26 minute read
THE CONDUIT INTERVIEW
Faye Dimdore, Learning Associate at Rendezvous’ Learning Project for Young People in Yeovil tells us how things are going since The Rendezvous started last April - it’s been so successful they are recruiting more volunteer maths and English Tutors.
Photo by Len Copland
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At The Rendezvous youth services charity, we are celebrating a great start to the year, thanks to Somerset Community Foundation who have confirmed they will support our Yeovil learning project by part funding it for the year.
The project matches young people aged 16-25 who haven’t got any maths or English qualifications with a volunteer tutor to work oneto-one to achieve a level 2 qualification in maths or English. Our CEO Helen Da Silva Wood is very happy! ‘Somerset Community Foundation helped us launch our Yeovil learning hub during the pandemic. We are delighted they have chosen to continue their support. It means we can keep helping more young people get the qualifications they need to get to college, start apprenticeships and apply for jobs, knowing they can achieve what they want.’
Our Yeovil learning sessions take place on a Tuesday morning at Morley House, West Hendford (the home of Yeovil Samaritans). Since starting last April the project has built to 12 learners and 10 tutors. The sessions are proving so popular that Rendezvous is recruiting more volunteers for Yeovil in order to increase capacity. You don’t have to be a teacher. Our volunteers are all ages and backgrounds – and are tutoring students for a Pearson’s Functional Skills qualification which is practical, applied maths and English. Jackie started tutoring with us in April. She tells us a bit about herself and what it’s been like for her:
‘Having qualified as a doctor when I was younger, I stopped working in medicine to look after my children and instead turned to my creative side and became an artist. Although, I love painting, it didn’t fulfil my need to work with other people and give back to society, so over the years I have done a fair bit of volunteering. ‘I heard about the Rendezvous youth services charity years ago. I always thought it sounded like a brilliant and worthwhile organisation. I was telling a friend about it recently and it dawned on me that maybe now was the time to get involved. ‘I get a lot of satisfaction from tutoring. Seeing my tutees progress from not understanding something to ‘getting it’ gives me a buzz. I enjoy getting to know them and seeing their personalities emerge as their confidence grows. I see my role as not only facilitating their progress in maths, so that they might be able to access more life opportunities with a qualification, but also helping them to value education and how important it can be to moving forwards. I hope that with kindness and positive feedback, they will grow in confidence and have a good experience of working with a trusted adult.
‘I hope that I have helped them improve their functional maths abilities, showing how maths can be useful in everyday life situations. I like to think that I might have made a difference raising their aspirations and building their confidence. ‘It has been a wonderful experience, so far. I get deep satisfaction from the tutoring, but also really enjoy being part of the Rendezvous team. Faye and Julie, Rendezvous’ learning manager, have made me feel really welcome and valued at Yeovil. The learning setting is a lovely space and the other tutors have all been extremely friendly.
‘I have had a sense of fulfilment, which I was lacking before, knowing that I have helped improve someone’s education. And I have a sense of pride in being part of an organisation which operates with integrity and worthwhile ambitions.’
If you’d like to find out more about tutoring a young person one-to-one in maths or English, we would love to hear from you. You can email me, Faye Dimdore, on Learning@therendezvous.org. uk for an application pack and to arrange an informal chat before applying. All successful applicants are interviewed and undergo a DBS check, safeguarding training and attend an induction.
Visit www.therendezvous. org.uk/be-a-tutor for more information.
MAKING A COMMITMENT FOR THE YEAR AHEAD
By Amanda Whitlock, Total Wellbeing Matters
The beginning of the year is when we all decide to do things differently in the year ahead. Whether it is to lose weight, get fitter or quit smoking we all vow to become a better version of ourselves in the coming year.
This year may I ask that your resolution is to become kinder? ‘Be kind’ is a common hashtag nowadays but kindness is an attitude and one that we all need to adopt. Being kind is a choice but it doesn’t mean that you have to agree with everyone.
