Spring 2016
Notes from the Chairman
Hello to everyone,
We have been very lucky this winter with the weather and spring has now sprung. I am sure all the daffodils are out in your gardens, the crocuses are almost over and it is only the beginning of March!!
This is my final Newsletter as Chairman so I would like to thank all of you who have given me so much support over the last three years. I have had some ups and downs but on the whole it has been a rewarding time. I now know many of you by sight and through the different groups have got to know many of you personally as friends. However it is time just to be one of the clan and leave the decisions to my successor.
I hope you have all had a chance to see our new website as I think you would agree that Peter Howard has done an outstanding job in creating it to maximise publicity of Cardiac Friends and our activities. Peter had his arm firmly twisted up his back by me to take on this venture and his determination and interest has produced an amazing site. So I have now seen the results with my own eyes, just as Doubting Thomas did, (ref. winter newsletter). Please use the site if you can as all our events and activities are on the calendar. If you have the web there is no excuse now for forgetting a date.
We held the Shannon Express Concert in February and I know those of you who came had a wonderful evening. I would like to thank all those who helped on the night, which was all the Committee, Ruth and Gaynor who ran the raffle and a special thanks to Anne Harrison and Heather Cotton for correlating and banking all the ticket money. Janet Willsher was in charge of the catering side providing teas and coffees for about 180 people. Her band of helpers worked hard to get everyone served in the interval and thanks to all who made cakes for the occasion. The teas and coffees were advertised as included in the price of the concert but begging bowls were put out and an amazing £73.00 was collected. The raffle also brought in £162.00. I was so impressed by the support we received. If you would like to see some photos of the event have a look on the website. I was able to send out cheques to the three charities of £470.00 from the proceeds of the night but more on that in Heather’s report. Thanks to all of you who came and also to those who gave us generous donations as you were unable to come.
The last two events for my tenure are the Vernon Girls talk on 12th April and our AGM on the 18th of May. I apologise to those who cannot make the afternoon AGM but trying to get a hall in the evenings is now almost impossible. I look forward to seeing as many as possible of you there and hope that one of you will come forward to take my place. We also require a new Treasurer as Anne Harrison is standing down after doing a marvellous job for the past three years.
I know that all of you, including me, wish to see Cardiac friends continue in to the future and I hope with all my heart that this will be so. I feel a little sad to be writing this letter but am optimistic that all will be well.
Jackie Quinn
Notes from the Secretary
We have done a lot of fund raising since the last Newsletter. Janet Willsher’s Floristry Workshop raised £200 for the Herts Air Ambulance, the Exercise Group collected £73.20 for the British Heart Foundation on Wear Red Day, and the Concert raised £470 each for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, the Herts Air Ambulance and the St John’s fund for Defibrillators for their members to use in the local area.
I would like to thank Jackie for the tremendous help and support she has given me since I became Secretary. She tries to meet everybody, and does a great deal behind the scenes too. Jan Willsher and her team are fantastic caterers. The past year has shown me my limitations very clearly, but, while I hope for a more able replacement to step forwards, I will stand for Secretary again if need be.
The website is now up and running, thanks to Peter Howard, our website manager. We can show the world what fun Cardiac Friends is.
Be safe, live life to the full, best wishes,
Heather Cotton
Line Dancing
At the end of last year we agonised and debated as to whether we should close down the line dancing group altogether and call it a day. We had struggled all year to attract more new members to join us. When the time came to make our final decision we were all so upset at the prospect of not line dancing together in 2016 we voted to keep the group alive and kicking for as long as our funds allowed.
We only have 11 members at the moment so it only takes a few that are unable to come along to a session due to illness, holidays or other commitments for us to have a short fall of money to cover the cost of the hall and our teacher, Mary.
In order to help our ‘fight’ and mission to keep going we have increased the cost per session to £6 per person which also includes refreshments of tea/coffee and cake.
We meet fortnightly on a Saturday morning at the Willian village hall from 10am–12 midday.
If you fancy some good exercise, having fun at the same time, why not come along and see us in action!! Mary our fantastic teacher always takes us through all the steps before each dance so even if you have not line danced before there is no problem. If you are interested or want further information please contact me:
Janet Savage:
Email address: or via the ‘Contact us’ page.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Maggie, Chloris and John for their valued loyalty, help and support over the past 13 years as members of our group. You were there right at the very beginning when Dinah launched the line dancing activity so it is so strange not having you dancing with us this year. We miss you and hope you will pop in any time for a quick dance or just join us for tea and cake at break time!!!
London Walks.
The four of us met up with Kim in late January and spent a working lunch producing a programme of 6 walks for this year. The London Walks members have all been sent details of the walks this year already. For those of you who have not until now considered a pleasant walk in our capital city, with guiding services provided by a first class London Blue Badge Guide, and topped off by a leisurely pre-ordered lunch at the Wetherspoon pub ‘Sir John Oldcastle’, then why don’t you give us a ring or drop us an e-mail at the contacts below.
We are transported by ‘Chambers Coaches’, and you will be amongst friends all day!
Cost is a modest £18 each plus the cost of your meal – superb value!!
This year’s programme:
Sunday 17 April ‘Scandalous London!’
Sunday 22 MayStreet Art
Sunday 26 JunCharity, Children and Cheers!
Sunday 7 Aug3 years on – a return to the Olympic Park
Sunday 4 SepDocklands – old and new
Sunday 2 Oct‘Read all about it!’
For further details contact us at
Theatre Group and Places of Interest
It is unfortunate, but due to going into hospital on 1st March for a total knee replacement, I am unable to organise any theatre trips or anything else at the moment. Depending on my recovery, I hope to be arranging some visits in the near future.
