Issue 38

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RTIST Katrina Gardner gave the biggest art class of her life – teaching 685 primary school pupils how to paint with their feet.

registered charity set up to provide a tip top news service for anyone whose life is affected by disability, longterm health condtions or age. n The charity relies entirely on support from its sponsors, advertisers and from general subscriptions and grants. n You can contact us on

0151 230 0307 Who to contact Editor: Tom Dowling email: news@alltogethernow.org.uk

Advertising/sponsorship Chris Groves email: sales@alltogethernow.org.uk IT Support: Ken Almond Website: Pharos Design

NEXT EDITION: Monday 3 October 2011 All Together NOW! is published by All Together Now! Ltd, The Bradbury Centre, Youens Way, Liverpool L14 2EP Registered Charity No.1106387 Company No. 5096931 Printed by Trinity Mirror NW2, Oldham

Katrina, born with short arms due to the Thalidomide drug, was raising awareness about the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists organisation.

Mum of three Katrina, 48, said: “I love engaging with children on a professional and personal level, showing them what they could achieve if they really put their minds to it.

“I hope my own success as a Mouth and Foot Painting Artist encourages others – no

The Tuf gets going

TOP MARKS: Katrina and her pupils n All Together NOW! is a

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

CRICKET star Phil Tufnell donned a hard hat to launch a building project making life easier for parents of children recovering from brain injuries.

The ex-England bowler is vicepresident of The Children’s Trust, which runs the UK’s largest rehabilitation centre for children with acquired brain injury.

The project will add a further nine new en-suite bedrooms to the existing overnight accommodation for parents, as well as kitchens and lounge facilities.

Children from across the country

matter what their ability – to have a go at painting and drawing. It can be a real life changer!”

Katrina’s marathon session at Hull’s KC Stadium almost got her into the Guinness Book of Records. She was just 124 short of the record set by Martin Thomas at the ‘Modell, Hobby, Spiel’ tradeshow in Leipzig, Germany in 2006. n Mouth and Foot Artists is run by and for the members to allow them to become independent and selfsufficient through their own talents. Tel: 020 7229 4491 www.mfpa.co.uk

come to the Trust’s centre in Surrey to receive specialist therapies and nursing care after a tragic accident or serious illness.

Phil said: “I’m always blown away by the amazing work they do here to rebuild children’s lives after a brain injury.

“You can see how important it is for parents to be close to their kids when they’re going through rehabilitation, so it’s great that this work will give more families that opportunity.”

n Tel. 01737 365000. www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk

. . . as Steve joins top table ENGLAND cricketer Steve Finn came up against some tough opposition when he tried his hand at table cricket.

Steve, right, was among the guests at the annual Macquarie National Table Cricket Competition at Lord’s.

Pupils at Wigan’s Oakfield School put up a magnificent performance but lost in a nail-

biting finale to Victoria Sports College, from Poole.

Wolverhampton Outreach Sports Club was also among the 12 finalists.

Table cricket is played on a table tennis surface with specially designed bats and balls.

Now in its 13th year, the competition attracts over 500 youngsters from across the UK.

‘Too many young may go to waste’ YOUNG people with speech, language and communication needs have been explaining the difficulties they face in everyday life.

They told delegates at a major conference about the obstacles they face at schools, colleges and universities.

“For young people with communication needs, secondary school can be a difficult place,” said Linda Lascelles, chief executive of Afasic, the parent-led charity for children and young adults with communication impairments.

“Young people can have very different perspectives than their teachers or parents on what it is like to be at school and what support they need.”

Dr Victoria Joffe, reader in developmental speech, language and communication difficulties at the City University London, added: “There are virtually no services available for young adults after they have left school.”

Urgent need More concerns have been raised following a report from children’s charity I CAN. Virginia Beardshaw, chief executive of I CAN, said: “Poor communication can limit employment opportunities for young people and affect their social and emotional well-being.

“There is an urgent need to support communication development through adolescence, otherwise we risk consigning a huge proportion of Britain’s young people to a life of missed opportunity and unfulfilled promise.”

Afasic Cymru stage a Communication Counts conference and exhibition at Glyndwr University, Wrexham on September 21-21. n Tel. 0845 3555577 www.afasiccymru.org.uk

All Together NOW! is exceptionally well received by its 260,000 readers.

130,000 readers DO NOT see any other local paper — The Murray Consultancy

TAKE ME HOME!

MONEY! MONEY! MONEY!

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

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NEWS

Invent a new app and win a share of £175,000

We can help many readers, says our new sponsor Hello!

MORE GOOD NEWS!

IT’S GREAT to back – and great to be able to tell you of some of the really exciting developments at the All Together NOW! charity.

First, we are delighted to announce that we have another new sponsor.

The Bank Workers Charity, a long established national charity, has teamed up with us to identify and help the thousands of bank workers (past and present) who may now need financial or practical help due to the onset of disability.

Fred Payne, pictured, chief executive of the BWC, said: “We are the occupational benevolent fund for all people working in banking across the UK – and we want to tell All Together NOW! readers all about the help we can give.

“Over the next year we will have our own page in every edition, highlighting what we do and how we are making a positive difference to people’s lives.

“Our research shows that up to 50,000 people in the UK – 5,000 in the North West – have to cope with multiple issues like work/life balance, financial problems, dealing with caring and health issues.

“We have the funds available to pay for a wide range of information and advice services – and grants with a focus on helping people with money and housing problems. We can also help with caring issues, empowering people to improve their situation.”

Find out more on Page 7.

THE Morgan Foundation, who have just launched their annual entrepreneur awards (Page 9) aimed at small businesses and charities.

The Foundation’s chairman Steve Morgan said: “Unlike many other award schemes, our awards offer substantial cash prizes, so the

winners and runnersup get more than just a pat on the back, they get a capital injection that can make a real difference.”

Steve has just won two awards himself – Entrepreneur of the Year at the annual PROPS (building industry) awards and Businessman of the Year at the Daily Post Business Awards.

. . . AND MORE GOOD NEWS! PARK Group have again put up a fantastic Empire hamper as the ultimate prize in our superb Christmas competition (page 5).

Peter Johnson, founder and Park Group chairman, said: “We are delighted to offer readers another chance to win our top-of-the-range Christmas hamper.

Last year’s competition caused plenty of excitement and we are confident that our new competition will be even more popular.”

that we are your nominated charity, and they will do the rest – from collecting your vehicle and sorting out the cash donation.

Please keep us in mind.

A big thanks for all the support. We’re back in autumn – October 4 to be precise. See you then!

—Tom Dowling, editor

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£3m up for grabs AN EXTRA £3m is available for disabled people’s grassroots organisations, the Government has announced.

User-led organisations can now bid for the extra money – “to better deliver services disabled people really need”.

Who gets your vote?

. . . AND EVEN MORE GOOD NEWS! WE HAVE a new and a very novel way for YOU to help the All Together NOW! charity . . . thanks to the brilliant ‘Giveacar’ scheme (set up by Tom Chance).

Readers can now donate their scrap vehicles to help us to print and distribute even more copies of your favourite newspaper.

All you have to do is contact Giveacar, tell them

CREATE an app to improve the lives of disabled and older people and you could share in prizes totalling more than £175,000.

Launching the Europe-wide contest for budding software inventors, MEP Richard Howitt said: “There are so many different ‘apps’ available on the market, so why not some for improving the lives of disabled people too?

“One example of a new ‘app’ might be to further develop GPS technology for blind people using voice-recognition to identify accessible routes to safely find their destination.

“We want to see improved access through the virtual world to secure improved access to the real-world in which disabled people and all of us live.” n Closing date: October 15. www.developer.vodafone.com/smartacc ess2011

FILMS and TV shows encouraging a more inclusive world could be in line for a national award.

National charity Leonard Cheshire Disability is urging disabled people and their families to nominate truly outstanding work from any aspects of the arts, which has been produced by, or presents issues facing disabled people.

The nominations will be considered for The People’s Choice Award in this year’s Ability Media International Awards.

The awards, in their third year, recognise and celebrate artistic excellence that promotes a more inclusive world.

Works must have been produced, printed, published, televised or created between August 10, 2010 and August 10, 2011.

There are also categories covering corporate communications, the printed word, the arts, and radio and television.

The deadline is Monday, August 15. nwww.amiwards.org, www.LCDisability.org

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All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

NEWS

A little bray of sunshine PRINCESS Anne has been seeing how donkeys provide kicks - of a nice sort – for children!

Why a bad back need not kill the romance BACK pain is now the most common reason for couples to stop having sex, says national charity BackCare.

Now, A Sex God/Goddesses’ Guide (price £16.99) has been produced by the healthy backs charity, aimed at reinvigorating the love lives of back pain sufferers.

A recent survey showed 72% of those with back pain said it had caused a reduction in their sex life, while 46% were abstaining completely.

The book argues that an active sex life is actuallly one of the best ways to manage pain.

Endorphins produced during sex counter pain signals as well as reducing feelings of fear and anxiety.

Charity chief Sean McDougall said: “Growing old and getting back pain are natural bedfellows, but having a healthy sex life is one of the best ways to manage back pain.” n BackCare helpline: 0845 130 2704.

Brilliant paper for ALL I PICKED up my copy of All Together NOW! at the Spinal Injuries Centre, Southport, where my husband has regular check-ups. It’s a newspaper that’s very useful to disabled people and to their friends and relatives. It’s topical, very informative and a real pleasure to read. In short, a fantastic, brilliant newspaper for all!

- Rose Swift, Richmond Avenue, Grappenhall, Warrington

Hawking speaks out OVER one billion people have some form of disability, it has been revealed in the first ever report of its kind.

Superstar scientist and cosmologist Professor Stephen Hawking welcomed the World Report on Disability, which provides global estimates for the first time.

And he has urged governments across the world to do more to unlock the vast potential of people with disabilities.

The report reveals that people with disabilities are more than twice as likely to experience inadequate health care, and more than three times more likely to complain of being denied health care.

Children with disabilities are less likely to start education than nondisabled children, and do less well at school.

Prof Hawking said: “We have a moral duty to remove the barriers to participation for people with disabilities, and to invest sufficient funding and expertise to unlock their vast potential.”

ROYAL APPROVAL: Princess Anne at the centre

The Princess Royal opened the latest centre providing riding therapy on donkeys for children with special needs and disabilities.

Templepatrick in Northern Irelands is the location for the sixth branch of the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys (EST). The others are in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Ivybridge, and Sidmouth.

“The therapeutic benefits of riding donkeys have proved enormous amongst children attending our centres,” said Tina Symington, manager of EST Belfast.

“The children’s needs range from learning or behavioural difficulties, autism, Down’s syndrome and visual impairment to those with severe physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy.

“Children gain confidence and selfesteem during their visits.” n Tel: 01395 573133 www.elisabethsvendsentrust.org.uk

Hear, hear!

N

EW hope is on the horizon for people who struggle to hear – even with conventional hearing aids.

British scientists are developing new hi-tech tailor-made aids – and they could be available within four years.

Professor Ray Meddis, head of a research team at the University of Essex, said: “Our work has shown that, when it comes to hearing impairment, no two people are alike. That’s why two people with apparently similar hearing thresholds often react very differently to their hearing aids.

“Today’s hearing aids don’t help to separate sounds – they just amplify them. So they often make everything too noisy for the wearer, especially in social situations like parties, and some wearers still can’t make out what people are saying to them.”

The team’s first key advance has been the development of unique computer models (or ‘hearing dummies’) that can use the information collected during the tests to simulate the precise details of an individual patient’s hearing.

Working with hearing aid manufacturer Phonak, Prof Meddis and his team have now designed a lab-scale version of such a device which is already being tested on patients.

The next step is to miniaturise the technology so that the device can be reduced to conventional hearing aid size.

Losing out . . .

‘Tailor made’ hearing aids offer new hope HEAR ME OUT: Ann with Jackie Ballard, head of Action on Hearing Loss

Now, listen very carefully!

FORMER MP Ann Widdecombe rarely had trouble making herself heard in the House of Commons!

Now she wants to ensure everybody gets all the help they need to hear well. Ann said: "My career has depended upon hearing everything being said, so I urge everyone to get their hearing checked.

Her comments come as research shows four-in-ten people admit their hearing is getting worse. Get a free online hearing test at www.actionhearingloss.org.uk/hearingcheck

. . . and there’s more good news SCIENTISTS are trying to understand why hearing aids do not work for everyone as well as they should.

Hearing impairment is often associated with damage to the hair cells of the cochlea (inner ear) and an area of the cochlea with complete loss of function is known as a ‘dead region’.

Current hearing tests can often miss these dead regions, leading to people receiving hearing aids that

amplify sounds at frequencies where the amplification provides no benefit, or in some cases, can even make their hearing worse.

But research by Brian Moore, Professor of Auditory Perception at the University of Cambridge, has led to the development of a rapid clinical test for detecting these dead regions – known as the ‘Psychophysical Tuning Curves’ (PTC) test.

Vivienne Michael, chief executive of Deafness Research UK, said:

“Thanks to the new PTC test, many more people who rely on hearing aids are going to benefit from enhanced performance and enhanced hearing ability.”

It is estimated that four million people could benefit from using a hearing aid. n A free leaflet ‘Helping you to hear better’ is available from the charity. Freephone Advisory Service 0808 808 2222 www.deafnessresearch.org.uk

180,000 – two-thirds of All Together NOW! readers – DO NOT see any other disability or health publication — The Murray Consultancy

PEOPLE from minority ethnic groups who are deaf or hard of hearing are not getting the support they need due to communication and cultural barriers.

“These people are often excluded from mainstream services as they cannot access them, usually due to language, cultural barriers and sometimes due to family or peer pressure and misconceptions,” said Manjeet Cross, at national charity Hertfordshire Hearing Advisory Service.

“One of my early findings is that Muslims who have hearing loss often won’t attend a deaf club where there is a bar due to their religious belief.

“This means that they lose out on interacting with others in the deaf community, which increases their isolation.”

Manjeet was born deaf and is of Indian descent.

“There are still misconceptions about how deaf people communicate,” she said.

“Some people don’t realise that not all deaf people write or lip-read English.”

TAKE ME HOME!

WIN A HAMPER

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

August/September 2011

It’s going to be a Christmas to remember!

All Together NOW!

ENTER NOW! ALL you have to do to stand a chance of winning your dream hamper is answer these two questions: 1) Who founded Park Group?