The pandemic has led to an increase in anxiety, depression and stress. However, researchers from UCLA, Stanford, and the University of North Carolina recently published ‘Anxiety, Stress and Coping’ which indicated that kindness and compassion fostered a sense of connectedness and reduced stress, anxiety and depression whilst also improving resilience. Being kind doesn’t mean that you need to accept bad behaviour or that you cannot make tough decisions. Being kind means that you always try to act in a fair and equal manner. You treat people with respect and you offer support where you can.
We also need to be kind to ourselves. The way that we talk to ourselves can have a massive impact on our wellbeing. Most of us are much harsher on ourselves than we would ever be on other people, telling ourselves such things as: ‘You’re not good enough,’ ‘No one likes you,’ or ‘You messed up again.’
Even though we may believe a lot of our unhelpful thoughts when we are feeling low, anxious or stressed, it is important to remember that they should be questioned as they are often based on wrong assumptions. Self-criticism gets in the way of us going for a new job, trying new things, meeting new people and even enjoying time with family and friends. Talk to yourself as you would your best friend – be kind about what you perceive to be your flaws or failings. No one is perfect and it is important that we recognise that in ourselves and others.
Being kind involves trying to be non-judgemental. This is one of the most difficult things we can face when interacting with others. We all come with our own unique view of the world which is shaped by our upbringing, our environment, our relationships and our beliefs. All these things influence how we behave with the people around us. It is important that we try and accept that other people may have different views to us. It is OK to disagree. What is not OK is for us to use our judgements to hurt or destroy others.
Act in a way that you are proud of. Act in a way that means you work with people rather than against them. Make your resolution this year to always try to be kind.
LICENCE TO THRILL – FOR HOW LONG?
By Steve Haigh, Station Manager, Radio Ninesprings 104.5 FM
There are two rivers of funding that flow into British broadcasting; the BBC licence fee and advertising revenues to commercial TV and radio. The arrangement has worked well for more than 50 years, but the government has announced that in 2027 the BBC TV licence will cease.
The BBC introduced the licence fee in 1923. It cost ten shillings and covered radio sets. When TV resumed after the Second World War a combined radio and TV licence was introduced costing £2. When the BBC started colour TV in 1967 a £5 supplement was added to the black-and-white licence. The radio-only licence was abolished in 1971. funding was decided alongside other government spending commitments.
Allow the BBC to carry advertising: the BBC already runs advertising on services outside the UK. However, advertising revenues alone would not be enough to sustain all BBC services and could curtail bits of output that are highly valued by smaller audiences.
Charge a special tax on income to fund public service media: Sweden abolished the TV licence in 2019 replacing it with a tax on working adults, charged at 1% of income. The money is paid into a funding pot for public service media, which helps reduce the risk of government interference.
Today, anyone who watches, records programmes on a TV, computer or other devices or downloads shows on BBC iPlayer must own a TV licence costing £159.00. People aged over 75 and in receipt of pension credit do not have to pay the annual sum.
The government says it wants a wide-ranging public debate to find new ways to fund the production of British TV programmes for selling around the world. Turn the BBC into a subscription service: supporters see the popularity of Netflix and wonder why the BBC could not adopt the same model. The challenge is technical. While Netflix offers a single product – an app and website that are easily passwordprotected – the vast majority of BBC content is consumed freeto-air that would be impossible to put behind a pay wall. A subscription model would kill universal free-to-access BBC.
So what are the options for funding the BBC (public service broadcasting) once the TV licence has been scrapped? Charge a levy on every broadband connection: this could be relatively easy to enforce, with the money collected through existing broadband providers. The government to fund the BBC directly: the model is used to fund Australia’s ABC. There would be questions about how to enshrine the BBC’s editorial independence if
Abolish the BBC altogether: with news increasingly distributed through social media and the growing popularity of commercial and local community radio stations, do we need the BBC? The government could simply follow the American model and New Local Radio Station for Yeovil and South Somerset let the free market take control. The writing has been on the wall for the BBC TV licence for some time, even if the format to replace it remains unclear. If you want the BBC and public service broadcasting protected, please write to your local MP.
