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Charity News
Welcome to newsletter number 27. The weather has been a bit miss and miss lately. Still, it's not all bad. Russia has a record temperature heatwave and so has Canada. We are in the middle so either way, something will get us warm soon. We are hoping to get some social activities organised as soon as it's safe to do so. As you are probably aware we are still restricted so, for now, it's a case of hurry up and stay safe!
We hope you enjoyed last month's newsletter If you missed it here is a link: Click here to see
Upcoming AGM
Members: Just to remind you that our AGM is on July 6th. Tony Roberts our Treasurer will be sending a reminder and invitation nearer the time if you would like to attend.
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Virtual Pub Quiz Every 1st Saturday of the month. (next one is 3rd July 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. Join our Zoom Meeting
Walk In the Park- Update
It has been lovely to have a few new people join in with our walks last month. We can't say the weather has always been kind but hey, the company is good and so is the fresh air and exercise. Everyone is welcome whatever your ability, come along on a Monday and get some training with Nordic Walking Poles. Wednesday and Friday's is friendship walk days - bring your poles if you want. We meet at 10:30 am in the car park off the Kettering road, near the old Pavillion. Here is a funny picture from the Park - Sylvia is 'hugging a tree and giving it a kiss by the look of it - Tree Hugging is an optional extra benefit !!
It is handy to know how many will be attending so please send a quick email to let us know when you will be joining us, our email is: [email protected]
Younger Guys Group Renamed
We are very pleased to let you know that our youngish/newly diagnosed guy's group now have an official name that everyone is agreed upon - after much deliberation and discussion. It's a bit of fun because that's what this group is about, plus of course, friendly support for younger chaps recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
N - Northants Y - Youngish P - Parkinson's D - Dudes
We hope you like it. Here is a picture from the NYPD last zoom meet up.
Northants Parkinson's People contact details are
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Northants Parkinsons People European membership is growing :)
Yes, it's up to 1 now. Léonie Haigh lives in rural France and joins us for Fit'nFab and enjoys the newsletter. Léonie has sent a short article on life in France
Thank you for the newsletter. I wondered if the following might be of interest?
Those of you who do Angela's "fab fit" on a Tuesday, may be aware of the "person in France". I was delighted to receive the Northants Parkinson's People leaflet in my re-directed post from the UK. "Fit'nFab" has made quite a difference to me, especially as covid has meant even greater isolation than normal. We're based in department 18 Cher, very, very rural France.
The health system here has taken some navigating, but after four months I think we're there now. Count your blessings in the UK. Here you pay €26 euros each time you visit the doctor and surgery appointments normally overrun by at least two hours, and, unless you have a serious illness, you pay for your medication although you get some of it refunded you do have to pay first. Mind you it does stop people from going to the doctor unnecessarily.
I really enjoy "fit fab" and hope it continues. I am grateful for the social contact and envious of you all being able to meet up for walks. Long may it last!!!
Lee.
  
Léonie sent these, we think one of her local town, a nearby castle and her longère (traditional farmhouse)
Or maybe she lives in the castle? |
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Recent Donations
Last month Val wrote a lovely thank you to Lady Lowther who send us a very generous donation from her plant sales. Many of you will have visited Lady Lowther's beautiful gardens in Guilsborough during the open garden weekends over the years. Some of you may also remember the wonderful coffee mornings Pam Dunn organised at her picturesque house in Castle Ashby, also with beautiful gardens overlooking the lake. We are very grateful to have Lady Lowther and Pamela's support. Pamela donated generously to us when we first started up and has now sent us another donation, as has her wonderful friend Nigel. So, thank you once again, Pamela and Nigel - it is truly fantastic to have your support.
Pictured: Lady Lowther and Pamela Dunn
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On a sadder note, we also wish to thank Mr Terry Tan for donating to us money collected in memory of his partner John O'Shaughnessy. John was a private, gentle, quiet and kind man who will be very sadly missed by everyone who knew him.
