Retirement today autumn 2017

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R E T I R E M E N T

www.retirement-today.co.uk

The magazine for pre and post retirement

FINANCE•LIFESTYLE•TRAVEL•CULTURE• COMPETITIONS• HEALTH•RECIPES

Issue 92 Autumn ‘17 2.90

Let your legacy live on

Leaving a gift in your Will to Bield means older people can enjoy your legacy in so many ways.

If you would like to find out how your legacy could change lives visit www.bield.co.uk or call Kevin Rowe, Fundraiser on 0131 273 4000.

To make an instant donation text FREE23 and your donation amount: e.g. FREE23 £10 to 70070

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BIELD HOUSING & CARE Registered Office: 79 Hopetoun Street, Edinburgh, EH7 4QF

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Tel: 0131 273 4000 • Fax: 0131 557 6327 • info@bield.co.uk • www.bield.co.uk • Scottish Charity SC006878 today

CONTENTS

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4 Sod Sitting, Get Moving – Get on the move now!

Read how being more active and more involved in society is important whatever your age.

WELCOME TO RETIREMENT TODAY MAGAZINE

6 Why are ‘Silver Splitters’ on the rise?

Amanda Rimmer, from the national law firm Stephensons, takes a look at why the rate of divorce among the over 65s is increasing.

8 Dinner with Dickens Read how being more active and more involved in society is important whatever your age.

10 Update Eastham Hall Holiday Park; Davran Jewellery; Urban Marque

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13 Footloose in England’s Lake District Debra Rixon shares her experience of walking in the beautiful Lake District.

16 Cathedrals of the British Isles Mike Francis writes about some of the magnificent Cathedrals, steeped in history, around the British Isles

19 Pets make perfect pets when you retire

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Retirement could be the perfect time to consider adopting a pet.

20 Invisible Illness - Getting the best from your health-care practitioner Read how you can benefit from developing a collaborative relationship with your doctor or health-care practitioner.

26 Competitions Your chance to win theatre tickets and DVD

Unusual places to visit in London.

Amra Media Solutions Ltd The Old Lavender Mill 46a Brook Street Aston Clinton Buckinghamshire HP22 5ES • Tel: 01296 632700 • Email: info@amramedia.co.uk • www.retirement-today.co.uk • Designed by: Tom Evans Design All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the publisher.

The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Although every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information and the advertisements contained within the magazine, the publishers cannot accept any liability.

Retirement Today would be pleased to receive your articles and photographs for possible publication. Although all reasonable care will be taken the magazine can assume no responsibility and contributors are advised to retain a copy.

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25 Out and About Alma-Tadema: At home in antiquity; Experience the pomp and pageantry of the Birmingham International Tattoo in November; Rembrandt: Lightening the Darkness; True to Life-British Realist Painting in the 1920s and 1930s.

27 Hidden London • Published by:-

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WGIEN26 PA

From Hidden Paris ©Jacqui Small

Interior image, bottom left: From Hidden Paris © Jacqui Small

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28 Hidden Paris A new perspective.

30 New Age of Dentistry Read about how people are combining overseas travel with ‘state of the art’ dentistry.

36 Charity News Abandoned Shetland Pony; Girlguiding makes major investment in girls’ future; Max’s Happy Ending; SENIOR-RITA clinical trials’; All for one and one for all; Chest Heart Stroke Scotland;The Value of Volunteering.

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Sod Sitting, Get Moving!

Get on the move, now!

J Sod Sitting, Get Moving!

oin the many older people who are healthier, more active and more involved in society than previous generations. Far from sitting down and taking life easy, these people are likely to be on the move. Some are off seeking adventures abroad; others are going back to university to improve their education, or bravely contemplating setting up new business ventures.

Being active benefits your health as well as providing you with social contact to lift your spirits. It’s time to ‘sod sitting’ and ‘get moving! ’ Walking is an easy and efficient way to keep yourself in good health and shape. It boosts energy levels, gets the

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circulation going and makes your complexion glow. When you walk briskly, swing your arms, and puff a bit, this ‘aerobic’ exercise will increase your heart rate, lessening the risk of heart disease. It also encourages more oxygen into your lungs, improving your cardio-vascular system. Walking expends energy (calories), burns up fat and helps control your weight.

This extract has been taken from Sod Sitting, Get Moving by Muir Gray and Diana Moran, published by Bloomsbury, priced at £12.99

Sod Sitting, Get Moving!

Because walking is a ‘weightbearing’ exercise (your body weight is supported by your spine, legs and feet), it helps maintain strong bones and build strong leg muscles, vital for your physical independence.

Perhaps you are a team player and relish the company of others?

A game of golf combines walking, the skill of the game and social contact.

Or why not join a sports club with facilities such as tennis, badminton, indoor and outdoor bowling, where you can meet like-minded friends?

I belong to the U3A (University of the Third Age), a self-help group for those no longer in full-time work that provides educational, creative and leisure opportunities. The U3A also facilitates walking and rambling, and encourages activity holidays, all of which keep you fit while having fun. To join the 383,795 members in 999 U3As throughout the UK, look on the website www.u3a.org. uk and search the map by town or postcode for a branch near you. The membership secretary of the local U3A will give you details of what activities there are in your local area.

Why not join a gym? Many offer classes specifically for seniors, and a good discount rate. If you can afford it, a fully qualified and insured personal fitness trainer could encourage you to look after your body and motivate you to be more active in the privacy of your home. After an initial assessment a plan of action is drawn up, depending on physique, ability and personal requirements.

The advantage of having a personal trainer is total flexibility; they will fit into your timetable and you have the programme tailored to your level of fitness and physical abilities.

Going at your own pace and under supervision, you can confidently build up your level of fitness.

Feeling good is all about having a positive attitude to life. We should never look back and dwell on our failures or have regrets, but look forward with optimism. It’s never too late to adjust your lifestyle, you’re never too old to change your habits and help yourself to better health. Take good care of your body, your looks, be more active and eat a well-balanced diet. Nurture your relationships, love and respect your family and friends. Continue to listen and learn, always keep an open mind and enjoy the rest of your life! n

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Why are ‘silver splitters’ on the rise?

By Amanda Rimmer, partner and divorce law expert at the national law firm, Stephensons.

Why are ‘silver splitters’ on the rise?

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he rate of divorce among the over 65s is increasing – and the Office of National Statistics (ONS) thinks that online dating could be behind it.

In the ten years up to 2015, ONS figures show that the number of pensioners divorcing increased by over 600 to 8,697.

Their recent report also highlighted a corresponding rise in internet use – ‘silver surfers’ - speculating that perhaps older people were ‘catching up with younger people in their use of the internet – and perhaps trying out online dating’.

But another of the major factors in the rise of ‘silver splitters’ must be retirement.

A major life change such as this can expose all sorts of issues for older people.With more time on their hands and having to adjust to new circumstances, cracks in a relationship can surface.

Add to that, people living longer and healthier lives and marrying and having children later. People can be 60 when their kids leave home and then they look at life afresh.

But there are a lot of downsides to splitting up later in life. It is a major change to become single after some 30 or 40 years of marriage, and there are legal, social and financial considerations to bear in mind.

For one, it is much cheaper for two people to live together than to live separately. It’s not just that a couple only needs one residence when married and two when divorced, everyday spending is proportionally lower for a couple.

There’s also the problem of dividing assets.

Generally speaking, older people have more

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assets, in the form of savings, properties and other high-value items and many of these items may also have considerable emotional significance for the parties.

But perhaps the most complex issue is regarding pension plans, particularly as there are so many variables to consider.

The pension pot may have been formed by one individual entirely, the couple may have contributed equal amounts or perhaps somewhere in between.

Whatever the arrangements, any pension fund was most likely intended to form the basis of a retirement for a couple living together, which would be cheaper than the same couple separated.

It can be more likely that silver divorcees will agree to sell the family home.A mortgage is likely be paid off at this point in life, but

the equity of one home doesn’t necessarily allow the couple enough to purchase two properties. Older divorcees also need to consider that it is more challenging to get a mortgage as you get older, so the option to borrow extra funds may not be available.

But the potential problems aren’t simply monetary. Marriage late in life offers not just companionship but possibly someone to look after you as you age. A newly single person entering old age will now have to consider their care arrangements more closely.

This may involve moving nearer to adult children, hiring home nurses or moving to a care home. This can be a very expensive consideration.

Silver divorcees should seriously consider making a will as that could prevent any problems arising in the future should there be a prospect of nursing home fees arising in the future. It will also prevent any children having to deal with any issues that might occur, if you do not.

But despite this doom and gloom, divorcing at a later stage in life can be more straightforward as there will probably be no child arrangements or child maintenance to decide on and couples will probably be more financially stable.

Despite the downsides, many take the change for a fresh, a new start and a real prospect of happiness.

That’s why the number of brides and grooms aged 65 has increased by nearly half in a decade up to 2014. And there has also been as rise in older people living with their new partners, just like in the rest of society.

So it is clear that, whatever the downsides of divorce, for many silver splitters it is worth striking out alone n

VOLUNTEERING CHANGES LIVES Volunteering with the British Heart Foundation can change more lives than you think.

You will help raise the money that drives our life saving research whilst meeting great people and being part of a friendly team.

Whether you can give just a few hours or a few days, every minute of your time is valuable to us.

Find out more at bhf.org.uk/volunteer or call 0300 330 3322

Registered charity numbers 225971 & SC039426

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Dinner with DICKENS

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inner with Dickens celebrate the food of Victorian England by recreating dishes the author wrote about with such gusto and enjoyed in real life.

Food is a key theme in Dickens’ work, reflecting his own hospitality and his concern for the less fortunate. Here are a few of our favourites.

BATTER PUDDING The eight-year-old David Copperfield is (as usual) cheated by an unscrupulous waiter who exclaims that this is his favourite pudding, and helps himself with a tablespoon and a hearty appetite. Cooked with fresh fruit, batter pudding is a delight far different from the “stout pale pudding, heavy and flabby” with great flat raisins that the child turned to for ballast.

SERVES 6–8 14 oz/400g fruit, such as pitted/stoned cherries, pitted/stoned and quartered plums, blackberries with slices of apple, raspberries, gooseberries, or chopped rhubarb ½ cup/100g sugar (or more, depending on taste and the fruit used) 4 eggs 11/3 cups/180g all-purpose/plain flour 1¼ cups/300ml milk ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional) 3½ tablespoons/50g butter, melted (optional), plus extra for greasing Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4.

Butter a wide, flat pie dish of approx. 1¾-pint/1-litre capacity.

Tip the fruit into the dish. For sharp fruit such as gooseberries and rhubarb, mix the fruit with another 5 teaspoons sugar.

Beat the sugar and eggs together, then sift in the flour, mixing it in well.

Gradually add the milk and vanilla extract, if using. (For a richer pudding, heat the butter in a pan until just melted and stir it into the batter.)

Pour the batter over the fruit and bake in the preheated oven for 40–45 minutes. Serve hot with Pudding Sauce .