RADIO
LOVING FEBRUARY
By Tracy Frost
February has long been known as the month of love as we celebrate St Valentine’s Day when we share our love with someone we care deeply about. However, the person we really need to love, cherish and have a caring relationship with is ourselves. The relationship we have with ourselves, how we treat ourselves, how we speak, what we do for ourselves, also shows others, on a subconscious level, that it’s okay to do the same. The concept of self-care is about achieving a gentler relationship with ourselves – the practice of treating ourselves well. Nowadays it seems to have a label, one of privilege and exclusivity, out of reach for most people; this is not the kind of care I will be talking to you about. Do you feel too busy, too tired or think funds do not allow you to take part? All it takes is gentle self-care and understanding. There is absolutely nothing wrong with massages, creams, green smoothies, but do they help you feel how you want to feel deep within? Real self-care is about the little things we do to nourish our mind, body and spirit on a daily basis so that we can show up as the best version of ourselves (and to be okay when we are not feeling our best). When we have healthy habits, practices and activities, it helps us to feel good at our centre and brings us into a more balanced way of life.
Self-care means plenty of water to keep our body hydrated, eating the food rainbow and getting all our nutrients from our food, achieving good
Inner Sparkle
Aroma Touch Holistic Life Coach Essential Oils Reiki
Tracy Frost
quality sleep and having good connections with people around us who understand who we are and give us their full support. Then we can add simple things to help us take better care of ourselves. Breathe: remembering to stop and breathe deeply when we find our minds and bodies going into overdrive, bringing us back to the present moment and giving our body and mind a chance to balance.
Move: moving our body, be it walking, dancing, shaking off or just getting up from our chair and stretching allows our body to release any stored emotions, anxiousness, conversations and tension. Self-talk: catching ourselves when we are saying things that are negative or berating to ourselves. Once we have realised what we have said, we can change the narrative to something kinder and supportive. Essential Oils: these work on our physical, emotional and spiritual levels. For example, lavender is the oil of self-communication, helping our nervous system to relax and encouraging quality sleep.
So, I now hope you will look at yourself in a more loving, caring and nurturing way.
Use February as the month of learning about yourself, using some self-care tools and finding some Inner Sparkle.
A LOST GENERATION OF SWIMMERS?
By James Cattigan, Sherborne Sports Centre Manager
More than one million children will not be able to swim by the time they leave primary school, according to Swim England and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Swimming. These shocking predictions were made in May 2021 and as we now enter 2022 with the effects of Covid variants still wreaking havoc in homes, workplaces and schools, this number could be much higher. Here at the Sports Centre, we want to help change this. Alongside the many fun, physical and confidence-boosting benefits of learning to swim, there is no doubt that essentially it is a life skill which can reduce the risk of drowning which is sadly listed as one of the most common causes of accidental death in the UK. this year, whether home or abroad, and swimming is usually high on the list of activities. For children to remain safe and be able to enjoy the experience, they will need to understand basic water safety, have water confidence, be able to swim and be able to get themselves out of difficult situations. I think we all can agree that learning to swim should be a top priority! Your child’s school must provide swimming and water safety lessons as part of the national curriculum. This can be in either Key Stage 1 or 2 and every pupil is required to be able to leave primary school being able to do the following: • Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations • Swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
• Use a range of strokes effectively, for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke. We have local schools use our pool and having talked to several teachers, I understand the difficulties they face trying to meet the above requirements. Large class sizes, timetable issues, number of year groups in need of lessons, budgets and staff with swim teaching knowledge make meeting the requirements difficult. Many schools provide half a term to a term of lessons per pupil, so roughly 6-12 weeks. Although progress is made, this is not enough time to take a nonswimmer to the point at which they can swim 25 metres or selfrescue from deep water. Out of school swimming lessons are therefore very important too. With specialist swim teachers, fun atmosphere and weekly lessons, your child will learn the confidence, water safety and swimming skills needed to be safe and enjoy swimming. Call 01935 810548 or email swimlessons@sherborne.org to enquire about our Learn to Swim Program.
