Meon Valley TDG Jan23

Meon Valley

Happy New Year to you. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and were able to see some friends and family or enjoyed a wellearned relaxing time. A huge thank you for all of the wonderful Reverse Advent Calendars!

January is a time to ‘reset’ and make positive changes to our daily lives. Whether that means a daily walk, picking up a hobby, new or old, reading a new book, having a good declutter around the home (which always helps me to feel better), learning to cook some new dishes or planning some nice things to look forward for the year ahead. The start of a new year gives us the perfect opportunity for change.

This month we hope you enjoy our articles: New Year, New Book, New Year Health MOT and How to Holiday in 2023, as well as fantastic charity articles from Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation and The Samaritans.

We know January is a tough month financially, so why not enter into our ‘Let Us Pay Your Bill’ Competition – and we could be paying one of your bills up to £100! Plus, if you find Barney hidden in 4 of our great local adverts – you also could be entered to win £50 cash!

Enjoy January, and look after yourselves.

Denise Lloyd, Managing Director

Petersfield Edition Dist: 8,400

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Waterlooville, Denmead, Purbrook & Widley Edition Dist: 16,100

Farlington, Drayton & Cosham Edition Dist: 11,200

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Taking Local Businesses into 92,300 homes, every month of the year!

How to Holiday in 2023

Even though we’re someway down the road from when Covid took our away our very basic freedom of movement, holidaying in these still uncertain times can feel somewhat daunting… not least when it comes to working out how much we should pay for our one or two-week jaunt to somewhere breathless and far-flung.

In fact, the doubt is so great for some that we may choose to simply stay at home.

Yet as the saying goes: “he who dares, wins” (or in this case, ‘travels’, at least); and those willing to put the work in could end up with the holiday of a lifetime.

In 2023, it seems it is almost impossible to forecast how travel markets are going to go. Prices are unpredictable to the extent that there may be no real benefit in booking in advance. Equally, booking last

minute offers far fewer exciting steals to unusual and exotic destinations.

As the leisure industry to claw back financial gains, so too is it true that supply is down on previous years, meaning fewer bargains.

With this is mind, it’s worth investing as much as you can in your trip, both in terms of money and energy.

Firstly, settle on a time to travel which is best suited to you and your agenda, and stick to it. With little to be gained from being flexible, it’s worth limiting the upset in your private life and removing any obstacles which may arise to thwart your plans. Once you have settled on ‘when’, working out ‘where’ becomes more straightforward. The next step is all about research. Have a good nose around online at all the places you would like to feasibly visit. Start tracking prices and be

ready to pounce on any offers that are particularly tempting.

With that in mind, use referral sites such as Quidco to save what can be a considerable percentage on the cost of your trip – anything up to 10%.

When your trip is confirmed, it may be tempting to leave all the legwork to a tour operator, but it’s always worth checking direct costs of hotels, flights and day excursions yourself. And obviously, be sure to have comprehensive travel insurance in place in the event of any outside forces disrupting plans.

You can also save money by purchasing any holiday essentials in advance; for example, an end-of-summer clothing sale in provision of your winter sun vacation.

In short, in 2023, the key to a happy, stress-free holiday, is to leave almost nothing to chance!

At Together Care Consulting, we are independent care advisers in the ‘self-funded’ elderly care sector.

Did you know, currently in England under the Care Act of 2014, if a person has savings worth more than £23,250 or has a property that they own, they are required to ‘selffund’ their own care at a weekly cost of £1,000-£3,000 per week!

We make sure that our clients have all the information they need to make an informed choice about their ‘selffunded’ care investment.

We provide proudly independent care advice and personalised care sourcing services to ensure you are

New Year Health MOT

Get into gear this new year by giving yourself a DIY health MOT that will power you into and through 2023.

We book our cars in for an annual MOT, yet rarely show the same level of care for our bodies… which often take on more stress than our trusty motors. So this January, why not start the year with a health checklist to set you on the road to wellbeing success.

Calculate your BMI

One of the most effective ways to see where you are weight-wise, is to work out your BMI. You can do this using an online calculator, a visual chart or with the following formula:

weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared

This will tell you whether you are underweight, healthy, overweight, obese or extremely obese. And, while you may not be thrilled with the result, it is a helpful tool to plot where you want to get to as the months go by.

Measure your habits

January is the month we allow ourselves

to get really honest about the effects our lifestyles are having on our bodies. So, while you may tell the odd white lie to your doctors, try to be frank with yourself.

Put your best foot forward, whilst accepting it may take a few goes to get your pistons firing again.

Check your diet

If you’ve had a decadent festive period, you may want to embark on a strict regime to reset your metabolism. Studies show that national wellbeing initiatives such as Dry January or Veganuary make us more likely to stick to our personal goals thanks to the comradery and exposure they provide us. So bite the bullet (or butternut squash) and devote at least 31 days to the new you.

