Hello everyone! Here is the November newsletter. There is no newsletter in December and no meeting either. The next meeting will be in the New Year on the last Monday of January at 2.00 at The Seahorse Centre. As usual, don’t forget to sign the attendance book provided and if you visit The Seahorse Centre at other times sign in at Reception and wear a visitor badge. There is no smoking allowed inside or at the front of the building. You can smoke at the back of the building.
The address of The Seahorse Centre is: Stephenson Road, Minehead, TA24 5E
West Somerset Disability Association Trustees
Martin Greenwood, (Chairman); Peter and Heidi Morse; Terry Venner; Una Wright.
Transport
If you booked to come by taxi to the monthly WSDA meeting and you can’t make it, can you PLEASE RING DAVE WILLETT, who organises this transport, to cancel it. PLEASE HELP US TO HELP YOU!!! Transport queries about outings should be addressed to the Events Committee.
Useful Telephone Numbers
West Somerset Disability Association Committee Members
President:  Jean Gilbert  01984 641197
Chairman:  Steven Elliott  01643 702321
Vice Chairman: Mary Court   01643 702129
Secretary:  Molly Newstead  01984 634739
Treasurer:  David Kendall  01643 863505
Transport for the monthly WSDA meeting only:
David Willett  01643 708592
Members’ Representatives:
(Minutes) Marlene Saunders 01643 702972
(Welfare) Margaret Bruford  01984 656367
Events Committee:
Sandra Kendall  01643 863505
Shirley Williams  01984 632265
  Â
IT Tutor          Chris Brinkman  01643 708025 Mobile 07971 285878
Seahorse Centre IT room   01643 702021 or 07971 285878
   Messages (Reception) 01643 705000
E-mail: wsomersetdisability@tiscali.co.uk
Web Site: www.westsomersetdisability.org.ukÂ
Computers
Our new website is up and running now. You can see the newsletter there as well as news of our recent activities and forthcoming events. Please give us your e-mail address if you have one, as an e-mailed newsletter is free to send but we have to pay to post them. Please help us to help you!
If you would like some computer training please let one of the committee members know or talk to Chris our IT instructor. You must be a member of our association (£6.00 per annum) before you can have lessons, which cost £2.00 per hour. If anyone has a problem with their computer at home and would like help from Chris he will tell the committee of the problem and they will then decide what to do.
Disability Advocate
The service is provided by A4e (0800 288 8712). They are based at A4e, 2nd Floor, Victoria House, Victoria Street, Taunton, Somerset TA1 3JZ. The A4e website is www.a4e.gov.uk. The service will offer help if you need assistance with care arrangements, equipment, housing, blue badges, etc.Â
President’s Report
What a night out three of us had at the American Wrestling at Butlins the other Saturday! The seats were excellent but oh boy, it was blowing!! We had three hours of real entertainment, the audience including children, considering there must have been about six thousand people, were so well behaved. The security was good and extremely helpful. Thank goodness the tent stayed up for us!!
At the time of writing this we have had our outing to Street, and we all came back with plenty of goodies, the next one is Barnstaple so the bus will be groaning again!! The buggies were waiting for us at Street and the ones for Barnstaple are booked.
Please be at Foxes Hotel on December 7th at 12 noon for our Christmas dinner. There is a ramp from the car-park into the Hotel and a lift down to the restaurant. Please bring a special Christmas raffle prize with you, and of course plenty of pennies to purchase the tickets.
The memorial service for Eunice Greenway went well, and a lot of her friends were there. All her family attended and thanks to them for all the sandwiches, which we had in the hall. Thanks to David and Josephine for doing all the tea and coffee, they are good to us.
I have got five Christmas dinners to go to so my scales will be very prominently placed, but it will be good to be with so many different people and places to eat.
Have a good Christmas all of you and see you in January, when we shall have Brian from Atwest (local community bus transport) to give us a talk.
Jean
Chairman’s Report
Hello everyone, Steven (or Steve) Elliott here!
Firstly: many thanks for the words of encouragement for me in the last Newsletter. For those of you who do not get to the Monday meetings, here are a few words of background. My birth certificate says that I will be 82 soon. Luckily, I have always been taught not to believe all that I read, so I ignore that.
My eyesight is very poor; the white stick is not carried just for effect! I can get around in areas that I know, but elsewhere I do need a guide. I also have 2 hearing aids. You will find out more at the Monday meetings. Be patient. Enough of that.