2) What is the name of their top of the range hamper?

The first correct entry drawn out of the hat on Friday, November 4, will win the hamper.

Send your answers on the back of a postcard – telling us where you picked up your copy of All Together NOW! AND what you think of the publication – to: Park Hamper Competition, All Together NOW!, The Bradbury Centre, Youens Way, Liverpool L14 2EP. You can also enter online at

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

C

HRISTMAS is about to come very early for All Together NOW! readers.

We’ve teamed up with one of our key sponsors, Park – the UK’s number one for Christmas savings – to give you a fantastic chance to win their top of the range Christmas hamper.

The Empire hamper is worth £517.50 – and it could be all yours if you win our super competition.

Our previous Park Hamper competitions have been extremely popular – and we expect this one to be even more so!

This monster of a hamper contains a huge amount of Christmas food and drink goodies to keep even the biggest family fed over the festive period.

It’s filled with top brand confectionery, desserts, soft drinks, beers, wines, spirits, pasta, soups, vegetables, freezer foods and the finest quality meat.

And, as an extra gift, you will also get a fine glass vase – perfect for some beatutiful Christmas flowers.

For more than 40 years Park has been providing top quality hampers for hundreds of thousands of customers across the

100331-All Together Now advert_ATN 262 x 165 18/07/2011 10:03 Page 1

country.

Founder and Park Group chairman, Mr Peter Johnson said: “We are delighted to offer All Together NOW! readers another chance to win our top-of-the-range Christmas hamper.

“Last year’s competition caused plenty of excitement. We are confident that our new competition will be even more popular with readers.”

Why not save with Park for a debt-free Christmas?

Get your FREE catalogue now at www.getpark.co.uk/ATN10

RULES: By entering the competition you confirm that you understand and agree that the information you provide will be held on a Park Group database and that it will be shared by all companies within the Park Group. A full list of those companies is available by writing to the Data Controller, Park Group Plc, Valley Road, Birkenhead, CH41 7ED. Park Group plc shall be the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998. The information you provide will be used by Park Group and any necessary third parties to provide you with the goods and services you request. Companies within the Park Group may wish to contact you for customer care purposes or to keep you informed about the latest offers, promotions, prize draws, and competitions, using post, telephone, e-mail, SMS and any other appropriate means, including new technology. If you wish to be contacted via email or SMS, please provide us with your e-mail address and/or your mobile telephone number as appropriate.If you do not wish to be contacted by any member of the Park Group for marketing purposes, please indicate this on your entry. The winning entry must agree to having a photograph taken for promotional purposes.

The perfect gift for every occasion!

G Home of the famous Love2shop Gift Voucher G Over 20 different gift vouchers available G Next day delivery option Accepted in over 20,000 stores in the UK, the Love2shop Gift Voucher is a fantastic gift idea. We also offer other top name vouchers such as Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Arcadia (Dorothy Perkins & Topshop).

So whatever the occasion, the gift vouchers you need are at highstreetvouchers.com

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All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

NEWS

Oarsome! Jamie’s record row JAMIE Graham’s ability with the oars has his supporters in awe!

Does YOUR city deserve this award?

THE search is on to find the European city that has done most to improve accessibility.

Judges in the second Access City Award will be looking for improvements in buildings and public spaces, transport and related infrastructures, information and communication, public facilities and services.

The award is part of the EU’s efforts to create a barrier-free Europe.

Cities will also have to demonstrate active involvement of people with disabilities in the planning, implementation and maintenance of accessibility policies.

Any city of over 50,000 inhabitants have until 20 September to submit a nomination.

Last year’s competition – won by Avila in Spain – attracted 66 applications from 19 EU countries.

Around 80 million EU citizens have a disability. www.accesscityaward.eu

Lionel’s polio role ACTOR and dancer Lionel Blair has become a new patron of the British Polio Fellowship which supports the 120,000 people in the UK effected by the disease. Lionel said: “I used to know a dancer who had polio as a child. She was an inspiration and I don’t want people to think that when they have polio their life is over. I will do everything I can to raise awareness of the work of the Fellowship.”

BPF, tel 0800 018 0586 www.britishpolio.org.uk

Foot computers THE world’s first computer that can be controlled by your feet has been launched in California.

Available for Mac and Windows, the SoftStep KeyWorx from Keith McMillen Instruments is already being seen as a great benefit to people who have difficulty using their hands.

The cursor/click control allows users to keep their hands comfortably on the keyboard at all times and the blue backlight makes it visible everywhere, even under a darkened desk.

Jane Berliss-Vincent at the Center for Accessible Technology, Berkeley, said: “Its useful for people with a wide range of computing needs, from simple Internet access to complex engineering design.”

Bill Buxton, principal researcher at Microsoft, said: “It is not that different from operating a car. A driver must work the accelerator and brake without looking down at their feet.” n Priced at around £180, SoftStep KeyWorx is available from Amazon.com (www.amazon.com), Enablemart (www.enablemart.com), and Disabled Online (www.disabledonline.com).

For the second year running, Jamie, diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at just 59, rowed 25 miles to boost funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK. With crowds of supporters cheering him on, Jamie was joined by a crew of veteran oarsmen for the Forget-Me-Not-Row, including two former Olympic rowers.

This year’s event is well on the way to meeting the target of raising £100,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK, breaking the 2010 record of £97,000 – the largest amount ever raised in a single sporting event for the UK’s leading dementia research charity.

Before his diagnosis in 2007, Jamie, from Dauntsey in Wiltshire, had a high-powered job

in information technology. Since then his life has been turned upside down – he’s had to give up driving and can no longer use a computer, read or write.

Despite everything, his sense of humour remains firmly intact and he still rides his bike, enjoys long walks and plays tennis.

Jamie said: “What an amazing day! It was brilliant to get the blades flashing in the water again to raise even more money for Alzheimer’s Research UK.” The 15-strong Forget-Me-Not-Row crew taking part in the Henley to Eton row included former Olympic rowers, Col Alexander Lindsay and Hugh Matheson.. n To add to Jamie’s efforts, donate online at www.forgetmenotrow.com or call t Alzheimer’s Research UK on 01223 843889.

Looking for love?

HEAVE HO: Jamie Graham

TV show set to highlight barriers to romance . . .

HEARING LOSS: The Archbishop ‘just got used to it’

A

NEW TV series about love and romance for disabled people is being planned by an award-winning documentary team.

Film company ‘betty’ – who have already produced widely acclaimed disability-related productions for Channel 4 – are creating a four-part series called The Undateables, that follows a range of people whose ability to form relationships is affected by an impairment.

The series, to be aired next year, is intended to offer greater insight and understanding into the issues, barriers and prejudices that are faced by people with physical, sensory, mental impairment or long term conditions.

It will also explore the public’s attitude towards disabled people and how this can affect relationships.

A company spokeswoman said: “We’re currently talking to a number of organisations, including leading disability networks and charities, about the series and to ensure the issues are handled sensitively.

“There will be a dating agency featured the series working closely with people with expertise in this area.

“The aim is that their experience will enable our contributors to find the right partner.

“The agency will be inclusive, with both disabled and non-disabled people on its books.”

The series has been inspired by Truly, Madly, Deeply, betty’s successful 2006 documentary that followed the progress of the UK’s first dating agency for people with learning disabilities. www.betty.co.uk

Rowan partly deaf from age 2 THE Archbishop of Canterbury has told national charity Action on Hearing Loss that he’s been partially deaf virtually all his life.

Dr Rowan Williams said: “My hearing loss began when I was about two, as a result of meningitis. That left me with total loss of hearing in my left ear.

“I was told as a child that there was no point in having any assistance with it. I’ve just got used to it.”

Ran starts run ADVENTURER Sir Ranulph Fiennes has taken on a new challenge – helping to stop thousands of people worldwide losing their sight.

In his first role as an ambassador for Seeing is Believing, a global initiative tackling avoidable blindness, Sir Ranulph said: “Of the 285 million people living with blindness and visual impairment in the world, 80% of cases could have been prevented, treated or cured.”

The Polar explorer was launching a 5k race around London’s famous square mile raising funds for Seeing is Believing.

Readers feel All Together NOW! creates parity between those who hav a disability and those who have not — The Murray Consultancy

TV Ben’s backing

TV presenter Ben Fogle is backing a new guide to help fundraisers use the power of social media to raise more money for their charities.

Ben said: “If you want to get your fundraising challenge noticed and raise the maximum amount of cash, think outside the box to get your friends and followers to take notice. This is a classic tactic for making people sit up and listen.

“It works equally well online as it does in the real world. Creative charity stunts like world record attempts stand out on social media and are brilliant fun to get involved with.”

The new guide can be downloaded from www.bt.com/mydonate BT launched the MyDonate service in April and guarantees that 100 per cent of all monies donated go direct to the charities (excluding credit/debit card charges).

Thousands of UK registered charities are also expected to sign up to MyDonate over the next year, enabling as many people as possible to give more money to their favourite charities.

TAKE ME HOME!

HELP IS ON WAY FOR THOUSANDS OF READERS . . .

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

August/September 2011

Hello!

I am Fred Payne, chief executive of the Bank Workers Charity – a long established charity that is using its financial strength and wide experience to change the way bank employees (current and former) can get support in what many will agree are very challenging times.

All Together NOW!

How we are helping people . . .

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NN-MARIE works for a bank in Scotland. Separated from her husband, she was then made homeless from her privately-rented flat, as the owner of the flat needed the property for a family member.

We are the occupational benevolent fund for all people working in banking across the UK. The trauma led to her having to take longAnd we want to tell All Together term sick leave.

NOW! readers all about the help we Ann-Marie has four sons and two of them can give. are still dependant. The family had to move Over the next year we will have our in with her sister until the council provided own page in every edition, highlighting her with a temporary furnished flat. what we do and how we are making a Ann-Marie was then given a permanent, positive difference to people’s lives. unfurnished flat which was in a dreadful Our research shows that up to 50,000 state and she was told she would have to people in the UK – 5,000 in the North THE decorate it herself.

West – have to cope with multiple issues She had no basic household items Bank Workers Charity like work/life balance, financial problems, and, because she was still helps people who work in the dealing with caring and health issues. classed as being in banking industry, bank workers www.bankworkerscharity.org.uk We have the funds available to pay for employment, she was not who are retired or who have been a wide range of information and advice eligible for a Community services – and grants with a focus on made redundant, and their families Care grant. helping people with We want to support up to 5,000 people We were able to assist money and housing her with a grant towards each year. problems. We can painting and decorating In 2010-2011 we supported 552 clients also help with caring her flat to make it with grants and 110 clients were issues, empowering habitable, as well as people to improve their helped through services towards furniture and situation. delivered by our kitchen appliances.

We are not only here Since we made the partners. as a resource for people grant, Ann-Marie now in need but also for bank feels secure in a clean THE Bank Workers Charity exists to help anyone NAME: managers wanting and comfortable currently working, or who has worked, in the banking information and support permanent home which industry who has hit hard times.

ADDRESS: to help their colleagues. has enabled her to get We know there are thousands of All Together NOW! 1.8 million people are on top of her stressreaders who could benefit from our support services connected to banking related illness. The – we just need to know who YOU are! including those who stability of having a Over the next year we will be encouraging readers to currently work, home has enabled her register with us so that we can provide the appropriate pensioners, those who to go back to work. help – and as fast as possible. have left banking – often She said: “I would like We will also keep you regularly informed about the kind TEL: POSTCODE: as a result of disability or to say a huge thank you of support we are giving to people across the UK, and poor health and their for all your help. I can keep you posted on any new initiatives (ours or those of dependants – and we Email: now close my door to a other charities) which we think you might benefit from. spend £2.5 million every nice, clean and We’ll even enter you in six special prize draws year helping about 1,000 BANK CONNECTION DETAILS comfortable place to throughout the next 12 months to win £50 Marks & people. live.

Spencer gift vouchers.

NAME OF EMPLOYER: We know that there is “The security and So register now – you have absolutely nothing to lose much more than we can ADDRESS OF EMPLOYER: stability that your grant and maybe lots to gain. This first prize draw covers the do, particularly in terms has provided me with period from August 1 until Friday September 23.

YEAR(S) OF EMPLOYMENT: of early intervention to has enabled me to The lucky winner will be notified by the end of October. help people when return to work. We are Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EX Charity, Send this form to: Registration, Bank Workers problems arise, rather slowly building our life You can also register by email at info@bwcharity.org.uk — but please inlcude all details as above. than leaving it until it’s back up again.” too late.

REGISTER NOW FOR YOUR CHANCE WIN £50 M&S vouchers!

7

8

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

NEWS

Moore joined-up approach to disability Warning A TOP government post overseeing disability issues has been filled.

Jeremy Moore has been appointed Director of Independent Living and the Office for Disability Issues.

Big cash boost for spinal charities PEOPLE with the lifelong disabilities of spina bifida and hydrocephalus are to benefit from a a £250,000 grant from the Big Lottery.

The Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (ASBAH) has been awarded a four-year grant to develop a membership scheme.

ASPIRE (Association for Spinal Injury Research, Rehabilitation & Reintegration) also received £120,000 to continue supporting people with spinal injuries who are recovering in specialist spinal injury centres around England.

Our goal is the net!

NORTH West-based charity Action for Better Access has a very special goal – improving internet access for disabled people and especially for those who are football fans.

The charity uses cutting edge ROKTALK technology to convert text to speech in several languages.

Their website also uses assistive technology software Widgit that provides a visual symbol of almost any word for people who find reading difficult. n www.accessnetwork.org

A pleasure to read!

I WOULD like to congratulate you all on the production of this very informative publication. I have found the content very helpful and a good pleasurable read. The writing, layout and clarity of the pictures is first class. Thank you. — Mrs M Barber, Ingleton Road, Southport

Child help for GPs A NEW handbook has been published to help GPs when a child with palliative care needs comes into their care. The ACT Children’s Palliative Care Handbook for GPs is free to download at www.act.org.uk/gps

Absolutely fabulous ACTRESS Joanna Lumley is the patron of a newly-launched “family” charity that aims to help children who have lost limbs.

Joanna said: “I am so proud to be a patron of this brave and exciting organisation, set up by my young cousins Sarah and Victoria.”

The Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope charity has been inspired by Sarah Hope, whose daughter lost a leg in a road accident when she was only two.

