Cardiff & Newport issue 23

EDITION 23

Retired NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

& living in Cardiff & Newport

LYNDA BELLINGHAM

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET WITH THIS CALENDAR GIRL

INSIDE LEISURE

FEEL YOUNG AT HEART AT BANNATYNE'S HEALTH CLUB

TRAVEL

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN

HEALTH

SPECSAVERS 25% OFF GLASSES FOR OVER 60s

MOTORING FOCUS ON THE FOCUS

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Peace of mind, for you, your family & friends

24 hour monitoring centre providing personal reassurance instantly at the touch of a button.

The alarm can be used around the home day or night to summon help for a variety of reasons: • • • • • •

Accidents in the home Medical emergency Harassment Domestic violence Bogus callers Anti social behaviour

What can the Community Alarm Operator do?

What is Community Alarm?

At a touch of a button you will be connected to our Call Centre whenever you need assistance day or night seven days a week.

Who can apply for the service?

The service is available to anyone living within Cardiff and surrounding areas who may consider themselves vulnerable and/or in need of reassurance and security.

Why have an alarm?

It provides peace of mind, not only for you but also to your family and friends.

• Offer advice and reassurance • Send a Mobile Warden to assist [Not available to Contact Only Clients] • Call the emergency services • Call family or friends • Call for medical assistance

Peace of mind, for you, your family & friends How does it work?

The alarm unit is connected to your existing telephone line.

• The unit has a powerful Microphone and speaker that will enable the operator to talk with, and listen, to you no matter where you are in your home.

• You will have a choice of pendant that can either be worn around the neck or on your wrist.

• No charge for installation

Cardiff

Community Alarm Service • No additional charge for visits following an emergency • Community Alarm is part of the Cardiff Council Housing & Neighbourhood renewal section • No charge for service call or maintenance • Our Community Alarm Operator will even call you on your birthday.

For only £1.94 for contact only, or £3.56 for Mobile Response, you can join the thousands of people throughout Cardiff who already live happier, more secure lives thanks to the Community Alarm Service.

Cardiff Community Alarm and the Warden Service may be free of charge if you are in receipt of certain benefits.

vehicle, they are first aid trained and carry first aid equipment, defibrillator, lifting cushion and portable hoist, and are also trained on Manual Handling.

Mobile Wardens provide a 24-hour emergency response service to calls for assistance via the Community Alarm unit.

They go to the aid of people who have fallen or are in need of help through illness or distress.

For more information about Community Alarm or the Mobile Response Service please contact Alun Davies or Annette Walsh on 029 2061 4852

Telecare We can also provide discreet sensors which can be tailored to meet your personal needs, and help you live more safely and independently in your own home.

These could include sensors that detect • • • •

if you have had a fall flood carbon monoxide or gas emissions medication dispensers.

The cost of this service is available on request, or it may be available through a Social Worker and unified assessment process.

If you think you would benefit from this service please ask your Social Worker or alternatively, ring Community Alarm on 029 2061 4852 for more information.

Mobile Warden Service Mobile Wardens cover the whole of Cardiff, they are uniformed, and are in a liveried

Sheltered Housing Cardiff Council provides safe, secure accommodation for people who need a little support to live independently.

Each Sheltered Housing Scheme is linked to the Community Alarm Service and has the services of Scheme Managers on a regular basis. They can also assist in organising social events within the scheme.

Additional support is provided to residents 24-hours a day by our Mobile Warden Service.

For further information on sheltered accommodation please contact Maria Spear on 029 2061 4852

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We know that having a car can give you the freedom of independence. With Ford Mobility, we can also provide you with real freedom of choice, with an extensive range of award-winning cars that deliver versatility and roominess without compromising on performance, driveability or style.

Our all inclusive package means that there are no hidden costs or unexpected charges. Everything is taken care of so that you can enjoy the most important part of getting a brand new car – getting out and about.

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Welcome

to Retired Magazine 8-9

TRAVEL & LEISURE 8-9

12-13

40-41

Under The Tuscan Sun

10-11 St. David's Hall Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra celebrate 30 years.

REGULARS 7 Graham Smith Twittering on.

12-13 Interview Lynda Bellingham talks to Retired.

HEALTH 34-35 Need a New Hip or Knee?

A return to mobility.

40-41 Open Your Mind To Alternative Therapies

Dear Reader Welcome to the latest local Retired magazine which we hope you will sit back and enjoy at your leisure. Our journalists Angela Kelly, Graham Smith and Sheila Alcock are continuing to keep you well informed with their celebrity interviews and up to date lifestyle tips.

We know you will also be left with a smile on your face after reading Graham’s observations on life!

If you know of an event which would benefit from free publicity please feel free to let us know and we can consider including it in our next issue.

WALKER 37

McGrath Media.

Unit 6 | Moses Gate Workshops Gladys Street | Bolton | BL3 2QG. T: (01204) 796 494 | F: (01204) 791594 e: mcgrathadmin@btconnect.com

Movement for life

Airogym™ is a portable, inflatable excerciser that provides a resistance-based excercise to help encourage blood flow in the lower legs.

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Airogym™ is ideal for anyone who is unable to exercise as much as they used to or would like. It provides a great alternative to help stay active as well as help to reduce swollen joints and muscles.

“My daughter bought an Airogym for me four months ago and I use the Airogym every day and my improvement has been miraculous.”

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Subscription Form To receive the next two issues of Retired Magazine hot off the press, either for yourself or to treat a friend, please fill in the form below and post with a cheque for £3.40 made payable to McGrath Media: Unit 6, Moses Gate Workshops, Manchester Road, Bolton BL3 2QG. Name:.........................................................................

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Graham Smith has a Twitter But is he right or wrong?

Health and Safety and Hot Air! Reading the entire collection of Health and Safety rules which dictate our lives today would be a suitable prison sentence for murder. New ones are added daily by some overpaid barmpot in Whitehall and two I came across recently are worthy of mention.

In the beautiful Bronte village of Haworth there is an annual event in June to celebrate the 1940s.

Everyone and their granny descends on the village, some villagers have been known to move out for the weekend to avoid the crush, and many dress in period costume singing “We’ll Meet Again” increasingly loudly as the local brew takes effect.

Until three years ago part of the spectacle was a fly past by retired World War Two aeroplanes, usually a Spitfire, a Hurricane or a Lancaster Bomber. Now these planes are still air worthy after seventy years but some clown in Bradford Council’s Health and Safety asylum decided there was a problem.

The Spitfire won the Battle of Britain. Hitler and his army eventually chucked the towel in because they couldn’t down enough of the planes to win. It’s a good job Bradford Council wasn’t on his side or he’d have won.

The organisers of the Forties Weekend had to conduct a Health and Safety and feasibility study and here was one of the questions:“What was the likelihood of one of the planes crashing onto the village during the flypast?”

Now we don’t see many Fokkers or Messerschmitts over Haworth these days and the Home Guard was disbanded some years ago. The only aerial threat we have is from rooks and the occasional duck with a dicky tummy, which might necessitate wearing a tin helmet on windy days.

I think we had the greatest confidence that the pilots would have successfully cleared the village without a mass slaughter of the population, but, no, we couldn’t have a fly past. www.retiredmagazines.co.uk

10,000 people squeezed onto our tiny cobbled streets that weekend. Traffic management had a pink fit as the hordes parked their cars anywhere and everywhere.

Hermann Goerring was spotted having a pint in The Fleece but we couldn’t have aeroplanes using the only empty space in the valley…the sky.

Were all flights from Leeds-Bradford airport suspended for the day in case the lunch time Ireland plane crashed in Central Park? They were not.

There was a famous wartime phrase which said, “Your country needs you”.

I suggest the same does not apply to the Health and Safety nitwits of today.

There’s a hole in your bench Amazingly the same village got a double dose of daftness when the local council decided to recobble and landscape the bottom of Main Street.

A lovely 12-month old wrought iron bench was removed to facilitate the work and it hasn’t come back.

For years locals and visitors have enjoyed relaxing on the bench and no injuries have ever been reported apart from the odd drunk slipping off the edge and nearly falling under the Oakworth bus.

The locals of yesteryear would have sat there and watched horses and carts go up and down the steep cobbled street posing some hazard if one set off at the gallop going downhill.

But we can’t have the bench back because a health and safety executive decision said a child might get their finger stuck in the wrought iron!

Oh, do me a favour. There are still stocks at the top of the street, what if someone gets trapped in them while having their picture taken? I’ve seen women in stiletto heels pirouetting like Margot Fonteyn trying to walk down the street and not get trapped in the cobbled setts. But we cannot have our bench back. In fact some half wit has now decided it is so dangerous that it is to be repainted and auctioned off.

I suppose we can’t have a wooden on either in case a splinter develops and punctures some old dear’s derriere.

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Under the Tuscan Sun

S

trung along 18km of serrated cliffs between Levanto and La Spezia, the Cinque Terre is one of Italy’s treasures. These five higgledy-piggledy villages Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore are cut off by mountains, choked with olive groves and dry-stone-walled vineyards, where farmers have eked out a living over the centuries. The Cinque Terre became a Unesco World Heritage site in 1997, which includes a protected marine area, and became a national park (Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre) in 1999. Wine growers still use monorail mechanisms to ferry themselves up and the grapes down these unique lands, and in some cases have to harvest by boat as access is restricted. If the terraced hillsides are not worked, they will quite literally slide into the sea.

National park status has spared the area from a propagation of tourism and the tacky souvenir stands that come with it and saved it from environmental destruction. Cars and motorbikes are not allowed in the villages, instead they are connected by train. In the villages, electric buses scale the sheer streets. Park authorities close walking paths when numbers become too great, so it s best to arrive in the cool and relative calm of the early morning.

EATING/DRINKING Grapevines and olive trees cover the hillsides, so wine and oil are a must on the restaurant tables. They prove excellent companions for the salted anchovies of Monterosso served in olive oil as well as the many specialty fish dishes and authentic gastronomic delights.

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The cuisine of the Cinque Terre almost perfectly conserves the characteristics of yesteryear; the respect for the flavours and fragrances of the primary ingredients. Trofie is a kind of pasta made from chestnut or wheat flour, It’s condiment is still pesto sauce, an original Ligurian sauce made from basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, grated parmesan cheese and pine nuts.

Torte di verdura - vegetable pies -are prepared with a stuffing containing parsley, marjoram, wild local herbs, artichokes, zucchini, potatoes and leeks, combined with egg and ricotta cheese or with stale bread soaked in milk or béchamel sauce and parmesan cheese. The pie crust is very thin, because flour was a very precious commodity. Torta di riso - rice pie - is a specialty of every Italian grandma in the region. Frittate - flat omelettes - are popular today as the ‘frittata’ has been rediscovered as a tasty antipasto. Another important dish on the tables of the Cinque Terre population was cotoletta di acciuga, anchovies stuffed with a breadcrumb based filling and then fried. The fritelle di bianchetti, fritters made from tiny newborn anchovies or sardines, were also highly appreciated. Following the seamen’s gastronomic traditions, other dishes included stewed cuttlefish, stuffed calamari and spiced octopus.

SLEEPING Numerous villagers have rooms to rent: look for signs reading camere (rooms) or affittacamere (rooms for rent). Accommodation booking offices in Riomaggiore are really helpful and can help you organise a room ahead of time. The town of Levanto is bigger and has a lot of accommodation including hotels, bed & breakfasts www.retiredmagazines.co.uk

T R AV E L and even camping areas where you can rent a tent with two beds and linens for very low prices!

Note: Breakfast in an Italian hotel or B&B will be some slices of bread and a croissant, butter, jam and coffee with orange juice if you are lucky. This is a typical Italian breakfast so if you can get a room without breakfast and head down to the nearest cafe where there is a larger choice.

GETTING AROUND Take the train to La Spezia and change onto the regional (“Regionale”) train that makes all the local stops in the Cinque Terre mostly through tunnels. All the Cinque Terre towns have their own train station. Almost all the trains from La Spezia stop in Levanto. The train represents the best way to visit all the villages of the Cinque Terre. Until the end of the 19th Century these towns were completely isolated and reachable just on foot or by sea. In 1860 (works ended in 1874) the first tunnel of this track was built connecting Genoa with La Spezia and crossing almost entirely all this territory through tunnels (32 tunnels were built here!). This means of transportation gives you the possibility to visit the villages in a discreet and easy way and as the train emerges from another tunnel you are treated to another stunning view of one of the best secrets in Italy.

