West Somerset
Disability Association

Hello everyone!  The summer has gone and autumn is truly here now!  Here is the latest newsletter. We have decided to redate the newsletters so they reflect the beginning of the month when they appear rather than the end of the previous month; hence, this is dated October rather than September. The next meeting is on Monday 29th October at 2.00 pm and the AGM will take place.  There will also be a talk by a master thatcher.  As usual, sign the attendance book 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 if you want to.
Our address: The Seahorse Centre, Stephenson Road, Minehead, TA24 5EB

West Somerset Disability Association Trustees
Martin Greenwood, Chair; 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
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.uk

Computers
You can see the newsletter on our website 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 to you.  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. 

President’s Report
Hello everybody,
Sorry there is no report this month but Jean had fall and broke her wrist.  It was put in plaster so she could not write or type anything.
Jean asked me to tell everyone about the following:
Unfortunately, Les Pike died recently.  He was a member of the Association for many years and most of you will have known him.
We want to send best wishes to Dorothy Lloyd, our ex-chairman, who is not very well at the moment.
Chris (on Jean’s behalf)

Chairman’s Chat
Hello Everyone!
Isn’t this year going quickly?  It is nearly the end of September as I write this.
Jean and Margaret are, I hope, in Tenerife for a well-earned holiday.  I say, “I hope…” as Jean had a fall in her garden about a week before they were going and she has her wrist in plaster, and yes, it is her right wrist so she is very incapacitated.  I am sure we all wish her a speedy recovery.
Many thanks to Marlene for the excellent lunch she provided as a result of her quiz evening.  Talking of food, we also had a nice sausage and mash meal at Allerford.
For the gardeners amongst you, I am engrossed in an experiment with tomato plants.  I have been engaged in it for the last two years.  You know the side shoots you take off and throw away?  Well I have potted some of them on in pots with compost and kept them watered.  They rooted and grew on nicely.  As the weather grew cool, I brought them into the conservatory.  At the end of January they had flowers on them.  I moved them into the sitting room, which was warmer, and I got ripe tomatoes off them by the end of February!  One of the thrills of gardening is that you can always try something new.
Some of you know that I am gadget minded.  You know about my talking microwave and the talking kitchen scales.  My latest gadget is a jumbo remote control.  It works the TV, the video recorder and the DVD player.  It is also very difficult to misplace.  It is 11” long and 5” wide.  The buttons are quite big and even I can see them without a magnifying glass (but no, it does not talk to me!)  it was originally designed for people who cannot push the ordinary buttons because of difficulty of hand movements.  I have just got it so it is on trial.  Watch this space!
Notes of the monthly meeting on 24th September 2007.
It was a very interesting meeting.  Mrs Ann Chamberlain came about 2.15 and gave an interesting and amusing account of her affairs with owls.  She had been told that she should relax more. She went to the owl sanctuary at Bossington and worked there for a time. She became enchanted with the birds and eventually took one home to live in her  aviary. It was a Little Owl. She brought it with her and it stayed on her arm all through her talk.
Eventually we were allowed to stroke it. I found it very very soft, surprisingly so. I was amazed how soft it was. At home, she also has a large white owl with a deformed wing.  It cannot fly but does lead them a dance when they try to wash it or take it to the vet!
It was a very amusing and interesting talk.
There was a suggestion, later that in future the raffle should be altered so that two large prizes would be provided instead of us all bringing a prize.  (This is because of the poor quality of some of the prizes produced by the present arrangement). This will be discussed at the committee meeting in October. If you have any ideas on the subject, please let a committee member know before the 22nd October.
Well that is all for now.  I must get back to my gadgets.
Cheerio, Steve(n

Treasurer’s Report
At the September meeting the raffle raised £26.00 and we collected £7.35 for the Almoner’s Fund.

Events’ Committee Report
The sausage and mash meal at Allerford went well.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
Proposed Outings
The next date for your diaries is the Christmas lunch.  For more details, watch this space or come to the meeting at the end of the month.

Poets’ Corner
Poem from Len Cross
A poem written by John Christopher, which I found in a book.
MADE FOR EACH OTHER
He’d worshipped her for quite a while
and wanted to propose,
so in a most romantic way
these special words he chose.

 ‘Sometimes it’s nice to be alone
but I’ve made up my mind.
I’d like companionship each day
with someone very kind.’

 ‘Someone who will look up to me
with faithful loving eyes.
A partner who is full of fun,
Who never moans or sighs’.

 ‘Someone whom I can treat as mine.
Who cares when times are bad.
Someone who’s there to share my joy
and comfort when I’m sad.’

He looked into her eye and saw
a sympathetic gleam.
She said ‘I really understand
It needn’t be a dream’

 ‘You want someone to share your life,
I think that’s super news
Yes, if you want to buy a dog
I’ll come and help you choose!’

Articles, letters and e-mails
Margaret Bruford wrote:

Thank you all for coming to my party and for all the wonderful presents I received, I hope you all enjoyed it. It will be a birthday I will remember for a long time. I would like to say a special thank you to Jean and Terry for decorating the hall. I will see you all after our holiday at the next meeting. Margaret.

Dear Committee
Thank you for forwarding the latest newsletter to me.  I came across this one, which may raise a few smiles.
Regards
Judith

The Moods of a Woman
An angel of truth and a dream of fiction,
A woman is a bundle of contradiction,
She’s afraid of a wasp, will scream at a mouse,
But will tackle a stranger alone in the house.
Sour as vinegar, sweet as a rose,
She’ll kiss you one minute, then turn up her nose.
She’ll win you in rage, enchant you in silk,
She’ll be stronger than brandy, milder than milk,
At times she’ll be vengeful, merry and sad,
She’ll hate you like poison, and love you like mad.

Equipment on offer
The WSDA have also been given the following items of equipment, which we can pass on to anyone who wants them in exchange for a donation to our funds.
• Dell Keyboard
• Scanner (Simplex DP 30M)
• Lexmark Z34 printer

Handy Numbers
Age Concern Information Line 0800 00 99 66 www.ageconcern.org.uk

Arthritis Care 0808 800 4050 www.arthritiscare.org.uk

AT West Community Transport  01643 709701

Blue Badge (Disabled Parking Scheme) 0845 3459133 or 01823 335285

Breast Cancer Care 0808 800 6000 www.breastcancercare.org.uk

CVS (Council for Voluntary Service) Minehead  01643 707484

Cruse Bereavement Care 0870 167 1677 www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk

Depression Alliance 0845 123 2320 www.depressionalliance.org

Diabetes UK 0845 120 2960 www.diabetes.org.uk

Help the Aged 0808 800 6565 www.helptheaged.org.uk

NHS Direct 0845 46 47 www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Piper Lifeline 01984 635100

Prestige Mobility (Customer Focus Team) 0970 787 1975 www.prestigemobility.com

Samaritans 08457 09090 www.samaritans.org.uk

Somerset Association for the Blind 01823 333818 www.sab-fund.org.uk

Stroke Association 0845 303 3100 www.stroke.org.uk

Talking Newspapers 01984 640 471

Winter Warmth Helpline 0800 085 700 www.dh.gov.uk

Next Meeting
The next meeting will be on Monday 29th October at 2.00 pm at The Seahorse Centre. I hope to see you there.