RARING TO ROW

“One of the hardest parts of rowing the Atlantic is to get to the start line in La Gorma and that’s exactly what we have found,” explained Kevin Watkins, who had previously planned to row the Atlantic in aid of the charity Action Medical Research with Team Elijah. Instead, Kevin took the decision to set up another team – Raring to Row and to set off in Dec 2022. “The two teams are on the best of terms and we are looking forward to cheering on Elijah Star when they set off on their journey”. Raring to Row is now a mixed team, with everyone bringing something different to the campaign. Gemma, a seasoned ocean rower, completed the Tallisker Whiskey Atlantic Campaign (TWAC) in 2020 as part of Force Genesis and is seeking to set a record for the first woman to row the TWAC twice. “There is competition for this record though, which is going to make things interesting,” said Kevin, who is the teams’ Royal naval veteran and his engineering skills will no doubt come to the fore during the crossing. Helen currently makes up the line-up, with a pedigree of crewing sea racing yachts and small boats at the highest level and out of the sight of land - a great asset to the team. “We are actively recruiting for a fourth member of the team and so if this interests you contact hello@raringtorow.com”, Action Medical Research actively fund research into rare disease in childhood, which is woefully unfunded and can often leave families without any hope or support. The Raring to Row team, want to give genuine hope to children and families affected by rare diseases. This issue is very much understood first-hand by the team, as Gemma tragically lost two sisters to Rare Diseases.

The team at the Dine with Davina event in aid of Action Medical Research. L-R is Helen Stone-Ward, Davina McCall, Gemma Best and Kevin Watkins

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIGHTINGALES GOLDEN CARE

Staff at Nightingales look forward to celebrating their 20 year milestone anniversary this February

Nightingales Golden Care has been providing high-quality, low-cost home care in Portsmouth, and the surrounding area, for two decades. The company was founded in 2002 by its clinical lead nurse Sally Ridley who set out to make a difference having seen the difficulties people faced in obtaining good quality home care in Portsmouth whilst working as a district nurse. “We believe that everyone deserves to remain in their own home and get the support they require to be as independent as possible. “What’s more we don’t think services like these should be expensive. “We didn’t plan to be the biggest. We are proud to be a small-family run care company that values its staff and places people over profit,” Clinical Lead Sally Ridley said. “We have all learned so much in these two decades,” manager Ben Chudley said. Ben joined Nightingales as a carer shortly after the business was launched. “We’ve learned about what it means to people to be able to be in their own homes even at their most vulnerable moments, about how best to help without taking away their independence and how to work alongside family members to ensure they can get the most out of their lives. “We are so proud of our staff, many of whom have been celebrating their own milestone anniversaries.” One of Ben’s favourite tasks is handing out big cheques. The company has a policy of rewarding carers with a £500 bonus after ten years of continuous service and is proud of how many staff go on to meet this milestone. “Come February we will be needing even bigger cheques as staff go on to celebrate 20 year anniversaries. “It’s an incredible achievement. We are really proud. We know just how much our clients value the continuity of service delivery and this is why it makes this such a big cause for celebration. “If you have been working with a client for a long time, you really can't underestimate the importance of the relationships that you build over time. The familiarity that can bring. “We have service users and clients who have been working together for nearly 20 years –day in, day out. “These staff really feel like family members. They have a good sense of what is important to that client and how to make a difference in their lives.”

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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS

The Arts Society Portsea Island looks forward to resuming our normal lecture programme, as soon as possible. In the meantime a programme of Zoom meetings can be accessed by members on our website: www.pidfas.org.uk

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RUSHMERE FARM

We are now running lots of workshops, volunteer days and feasts with opportunities to stay in a yurt, a shepherd’s hut or use the space for your own events. Greenwood stool making and spoon carving workshops all start with a tour of the farm and woodland, with excellent tuition from our resident woodworker @wodwo.wood, and delicious home-grown food @digginrootsveg for lunch and tea.

Rushmere Farm is just to the north of Portsmouth in Hambledon, and is making its final steps towards certified organic, nature friendly farming in a commitment to grow nutrient dense, healthy food, with a positive environmental impact. If this is something that interests you, you have questions or you want to get involved, please get in touch. Tel: 07832 535933 Email: george@rushmerefarm.com www.rushmerefarm.com @rushmerefarm