Sarah’s mother, Elizabeth, died at the scene of the accident and Sarah, too, was badly injured. n Tel: 07507 640 120 elizabethslegacyofhope@gmail.com www.elizabethslegacyofhope.org

Jeremy’s remit will now encompass all disability issues, including employment, benefits and the Office for Disability Issues, reflecting a more joined-up approach across Government.

He replaces Tim Cooper, who is leaving for a new role as chief executive at Advance, a supported housing and employment charity.

Jeremy has been at the DWP since 2001. He has held various roles in the

Department, most recently as director of the departmental transformation programme.

Maria Miller, Minister for Disabled People, said: “Bringing all disability issues together under one Director reflects our commitment to a more joined up approach in ensuring disability issues are given the attention they deserve.”

The Office for Disability Issues is a cross-government organisation that works with government departments, disabled people and a wide range of external groups to make sure the needs of disabled people are fully represented.

Inquiry looks at mobility money

JEREMY MOORE

H

OW the personal mobility needs of people living in state-funded residential care are met is to be looked at in an independent review.

The move comes in the wake of plans to stop mobility payments to people in residential care.

Leading disability charities Leonard Cheshire Disability and Mencap asked Lord Low of Dalston to conduct the 12-week review, which aims to gather evidence from individuals living in state-funded residential care and their families, care providers and local authorities.

The findings from the review will be published in the autumn enabling peers to consider the evidence and the review’s recommendations as they debate the Welfare Reform Bill.

‘Significant impact’ The Bill as it stands would give the Government the power to stop paying the mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment, which is set to replace Disability Living Allowance, to thousands of people living in residential care.

It has already passed through the House of Commons and is set to move to the Lords in September. Lord Low said: “The proposed removal of mobility payments from people living in residential care potentially has a significant impact on the lives of disabled people and it is therefore vital that there is a public and comprehensive look at this issue.” n To take part in the review visit: http://lowreview.org.uk

Drum star gives it some stick

ROCK superstar David Rowntree starred in a drumming workshop with deafblind children, run by renowned deaf percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.

Blur’s drummer joined the cast of hit musical show STOMP and Britain’s Got Talent star Kieran Gaffney in the noisy class, led by Dame Evelyn, to help the children appreciate rhythms and vibrations.

David said: “I’m delighted to support the fantastic Sense

Get free money advice LESS than one in three people who are blind and partially sighted people are able to manage their finances independently, a study by the Royal National Institute of Blind People has found.

To improve the situation the

charity has produced a Managing Your Money booklet and factsheets, which are available through RNIB’s helpline.

The booklet and factsheets are available in print, large print, Braille and on audio.

RNIB helpline: 0303 123 9999 www.rnib.org.uk

Drumathon – it’s such an inspirational event. It’s a real privilege to drum with people who have a sight and hearing loss.”

Sense’s patron, the Princess Royal was also there and made an impassioned speech about the importance of music in the lives of deafblind people.

Taking place in over 200 schools nationwide, Drumathon involved up to 10,000 primary school children. n www.sense.org.uk

Clever cards VISA Europe has developed a new feature for its debit, credit and prepaid cards to help blind and partially sighted customers.

The tactile mark – a clear raised varnish key line around the Visa Brand Mark – enables those with visual impairments to distinguish their debit or credit card more easily from other cards in their wallets.

to social services over cuts

A TOP disability rights lawyer is warning social services departments across the UK about cutting services for disabled people.

The warning comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision not to allow former star ballerina, Elaine McDonald, a night time carer to help her access a commode.

Richard Copson, a disability rights expert at Manchester law firm Pannone, said the judgement is not a “green light” to cut services.

“If social services departments seek to do so they must carry out comprehensive assessments of any person’s care needs.

“They must have reference to sound legal principles, policies and procedures, relevant legislation and guidance and importantly, the human rights of anyone in receipt of or in need of care services.

“I would urge Social Services departments throughout the UK to think long and hard before they try to use this ruling, decided on particular facts, to justify wholesale cuts.”

The case concerned Elaine’s appeal against Kensington and Chelsea’s social services department’s decision to effectively change the night time care she received.

By a majority decision, the Supreme Court decided that Kensington had not acted unlawfully in re-assessing Elaine’s care needs.

Liz Sayce, chief executive of the Royal Association for Disability Rights, also expressed her dismay at the ruling: “Such a judgment at this high level shows that there’s something fundamentally wrong with the attitudes in society towards disabled people.”

In the past year All Together NOW! has increased its readership by 20% due to its availability in MAINSTREAM outlets — The Murray Consultancy

TAKE ME HOME!

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Entries open for the BIGGEST and the BEST Morgan Entrepreneur Awards . . .

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

ENTER NOW: Steve Morgan, chairman of The Morgan Foundation, and Barbara Richmond, financial director, Redrow plc, with two of last year’s winners – Debbie Stone (Against All Odds), left, for her Blow Hair & Beauty salon and Natalie Heywood (Best New Business) for her Leaf Tea Shop & Bar

STRIKE IT RICH! C

HARITIES and social entrepreneurs are being urged to enter this year’s Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards.

Bigger and better than ever before, the awards have over £115,000 of cash prizes and professional services on offer to the winners.

There are seven categories and 17 cash prizes to be won, including a new award aimed at young entrepreneurs with a new business idea.

Other categories include those for new businesses and for entrepreneurial charities and social enterprises.

Steve Morgan, founder and chairman of The Morgan Foundation, said: “Unlike many others, these awards offer substantial cash prizes, so the winners and runners-up get more than just a pat on the back, they get a capital injection that can make a real difference to their businesses.

“We’ve always had a young

The categories and the prizes . . .

Best New Business – less than 4 years old: £20,000. Two runnersup, £5,000 each Best Entrepreneur or Business Providing Economic or Social Contribution to its Region within the past 3 years: £12,500. Two runners-up, £5,000 each.

Best Entrepreneurial Charity or Social Enterprise: £12,500. Two runners-up, £5,000 each.

Best Entrepreneurial Charity or Social Enterprise in Liverpool entrepreneur category and this year, with youth unemployment at its highest since records began, it’s timely that we have a brand new award for youngsters with a good business idea.

“If there aren’t the jobs out there, let’s encourage young people to help themselves and, maybe, become the employers

(area covered by Liverpool City Council): £5,000 Best Young Entrepreneur – under 25: £10,000. Two runners-up, £2,500 each.

Best New Business Idea by a Young Entrepreneur: £5,000. Two runners-up, £2,500 each.

Against All Odds – person, business, social enterprise or charity overcoming the greatest difficulties to succeed: £10,000

of the future.”

Mr Morgan, who also founded Redrow Homes and who is owner/chairman of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, added: “These awards really do make a difference to the organisations and individuals who take part.

“Previous winners and runners-

www.morganfoundation.co.uk

The main award sponsors are Redrow plc.

Co-sponsors and event partners are Deloitte, Brabners Chaffe Street LLP, Liverpool Vision, DRP Group, Insider Media, Public Image Inc and NMC Design+Print

up have said that winning has helped them in many ways – from a much needed capital injection into their business to improving staff morale.”

In line with the ethos of The Morgan Foundation, there are also categories aimed specifically at entrepreneurial charities, organisations that

make a social or economic contribution to the region – and a special Against All Odds award for individuals who are succeeding in business despite having to deal with serious personal challenges such as disability or health issues.

The awards are free to enter and it’s simple to apply online.

A panel of independent business leaders and experts will select the finalists, who will have the opportunity to present in person at the final judging in late September.

The winners and runners-up will be announced live at a gala awards dinner at the Carden Park Hotel on November 10.

Closing date for entries is September 2.

The awards are open to charities, social enterprises, businesses and entrepreneurs from Merseyside, Cheshire, Shropshire, North Wales and the Wolverhampton area.

Full details: www.mf-awards.co.uk

Tel. 01829 782800

9

10

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

A fantastic finale to a fantastic week

Fringe benefits even better at festival THE 2011Edinburgh Fringe has improved access and ticketing facilities for deaf and disabled audiences.

Festival Fringe Society chief Kath Mainland said: “These are significant steps in improving the Fringe’s accessibility for audiences as well as participants. Promoting equity, preventing discrimination and valuing diversity are fundamental to us.”

The new accessible ticket collection point is at the University of Edinburgh’s Visitor Centre, 2 Charles Street. n Tel: 0131 226 0000 www.edfringe.com

Highland flings . . .

GLIDE above the Scottish Highlands at 2,150ft, see a giant mammoth skeleton, visit the largest herd of African elephants in the UK, or even get lost in one of the UK ‘s largest hedge mazes These are just a handful of exciting things to do at UK attractions featured in the Rough Guide to Accessible Britain – Family Days Out. n www.accessibleguide.co.uk.

Best DAD ever WARRINGTON’S Disability Awareness Day – the event that almost wasn’t – turned out to be the best in its 20-year history.

Despite losing their main sponsor, the Northwest Development Agency, and torrential rainstorms throughout the week, the show once again attracted record attendances from all over the North West and beyond – including a delegation from Thailand!

Dave Thompson, chair of Warrington Disability Partnership, who organise the event, said: “The day was a fantastic finale to a fantastic week of disability awareness raising activities.

“DAD is getting bigger and bigger. Now we have to make next year’s event even better!” n Warrington Disability Partnership: 01925 240064.

Tel. 0800 953 7070.

IRTON HOUSE FARM

Holiday Breaks in the Lakes near Keswick Self catering apartments for 2-6 people.

Specially designed with the wheelchair in mind. No steps. Beautiful views in a superb location. Friendly owners in residence. Open all year.

Airports letting down disabled passengers HELP for disabled travellers using UK airports is at best patchy – at worst neglectful, according to Which? Travel.

to their guide dogs; one was left without water, and the other given no chance to relieve itself before Tel: 01768 776380 boarding the plane. www.disabled-holiday.net email: joan@irtonhousefarm.co.uk Both passengers were offered During their investigation into airport Book now! wheelchairs, despite being able to disability services, one blind walk, while another passenger who passenger was did require a wheelchair said he was abandoned by staff left waiting in the cold for a long time for an hour and a before being helped onto the plane. half, while another Which? Travel members with was separated from disabilities have also reported “feeling her guide dog at humiliated”, being “abandoned like a security.

• Covers many disabilities and piece of luggage” and feeling like they pre-existing conditions such Both were were “passed around like a parcel” as heart problems, strokes, concerned at the For more information diabetes and cancers. while travelling through UK airports. lack of care shown or to obtain a quote visit Rochelle Turner, head of research • Replacement Carer cover. www.fishinsurance.co.uk for Which? Travel, said: • Protection for mobility “A few simple changes to or call us on and disability equipment, TAKE ME HOME! processes and staff training could including manual wheelchairs. help airports ensure all passengers • Choice of single trip or get the assistance they need.”

For a colour brochure

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Travel insurance Disabled traveller?

0500 432141

Tuned in for everyone THIS year’s Greenbelt family festival, at Cheltenham Racecourse, will have more wheelchair ramps, accessible toilets, and hearing loops than ever before.

There will also be powered and manual wheelchairs for hire, thanks to the support of Christian disability charity, Livability.

The festival, from August

26-29, already has dedicated camping areas, free tickets for carers and support groups to help people with learning difficulties. But, according to festival director Jenny Baker, this new partnership will make this year’s festival “the most accessible Greenbelt yet”. n www.greenbelt.org.uk www.livability.org.uk

annual multi-trip policies.

Fish Insurance is a trading name of Fish Administration Ltd, registered in England & Wales number 4214119.

Fish Administration Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Tell 260,000 readers about your events

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

August/September 2011

Kids rev up for Donington YOUNG people and learner drivers with disabilities can test drive a range of adapted vehicles at a special event at Donington Park, Derbyshire.

The Get Going – Live! event takes place at Donington’s historic Heritage Loop circuit.

You must be aged 14 to test drive one of the adapted vehicles.

Prospective learners under 14 can practice transferring, familiarise

All Together NOW!

LEARNING THE ROPES: Nurse Fran Langton learning at Leasowe Lighthouse

themselves with the controls, and can also travel as a passenger with an instructor.

A parent or guardian will need to countersign the test drive disclaimer for those under 16.

You do not need a provisional licence or full licence to test drive, but if you already have a licence take it with you on the day. n The event takes place on Saturday, August 13. www.getgoingnow.org

THIS year’s Mobility Roadshow has been heralded a huge success by visitors and exhibitors. Thousands of visitors flocked to the three-day event at the East of England Showground, Peterborough.

Jacqui Jones, executive director of Mobility Choice, who organise the event, said: “I was especially pleased that our new Design Zone and Mobility Information Service (jointly run by the Forum of Mobility Centres and Ricability) were big hits with visitors.”

I

Are YOU up for the lighthouse plunge?

F YOU’VE ever dreamed of abseiling down the side of a lighthouse – or even if you haven’t – now is your chance!

Anyone aged 14 and over can tackle the 110ft drop from Leasowe Lighthouse, Wirral.

Participants will enjoy stunning views across the Mersey estuary while raising money for the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity.

The abseil takes place on Sunday,

September 25, and is suitable for beginners or experienced abseilers.

Marie Curie community fundraiser, Colette Byrne, said: “We have a team of the best instructors who will instil confidence even in those participants who are scared of heights!

“It will be a fantastic event and well worth the effort just to take in the beautiful views.”

Marie Curie nurse Fran Langton will be among those taking on the challenge to

raise much-needed funds for the charity.

She said: “I’m excited and terrified at the same time, but taking on the 110ft drop will be nothing compared to what the patients I nurse take on daily.”

The Marie Curie Nursing Service provides practical nursing care and support to people seriously ill with cancer in their own homes. n Contact Colette on 0151 801 1405 or email colette.byrne@mariecurie.org.uk

Reward your heroes . . .

DO YOU know of an employer, organisation or individual deserving of recognition for their work involving disabled people?

And if so have you heard about the Positive Action Awards?

Organised by Warrington Disability Partnership and supported by NHS Warrington and Arena Housing Group, the awards promote exemplar practice here in the North West.

Nominate by phone – Tel: 01925 240064 – or online at www.positiveactionawards.org.uk You can also nominate someone by post at the address below providing your name, organisation, address and telephone, nominee name, organisation, address and contact telephone number and the reason why you are nominating the person/organisation. n Positive Action Awards, WDP, Beaufort Street, Warrington WA5 1BA. Closing date: September 2.