A number of us went to the memorial service for Eunice Greenway. It was a good service and we learnt more about her remarkable life.
I got my first Christmas card on the 18th of this month. Is this a record?
It was from a friend who is moving abroad and she wanted to get hers’ sent off before she left. It did remind me that Christmas is not far away, so, a Merry Christmas and a good, and for some of us a better New Year.
The November Meeting
This was a fine start! The taxi was late, so was I.
The highlight of the meeting was a description of the work of A4e by Jacky Churchill. This organisation gives help and advice to people. Normally they concentrate on the 18 to 65 age group but they will always point others in the right direction.
During the meeting, the money for the Christmas lunch was collected. Apparently, they are going to take the orders when we are there. (Lucky, I have forgotten what I had decided on!) So I hope to see you there, 12 o`clock on Thursday at Foxes. If you are not there, I hope to see you at the next meeting. January 29th.
Cheerio,
Steven.
Vice Chairman’s Report
I have not got any news this month as most people have already said what there is to know and I would hate to bore you with repeated information. All I have to say is I Wish you all A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
So I shall say Good bye for now.
Best wishes Mary
Treasurer’s Report
At the meeting the raffle raised £22 and Steve Brinkman collected £15.27 in his hat for the Almoner’s Fund
Events’ Committee Report
There were Christmas shopping trips to Street and Barnstaple this month. There is a trip to ‘Cats’ at the Bristol Hippodrome on Wednesday 6th December and the Christmas Lunch is taking place at Foxes Hotel on Thursday, 7th December. The old Events Committee is being replaced by the new one now. Thank you to the old committee for their efforts and we wish the new committee good luck in their work.
Poets’ Corner
Pre Christmas Mail
Letters, letters, falling through the door,
Some ask for help, others want much more.
Pleadings start with stories grim,
Of men shot down, who have lost a limb.
There are those who ask we make a Will,
In their favour, help pay their Bill;
Some for a Covenant, a regular gift,
To give their funds a frequent lift.
For those who live in total dark;
Here in my heart there burns a spark;
Through the year I give with pleasure,
Not much, perhaps, but who’s to measure?
Hard to judge where my mite is needed,
It is not for those who are most greedy.
…………………………
The Old Lamp Lighter of Long, Long Ago
When just a Child, long years ago,
Streets were not lit, as now they glow.
No soft amber light or fluorescent glare
But flickering gas light, with shadow there.
As twilight fell the lamp lighter came,
Turned on the gas and lit a flame.
Lamp by lamp and street by street,
He gave us light but it was weak.
In the morning when daylight came,
He made the journey once again.
Turned off the gas, put out the light,
A friendly man, a friendly sight.
……………………….
Len Cross
November 11th 2006
Listening to the Armistice interviews on TV and radio it was noticeable that many ex-servicemen admitted that they were unable to speak about their wartime experiences.
David Kendall’s contribution to the last newsletter illustrated this reluctance. Was it chance that he found a wartime poem abandoned in a phone box;
Why do you still march old man
With medals on your chest?
Why do you still grieve old man
For those friends you laid to rest?
Tell me why you cry old man
For those days long ago?
Was the 90 year old writer Bill Ridley’s poem an effort to communicate an experience too painful to speak of? Did he write it and hope that someone would find it and understand?
A similar poem reached me from a USA Korean War veteran. Like David, I enclose it hoping that WJ will not mind me putting it in our newsletter.
Hilarie
The Dead of Winter War: Korea 1950 – 1951
The bitter cold northern winds
Howl southward across the Han.
They whirl the pale snow flurries
That congeal the heart of man.
At a quartermaster Laundry
By the road to Yong-Dong-Po,
Are heaps of new-washed clothing
Of men buried under snow.
We stop our weapons-carrier
By the storm-lashed QM tents;
Inside we search the piles to
Replace our soldiers’ raiments.
Some few of men now vanished
Match closely our height and build;
We don sterilized fatigues
With a thanks to those guys killed.
They are our faithful comrades,
Though each in eternity lies.
We wear their gear with sadness,
While memories blur our eyes.
These shirts and boots and parkas
Will warm us while we yet live;
When piercing steel brings our end,
It will be our turn to give.
The bitter cold winter winds
Hurl southward over the land.
They whirl the pale snow phantoms
Deathward across the bleak strand.