Run a risk assessment Anyone over the age of 40 – but under 74 – is entitled

to a free NHS health check. This a simple check of your heart health which tests your vascular or circulatory health, and works out your risk of developing some of the most disabling – but preventable – illnesses. It is free of charge, including any follow-up tests or appointments.

Make a plan

Make the next 12 months count by setting yourself achievable goals.

Perhaps you want to run your first 10K by the start of spring, or be down a dress size by summer. Maybe you are determined to quit smoking once and for all or are keen to get your five-aday on a regular basis.

Whatever your aim, make life easier by plotting a course to success and by giving yourself small rewards along the way.

This month, four books that will lead you into 2023.

A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable rise of the Petite-Bourgeoisie by Daniel Evans (Feb 14th)

Lifting the lid on the UK’s modern class structure, Daniel Evans’ forthcoming book, A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petite-Bourgeoisie, focuses on the class of people existing between the working class and the bourgeoisie – those shopkeepers, small-time landlords and selfemployed artisans who were expected to be swallowed up by monopoly capitalism, but who’ve actually grown in recent years.

You Are Not Alone by Cariad Lloyd (Jan 19th) Cariad Lloyd losing her father

at 15 inspired her award-winning podcast, Griefcast, in which she talks to celebrities about navigating their own experiences of loss.

In You Are Not Alone, the comedian and writer explores society’s reluctance to talk about death and its impact. Amid stories from those she’s interviewed, including Stephen Mangan, Sara Pascoe, and Adam Buxton, are Lloyd’s own thoughts on therapy as she debunks, amongst other things, ‘the five stages of grief’.

8 Rules of Love by Jay Shetty (Jan 31st)

Jay Shetty, author of the no.1 New York Times bestseller

Think Like a Monk, offers a revelatory guide to every stage of romance, drawing on ancient wisdom and new science.

Instead of presenting love as an ethereal concept or a collection of cliches, Shetty lays out eight rules, each teaching and empowering, that will help you develop the skills to practise and nurture love better than ever before.

January – the month of new beginnings as we head into 2023. A time for putting our New Years' resolutions into action, whether it's buying your first car, getting that promotion at work or just to have a good year; January is where it all starts.

But the months following Christmas aren't always easy; pushing aside the excitement of the New Year, the worrying itch for the next payday begins to sit at the forefront of people's minds. The dark dreariness of British winter weather brings down the once merry moods and sometimes it's easy to brush off mental health – when really, it's one of the essential components of keeping healthy, yet people are still afraid to talk about it.

One in six people in the UK report that they have suffered from mental health issues – this does not include the people who choose not to speak about these issues, in which 40% of men will never discuss their mental health. While women are typically more open when talking about their mental health; they are twice as likely to go through a depressive episode. Especially with the days being shorter, the lack of daylight means people are far more susceptible to falling into the seasonal depression.

With the aim to end the stigma around mental health, there are charities like the Samaritans who are set up to listen to people who need someone to talk to.

The Samaritan's mission is to make sure there is someone there for everyone; they encourage and promote connecting with people to talk about how they feel. They can be contacted by phone, email, letter, or even visited at one of their local branches – where a trained volunteer will be there to listen.

It's the small talk that helps save lives – sometimes just talking to a friend or someone who will listen can make a huge difference, and can evoke change and help someone's mental health improve for the better.

If you or someone you know is feeling low you can always call 116 123; It's the small talk that helps save lives! Visit: www.samaritans.org

Our mission is to support people with Type1 & Type2 diabetes, through the provision of advice and services.

We fund research to work towards finding a cure for diabetes.

We are also intent on raising public awareness of diabetes and especially the risk factors and symptoms associated with the condition.

A VARIETY OF

• The funding of scientific and clinical research studies • The promotion of screening, wellness and other health related programmes • The operation of a membership Wellness Network encouraging the sharing of knowledge and the provision of professional advice

• The dissemination of information on diabetes for the purpose of informing the general public on the symptoms, causes and effects of diabetes

• The provision of advisory literature to diabetes clinics for distribution to patients.

FUNDRAISING FOR DRWF

Adrenaline: Skydiving & Spinnaker Tower Abseil Running: Great South Run & Cardiff Half Marathon Be Active: Dance for Diabetes Sponsored Walk: Diabetes Dawdle, Portsmouth Cycling: Ride London 100 … and many many more!

For more information, Call: 02392 637808 or email: fundraising@drwf.org.uk Building 6000, Langstone Technology Park, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 1SA Visit: www.drwf.org.uk | @DRWFdiabetes @drwfdiabetes @DRWFDiabetes

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