Pre-school Lessons: Monday 11.30am, Tuesday 10.30am, Friday 1pm. L1 to L4 Lessons: Saturday and Sunday 9-11am. Advanced Lessons L5 to L8: Wednesday 5.30-6.30pm.
Oxley Swim School – Why choose us?
By Heather Crewe, Swim School and Aquatics Manager
At Oxley, we firmly believe that swimming is a life skill that will stay with you throughout your lifetime. And you are never too young to start. In fact, the younger your child is when they learn to swim the better, the more confident they will be come in the water and the easier it will be to pick up the art of swimming.
Oxley Sports Centre’s swim school has been running for over 13 years and during that time we have taught thousands of children to swim and how to be safe in the water. We currently have over 500 pupils within the swim school who are taught by our qualified teachers, who between them have over 30 years' experience. We follow the Swim England National Governing Body for our swim standards and levels, and we teach children aged 2-16 years. They can start in our popular Parent & Toddler group on Saturdays then, aged 4 years, children move into our swim school. The main group starts with Ducklings and then they can follow their swim school journey through to our top group, Squad. We find that many of our swimmers stay with us for several years. Some of the older ones may go onto swim clubs to become competitive swimmers or take up water polo and some of them go onto become swim assistants or teachers themselves. At least five of our current teachers started their journey as swimmers with us. We offer a free 15-minute swim assessment for children who can swim confidently without any floating aids. Those swimmers who cannot swim or have no confidence in the water would go directly into our Duckling groups. Once assessed, pupils are offered the various slots which are available for their swimming ability. They are then booked into the class and an email is subsequently sent with all the relevant details.
As a swim school member, you enjoy the following benefits: • Free swimming for all swim school members outside of their weekly 30-minute lesson in public sessions • Access to the swim school home portal where parents can see their children’s progress • Annual social events for all swim school members
• Challenges for the older swimmers to increase their fitness To book your free assessment or for more information, please contact reception on 01935 818270 or osc_info@sherborne. com.
Our Swim School is expanding, spaces now available
Contact reception to book your free swim assessment now.
GIVE YOUR PETS A HEALTHY SMILE! - PART 2
By Peter Luscombe BVSc, PgC SAD, MRCVS
Lower Acreman Street Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3EX www.newtonclarkevet.com
Last month I wrote about some of the causes and effects of dental disease in our pets. I will now discuss what can be done to help.
What steps should pet owners take to care for their pets’ teeth?
It is helpful at an early age to get your pets used to having their mouth opened and examined. This allows you to inspect the health of the teeth and gums. The gold standard of dental healthcare is to brush our pet’s teeth regularly once a day if possible. I appreciate that not all individuals will let you do this, but with perseverance and starting at an early age, success can be achieved. Initially a small thimble-sized finger brush can be used. With time, a small-headed toothbrush can be introduced. Please note that pet-specific toothpaste is required which contains neither fluoride nor frothing agents. The type of diet you feed your pet plays a role in dental care. In general, dried foods tend to be more suitable for teeth. Special dental diets have been formulated and have been shown to have a significant cleaning effect. Dental chews, tough cooked meat and fresh vegetables can all help. Remember the teeth are designed to work hard, and this should be encouraged.
A water additive can be added in low concentrations to the drinking water. This compound binds calcium and also reduces the build-up of plaque. Even if rigorous dental home care is performed, a descale and polish may still be required to revert your pet’s teeth back to good health.
What does a dental procedure involve?