Crossroads Caring for Carers Isle of Man

Ella Performance Group

The awards provide an opportunity for disabled people and carers to nominate Northwest employers, businesses, service providers or individuals that deserve recognition for promoting independence, delivering accessible and/or inclusive services, or maintaining exemplary employment practices.

Nominate online at

www.positiveactionawards.org.uk You can also nominate someone by writing to us at the address below providing your name, organisation, address and telephone, nominee name, organisation, address and contact telephone number and the reason why you are nominating the person/organisation.

M & Y Joinery

Or call 01925 240064 for a nomination form Closing date 2nd September 2011

The National Trust Alderley Edge

. . . place an advertisement

Positive Action Awards, WDP, Beaufort Street, Warrington WA5 1BA

11

WHAT’S ON Aug 6-7: Medieval Worst Jobs, Beeston Castle. Meet a colourful cast of characters from medieval times.

11am-5pm.

Aug 6-7: Day Out with Thomas, East Lancashire Railway. Rides on steam train, meet the Fat Controller and more.

Aug 7: Mersey Pirate Muster, New Brighton. 11am-5pm. www.merseypiratemuster.com Aug 13-14: Eastham Ferry Family Fun Day, Eastham Ferry, Wirral. Face painting, archery, climbing wall, owls, mini fair, stalls.

Aug 13-14 : Caribbean Carnival of Manchester, Alexandra Park, Manchester. Free event. www.manchestercarnival.co.uk Aug 13-14: Northwich Medieval Festival, Verdin Park, Northwich.

Aug 14: Opem air theatre company Illyria perform Fantastic Mr Fox, Ness Botanic Gardens, Wirral Aug 14: Lytham Hall Classic Car & Bike Show, Lytham Hall, Lytham St Annes. Adult £6, Child £2.50 10am4pm, Dogs on leads welcome.

Aug 18-20: Southport Flower Show, Victoria Park, Southport. Fun for all the family.

Aug 20: Tropical Beach Family Fun Day, Sticky Fingers Playcentre, Saltney, Chester. £6. BBQ, fancy dress, bouncy castle, face painting, etc.

Aug 20-21: Medieval Mounted Skill at Arms, Beeston Castle. 11am-5pm Aug 21: Francesca Bimpson 5k Fun Run, Croxteth Hall and Country Park, Liverpool. 11am start.

Aug 27: Music Live - in association with Radio City 96.7FM, Victoria Square, St.Helens. 2pm-6pm. Soul sensation Lemar will be one of the headline acts at this year’s fantastic free music festival along with Encore and stars of TV’s X-Factor.

Aug 27: Eaton Hall Garden Open Day, Eccleston, Chester.

Aug 28: Lakeland Classic Vehicle Show, Hutton-in-the-Forest, Penrith.

Adult £6, Child £2.50. 10am-4pm.

Dogs on leads welcome Aug 28-29: Mathew Street Festival, Liverpool.

Aug 28-29, Sep 10-11: Summer Steamings at Bolton Steam Museum, Bolton. 10am-4pm. Free admission.

Aug 29: Hoylake RNLI. Open Day, Hoylake. Free entry. Red Arrows display, funfair, charity stalls, street theatre, raffles, and tours of the lifeboat.

Sep 11: Weekend for Families with Newly Identified Deaf Children, Holiday Inn, Liverpool City Centre.

Sep 23-25: Nantwich Food Festival.

Sep 30-Oct 2: British Musical Fireworks Championships , TAKE ME HOME! Kings Gardens, Southport.

— call Chris Groves 0151 230 0307

12

All Together NOW!

One advert goes a long, long way

Tel: 0151 230 0307

August/September 2011

E! E HOM TAKE M

BOX OFFICE SENSATION!

Aug 2-Aug 14: Mr Stink. The Lowry.

David Walliams’s scratch and sniff book on the stage.

Aug 4-Aug 7: West Side Story.

Liverpool Empire. Classic musical featuring a host of local talent.

Aug 5: The Comedians - 40th Anniversary. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Featuring Frank Carson, Stan Boardman, Jim Bowen, Mick Miller and Duggie Brown.

Aug 6: Voice of the Heart - Karen Carpenter. New Brighton Floral Pavilion. Carpenters’ tribute act.

Aug 6: Roy Orbison and Friends.

Southport Floral Hall. Barry Steele as the legend.

Aug 7: Carnival of Dreams. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Star-studded charity gala in aid of Donna’s Dream House.

Aug 7: How the Koala Learnt to Hug. New Brighton Floral Pavilion. From children’s author Steven Lee. Aug 8: Dominic Kirwan - Through the Years. Blackpool Grand Theatre.

Aug 8: Roary the Racing Car. Liverpool Empire. Roary zooms into theatres for his first stage show.

Aug 9: Dominic Kirwan - Through the Years. Southport Floral Hall.

Aug 9: Remember When...

Manchester Opera House. Nostalgia at its best.

Aug 10: Pack Up Your Troubles. New Brighton Floral Pavilion. Combining music hall and wartime songs.

Aug 11: Tony Christie. Venue Cymru.

The veteran performer shines again.

Aug 11-Aug 13: Fame! Manchester Opera House. Hit musical.

Aug 12: The Comedians - 40th Anniversary. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Featuring Frank Carson, Stan Boardman, Jim Bowen, Mick Miller and Duggie Brown.

Aug 12-Aug 13: Tall Tales, Tantrums and Gordon Brown. Manchester Library Theatre. A story for anyone aged 10 and over who’s ever hoped that the underdog comes out on top.

All performances captioned.

Aug 12-Aug 13: Jason Manford. Liverpool Empire.

Stand-up comedy.

Aug 13: Death Row Diva - The Final Account of Crimson Skye. The Lowry.

Black comedy, burlesque, horror.

Aug 13: Back for Good. Venue Cymru. Take That tribute act.

Aug 13: Organ Prom. Stoke Victoria Hall Aug 13: Victor Michael and his Orchestra. New Brighton Floral Pavilion.

Aug 14: Jimmy Tarbuck.

Blackpool Grand Theatre. Solo stand-up show.

Aug 15: Cruising the Caribbean. Rhyl Pavilion. Singers from Montserrat and West Indies.

Aug 16: Paul Zerdin. Rhyl Pavilion.

Britain’s leading ventriloquist.

Aug 16-Aug 21: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Manchester Opera House. LloydWebber’s classic musical.

Aug 17: Bouncers. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Comedy featuring the antics of club bouncers.

Aug 17-Aug 20: Her Benny. New

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

BOX OFFICE NUMBERS BLACKPOOL Grand Theatre: 01253 290190.

BOLTON Octagon: 01204 520661.

LIVERPOOL Empire: 08444 999 999.

Everyman & Playhouse: 0151 709 4776.

Royal Court: 0870 787 1866.

LLANDUDNO Venue Cymru: 01492 872000.

MOLD: Theatr Clwyd: 0845 3303565.

MANCHESTER Library Theatre:

The Lowry: 0843 208 6000.

Opera House: 0870 401 9000.

Palace Theatre: 0870 401 3000.

NEW BRIGHTON Floral Pavillion: 0151 666 0000.

PORT SUNLIGHT: Gladstone Theatre: 0151 643 8757.

PRESTON: Charter Theatre: 0845 344 2012.

RHYL: Pavilion Theatre: 01745 330 000.

RUNCORN The Brindley: 0151 907 8360.

SALE: Waterside Arts Centre: 0161 912 5616.

STOKE: Regent Theatre: 0844 871 7627.

SOUTHPORT: Floral Hall: 0844 847 2380.

ST HELENS: Theatre Royal: 01744 756000.

Citadel: 01744 735436.

WOLVERHAMPTON Grand Theatre: 01902 429212.

You’ve got to LAUGH! Brighton Floral Pavilion. Awardwinning adaptation of Silas Hocking’s tale. A Scouse Oliver.

Aug 18: The Rat Pack Vegas Spectacular. Rhyl Pavilion.

Aug 18-Aug 20: Fame! Stoke Regent Theatre. The classic 80s musical.

Aug 19: The Comedians - 40th Anniversary. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Featuring Frank Carson, Stan Boardman, Jim Bowen, Mick Miller and Duggie Brown.

Aug 19: Mal Gibson. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Singer/songwriter from Salford.

Aug 19-Aug 20: Elastic Bridge. The Lowry. Dramatic black comedy.

Aug 19-Aug 20: Bob the Builder.

Rhyl Pavilion. Bob rebuilds a theatre.

Aug 21: Bob the Builder. Blackpool Grand Theatre.

Aug 24: The ELO Experience. Rhyl Pavilion. Electric Light Orchestra tribute act.

Aug 25: Lee ‘Memphis’ King - One Night of Elvis. Rhyl Pavilion.

Aug 25: Back For Good -Take That Tribute. Liverpool Empire.

Aug 26: The Comedians - 40th Anniversary. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Featuring Frank

Carson, Stan Boardman, Jim Bowen, Mick Miller and Duggie Brown.

Aug 26- Aug 27: Jason Manford. Southport Floral Hall.

Comedy.

Aug 27: The Stan Boardman Show. Port Sunlight Gladstone Theatre.

Aug 27: Bon Jovi Experience. Rhyl Pavilion. Tribute act.

Aug 27: Bob the Builder. New Brighton Floral Pavilion.

Aug 28: Joe Pasquale - Pull My Finger. Blackpool Grand Theatre.

Sept 2: Joe Longthorne: A Man and his Music. New Brighton Floral Pavilion.

Sept 2: Superslam American Wrestling. Liverpool Empire.

Sept 2: Peter Alliss. Rhyl Pavilion.

Anecdotes and a question and answer session with the golf master.

Sept 3: The Three Welsh Tenors.

Rhyl Pavilion. Classical music.

Sept 4: Des O’Connor. Blackpool Grand Theatre.

Sept 4: I’m Sorry, I haven’t a Clue.

The Lowry. The antidote to panel shows, hosted by Jack Dee. Sept 5-Sept 10: Dancing Shoes The George Best Story. The Lowry.

Promote your shows with us . . .

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

August/September 2011

Get out those dancing shoes

Christmas Christmas is coming!

T

OP comedy and some good foot stomping music are among the highlights of an action-packed autumn/winter season at The Brindley.

Stand-up comics Mark Watson, Tony Hawks and Russell Kane are all heading to the Runcorn arts venue, while the annual Bluegrass Festival returns in October.

Other great music shows include Irish/American folk singer Heidi Talbot, who appears as part of this year’s Liverpool Irish Festival on Saturday October 15.

For lovers of dance, internationally renowned contemporary dance company Phoenix Dance take to the stage on Tuesday November 8, and then Ballet Cymru present Beauty & The Beast on Friday December 2.

And if you are after a good family fun show then make a note of The Elves & The Shoemaker, being performed by Stuff & Nonsense Theatre Company.

It’s got everything – stunning puppetry, music and lots of surprises – and is guaranteed to put a smile on anyone’s face!

Sept 6-Sept 10: The Importance of Being Earnest.

The Brindley. Oscar Wilde’s comedy.

Sept 6-Sept 24: We Will Rock You. Liverpool Empire. Musical comedy based on the music of Queen.

Sept 7-Sept 17: Bang Bang Bang.

Bolton Octagon. Playwright Stella Feehily brings her trademark wit and emotional insight to this revealing new play that goes behind the public face of charities, journalists and NGOs. Sept 8: The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain. The Lowry. As featured on Jools Holland.

Sept 8-Sept 17: Tartuffe (or The Imposter). Liverpool Playhouse. Roger McGough’s hilarious adaptation of Moliere’s sublime comedy.

Captioned performance Sept 17.

Sept 9: The Drifters. New Brighton Floral Pavilion. Classic hits.

Sept 9: Two Kinds of Magic. St Helens Royal. Featuring the music of Queen and ELO. Sept 9: Psychic Sally on the Road.

Rhyl Pavilion.

Sept 9: Let Me Entertain You.

Stoke Regent Theatre.

Robbie Williams tribute act.

Sept 9-Sept 10: Undercover Blonde. The Brindley. Hilarity from the comedy duo.

Sept 10: Das Rheingold. The Lowry. The first part of Wagner’s tetralogy.

Sept 10: Sing out with Brass.

Preston Guild Hall. In aid of the Rosemere Cancer Foundation.

Sept 11: Carmen. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Bizet’s blistering, passionate opera.

Sept 11: Numberjacks. Stoke Regent Theatre. Children’s TV favourite.

Sept 11: An Evening of Burlesque.

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

Sept 12: The Magic Flute.

Blackpool Grand Theatre. Mozart’s fantasy opera.

Sept 12-Sept 17: Blood Brothers.

Rhyl Pavilion. The legendary tale of twins separated at birth.

Sept 13: The Unthanks. The Lowry.

All Together NOW!

Oh no it isn’t, oh yes yes itit is is THE Cinderella cast have already popped in to The Brindley to promote their funpacked panto.

Former Brookside actors Sarah White (Wicked Stepmother) and Philip Oliver (Buttons) can’t wait for the action to begin.

Sarah has had a varied career in theatre and TV - she won a Best Comedy Actress Award at the British Soap Awards for her role as Bev McLoughlin in Brookside.

Cinderella runs from Friday December 9 to Sunday January 8.

The Brindley, 0151 907 8360 www.thebrindley.org.uk

Mercury-nominated folk music.

Sept 13-Sept 17: Horrible Histories.

New Brighton Floral Pavilion.

Sept 13-Sept 17: Rhinestone Mondays. Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. Join the charming dancers of the Monday Night All Star Line Dancing Club.

Sept 15: Unforgettable. St Helens Royal. Backed by world class musicians, Unforgettable is a tasteful, authentic tribute to the musical icons of the 1950’s and 60’s Sept 15: Bob Geldof. Southport Floral Hall. Bob’s first theatre show in over three years. Featuring songs from the Boomtown Rats and from his latest album.

Sept 15: Billy and Wally’s Big Variety Night Out. The Brindley. A variety performance from the presenters of

Radio Merseyside’s Hold Your Plums.

Sept 16: Jason Byrne Cirque du Byrne. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Stand-up show with the innovative awardwinning comedian.

Sept 16: Ga Ga. The Brindley. A tribute to rock band, Queen.

