charles Darwin was the person to discover their insectivorous
habitat.
Bladderworts (Utricularia vulgaris) are found submerged in still, quite deep, fresh water. There are no roots holding it down in the water and instead it gets its nutrients from bladders that trap insects. This species is the largest with its yellow flowers appearing from June to August. This species can still be found locally at Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire.
And Finally...

When we decided to run this shorter edition of the Newsletter on the brink of 2021 I thought getting my fellow contributors thoughts on their resolutions for the coming year would be an idea, 

Doug has responded with his resolve firmly set...
When i was nowt but a lad, serving queen and country far from home. making resolutions was easy because you just stuck to things that you knew you would break your word on, such as diet, drink etc. but as now i am approaching my dotage (some say I'm  in it) the "quacks" have stopped me doing some things or told to cut back on others. 
So i will to resort to cheating . 
So my new year's resolution for 2021 are...
  1. To stop dreaming of the cobblers reaching the premier league   
  2. Reading a news paper or watching/listening to the news, and not a word of Brexit or a mention of coronavirus, which would mean that normal is back.   
  3. To be polite and kind to everyone,  even those who are cold calling at 9 o'clock at night. 

Phil's Resolution
As I write this we are fast approaching 2021. Thinking back to this time last year we had no idea that 2020 would spring its nasty surprise on us. So planning for 2021 and possibly setting a resolution is proving to be quite difficult. I think I'll approach this with caution and resolve to be more flexible in my expectations. I won't set a definite plan to loose x pounds, just a vague promise to myself not to eat as many chocolate biscuits as last year. And as last year taught us you cannot be too careful I have also resolved most firmly not to take sleeping tablets and laxatives on the same night. Never! Ever.! Again!
Happy New Year Folks x
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Northants Parkinson's People is registered in England as a charitable incorporated organisation,
Registered office: 31 Winston Close, Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire. NN7 3JX
Registered charity number 1188652
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