A BATTER AND FRUIT PUDDING Ingredients, two quarts of milk, one pound of flour, four eggs, eight ounces of sugar, one quart of fruit (either plums, gooseberries, currants, &c), one ounce of butter, a good pinch of salt. First, mix the flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and a pint of the milk, by working all together in a basin or pan, with a spoon, and when quite smooth, add the remainder of the milk; work the batter thoroughly, and pour it into a large pie-dish, greased with the butter; add the fruit, and bake the pudding for an hour and a quarter.

CHARLES ELME FRANCATELLI, A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes, 1852

CHEESE SOUFFLE Cheese - usually grilled or toasted - is a favourite savoury in Catherine Dickens’ book. Her eldest son, Charley, reminiscing on their dinners, wondered, “how many dinners were begun with a glass of Chichester milkpunch; how many were finished with a dish of toasted cheese?” This simple recipe, taken from Alexis Soyer, is an easy-to-make soufflé without the white sauce preparation.

SERVES 4 2/3 cup/50g grated Parmesan 3½ tablespoons/50g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 1½ cups/130g grated Cheddar or Gruyère, or other strong full-fat cheese 3½ tablespoons/50ml heavy/double cream or sour cream 6 US extra-large/ UK large eggs, separated a pinch of cream of tartar a pinch each of sea salt, finely ground black pepper, and cayenne Optional flavourings ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons finely chopped herbs, such as chives, thyme, or tarragon Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Mark 4.

Grease a 3½-pint/2-litre soufflé or baking dish. Tip the grated Parmesan into the dish and roll it around to coat the sides evenly. Tip any remaining Parmesan out of the dish and add to the rest of the cheese.

Put the softened butter, cheese, cream, egg yolks, seasonings, and mustard, if using, into a bowl and blend or whisk with an electric blender until very well combined. Add the chopped herbs, if using.

Put the egg whites and cream of tartar into a clean bowl and whisk until stiff.

Fold the whisked egg whites into the cheese mixture, a little at a time, and then pour into the prepared soufflé dish.

Dinner with Dickens

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30–35 minutes until it is puffed up and golden brown. Eat immediately, accompanied by Watercress Salad

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FONDUE (SIMPLE METHOD) Put two ounces of Gruyère and two ounces of Parmesan cheese (grated) into a basin (or if you have not got them use English cheese), with a little salt, pepper, and cayenne, add the yolks of six eggs with a quarter of a pound of butter melted (mix well), whip the whites of the six eggs, stir gently into the other ingredients, fill small paper cases (or one large paper case) with it, bake about a quarter of an hour in a moderate oven, and serve very hot.

CATHERINE DICKENS, What Shall We Have for Dinner?, 1851 RETIREMENT

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Dinner with Dickens: Recipes Inspired by the Life and Work of Charles Dickens by Pen Vogler, published by CICO Books on 10th October, £16.99. Photography (c) CICO Books.

HIGHLY GEOLOGICAL HOMEMADE CAKE

ROAST GOOSE Poor families would ensure that they got their Christmas goose by paying into a goose club and, without an oven, having it roasted by the baker.

In A Christmas Carol, the Cratchit children go wild outside the bakery at the smell of sage-and-onion stuffing, and the whole family admire their goose’s flavour (and cheapness); Mrs. Cratchit ekes it out with apple sauce and mashed potatoes. A turkey, costlier and harder to buy in cities, is what the reformed Scrooge treats the Cratchit family to.

SERVES 8–10 1½ cups plus 2 teaspoons/350g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 1¾ cups/350g granulated/caster sugar 6 eggs, well beaten 22/3 cups/350g self-rising flour For the four flavours

1 goose, about 11–13½ lb/5–6kg (with giblets and neck) 1 onion, peeled a few sprigs of sage or thyme To serve potatoes and/or root vegetables, for roasting alongside the goose unsweetened apple sauce/stewed apple For the stuffing goose wings 1 carrot, roughly chopped 1 onion, roughly chopped giblets 2 bay leaves 6 peppercorns 1 tablespoon all-purpose/ plain flour

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas 6.

Chop off the wings and keep these for the stock. Pull out all the fat from inside the bird and cut off any extra visible fat. (Melt this fat gently in a saucepan, then strain it through a fine strainer/sieve or muslin. Keep in a jar in the fridge to roast vegetables or lean meat, such as rabbit.)

To make the stuffing, sweat the onions in a little of the goose fat until they are translucent. Add the sage, breadcrumbs, and seasoning, and bind with the eggs and a few spoonfuls of hot stock - the mixture should be moist enough to bind together but not at all sloppy. You can cook the stuffing separately if you prefer.

If you are using it to stuff the goose, you will need to weigh the stuffing first.

zest of 1 orange and 2 tablespoons carrot juice, plus 1 extra tablespoon flour 2 tablespoons raspberry, redcurrant, or blackcurrant juice zest of 1 lemon and juice of half, plus 1 extra tablespoon flour (or leave this layer plain) 2 oz/50g plain chocolate, melted in a bowl over a pan of hot water For the chocolate frosting 2 oz/50g milk or plain chocolate, broken into small pieces 1¾ tablespoons/25g butter 12/3 cups/225g confectioners’/ icing sugar 1 egg white crystallized rose petals (optional) You may find it easier to make this in two batches of two cakes, particularly if you have only two cake pans/tins.

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C/Gas 5.

Grease four round 7-inch/18-cm cake pans/tins. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs a very little at a time, beating well after each addition. If your mixture separates, stabilize it by adding a little of the flour. Fold in the flour with a metal spoon.

Divide the mixture between four bowls and add the flavouring toeach bowl.

(If you would like the layers to have stronger colours, you can add a drop of orange or red food colouring to the relevant bowls.) Mix in gently, then transfer into the greased cake pans/tins and level the tops.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. When the cakes are coming away from the side of the pan/tin, take them out of the oven and cool in the pan/tin on a wire rack.

When they are cool, remove from the pan/tin and use a sharp knife to cut off the outer edges so the colours are clearly visible.

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Dinner with Dickens

SERVES 8–10

2 large onions, finely chopped 3 tablespoons freshly chopped sage 4 cups/200g stale breadcrumbs a little salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 free-range eggs a little hot stock For the gravy goose neck, chopped

The Misses Pecksniff may not have intended a stratified cake for Martin’s Installation Banquet, but fancy layered cakes were popular. An American fan invented the Dolly Varden cake, with chocolate, white, pink, and yellow layers, after the flamboyant character in Barnaby Rudge. The name now describes little girls’ birthday cakes in the shape of fairy princesses.

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UPDATE TRAVEL SAFELY The traditional St Christopher pendant has long been a symbol of safety for travellers. Davran Jewellery’s stamped pendants come in various shapes and sizes and can be hand finished plain, diamond cut, with an engraved message or 2 stampings can have the travel symbols of a plane, train, car and boat on the reverse. At Davran they have stock in silver and 9ct yellow, some styles also available in 9ct red or white gold and 18ct yellow.

“Behold St Christopher and go your way in safety” For further information: Tel. 01215235575 Email: info@davran-jewellery.com

Eastham Hall Holiday Park Whether you are looking to buy a holiday home or just considering somewhere to stay with your touring caravan, Eastham Hall Holiday Park could be just the place!

The family run Park is situated just a few minutes away from Lytham, in a lovely rural retreat in a highly sought after location. Lytham town centre is only a mile and a half away from Eastham Hall – five minutes by car or a pleasant 20 minute walk. The centre of St Annes is only a couple of miles further up the coast. So whether you enjoying shopping, playing golf, or relaxing on the beach, there is something for everyone nearby.

Eastham Hall have great facilities on-site including a shop which is open seven-days a week, a children’s adventure playground, extensive playing fields and a dedicated dog exercise area.

The park has vehicle number plate operated security barriers and CCTV for your added peace of mind while you relax and enjoy your well-deserved break.

New and pre-owned holiday homes are available to purchase, so why not call them today and find out more!

Tel. 01253 737907 www.easthamhall.co.uk

URBAN MARQUE When you invest in an Urban Marque Ltd garden lodge you are dealing directly with the designer and manufacturer of quality bespoke homes based on modern timber frame technology. All their design and engineering operations are conducted in-house by qualified professionals and each project is managed by a director of the company. They are full members of Independent Warranty Association and they supply a care pack to all clients free of charge that protects your deposit, guarantees completion of your new home and includes a 10 year insurance backed warranty. All their products are very competitively priced and in most cases, no planning permission is required so why not give them a try – you will be pleasantly surprised!

All lodges are: • Fully engineered and designed to meet all UK planning and construction rules.

• Walls, floors and roof thicknesses are exactly the same as a standard brick/block home • Insulation levels are exactly the same as a new traditional house • Very competitive prices with low maintenance and running cost • They design and build exactly what you want and not what they think you should have • Units can legally be installed up to 20m x 6.8m (up to 5 bedrooms) • Your Independent Warranty care pack protects your deposit and guarantees that your home will be completed • All installations are independently warranted for 10 years • Their Professional designers work with you to give you the best options for your lifestyle • Their structural engineers generate site-specific calculations so you know the design is 100% correct and will last as long as any other type of home.

Update

• They offer different styles and building packages ranging from ex-factory kits to turn-key buildings.

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• They don’t have any salesmen, expensive showrooms or glossy brochures - just value for money from a very experienced company, run by professionals.

Most Granny Annex lodges do not normally require planning permission although they can obtain a certificate of lawfulness for your peace of mind.

Send for their introduction pack or visit their website for more information www.urbanmarque.com RETIREMENT

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Christmas Card appeal Every year the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society pays over £1m in grants to the dependants of those lost at sea, as well as sick, disabled and retired seafarers struggling to make ends meet. Please help us to continue this important work.

Quality Christmas Cards • Gift items CorrespondenCe Cards • Birthday Cards nautiCal heritaGe Calendar To receive a copy of our new 2017 brochure and order form please contact: dept rt, 1 north pallant, Chichester po19 1tl Tel: 01243 789329 • Fax: 01243 530853 e-mail: general@shipwreckedmariners.org.uk

www.shipwreckedmariners.org.uk

Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society Supporting the seafaring community for over 175 years

Reg Charity No 212034 Inst. 1839

Urban Marque Ltd are leaders in garden cottage design and installation which

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In most cases no planning permission is required as all our lodges are built to your own personal requirements in compliance with mobile home rules, yet meet UK building regulations as required in traditional house building.

Send for more information to info@urbanmarque.com or call 0161 870 2311 RETIREMENT

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Footloose in England’s Lake District

by Debra Rixon

The region features spectacular scenery and more wet days in the year than anywhere else in the country

Debra and David on Walla Crag

makes for a good location for a rural break. There’s decent shopping here, particularly for outdoor goods, and the town boasts some interesting amenities and attractions. We started our motoring tour from here, and filled our pockets with coins for the parking meters – all the revenue from the meters goes towards the upkeep of the National Park, so we decided to treat them like collecting boxes.