Sept 16: Preston Reed. Blackpool Grand Theatre. Drawing on blues, funk, jazz and other influences, Reed’s explosively original material will change your perception of guitar forever.

Sept 16: The Coal Porters. Sale Waterside Arts Centre. Leading bluegrass band.

Sept 16-Sept 17: An Audience with Tom O’Connor.

Port Sunlight Gladstone Theatre.

Sept 17: Colin Fry. Southport Floral Hall. An evening with the medium.

Sept 17: Autumn Centenary Concert. The Brindley. Highfield Male Voice Choir.

Sept 17: Jack Whitehall. The Lowry. Stand-up comedy.

Sept 18: The Paranormal Experience. Liverpool Playhouse.

With Derek Acorah and Alan Bates.

13

Sept 18: Russell Kane. The Lowry. Stand-up comedy.

Sept 18: Ed Aczel Doesn’t Exist. The Lowry. Unique stand-up.

Sept 18: Bob the Builder. St Helens Royal. Bob rebuilds a theatre.

Sept 20-Oct 1: Legally Blonde.

Stoke Regent Theatre. Musical version of the box office hit.

Sept 21-Sept 23: Rambert Dance Company. The Lowry. New show; ‘Seven for a secret never to be told’.

Sept 21-Sept 24: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The Brindley.

Disney’s classic on the stage.

Sept 22: Patrick Street. Sale Waterside Arts Centre. Irish supergroup.

Sept 22: Aled Jones. Rhyl Pavilion.

Singer, dancer, actor, author, broadcaster, presenter... the list goes on. See the man himself.

Sept 22-Sept 24: Buddy vs the Killer. Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. Two rock and roll legends; one great night out.

Sept 22-Oct 15: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Bolton Octagon.

Gripping drama from Edward Albee.

Sept 24: Cirque Du Byrne.

The Lowry. Stand-up comedy.

Sept 25: Reginald D Hunter.

Blackpool Grand Theatre.

Intelligent and often controversial comedian brings his latest show to the stage.

Setp 25: Billy and Wally’s Comics and Legends Show.

St Helens Royal. Another great night of entertainment from the popular pair.

Sept 25: Rock and Roll Paradise.

Preston Charter Theatre. Purely rock and roll hits.

Sept 26: The Boy with Tape on his Face. The Lowry.

Stand-up comedy.

Sept 26: Justin Moorhouse.

Blackpool Grand Theatre.

Manchester stand-up legend on tour.

Sept 26: Russell Kane. The Brindley. Stand-up comedy.

Sept 26-Oct 1: Dreamboats & Petticoats. Liverpool Empire.

Featuring hit songs from the fifties and early sixties.

Sept 27: Derek Acorah. The Brindley. The top medium back on stage.

Sept 29-Oct 1: Bugle Boy. Rhyl Pavilion. Premier of a biographical musical of Glenn Miller.

Sept 29: The Celtic Tenors. The Brindley. Eclectic mix of classical, Irish, folk and pop music.

Sept 30: Showstopper: The Improvised Musical. The Brindley.

Top class improvisation show.

Oct 2: Ken Dodd. Blackpool Grand Theatre. The country’s longest ever stand-up routine is back.

Oct 3: Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers.

Blackpool Grand Theatre.

Thundering rhythms from TAKE ME HOME! Europe's leading Taiko drum group.

260,000 readers across the North West . . . 0151 230 0307

14

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

Funding team hit the jackpot

M

ERSEYSIDE Transport chiefs are celebrating winning nearly £5m to help people get to work.

The £4.87m funding – on top of £8.65m from existing public and private funds – was given to Merseytravel and fellow members of tMerseyside Transport Partnership.

The new money has come from the Government’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

Neil Scales, chair of MTP, said:

“We worked hard with our partners to develop a plan that provides sustainable transport choices for individuals and business across the region. This LSTF award, along with our secured investment, will allow us to start delivering.

“The support we received from across the area was phenomenal and we now look forward to the challenge of delivering our objectives.”

Mark Dowd, chairman of

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

ALL SMILES – AND ALL SYSTEMS NOW ON GO!

Merseytravel, added: “This shows how we can co-ordinate the various interested parties across Merseyside into supporting the wider aims and ambitions of providing a fully integrated, sustainable, environmentally friendly, transport network that is accessible to all.”

The areas for investment are grouped into three main distinct, complementary elements, delivered over four years:

Sustainable Transport Infrastructure – A complementary package of infrastructure improvements aimed at addressing physical barriers to travelling to employment opportunities by sustainable modes.

Working with Employers – A programme of support activity to assist employers as they seek to raise levels of sustainable access to their places of work for new and existing members of staff.

Travel Solutions – Support for members of the public wishing to access employment and training, but who may currently experience barriers to accessing public transport or travel by other modes.

The successful bid was formed with the contribution of business and other interested groups from across Merseyside, including the voluntary sector, NHS bodies, transport operators, Chambers of Commerce, universities and private enterprise.

We care about the accessibility of our buildings, vehicles and information. All of our staff are trained to be courteous and considerate, particularly when our customers have special requirements.

Merseytravel is making sure that Public Transport on Merseyside is easy for everyone to use

Whether it be automatic door openers in our head office, availability of textphones for main points of contact, or producing timetables in large print, we want to make public transport easier for everyone to use.

Among our services and facilities are: U Àii V ViÃà >ÀÞ ÌÀ>Ûi v À ÛiÀ {n]äää «i « iÊ with disabilities U `iÀ ] Ü y À] >VViÃà L i LÕÃiÃ Ü V >ÀiÊ developed in partnership with our local authorities and bus companies U v À >Ì > Û>À iÌÞ v v À >Ìà V Õ` } Ì iÊ iÀÃiÞÌÀ>Ûi VViÃÃ Õ `i q V Ì> } >VViÃÃÊ ÊÊÊ`iÌ> ÃÊv ÀÊ> ÊLÕÃÊ> `ÊÀ> ÊÃÌ>Ì ÃÊ Ê iÀÃiÞà `i Textphone users can dial 18001 then 0871 200 22 33 for a text relay assisted call

0871 200 22 33 Calls costs 10p per minute from land lines, mobiles may vary

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

Your scrap car can boost our charity!

D

O YOU own a banger that’s merely gathering rust and dust? If so, you can do your bit for the All Together NOW! charity – and help the environment in the process!

by CHRIS GROVES

vehicle readers “donate” to Giveacar.

Launched in January 2010, Giveacar was the first service of its kind in the UK and allows All Together NOW! to tap into a brand We’ve teamed up with Giveacar, an new source of much needed revenue. exciting social enterprise that raises The scheme has already raised money for charity by accepting more than £350,000 for more than donations of old cars and turning 250 charities. them into cash.

So how the scheme work?

And it means that YOU can now If you have an old car that you don’t help keep your favourite All Together want, just call Giveacar. Every car NOW! paper alive and kicking simply has a value, whether it’s roadworthy by letting Giveacar take your old or only good for scrap. They will take vehicle away! your details, collection, send All together now_July11_Half:Layout 1 07/07/2011 11:08 Pagearrange 1 We’ll get 75% of the value of every

T LOWES E A DV NC WAV A N O NT PAYME ILITY A T MO B

round a tow truck, either scrap the car or sell it at auction, and donate threequarters of the cash raised to All Together NOW! It’s a free service and it’s that simple – Giveacar do all the work for you.

Founder Tom Chance, 24, said: “Teaming up with All Together NOW! is fantastic. We want to help as much as we can to maintain and develop the newspaper and online magazine.

“Giveacar makes it so very easy for readers to support the charity.” n To arrange collection of a vehicle, visit Giveacar.co.uk or call 020 0011 1664, quoting All Together NOW! as your charity.

TAKE ME HOME!

SCRAP DEALER: Tom Chance, founder of Giveacar ON PAR F AL KIN RE LN GS E EW EN VE SOR HI S CL ES

ACCESS FOR ALL Av N Au aila ow to bl m ei at n ic

15

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16

August/September 2011

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EASY D

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LIGHT WORK: wheelchair ramps are so light that even children can help

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USTOMERS of Constables Mobility have been singing the company’s praises.

The East Sussex-based company has been at the forefront of providing wheelchair-accessible vehicles for more than 30 years.

Every wheelchair-accessible vehicle is developed to meet strict design criteria and converted at their purpose-built premises.

Constables conversions have fully lowered floors, giving better all-round visibility for the wheelchair passenger, and neat, compact, gently sloping ramps, offering the very best solutions for wheelchair travel.

Here’s what some of their customers say: n “We were delighted with the help and

expertise Constables provided, nothing was too much trouble and their service was second to none. Our sons, Nathan and Sam, loved the car as it was easy to lower the ramp. Nathan loves travelling with us now and sits in the heart of the car with the rest of the family.” n “The Expert has really made a difference and transformed the way we travel.” n “We took delivery of our Constables’ Renault Kangoo a couple of weeks ago and it is marvellous. It is beautiful to drive and very comfortable with great acceleration and braking. We recently went to Plymouth, a really long journey for us – especially as I got a little lost, so drove even longer – but it was fantastic and my husband was really comfortable.”

n “Constables provided us with a very good service. Everyone has been so friendly and the Motability advisor who visited us was extremely helpful.” n “The car is beautiful in every way.

Economical, lovely drive, very comfortable and perfect for wheelchair access. The Constables’ Motability advisor was also excellent and left us with no concerns at all.”

All of Constables’ wheelchair-accessible vehicles are available on Motability with advanced payments starting from £695. n For more information, and to book a free no-obligation demonstration at your home, work, business or school, contact Constables Mobility on 0844 88 00 218 or visit www.constablesmobility.com

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17

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hicles make life fun again

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NEW HORIZONS: Harold and Valerie have found their dream vehicle

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AROLD and Valerie Holmes are finding their new Peugeot Horizon wheelchair accessible vehicle from Allied Mobility has made a big difference to their lives.

Like most people, Harold, who is a wheelchair enjoy savings of up to 35% and take advantage user, and his wife Valerie rely on their car for cifically designed for disabled drivers, including chair accessible and specially adapted vehicles. independence.

Having struggled to transport Harold’s drive for a disabled person, whether the vehicle wheelchair in their previous car, they decided it you can put the brakes on costly car insurance! was time to get a wheelchair-accessible vehicle.

“Our previous car wasn’t very accessible for a wheelchair user like myself,” said Harold, “and Valerie found it difficult to drive. [[[ ´WLMRWYVERGI GS YO “We contacted Allied and after having our needs assessed we had a home demonstration O I N D E PNow_Layout E N D E N C1 E23/05/2011 12:46 06UAllR Together 1 Horizon.” of thePage Peugeot The Peugeot Horizon is the UK’s most popular d and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Telephone calls may wheelchair-accessible vehicle. g style of Fish Administration Ltd. Registered in England No. 4214119

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Based on the Peugeot Partner Tepee, this versatile mobility car offers excellent accessibility without compromising on style and comfort. The vehicle comes with a FlatFold wheelchair ramp, lowered floor and free parking sensors.

Harold added: “We were very impressed with the Horizon. The accessibility features were exactly what we were after.

“Valerie has no problems operating the wheelchair ramp and the electric winch, which came with the car free of charge, makes it even easier to guide me in and out of the vehicle.

“The combination of restraints and winch mean Valerie can be sure my chair doesn’t roll back when she’s pushing it up the ramp.

“The lowered floor means the wheelchair ramp isn’t very long which makes using the ramp in smaller spaces easy. It’s marvellous!

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“I was also delighted to find out that we could remove the rear seating in the Horizon, which makes it possible for me to transport my larger scooter in the vehicle. The flexibility of the car is excellent.

“The car is perfect for us and has made travelling much more straight forward than it was with our previous car. We couldn’t be happier!”

The Peugeot Horizon wheelchair accessible vehicle is available to buy, rent or on the Motablilty scheme with Advanced Payments starting from only £695. n For more information on any of Allied Mobility’s wheelchair accessible cars and MPVs, call FREE on 0800 916 3062, email info@alliedmobility.com or visit www.alliedmobility.com

18

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

MINDGAMES: Ian Wallace analyses some of our common, and no so common, dreams in his new book

Isobel’s story A Guide to Living with Hypermobility Syndrome: Bending Without Breaking, published by Singing Dragon, by Isobel Knight, £12.99 WHEN young ballet student Isobel Knight showed an extraordinary ability to stretch into elegant postures, she little knew her talent would also be the source of great pain.

At only 17, she started to experience severe back pain that worsened as she grew older.

Isobel gave up ballet, wrongly believing it to be the cause of, in her words, “so many problems all my life – walking late, being clumsy and having poor co-ordination, regularly injuring myself and ending up in constant pain.”

It was only eight years later – despite consultations with physiotherapists and osteotherapists, MRI scans and a pain management course at a reputable hospital – that she was finally diagnosed with joint hypermobility syndrome (HMS) and understood that her astonishing flexibility was also the source of immense pain and fatigue.

Isobel decided to write her book in order to raise awareness about a condition that is so often overlooked or misdiagnosed.

She has also started dancing again.

Andy’s story HERE’S a book that’s not just an inspiration to anyone with an autisitic child – but to the rest of us who merely think we have difficult lives.

It is, as comedian and TV presenter Griff Rhys Jones says, a story of "achievment, victory and joy".

Former bank manager Andy Childs catalogues the ups and downs of his family’s life caring for their severely autistic son, Philip – from a father’s point of view.

Andy describes how he and his wife discovered national learning disability charity, Hft, which has worked with them to help Philip live life to the full.

He has achieved success as a cyclist, completing two bike rides from Lands End to John O’Groats and raising over £80,000 for the charity.

The book encapsulates the plight of many thousands of families similarly affected, inspiring carers everywhere and assuring them that they are “not alone” in their struggles.

All profits will go to help Hft’s work with people with learning disabilities.

The book is available online from www.onefinedayreading.co.uk or by post from Hft, 21 Ipswich Road, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4BS at a cost of £11.50 which includes post and packaging. Cheques should be payable to Hft.

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Top 3 Dreams: Being chased!

There is an issue that you want to confront, but you lack the confidence to do so. Turn around and ask your pursuer what they want and they will tell you how to resolve the issue.

Teeth falling out!

You are losing your confidence in dealing with a particular challenge.

You have the power to overcome this obstacle but are just experiencing some self-doubt.

Dream merchant Unable to find a toilet!