I am not exactly ‘taking on’ the Places of Interest group, but if there is anywhere I would like to go, I will arrange visits (when possible) and ask you to come with me.
Before I knew I was going to have a knee replacement I organised a visit to Southill House near Shefford in May. This is going ahead and I am pleased that all ‘places’ have been filled for this visit. If you are disappointed that you didn’t know about this outing and would like to hear about future visits, please let me know and I will add your names to my list of people to contact.
I do wonder whether any member of Cardiac Friends is interested in taking on ‘The Places of Interest Group’ and organising visits. If yes, please do contact either myself or Jackie Quinn (Chairman) or a member of the committee.
A Favourite ‘Healthy’ Cake
This recipe has been used again and again over the last 15 years whenever I was baking a cake to use with members of Cardiac Friends – also by members who I gave the recipe to. It is moist and fruity BUT contains NO sugar or fat and it is free of eggs and dairy products!!!
(Also known as Molly Cake, not sure why!)
250g stoned dates roughly chopped
300ml water
85g plain flour
3tsp baking powder
1tsp ground mixed spice
85g wholemeal flour (if you have it in your cupboard, otherwise use all plain white flour)
500g mixed dried fruit of your choice
50g ground almonds
80ml orange juice
Pre heat the oven to 170°C / gas 3 and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
Put the dates and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Sieve the plain flour, baking powder and mixed spice into a bowl. Add the wholemeal flour, mixed fruit and ground almonds and stir to combine.
Stir in the wet date mixture and the orange juice. Mix well.
Spoon into the loaf tin. Bake 45 – 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Turn out onto a wire rack and cool.Serve cut in slices. Enjoy!
Wise words about Friends
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True friends are like good books.
You don’t always use them,
But you know where they are
When you want them.
True friends are like pearls,
Precious and rare.
False ones are like falling
Leaves, found everywhere
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Dinah Mackellar
Contact details:
Funnies
A would-be burglar was apprehended by Dundee butcher Ian Robertson and subsequently arrested after he broke into the house in the early hours of Tuesday morning by forcing a downstairs window, climbing in, and unfortunately for him, stepping onto Mr Robertson’s bagpipes! (Dundee Courier).
Wednesday Walking Group
Well what a special Christmas lunch we had at ‘The Rising Sun’, after the meal I asked if anyone would like a further walk on 23rd.December as it was so close to Christmas. The answer was a resounding yes and a request to return to ‘The Rising Sun’, so a number of us had a second Christmas Lunch!
At this time of year I have the usual struggle finding walks which are not too muddy. One expects a bit of mud in the winter, however, I found some of the walks not only muddy but very slippery and I need to be aware that we are all getting older and falls may cause more than a few bruises.
On the plus side we have enrolled 6 new members for our walks, and as reported previously some who can no longer walk the full course come along and do a shortened version and have lunch with us. Looking on the bright side as spring approaches I hope to slip in a walk at the Lee Valley Park, when the better weather and wildlife are more active. I will probably add it out of sequence with the other walks as a number of members feel it is too far for them to travel.
Fred Maryon
emailto:
Coincidence
In the early 1960’s, whilst working at ‘de Havilland’ a number of my colleagues and I decided to collect money for disadvantaged children. This was before the days of the BBC hosted ‘Children in Need’.
About half a dozen of us gave up our Friday lunch and the money saved was collected and held by one of those donating. After a couple of months it was felt that a suitable sum of money had been raised and that we should decide who should benefit from our efforts. The general consensus was to send it to the Church Missionary Society (CMS); however we wanted to send the money directly to a school, to avoid the inevitable administration costs, so that all of the money would benefit the children.
It was agreed that Keith who had started the project should write to the CMS to ask for the address of a missionary school so that we could send the donation directly to them.
A reply was received from the society asking that we direct the donation to a missionary school at Meerut near Delhi in India. The money was despatched.
A month and then two months went by, one or two remarked that ‘they might at least have acknowledged the donation’. A further couple of weeks later we received a letter from the lady in charge of the school.
It began, “Dear Mr Bramwell, Thank you and your colleagues for your kind donation. I must apologise for the delay in replying to your letter, as my assistant Margaret Beaver is on vacation in UK I am on my own caring for the school and the children...... ”
Margaret I had met once or twice, she is the sister of one of my best friends Martin Beaver, he and I grew up and went to the same church and scout group! I contacted my friend Martin; he put me in touch with Margaret. I invited her to a dinner party at my home, with my colleagues. She brought all her colour slides with her, so was able to show us pictures of life in the school and the children that they cared for.
It was an amazing coincidence that of all the possible missionary schools in the ‘third world’ that chance had led us to one at which the sister of a friend was working.
Fred Maryon
More Funnies
Two traffic patrol officers from North Berwick were involved in an incident while checking for speeding motorists on the A1. They were using a hand-held radar device to trap unwary drivers on the London-Edinburgh trunk road.
One of the officers used the device to check the speed of an approaching vehicle and was surprised to find that the target had registered a speed in excess of 300 mph. The radar then seized up and could not be reset by the policeman.
The radar had in fact latched onto a NATO Tornado aircraft which was taking part in an exercise over the southern Scottish border.
Following a complaint by the police liaison officer, it was discovered that the officers had had a lucky escape.
The tactical computer on board the aircraft had not only detected and jammed the hostile radar equipment, but had automatically armed an air-ground missile ready to neutralise the perceived threat.
Lothian and Borders Police departments have declined to comment.
(Berwickshire Gazette).
‘Owing to drought and a shortage of water, we have closed two lanes of the swimming pool.’
(Notice at Huddersfield Baths).
From the Editor
I do hope you have found the newsletter informative, and I look forward to receiving your contributions in the future. If you feel you have something of interest to add to the newsletter, please do send it to me.
Ruth Brown
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