Tourists have been coming here since author Thomas West published a guide book to the Lakes in 1778, firstly in horses and carriages and then with the advent of the railway in greater and greater numbers. As you move further into the National Park, you really begin to understand

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A short ride from Sawrey, Hilltop’s village, is charming Hawkshead, containing the Beatrix Potter Gallery and the Grammar School, founded in 1585, which William Wordsworth attended. The village has all the cafes, shops, historic inns and lodgings that every tour group needs.

Ambleside is a mile from the lake, its pier being Waterside. Just outside of the town is Low Wood Bay Hotel and Marina, which is the setting for the energetic Great North Swim.

We were fortunate to watch some of this marathon; the black-clad arms rhythmically dipping and rising from the water becoming quite hypnotic!

Ambleside is closer to the magnificent Lakeland fells and

Footloose in England’s Lake District

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n our Footloose series, we’ve loosely followed what was known as The Grand Tour in Europe, completely forgetting that a part of England was also considered worthy of inclusion in the ‘must-see’ destinations. In fact, it was known as the English Alps, and where else could it be but the glorious Lake District. The region features spectacular scenery and more wet days in the year than anywhere else in the country. With this in mind, we gave ourselves a generous amount of time to film and took the ancient Airstream with us as our base.

Dave was determined to visit all the major lakes, and we divided our tour into three parts: Windermere and the South; The West and Northwest and the North and Northeast. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this post-industrial landscape has been transformed into a National Park, with some strong support from conservationists and well known national figures.

Love it or hate it Victorian Windermere, beginning life with the not so attractive name of Birthwaite, is the honey pot of the South and its lake of the same name is especially popular. The port is Bowness, and the steamers from here are plentiful, to take you to attractions across the lake and to the north and south. We crossed to the Ferry House to catch the Mountain Goat minibus to visit Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s former home. Maintained by the National Trust, Hilltop is kept very much as Beatrix herself would have done, and the atmosphere in the house really does make you feel as if she has only just left the room.

Wastwater

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the message that the landscape is very fragile, and yes, there are far too many visitors. The roads are narrow and in many places single track, mostly bounded by unforgiving dry stone walls. The size of vehicles may have got bigger but there is no intention for the roads to do the same. There is an open-top bus service that serves the district from Bowness to Grasmere which is cheap and well worth using to help reduce the traffic congestion.

Grasmere town is chocolate-box pretty with a good walk to be had circling the lake. A short walk from it brings you to Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage and museum complex.

Wordsworth is everywhere in the Lakes; he championed his native

lakes, tarns and woods has given rise to a thriving economy, all based on outdoor pursuits and the consumption of locally brewed real ale.

The Ruskin Museum is really worth a visit and has a great deal to offer; not only chronicling the story of Coniston life, but following the life and times of three men forever associated with the village: John Ruskin, Donald Campbell and Arthur Ransome.

We drove out of the National Park to visit the coastal town of Ulverston, with its unique monumental copy of the Eddystone Lighthouse on Hoad Hill, high above the town. From that viewpoint, you can see the famous Lancaster sands, and try to imagine what it would be like to cross that

Footloose in England’s Lake District

Derwent, Ashness Bridge

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district with a hugely popular ‘Guide to the Lakes’, and then appeared to regret popularising the region and joined with the fledgling conservationists to protect and preserve the landscape.

Next on our tour was Coniston Water, and the quayside is much more tranquil than Bowness. The biggest attraction plying the lake is the steam yacht ‘Gondola’, proudly operated by the National Trust. It’s a pleasant stroll from the lakeside to Coniston village, where tourism has usurped the former mining and quarrying industries. The village’s proximity to the dramatic landscapes of mountains, waterfalls,

As a huge steam enthusiast, I couldn’t pass up the chance to ride on perhaps the cutest steam railway in England

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vast treacherous expanse in a horse and carriage at low tide, before the railway came.

Ulverston is known as the festival capital of the Furness peninsula, and combines special events with an assortment of specialist shops, cosy pubs and cultural hotspots. It’s also the birthplace of comedian Stan Laurel.

We drove the scenic Hardknot Pass to the Eskdale valley, home to the Ravenglass and Eskdale Steam Railway. As a huge steam enthusiast, I couldn’t pass up the chance to ride on perhaps the cutest steam railway in England. We travelled 7 miles of the lovely valley, and I’m still sulking that Dave managed to worm his way onto the footplate of the oldest 15” gauge working steam locomotive in the world instead of me.

As we travelled further northwest, we really did leave the tourists behind as we headed for one of the more remote regions, Wasdale, to walk a 5 mile trail around Wastwater. We were rewarded with one of the most beautiful classical views of Lakeland – one that has been painted and sketched for over 200 years.

Driving on to Wasdale Head, we really were amongst the big mountains, dramatically surrounded Ravenglass & Eskdale railway

by the Scaw Fell range. England’s highest mountain, deepest lake and smallest church can all be found in this tranquil corner of Lakeland.

Travelling further west we visited the scenic but less frequented lake, Ennerdale Water. It’s the most westerly of the lakes and the most remote, and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Just outside the National Park boundary is Cockermouth, Wordsworth’s birthplace and latterly known for devastating floods. It’s fast becoming known as a Foodie’s paradise, and possesses a serenity that is very appealing.

Heading back into the National Park once more, we visited tranquil Lowerwater and Crummock Water before stopping at the more famous Buttermere. Haystacks Fell sits brooding over the end of the lake, where the legendary Alfred Wainwright made his final walk, and there is an inscription on a windowsill to the famous fell walker in the tiny church of St James.

Spectacular and popular Honister Pass rises out of the valley to a height of 1,167 feet with gradients of 1 in 4 and follows the route Victorian sightseers would have taken by horseback on day trips from Keswick. At the top of the Pass, the historic Honister Slate Works makes for an interesting and exhilarating tourist attraction.

We descended into Borrowdale on our way past lovely Derwent Water to Keswick, where we visited the quirky Pencil Museum. Iconic Derwent Water was the start of our climb up to Walla Crag, and passing popular beauty spot Ashness Bridge, we had our first look at the lake from Surprise View. Reaching the summit of the Crag, we were treated to a spectacular view of Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake beyond. I tried to imagine hauling a painting set and easel up the steep path instead of just my rucksack, because this was also one of the most classic views to capture on paper or canvas.

Glenridding was our next destination, to spend the day on one of the famous Ullswater Steamers, Lady of the Lake, celebrating her 140th birthday. Mainly known for adventure holidays for the young and young at heart, Ullswater’s other claim to fame is that Donald Campbell broke the water speed record there in 1955 in Bluebird K7.

True to his word, Dave did drive us to all the major lakes, although Thirlmere and Haweswater are technically reservoirs, before we finished our tour of Lakeland at Appleby for the famous Romany Horse Fair. To cover Lakeland we did contribute to the ever increasing traffic, but knowing what I know now about the region, I wouldn’t do it again. I’d break my visit into smaller chunks, and explore on foot as much as possible n

Debra in lakeland

Debra and David took Wordsworth’s advice and visited the Lakes in June.

For information on all the Footloose films, take a look at www.footloose. tv or watch previews of the walks on Youtube. Got a smart TV? Watch in HD on Amazon Prime Instant Video!

WIN! We have 5 copies of Footloose in England’s Lake District to giveaway.

For a chance to win, send In your details quoting FIELD to: Amra Media Solutions The Old Lavender Mill 46a Brook Street Aston Clinton Bucks HP22 5ES Closing date: 17 November 2017.

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Cathedrals of the British Isles

DURHAM

by Mike Francis

A

cathedral is a special space. You can sit in a humble pew,look up and see a majestic roof crafted and built hundreds of years ago yet still possessed of the finest detail. Look down perhaps to a side chapel from a different age and then behind to a large stained glass window from yet another era shafting rays of sunlight onto the ancient floor. All the while visitors’ footsteps are softly echoing along this labyrinth of history through the ages. Here are four cathedrals to visit.

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WORCESTER

Durham Cathedral dating from 1093 is Worcester is the perfect place for a cathedral. set scenically on a promontory next to Rising majestically from the River Severn, the castle with the river sweeping round set next door to Kings School and College one of the great buildings of Europe. The Green, this was one of the most important spectacular location is at the heart of the monastic cathedrals in the country. Built Durham UNESCO World Heritage Site. between 1084 and 1504 the cathedral has Durham is one of the highpoints of cathedral every style of architecture from Norman architecture where pointed arches,ribbed through to Perpendicular Gothic. A multivaults and flying buttresses rub shoulders. coloured Norman crypt, a unique Chapter There are also some of the rarest artefacts House,fine woodwork, and an impressive in the world to see including 3 issues of central tower. In the magnificent stained Magna Carta and illuminated gospels. One glass ancient library are 300 medieval of the highlights according to Marie- manuscripts, the second highest number in Therese Mayne who organises exhibitions any cathedral in England. Edgar Tower is the here is the new Open House permanent gateway to the Cathedral and College Green. display which opened last year and gives This was originally built in the 1200s on the visitor access to previously hidden spaces. order of King John who was buried in the Starting in the 14th century oak-beamed cathedral in 1216 and today houses possibly roof Monks Dormitory visitors can learn about the history of Durham WORCESTER Cathedral brought to life through interactive activities and exhibits.The journey continues with a state of the art Collections Gallery where you can see some of the Cathedral’s most precious artefacts. Rare manuscripts, medieval music and instruments under the title of Making Joyful Music will be on display here until mid November. The Great Kitchen, a spectacular space with a magnificent octagonal ceiling is next, one of only two surviving monastic kitchens in the UK before visitors return to the atmospheric Cathedral Cloister via the newly created Pilgrimage and Community Galleries. This a new chapter in the Cathedral’s history interpreting the fascinating story of Durham Cathedral in an imaginative way.

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the oldest schoolroom still in continuous use in England. I know it well. I used to study German there when I was at Kings School nearby. It was a great privilege to climb those winding turreted steps every time I had a lesson. The Cathedral has been famous for taking part in the Three Choirs Festival since the 18th century, the oldest church festival in England. Regular lunchtime and evening recitals are also held here and historical tours of the building can be prebooked all year round catering for your own requirements or you can turn up for a tour twice a day monday to saturday until November. There will be charges for these tours. The tower is usually open to climb at weekends and during school holidays for spectacular views of Worcester and beyond.

LICHFIELD Despite a battle-scarred history Lichfield Cathedral looks remarkably serene with its three graceful spires known as the ‘ladies of the vale’ keeping watch over the countryside.

Lichfield was one of the earliest centres of Christianity in the UK with the first Cathedral consecrated on Christmas Day, 700 AD. The present one built between 1195 and 1340 has a rich heritage of rare treasures. The Close is one of the most complete in the country and includes a medieval courtyard but the Great Wall round it provided the ideal garrison for roundheads and cavaliers during the Civil War and the Cathedral suffered severe damage.

Cannonballs damaged the roof and central spire and all the stained glass windows were destroyed. In spite of this the windows in the Lady Chapel contain some of the finest flemish painted glass in existence dated 1530 from Herkenrode Abbey in Belgium. In the

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Cathedrals of the British Isles

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SPECIAL EVENTS

For 200 years , The National Benevolent Charity has been a lifeline to people who have fallen into poverty and distress and who have nowhere else to turn.