Initially, your pet should have a full health examination by a vet, who may advise routine blood prior to any anaesthetic. Under a general anaesthetic, the teeth will all be individually examined and inspected for any signs of abnormalities, eg. ‘pockets’ under gums or signs of periodontal disease, cavities, abnormal wear and fractures. All findings are then recorded on a dental chart. Your pet’s teeth cannot be fully evaluated until a full inspection under general anaesthetic has been carried out.
The decision to remove a tooth is based on a number of factors including whether it is mobile, diseased, fractured or whether the tissues surrounding the tooth are diseased, eg. abscess at the root of the tooth. Cats can suffer small cavities in the ‘neck’ of the tooth on the gum line. These are extremely painful and in the majority of cases, extraction is required. In some cases, an X-ray needs to be taken to make this decision. All teeth are then descaled with an ultrasonic scaler especially under the gum line and finally polished to remove the microscopic scratches which encourage the re-formation of the plaque. If extensive dental work is carried out, then your pet would normally go home with further antibiotics and painkillers. It is important to note that plaque will start to develop within days after the descale and polish, if a home dental care programme is not initiated.
NATURE SPOT
BARN OWLS
Barn owls are one of Britain's most reclusive, yet treasured birds. The best time to spot a barn owl is at dusk, when you may catch sight of one hunting for prey.
Colin Lawrence, local wildlife photographer, recently caught these amazing photographs around Yeovil. Barn owl numbers have fallen dramatically in the last thirty years, but appear to have stabilised recently. They are faced with a number of threats including the cutting down of trees, the destruction of natural grasslands and barn conversions, so they need all the help they can get. prey. The owl may also find a tree or post to use as a lookout point so that it can scan for food. When it spots its prey, the barn owl can swoop down to grab the creature using its talons. Barn owls hunt over open fields, generally within a range of about a mile from their roosting or nesting site. As well as its good eyesight, the barn owl has extremely sensitive hearing, to help it hunt.
The preferred diet of a barn owl in the UK is small mammals such as voles and shrews. However, in other parts of the world they may well eat a range of insects, amphibians and lizards. They will also eat smaller birds and bats.
Studies show that a barn owl will eat at least one vole a night, roughly 23% of its own bodyweight. Extra prey is sometimes stashed away at the roosting site to be eaten at times when food is scarce.
Barn owls consume huge numbers of the rodents that are often considered a pest by humans, making them one of the most economically valuable wild animals for farmers.
Also don’t forget the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch - taking part is as easy as 1, 2, 3: 1. Watch the birds around you for one hour
2. Count how many of each species of bird lands on your patch
3. Go online and tell us what you saw
Visit www.rspb.org.uk/getinvolved/activities/birdwatch/ birdwatch-take-part.
THE LEGEND OF ST VALENTINE’S DAY
By Tracey Warren, Stoodley and Son
Valentine’s Day on 14 February sees the shops once again filled with gifts of romance and love. Some of us sit patiently by the letterbox awaiting a card or if they have a particularly thoughtful partner then possibly a bouquet of flowers, a fancy box of chocolates or even a weekend trip to Rome with your loved one!
Visiting Rome in the twenty-first century is almost certainly a better option than living there when St Valentine was alive. This is because St Valentine was purported to be a third-century Roman saint who was thought to minister to persecuted Christians. Valentine’s Day has only been celebrated by Christian society since the Middle Ages, with western Christianity commemorating the day on 14 February and eastern Orthodoxy on 6 July.
The legend of St Valentine is a story shrouded in mystery and here is one possibility.
Sadly, the saint we know as St Valentine was just plain old Valentine when on 14 February (around 270 AD) he was executed under the orders of the Roman Emperor Claudius II (whose nickname was Claudius the Cruel). The reasoning behind Claudius’s sentence, was a simple one. Claudius, as emperor, was involved in many bloody and unpopular crusades and wars. He was determined to be seen as one of the strongest emperors with an undefeatable army. However, because of his tendency to wage many fruitless campaigns here there and everywhere, he struggled to employ soldiers to join his army. Claudius decided that the actual reason for young men not wanting to enlist was not that most of them didn’t want to go to war because they would probably be killed in a futile and pointless endeavour, but that men did not want to leave because of their wives and families.