DONT LEAVE WITHOUT The Cinque Terre boasts some of the best coastline hiking trails in the world. The path from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via Dell’Amore - or Lovers Walk.

The beautiful trail along the shore is very easy to hike.

Along the way, you’ll witness where lovers have written their names on the rocks and trees surrounding the walk. In the middle of Riomaggiore and Manarola you will come across ‘The Lover’s Lock’ which is a place to seal your eternal love. At this point there is a concrete throne in the shape of a male and female locked in a kiss, where many people duplicate this creating a lovely photographic opportunity.

The next hike from Manarola to Corniglia is also easy.

However, there is an up hill hike and a large zigzag shaped staircase with 385 steps which can be quite a mission in the midday sun! The trail from Corniglia to Vernazza offers incredible views of shore and is only steep at certain places.

The trail from Vernazza to Monterosso is the steepest (you need a reasonably good level of fitness - there is over 250m of climbing over very uneven rocks, totalling approx. 750 ‘steps’ - not easy!), winding through olive orchards and vineyards and offering dramatic ocean views. The paths are narrow, with a very real danger of falling 12 to 15 feet if you lose your footing. If you attempt this hike, take some water, and be prepared to build up a sweat.

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Monarola at Sunset

The walk between all the villages takes the better part of a day. For those that would rather not walk (or not walk the entire trail), a pedestrian ferry service runs seasonally to all five villages, plus Lerici. The price is reasonable, and gives a nice view of the villages from the water. The milk train that connect all the villages is also a quick way to hop among towns.

It is advised that you attempt the walk as early as possible to avoid the hottest part of the day during the summer period. Sneakers or suitable walking shoes are essential. You must purchase a pass for the hike. It is also possible to purchase a hiking and train pass in one if you wish to catch a train to the next town.

Hiking Times around the Cinque Terre: Monterosso - Vernazza: 90 minutes.

Vernazza - Corniglia: 90 minutes.

Corniglia - Manarola: 45 minutes.

Manarola - Riomaggiore: 20 minutes.

Manarola also has its own beautiful vineyard walk.

Language:

Italian and although English is spoken widely, the locals always appreciate your small efforts to communicate in their language.

Currency: Euro (EUR) Time zone: GMT + 2

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Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra CELEBRATES 30 YEARS Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra has just opened their 30th birthday season at St David's Hall. Following a stunning concert celebrating Tchaikovsky on Friday 14th of October, CPO are gearing up for 3 more special concerts to celebrate their 30th birthday in style.

It’s easy to see how CPO has played to over 50,000 people at the National Concert Hall of Wales over the years, bringing with them popular and accessible classical music to a generation of new classical music attenders from all over South Wales. The orchestra is also made up of Grade 8 amateur musicians from all over the city, truly making it an Orchestra of Cardiff for the people of Cardiff.

Conductor Michael Bell is looking forward to the new season; ‘I’m thrilled to be conducting Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra’s new season of concerts at St David’s Hall, a season that culminates in the orchestra’s 30th Birthday Concert in June 2012, which is not bad going for an orchestra that only set out to perform one concert!’

‘As an orchestra we love performing at St David’s Hall, and this year we’re looking forward to welcoming audiences old and new with a particular focus on introducing new, younger audiences to our work with some fantastic ticket deals for people aged 25 and under’ says Mr Bell.

As a birthday gift to the people of Cardiff, St David's Hall and Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra have teamed up to offer children under 16 tickets at just £5 for all concerts and young adults aged 16-25 tickets at £7; once again displaying a firm commitment to the development of classical music in Cardiff.

Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra opened its new season with an evening of music by the world's best loved composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in October. The evening included a suite of glorious music from his most sumptuous ballet, The Sleeping Beauty; the unrivalled excitement

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of Capriccio Italien, and the magical charm of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 1 painting a picture of snow covered Russian landscapes and ending in a blaze of glory as only Tchaikovsky can! The audience loved every second of it and it was a fitting start to the season.

The orchestra’s second concert will offer audiences the perfect countdown to Christmas with CPO's annual concert of movie music magic on Friday 2nd of December. This year they will be celebrating ten years since the release of the first Harry Potter movie, along with music from Pirates of the Caribbean, Ben-Hur, The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, The Lion King, Robin Hood and more!

CPO's season will continue in the New Year with a programme of Favourite Classics on Friday 24 February at 7.30pm. The evening will open with one of Rossini's most sparkling overtures, The Thieving Magpie followed

by Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 which must be one of the most life enhancing pieces of music ever written. The programme is completed with Elgar's best loved work, his Enigma Variations, the work that catapulted him to world fame in 1899. It's a series of portraits in music of a group of Elgar's friends including the deeply moving Nimrod and finally Elgar's own magnificent self portrait.

Finally, Cardiff’s Orchestra will finish their birthday season with a party celebrating 30 years of music making.

Alun Hoddinott's exuberant Welsh Dances opens the programme. Richard McMahon is the soloist in one of the best loved of all concertos, Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2; a richly romantic work with its ‘Brief Encounter' associations. Gershwin's An American in Paris brings to life Paris in the 1920s with its high spirits and succession of great Gershwin tunes. And, finally, the work for which the word spectacular could have been invented, Respighi's The Pines of Rome. A huge orchestra will be painting vivid colours of the history of Rome and providing a tumultuous close to the concert.

To book tickets for all four concerts visit the St David’s Hall website www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk where you can choose your own seats or contact the box office on 029 2087 8444.

What you see is what you get with

LYNDA BELLINGHAM Lynda Bellingham was trying to sort out her home “after a hell of a week” rehearsing someone new on the latest tour of Calendar Girls and spending rare time in domestic bliss.

“Because my life tends to be all over the place outside the home, I like relative order in it,” she explains in those immediately identifiable sexy tones that have ensured a fascinatingly varied career including a wealth of radio and TV voice-overs.

She is now 62, still glamorous but with the kind of accessible personality that makes women like her and men fancy her. The fact that she has spent the past two years taking her clothes off on stage – twice on Saturdays – has, surprisingly, endeared her to both.

“We’re not actually nude, of course,” she laughs, “but that’s how it looks. Calendar Girls is a marvellous play – Tim Firth (who wrote the film and the play) has done a fantastic job with it and wherever you go you can feel the audience’s sense of excitement and anticipation because of the ‘nude’ scenes.”

If you’ve been hiding in a cave in the Himalayas for the past couple of years you might not have heard of the true story of the ladies of a Yorkshire Women’s Institute who decided to raise money for charity after the husband of one of them died from leukaemia.

Their idea of a nude calendar made them iconic figures worldwide, and spawned both a hit film and the highly successful play.

Chris Harper is the main driver of this campaign (mostly played on stage by Lynda although casts have varied) and the actress is still a great admirer of the original role model. “It took someone like her to make it happen, I think. Having met her several times, I can see why.”

So could Lynda herself have been that driving force in the same situation? “Yes, I think I could,” she states. “I think I’m a bit determined like that.”

A glance back at Lynda’s own life reveals the truth of that statement. She was born in Montreal, Canada, but adopted by an English couple at the age of four months and brought up in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

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“I had a wonderful childhood, very happy,” she recalls. “I think my generation got used to accepting things – the Pill, sexual freedom among them – and that has stood us in good stead for today’s changing world.”

She got her big break as a nurse in ITV’s ‘70s afternoon soap opera General Hospital and appeared in films including Confessions of a Driving Instructor and Sweeney! During the ‘80s, though, she became famous as the head of the family in the Oxo TV adverts.

“Of course they wanted me to be warm and motherly, while what I really wanted as an actress was to be edgy and different!” she says with a husky laugh. “It was fine doing the adverts but it can be a doubleedged sword - my profile among agents and casting directors for a long time was this type of person.”

This worked in her favour, though, when she played vet James Herriot’s wife (replacing Carol Drinkwater) in telly favourite All Creatures Great and Small, and her comic timing was also recognised in situation comedies Second Thoughts and its sequel Faith in the Future.

She starred in the 14-part Doctor Who serial The Trial of a Time Lord playing against type as the Inquisitor, reprising this character for an audio series.

And from 2000 for three years, she played compassionate accountant Pauline Farnell in the hit TV series At Home With The Braithwaites alongside Amanda Redman and Peter Davison.

For several months in 2004, however, she enjoyed a recurring role in The Bill as villainess Irene Radford, offering fans a chance to see a different side of Lynda’s acting skills. “I really loved doing that!” she exclaims.

“Unfortunately, there really aren’t that many good roles for women of a certain age, and there are quite a few of us after the few that there are.”

Lynda, has, however, had an interesting range of roles in the theatre, and has also raised her own profile on TV as a quick-witted regular on the award-winning Loose Women programme where she is just herself.

In her private life, she has been married three times, her last – “and final” – marriage to Michael Pattemore (a Spanish-based mortgage broker known on Loose Women as “Mr Spain”) on her 60th birthday. She has two sons and a stepson, all in their 20s, two of whom live with the couple in London.

OF COURSE THEY WANTED ME TO BE WARM AND MOTHERLY, WHILE WHAT I REALLY WANTED AS AN ACTRESS WAS TO BE EDGY AND DIFFERENT!

“Michael has always come touring with me, which is lovely because you can be away from home for a while,” she states.

Her autobiography Lost and Found proved a literary hit, and the paperback version was out in March.

More appearances in Loose Women and more theatre performances are also on the cards for this year, although Lynda says that Calendar Girls will be “rested” after a three-year run and she’s fine with that.

She has also become an active campaigner and spokeswoman for the Alzheimer’s Research Trust and Age UK after both her adoptive mother and her birth mother suffered from this debilitating dementia.

“It’s funny because you can get quite nervous talking about yourself, as I’ve been doing promoting my book at literary festivals and the like,“ she says. “But I don’t find it difficult to talk about the charity and the importance of getting more people to understand about Alzheimer’s.”

As for having her own “role models”, Lynda reckons that she would really like to have the kind of serious roles that comedian and presenter Matthew Kelly has moved into latterly.

“Now get me some female Matthew Kelly-type roles and I’ll be happy”, she insists.

And that warm voice breaks into the kind of laughter that makes you realise that the likeable image you see is actually what you get with this talented actress whose career is set to continue delighting fans for a long time to come.

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Ideally Located

Beautiful Fairlake Homes

Situated in the highly sought after village of Bassaleg, Newport, Parc Eglwys is a new development offering two bedroom apartments and two and three bedroom homes.

Built by Lovell in partnership with fairlakeliving and Newport City Council, the development will appeal to those wanting to enjoy village life with easy access to Newport, Cardiff and beyond.

Exclusively for sale to the over 55’s, fairlakeliving are offering two bedroom apartments for sale from £130,000.

The apartments will come with a fully fitted kitchen with tall oven housing, hob and hood, lounge, two bedrooms and a fully tiled wet room. Situated in its own private communal garden, and with each apartment having its own parking space, these apartments offer purchasers the chance to downsize to a brand new, modern home secure in the knowledge that they are surrounded by people of the same age.

Homes on Offer Lovell and fairlakeliving each offer beautiful homes at Parc Eglwys. fairlakeliving is offering 24 apartments specially designed for the over 55’s, constructed by Lovell. In addition, Lovell, which specialises in creating community-focused developments, is offering great family two and three bedroom homes for sale.

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Several of the apartments will be offered on a 70/30 shared ownership basis - part buy, part rent. So you could own your brand new apartment from as little as £91,000 whilst paying a subsidized rent on the share not owned.

bedroom home for £144,995 with a 20% Give and Gain deposit for £28,000 from your family member or friend, they would earn £7,000 in return. The payment is made upon completion of the house sale.

Lovell have a limited number of two and three bedroom homes available with the Give and Gain scheme, with two bedroom homes starting from £144,995 and the three bedroom Bowood-style home at £182,995.