You have an emotional need that you are trying to express but are frustrated because you are always looking after the needs of other people, rather than looking after your own needs.

W

E ALL dream and most of us will recognise that we have recurring dreams on a pretty regular basis.

‘

Some dreams even seem to have been with us from childhood.

In a revealing new book, the ‘Dream Psychologist’ Ian Wallace presents us with the 100 most popular dreams, tells us what they mean and how to work with them to improve our lives.

The key to understanding our dreams, he says, is to look beyond individual symbols so we can become aware of the bigger patterns we create every night in sleep.

One hundred dream patterns are consistently reported by dreamers everywhere in the world, regardless of country or culture.

These universal themes appear again and

How I can make your dreams work for you

again in your dreams because they reflect your own fundamental life patterns.

By recognising these universal patterns in your own dreams, you will begin to achieve a much deeper understanding of both your dreams and yourself, he says.

These bigger patterns reflect who you could be in your life, illuminating what you really need and showing how you can accomplish your lifelong ambitions.

The Top 100 Dreams describes these universal dream patterns, explains why you dream them, and suggests how you can use them to help you realise your most cherished E! hopes and aspirations in M O H E TAKE M everyday life.

So if you regularly

Why you’re fishing for compliments

Are you happy being married to your job?

Hi Ian, Although I work in an office in real life, I keep dreaming that I own a big trout farm but I have to spend all my time stopping poachers from stealing my trout.

There is one massive fish that they keep trying to steal using a spinning reel on a rod and I usually end up fighting with the poachers in the water. Yours, Colin .

Hi Ian, Although I have been happily married for years, I keep dreaming that I am late for my wedding. It’s not the actual wedding I had years ago; I seem to be getting married again. I know the wedding is just about to start but for some reason I am usually stuck at a train station and can’t make it on time.

Becky .

DREAM MEANING: When you dream about fish, you are usually reflecting on how you use your intuition and experience in your waking life. The trout farm symbolises some valuable ideas that you have been working on that have the potential to make a lot of money for you. You are concerned, however, that other people will try to steal your ideas without acknowledging the true value of your expertise. Although you have a lot of business ideas, there is one big one that is a real money spinner and you get very upset and emotional when others don’t recognise that you are the person who orignially came up with the idea.

DREAM MEANING: Dreaming of getting married usually indicates that you are trying to make an important decision in your waking life. This choice often involves trying to balance a number of commitments that you have and making sure that they all receive a fair amount of attention. However, your feeling of being late shows that you have to make your mind up very soon and being stuck at a train station suggests that the decision is something to do with your career. The choice you have to make is probably about spending less time at work so you can devote more of your day to someone close to you.

dream about having to give a presentation without knowing the words, or being the only one naked in a room full of people, this book aims to help you discover how you can make these dreams work for you!

As Ian says: “A dream is just a dream until you put it in to action.” n The Top 100 Dreams: the dreams that we all have and what they mean, by Ian Wallace, published by Hay House, £9.99

All Together NOW! inspires and motivates those with support needs AND reduces isolation — The Murray Consultancy

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

WIN! WIN! WIN! Five blooming great prizes NO British garden is complete without roses and FIVE lucky readers can win three completely new, gorgeous varieties in this competition.

The prize packages, worth £30 each, come from Fryers of Knutsford, the renowned Cheshire rose-breeder, and consist of one shrub each of these fantastic floribunda roses, all being launched this autumn.

The prizes will be delivered in late autumn, the best time for planting.

Let’s Celebrate is a spellbinder with large trusses of unusual double blooms, silvery-white, shaded and blotched in purple and mauve,

BEAUTIFUL: Let’s Celebrate, left, and Let There Be Love creating a ruffled appearance.

This highly disease-tolerant variety has been named to mark the golden anniversary of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies’ north-west area.

Let There be Love is a must for romantics with exquisite,

soft pink petals and a darker pink centre. Living Daylights is a real dazzler with masses of bright orange flowers which has already won a gold medal at the International Rose Trials.

All are scented. The first two grow 90cm (3ft) tall while Living Daylights is a little

shorter. Floribunda roses produce flowers in clusters on the tips of stems To enter, answer this question: Which new Fryers variety is a gold medal winner?

Send your entry with your name and address on a postcard or sealed envelope, stating where you picked up your copy of All Together NOW! – and telling us what you think of the paper – to: Roses Competition, All Together NOW! The Bradbury Centre, Youens Way, Liverpool L14 2EP, to arrive by Friday September 23. You can also enter online at www.alltogethernow.org.uk For a free catalogue phone 01565 755455 or visit www.fryers.co.uk

Easy-peasy!

C

OME rain or come shine, summer always seems sunnier with sweet peas around.

Their scent and elegance not only add a touch of class to the garden or a small patio but can also be enjoyed as cut flowers indoors when it’s raining outside.

Beautiful and fragrant though they are, sweet peas are not delicate or difficult to grow.

Late summer is the time to check online or send for seed catalogues and choose the varieties your fancy for sowing in winter or spring.

Sweet peas were unheard of in Britain until the late 17th century. The earliest were sent by a Sicilian monk, Franciscus Cupani, in 1699, and were thought to have originated on Malta, where the species, now named Lathyrus odorata, still grows wild.

This original sweet pea, with burgundy and purple flowers, small but exquisitely scented, has been named ‘Cupani’ after the monk and an improved form is available from various seed firms.

By 1800 there were four more kinds – a white, a maroon, a red, and a pink-and-white bicolour called Painted Lady – which are thought to have arisen as ‘sports’ or freak shoots from the original. They were interesting to specialists but not enough to set the horticultural world alight.

Then, in the late 1880s, Henry Eckford took an interest in sweet peas and probably did more than anyone before or since to improve and popularise the flower.

By rigorous selection, he developed plants with larger and shapelier blooms in a wider range of colours, yet retained the flower’s daintiness, fragrance and vigour.

He is famed as ‘The Father of the Sweet Pea’ and the little town of Wem, Shropshire, where

HELPING HANDS

VERSATILE: Sweet peas loook good in a border and a hanging basket he carried out his work, holds a big sweet pea show in his honour every year.

One of Eckford’s widely-grown creations was a pink variety named Prima Donna. In 1901, in three separate places, the flowers on some plants developed so that the ‘standard’ – the upright petal at the back of the flower – was much larger and frilly.

This was also noticed by Silas Cole, head gardener at Althorp Park, the family home of the late Princess Diana’s Spencer family in Northamptonshire. Silas saved seeds from his own selection of plants and introduced the variety as Countess Spencer.

From this name the term ‘Spencer sweet pea’ was derived and remains popular to this day.

When buying seed, first decide where you want to grow them so you can choose the right size – they range from hanging basket types to six-foot Spencer kinds.

For early flowers, sow seeds in winter, in deep pots or Rootrainers – in a greenhouse, conservatory or light porch – and plant them out in spring.

For the highest germination rate, keep the temperature at or near 20C (68F), although some seeds will sprout at 10C (50F) or lower.

By the time seedlings have become sturdy little plants they should need no artificial heat, but protect them from severe frost.

Seeds can also be sown in March, in the ground where they are to flower. They can also be grown in large pots or tubs.

Pick all flowers before they set seed to ensure the plants continue blooming.

19

CHECKLIST FLOWERS: Propagate your best fuchsias. From healthy, pest-free plants take cuttings 7cm-10cm (3in-4in) long, ideally from the tips of shoots that have flowered lower down. Cut halfway between two pairs of leaves and pinch out the shoot’s tip, leaving one pair of leaves.

Insert the cuttings one to each 7.5cm (3in) pot of cutting compost and place them in a light position out of direct sunlight. Cover the pot with a jar or plastic bag.

SHRUBS AND TREES: Deadhead roses, pruning back to an outward-facing leaf-joint. Spray where aphids or the fungal diseases blackspot or mildew are prevalent. Clip hedges and topiary, removing all new growth unless it is needed to fill gaps or add height.

LAWNS: Raise the mower blades - grass can take weeks to recover if sheared too short in hot weather.

PONDS: Remove blanketweed and excess duckweed, and pull off the dying leaves of water plants. When the water level falls due to dry weather, top up the pool by trickling water on to the surface – this discourages algae and provides fish with oxygen – but not near water lilies.

VEGETABLES: Pick courgettes and beans as soon as they are big enough. The more you pick, the more the plants will produce.

By mid-August, sow spring cabbages and finish planting leeks for cropping early next year.

FRUIT: Apples producing a small crop will benefit from summer pruning. Shorten mature side shoots – the dark, woody ones – to within three leaves of the base. This year’s shoots, lighter in colour, should be cut back to one leaf.

HERBS: Sow parsley for a late autumn crop. Take cuttings of shrubby herbs such as sage, rosemary, thyme and santolina (cotton lavender).

GLASS: To avoid blossom-end rot in tomatoes, continue to water plants regularly and evenly, and to feed every few days. Remove lower leaves as they start to turn yellow.

HOUSEPLANTS: They need extra water through summer but don’t water until the compost starts to dry out. Give a weekly liquid feed to those due to flower in TAKE ME HOME! autumn or winter.

Disabled and need advice on gardening? Contact national charity THRIVE. Tel. 0118 988 5688. www.thrive.org.uk or www.carryongardening.org.uk

All Together NOW!

20

August/September 2011

The Accumulator Quiz

STARSPOT CROSSWORD Can you find the celebrity name hidden in this Starspot Crossword? Complete the crossword in the normal way then make a note of the letters contained in all the squares which are marked with shaded stars. These letters will make an anagram of the name you are looking for.

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1. Wisdom (8) 5. Wound mark (4) 9. Large and frightening imaginary creature (7) 10. Chasm (5) 11. Ruche (5) 13. Ring-road (6) 15. Keen (5) 17. Scottish skirt (4) 19. Bitumen (3) 20. Funeral pile (4) 21. Force back (5) 23. More protracted (6) 24. Sycophant (5) 28. Spanish accent (5) 29. Capital of Arizona (7) 30. Not any (4) 31. Excellence (8)

1. Exactly alike (4) 2. Person beyond help (slang) (5) 3. Cows (6) 4. Rotate (4) 6. Tearful child (7) 7. Withstood (8) 8. Woodland deity (5) 12. Afterwards (5) 13. Round flat cap (5) 14. Bony framework (8) 16. Empty space (3) 18. Wool-fat (7) 21. Begin again (5) 22. Scottish loch (6) 25. Dullard (5) 26. Until (2,2) 27. Rotational centre (4)

Each question has four possible answers and is worth from one to 15 points. Circle your chosen answers and keep a record of your points total. Maximum total points 120.

QUESTION 1 – for 1 point: What type of British bird is a mallard?

A Goose B Swan C Duck D Heron

QUESTION 10 – for 10 points: Which of the following is a prime number?

A 41 B 57 C 69 D 81

QUESTION 2 – for 2 points: Which of these 1960s children’s TV cartoon series featured Officer Dibble?

A Yogi Bear B The Flintstones C Top Cat D Wacky Races

QUESTION 11 – for 11 points: Which French composer wrote The Carnival of the Animals?

A Claude Debussy B Leo Delibes C Camille Saint-Saëns D Georges Bizet

QUESTION 3 – for 3 points: What was the name of the first dog to be featured as a resident pet on TV’s Blue Peter?

A Meg B Shep C Goldie D Petra

QUESTION 12 – for 12 points: In which country was the Battle of Ramillies fought in 1706?

A France B Spain C Spanish Netherlands D Portugal Prime minister’s wife Samantha Cameron. See Question 14

QUESTION 13 – for 13 points: Which famous boxer was the first ‘gongman’ pictured at the start of J. Arthur Rank films?

A Tommy Farr B Billy Wells C Jack Johnson D Archie Moore

QUESTION 4 – for 4 points: In which part of London is the 2012 Olympic Park being built?

A Stratford B Walthamstow C Barking D Hackney

QUESTION 7 – for 7 points: In which country was tennis champion John McEnroe born in 1959?

A West Germany B Canada C Mexico D Italy

QUESTION 5 – for 5 points: What name is given to a group of gorillas?

A Mob B Band C Bunch D Gang

QUESTION 8 – for 8 points: Who narrates Joel Chandler Harris’s Br’er Rabbit Stories?

A Uncle Tom B Aunt Bessie C Uncle Remus D Aunt Polly

QUESTION 14 – for 14 points: The prime minister’s wife, Samantha Cameron, is the elder daughter of which baronet?

A Chichester B Sheffield C Bristol D Plymouth

QUESTION 6 – for 6 points: Which term in Cockney rhyming slang means hair?

A Butchers B Syrup C Dog D Barnet

QUESTION 9 – for 9 points: In the New Testament who was chosen as an apostle to replace Judas Iscariot?

A Matthias B Benjamin C Thomas D Jeremiah

QUESTION 15 – for 15 points: Charlotte Brew was the first woman to compete in which sporting event?

A University Boat Race B Grand National C Fastnet Race D National Rifle Championship

SUDOKU

KAKURO

THERE is just one simple rule in Sudoku. Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9, and so must each 3 x 3 box. This is a logic puzzle, and you should not have to guess.

EASY

DIFFICULT

1 8 3 5 6 3 6 5 7 8 2 9 4 8 7 2

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

2

6 5 3 4 9 5 7 8 1 4 1 3 7 8 2 6 5 9

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LESS than half of people in the UK have admitted that they didn’t know that exercise cuts the risk of developing cancer. Younger people understand the link more than older people. Experts say exercise can reduce your risk of bowel, breast and womb cancer.

7 6 9 2 1 8 9 TAKE ME HOME!

FILL in the blank squares in the grid with numbers so that each horizontal or vertical line adds up to the total given in the box either to the left or above it.

Horizontal totals are given in the top right corners of the shaded boxes; vertical totals in the bottom left corners.

You can use the numbers 1 to 9, but may not use the same number more than once in any run. The number may be used again, however, in the same row or column but as part of another run.

MEDIUM 8

38

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KISSING for hours on end might remind you of being a teenager – but it’s a great way to get in shape! Kissing for 15 minutes burns up to 30 calories. Kiss for an hour you’ll have burnt off enough for a whole packet of Love Hearts!

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

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ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ EACH number in our Cross Code grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. You have three letters in the control grid to start you off.

Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters should go in the missing squares.

As you get the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and control grid. Check off the alphabetical list of letters as you identify them.