People like nurse Leah, 58, and her artist husband David, 63. They wanted a happy retirement together but Leah became crippled with arthritis and cannot walk.

David is dedicated to his wife and cares for her full time. But, the loss of earned income has been devastating, and they are poverty-stricken.

Despite state benefits, sickness, disability and old age can still mean a life of awful hardship.

For Leah and David and hundreds of people like them, The National Benevolent Charity can help.

The National Benevolent Charity Peter HervĂŠ House, Eccles Court, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8EH For more info visit www.thenbc.org.uk or telephone 01666 505500 Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales Registered Charity Number 212450

Ely Cathedral’s eagerly awaited Flower Festival returns in 2018 and promises to be one of the most spectacular events in East Anglia. Attractions include eye-catching displays, musical recitals, floral demonstrations and a gift & craft marquee.

Box Office: 01353 660349 | www.elycathedral.org RETIREMENT

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Cathedrals of the British Isles

LICHFIELD

ELY

library there is a magnificent collection of treasures including a 15th century hand copied manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, an original copy of maps of Tudor England and illustrations issued and signed

by Charles 1.Texts written in latin in the 8th century known as the Lichfield Gospels and the Lichfield Angel a curved limestone panel discovered recently under the nave of the Cathedral as part of a shrine from the same century are other interests to discover. Tours are free monday to saturday twice a day and last 45 minutes.

Originally built over 900 years ago when Ely consisted of a few lonely dwellings the Cathedral now takes centre stage in the city and is known as ‘the ship of the fens’. According to Marketing Communications Officer Maddie Fox, the Cathedral with its unique 14th century octagonal lantern is counted among the marvels of the medieval world and offers a rich architectural history including the sumptious 13th century Quire and beautiful 14th century Lady Chapel.

Surrounding the Cathedral is attractive parkland and one of the largest collections of medieval monastery buildings still in ELY daily use. Easy then to spend the whole day visiting the Cathedral and also the city of Ely with its attractive riverside and tourist attractions. Autumn is a busy time with Harvest Festival Weekend in October and the annual Christmas fair in mid-November together with regular concerts, lectures and celebrity talks. The jewel in the Cathedral crown is undoubtedly the unique Octagon Tower with 165 steps going up 900 year old turrets. Alternatively the West Tower offers one of the best views in East Anglia and is well worth the 228 step climb to the top. Meanwhile downstairs the

best approach is via the great West doors where you can fully appreciate the view of England’s third longest Cathedral. Historic and panoramic n

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Durham - www.durhamcathedral.co.uk Worcester www.worcestercathedral.co.uk Lichfield - www.lichfield-cathedral.org Ely - www.elycathedral.org

OPEN TREASURE

The Treasures of St Cuthbert Visit Durham Cathedral to see The Treasures of St Cuthbert, some of the most significant surviving Anglo-Saxon artefacts in the UK!

From St Cuthbert’s gold and garnet pectoral cross to his 7th-century wooden coffin, these exquisite objects are now on permanent display in the stunning medieval monastic Great Kitchen at the heart of Durham Cathedral’s world-class exhibition experience Open Treasure.

Book your tickets in advance from www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/open-treasure

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FD11058_DC_Retirement Today ad.indd 1 RETIREMENT today

30/08/2017 13:19

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by Mike Francis o doubt you are looking forward to escaping the pressure cooker world of work as you enter a quieter more relaxed phase of your life when you retire. Trading in the frantic for the less energetic could be the ideal moment for you to consider the perfect antidote to pressure at the workplace, adopting a pet at home.

Pets prolong life

While you’ve been busy doing the daily commute you probably didn’t have the time or inclination to consider looking after a pet or even tot up some of the advantages a pet can bring. Research shows that cats and dogs can help us relax, live longer and healthier by improving our blood pressure and cholesterol. Stroking or sitting next to a pet helps calm our minds, exercise helps us to be positive.

Because of their extraordinary perceptive senses pets can pick up on things which may not seem quite right at home, when someone is ill for example. Pets may seem to be uncomplicated when they chase a ball of wool or their own tail. In reality they are anything but. A cat can miaow in 100 different ways and a dog can hear sounds four times further away than we can. Two-thirds of a cat’s life is spent asleep, plenty of time then to watch one of the most relaxing of domestic pleasures, a warm round ball of fur dreaming and dozing beside you on the settee. Dogs can take you out for much needed exercise, trim your figure and encourage social chit-chats with other dog walkers. For anyone living alone pets make good mates, give you someone to look after, and even if they do need an early morning feed a little extra exercise can come in useful.

Rescue pets

Many people think that getting a rescue pet will be more difficult than starting with a kitten or puppy.With the right care and patience from new owners rescued animals can be transformed into great companions waiting patiently on the door step for their owner’s return or bounding up the street as they recognise those familiar footsteps approaching.

Those who have suffered sadness or illness or who simply want a presence to welcome them home will particularly benefit. Some pets that require a slower pace of life may need to be indoors and therefore benefit greatly from having company around the house during the day perhaps with older owners.

Matching pet to person

Sadly pet abuse and abandonment is on the increase in today’s environment and charities are constantly on the lookout for new considerate owners to give pets the love and attention they deserve. Matching personality of cats and dogs to their new owner is critical to success when finding a new home. Some pets may be exuberant, full of life, eager for exercise and ready to run their owners off their feet while others may be happy to snuggle down in a peaceful corner somewhere, stretch out their legs and snatch a quiet doze. Some may be young and playful, others older and more careful in their measured ways. Applying to adopt a pet is as easy as picking up the phone or better still going to a centre to register.They will ask you questions about your

NAWT

lifestyle, household, pet ownership experience, and other aspects that will help them select the pets in their care that could match your situation.

National Animal Health Trust (NAWT)

Founded in 1971 this Trust is one of the UK’s top animal welfare charities with 5 safe and warm rehoming centres in Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Somerset, Cornwall and Essex where every animal is checked out medically and for behaviour problems which worryingly are on the increase.

Before every animal is rehomed it is also vaccinated, microchipped and neutered. The charity found new homes for nearly 1200 animals last year. Most of them were cats and dogs.

Their principal aim is to find new responsible owners who will provide pets with tender loving care in their new home and will look after them for the rest of their natural life. Recent research by the Trust showed that 50 per cent of potential owners in the over 65 age bracket were put off from adopting a pet that might outlive them.

Sadly these were the very same people who said a pet would relieve them of loneliness. To provide peace of mind for older people the NAWT has set up a Pet Card service that guarantees to offer pets a safe and happy future after their owners have gone. The Pet Care Card is wallet-sized and you can carry it with you like an organ card.

The service is free.

Catastrophes Cat Rescue

Over the years this sanctuary for unwanted cats based in a cottage in East Sussex has helped an increasing number of cats and kittens in distress NAWT

by taking them into their care. The cats have often been abandoned or badly treated, in need of a new home because of a change in people’s circumstances or are strays who have never had the chance of a proper home. All are in need of love and care. The sanctuary’s aim is to help cats regardless of age or treatment, whether wild or tame, with a high standard of vet care. Cats difficult to rehome are allowed the chance to live out their days in a peaceful home environment with freedom to roam in the country garden that surrounds the sanctuary. Liz Varney, who cofounded the rescue organisation in the 1970’s, says ‘It is surprising how often a cat with the most difficult anti-social habits can be changed by love, care and patience. Every life saved is worth the effort it takes’.

Cat and dog tales

The famous writer Charles Dickens had a favourite cat he called ‘the master’s cat’. She would keep him company in his study while he wrote his novels by candlelight and whenever she wanted his attention she would snuff out his candle with a deft paw. Nipper the dog is recognised by millions of music lovers. The famous HMV record label from a painting depicts Nipper listening to his former master’s voice on an early gramophone. No matter how long you have them pets will always amaze you. n

FOR INFORMATION

National Animal Welfare Trust www.nawt.org.uk 020 8950 0177 Catastrophes Cat Rescue www.catastrophescats.org 01435 830212

Catastrophes Cat Rescue

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Pets make perfect pals when you retire

PETS MAKE PERFECT PALS WHEN YOU RETIRE

19

Invisible Illness Getting the best from your health-care practitioner

‘

I spent a long time feeling so angry, hurt and disgusted with the way I’d been treated by various doctors, I actually started to develop a bit of a phobia when going to the doctor’s surgery. If my appointment ran late and I saw someone go in before me when I thought I should be next, so much emotion would rise that I could feel my heart pumping in my chest. By the time I would get in the doctor’s office, I would be so emotional that it’s no wonder that the doctor probably thought I was suffering from some sort of psychiatric illness! So, I took it upon myself to change this pattern with my most recent doctor. When I met her for the second time, I told her about all my various health problems and symptoms but said the most important thing was for us to develop a trusting relationship. I said that I knew she couldn’t wave a magic wand and make everything perfect but if we could try to systemically deal with one thing at a time, that would be a good start. I think she was relieved and now I feel like it’s more of a collaboration – we are working together to make my health as good as it possibly can be. Some things I can do myself and some things I need her help with.

So far, this has been one of the best things I have done for my diagnosis.

(RM, with MdDS)

Invisible Illness 20

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‘

A

s shown by this quotation, it will be most beneficial for you to develop a collaborative relationship with your doctor or health-care practitioner. If you have had negative experiences with people such as doctors, nurses, psychologists and physiotherapists, this may seem like unrealistic advice. However, most health-care professionals do want to help, they might just not know how to. There are many common symptoms in invisible illness, so it can take time to reach the correct diagnosis. This can be a very challenging time for both you and your doctor. Doctors are trained to make diagnosis and provide treatment, so if they are presented with a complex and confusing case, it may be frustrating for them also. This of course is nothing compared to what you’re going through with your condition, but if you can help your health-care practitioner, he or she will be able to help you in turn. Some key tips to working with your doctor follow.

• Don’t expect a diagnosis in one appointment. It can take time and you may need to see a number of specialists to reach a diagnosis.This may be hard but be as patient as you can.

Getting the correct diagnosis is more important than getting a quick diagnosis.

• If you think you know what condition you have, ask your practice if any of the GPs have a specialist interest in that area and consult with that person if possible, Likewise, if you are referred to a specialist, for instance a neurologist for suspected migraine, request to be referred to one that has a migraine and headache clinic.You can often find doctor’s specialist interests by searching information to help with not only diagnosis but also treatment.

This is where symptom diaries can really help.

• If you are starting a new treatment, keep a symptom diary because this will allow you to see more objectively if the therapy is helping. It is also helpful to note any side effects so these can be discussed with your doctor.

• In many visible illnesses, different treatments work for different people, so you may have to try a few therapies to find the right one for you. If may be that a combination of techniques will help you on the road to recovery, not just a single pill or treatment.

Therefore, try to keep an open mind when discussing possible treatment approaches with your health-care professional.

• Don’t wait to start some of the self-help techniques while in the process of finding a diagnosis. Regular routines, a healthy diet and good-quality sleep are vital not only for people with invisible illnesses but for everyone throughout life.