Lovell Homes An Incentive to Buy Lovell, which has a 5* rating from the Home Builder’s Federation, is building 40 two and three bedroom homes for sale. A limited number of these homes are being launched under Lovell’s Give and Gain scheme, which rewards grandparents, parents, family or friends prepared to fund deposits for first-time buyers.

The Give and Gain scheme means that you will be able to not only help your loved ones step on to the property ladder but also receive a financial return. If you buy a two

How to Contact us...

If you are interested in discussing fairlakeliving’s over 55’s scheme please call 01633 233876, alternatively visit www.fairlakeliving.co.uk.

The show homes at Parc Eglwys are open Thursday to Monday 10am to 5pm.

For further information please contact the Lovell sales team on 01633 894574.

Fairlakeliving’s latest over 55 scheme has now launched at Parc Eglwys, Bassaleg · Stylish 2 bedroom apartments and maisonettes exclusively for those aged over 55 · A range of purchase options available · Great access to Cardiff, Newport, Bristol and beyond Being built by Lovell and in partnership with Newport City Council

Parc Eglwys, Off Viaduct Way, Bassaleg NP10 8FN visit

www.fairlakeliving.co.uk call 01633 233876

FITNESS and being over 50 may not always go together as we monitor the changes in our bodies as we get older and wonder where on earth all that natural movement went.

But, we can improve our fitness and move into a healthier phase of our lives by taking up some form of exercise – without pulling muscles or getting a strained back!

Sara Stanner, science programme manager for the British Nutrition Foundation, explains that increasing activity levels after the age of 50 can improve life expectancy and increase the number of years spent disease and disability free.

“Being active can help protect against heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some cancers, arthritis and osteoporosis,” she states. “It can help you to maintain a good appetite, keep you mobile, help with joint stiffness and pain associated with arthritis, reduce the risk of falling and fracturing bones by strengthening muscles and can improve your mood and sense of well-being.”

Exercise doesn’t have to be hard to achieve or expensive. Sara suggests any cardio-vascular activity – that’s one that gets you at least slightly out of breath – will help to keep your heart, lungs and blood vessels healthy.

This could be brisk walking, perhaps taking the dog out for a walk, swimming, gardening, golf (no cart!), tennis, aerobics including water aerobics, cycling, dancing, yoga or pilates. It can even be washing the car, or mopping and vacuuming rooms at home.

Try to do these types of activity at least twice a week, advises Sara, and incorporate them into your regular routine.

But what if you’ve had surgery or have an ongoing health problem?

Norman Brown is a personal trainer with the Nuffield Health organisation which runs fitness and well-being centres around the country. Norman delivers a special recovery programme for people who have had surgery and, at 61, understands how ageing can affect our desire to exercise.

16

“If, like me, you are considering reducing your career time to restore the work-life balance or approaching retirement then are there are some important points to consider,” he says.

“When did you last exercise or do anything strenuous?

What is your health like?

What does exercise mean to you?

“If you have not exercised for a long time then you should approach it sensibly and cautiously, first asking a GP or health professional to give you the once-over and check you are fit and healthy with no underlying problems.

“Undertaking exercise is probably the best decision you have made because it holds the answer to many of the all-too-common health risks today. Improving your aerobic fitness will give you more energy, improving your circulatory system, relieving stress and improving sleep.

“Exercise will also help to reduce high cholesterol, lower blood pressure and control blood sugar balance.”

As well as, say, walking every day, light gardening or a visit to a gym, Norman suggests a regime of strength training: 10 wall squats, 10 wall pressups, from the floor practise getting up 5 times and do 1 minute of stair-climbing.

If you have had hip, back or knee surgery, adds Norman, always follow your postoperative rehabilitation plan provided by your physiotherapist.

Going along to a sports centre for regular sessions or to a gym can also easily become an enjoyable social outing where you meet other like-minded people. Having a chat with someone else as you try out the gym’s rowing machine or bike is another positive side-effect of exercise, and there are always experts on hand to ensure you exercise correctly and for your fitness level.

Ann Hardy is a 70 year-old sports coach from Southampton who runs a 50+ club three times www.retiredmagazines.co.uk

Age UK is the new force combining Age Concern and Help the Aged and it’s worth checking available activities with the website www.AgeUK. org.uk Local authorities often help provide subsidised activity sessions for older people if you check with your local council’s website.

And it’s important to have a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegs to keep you fit for exercise. If you suspect that you are vitamin deficient, talk to your GP or pharmacist and consider taking vitamins or supplements. a week. “You’ve got to keep the body active, it’s no good just sitting back,” she states. “Our group attracts around 100 people and we do a variety of sports from badminton, tennis, bowls and table tennis to swimming and aerobics.

It is, however, that first vital step to actually doing something that will count and you might start at home with a piece of helpful equipment or useful DVD. For example, fitness “Green Goddess” Diana Moran has created an excellent Easyfit DVD to ease people back into fitness.

“We get men and women of all ages, our oldest member is around 86. We even have people recovering from hip replacements and heart operations who come and exercise as part of their rehabilitation. The club gives a new lease of life to our members.”

Living in a retirement home, housing association accommodation or village does definitely not preclude exercise either. At Heyeswood Retirement Living village in St Helens, with onsite personal care by charity Sue Ryder Care, an activity co-ordinator offers attractions like linedancing, Tai-chi classes, table tennis or a Wii Fit. Age UK also helps fund some excellent schemes around the country under its Fit as a Fiddle initiative, plus other projects like one in Spelthorne, Surrey, which introduces sports and activities like netball over an eight-week course.

“When we exercise or do physical activities we benefit by improving the three S’s – Stamina, Strength and Suppleness,” says Diana.

She cautions against doing too much too soon – “The secret is to start slowly and work up gradually. Listen to your body and if something hurts, stop. Try again tomorrow!”

Diana, still youthful at 71, has no doubts what it gives, though: “Exercise has enriched my life.” *For details about Nuffield centres go to www. nuffieldhealth.com for the Easyfit DVD made in conjunction with Stanah Stairlifts go to http:// www.stannahstairlifts.co.uk/en/easy-fit-dvd-2. html and www.suerydercare.org about the social charity’s work. www.retiredmagazines.co.uk

17

...at Bannatyne’s Healt h Club An increasing number of people are continuing to live healthy and active lives during their retirement with the support of health club membership.

Bannatyne’s in Newport has led the way in changing the perception that health clubs are only for the young.

In fact, 35 percent of the Bannatyne’s members are 50 years old or over and appreciate the welcoming atmosphere at the Enterprise Way-based health club.

Offering a wide range of exercise and relaxation opportunities, Bannatyne’s is perfect for people of all ages, experiences and fitness levels.

Bannatyne’s has created a special programme for the over 50’s, ‘Young @ Heart’, which is specifically designed to play a central part in the healthy lifestyles of its mature members.

“The importance of living a healthy active lifestyle is as important during retirement as it is during people’s working lives,” said Steph Edwards General Manager from Bannatyne’s Health Club.

“Healthy eating and regular exercise is proven to offer a fuller and longer life. Therefore, exercise becomes more important with age and we have created Young at Heart to provide a varied, fun and interesting programme that focuses on the wellbeing of mature members.”

Bannatyne’s offers a wide range of facilities to suit members of all ages and abilities including a luxurious 20-metre swimming pool, which is heated to 29°C with sauna, steam room and large spa bath.

Bannatyne’s Young @ Heart programme includes:

Over 70 membership-inclusive group exercise classes a week take place in the pool and air-conditioned fitness studios including aqua aerobics, yoga, Pilates, tai-chi and a specific low impact aerobics for senior members.

•

‘Young @ Heart’ Classes are low impact exercise class aimed for over 50’s on a Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Afterwards the class, Bannatyne’s encourages the members to meet in the health club’s café bar for a complimentary tea or coffee.

•

‘Ladies Night’ is Bannatyne’s fun-packed evenings for ladies with different stalls selling a variety of products such as jewellery and cakes; Bannatyne’s also arranges a selection of beauty treatments to be available for members to experience.

•

Bannatyne’s hold a Quiz Night the first Wednesday on every month with cash prizes and complimentary buffet.

The gymnasium offers state-of-the-art equipment ideal for members of all fitness levels and experience. All of the cardiovascular equipment including exercise bikes, crosstrainers and treadmills feature built-in TV screens offering a blend of TV and radio channels.

Our recently installed power plates are very beneficial for those with osteoporosis and reduced muscle strength.

Your dedicated instructor will give a full induction on how to use these.

Central to Young @ Heart is a dedicated 1:1 instructor service to monitor members’ progression through their lifestyle change.

Young @ Heart members can also enjoy the social aspects of Bannatyne’s Health Club in the café/bar, which offers a wide selection of healthy foods and drinks available and a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy a chat with like-minded members.

For more information contact Bannatyne’s friendly membership team on 01633 266688 who can answer any questions and organize a free no-obligation tour of the facilities.

Class Time Table...

Among Bannatyne’s 73 weekly timetable of group exercise classes are a range suitable for Young @ Heart members*

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Sunday

10am – Pilates 11.15am – Aqua Aerobics

10.30am – Young @ Heart 11.45am – Aqua Aerobics 7.30pm – Tai Chi

11.30am – Young @ Heart 11.45am – Aqua Aerobics

10.30am – Yoga 11.45am – Aqua Aerobics

10.00am - Pilates 10.30am – Zumba 11.15am – Aqua Aerobics

9.30am – Yoga

*Please note this is only a selection of our class timetable. For more class information contact the club on 01633 266688

Enterprise Way, Newport, South Wales, NP20 2AQ

Tel: 01633 266688

Lasting Powers of Attorney Who Will Look After My Finances If I Am Unable To Do So? You may want someone to look after your financial affairs even if you are still mentally capable of doing so yourself. It could be that you are going on an extended holiday, going into hospital or you simply want someone to help you keep your finances in order. If you want someone to be able to continue looking after your finances and affairs in the event that you lose mental capacity, then you should consider a Lasting Power of Attorney. Without this authority even your Husband or Wife will be unable to deal with many financial matters on your behalf.

Types of Lasting Powers of Attorney There are two types of Powers now available. The first type of Power gives others authority to deal with your property and financial affairs including buying and selling your property, paying your mortgage and other outgoings, investing your money and arranging repairs to your property. The Power cannot be used until it has been registered with the Court. It can be registered at any time, either by yourself, thereby giving immediate effect, or by your Attorney(s) if you lose mental capacity.

The second type of Power deals with your personal welfare and can only be used once you lose mental capacity and it has been registered with the Court. It deals with decisions such as where you live, who you should have contact with and what medical treatment you should or should not receive.

Your Attorney(s) As with any Power of Attorney it is an important document and you should take care whom you appoint as they should be trustworthy and have appropriate skills to make the necessary decisions. If you appoint more than one Attorney, you can appoint them always to act together (jointly) or together and independently (jointly and severally).

You may even appoint them to act jointly for some things and jointly and severally for others, although this requires care as it may cause problems of interpretation when using the Power.

You may also choose to appoint a successor to your Attorneys in case one of them dies or otherwise cannot act for you.

In addition you may place restrictions on what your Attorneys may do for you or provide guidance as to how they are to act.

What Happens If I Do Not Make Arrangements?

You may make a Lasting Power of Attorney at any time provided that you have the mental capacity to do so. Delay may mean however that you are faced with making the decision when you are already seriously ill.

If you do not have mental capacity to make a Lasting Power of Attorney it may be necessary for the Court of Protection to become involved. The Court will appoint a person, called a Deputy, to make decisions on your behalf. The major disadvantages of not having a Lasting Power of Attorney in place are firstly the possible delay in dealing with your affairs and secondly the cost of making a Deputyship application, which is likely to be much more expensive than making a Lasting Power of Attorney and registering it.

Existing Enduring Powers of Attorney The law relating to Powers of Attorney changed with effect from 1st October 2007. Any Enduring Power of Attorney made under the old law before that date remains effective but it will relate only to your property and financial affairs. If you wish to give someone authority over your health or welfare you will need to make a Lasting Power of Attorney.