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Telephone dialling pads combine several letters on one key. Here we have encoded several sets of words or items by using numbers rather than letters. Then we have divided them into groups of three characters and run all the names one after another to make your task a little more difficult. Can you crack the codes?

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All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

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MISSING LINK Each pair of words has a missing word between them that acts as a link to both (e.g. FRONT – DOOR – MAT). The initial letters of the six answers (reading downwards) will spell out a boy’s name.

3 DEF

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9 WXYZ

Spaces and any punctuation marks are represented by 1.

4. punctuation marks 272 253 813 925 262 616 275 127 837 475 736 843 747 122 738 743 614 683 783 312 213 855 178 671 276 674 3

846 172 149 666 787

5. breeds of cattle 374 374 261 437 223 733 361 264 744 731 537 739 125 225 146 578 668 746 193 781 63

6. traditional British dishes 526 227 447 314 687 681 228 543 569 371 243 373 128 286 237 172 639 424 371 748 227 212 786 253 178 325 126 315 436 391 743

336 871 193 346 444

Starting from the central shaded letter, move one letter at a time (up, down, right or left, but not diagonally) to find 16 reptiles.

Can you place the six dominoes (right) into the grid below in such a way that the number of spots in all four rows across and all four rows down totals 11?

731 297 574 154 452

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COQUINA 1) A brightly coloured species of parrot found only in the South American rainforests;

F

In which year did all three of these significant historical events take place?

2) A nut-bearing palm tree from Chile which has a distinctive ribbed bark;

1. The British general election is postponed as a result of the nationwide foot and mouth epidemic.

2. William Hague resigns as leader of the Conservative Party.

3) A fragmentary limestone made up of cemented shell debris.

3. The film version of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone opens in London.

Add the given letter to the first word to make a new word.

Clue: Provide sister with a word.

WAS IT? a) 1998; b) 1999; c) 2000; d) 2001; e) 2002.

___ +O=_O__

371 972 194 518 371

Here is an unusual word with three definitions, only one of which is correct. Can you identify the right definition?

A

E

529 531 625 672 378

WORD WIZARD

2

MAKE A DATE

OPEN

MAT

3. outer garments 622 546 867 412 766 246 122 468 716 457 546 125 632 432 837 126 672 628 176 819 727 52

SPOT CHECK

–––

–––––

625 194 881 737 233

2. European football clubs 227 235 662 139 626 615 438 122 164 526 158 836 887 159 661 252 917 781 346 346 936 142 528 272 729 173 251 623 743 122 937 616 864 24

PATHWORDS

TENT

IN

OUT

2 ABC

1. trees 624 665 421 233 271 124 377 915 864 737 556 913 561 243 786 627 531 654 831 297 717 922 667 319 391 241 767 527

ALL THE ANSWERS Pathwords: terrapin; python; chameleon; cobra; turtle; slowworm; asp; lizard; boa constrictor; tortoise; gecko; anaconda; alligator; rattlesnake; iguana; crocodile.

4 3 2 6 7 9 5 1 8

1 5 9 4 8 2 7 3 6

9 6 3 5 2 4 8 7 1

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8 4 1 7 9 3 2 6 5

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5 9 4 2 3 6 1 8 7

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SUDOKU DIFFICULT

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ADVERTISE HERE 0151 230 0307

SUDOKU EASY

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KAKURO MEDIUM

4 8 12

3 2 1 9 15

4 9 2 15

Accumulator Quiz 1 – C; 2 – C; 3 – D; 4 – A; 5 – B; 6 – D; 7 – A; 8 – C; 9 – A; 10 – A; 11 – C; 12 – C; 13 – B; 14 – B; 15 – B. Starspot Crossword Across – 1 Sagacity; 5 Scar; 9 Monster; 10 Abyss; 11 Frill; 13 Bypass; 15 Eager; 17 Kilt; 19 Tar; 20 Pyre; 21 Repel; 23 Longer; 24 Toady; 28 Tilde; 29 Phoenix; 30 None; 31 Goodness.

Down – 1 Same; 2 Goner; 3 Cattle; 4 Turn; 6 Crybaby; 7 Resisted; 8 Satyr; 12 Later; 13 Beret; 14 Skeleton; 16 Gap; 18 Lanolin; 21 Renew; 22 Lomond; 25 Dunce; 26 Up to; 27 Axis.

Star Name: AMY WINEHOUSE

TAKE ME HOME!

7 8 6 3 1 5 4 9 2

R

V

14

Word Wizard No 3 is correct. Coquina is a type of limestone.

Dialling Codes 1. magnolia; cedar; oak; cherry; juniper; willow; elm; chestnut; maple; olive; cypress; sycamore; yew; beech; poplar.

2.

Barcelona; Dynamo Kiev; AC Milan; Juventus; Lyon; Ajax; PSV Eindhoven; Galatasaray; Real Madrid; Bayern Munich.

3. mackintosh; blazer; poncho; cagoule; wrap; oilskin; cloak; windcheater; anorak; topcoat; sou’wester; parka.

4. bracket; exclamation mark; asterisk; parenthesis; caret; hyphen; inverted comma; full stop;

apostrophe.

5. Friesian; Hereford; Aberdeen Angus; Ayrshire; Jersey; Welsh Black; Holstein; Limousin; West Highland.

6. Lancashire hotpot; cauliflower cheese; cucumber sandwiches; rhubarb crumble; steak and kidney pie.

Spot Check A = 6; B = 1; C = 2; D = 5; E = 4; F = 3.

Missing Link peg; house; import; low; ice; place.

Name: Philip.

Make a Date The year was 2001.

Transformer Nun + O = Noun.

JUSTbefore you head off on your well-deserved holidays make sure you’ve bought your holiday insurance! Almost 60% of us have admitted to running the risk of travelling without adequate cover. But do so at your peril! Play it safe – and deal with a reputable company.

22

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

RIGHTS . . .

EDUCATION . . . TRAINING . . . JOBS . . .R PUTTING ON THE STYLE: From left, Yvonne Richards (coordinator & stylist); Roberta Tynan (trainee stylist and receptionist); Liz Jenkins (support worker & stylist); Martin Stankovitch (trainee stylist); and Sarah Hargreaves (trainee stylist)

A cut above A

NEW hairdressing salon in Runcorn has opened -– the first in the country to be run by people with learning disabilities.

hairdressing and beauty techniques.

Trainee stylists are guided by a professional hairdresser who runs the salon, which is accessible for wheelchair users.

Halton’s executive member for health and adults, Cllr Marie Wright, said: “As well as providing excellent work experience and training, we know that

Must dobetter

Altered Image Hair & Beauty Salon is run by Halton council’s Community Services, giving adults with learning disabilities the chance to learn

P

UPILS with special needs and teachers in mainstream schools are often the victims of a “one size fits all” approach to schooling and education, a leading academic claims.

Southport College's new course guide - out NOW! Accountancy, Art, Beauty Therapy, Business, Computing, Counselling, Languages, Microsoft and much much more!

Every year thousands of adults enrol on one of our courses.

Whether you are looking to come to college for a formal qualification or simply for enjoyment you are sure to find a course for you.

Download or request your free copy from www.southport.ac.uk or call 0845 00 66 236 for more details.

families of people with learning and or physical disabilities often shy away from visiting a salon as they feel a home appointment will be easier.

“We want Altered Image to change that.”

Altered Image Hair & Beauty Salon is located at: 1 Granville Street Runcorn Tel: 01928 578088

Pupils with social, emotional and behavioural problems (SEBD) are at particular risk of under-achieving because schools are frequently illequipped to handle their needs, says Professor Paul Cooper, a chartered psychologist and professor of education at the University of Leicester Teachers need better training in the appropriate skills and methods for supporting pupils with special needs, while the children themselves require a more diverse range of provision to meet those needs both within and beyond mainstream schools.

It is not children with special needs that present the problems for schools and teachers, but failings within the education system, he

Tell

School system failing special needs children

argues in a new book, From Inclusion to Engagement: Helping Students Engage With Schooling Through Policy and Practice, co-written

by Barbara Jacobs, a research student in the University of Leicester’s School of Education.

Professor Cooper, whose book also examines classroom strategies and approaches that have been found to be effective, said that too often “blanket assumptions” are made about pupils’ needs, and teachers frequently lack the skills and knowledge to be able to support them.

He said: “There should be a diverse range of educational facilities so that children can move between one or another as needs arise. Everyone should have the right to go to their local school, but they

also have a right to be educated in accordance with their needs and aspirations.

“It is patently obvious that many of our schools experience difficulties in catering for the needs of all students, and demanding that they do so in the absence of appropriate training and resources is disheartening for teachers and disastrous for students – especially those who are most vulnerable.

Teachers are as much victims of this muddled approach as children, Professor Cooper argues.

“Initial teacher training has not changed sufficiently to accommodate the inclusion policy, leaving most teachers lacking in the skills required to deal with children with serious difficulties.

“This failure means that the most vulnerable pupils often do not tend to achieve educational success.” n Professor Cooper’s

book is published by Wiley Blackwell, Price £27 in paperback or £57 in hardback.

260,000 readers about your

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All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

. . . EDUCATION . . . TRAINING . . . JOBS

Top chef!

LIVERPOOL chef Ian Jaundoo has been crowned Education Chef of The Year 2011 at the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards.

Ian, who is a lecturer at Liverpool Community College, won the title at the prestigious awards event, held at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in London.

Ian, chef lecturer at the college’s Academy Restaurant, Duke Street, said: “It’s great to have your efforts recognised, especially through something as well respected as The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards.”

Best of look!

Liverpool Community College ‘Working with Business’

Programmes for better prospects...

Thinking about...

Will I get help finding work?

Can I start right away?

Where can I go to retrain or gain skills?

T

WO Merseyside fashion students’ window dressing talents scooped first prize at the World Skills 2011 UK final.

Melissa Dunne, 24, from Walton and Jenna Stephenson, 18, from Sefton, both students at Liverpool Community College, teamed up to represent the college in the skillVM (Visual Merchandising) part of the competition.

The students landed the gold prize for their visually appealing design, which was produced within a full scale window display at the In-Store Show Grand Hall Olympia in London As part of their prize the students installed their window display at Peter Jones (John Lewis) in Sloane Square, Chelsea, London, where it will remain throughout August.

Melissa and Jenna will now go on to represent the UK in the world visual merchandising competition in 2013.

College Governor Vacancy Liverpool Community College is seeking a governor with a background in sustainable development, environmental and/or property management ... and enthusiasm! This is an excellent opportunity to become involved in strategic leadership of one of the best further education colleges in the country, rated as ‘Outstanding’ at its last Ofsted inspection in January 2009. The latest of the college’s purpose built centres, The Learning Exchange, has just opened in Liverpool city centre.

The Board meets 6 times a year and governors are invited to occasional training and strategic planning events. The role is unpaid but travel and other expenses are reimbursed.

Further information is available from Nancy Jenkins, Clerk to the Corporation, who can also be contacted for an informal chat without commitment: Tel (0151) 252 3853 Email: Nancy.jenkins@liv-coll.ac.uk Closing Date: 31st August 2011

equality programmes: 0151 230 0307

Let Liverpool Community College equip you with the skills employers want If you are unemployed, recently made redundant or ready to start work we can improve your chances of success in the current job market Let us prepare you for work with relevant training and help match your skills to current vacancies in security, hospitality, business administration, care, retail, and many more.

We also provide training in how to set up your own business For further information contact:

0845 013 1515 www.liv-coll.ac.uk

Our future.

It’s in our hands

23

24

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Dad and daughter dazzle A FATHER and daughter cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats in just 18 days to help young heart patients.

David and Susan Collins took on the 1,073 mile challenge as a result of their own experience of heart problems.

They and fellow volunteers from the British Heart Foundation raised £12,000 to buy a new heart echo scanner for children receiving treatment at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral.

The BHF helpers worked tirelessly over many months to raise money for the much needed GE Vivid S6 scanner, with the majority raised from local donations, in-store

YES, WE SCAN!: Dr Rackham and children’s outpatient manager, Carol Brocklesby, at the scanner with David and Susan Collins and Graham Cox

Magnets used to beat pain DELEGATES at a Liverpool conference heard how powerful magnets are helping to ease chronic pain.

Professor Turo Nurmikko and his research team at Liverpool University came to the public’s notice when their work was highlighted in a BBC 2 Horizon documentary

‘The Secret World of Pain’.

Their work with local artist Rebecca Key, who has suffered chronic pain since experiencing a stroke, showed how the science of neuromodulation is opening up new possibilities in treatment for chronic pain.

Professor Nurmikko said: “Our research is looking at

the possibility that neuromodulation, or using powerful magnets as a means of “rewiring” certain areas of the brain, can offer positive outcomes for people for whom conventional treatments and therapies are proving ineffective.” n www.neurosupport.org.uk

You are invited to join us at our annual general meeting...

COME along to hear about Mersey Care’s progress and plans for the future as a provider of mental health and learning disability services for Liverpool, Sefton and Kirkby.

Our Annual Report 2010-2011 is a celebration of the Trust’s 10th anniversary.

Date: 27 September 2011 Time: 5.30pm to 6.30pm Venue: Everton Football Club, Goodison Park, Liverpool, L4 4EL. Lights refreshments will be available from 5.00pm. There is access for people with disabilities.

Car parking is limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Q To confirm your attendance (for seating purposes) or for further details please call 0151 471 2336.

collections and sponsored activities.

BHF chairman, Graham Cox, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the hospital and ourselves.”

“Every penny, which goes toward something as remarkable and vital as this, really does count. This is exactly what the British Heart Foundation is all about.”

Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Oliver Rackham, said: “We can now treat our patients here at Arrowe Park.

“It has also saved us a great deal of time, as we no longer have to bring children back to clinic, or send them to other hospitals for repeat scans.

“This makes the whole process run much more smoothly.”

Mental health is still the poor relation

W

HILE quality of care for cancer and heart patients is improving, mental health patients are still the poor relations.

That’s the conclusion of new research among GPs who believe better support services and a change in patient attitude are vital if mental health issues are to be successfully treated.

And over half of GPs questioned felt they needed more support from employers to help prevent workplace stress.

The research, from Aviva UK Health, reveals that while GPs feel the quality of care for patients with physical conditions like cancer and heart disease has got better in recent years, nearly three in five (58%) GPs feel the NHS is lagging behind in relation to mental health issues.

