New fundraising for St Clare

New funding for St Clare Hospice leads to easier access to hospice care for local people

Thanks to a generous donation of £25,000 from The Charles French Charitable Trust, St Clare Hospice in Hastingwood, Harlow, will soon be welcoming patients and family members to their newly equipped outpatient consulting rooms. The rooms will be set up for both face-to-face and virtual appointments with the charity’s extensive community palliative care team. Trevor Farrington, St Clare Nurse Consultant said, “Here at St Clare a large proportion of our care is carried out by nurses, therapists and doctors in people’s own homes. The new outpatient consulting rooms are an additional part of that personalised care, and will offer patients the choice in where they are seen, either at home, at the hospice itself or virtually via video links. “We know that an ageing population in West Essex is leading to an increased demand for specialised palliative care in our area. The over 85+ age group will double within the next 20 years. We also know there is currently a lack of patient choice in making decisions about their care. The pandemic has demonstrated the need for virtual access to care alongside face-to-face appointments. Our catchment area in West Essex and the East Herts borders is large, at over 400 square miles. Public transport is limited and many people to struggle to attend medical appointments.” Trevor continued: “Thanks to the Charles French Charitable Trust, the refurbishment of our current space means we can offer our expert care to people living with complex needs who need help with distressing symptom control and pain management. This project will allow us to deliver high quality rehabilitative care, ensuring patient choice, independence, and dignity, and so reduce the need for distressing emergency care interventions for people living with a life-limiting condition.” Trevor added: “Alongside the appointments that are offered in the new consulting rooms will be an extension of the St Clare Hospice teaching provision. Trevor added, “We are proud to be a teaching hospice and already run an extensive education programme, providing free of charge training and placements for health and social care professionals and students. The new outpatient clinics will enable us to further enhance the skills and build the experience of clinical partners, as well as our own staff. “

If you would like to find out more about the Outpatient Clinics offered at St Clare Hospice you can call our First Contact Service on 01279 773774.

A dementia fair for people affected by dementia and those with an interest took place at St John’s Church in Epping . Around 100 people attended the free event organised by Epping Forest Dementia Action Alliance in partnership with the Epping Team Ministry. The fair offered lots of support with talks, singing, seated exercises and tasters from some of the local dementia friendly groups. Guest speakers were: • Coopersale & Theydon Gannon Primary school – 3 pupils spoke about their experiences with Ashlar House and how this kind of intergenerational makes such a difference • Alzheimer’s Society – their support services and dementia friendly communities • Essex Police – their Herbert Protocol for people with dementia at risk of going missing • Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust – role of the Admiral Nurse – specialist in dementia • Essex County Fire & Rescue Service – keeping safe at home • Home Instead Epping Forest – Singing for the Brain • Epping Forest District Council – Lucy Vandermark, Health, and Wellbeing Assistant – taster seated exercise class

Epping Forest District Council Community and Wellbeing Team, Alzheimer’s Society, Essex Police, St Clare Hospice, Voluntary Action Epping Forest, Carers First Essex, Woodland Grove Care Home, Ashlar House Care Home – Barchester Healthcare, Dementia UK and Epping Forest Youth Council were also in attendance. Councillor Aniket Patel, Cabinet Member for Community Services said: The event was created to inform people of all the local support available for anyone who is interested in dementia, including those affected by dementia.

It was a tremendous success, and we hope to stage another fair in the future.

Can you help?

NORTH WEALD WOMEN’S INSTITUTE NEEDS A MAN at North Weald Village Hall on the first Wednesday of the month. Help is needed for lifting chairs and small tables before and after our afternoon meeting. Small fee payable If you can help please phone Pam Smith 524631 or Margaret Mulliner 523535 Thanking you Pam Smith President of NWWI.

The origins of ‘Essex’

North Weald Bassett lies in the county of Essex. But where does Essex get its name from? To answer this question, we need to take a trip back in history... After the Romans left Britain in the fifth century, settlers came to our shores from Germany and Denmark. Many of them were Angles or Saxons – which is why we now collectively refer to this settler group as the ‘Anglo-Saxons’. Upon arrival in England, the Anglo-Saxons split the country into seven kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, South Saxons, West Saxons and East Saxons. Present-day Essex fell within East Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons spoke the language now termed ‘Old English’. The Old English term for East Saxons was Eastseaxe’ ...which is where the county name Essex derives from! Similarly, it is from ‘Suthseaxe’ (the Old English term for South Saxons) that the county of Sussex gets its name. Source: Amar Editor’s Comment—thank you Amar, hopefully Amar is a new contributor who will be writing pieces for North Weald Village Life

Volunteer with your local hospice

St Clare Hospice are seeking more volunteers to join their 600-strong team of people across their shops, in the community, and at the Hospice site in Hastingwood. The charity needs people with a range of skills and knowledge – so however much time you can spare, we’ll find the right role to suit you. You can meet eet new, like-minded people; make a difference; be part of a team; and share your skills with your community. For more information, and to see the current list of roles available, visit: stclarehospice.org.uk/volunteer or call the team directly on 01279 773704 or email volunteer@stclarehospice.org.uk

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“He look ed at the scene before him, drinking in the still beauty of it. It was endlessly deep and it pulled at his soul in way that hurt like love, like true happiness. He gazed with intensity at the waves, rollicking softly upon the hesitant sand; at the late sun, melting into the darkling sea and gilding the wave -froth; at the silver stars blinking distantly as the night stole, surefooted and silent, over the living shore – and something deep inside him whispered, home.” This month, November, is one of remembrance. We remember those who lost their lives in war, and we remember all those who passed a way before us on the feast of All Soul’s (November 1st). What do you imagine Heaven to be like? There are so many different visions, experiences, descriptions, ideas, imaginings about what life after death might look like. I’ve always thought of it like a ‘coming home’, after a long journey, but lots of people who have near-death experiences report seeing loved ones who have passed on, or a tunnel with light at the end, or meeting Jesus. I knew someone who had a near-death experience and came back, but it was something he never liked to talk about much. What do you think that Heaven will be like? The Bible uses many images, almost kaleidoscopic in their intensity. We have the vision from the book of Revelation, where Heaven is a great city, bejewelled and filled with the saints and angels. At its centre is a river, and the tree of life, bearing fruit. In front of the city is a sea, as if of glass. Or perhaps Heaven is a house; Jesus tells us that He is going before us to prepare a place for us in His Father’s House, where there is many rooms. Hebrews refers to it as a ‘heavenly country’, from which we get the final verses of the famous hymn, “I Vow To Thee My Country”; And there's another country I've heard of long ago Most dear to them that love her, Most great to them that know We may not count her armies; We may not see her King Her fortress is a faithful heart; Her pride is suffering. And soul by soul and silently Her shining bounds increase And her ways are ways of gentleness And all her paths are peace However you envision heaven, we know that going there will be a welcoming home; a return to the heart of the Father; an embrace into Love. I want to leave you with a vision of the Undying Lands as described by Tolkien and adapted by the screenwriters. It is based heavily on the Biblical description of heaven, and is something which brought me great comfort in a time of loss. PIPPIN: I didn't think it would end this way. GANDALF: End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it. PIPPIN: What? Gandalf? See what? GANDALF: White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise. PIPPIN: Well, that isn't so bad. GANDALF: No. No, it isn't. Source: Jaimme Summers