Rees Wood Terry Solicitors

A Professional Service We at Rees Wood Terry Solicitors aim to make the process of creating and registering Powers of Attorney as easy and as comfortable as possible. Each client is treated as an individual and their needs and wishes addressed in a professional and timely manner. Our solicitors specialise in this type of work and are also able to assist with the making of Wills and in dealing with the administration of estates.

We are also able to hold the original documents in safe keeping on your behalf and do not charge our clients for this service.

Peace of mind for you and your loved ones...

Our Wills and Probate Department can offer a professional, friendly and approachable service supported by years of experience and expertise. We understand that it can be difficult for many of our clients to travel in to see us so home visits can be made by arrangement.

We can help with Lasting Powers of Attorney, Advance Decision documents, Wills, Inheritance Tax planning, Probate and Deeds of Variation.

Peace of mind for you and your loved ones just needs you to make the initial step and to contact us.

Please ask for Angela Hickey or Clair Morgans on 02920 408809 9 St Andrews Crescent, Cardiff CF10 3DG Tel | 029 2040 8800 Fax | 029 2040 8808 info@reeswoodterry.co.uk | www.reeswoodterry.co.uk SRA no: 00264329

FO O D

&

DRI NK

Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes Recipes Rick Stein’s passion for fresh well-sourced food has taken him from continent to continent, across magnificent shorelines and to the very best produce the coast has to offer. Rick remarks “My greatest enthusiasm in life has been finding dishes that change my perception of cooking, that reveal a whole new vista of flavour combination.

I think we all enjoy that. I’m just someone with an enthusiasm for food and a curiosity that’s sent me sniffing around all over the place looking for lovely dishes in all corners of the globe” Taken from his book ‘Mediterranean Escapes’ (BBC Books, £20) here are two of Rick’s favourite recipes inspired by flavours of the Med.

SERVES 4 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried chillies 1 mild green chilli, stalk removed and thinly sliced 225g fresh porcini mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced 2 large, ripe vine tomatoes, skinned, seeded and sliced 400 g dried spaghetti 1 kg small clams, such as carpet-shell, washed 60 ml dry white wine A large handful flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped Salt

Vittorio’s Pasta with Clams and Porcini Bring 4.5 litres water to the boil in a large saucepan with 8 teaspoon salt.

Meanwhile, put the oil and garlic into a deep sauté or frying pan and place it over a medium heat. As soon as the garlic begins to sizzle round the edges, add the crushed chillies, green chilli and sliced porcini and cook briskly for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute or two. Set to one side and keep hot.

Add the pasta to the pan of boiling water and cook for 9 minutes or until al dente. Heat another large pan over a high heat. Add the clams and the wine, cover and cook over a high heat for 2-3 minutes until they have all just opened. (Discard any that stay closed.) Tip them into a colander set over a bowl to collect the clam juices.

Add all but the last tablespoon or two of the clam cooking liquor (which might be gritty) to the porcini sauce, return to the heat and simmer rapidly until it has reduced by half to a well-flavoured sauce.

Drain the pasta and return to the pan with the cooked clams, the porcini sauce and parsley and toss together well. Serve immediately.

Pastitsio: Beef and Macaroni Pie with Cinnamon, Red Wine and Kefalotiri Cheese SERVES 8-10 500 g tubular pasta, such as rigatoni, tubetti or tortiglioni 2 eggs, lightly beaten 50 g finely grated Greek kefalotiri cheese or parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons melted butter 10 g fresh white breadcrumbs For the white sauce 115 g butter 115 g plain flour 1.2 litres full-cream milk, plus a little extra 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg For the meat sauce 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 celery sticks, finely chopped 1kg lean minced beef 200 ml red wine 400-g can chopped tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato purĂŠe 10-cm piece cinnamon stick 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 tablespoon dried oregano, Greek if possible 2 tablespoons fresh copped oregano 3 fresh bay leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the meat sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pan, add the onion, garlic and celery and fry until just beginning to brown. Add the minced beef and fry over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, breaking up any lumps with the wooden spoon as it browns. Add the red wine, tomatoes, tomato purĂŠe, cinnamon stick, ground cloves, dried cloves, dried and fresh oregano, bay leaves, 100ml water, 11/2 teaspoons salt and some black pepper, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce has thickened but is still nicely moist.

Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaves.

Bring 4.5 litres water to boil in a large saucepan with 8 teaspoons salt.

Add the pasta and cook until a al dente - about 13 mins, but take care not to overcook as it will cook a little further in the oven. Drain well, transfer to a large bowl and leave to cool slightly.

For the white sauce, melt the butter in a medium-sized non-stick saucepan, add the flour and cook, stirring, over a medium heat, for 1 minute. Gradually beat in the milk, then bring to the boil, stirring, lower the heat and leave to simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the over to 1800C/Gas Mark 4. Stir 250ml (about one-fifth) of the white sauce into the warm pasta with the beaten eggs and half the grated cheese. Keep the remaining sauce warm over a low heat, stirring now and then and adding more milk if it begins to get a little thick.

Use the melted butter to grease a large, shallow ovenproof dish that measures about 23 x 33 cm across and 7cm deep. Spread one-third of the pasta over the base of the dish and cover with half the meat sauce. Add another third of the pasta and then the rest of the meat sauce, then cover with a final layer of pasta. Spoon over the remaining white sauce. Mix the remaining grated cheese with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle them over the top. Bake for 40 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.

Stocking up for winter...

This year’s summer seems to have come and gone in a blink of an eye with the sunny warm days we would expect having been few and far between. More worrying is that the weather forecasters are predicting early snow and temperatures below those of last year, one of the coldest on record.

Surviving the winter not only means getting the flu jab or turning the heating on, it is also about making sure that you eat well and that you eat the right food.

But not everyone is able to go shopping during the cold and wet months and nor is everyone capable of preparing their own meals and that’s where a good home delivery service is important. Not all home delivery services are the same though. Few grocers offer meals specifically prepared for the over 65s and most are not geared to provide the required level of service.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, now in their 20th year, are the exception specialising in the preparation and home delivery of meals to the over 65s and those that are housebound. All meals are prepared in the Wiltshire Farm Foods kitchens in Trowbridge by a team of chefs in consultation with leading dietician Sue Baic.

Every meal is prepared taking into account the dietary requirements of the over 65s including for those who are diabetic, those who need to limit their salt intake or who suffer from allergies. Customers are also given the opportunity to taste test the meals and to provide input into the range before these are made available for purchase.

into the freezer for customers. All staff are cleared by the criminal records bureau to work with vulnerable adults and they are trained to offer a friendly and reassuring service which has in most cases led to long lasting friendships based on mutual trust and respect. Such is the quality of the food and the service that it is recommended by most hospitals and health professionals.

The company also offers a full Christmas menu as well as soft and pureed meals for those who have difficulty eating or swallowing.

Why not give it a try, call Wiltshire Farm Foods Cardiff on 029 2034 2008 for your free menu pack. Orders can be placed using the same number or you can order online at www.witlshirefarmfoods.co.uk

Perhaps most important is that Wiltshire Farm Foods are healthy. Fast frozen to lock in the goodness, Wiltshire Farm Foods can be cooked in either the oven or the microwave. Unlike other frozen meals, Wiltshire Farm Foods use a unique steaming process that leaves meals full of colour, taste and tenderness. What's more the packaging has been designed to make cooking easy with no pricking of lids or stirring of the food half way through the cooking process.

Wiltshire Farm Foods is more than just the food with their award winning service offers, free home delivery, no minimum order and the packing of food

For more information call Wiltshire Farm Foods on 029 2034 2008

Around 250 tasty meals delivered to your door.

(Not all at once, that would be greedy!)

Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding £3.95

We offer a choice of around 250 tasty dishes, including Mini Meals, desserts and special diet options. From roast beef to golden syrup sponge, all dishes are delivered frozen by your friendly, local driver, ready to store in your freezer and cook in minutes.

Simply take a look at our FREE brochure and order over the phone or online. You can then enjoy free delivery to your door. Mealtimes taken care of - what could be easier?

TASTY MEALS FROM ONLY

£2.95

FREE

NATIONWIDE DELIVERY

TRY OUR TASTER PACK for only £19.95 Main Courses: Chicken & Vegetable Pie Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding Lamb & Vegetable Casserole Pork & Leek Sausages with Somerset Cider Gravy Roast Chicken Breast with Stuffing Desserts: Luxury Bramley Apple Pie Lemon Sponge, Lemon Sauce & Custard Strawberry Sundae

For your FREE brochure or to order a Taster Pack call us on

029 2034 2008 Shop online at www.wiltshirefarmfoods.com

County Hall / Neuadd y Sir SAT & SUN / SAD A SUL

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Cardiff Park and Ride Services Gwasanaethau Parcio a Theithio Caerdydd

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De Caerdydd Cardiff Sad a South Sul Sat &South Sun Cardiff De SatCaerdydd & Sun Sad a Sul

Is your hard earned cash going through the roof, or down the drain?

Last winter was one of the coldest we’ve had in the UK for twenty years and we paid the price in hugely inflated heating bills. To make matters worse, these are expected to rise even higher over the next few years.

Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, as the weather gets warmer, its all too easy to forget winter chills and put off the moment when we need to take a good look at ways of keeping those heating costs down.

First off, and the most immediate way of cutting out waste, is to take a few simple steps to save energy.

1. Turn the thermostat down on your room temperature. A reduction of 1 degree could cut your heating bills by up to 10%, and you could save around £40 a year.

2. Set the temperature on your hot water tank to 50 degrees celsius.

3. Set the temperature in your refrigerator to between 1.7 and 3.3. degrees Celsius, and set it to -18 degrees Celsius for the freezer.

4. Wash clothes on a low heating cycle, and dry outside on a line, or indoors on a drying rack. Only wash when you have a full load.

5. Turn your computer off when not in use, and unplug DVD players, TVs and games consoles when not in use.

6. Turn lights off when you leave the room.

7. Install low energy light bulbs in every room.

8. Make sure your hot water tank has a foam insulating jacket.

9. Install radiator shields behind your radiators. This will direct warm air upwards into the room, instead of being lost in the wall.

10. Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows 11. Never open the oven door while cooking – you could lose around 20% of the heat when you do this.

12. Re-heat small portions of food in your micro-wave oven. This uses less than half of a conventional oven.

13. Never fill your kettle to make a single cup of tea, but ensure you use sufficient water to cover the element.

14. If you have fireplaces in your house which are not used, install chimney balloons to prevent cold air entering your rooms, and warm air escaping.

To Save on your Water Bills 1. Take a shower rather than a bath, and install low-flow showerheads.

2. Fix any dripping taps.

3. Install tap water savers to all taps. These can be fitted in minutes and can dramatically reduce water consumption.

4. Use a water saver in your lavatory cistern. These are balloons made of heavy duty plastic, and will save around 3 litres of water every time the toilet is flushed.

5. Install water butts on down pipes outside your house. This water is free of chlorine, is better for your plants, and will save you a fortune in water bills. As well as the large water butts, they are now available in narrower format, for difficult corners.

Once you’ve taken these easy ways to save energy, it makes sense to look at the wider picture, ask a few more questions and try to take steps before winter sets in again.

Is your home insulated?

And if not, would you qualify for free loft and cavity wall insulation?

Solar Power With the introduction of the Feed In Tariff, solar electricity is now a viable option to reduce your electricity bill and receive an annual payment from the government for doing this.

There can’t be many of us who don’t know that up to a quarter of the heat we pay for, goes straight through the roof. Yet we could remedy that quite easily. Have you checked your loft recently. Is it properly insulated?

Maybe you had your loft insulated when you moved into your home, but how long ago was that? It could be that the depth of the insulation was considered less important then. These days, the recommended depth of the most common insulating material, Rock Wool, is 270mm.

If you’re a home owner or renting and are on eligible benefits or tax credits, or if you are over 70, or if the state pension is your main source of income, you could well qualify for loft or cavity wall insulation installed free of charge. For more information on this, go to http://www.government-grants.org.uk or contact your local Age Concern organisation.

Urban Solar

install solar panels...