Consequently Claudius decided that the best thing to do was to ban marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine was incensed by this ridiculous notion and the injustice of this new law, and therefore conducted marriages in secret.
When Claudius found this out, Valentine was dragged into a tribunal and condemned to be beaten to death and then beheaded to serve as a warning to others.
But ultimately no one knows the exact identity of St Valentine and there are at least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs and all associated with 14 February. Is this legend true or just a myth handed down during the centuries?
Something to think about though is that St Valentine is also a patron saint of beekeepers; perhaps a jar of honey for your loved one would be more appropriate.
TREASURED ITEMS
By Barbara Elsmore
Do you have things tucked away in the back of a cupboard somewhere that you absolutely cannot bear to part with? In my case it is four items from Royal Doulton's Bunnykins range. When my mother died I discovered she had held on to my plate and beaker (not called a mug in those days) and my brother's dish and beaker — all dating from the 1940/50s. How well I remember clearing my plate of little pieces of bread, butter and Marmite to reveal a pair of pillow-fighting bunnies in striped pyjamas, with mother bunny holding up her hands in alarm as the clock behind her shows it is nearly midnight. Barbara Vernon was the artist who produced the many charming designs beginning in the 1930s up to the 1950s. She was the daughter of the general manager of Royal Doulton and was actually Sister Mary Barbara, an Augustinian nun.
Growing out of my Bunnykins plate I moved on to using the family Cornishware blue and white striped cups, saucers, plates and bowls. My mother also had a set of ten kitchen storage jars ranging from the largest, for soda, down through loaf sugar and currants to the four smallest for spices and the like. I hasten to add that these are not tucked away at the back of a cupboard but have pride of place on a high shelf in the kitchen put there especially to display them. Thomas Goodwin Green founded the first Cornishware factory in the late nineteenth century and you can still buy their striped ware today. My storage jars probably date from my parents’ marriage in 1942 and I guess that they might have been wedding presents. Around five years ago Judith Miller and Mark Hill, from The Antiques Roadshow, visited Macintosh Antiques in Sherborne at the launch of their Collectables Handbook and Price Guide 2016-2017. We were invited to take a 'collectable' item along for valuation and I chose to take the angelica jar. I well remember how iced cakes of long ago were adorned with small green triangles of candied angelica either side of a rock-hard sugared mimosa ball. Mark Hill was quite taken with my little jar, telling me that when it comes to value size matters and in this case because it is small and is for an unusual commodity it has a higher value. He put a figure of £100 on this treasured little item. Very satisfactory!
CARERS’ GROUPS
Do you look after the other half, family or friend who is ill, elderly, disabled, suffers with addiction or poor mental health or just needs a bit of help? Perhaps you are new to caring and don't know what help is out there.
Come along and chat with others, who are also recognised as unpaid carers, to share laughs, ideas and experiences in a relaxed, supportive atmosphere. Yeovil and Keinton Mandeville groups run a social group for the ‘cared for’ to attend at the same time, so you both can participate in a good day out.
Carers’ groups in The Conduit catchment area are located in Yeovil, Ilminster, Wincanton, Bruton, Castle Cary, Crewkerne and Martock. See the advertisement for more information.
Join your local carers support group
Do you look after the other half, family or friend who is ill, elderly, disabled or needs a bit of help? Perhaps you are new to caring and don't know what help is out there. Come along and chat with others who are also recognised as unpaid carers to share laughs, ideas and experiences in a relaxed, supportive atmosphere. Regular professional speakers and signposting.
For personal, 1:1 support as a Carer, contact Somerset Carers Service 0800 31 68 600 www.somersetcarers.org
Use the Carers Hub section to find your local group and ask your local Village Agent to help you with finding ways to look after the person you care for when you join a group.
We are all in the same boat, there is someone to talk to that understands. – Marlene