• Remember that you have an active role to play in your recovery; don’t expect your doctor to ‘fit you in’ if there are also areas of your life that you could be addressing as well (for instance diet, stress or rumination) n

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Invisible Illness

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21

Venez - Voyez - Enjoyez

T

he Quercy region of South West France offers a diverse selection of attractions to travellers of all ages with the benefit of a mild spring and autumn climate. It is a popular part of France with the active retired for extended early summer and autumn self-catering holiday as well as a regular choice for many during the family holiday season.

Roughly covering the départements of Lot, Lot-et-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne, the rolling rural landscape is one of spectacular views and natural beauty with few major towns and little industry beyond agriculture to mar the ever changing patchwork of fields

and woodland. Medieval ‘bastide’ villages and towns dot the countryside, each with their own character along the timbered building lined streets.

Thousands of acres of orchards herald the start of the warmer season with dazzling displays of blossom before giving way to a tremendous array of wild flowers in May and June: The hot months of July and August dry the landscape before it gently changes to spectacular autumn colour as the trees and the vines prepare for winter.

Many will wile away hours by the pool, but for those seeking an active break, quiet country roads and well marked footpaths offer cyclists and walkers plenty of opportunity to explore.

Canoeing and kayaking at all levels will be found locally from the swift challenging waters of the Aveyron Gorge to the calm broad waters of the Lot and Dordogne rivers.

Quercy is famed for its food and drink with many small producers selling their delicious produce at weekly markets in most towns and larger villages. Restaurants source many of their ingredients at these markets which helps keep the cost of eating out reasonable and the quality generally high.

The Cahors AOC wine producing area is found along the Lot valley to the west of Cahors, with many wineries open for tasting and direct sales, each wine having its own distinct characters and tastes n

GETTING THERE

Toulouse, Bergerac and Bordeaux airports are all within easy reach of Quercy, with flights from all parts of the UK. If you prefer to drive yourself, all bookings with Halcyon Leisure come with discount off selected cross Channel ferry services.

All that’s missing is you.....

Explore the peaceful rural landscape of sunny South West France where history, natural beauty, food, drink and more abound. A beau�ful region of rolling countryside with magnificent views, ancient villages, vineyards, restaurants and much more.

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From 1875, 18 Stafford Terrace was the family home of ‘Punch’ cartoonist, Edward Linley Sambourne. The house gives an insight into the personal lives of the Sambourne family and provides a rare example of what was known as an 'Aesthetic interior' or 'House Beautiful' style.

OPEN WEDNESDAYS, SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS 11am Conventional and Costumed Guided tours 2- 5:30pm Public Open Access Evening and Private tours also available 18 Stafford Terrace, Kensington, London W8 7BH Visit www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums #18staffordterrace

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the sambourne family home STEP BACK IN TIME TO 1899

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Flights available from £99 Fly in a Spitfire – for the ultimate experience

For more details of these flights, to book a flight or buy gift vouchers, contact us on 01223 837453.

Book online at www.classic-wings.co.uk

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Out&About...

Experience the pomp and pageantry of the Birmingham International Tattoo in November

With over 1,000 performers – including international marching bands, massed pipes and drums, field gun racing, dog displays, Irish dancers, the parade of massed standard bearers plus much more – the Birmingham International Tattoo is Britain’s biggest indoor event of its type. With three hours of entertainment, the Tattoo features something for all the family both young and old. So, if you are looking for a spectacular Saturday night out, come and experience the pomp and pageantry of the Birmingham International Tattoo at the Barclaycard Arena in November.

The Birmingham International Tattoo will take place on Saturday 25th November 2017 at 6pm and Sunday 26th November 2017 at 2pm. Tickets are priced £12.50 to £30.00 with reduced prices for children, senior citizens and groups of 10 or more.

Visit www.birminghamtattoo.co.uk for full details or call the Box Office now on 0844-33-88-222 (calls cost 7p per min plus your phone company’s access charge) to secure your place at this spectacular event.

ALMA-TADEMA: AT HOME IN ANTIQUITY

Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery 21 October – 7 January

The internationally revered Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoom Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 -1669, Group van Rijn (1606-1669) is the subject of Musicians Listening to a Flute Player 1635. of this major exhibition of prints, Brown ink and wash on paper. 13.5 x 15.3 cm. © Norfolk Museums Service paintings and drawings.

The exhibition features one of the less well-known aspects of Rembrandt’s output, namely his fascination with print-making. In particular, his use of this medium to produce evocative images of the Dutch landscape, biblical scenes of drama and tragedy, as well as sensitive portraits, including many reflective self-portraits.

Very few people today know that during his lifetime, Rembrandt was famed for his etchings as for his paintings. In Britain, for example, he was far better known as a printmaker. www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk

Alma-Tadema: At Home in Antiquity is the largest exhibition in London devoted to Victorian artist Lawrence Alma-Tadema since 1913.

The show explores Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s fascination with the representation of domestic life in antiquity and how this interest related to his own domestic circumstances expressed through the two remarkable studio-houses that he created in St John’s Wood together with his wife Laura and daughters.

Born in the north of the Netherlands, the exhibition traces his early training and move to London in 1870 where he established a hugely successful career at the heart of the artistic establishment. His work fixed ideas in the popular imagination of what life in the ancient past ‘looked like’ – ideas and images that were taken to the stage and film and remain with us today.

The exhibition showcases over 130 paintings and includes important works

by Tadema himself, his wife Laura and daughter Anna with loans coming from public and private collections internationally.

Highlights includes The Finding of Moses and The Roses of Heliogabalus, two of his largest and most celebrated works. www.rbkc.gov.uk/AlmaTadema #AlmaTadema Adults £14 – Concessions £12 National Trust & Art Fund 50% 10am – 5.30pm; closed Tuesdays Leighton Museum -Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Coign www.leightonhouse.co.uk of Vantage, 1895. Collection of Ann and Gordon Getty

TRUE TO LIFE

Gerald Leslie BROCKHURST (1890–1978) By the Hills, 1939 Oil on canvas, 76.2 x 63.5cm. © Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston-Upon-Hull, purchased 1939.

British Realist Painting in the 1920s and 1930s Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh On until 29 Oct 2017

When abstract art became fashionable after the Second World War, these artists became side-lined and largely forgotten. Many artists of the period opted for a new kind of hard-edged, sharp-focussed realist painting, and found new subjects in modern life. This exhibition, showing only in Edinburgh, includes some 80 paintings, of astonishing technical accomplishment and stunning beauty, by more than fifty artists - including Gerald Leslie Brockhurst, Meredith Frampton, Laura Knight, James Cowie and Winifred Knights. Borrowed from public and private collections throughout Britain, this is a unique chance to rediscover a remarkable, but little known period in British Art. www.nationalgalleries.org

A Battery Shelled , Wyndham Lewis

Wyndham, Lewis: Life, Art, War

Imperial War Museum, Manchester On now until 1 Jan 2018 Discover the work and story of Britain’s original rebel artist in the largest UK exhibition of Wyndham Lewis’ work to date.

Marking the 60th anniversary of his death and the centenary of his commission as an official war artist in 1917, see more than 160 artworks, books, journals and pamphlets from major public and private, national and international collections.

The exhibition also charts Lewis’ ‘underground’ period of reflection and reinvention after the First World War when his career as a writer began in earnest. www.iwm.org.uk RETIREMENT

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Out & About

Rembrandt: Lightening the Darkness

Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park, London, W14 8LZ

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COMPETITIONS

For a chance to win, send in your name, address and tel no (quoting reference code) to: Amra Media Solutions, The Old Lavender Mill, 46a Brook Street, Aston Clinton, Bucks, HP22 5ES or email: info@amramedia.co.uk

Win tickets to see Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance

Classic Spring is a new theatre company, formed by Dominic Dromgoole (former Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre) to celebrate the bold and ground breaking work of proscenium playwrights in the architecture for which they wrote.

Its first offering is an Oscar Wilde Season at the Vaudeville Theatre, revolving around his four great Victorian plays, which shocked and redefined British theatre, and still resonate and refresh today. The Season starts with A Woman of No Importance, directed by Dominic Dromgoole and stars Olivier award winning Eve Best (A Moon for the Misbegotten and Hedda Gabler), Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax) Eleanor Bron and William Gaunt.

An earnest young American woman, a louche English lord, and an innocent young chap join a house party of fin de siècle fools and grotesques. Nearby a woman lives, cradling a long buried secret. Wilde’s marriage of glittering wit and Ibsenite drama create a vivid new theatrical voice.

‘One can survive everything nowadays, except death, and live down anything except a good reputation’ Three readers can win a pair of tickets to see A Woman of No Importance.

To enter send in your details, quoting ref. AWONI. Closing date: 27 October 2017.

Terms and conditions: Three readers will win two Band A tickets to see A Woman of No Importance at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, valid for Monday to Thursday performances from 30 October to 30 November 2017, subject to availability. No cash alternative. Travel not included.

For more information and to book your tickets (from £19.50), call 0330 333 4814 or visit ClassicSpring.co.uk

London Waterbus Trips

] LITTLE VENICE ] LONDON ZOO ] CAMDEN LOCK

Cruises along the peaceful Regents Canal, through Regents Park, the Maida Hill tunnel and London Zoo. Trips on traditional canal boats, one way or return, with a stopover to shop in the lively bustle of Camden Lock or a picnic in the tranquil elegance of Little Venice, or trips with entry to London Zoo. Daily service April to September, weekends in winter.

Discount fares for booked groups.

Competitions

Tel: 020 7482 2550 www.londonwaterbus.com

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Vikings:

Season 4 – Volume 2 3 copies to give away

New loyalties are formed and old ones are challenged in “Vikings Vikings Season 4 Volume 2 Season 4 Volume 2” now is available now on Blu-ray and available on Blu-ray and DVD, from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD from Metro-GoldwynMayer and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Battles, treachery and power grabs rage on! Ragnar’s return to Kattegat following his shameful defeat in Paris escalates tension among his sons. Determined to save what remains of his legacy, Ragnar recruits Ivar for a perilous voyage to England, where he plans to attack the Saxons. Meanwhile, a prophecy that a woman will one day rule Kattegat deepens Aslaug and Lagertha’s feud.

With its fascinating plot twists, seething emotion and spectacular effects, this breathtaking series continues to conquer, with additional behind the scenes excitement.

For your chance to win a DVD of Vikings: Season 4-Volume 2, send in your details, quoting VKGS. Closing date: 27 October 2017

Hidden London 18 Stafford Terrace, Drawing Room II CThe Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Image courtesy of Justin Barton

London, one of the world’s most popular cities, really does have something for everyone. Filled with historical and modern-day attractions you’ll never be short of things to see and do.

There are of course the usual places of interest in London visitors are keen to experience, but there are also many places or events which may be unfamiliar or overlooked.