Solar electricity systems use photovoltaic (PV) cells to capture the energy from the sun and convert it into electricity. There are two ways of installing Solar PV, by fitting panels to your existing roof or if your roof needs repairing anyway, replace some of the tiles with PV tiles. Solar photovoltaic panels have a long life expectancy of around 50 years and most systems having a 25 year warranty and little or no maintenance they will give you peace of mind whilst generating your electricity.

Savings can be considerable and a basic 2 kWp systems could provide around 40% of a household’s annual electricity. The more it generates the more you save as any excess electricity can be sold back into the grid.

Let the sun shine on your golden years Would you like to save money on your energy bills and have extra money to spend?

As energy prices continue to rise, you will find that having a renewable energy system in your home, such as solar panels fitted to the roof of your house, will help protect you against these rises.

bsite check our we itions apply Terms & Cond

The UK Governments “Feed-in Tariff” scheme, or Clean Energy Cash-back, will make energy suppliers pay you for every Watt you generate once you have solar panels fitted by an MCS accredited installer. Your electricity bills will also fall as power from your system will feed into your home's electricity supply ready for you to use.

As Patrick from Urban Solar says, “We are getting a lot of enquiries now that more people are realising what a great opportunity this is.”

“We want to make solar PV accessible to as many people as possible and help reduce the Welsh carbon footprint”.

With a variety of purchase options and finance available, solar panels are accessible to anyone whose home has a good view of the southern sky.

If you would like to know more about harvesting the suns energy, just call Urban Solar or find us online at www.urbansolar.org.uk.

0845 2658315 / 02920 481506

www.urbansolar.org.uk

Tel: 08452658315 enquiries@urbansolar.org.uk www.urbansolar.org.uk

“German Fuel Crisis Solved by Royal Intervention” This was probably the headline in local German newspapers in 1763, when Frederick The Great of Prussia held an engineering competition to find a better way of burning wood.

The invention that cut the burning of wood by two thirds, and which won the Royal competition was a new type of heating stove called a Kachelofen and there are still some around today.

Three things made the Kachelofen so effective and economic, compared to other stoves: The reduction in size of the burning chamber, the greatly increased surface area and the use of a natural chamotte claylined interior.

Our modern electric version also has a big surface area, achieved by using deep flutes, as well as a low electricity input requirement, achieved by embedding pure tungsten elements into a natural refractory chamotte clay core.

In 1991, the year of our last design change, a new slimmer radiator (just 80mm deep) was introduced with scientifically optimised hollow flutes to provide even more effective heating.

Photo by Werner Willmann Schloss Hoheraschau c. 1775, Upper Bavaria.

For further details contact Daniel McMahon on 0800 158 8272 or find us on www.sunflowltd.co.uk

A NEW FORM OF HEATING FROM GERMANY Simple to install, Powerful, and no more servicing - EVER!

The onslaught of severe cold is a problem faced by central European homes every single year. For 65 years, one German manufacturer has been perfecting heaters that tackle all the factors we worry about in Britain.

guarantee and needs no servicing ever! All over Get your FREE brochure by calling our Europe more people are choosing to heat their 24hr Brochure Line homes and offices with this very special form of on: 0800 158 8270 electric heating in preference to oil gas or E7. In or email: info@sunflowltd.co.uk our area, more and more people are making that same decision and when you see this incredible heating for yourself you could be next!

Total control and low input radiators allow us to regulate our heating and reduce fuel Although relatively new in the U.K. these low input electric heaters have been used in Germany costs by up to 40%. and Austria for a very long time. Being able to control individual rooms means you can put the heat exactly where you need it. Our heaters are slim, quality built and are available in a range of over 200 colours.

Replacement Service

For years, this country has focused on wet central heating with its constant servicing and replacement parts. The high maintenance costs, as well as rising energy costs, means that now is the time to look at Sunflow’s quality German heating which comes with a 12 year

Requiring no special wiring (they simply plug in), you can use them with existing heating or as a complete solution. Whether you have a cold spot, cold rooms or a cold house - it is time to look at Sunflow for the warm and cosy way to reduce energy use in your home.

Sunflow Ltd. offer a complete solution which can include disposing of your old central heating system, even oil tanks!

Discover for yourself this incredible German heating.

Sunflow can take the worry out of disposing of old central heating systems or old night storage heaters.

We have a package price that includes the safe and certificated removal of oil, lpg and gas systems, even old oil tanks!

Questions?

Call Suzanne on 0800 158 8272

A ReAl AlteRnAtive to oil/GAs HeAtinG - Ask About ouR ReplAcement seRvice

Coping with the

Winter Months Cold or Flu?

Colds and flu share some of the same symptoms (sneezing, coughing, sore throat), but are caused by different viruses. Flu can be much more serious than a cold.

If you’re generally fit and healthy, you can usually manage the symptoms of a cold or flu yourself without seeing a doctor. Look after yourself by resting, drinking non-alcoholic fluids to avoid dehydration and avoiding strenuous activity. Painkillers such as ibuprofen or paracetamol can relieve aches and pains.

Some people need to take extra care as they’re more at risk of serious chest complications, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. People over 65 are more at risk of complications. People under 65, including children, are more at risk of complications if they have serious heart or chest complaints, including asthma, serious kidney disease or liver disease, diabetes, lowered immunity due to disease or treatment or have had a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA).

Flu Flu usually comes on much more quickly than a cold, and symptoms include sudden fever of 38-40°C (100104°F), muscle aches and pains, sweating, feeling exhausted and needing to lie down, dry & chesty cough and sneezing.

Symptoms

Flu symptoms appear one to three days after infection and most people recover within a week, although you may feel tired for longer. A severe cold can also cause muscle aches and fever, so it can be hard to tell the difference.

There are around 200 viruses that cause colds and three that cause flu. There are many strains of these flu viruses, and the vaccine changes every year to protect against the most common ones.

Whether it’s a cold or flu, get medical help if you have a chronic condition (such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease), or if you have a very high fever as well as an unusually severe headache or abdominal or chest pain.

Colds

Stop the viruses spreading

Everyone in an at-risk group is eligible for a free flu vaccination. This is the best protection against the virus.

Symptoms of a cold include a runny nose, beginning with clear mucus that develops into thicker, green mucus as the cold progresses, blocked nose, sore throat, sneezing and a cough.

People with a cold may also suffer with a mild fever, earache, tiredness and headache. Symptoms develop over one or two days and gradually get better after a few days. Some colds can last for up to two weeks.

Help prevent colds and flu from spreading by sneezing or coughing into a tissue, throwing the tissue away, washing your hands and getting the flu jab if you’re eligible.

According to the Common Cold Centre in Cardiff, a cold is most contagious during the early stages when the person has a runny nose and sore throat.

Information provided courtesy of

Cold and flu viruses are spread by droplets that are sneezed or coughed out by an infected person. Other people can breathe in these droplets or transfer the droplets to their eyes or nose on their fingers.

Again protect yourself and others against colds and flu by coughing or sneezing into a tissue, throwing a used tissue away as soon as possible, washing your hands as soon as possible and having a flu jab every year if you’re in an at-risk group.

Please visit www.nhs.uk for further details.

HEALTH

Five Ways To Stay Healthy This Winter It may be cold outside but winter needn't be the unhealthiest time of year for you and your family.

Here are five ways to make sure that even when your body is telling you to hibernate you can keep healthy and fit, no matter what the weather's like:

Eliminate your sleep debt

"On average we sleep six-and-a-half hours a night, much less than the seven to nine hours recommended," says Jessica Alexander, spokesperson at the Sleep Council, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of a good night's sleep to health and wellbeing. But in winter, we naturally sleep more, due to the longer nights. "It’s perfectly natural to adopt hibernating habits when the weather turns cold," says Jessica. "Use the time to catch up."

Drink more milk

You are 80% more likely to get a cold in winter so making sure your immune system is in tip-top condition is important. Milk and dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais are great sources of protein and vitamins A and B12. They're also an important source of calcium, which helps keep our bones strong.

Try to go for semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, rather than full fat, and low-fat yoghurts.

Eat more fruit and vegetables

When it’s cold and dark outside it can be tempting to fill up on unhealthy comfort food, but it’s important to ensure that you still keep your diet healthy and include five portions of fruit and veg a day. If you find yourself craving a sugary treat, try a juicy clementine or satsuma instead, or sweet dried fruits such as dates or raisins.

Winter vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, swede and turnips can be roasted, mashed or made into soup for a comforting winter meal for the whole family.

Try new activities for the whole family

Don’t use the cold winter months as an excuse to stay in and lounge around. Instead, get out with the whole family to try out a new activity, maybe ice-skating or taking a bracing winter walk on the beach. Regular exercise helps to control your weight, boost your immune system and is a good way to break the tension that can build if the family is constantly cooped up inside the house.

Have a hearty breakfast

Winter is the perfect season for porridge. Eating a warm bowlful on a cold morning isn’t just a delicious way to start your day, it also helps you to boost your intake of starchy foods and fibre, which give you energy and help you to feel fuller for longer, stopping the temptation to snack mid-morning. Oats also contain lots of vital vitamins and minerals.

Asthma In The Cold Cold weather can have a serious impact on the 5.4 million people with asthma in the UK. According to Asthma UK, three quarters of people with asthma say that cold air is a trigger for their symptoms and 90% reckon that having a cold or flu makes their asthma considerably worse.

Cher Piddock, a nurse for Asthma UK says: “Hospital admissions for asthma traditionally peak during periods of particularly cold weather. This can be due to breathing cold air into the lungs which can in turn trigger asthma, as well as picking up colds and flu.

“People whose asthma is well-controlled are more likely to be able to withstand the risks of winter months and you can help keep your asthma under control by making sure you have a regular asthma review with your doctor or asthma nurse and that you have a personal asthma action plan.”

Five tips for preventing cold weather asthma symptoms...

Asthma UK has this advice on how to control your asthma symptoms during the cold weather: 1. Keep taking your regular preventer medicines as prescribed by your doctor.

2. If you know that cold air triggers your asthma, take one or two puffs of your reliever inhaler before going outside.

3. Keep your blue reliever inhaler with you at all times.

4. Wrap up well and wear a scarf over your nose and mouth – this will help to warm up the air before you breathe it in.

5. Take extra care when exercising in cold weather.

Warm up for 10–15 minutes and take one or two puffs of your reliever inhaler before you start.

Asthma attacks With the onset of very cold weather, it’s a good idea to make sure you and your friends and family know what to do if you have an asthma attack.

The key signs are - coughing more than usual, getting short of breath, wheezing, feeling a tightness in your chest and having difficulty speaking in full sentences.

You can find more information by visiting www.nhs.uk/ livewell or calling Asthma UK on 0800 121 6244.

How important is your sight?

IF we were asked to describe which of the senses we could not bear to lose research shows that 90 per cent of us would most fear losing our sight.

Our eyes are our link with life around us, our guide to inter-action, and the idea of losing that daily visual connection is naturally frightening.

But, with that in mind, do we really take enough care of the precious gift of sight? And are we aware of the problems that can affect it as we grow older?

It’s a fact that nearly two million people in the UK today are blind or partially sighted, and that every 15 minutes someone, somewhere begins to lose their sight.

Such worrying statistics should make us want to rush out and do something practical about caring for our eyes, but the reality is that many of us simply don’t know how to.

There are, however, some simple things that we can do to help our vision and look after our eyes. And, just like any other part of the body, exercise is important.

Yes, strange as it may sound, a workout for the eyes can definitely tone eye muscles which can help our eyes focus more easily and may alleviate eyestrain.

Try this easy Eye Workout two or three times a day. But before you start, ensure you remove your glasses or contact lenses, bathe your eyes so they don’t feel dry or scratchy, and relax, breathing deeply and focusing on your eyes.

EYE WORKOUT: THE CLOCKFACE

Look straight ahead, imagine that you are looking at the face of a giant clock. Keeping your head still, move your eyes slowly to each number on the clockface in a clockwise direction then repeat the movement anticlockwise. Next, look up at the number 12, stretching your eye muscles as much as you can, then down at the 6, then stretch to 3 and across to 9.

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THE SQUEEZE

Squeeze your eyes into a tight ball and hold there for three seconds. Open your eyes and stretch them as wide as you can for three seconds. Repeat the exercise five times.