AÂ RÂ Â WJ 24 Oct 1995
(A R is Morse code for ‘End of message’)
The Twelve Days of Christmas
[Or the Everlasting Turkey]
On the first day of Christmas
My true love said to me,
“I’ve brought a big fresh Turkey
and a proper Christmas tree.â€
On the second day of Christmas
Much laughter could be heard
As we tucked into our turkey
A most delicious bird.
On the third day of Christmas
Came the people from next door
And the turkey tasted just as good
As it had done before.
On the fourth day of Christmas
Came relations young and old,
We finished up the Christmas pud
And had the turkey cold.
On the fifth day of Christmas
Outside the snowflakes flurried
But we were nice and warm inside
And had the turkey curried.
On the sixth day of Christmas
The Christmas spirit died.
The children fought and bickered –
We had turkey rissoles fried.
On the seventh day of Christmas
My true love he did wince
When he sat down at the table
And was offered turkey mince.
On the eighth day of Christmas
The dog had run for shelter,
He’d seen our turkey pancakes
And the glass of Alka-Seltzer
On the ninth day of Christmas
By lunchtime dad was blotto,
He knew that bird was back,
This time as risotto.
On the tenth day of Christmas
We were drinking home-made brew,
As if that wasn’t enough
We were eating turkey stew
On the eleventh day of Christmas
The Christmas tree was moulting,
With chilli, soy and oyster sauce
The turkey was revolting.
On the twelfth day of Christmas
We had smiles upon our lips,
The guests had gone, the turkey too –
We dined on fish and chips.
Anon, contributed by Jane Moore
Articles, letters and e-mails
To Sylvia
I would like to personally thank Sylvia for all the hard work and effort she put into baking cakes, quiches and sausage rolls, also pickles and jams to sell on the stall at the coffee mornings. She put a lot of hard work into this and she did not receive any thanks for being on the events committee or for her good work on the stall.
Beryl Scott.
SAIN Disability Information Fair and AGM
On Thursday 9th Nov we arrived in Taunton for the above meeting, which was held at Blackwood Sports Centre.
In the main hall we went around a lot of different stalls, it was very interesting as most of the stalls gave advice on a lot of different things, like how to keep your home warm in winter, care in the home, shoes and disabled wares to help people live a better life.
One stall had a range of wheelchairs and scooters also a double seat that rose to let you stand up.
The speakers were very interesting and we learnt a lot from them.
We thought the lunch at £6 a head was a bit over the top as it consisted of sandwiches and crisps also unlimited tea and coffee not at all what we expected for the price.
There were too many stalls to remember but overall it was a very interesting day.
Beryl Scott and Sylvia Griffiths.
Messing about on the river
Or to be more accurate the Llangollen canal
On the 16 October mum, dad, and myself set off to go on a canal boat thanks to Tescos. We arrived at our destination Whitchurch in Shropshire very near the Welsh border. I had never been on a canal boat before so I didn’t know what to expect. So to say I had a bit of a surprise was an understatement. When I saw the length of the boat [60ft] the people at the boat yard were very good as it was nearly dark and we were not happy about taking the boat out in the dark. Dad wanted to drive [as we had to lift him on and off the boat we stayed where we were and went into Chester. Well erm yes. And Whitchurch, which was nice.  So we never made it out of the boat yard.
We are hoping to go next year but my sister will be driving. She should be used to it as she can drive an army tank also my brother so it should be ok. Still we had a good time and played cards, drank a lot of wine…. [Yer very good] and the dogs enjoyed it.
   Bye for now, until my next adventure.Â
Jane Moore
10/11/2006
To all at the WSDA
Very sincere thanks for the lovely pot-plant, which is now plastered in flowers and the card, following my recent hospital stay. I am now on the recovery slope and although the new knee is still very painful at times, it is working well.
Pat Parsons
Sunnymeade, a disability-friendly hotel in North Devon
We heard about this hotel, which may interest some of our members. It is in West Down, close to Woolacombe, Croyde and Saunton Sands. It is wheelchair accessible and the staff can sign British Sign Language. For more information go to www.sunnymeade.co.uk, phone 01271 863668 or write to Sunnymeade, Dean Cross, West Down, Nr Woolacombe, North Devon EX34 8NT.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be on Monday 29th January at 2.00pm at The Seahorse Centre. I hope to see you there.