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This month I couldn’t think what to write about and then I remembered reading Money Saving Expert (MSE) recently about Pension Credits. Firstly, MSE is a great read and I get emails every now and again which I do enjoy and sometimes even manage to save a few pennies from the advice given. BUT to important business: PENSION CREDITS….
Recent figures show that up to £1.8 billion went unclaimed during the financial year 2018 to 2019, this means around a million households are missing out!!! Not only could you be missing out on extra income but if you can claim Pension Credits, you can also claim other perks such as free TV licenses for the over 75’s, the warm home discount and free dental treatment. Those who are eligible for the main part of pension credit may also be able to also get a council tax reduction.
Pension Credit can be worth up to £3,000/year for a single pensioner
Pension credit is a tax-free, means-tested benefit aimed at retired people on low incomes. It's made up of two parts, and while some people get both, many can qualify for just one of the two:
Guarantee credit - this is the main part of pension credit, giving you a top-up of your weekly income to a minimum guaranteed level. The minimum standard guaranteed level for 2021/22 is £177.10 if you're single, and £270.30 if you're in a couple.
Savings credit - for those who reached state pension age before April 2016, there's an extra boost available if you've made provision for your retirement via savings, work or a private pension. This gives you up to £14.04 per week if you're single, and £15.71 if you're in a couple. To qualify you've got to earn above a threshold amount of £153.70 if you're single, or £244.12 if you're in a couple.
While exactly what you can claim depends on which elements you qualify for and other factors, it can be worth £3,000/year on average. For much more detail, including how what you can claim is affected if you have more than £10,000 in savings and investments, see: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/pension-credit/#howmuch
If you think you may be eligible or to check if you are then get together your national insurance number, info about your income, savings and investments, plus bank account details and call the Pension Service on 0800 99 1234.
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QUIZ
- What is the official residence of the British monarch?
- What do the "Americans " call a BOWLER HAT?
- In which film does KEIRA KNIGHTLY play a footballer?
- Miami, Florida and San Juan, Costa Rica are two points of reference of which, phenomena?
- What FRUIT connects Issac Newton and William Tell?
- What may happen if someone suffers from NARCOLEPSY?
- Who or What was an ARQUEBUS?
- What is the residue of tobacco ash that's left in the bowl of a smoked pipe called?
A) RATTLE B) WHITTLE C) SHUTTLE D) DOTTLE
- BARRA ISLAND in the Outer Hebrides, is at present the worlds only what?
- A TERCENTENARY celebrates an anniversary of how many years?
Doug
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GARDENING TIPS FOR JULY
Tomato plants are either determinate or indeterminate. Determinate varieties are bush types and need little or no support. Indeterminate varieties need staking and side shoots taken out on a regular basis. I check my plants every few days.
 As soon as there are about five trusses of fruit on the plant the top should be nipped out. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, because the plant then puts its energy into creating good fruits on the existing trusses, and secondly, and more to the point, because mine have usually reached the greenhouse roof by then!
There are lots of theories regarding the amount of water tomato plants should have but I have always found that in hot weather about half of a large watering can per plant per day seems to work for me. If the weather is cooler water every other day. Do not let them dry out. I fill my watering cans and leave them to stand in the greenhouse so the water warms up and also, if it’s tap water, some of the chemicals dissipate. Although, of course, it is always best to use rainwater from the water butts. Once the first truss of flowers appear I start a weekly feed. So that I don’t forget I always do it on Fridays. ‘Food Friday’! In fact, I use diluted liquid tomato feed for all my vegetables, tomatoes and pots of flowers. In fact, everything in containers.
One of my favourite herbs is Chives not only does it provide a fresh addition to salads and cooking but the flowers are beautiful and a real magnet for bees etc. Mine have gone a bit straggly and the flowers are fading fast. So, I have cut them back to the ground and should get a second growth of fresh green leaves and flowers.
Lovely Camelias thrive best in ericaceous soil, so it is easy to plant them in a pot using this type of compost. I don’t have acid soil in my garden. However, I have a large camelia planted in the ground which I have shaped like a lollipop. I planted it twenty years ago. Dug a large hole and filled it with a bag of ericaceous soil and it flowers every year without fail. Try to avoid planting a Camelia in an easterly facing position as the early morning sun will shine directly onto the blooms on a frosty spring morning and turn the flowers brown.