SHIFTING FOCUS

Hold up a finger in front of your face, about six inches away. Select another object – a tree or building, for example – at least 20 feet (6 metres) away. Then alternate between these two points, far and near, looking at each for around two seconds at a time.

Repeat the exercise for two to three minutes.

DARK TO LIGHT

Place your cupped palms over your open eyes and hold them there for 20-30 seconds. Allow your eyes to relax in the darkness, take long deep breaths then remove your hands and blink slowly.

Just like any other element of personal health, good nutrition is necessary to help our bodies grow properly, repair wear and tear, protect against infection and function correctly. And the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) points out that antioxidant vitamins found in certain foods have been linked with eye health, helping to maintain healthy cells and tissues in the eye.

This mainly involves antioxidant vitamins A, C and E which can be found in different types of fruit and vegetables including oranges, kiwis, grapefruit, dried apricots, tomatoes, peppers, raw carrots, kale and spinach, green peas and beans and brussel sprouts.

They are also in nuts, seeds, dairy products and eggs.

The RNIB says it has also been suggested recently that two types of antioxidants known as carotenoids, and called lutein and zeaxanthin, may also help with eye health. Some studies have found that people who have a good diet rich in carotenoids, particularly lutein and zeaxanthin, have a lower risk of developing Age-related Macular Degeneration - an eye condition resulting in the loss of central vision..

Lutein can be found naturally in vegetables and fruit including yellow peppers, mango, bilberries, kale, spinach, chard and broccoli. And zeaxanthin can be found in orange sweet peppers, corn, lettuce (not iceberg), tangerines, oranges and eggs.

A regular eye test can identify any early indications of diseases such as Cataract, Glaucoma and Agerelated Macular Degeneration. It can also identify other problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure for which the optometrist can refer you back to a GP. For general inquiries about sight problems contact the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or go to www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk

TOP TEN TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOUR EYESIGHT 1. Wear sunglasses – Ultra violet light from the sun’s rays can cause damage to your eyes. To reduce risks always wear a pair of sunglasses outside in the sun. Check your shades have a UV factor rating and carry the CE mark indicating they meet European safety standards.

2. Take regular screen breaks – If you use a computer, take frequent breaks from your screen – at least one an hour. Resting your eyes can avoid headaches, eyestrain, soreness and double vision.

3. Eat the right food – Some foods can prevent eye conditions.

4. Know your family eye history – Glaucoma, a condition which causes sight to become patchy and may lead to tunnel vision can, if detected early, be treated and controlled. It can be hereditary, although it may skip generations. So if members of your family have the condition, go and get yourself tested.

5. Clean your contact lenses – Only use commercially prepared solutions for contact lens care and never use tap or distilled water, or saliva. If you don’t stick to a strict cleaning routine, your eyes can become infected and you risk corneal disease, or even the loss of an eye. You should never borrow or use anybody else’s contacts and never sleep in your contacts unless advised you can by the optometrist.

6. Wear safety glasses – Cleaning, DIY or gardening can be hazardous to your eyes as chemicals, garden debris or nails and splinters can all cause injury. Consider wearing safety goggles.

7. Take care with cosmetics – Be careful when using eye make-up remover or any other cream around your eyes. Also, close your eyes or turn away when spraying perfume or hairspray.

8. Know your first-aid – Never guess about the severity of an eye injury. Seek medical attention as soon as possible following an injury, particularly if you have pain in the eye, blurred vision or loss of vision.

9. Diabetics – Although the majority of diabetics never experience any eye problems at all, people who have diabetes are at risk of losing vision through a condition called Diabetic Retinopathy.

10. Visit your optician – More than half of all sight loss is avoidable if the cause is caught early. It is recommended that people have an eye test every two years – free to anyone under 16 or over 60 – but research shows that one in four of us fail to do this.

National charity Action for Blind People

It’s important to have an eye test every two years just as veteran actress Honor Blackman is doing here. Picture courtesy of Action for Blind People

At Specsavers in Newport, customers who come in for an eye test are also examined with a stateof-the-art fundus camera, which plays a role in the early diagnosis and prevention of many serious eye conditions. The camera takes a highly detailed image of the inner eye, which helps the store’s dedicated professionals identify any deterioration in a patient’s sight much quicker than ever before. This image is also saved at the practice and forms part of the patient’s records. Unlike other opticians in Newport, Specsavers customers are not charged any extra fee on top of the standard eye care test for examination with the fundus camera.

To book an appointment for an eye examination, please contact Specsavers Newport on 01633 244023 or log onto www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/newport

Need a New Hip or Knee?

A return to mobility ...

IF there’s one thing that has helped keep us fit and on our feet in the last 50 years it’s the increase in the technology and availability of hip and knee replacements.

Hip replacements began to be performed commonly in the 1960s, with knee and ankle replacements since the 1970s. In England and Wales each year, around 160,000 of us are able to enjoy a new lease of life and mobility thanks to our new hip and knee joints and, if you’ll forgive the pun, ankles are quickly catching up.

For many people, hip or knee surgery not only signals a return to mobility but usually leaves behind grinding daily pain.

If hip pain is so severe it interferes with quality of life including sleep, medication is not working and everyday tasks are difficult, it might well be the right time for a hip replacement. Most adults having them are over 65, and women tend to need them more than men.

The most common reasons for hip replacement are: osteoarthritis (when the connecting tissue between the joint is damaged, causing the bones to rub

together painfully), rheumatoid arthritis (when the immune system attacks the lining of the joint resulting in pain and stiffness), septic arthritis (when the joint becomes infected), Paget’s disease (affecting bone growth), bone tumours and other joint injuries.

You’ll need a suitable armchair to sit in, a high stool for use in the kitchen and a raised toilet seat (the latter two can be loaned by your occupational therapist).

Equipment to help you get dressed safely and without bending too much is also available.

Osteoporosis can sometimes cause hip joint fractures which need a replacement, as can late developmental dysplasia (which prevents the ball and socket hip joint from developing properly).

Before your surgery, you’ll visit the hospital’s Pre-operative Assessment Clinic to ensure you’re fit for surgery and that you understand the nature of the operation. There will be medical checks like blood and urine tests and you’ll be screened for MRSA as well as possibly having further x-rays.

Always speak to your GP about hip problems because they will know your history and examine you, and may want to have an x-ray to confirm their diagnosis. Your overall health is important before any major surgery, so your GP will want you to be as fit as possible beforehand.

Breathing exercises will help to prevent chest complications, foot and ankle exercises maintain circulation and leg exercises aid maintenance of muscle strength. Before surgery, a physiotherapist will also discuss your rehabilitation programme and how to use walking aids like crutches and sticks.

After surgery, you’ll need some help at home for up to six weeks and you won’t be allowed to bend down to your feet so you’ll need some assistance with washing. You’ll also need help with the shopping for a while.

This is also an opportunity to discuss your surgery and what happens afterwards and talk about the aids you’ll need to help recovery. At some stage, your written consent for the surgery will also be taken.

Patients are usually admitted either on the day of surgery or the day before.

Your leg will be prepared for surgery with the correct side marked, and you’ll be seen by the anaesthetist who will discuss the different types of anaesthesia.

The most common are: a general anaesthetic when you are unconscious, a spinal anaesthetic where you go numb from the waist downwards, or an epidural anaesthetic which reduces all feeling in the lower body.

The surgery replaces both the natural socket and the rounded ball at the top of the thigh bone with artificial parts. The surgeon will remove the upper part of the thigh bone (femur) and the natural socket for the head of the femur is hollowed out.

A plastic or ceramic socket is fitted into the hollow in the pelvis and a short, angled metal shaft with a smooth ball on its upper end is placed in to the hollow of the thigh bone. The plastic cup and the artificial bone head may be pressed into place or fixed with acrylic cement.

H E A LT H Hip resurfacing is an alternative to replacement and involves replacing the diseased or damaged surfaces in the joint with metal parts. It involves less bone being removed, so less implant is needed.

On the day of the hip operation, you’ll be given a pair of surgical stockings to be worn day and night, to help prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis. You return to the ward, or recovery room, lying on your back probably with a triangular pillow between your legs to keep your legs apart and protect the new joint.

For both hip and knee replacement surgery, you may have a catheter inserted into your bladder to help drain urine You will possibly have an intravenous line in your arm, and probably be given oxygen – all of which are normal for major operations like these. Some Surgeons use wound drains but not always.

You may be started on an anticoagulant; some consultants use mechanical devices called calf compressors which wrap around the legs and blow up with air intermittently to encourage blood circulation in the leg.

Expect to begin mobilising on the day of surgery or the next day once the wound drains have been removed. The physiotherapist will help with mobility and teach you how to get in and out of bed correctly to prevent any damage to your new hip.

You’ll be prescribed medication to control the pain and it’s important to take it regularly initially as progress is better if your pain is under control.

As your confidence and leg control improve, you’ll progress to walking with crutches or sticks – all with physio help – and probably be in hospital three to five days. You may need to use your walking aids for up to six weeks but this varies from person to person.

replacement and partial knee replacement depending on the amount of damage.

And, as for hip surgery, candidates need to be well enough for both a major operation and rehabilitation afterwards. Most candidates are over 65, and just over half are women.

The process is very like hip surgery - starting with your GP and his assessment of you, and continuing through x-rays, the Pre-operative Assessment Clinic, admission to the hospital and anaesthesia.

Surgery involves removing the worn ends of the bones in your knee joint and replacing them with metal and plastic parts. In total knee replacement, both sides of the knee joint are replaced in a procedure lasting one to two hours.

You’ll begin moving about either the same day or the next day, once the wound drains have been removed, and the physio will help with mobility. Like hip surgery, you’ll be discharged once you are able to get up and down the stairs safely and have regular physio afterwards.

With proper care, the replacement knee can last over to 20 years.

Unlike hip or knee arthritis, most ankle arthritis is post traumatic.

The commonest causes for ankle replacement is following severe ankle fractures or recurrent severe ankle sprains.

The worn out joint surfaces of the ankle are replaced with shaped metal and plastic components to allow continued movement of the ankle.

There are several different types of ankle replacement available.

Hip replacements may last 20 to 30 years, sometimes longer.

Awaiting Orthopaedic Treatment?

A damaged, worn or diseased knee – arthritis is again the chief culprit - is an ideal candidate for knee replacement surgery. There are two major types of surgery involved – total knee

Are you suffering from joint pain, fed up with being on a waiting list or concerned about the standards of care and cleanliness in hospital? St Joseph's Hospital has an orthopaedic service

which features a team of specialist orthopaedic consultant surgeons, highly trained nursing staff, experienced physiotherapists and consultant radiologists.

The hospital can provide rapid access to diagnostic imaging, so whether your consultant believes MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), X-ray or ultrasound would be most appropriate to support your diagnosis; you will be able to take advantage of highly sophisticated technology within a comprehensive hospital setting.

Treatment at St Joseph's Hospital is available to all, whether you have private medical Insurance or are looking to self pay for your treatment.

The hospital offers all of our patients: • • • • • • •

Flexibility of appointment times and priority referral to treatment Choice of Consultant Consultant-led clinics Diagnostic Imaging State-of-the art Physiotherapy Department Excellent Nursing Care Safe and clean surroundings

If you have any questions or would like to enquire about any of our services please call our Patient Services Advisor: 01633 820299. www.stjosephshospital.org.uk St Joseph's Hospital, Harding Avenue, Malpas, Newport NP20 6ZE

St Joseph's Hospital

Dedicated to the total care of every patient St Joseph's Hospital is a purposebuilt, well-equipped hospital which has served South Wales since 1946.

The hospital is owned and run by the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy who are a registered charity.

We have a proud tradition of providing a quality service that stands the test of external audits.

Our philosophy at St. Joseph's Hospital is to provide total care for all those who use the facility, and patient care and quality are top priorities. The hospital has developed a reputation for offering the very best in quality healthcare.

The Hospital is set in peaceful and picturesque grounds on the outskirts of Newport and is easily accessible by both car and public transport. St Joseph’s Hospital is situated within half a mile of the M4 corridor and is well placed to serve not only the whole of South Wales but also the bordering towns and counties of Mid-Wales and England.