Diver, Ron Haselden, Lumiere London 2016. Produced by Artichoke, supported by the Mayor of London. Photo by Matthew Andrews

LUMIERE LONDON 18-21 January Bigger, brighter and bolder than before, Lumiere light festival returns for a spectacular, much anticipated return. Lumiere London will include more than 40 installations from both UK and international artists lighting up London’s streets, and buildings such as Westminister Abbey and the National Theatre, transforming the city into a dazzling nocturnal art exhibition.

The exhibition is free to visit and takes place North and South of the River Thames, extending it’s reach across the capital. www.visitlondon.com/lumiere The London Waterbus at Little Venice

18 STAFFORD TERRACE: THE SAMBOURNE FAMILY HOME STEP BACK IN TIME TO 1899 2for1 ticket offer until end of October

THE LONDON WATERBUS COMPANY The London Waterbus company operates a fleet of traditional canal narrow boats on the Regent’s Canal in central London. Once used for cargo carrying the waterway forms a green and peaceful route through Regent’s Park, through the Maida Hill tunnel, under Edgware Road, through London Zoo between Camden Market and Little Venice at Paddington. At a leisurely pace the industrial history of the canal can be seen along the way in the marks left by the tow ropes of the cargo carriers, as well as the ornate iron bridges, interesting new and old buildings and famous landmarks such as the London Zoo Aviary. The trip gives the opportunity to travel on historic working vessels and get eye to eye with the ducks, close to the water and imagine a past way of life.

A timetabled service operates every day April to September, and weekends October to March, departing from the elegant tranquillity of Little Venice or the lively bustle of Camden Market and also stopping inside London Zoo for passengers to want to visit the animals, entry paid on the boat. No booking is required, just turn up, and tickets are sold on the boats with payment by credit or debit card only. There is a discount for pre booked groups of 20+. www.londonwaterbus.com Telephone 020 7482 2660 RETIREMENT

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Hidden London

From 1875, 18 Stafford Terrace was the home of Punch cartoonist Linley Sambourne, his wife Marion, their two children and their live-in servants.

The house gives an insight into the personal lives of the Sambourne family and also provides a rare example of what was known as an ‘Aesthetic interior’ or ‘House Beautiful’ style. The Aesthetic Movement of the late nineteenth century advocated the use of foreign or ‘exotic’ influences in the decoration of the home. This can be seen by the various Japanese, Middle-Eastern and Chinese objects throughout the Sambournes’ home.

The interiors at 18 Stafford Terrace have remained practically intact throughout the years and are very much a product of Linley’s taste. He told a journalist in 1893: “What you see is the very best. That has been my principle throughout; not to buy anything but what was really good. But it has taken Ticket Prices time to accumulate.

Adults £7 | Concessions £5: Senior Citizen (over 60s), There has not been an 5 -17yrs, full-time student, disabled, unwaged, carer, unlimited exchequer Blue Badge Guide. to draw upon“ To mark the Open Access reopening of the house Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday | 2pm – 5.30pm after the summer’s Conventional Guided Tours conservation cleaning, Wednesday and Sunday | 11am | £8-£10 visitors will have the Costumed Guided Tours chance to benefit from Saturday | 11am | £8-£10 an attractive 2for1 ticket offer valid from Costumed Twilight Tours: Museum Lates 20 September to 29 Third Wednesday of the Month | 7pm | £12 October 2017.

18 Stafford Terrace, London W8 7BH www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums

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Discovering and exploring Parisan interiors CASE STUDY A New Perspective

Hidden Paris

The Ranelagh Gardens, the Eiffel Tower, the skyscrapers of La Défense… was it the panoramic view of the city from this apartment that seduced this couple and their two children?

To give this apartment a new dimension, the buyers called upon the services of the interior architect Fabienne Boe de Pirey to give a new take on the traditional feeling of the building and invest it with new life.The breath of fresh air that swept through the space, bringing oversized furniture, exceptional pictures and unique works of art, was a remodelling that was made to measure – both exactly right and inspirational.

Everything needed to be new – from new ideas to a new arrangement of the rooms.The principal rooms were set firmly in the past, and it was important to find a way to make

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them work together in a manner befitting the 21st century. The first thing to do was to re-orchestrate them into a traditional enfilade – one room leading into another. This meant that the living spaces now offered simpler ways to live, and gave new perspectives. As so often in these old buildings, the kitchen had been relegated to the far reaches of the apartment, but it has been reprieved and relocated so that the drawing room, dining room and kitchen now all weave one into another, creating communal parts that are far more coherent and make total sense.

White walls give a sense of calm and enlarge the space. From the hall, designed like a box, the eye is taken on to a dance of perspective.

In contrast to the white, the hall is grey, and yellow and red light up the bedrooms. Spaces are filled with contrasting colours or textures, such as the grey flannel-covered sofas and white linen on curtains and chairs.

In the dining room, white dominates and opens up the space. A white-topped table, chairs from Habitat and a hanging lamp by Serendipity extend the illusion.

Complementing Just Jaeckin’s Gainsbourg and Birkin photograph is his image of Brigitte Bardot.

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The view from the apartment over the towers of La Défense.

Hidden Paris

Combining different genres within the apartment, Fabienne Boe de Pirey was inspired by the range of Caravane, the design store, as well as the interior architect Sarah Lavoin, and has used a few pieces of furniture, each chosen with care and thought. For the right pieces she has turned to sources such as India Mahdavi and Philippe Starck, and contrasted these with antique portraits, some of family, and those of more contemporary extraction. Add to these some vintage references to Paris, such as a poster for the dance hall Mimi Pinson, or a metal sign from the old station Passy-La-Muette. She carefully selects every detail, including for the kitchen a triptych of still lifes, photographs by Francesca Mantovani. Pieces by Christian Liaigre, Christophe Delcourt and from Maxalto have been chosen for their quality.

In the dining room there are two tables of equal dimensions, so that one can be used for small suppers, and two put together for a ‘banquet’ evening; the drawing room, too, has several separate seating units that can be positioned at will – nothing is fixed or rooted to the spot. This new rearrangement constitutes the heart of the apartment, and it is here where everyone gets together n

An extract from Hidden Paris by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, published

by Jacqui Small

The corridor wall is hung with family portraits and other antique shop finds in the same style.

A room of perfect proportions arranged symmetrically with a pair of sofas by Antonio Citterio, a classic Arco floor lamp by Castiglioni, a photograph of New York by HG Esch, and a painting inspired by Rimbaud by Troy Henriksen.

The hall, painted in sober tones, is dominated by a photograph of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin by Just Jaeckin.

Hidden Paris

The breath of fresh air that swept through the space, bringing oversized furniture, exceptional pictures and unique works of art, was a remodelling that was made to measure

In the kitchen, on the worktop, plates from Ikea. Above, ‘Still Life’

by Francesca Mantovani, which makes a neat visual link.

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New Age of Dentistry

In this issue we explore how people are combining overseas travel with state of the art dentistry

I New Age of Dentistry

can’t wait to go to the dentist! Not a phrase most of us tend to utter. However, for some a trip to the dentist can both end years of dental misery and provide a fabulous holiday to boot. One company Hungarian Dental Travel, run by Lincolnshire native Chris Hall, has been sourcing the very best of state of the art dental treatment for both British and foreign nationals for the last 13 years. In May this year, at the invitation of Chris, we decided to visit Budapest to experience both dental treatment, which involved having a new crown fitted for my husband and all that the great city of Budapest has to offer.

This was not my first visit to Budapest, but it was my first time based in the Pest side of the city. Although Buda has a lot to offer the visitor I feel for the cosmopolitan experience and vibrant street life

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Pest wins hands down. It had been 5 years since our last visit and we felt the city had changed a lot. Abundant bars and restaurants dotted every sidewalk serving great local cuisine, along with international food at best of all very reasonable prices.

Budapest is a city with a great cultural heritage and we were keen to experience the many museums and art galleries on offer. We didn’t get to see everything on our list but those we did included The Hungarian National Gallery, housing the largest public collection of fine arts in Hungary, The Museum of Applied Arts (a masterpiece of Art Nouveau architecture) and the Museum of Ethnography which looks specifically at the everyday life of the Hungarian peasantry.

We also took time to visit reminders of Budapest’s recent past, a poignant and very moving experience in the Holocaust Memorial Centre and the House of Terror Museum to learn about Hungarian occupation during the 2nd World War. However it was also down to business and we were very keen to meet first hand people who had major dental surgery that would have been extremely expensive in the UK. One such person was Mike, this is his story.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tel. 020 7193 1384 Email: hello@hungariandentaltravel.co.uk Website: www.hungariandentaltravel.co.uk RETIREMENT

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New Age of Dentistry

Mike, a retired engineer who lives in Tunbridge Wells with his wife would have to be there each time. This was all done and waiting lost most of his teeth 15 years ago. for him in an email by the time he got back home with details of His local Dentist removed his remaining 3 teeth just over 6 months the comprehensive guarantee. It was all so easy as even his airport ago and gave him a denture which he has not got on with at all. transfers were all sorted by Chris.

Mike Says “I could not taste my food because of this denture, it made Mike said “I decided to go for the “all on 4” system which is also my gums sore and it made me gag at times. I never thought that I called “teeth in a day” because the solution meant that I would not would ever be one of those people that drops dentures into a glass at have to take out the restoration for cleaning every 2 or 3 days which the side of my bed before going to sleep. is what I would have to do with a I am not ready to feel old just yet” denture fixed to dental implants. I was Mike decided that enough is enough aware that my gums had receded quite a and started looking for a better solution. bit and that I had lost some of the bone He exclaimed that life is for living and due to resorption. I was happy that I now that he is in his twilight years could have treatment but it also seemed he wants to enjoy the taste of food like a better solution because the more and give his wife a peck on the cheek expensive option meant that I needed without feeling too bad about himself. many more implants, more bone grafting After several consultations with and a much longer healing period along Dentists in the South of England it with more pain. The reward over cost, was clear that to get the solution that risk and the inconvenience of the more he wanted would have cost £25,000 expensive option just did not make to £30,000 which would take a huge sense to the dentist and I had to agree.” chunk of his recent pension lump sum, Mike added, “I was quite impressed so he decided to re-think the situation. with my overall experience. I went to Mike came across Chris, at Budapest from Gatwick with Easyjet Mike was a bit nervous as he does only twice during the treatment process Hungarian Dental Travel and has not not speak Hungarian, however he and my wife came a long for support. looked back since. Chris explained how soon found out that all the staff at Apart from my dental fears, I had a going to Hungary for dental treatment actually worked in practice and what great time in Budapest seeing the sights the clinic spoke fluent English options were available for people with no and the staffs was super professional teeth. He explained typical prices and why the Dentist he works with making me feel like I was in the best of care. They spoke perfect for those procedures Mike was interested in was the best. Mike did English. There was a healing period but I went home with the explain that he did not know much about the standards or quality of temporary teeth fitted to the implants. They looked and felt like care in Hungary but Chris made him feel little more relaxed as he the real thing from the start”. has been helping people in similar situations for over 13 years.