Camelias have now finished flowering so it is time to prune the plant if you need to improve the shape. Whether in a pot or the ground Camelia’s should be watered throughout the summer and particularly in dry weather. At the end of the summer scatter granular ericaceous feed around the plant and water in. This is the time of year that the plant starts to form the new flower buds for the following spring.
Some of you might remember I bought an oval metal container which I filled with water, some rocks and a couple of pond plants. It is small but it really attracts insects, and as I have hedgehogs coming into the garden regularly, I made some hedgehogs steps for them to take a drink. Also made sure there are a couple of small rocks in the water near to the steps so they have something to clamber onto in case they fall in.
 Do I hear you say oh bless her, she is losing the plot!! Or lost as the case may be!
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Forgotten Battles in the British Isles
I was listening to my great-grandchildren talking about history they were studying, I asked them what they knew of British history from before 1066. The answer was nothing, so they asked me to tell them some stories from history
I asked if they knew that a King of England had been crowned and declared king at Northampton. Not one adult or child had any idea, one told me "Granddad you're telling stories again" But it is a fact, in 1035 AD King Canute (the great) Danish King of England, Denmark, Norway and the Shetland isles, died and his son Harald (Harefoot) was elected and declared King of England, at Northampton.
The reason he was there was, Canute died on route to London (in those days the King travelled around the realm so people could see him as there were no newspapers to inform the people. His wife (Harald's mother) lived in Northampton also it was a central place that made it easier to get enough of the Witan (council) in one place quickly, and it had to be done fast as there was a counterclaim to the throne, by Harefoot's brother ( also Harold) Harthicanute, but he was in Denmark at the time.
So using the excuse that his wife (Aeligefu) could see her husbands body, before taking it to Westminster Abbey, London for burial So that is how a King was crowned in Northampton.
Harold Harefoot reigned 1037 -1040
Good luck to all
Doug
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Recipe of the Month
Pork Meatballs
This great recipe is very easy to make. The amount serves 4 but it's so easy to freeze half if there are two of you. I've taken to buying a ready-made sauce from Lidls because they are easy, tasty and just the right size and well priced.
Ingredients (makes 24 balls)
500g low-fat Pork mince
2 teaspoons of Dijon Mustard
50g breadcrumbs
1 egg
Salt and pepper.
(optionally add a handful of grated mozzarella)
Method
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well by hand. (I have found that the phone or doorbell will ring at times like this so I use disposable gloves and it's so much better because when I have made the balls and want to put some in the oven or freezer I can just whip the gloves off and get on without messing up the place.)
- Place the well-mixed ball of meat onto a board. (this method works with anything you want to divide up into equal sizes) mould the ball into a long brick, cut in half, put half to one side.
- Now to divide into 12, remake this half into a long brick, cut in half. Now remake these two bricks and then cut them in half. Now make all four pieces and cut each into three. By dividing the mix this way the balls end up roughly the same size.
(shaping to a sausage shape makes it easier to divide equally than a ball shape and halves and thirds are also easier to judge than pulling one-twelfth from a ball)
- Place the balls onto a tray lined with baking paper.
- Repeat with the other half of the mixture, either add the balls to the baking sheet or into a freezer box depending on how you want to proceed.
- Cook at 200C for 20 minutes until just starting to brown (25min from frozen)
 2nd half of the batch fits neatly into a freezer/sandwich box
Pasta
Any pasta you want, any quantity. We are on Fusili at the moment and 120g is enough for us. As I said earlier Lidls does a small (190g) jar which is just right for two, my favourite is Tomato and Mascarpone but others are available. Sauce into cooked and drained pasta, meatballs on top or mixed in too. Job done!
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QUIZ Answers
- ST. JAMES PALACE
- A DERBY HAT
- BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
- THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE
- AN APPLE
- THEY KEEP FALLING ASLEEP
- AN EARLY TYPE OF FIREARM
- D a DOTTLE
- BEACH AIRPORT
- 300
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As I get older I realise
- I talk to myself because sometimes I need expert advice.