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Quality of Care At St Joseph's Hospital we strive to meet our patients' expectations of excellent standards of care as well as prioritising patient safety and risk management.

We continually look at improving the techniques, procedures and methods involved in every aspect of health care we offer.

We are regularly inspected by Health Inspectorate Wales (HIW) who ensure that as care providers we are offering quality and reliable services and that all our facilities meet specific standards.

All of our consultants and staff undergo Criminal Records Bureau checks every three years.

All bedrooms are extremely well appointed with private facilities and views of our award-winning grounds. Patients are nursed in either single rooms or rooms with two or three beds.

Our comfortably furnished rooms are equipped with a television and direct dial telephone. Internet access and other office facilities are available at a small charge.

The hospital has its own catering team led by our experienced chef. Together they take pride in creating mouth-watering cuisine every day. There is a daily published menu with several choices, each one healthy yet delicious. www.retiredmagazines.co.uk

The catering department interacts with consultant dieticians to create well balanced dishes for patients. A member of the team will be happy to visit patients to discuss any special dietary requirements.

Infection Control St Joseph's Hospital is fully committed to the health, safety and general well being of our patients, staff and visitors and the risk of acquiring infection is extremely low due to staff vigilance and good infection control practices. The Infection Control Sister and Microbiologist provide expertise, guidance, advice and support. The Infection Control policies and procedures are well managed by the Infection Control Sister and link members of staff. Infection Control training is mandatory for all staff.

Hand Hygiene awareness is an everyday process and a fundamental responsibility for all staff. Observational audits of hand hygiene are performed and the results reveal high compliance by not only staff but also visitors and other service users using the alcohol gel on entering and leaving clinical areas.

Services St. Joseph's offers all the services required to run an acute hospital. Our services are well organised and run by professionally trained and registered staff.

All hospital equipment is kept updated and maintained continuously by our hospital engineers and maintenance contracts.

To find out more about all the Services we offer and to view our hospital in more detail please visit www.stjosephshospital.org.uk or telephone our Patient Services Advisor on 01633 820299

The monitoring of procedures and practices for control of infection is a continual process throughout the hospital.

Payment Options As an independent private hospital we provide treatment to self paying patients and medically insured patients.

Medically Insured Patients St Joseph's Hospital accepts insurance schemes from the majority of medical insurance companies.

Fixed Price Surgery We all have to live on a budget and we appreciate that it is important for you to be able to plan your finances carefully. Fixed price surgery is a way of knowing exactly what financial outlay you have to make for your operation. We will guarantee a price to you at the outset. Nursing, accommodation, theatre fees, drugs, dressings and meals are included. If you and your consultant wish, consultant's fees may be included as well.

Fixed price surgery is offered at the discretion of the hospital and may not be available in all cases. Where it is not possible to offer a fixed price the hospital will generally be able to offer a package price based on the expected length of stay with additional nights charged at a fixed rate. www.retiredmagazines.co.uk

St Joseph’s Hospital is ready to St St Joseph’s Hospital Hospital isisisready ready to StJoseph’s Joseph’s Hospital readyto to help you with all these St Joseph’s Hospital is ready to help help you you with with all all these help youand with allthese these services many more, with help youand with all these services services and many many more, more, with services and many more, with appointment times to suitwith you. services and many appointment appointment times times to to suit you. you. appointment timesmore, tosuit suitwith you. appointment times to suit you.

DEDICATED TO THE TOTAL CARE OF EVERY PATIENT DEDICATED DEDICATED TO THE TOTAL CARE OF EVERY PATIENT DEDICATEDTO TOTHE THETOTAL TOTALCARE CAREOF OFEVERY EVERYPATIENT PATIENT DEDICATED TO THE TOTAL CARE OF EVERY PATIENT From Outpatient Outpatient From From Outpatient FromOutpatient Outpatient Consultations Consultations From Outpatient Consultations Consultations Consultations Inpatient Surgery Consultations Inpatient Inpatient Inpatient Surgery Surgery InpatientSurgery Surgery Day Surgery Inpatient Surgery Day Surgery Day Day Surgery DaySurgery Surgery MRI, CT and X-Rays Day Surgery MRI, CT and MRI, MRI, CT and X-Rays X-Rays MRI,CT CTand andX-Rays X-Rays Sports Injury MRI, CT and X-Rays Injury Sports Sports Injury SportsInjury Injury Respite Sports Injury Respite Respite Respite Physiotherapy Respite Physiotherapy Physiotherapy Physiotherapy Physiotherapy Hydrotherapy Physiotherapy Hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy Holistic Massage For more information For For more information information Formore more information please call: please please call: call: please call: For more information please call:

01633 01633 01633 01633 820299 820299 820299 820299

or alternatively email: or or alternatively email: oralternatively alternatively,email: email: carolinefitzgerald@stjosephshospital.org.uk carolinefitzgerald@stjosephshospital.org.uk carolinefitzgerald@stjosephshospital.org.uk carolinefitzgerald@stjosephshospital.org.uk or alternatively email: carolinefitzgerald@stjosephshospital.org.uk

Located near junction 26 on M4, 5 mins from Newport Centre Located Located near junction 26 26 on M4, M4, mins from from Newport Centre Locatednear nearjunction junction 26on on M4,555mins mins fromNewport NewportCentre Centre Registered Charity No. 232835 Registered Registered Charity Charity No. 232835 232835 Registered Charity No. 232835 Avenue, Malpas Newport NP20 6ZE Centre Located Harding near junction 26 on M4, 5,No. mins from Newport Harding Harding Avenue, Malpas Newport NP20 6ZE HardingAvenue, Avenue,Malpas Malpas Newport NP206ZE 6ZE Registered Charity,,,Newport No. 232835NP20 Harding Avenue, Malpas , Newport NP20 6ZE 46

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Open your mind to alternative therapies WHEN it comes to treating our ailments these days most people have a more open mind about what can help them and may combine traditional medicine and alternative therapies with great success.

these alternative therapies have been successfully in use around the world for centuries.

Sensible care, as always, needs to be employed in anything health-related and sometimes your GP’s opinion may be needed to check if any particular therapies are not recommended for you or your condition.

The word “acupuncture” means “needle piercing” and the skin is penetrated by special needles in a painless process which is meant to allow the body to transmit energy or qi (pronounced chee) through pathways or meridians to heal and promote wellbeing.

However, there are plenty of therapy options available across the UK and, reassuringly, governing bodies to ensure standards of practice. There are also millions of satisfied customers of alternative – or complementary – therapies who insist these have been successful in dealing with health problems ranging from asthma and migraine to digestive problems and muscle strains. Even though for many of us in the Western world this is a relatively new approach - and there are certainly sceptics about their effectiveness - there is evidence that many of

Acupuncture, for example, is an ancient Chinese medical procedure involving the insertion and manipulation of needles at more than 1,000 points in the human body. It’s used to relieve pain during surgery or in rheumatic conditions and also to treat conditions varying from anxiety and depression, to arthritis, asthma, eczema, sports’ injuries, migraine and even gastro-intestinal problems.

A common alternative therapy for which you don’t necessarily have to have an ailment but which certainly helps combat stress and makes you feel better is Aromatherapy. This is a relaxing treatment using massage techniques together with blended essential oils. Usually, explained beautician and alternative therapist Angela Close, there is a consultation prior to treatment “to try and build a picture of which oils would be beneficial to the individual – some have anti-

THRE A LVTEHL bacterial effects, anti-fungal and anti-viral. With the use of massage, the oils penetrate the skin usually after about 20 minutes and have a very calming effect, soothing the mind, body and spirit.”

Aromatherapy can be used for a range of physiological and psychological conditions including anxiety, stress and insomnia, muscular aches and pains, headaches, digestive ailments and menstrual problems. It’s also gentle enough to be used on people of all ages. Added Angela: “Aromatherapy is not a cure for disease; its most potent effect helps relax the mind and body, relieves pain and restores the body’s systems to a state of balance in which healing can best take place.”

Some people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease have found relief and help from a holistic method of healing called Bowen Therapy which is a hands-on technique exponents say prompts the body to re-set and heal itself. Marie Hurst is a qualified Bowen therapist, and she explains: “It’s like acupuncture without any needles – it can be very relaxing although it may not suit everyone. However, I’ve treated several people with Parkinson’s over the years and they have become very relaxed because Bowen helps the body release stress at a very deep level. Some have also reported a reduction in their tremors during treatment and a sound night’s sleep afterwards.”

healing flows in a powerful and concentrated form through the hands of the Reiki-giver. The recipient simply lies on a couch or bed and relaxes comfortably. There is no need to remove any clothing, and the practitioner gently places his or her hands in a sequence of positions which cover the whole of the body. Each position is held for several minutes and, in some of them, the hand is held closely to the body rather than actually on it.

“It involves your body, mind and soul,” added Angela.

“Reiki balances the energy in the body, heals holistically, relieves pain and relaxes and reduces stress, among many other things.”

Some businesses now bring exponents of Indian Head Massage into the workplace to help stressed out staff to relax and ultimately perform better. Certainly, it’s a safe, simple yet effective therapy that provides relief from aches and pains and stress – and promotes hair growth! The head, neck and shoulders are important energy centres within the body. “If you’re feeling stressed or angry, tension tends to accumulate in these areas,” stated Angela. “The tension can later show up as a stiff neck and shoulders, eyestrain and even hair-loss.”

Indian head massage involves working with a firm and gentle rhythm to help unknot blockages and relieve the uncomfortable build-up of tension. Fans say it also works on an emotional level, calming the spirit, promoting relaxation and banishing stress.

Some alternative therapies seem unconnected to the ailments they may treat. Reflexology, for instance, involves application of pressure to the feet and hands using specific thumb, finger and hand techniques to try to effect physical changes elsewhere in the body. The technique dates back as far as the Egyptians and is based on a system of zones and reflex areas that are said to reflect an image of the body on the hands and feet. The purpose is to create relaxation, reduce pain, improve blood flow and post-operative recovery and aid mental health by interrupting stress signals and re-setting the body’s balance.

People with nasal problems or with head pains have found relief in an unusual therapy called Hopi Ear Candling. At the very least, this is a relaxing treatment which promotes a feeling of wellbeing. You lie on your side on a heated bed in a peaceful environment, and the hollow candle is placed in the ear with the other end lit.

“Certainly, some of my clients have found it very soothing and pain-relieving,” said Angela Close, who has been using the therapy for more than 20 years.

Another ancient healing method is Reiki, a Japanese word meaning Universal Life Energy which relates to a system of natural healing. Its ideology is that natural

Angela Close - Bea utician and Alternative Therap ist For more information, go to the Complementary Therapists Association at www.ctha.com or the Association of Natural Medicine at www.associationnaturalmedicine.co.uk

THE STROKE ASSOCIATION’S

Snow Ball CHRISTMAS 2011

Friday December 2nd 2011 7pm - 12.30am St Peter's Hall, Cardiff, CF24 3BA Tickets - £40 per person or £380 for a table of 10 Includes: • Drinks reception on arrival • A five course fine dining experience prepared by SPIRO's • After dinner entertainment and disco Dress code: Black tie

Tel: 02920 524 417 E-mail: fundraisingwales@stroke.org.uk Web: www.stroke.org.uk

Celebrate Christmas and make a difference

The Stroke Association is a Company Limited by Guarantee, registered in England and Wales (No 61274). Registered office: Stroke House, 240 City Road, London EC1V 2PR. Registered as a Charity in England and Wales (No 211015) and in Scotland (SC037789). Also registered in Isle of Man (No 945) Jersey (NPO 369) and in Northern Ireland.

Happy Retirement We advise on

•Has the market ‘damaged’ your pension fund? – a simple effective procedure will put this right.

•Pension Transfers – why stay in ‘underperforming’ schemes •Pension Release – find out how it works and if you qualify •Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) – is your investment in the right direction •Annuities – when retiring secure the best income •Enhanced Annuity – increase your pension income if you are a smoker or in poor health •Investments – simple solution and guidelines offered – system that works!