“The first time was just for 2 days where I had the dental implants Mike decided to have x-rays done in the UK and then sent them placed. I just had to wait until the next day before the temporary teeth to Chris for an assessment by the dental surgeon. Mike says ‘we came back which were then fitted to the new implants. This is the got prices down to a ball park figure but I decided go to Budapest safer way apparently but the difference was really noticeable. for a consultation after all to see if I liked the dental surgeon and Mike felt very reassured after his initial consultation and to let her see the quality of bone. I also needed a 3D image scan immediately committed to start treatment. Mike had 2 visits to for this procedure which was done at the “state of the art” surgery Budapest with a 3 month healing period in between each visit, besides in Budapest. his visit to have the consultation. Now he has finished his treatment From the first contact the staff at the clinic were very helpful, the and is able to smile again. He got back his confidence and can enjoy consultation was free and they even offered to cover the cost of his his life without feeling embarrassed. flight and first nights’ accommodation if he came back for treatment.

The cost for Mike was £5,200 for the “all on 4” system on the lower It is not easy taking in all of the information but the dental surgeon jaw. Mike needed the “all on 6” system in the upper jaw costing £5,800. really took time to explain this. Chris also put together all of Mike’s Mike was a bit nervous as he does not speak Hungarian, however options in an email along with the advantages of each as well as he soon found out that all the staff at the clinic spoke fluent English prices, how many times he would have to travel and how long he and the consultation went very well. After reviewing the 3 dimensional pictures they both examined Mike and explained to him all the available options. As Mike lost all his teeth quite a long time ago his gum has also receded a lot and he also lost quite a lot of bone. He was offered all-on-6 for the top and all-on-4 for the bottom jaw. The All-on-4 dental implant technique has been developed as a simple but comprehensive treatment for people who have failing teeth, have no teeth, wear dentures or who need full upper or lower restoration. It is a highly efficient procedure and much quicker and more cost-efficient than other methods.

To even begin to understand how this procedure has changed Mike’s life would be impossible. For many of us healthy teeth are something we take for granted but for Mike finding that he no longer has to endure the daily struggle and embarrassment has been life affirming. Hungary is a country that excels at dentistry with some of the worlds foremost specialists. Chris explained to me he is keen to work only with the very best and finds his ultimate reward is the lives he transforms n

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Let the happiness of others be your legacy

Let the happiness of others be your legacy

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B

ield provides housing services for older people throughout Scotland.

Thanks to the efforts of our fundraisers, we’re able to provide life-enriching projects at many of our services.

With this year’s funding we have introduced more ‘Playlist for Life’ services, created a sensory garden and launched a bistro dining service designed for older people in the community.

We receive no statutory funding for these sorts of projects and they would not be possible without the generosity of our donors.

Our donations come from a variety of sources, Trusts and Foundations,

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sponsored events, people who give on a regular basis and legacies.

With hard work, determination and a lot of fun, we raised over £150,000 during 2016. We are extremely grateful for every donation.

In 2013, we received a generous legacy from a lady who was so impressed by the care that her mother received from Bield that she left £15,000 in her Will as a thank you and to support services to help others like her mum. She particularly wanted the money to provide day trips and outings.

Using funds from this legacy a small group of service users and staff were able to go to the Falkirk Wheel for free. Such outings bring immense pleasure to our service users.

“I live alone and without Day Care, I would not be able to get out alone as I am registered blind.We got to go to the Falkirk Wheel on a trip that was fully paid for by the donation we so kindly received. It was a great day out and a place I have always wanted to visit but would never had had the chance if it wasn’t for Day Care.”

Bill, Service User Leaving a gift in your Will is one way in which your generosity can truly live on and you can be remembered with great fondness n If you would like to find out more, please call Kevin Rowe, Fundraiser for a chat on 0131 273 4000.

Prostate Quarter Page LEGACY 2016:Prostate A4 ad 07/12/2015 09:33 Page

Save 70% to 80% Compared to Average English Dentist Prices

Put An End To Your Dental Misery • Over 20 years surgical experience • Experienced Customer Service • Complex solutions including Dental Implants, Implant Fixed Dentures, “all on 4” & “all on 6” System • Treatment in Budapest plus Free Consultation Package

YOUR LEGACY WILL HELP TOWARDS A CURE FOR PROSTATE CANCER Our mission is to fund research to develop more effective therapy for advanced prostate cancer.

Our vision is a cure for the disease.

If you can help us please contact us at the address below.

Your support is vital!

RING NOW for a non-obligatory chat 020 7193 1384 Project2:Layout 1 17/4/13 12:51 Page 1 e-mail to: hello@hungariandentaltravel.co.uk www. hungariandentaltravel.co.uk

Prostate Cancer Research Centre • Britannia House • 7 Trinity Street • London SE1 1DB Tel: 020 7848 7546 • Email: info@prostate-cancer-research.org.uk • www.prostate-cancer-research.org.uk

CATASTROPHES CAT RESCUE Over the years we have helped an increasing number of cats and kittens in distress, by taking them into our care and finding good homes for them. The cats we take in have often been abandoned or badly treated, some are simply strays who have never had the chance of a proper caring home.

Our aim is to help any cat that is in need and we believe that every cat deserves the chance of a good home.

We do not believe in putting animals to sleep unnecessarily and we actively encourage sterilisation as a vital part of pet ownership. Please remember us in your will. Your donation or legacy will help our work for the animals and save lives.

Contact Liz Varney

Catastrophes Cat Rescue

Half Moon Cottage, Bakers Lane, Dallington, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 9JS Tel: 01435 830212 Fax: 01825 768012 Email: lizzie@internationalanimalrescue.org Registered Charity Number: 1017304 RETIREMENT

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The Importance of Legacies Introduction by Alistair Wallbanks

W

The Importance of Legacies

ouldn’t it be nice to know that after you are gone you could continue to support friends, family, institutions or charities that you have given to all your life?

There is a way that can be most beneficial to all parties involved, leaving a legacy is one of the most financially sound methods of doing just that.

A legacy or gift to charity is tax free and can reduce the tax you pay on your entire estate.Therefore, leaving a legacy can be a tax saving to those inheriting, depending on the size of the estate. A legacy no matter how small or substantial will make a real difference to a charity.

Charities, as we are all aware, exist purely for the benefit of others and the reality is that they are entirely reliant on donations, including gifts left in wills or ‘legacies’.

Research by ‘Remember A Charity’ campaign has shown that almost 70% of the general public regularly give money to charity during their lifetime, but just over 4% leave a charitable donation in their will.

Only one in three donors part with their cash tax effectively.There are a number of ways in which you can be more cost effective when donating to charity, for instance if you pay tax in the UK you can give the charity of your choice a simple Gift Aid declaration this allows the charity to reclaim the tax on your gift.

By contributing in this way everyone benefits, the charity by receiving the gift and the donor because legacies are not subject to Inheritance Tax making it an easy way of providing long term support for that charity.

The following examples highlight the importance of how a legacy in your Will can make such a difference

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Everyone needs a nurse at some point in their life

Anita’s husband left her several years ago, leaving her to bring up three young children alone.

His financial support for them was always sporadic, but then he stopped helping altogether.

Anita began to fall into arrears with her rent and finally was facing eviction. The Queen’s Nursing Institute were able to help Anita with the deposit towards a new property and supported her for three months with food vouchers to help her through the crisis. Anita (not her real name) is just one of the community nurses who they have been able to help recently.

The Queen’s Nursing Institute was founded in 1887 and they have supported generations of nurses with education, training and financial assistance. They also provide support to retired nurses who are on low incomes and they reach out to those who live alone and are socially isolated.

Bequests in Wills enable them to transform the lives of many more nurses, working and retired, now and in the future. If you or your loved ones have had support from a community nurse in your life, please consider including the Queen’s Nursing Institute in your Will.

For further information www.qni.org.uk

Treatment for the next generation

The funding and quality of research has had a tremendous impact on cancer in the last 40 years. Since the mid-70s the survival rate for people with Leukaemia has improved by 30%.

If we continue at this rate it is highly likely that in the future most cancers will either be cured or become chronic health conditions.

Prostate Cancer itself has its own success story. 75% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the early 70s did not live 10 years. 4 in every 5 of them now do. Early diagnosis is a large part of this, but what about the people unlucky enough to not catch it early.

There is still a long way to go. Only 29% of men with advanced stage prostate cancer will survive for five years. At the PCRC we want to change that. Scientific research is the only way that we will achieve our goal of improving the survival rates of people with advanced stage prostate cancer and ultimately finding a cure. It is an exciting time for cancer therapy as developments in the research and we are supporting world class scientists to ensure we are moving closer every day to achieving this mission.

For further information www.prostate-cancer-research.org.uk

Could you offer a cat or dog a loving home to see out their twilight years?

The memories made at Girlguiding stay with you for life.

Visit NAWT’s rehoming centre for elderly homeless pets and meet our animals, we’d love to see you!

NAWT Berkshire, Trindledown Farm, Wantage Road, Great Shefford, Berkshire RG17 7DQ Tel: 01488 638584 www.nawt.org.uk Registered charity no:1090499

Remember us in your Will so we can provide more girls and young women with the chance to

Registered charity 213128

flourish and make their presence count. From learning new skills to friendships that last a lifetime, Girlguiding gives girls and young women opportunities to be themselves and embark on a journey of selfdevelopment that benefits communities across the UK and further afield.

The Queen’s Nursing Institute is a charity that champions and supports the work of community nurses.

• • •

Registered charity number 306016.

Help us reach more girls and empower them to be their best by remembering Girlguiding in your Will. supporters@girlguiding.org.uk www.girlguiding.org.uk | 020 7834 6242

We offer financial assistance to community nurses in need.

We encourage social interaction between current and retired nurses through our telephone project, ‘Keep in Touch’.

We provide educational grants to support community nurses’ continued training.

Leaving a gift to us in your will would help us to continue supporting these vital nurses who look after us all in our time of need.

Thank you.

To find out more: www.qni.org.uk 020 7549 1400 mail@qni.org.uk

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A NEW START FOR VERONICA

Someone let Veronica suffer in silence before Bransby Horses rescued her from the side of the road following her abandonment. With your help we can make sure this never happens to her again, and that Veronica knows love and comfort for the rest of her life.

Charity N E W S

Abandoned Shetland Pony Receives Urgent Care

BRANSBY HORSES, DEPT. RT., BRANSBY, LINCOLN, LN1 2PH BRANSBY HORSES IS A REGISTERED CHARITY NO: 1075601

www.bransbyhorses.co.uk | 01427 788464 Bransby Horses is a Registered Charity No: 1075601.

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by Guarantee and Wales No: 3711676. pageRegistered ad.pdf in1England 20/04/2012 15:22

Last year we helped over 80,000 wild birds and animals like Rudolph

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Please help me get better

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Not only do we treat more hedgehogs than any other wildlife hospital, but our caring teams save lives every day.

Our aim is simple, to treat injured British wildlife, then return them to the wild. Like Rudolph, who arrived badly injured at just five days old. Our specialist care saved this little deer and he is now facing a brighter future. But it is only with your support we can help casualties like Rudolph; please remember Tiggywinkles in your Will.