- Sometimes, I roll my eyes out loud.
- I don't need anger management. I need people to stop peeing me off.
- My people skills are just fine. It's my tolerance of idiots that needs work.
- The biggest lie I tell myself. " I don't need to write that down, I'll remember it"
- When I was a child I thought nap time was a punishment. Now it's like a mini-holiday.
- The day the world runs out of wine is just too terrible to think about.
- Even Duct tape cannot fix stupid. But it can muffle the sound.
- Wouldn't it be great if we could put ourselves in the tumble dryer for 10 mins: and come out wrinkle-free and 2 sizes smaller.
- 'Getting Lucky' means walking into a room and remembering why I'm there.
And there's more...
- A psychologist is selling a video that teaches you how to test your dog's IQ. Here’s how it works: If you spend £12.99 for the video, your dog is smarter than you.
- You’ll never be as lazy as whoever named the fireplace.
- Some people just have a way with words, and other people … oh … not have way.
- The four most beautiful words in our common language: "I told you so."
- I discovered a shortcut today. If you put your Fitbit in the tumble dryer for 20 minutes, you can get a head start on your steps. I had 3,800 steps in before I put on my pants!
- Q. What do you call someone who can't stick with a diet? A. A desserter.
- So what if I don't know what "Armageddon" means? It's not the end of the world.
- If I got 50p for every maths question I got right, I’d have £ 6.30 now.
- My doctor took one look at my tummy and refused to believe that I work out. So I listed the exercises I do every day: jump to conclusions, climb the walls, drag my heels, push my luck, make mountains out of molehills, bend over backwards, run around in circles, put my foot in my mouth, go over the edge, and beat around the bush.
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And Finally...
I've cracked it. I now know a foolproof way of stopping World War 3. Whenever you see the President of Good Ol' US of A getting on board Airforce 1 somewhere in the background will be a young man with a briefcase chained to his wrist. This case, nicknamed 'the football' contains the nuclear launch codes, Vlad P also has one. Boris keeps his with his bike puncture repair kit and spare comb on the back of his bike. How did I discover this secret to peace in our time? Well, it's all thanks to the Euro Football Torment actually...
Dianne really enjoys her soaps, Emmerdale and Corrie, but along came the Euro's and out went the soaps. I as technician in residence was commanded to get said soaps on ITV Hub. Now, this was all set up on our TV before but due to either a TV software or ITV app upgrade the dreaded signup screen appeared. No problem I thought, I whipped out my tablet and went to ITVHUB/mytv and... Nope, I needed to reregister. So name, address, postcode, email, date of birth. I stopped at date of birth because it popped up a little window with this months calendar with only an arrow to navigate with. And it wouldn't let me bypass this at all!!
Yes, it wanted me to swipe back to
April 1955
ONE MONTH AT A TIME!!
That's 795 Times!!
So, if we got every nation to use a Samsung tablet and ITV hub app to authenticate their nuclear launch codes, they'd probably have a bit of time to think about the repercussions of what they were about to do or lose interest, which is what I did.
Actually, I signed us up for ITV hub on my PC just fine, and just as well because ITV replied to my feedback with, Oh dear we are sorry but we can't test for every device, sorry, bye. I wonder how many people only have a tablet to sign up with though. So a major faux pas by either ITV, Samsung or Chrome. ITV's feedback was merely very hard to achieve, the other two, forget about it. We are big, you get what we do and be grateful. Modern life, what a faff!
While I remember
Ever since the start of lockdown, Angela has been running Fit'nFab classes twice a week and paying for the Pro zoom sessions out of her own account. If you are attending these zoom meetings please consider putting a small contribution into her account, if you haven't done so already (remember the Fit'nFab meetings at the church were one of Angela's main incomes before Lockdown) I checked the other day and realised I hadn't put anything in for ages, its easy to forget. I'm sure any amount will help her out.
Her A/C Number is 32364468 and her Sort Code is 30 - 96 - 09
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