Find out how you can boost your Investment or Pension Fund value without paying a penny more Please call for a NO OBLIGATION meeting: Balu Bhayani Cert PFS Telephone: 029 2038 3858 Scorpio Financial Services Email: Balu@scorpiofs.com www.scorpiofs.com Independent Financial Adviser - Authorised and Regulated by The Financial Services Authority

OUT & ABOUT

The Stroke Association’s Snow Ball This year, celebrate Christmas in style and help us make a difference.

This glittering event promises you a sumptuous, freshly prepared, five course dinner and superb entertainment to get you dancing the night away.

Join us on Friday 2nd December 2011 for our ‘Snow Ball’ at St Peters Hall in Cardiff. This ideal venue, situated in the centre of Cardiff, is easy to get to and will provide the perfect opportunity to celebrate the festive season with your work colleagues, friends and family.

Tickets - £40 per person or £380 for a table of 10.

Don’t miss out – tables are selling fast!

For further information or to buy a tickets call 02920 524 417.

Email fundraisingwales@stroke.org.uk or visit www.stroke.org.uk

Cardiff's Winter Wonderland Cardiff's Winter Wonderland returns to the beautiful Civic Centre for the eleventh time in 2011.

The magical Admiral Open Air Ice Rink is back between Thursday 17th November 2011 - Monday 2nd January 2012 giving a cool 47 days of skating.

Whether you are an experienced skater or a complete beginner the Admiral open air ice rink at Cardiff Winter Wonderland is an essential winter experience. Whilst the rink remains the focus for skaters and spectators, there are plenty of other attractions around the arena for all the family including the ice cafe bar, heated terrace overlooking the ice, traditional children's carousel and rides.

For more information please visit www.cardiffswinterwonderland.com

Newport Telecare Service Help at the touch of a button The service was established in 1981 We have over 5000 clients, the service helps people who are elderly or at risk to remain living independently in their own homes. This is achieved through a clever combination of a 24 hour telephone link to the Telecare Service, the support of an emergency response service and state of the art technology.

We have various sensors available that can help people to remain living independently for as long as possible.

Sensors include: Smoke Detectors

Which raise an alarm at the alarm receiving centre as well as in the home.

Fall Detectors

Worn around the wrist, this activates through to the alarm receiving centre when the client has fallen, this could be useful if the client is unconscious.

Bogus Caller Button

The client must have a Telecare hub, which is plugged into their phone line and an electric socket. Then any of the following sensors can be attached if necessary.

Placed by the front door to enable clients to raise an alarm.

The alarm receiving centre is open 24 hours a day and if an alarm is raised Support Officers will take the most appropriate action.

Newport Telecare Service also provides an emergency response service and all staff are trained in manual handling and first aid.

Staff are all trained in the use of the lifting cushion.

If you would like any further information or would like to know the current costs then please contact us on the details below...

Tel:01633 381111 | e-mail:Telecare@newportcityhomes.com | Fax:01633 267769

Peace of mind & reassurance whenever you need it The Telecare Service is a 24 hour service providing an instant response at the touch of a button. The service provides a home safety and personal security system that enables people to live independently within their own homes.

Benefits of the service include: • Instant response - our highly skilled operators respond to your call and take the most appropriate action to get the help you need when you need it • Personal service - friendly and dignified service • We won’t leave you - our operators will stay on the line with you until help arrives • Complete reassurance - 24 hour link to the monitoring centre • Easy installation - wireless system so no unsightly wiring • Telecare sensors - to suit individual needs

For further information, please contact the telecare service on 01633 381111

Lifeline Connect+

OUT & ABOUT

Free Tax Surgery

Christmas at Tredegar House

Worried about tax?

Over 60 or recently retired? Can't afford to pay for advice?

The Morgan Family celebrated Christmas at Tredegar House for over 500 years. You are invited to step back in time and experience the very special atmosphere of Tredegar House at Christmas.

If the answer is 'yes', call to make an appointment at the Free Tax Surgery at Newport Citizens Advice Bureau.

The service is available to older people on low incomes and provides free confidential and professional advice on tax matters.

The service is run by the charity Tax Help for Older People (TOP).

Dates & Times:

Thursday 24 November, 09:00 Thursday 8 December, 09:00 Thursday 22 December, 09:00

For more information please contact Newport Citizens Advice Bureau on 0845 601 3321

Discover beautifully restored rooms, traditionally decorated with magnificent Christmas trees and the sound of seasonal galore.

Throughout the House both adults and children alike will be entranced by traditional Victorian characters and friends from Sleeping Beauty.

Mince Pies and Mulled Wine served in the Medieval Hall and a charming Christmas Market are just some of the ingredients for a wonderful Christmas at Tredegar House.

Sat 10th - Sun11th Dec 2pm-5pm Thurs 15th - Fri 16th Dec 6pm-8pm Sat 17th - Sun 18th Dec 2pm-5pm Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales NP10 8YW

For more information please call 01633 656757 or email tredegar.house@newport. gov.uk

Aquarius Wet Room

the ultimate answer to bathing difficulties exclusively available from Bathing Solutions Glass side panel secured to wall

No shower tray to step over – floor is same level throughout the room

Mosaic tiled floor with fast drain; choice of colours

Open, easy-access entry; no doors

For a free copy of our 28 page brochure call free on

Say goodbye to bathtime struggles when you completely replace your existing bathroom with the Aquarius Wet Room.

By waterproofing and then tiling the entire floor, it means there’s no tray to step over and no door to open or close; it’s the ultimate in easy-access, safe showering.

Complete the totally new look by choosing sanitary ware from our superb range and make bathing difficulty a thing of the past with the Aquarius Wet Room.

www.safebathing.co.uk 46

Optional fold up seat for added comfort

Completely replaces all your existing bathroom fixtures and fittings

Choice of colours for wall panels & floor tiles

0800 783 1912

Please send me a brochure on your range of easy-access showers and walk-in baths.

PLEASE quotE oFFER REFEREncE RMWR91

RMWR91

Name Tel No. Address Postcode Bathing Solutions and other group companies may send you information and offers in the future.

Please tick box if you do not wish to receive information from us or third parties in the future.

Post coupon to: Bathing Solutions, FREEPOST SWC3136, Ledbury, HR8 2ZZ

www.retiredmagazines.co.uk

Cardiff Council Funeral Service A fixed price dignified funeral service with no hidden costs which offers excellent value for money for the residents of Cardiff. Provided by Dignity PLC operating from A.J.Stone and Ham, Canton, Cardiff.

Tel: A J Stone and Ham on 029 20230091.

Estimated total cost of funeral including cremation or cemetery fees; for cremation at £1200.00 and a 2 depth burial in a new grave at £1800.00 until 31/03/2012 (costs exclude floral tributes, clergy and church fees and obituary notices).

Please contact Bereavement Services on 029 20544820 for further details.

Bereavement Services in Cardiff Events 2011/12 (all free) HERITAGE WALKS

Cathays walk On Sunday 15th April 2012 at 2 pm & Sunday 15th July 2012 at 2pm

Meet at the main cemetery entrance on Fairoak Road. Discover the history of one of the largest Victorian Cemeteries in Britain.

Easy walk, about 1 ½ hours.

UNDERSTANDING FUNERALS 8th May 2012 6-9pm

Learn how to be in control of a funeral and the costs in order to obtain the type of funeral you want. What is an executor? Do you have to use a funeral director? Cardboard coffins – good or bad? Optional tour of ‘behind the scenes’. Meet at the Briwnant Chapel at Thornhill Crematorium. Please ring 029 2054 4820 to reserve a place – limit of 50 places.

CHRISTMAS MEMORIAL SERVICE Sunday 11th December 2011 at 2pm

Memorial Service to commemorate all burials and cremations in Cardiff. Everybody welcome.

In the crematorium Wenallt Chapel. Refreshments to follow.

PALM SUNDAY MEMORIAL SERVICE Sunday 1st April 2012 at 2pm

Memorial Service to commemorate all burials and cremations in Cardiff. Everybody welcome.

In the crematorium Wenallt Chapel. Refreshments to follow.

BABIES’ REMEMBRANCE SERVICE 24th June 2012 at 11:30am

Supported by the Stillbirth and Neonatal Deaths Society (Sands) and led by members of the University Hospital of Wales Chaplaincy Team. An opportunity for those who have lost a baby, as well as their families and friends to come together to remember them. Everybody Welcome.

For further information please contact: Bereavement Services, Thornhill Road, Rhiwbina, Cardiff CF14 9UA. Tel: 029 20544820.

Email: ThornhillReception@cardiff.gov.uk Web: www.cardiff.gov.uk/bereavement

www.retiredmagazines.co.uk

Gwasanaethau Angladdau Cyngor Caerdydd Gwasanaeth angladdau pris sefydlog urddasol heb unrhyw gostau cudd, sy’n cynnig gwerth gwych am arian i drigolion Caerdydd. Gwasanaeth gan Dignity PLC, yn gweithredu o 'A.J. Stone and Ham', Treganna, Caerdydd.

Ffôn: 'A J Stone and Ham' ar 029 20230091.

Amcangyfrif o gyfanswm cost yr angladd gan gynnwys costau amlosgi neu fynwent; amlosgi am £1200.00 a chladdu 'dyfnder 2' mewn bedd newydd am £1800.00 tan 31/03/2012 (nid yw'r costau'n cynnwys teyrngedau blodau, costau clerigwyr nac eglwys na hysbysiadau coffa).

Cysylltwch â Gwasanaethau Profedigaeth ar 029 20544820 am ragor o wybodaeth.

Gwasanaethau Profedigaeth yng Nghaerdydd Digwyddiadau 2011/12 (y cwbl am ddim) TEITHIAU CERDDED TREFTADAETH Taith Gerdded Cathays Dydd Sul 15 Ebrill 2012 am 2pm Dydd Sul 15 Gorffennaf 2012 am 2pm

Cyfarfod wrth brif fynedfa'r fynwent yn Fairoak Road. Dys Dysgwch am hanes un o’r Mynwentydd Fictoraidd mwyaf ym Mhrydain. Taith gerdded hawdd, tua 1 ½ awr.

DEALL ANGLADDAU 8 Mai 2012 6-9pm

Dysgwch sut i reoli angladd a’r costau ynghlwm wrtho er mwyn cael y math o angladd yr ydych ei eisiau. Beth yw ysgutor? Oes rhaid defnyddio cyfarwyddwr angladdau? Eirch cardfwrdd – da neu ddrwg? Teithiau ‘tu ôl i’r llen’ dewisol. Cwrdd yng Nghapel Briwnant, Amlosgfa Thornhill. Ffoniwch 029 2054 4820 i gadw lle – dim ond 50 o leoedd ar gael.

GWASANAETH COFFA'R NADOLIG Dydd Sul 11 Rhagfyr 2011 am 2pm

Gwasanaeth Coffa i goffa pob claddedigaeth a chorfflosgiad yng Nghaerdydd. Croeso i Bawb.

Yn amlosgfa Capel Wenallt. Lluniaeth i ddilyn.

GWASANAETH COFFA SUL Y BLODAU Dydd Sul 1 Ebrill 2012 am 2pm

Gwasanaeth Coffa i goffa pob claddedigaeth a chorfflosgiad yng Nghaerdydd. Croeso i Bawb.

Yn amlosgfa Capel Wenallt. Lluniaeth i ddilyn.

GWASANAETH I GOFFÁU BABANOD

24 Mehefin 2012 am 11.30am

Cefnogir gan y Gymdeithas Marw-enedigaeth a Marw Cyn Geni (Sands) a’i arwain gan aelodau Tîm Caplaniaeth Ysbyty Athrofaol Cymru. Cyfle i’r rheiny sydd wedi colli baban, yn ogystal â’u teuluoedd a’u ffrindiau, ddod ynghyd i gofio amdanynt. Croeso i Bawb.

Am wybodaeth bellach cysylltwch â: Gwasanaethau Profedigaeth, Thornhill Road, Rhiwbeina, Caerdydd CF14 9UA. Ffôn: 029 20544820.

E-bost: ThornhillReception@caerdydd.gov.uk Gwe: www.caedydd.gov.uk/bereavement

47

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