Our late friend Dame Thora Hird actively encouraged others to help us secure funding for our lifesaving work. In her words "All the little wild creatures and I thank you so very much".

For more information please contact: Jenny Babb, Tiggywinkles, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP17 8AF

01844 292 292 mail@sttiggywinkles.org.uk www.tiggywinkles.com Registered Charity No. 286447

Come and have a look around our Visitor Centre.

Opening times can be found on our website www.tiggywinkles.com.

is the busiest wildlife hospital in the world.

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In February 2017, a tiny Shetland Pony arrived at the equine rescue and welfare charity, Bransby Horses, in an appalling state, following her abandonment. It was revealed that Veronica (named by the PCSO who was first on the scene of her rescue) was extremely thin beneath her matted coat which was riddled with lice and she also had painful overgrown hooves.

Veronica was immediately booked in for X-rays to ascertain the damage and then her hooves were trimmed as part of an emergency remedial farriery plan.

The heavy lice infestation had caused sores on her face and body so she was fully clipped and each day received a delousing treatment and a bath with medical shampoo to soothe her inflamed skin. Veronica was very nervous but soon began to bond with the team caring for her and she revealed her sweet personality.

An appeal to find Veronica’s owner proved fruitless and once the abandonment notice period passed she was signed over to Bransby Horses.

Bransby Horses can only continue to rescue and care for horses like Veronica with public support. Please visit www.bransbyhorses.co.uk to find out more.

For further information please contact Bransby Horses on 01427 788464 or visit www.bransbyhorses.co.uk.

All for one and one for all Tiggywinkles Wildlife & Teaching Hospital have never, until now, kidded themselves that they had any major effect on conservation of populations.

Their job is to offer care and succour to that individual animal needing their sole attention and medical treatment. They treat about ten thousand animals each year across the whole range of species: two of these, fifty of those, a couple of hundred blackbirds, sixty red kites and, of course, three thousand hedgehogs.

They all would have died if they had not been brought to Tiggywinkles.

Although important to each of those three thousand hedgehogs they had never envisaged on release they could have any effect on hedgehog populations. That was until thought was given to the doomsday statements that are being banded about predicting that Britains remaining, estimated, population of one million hedgehogs would eventually become extinct.

Bit fanciful, but what if half the hedgehogs they release are females and now fit, they produce litters of healthy urchins and they, in turn produce healthy families and so on. I only hope so. Perhaps if they can persuade more people to adopt their “Garden for Hedgehogs” campaign all the hedgehogs treated and released all over Britain could stem the downward spiral. A tall order, we know, but we in Britain are at our best when our ‘backs are against the wall’ and our hedgehogs are under pressure. www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk

Max’s Happy Ending Max, a 10-year-old one-eyed Staffy-cross, spent just under half his life at National Animal Welfare Trust (NAWT) waiting for his perfect home.

Then along came Julie, a full-time carer, who first heard about Max from a volunteer. Julie recalls her first meeting with Max went very well. He was friendly, calm and relaxed, settling himself down quickly in her company.

After bringing her husband Bob back for a second visit, the couple decided to reserve Max to the joy of the animal care team.

From then onwards Julie would visit Max twice a week, sometimes bringing her wheelchair-bound father, Peter, who suffers from dementia, so that both he and Max could bond.

NAWT’s animal care team provided training for Max and Julie to help her settle him in his new surroundings.

On her birthday, Julie took her new dog home. It was an emotional day for everyone as the staff had become very attached to gorgeous Max, and came out to wave the lovable dog goodbye.

The next day, Julie took Max to her dad’s house and the two of them just lay in bed together, with Max simply happy to be stroked.

Julie said: “Max makes such a difference to all our lives. He gives my Dad something to look forward to and Max seems to sense that he’s physically not able to do as much.

“As a full time carer working in the home, Max offers me the chance to get out and about when my twin sister takes over the care of my dad. He’s settling in so well.”

If you have room in your home for a pet like Max, please visit nawt.org.uk.

British Heart Foundation ‘SENIOR-RITA’ clinical trials Researchers funded by the BHF are reaching out to those over the age of 75 who have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD) following a heart attack to take part in a clinical trial. The trial, known as SENIOR-RITA, aims to find out more about how advanced treatments and medications work in older people. They will observe and follow the course of treatment for patients who have had a type of heart attack known as an NSTEMI where an artery has become partially blocked and interrupted the flow of blood in the heart.

CHD remains the UK’s biggest killer, responsible for nearly 70,000 deaths each year, the majority of which are in those over the age of 75. Over recent years, there have been remarkable improvements in the use of advanced medications and interventions to treat diseases linked with arteries. However these treatments have primarily been tested in younger patients and as the UK population ages, and more evidence is needed to be sure how they work in older patients.

As people get older, frailer and perhaps become ill with more than one chronic illness, it has historically been much harder to carry out clinical research studies.

Those who are over the age of 75 are far less likely to be offered the most advanced medications and treatments as doctors are often unsure whether these procedures may cause more harm than good. However there are often no clear guidelines You can find out more about the trial at https://research.ncl.ac.uk/seniorrita/

Girlguiding, the leading charity for girls and young women in the UK, is overhauling its iconic badges and activities. This will bring them bang up to date for the diversity of today’s girls and young women.

Since it was founded over a century ago, Girlguiding has always changed as the lives of girls have changed, introducing groundbreaking badges from the start such as Air Mechanic in the 1910s and Electrician in the 1930s. The new badges will equip girls with skills and experiences to help them thrive, succeed, make change and be happy in the modern world.

Girls are the driving force behind the revamp. So far 15,000 girls have been involved in putting forward and testing ideas.

Suggestions have included Entrepreneurship, DIY, App Design, Voting, Grow Your Own, Space, Speaking Out, and Archaeology.

The new programme will be launching in summer 2018 with new activities and badges introduced at different stages.

This extensive change marks the biggest investment in girls’ futures outside of the school system.

Active in every part of the UK, the charity gives girls and young women a space where they can be themselves, have fun, build brilliant friendships, gain valuable life skills and make a positive difference to their communities, empowering them to be their best. www.girlguiding.org.uk RETIREMENT

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Girlguiding makes major investment in girls’ futures

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Charity N E W S

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland

Liz could hardly believe that last year she was fit, self-sufficient and happily gardening over the summer months. Her sudden stroke changed all that. In a few short minutes Liz had lost her independence that she valued so much and her long journey to recovery began.

Liz was discharged from hospital 10 months ago and she felt very frightened and isolated at this time. She had lots of support from her husband and friends but felt very frustrated and depressed at being trapped in her own home especially over the winter months.

Liz said “The worst thing was not being able to get out on my own. Then I discovered that Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland could help cover the costs of a replacement back door and wheelchair ramp through their Person Support Grants. So I applied right away through my Occupational Therapist. I cannot even begin to tell you how life changing this has been for me. For the first time since my discharge home from hospital I can use my electric wheelchair to access the garden and I am now able to sit outside on a beautiful sunny days and enjoy my garden and the fresh air!

Donations to Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland are vital in helping people like Liz recover their life after stroke. Call CHSS’ Donor Care Team today on: 0131 225 6963 Email: gifts@chss.org.uk or visit www.chss.org.uk/sapphirefunds

The Value of Volunteering Bield are one of Scotland’s largest providers of housing and services for older people. Their ‘Free to Be’ ethos seeks to enable people to make their own choices and live their own lives wherever possible.

They provide life-enriching services at many of their developments. Volunteers are instrumental to this, from lending a listening ear to service users to getting involved with social activities organising and helping run anything from bingo nights, to day trips, craft clubs and musical events.

They encourage everyone to see the value of volunteering and are currently developing a plan to grow their volunteer services, to continue to make volunteering a rewarding experience for both volunteers and service users.

They ensure volunteers are supported in their role and people of all ages get involved, some of their Silver Surfer Tutors are still at school themselves.

If you would like to find out what you could gain from volunteering with them please visit their website www.bield.co.uk

Reflect & remember Charity News

A gift in memory of a loved one will directly benefit the lives of thousands of people in your area struggling with lung disease, heart disease or recovering from a stroke.

Help us make sure no-one faces their condition alone.

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0300 1212 555 | gifts@chss.org.uk | www.chss.org.uk/sapphirefunds CHSS Advice Line Nurses | 0808 801 0899 | adviceline@chss.org.uk (Free from landlines and mobiles)

Scottish Charity Number SC018761 RETIREMENT

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Cultural Breaks

A great opportunity to meet new friends...

Luxury escorted holidays created exclusively for our members

While discovering a wide variety of luxury escorted holidays throughout the UK and overseas

DOOR TO DOOR CAR SERVICE

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ultural Breaks is an ABTA bonded tour operator offering tailormade escorted holidays and short breaks in the UK and overseas. All holidays include a chauffeur-driven car service between home and the meeting point and are fully escorted throughout by experienced tour managers. We predominantly use 4-star hotels and everything detailed in our brochure is included in the price; door-to-door car service, coach travel, accommodation, all meals, wine with dinner, theatre tickets, guided tours, admission to properties, gratuities and even travel insurance. There are no single supplements applied to any Cultural Breaks holiday.

Our holidays and events are mostly associated with the arts and culture including visits to London’s West End as well as city and provincial theatres throughout the UK. Drama, comedy, musicals, concerts, ballet and opera such as annual trips to Glyndebourne and the Gilbert and Sullivan Festival are offered as well as visits to art galleries, stately homes and gardens.

The Christmas and New Year breaks which include a full programme of entertainment are particularly popular with our members, who return each year to meet old friends and make new ones.

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SINGLE SUPPLEMENT

TRAVEL INSURANCE INCLUDED

Yorkshire Moors & Dales - 5 day holiday - 17th Sep 2017

Yorkshire Moors & Dales

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Mrs Jean Power Member

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Glyndebourne

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3 nights at the Hydro Hotel Eastbourne with spectacular sea views and award-winning gardens, best Foyer Circle seats at Glyndebourne for the 2017 Tour productions ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’ and ‘Così fan tutte’ and morning trips to local places of interest.

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I very much enjoy Cultural Breaks as it provides me with entertaining and instructive holidays that I would not arrange for myself. The service is exemplary and the standard of hotels is excellent

SEP

4 nights at the 4-star York Marriott Hotel that overlooks York Racecourse. Excursions include panoramic tours with a Blue Badge Guide of the North Yorkshire Moors, the Yorkshire Dales and Castle Howard.

We will spend a day in the City of York visiting York Minster, York Castle Museum and The Shambles.

The Warner Proms

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3 nights at the 4-Star Warner Holme Lacy House Hotel Herefordshire for the Proms, with Anthony Inglis conducting the National Symphony Orchestra, joined by soprano Annette Wardell.

Tours include Hereford Cathedral, the Mappa Mundi, Chained Library and the Black & White Village Trail.

Our full calendar of events & holidays can be found on our website

FREE Membership

It’s easy to join and be kept up to date about forthcoming events. Just give us a call to apply for FREE membership from now until 31 August 2018 (worth over £20 per person, £30 per couple).

QUOTE:

www.cultural-breaks.com

020 8828 3688

RT1

6928

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