Other findings include: n Almost half (45%) of GPs say stress and mental health conditions will be the biggest health issues they will treat in 2011. n Over a quarter of GPs (26%) say it’s hard to help

‘We need to raise more awareness

patients with mental health problems because there is little access to support services in their area, and over half (52%) say the lack of support for patients is their key health concern. n While 65% of GPs only recommend tablets such as anti-depressants when they are a viable solution, over a third (35%) admit to prescribing pills as a ‘quickwin’ solution when patients face long waiting lists for support. n However, two in five (41%) feel there should be less reliance on drugs as a ‘catch-all’ solution.

Counselling is a popular alternative with 38% of GPs recommending this route. n Over a quarter (28%) of GPs feel that patients have unreasonable expectations with many believing that there’s a ‘cure all’ pill for mental health conditions.

The research also highlights how the stigma associated with mental

health continues. While well over a third of GPs (38%) say that mental health conditions are easy to treat as long as they are attuned to what the patient is really asking, an equal number of (38%) say it also depends whether the patient is trying to hide the condition.

Nearly two out of five GPs (38%) feel that mental health is a social issue rather than medical. The same number say they find it hard to treat patients with mental health conditions as they cannot treat the root cause of the problem.

Dr Doug Wright, of Aviva UK Health said: “There are two issues to overcome to help improve the quality of care available to patients with mental health conditions. Firstly, there’s a need for increased investment into mental health support services. GPs need to be able to tailor their support to suit their patient’s exact needs.

“There’s also a need for improved education about mental health issues – in terms of prevention, recognition of symptoms and acceptance of the illness.”

260,000 people read these pages

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All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

25

Skin warning BRITAIN’S Got Talent judge Amanda Holden is backing a campaign to help hair and beauty workers spot signs of skin cancer on their clients.

The 40-year-old actress and safe sun education campaigner is among celebrities and MPs supporting the move which is also aimed at holistic therapists.

Skin cancer kills more than 2,500 people in the UK every year and its most deadly form, malignant melanoma, is the second most common cancer among young people.

Amanda said: “If I had an unusual looking mole, I would want my hairdresser or makeup artist to know what to spot.”

The guidelines were developed after research found that over 80% of hairdressers and around 95% of beauty therapists would like to know more about recognising the signs of skin cancer.

by Beatrice Fraenkel chair, Mersey Care NHS

A

NEW report about health in Liverpool makes interesting and surprising reading.

SKIN CANCER: Health and beauty workers urged to help clients spot the early signs This is not because it encompasses a vast range of conditions and illnesses, but because it reveals that mental health is like an iceberg of the NHS - more is hidden beneath the surface than the public perception.

Mental health is, in fact, shown to be the biggest health issue of today.

It is true that the three main causes of death in Liverpool continue to be cancer, cardio vascular disease and respiratory HE amazing fund-raising disease. But the report confirms that mental health disorders are the biggest success of a hospital’s cause of the number of years of healthy supporters has paid for life lost, due to all the combined factors of everything from a special mattress disability, illness and premature death. to distribute pressure across a A GROUND-breaking The Annual Report of the Joint Director patient’s body during surgery, to treatment for people with of Public Health, published by Liverpool new TV sets.

Cystic Fibrosis has been Primary Care Trust and Liverpool City More than £68,000 was donated to developed.

Council, highlights the scale of mental Leighton Hospital in Crewe by their health problems, with about one in six The new drug, the work of League of Friends volunteer people affected. By way of context the an international research organisation – helping fund a fantastic report also says the worsening economic team led by Queen’s 27 projects in the last financial year. and employment situation in Liverpool is University Belfast, benefits Among invaluable additions to the likely to lead to increased stress, anxiety those who have the ‘Celtic hospital’s stock of medical equipment and depression.

Gene’, a genetic mutation are three non-invasive ventilators for Perhaps our culture means that as particularly common in the accident and emergency individuals, and within our families and Ireland. department and ward 2, and a digital local communities, we often fail to The study found significant scope and stroboscope unit for the recognise or acknowledge that when improvement in lung function, someone’s mental or behavioural state quality of life and a reduction speech and language therapy deteriorates it is a heath issue that needs in disease flare-ups for those department. attention in the same way other more receiving the new treatment.

The League’s efforts have also added ‘acceptable’ physical health problems do.

The drug (VX-770) is a to the comfort of patients during their Dementia is an example of one significant breakthrough not stay in hospital, with sets of chairs condition which is often not perceived as only for those with the ‘Celtic LEAGUE CHAMPS: bought for ward areas, plus televisions a mental health problem by those whose Gene’, known as G551D, but for day rooms and waiting areas.

Peter Andrews, lives are most affected by it, either as also for all other Cystic right, and James patients or carers.

Fibrosis sufferers as it Whitall As we continue to live longer dementia indicates that the basic The organisation also funded is likely to occur more frequently and defect in Cystic Fibrosis can Leighton Hospital‘s membership to the early diagnosis is vitally important in be treated.

British Parking Association, which saw helping families cope. Yet, the maternity and main reception car understandably, there is a fear about parks assessed and awarded the Park recognising this and seeking early help.

Mark for safe parking facilities.

The phrase “lies, damn lies and statistics” PEOPLE taking many commonly prescribed They are taken for a anticholinergic properties.

Peter Andrews, League of Friends is often used to discredit statistics. But we drugs may be at greater risk of death and variety of reasons including depression, chairman, said: “It is fantastic that we cannot ignore the evidence contained in bladder or heart problems, as painkillers, as loss of brain function, according to a new are able to keep funding projects this report. report. epilepsy and asthma treatments, or as across the hospital. Since the League It reveals mental and behavioural The findings were revealed after a two-year eyedrops for treating glaucoma was founded in 1973, we have raised disorders account for 13,138 years of UK study into medication with “anticholinergic Rebecca Wood, head of Alzheimer’s more than £1.5million for Leighton. healthy life being lost in Liverpool in an activity” – a potential side effect of many Research UK, the country’s leading dementia “A huge thank you has to go to all of average year. Compared to wellprescription and over-the-counter drugs. research charity, said: our volunteers and shop staff who publicised subjects such as breast cancer The activity affects the brain by blocking a key “It’s important for people continually amaze me with their hard (1,091 healthy years lost) the prescribed medicines with an neurotransmitter for communication between work and dedication, and to the public shock of these figures may help nerve cells. anticholinergic effect not to panic, but TAKE ME HOME! understand why acknowledging who generously donate to our causes.

Around half the study’s 13,000 participants to discuss with their doctor the best mental health matters so much.

Without them, we wouldn’t have been were found to use a medication with potential possible personal treatment plan.”

The report is available at able to achieve what we have.” www.liverpoolpct.nhs.uk

Best Friends

T

Drug brings fresh hope

Safe parking

Danger of over-the-counter drugs

Promote your healthy messages – 0151 230 0307

26

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

ARIES March 21st - April 20th Your wit and charm attract lots of romantic attention as July turns to August. A supportive business or romantic partner takes responsibilities off your shoulders near the 8th so you can relax and enjoy yourself. An important work project will consume all of your energy in the days surrounding the 23rd. The end of August is perfect for launching a new fitness regimen.

There’s a bonus or unexpected money coming your way at the start of September, which will make life easier all month long. Doing household errands gives you a comforting sense of purpose near the 11th. You need to make a choice between your personal and professional lives around the 19th. Steer clear of a reckless romantic interest on or around the 27th. Beware of contradicting your boss or an authority figure on the 28th.

TAURUS April 21st - May 21st When you make a generous offer at the start of August you’ll be surprised to find it causes some unexpected problems among your friends; so it might be a good idea to plan an outing or take a short trip with them. You’ll get favourable publicity for your hard work in the days surrounding the 13th. Let a lover broaden your horizons on the 28th and your thoughts will quickly turn to longer-term options. A loved one will give you a beautiful gift or do something wonderful for you at the end of the month.

Your happy go lucky attitude attracts lots of attention as August makes space for September. Don’t let idealism get in the way of making practical decisions on the 8th. Don’t tax your health with rich food and intoxicating beverages on the 17th. Put a fitness program into practice around the 25th. Entertaining friends in the comfort of your own hospitable home brings September to a congenial, goodnatured close.

GEMINI May 22nd - June 21st An impulsive friend will invite you along on a great trip as August gets up and running and you must be sure to accept immediately! You will be rewarded with a diploma, certificate or license in the days surrounding the 13th. The 17th is perfect for writing a story, teaching a class, or starting a journal. A visit from a friend or relative brightens your household in the days surrounding the 29th. You’ll have a little more money for treats, and luxuries will be coming your way as September comes into sight.

A helping hand from a friend or workmate means you can spend more time at home with loved ones doing what like doing most. If you or a relative have something special to celebrate then the days around the middle of September are ideal for a get-together. Spend quality time with a lover or youngster on the 29th. You’ll receive a surprising text, email, or phone message at the end of the month that puts a smile on your face and gives you pause for thought.

CANCER June 22nd - July 23rd You could get a pleasant but unexpected reward at work during the first few days of the month.

There’s a little more cash coming your way around the middle of August so you can afford a treat or two and something special for yourself Drink in a loved one’s compliments in the days surrounding the 28th. Buying a new computer or mobile phone will be a sound and wise investment at the end of the month.

September gets off to a positive start when a generous friend recommends you for a job on, or gives you some inside information about, a money-making opportunity. Don’t discuss the details of a financial arrangement on the 8th.

Your best friend, business partner, or lover will lose some of their influence around the 16th.

What do the stars have in store for YOU . . ?

by RUSSELL GRANT The 25th prompts you to schedule a family gettogether. Don’t let a business or romantic partner dismiss your emotions around the 28th.

Spend money on DIY projects or household improvements as September moves into October.

LEO July 24th - August 23rd A dynamic teacher or spiritual advisor praises your creative energies as the curtain lifts on August. Don’t press your luck with a generous employer near the 5th. The middle of August is ideal for job interviews, making a presentation or even asking someone on a date. Beware of putting a loved one on a pedestal near the 22nd. A moneymaking opportunity at the end of the month gives you a welcome chance to travel.

An exciting money-making opportunity arrives courtesy of an appreciative boss or former client as September gets up and running. The middle of the month is looking good for finding new clients and attracting fresh business. Your willingness to take risks puts you in line for a thrilling adventure around the 23rd. Be sceptical about an alleged expert’s claims near the 26th.

The end of September is good for creative challenges and intellectual contests of all types.

VIRGO August 24th-September 23rd An unexpected bonus, reward or refund gives you money for a few small treats and goodies to start August. You’ll see the results of a fitness regimen in the days surrounding the 13th, prompting you to ramp up your efforts. Help from a government agency, institution or organisation is yours for the asking in midAugust, it may mean a change of plans or career direction. The 28th is ideal for putting down domestic roots, launching a creative project, or adopting a pet. Plan an extensive makeover or image update at the end of August for your home or for you.

A masterful performance at the start of the month attracts lots of positive attention. Plan a relaxing vacation mid-month when you’ll find good deals on hotel rates and airfares. You’ll have to defend the underdog around the 26th. A source of income will suddenly dry up near the 27th, forcing you to look elsewhere for work.

Someone close to you has you wrapped around their little finger on the 28th. Make the most of a money-making opportunity that arrives at the end of September.

LIBRA September 24th-October 23 A rebellious friend or lover helps you score a cherished goal in the first few days of August. A manipulative relative makes you angry around

the 11th. Go out and have a good time with friends or workmates at the middle of the month but don’t push the boat out and take care not to let a secret slip. An exciting new career opportunity becomes available near the 28th; you may even decide to run for office. Spend time on a spiritual pursuit or intellectual quest as August makes space for September.

A romantic outing at the start of the month is just what you need to set the tone for a super September. Money from an inheritance, marital settlement, or investment will be coming your way during the middle of the month. A domestic struggle subsides in the days surrounding the 16th. Make a bold proposal on or around the 25th. A jealous relative will try to undermine your confidence around the 28th. The end of September brings recognition for your creative talent or professional acumen.

SCORPIO October 24-November 22 Your boss will reward you with an intriguing and exciting opportunity as August gets off to a busy start. Beware of undermining a youngster’s confidence with harsh criticism on the 11th. The middle days of August are perfect for attracting the attention of an influential executive and they are great for job interviews and business proposals. You’ll get good news from a female friend near the 25th. Powerful people will enter your social circle at the end of the month.

Your best friend, lover or business partner helps make a dream come true at the start of the month. If you’re looking for love accept a friend’s offer to set you up on a blind date at the middle of the month. The 16th finds you revising some assumptions you made about your career.

A nervous condition makes it difficult to relax on or around the 17th. Keep relationship matters a secret in the days surrounding the 25th. Passion is a great motivating force over the last few days of September, so make it work for you and not against you.

SAGITTARIUS November 23-December 21 An unexpected opportunity will be coming your way during the opening days of August. An older friend has fantastic news near the 13th and gives all concerned a cause for celebration. The opportunity to teach, write or lecture will be lots of fun at the middle of the month. Don’t sugar coat the truth near the 22nd. All eyes will be on you at a party on the 28th. The end of August finds you taking on a new job or role that will give you a chance to show your real abilities.

There’s every chance you will meet someone sexy at the start of September so be sure to wear something special when you’re out on the town or at a party. Sparks will fly between you

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

and an admirer near the 11th. Your excellent powers of persuasion earn you a new client or customer mid-month, but you won’t have as much disposable income to throw around in the days surrounding the 16th. Friendship could turn to romance as September turns to October.

CAPRICORN December 22nd - January 20th A chance encounter or unexpected meeting comes as a delightful surprise as July melts into August. A casual conversation throws a new light on money matters mid-month and the 17th is ideal for making long-term financial decisions.

Career plans will cause problems in your personal life near the 25th. A love affair could blossom at the end of the month, but only if you really want it to.

A fun getaway makes you feel young and carefree as September gets off to a pleasure packed start. The middle of the month is good for making longer-term decisions about a family matter, but you may have to relax control of a business issue in the days surrounding the 16th.

You’ll be forced to assume some unpleasant tasks at work around the 19th. Don’t overestimate your importance at work near the 28th. Arrange a romantic evening for the last few days of September.

AQUARIUS January 21st - February 19th An admirer will confess their crush on you at the start of the month, but how will you react? News of an engagement or marriage at the middle of August gives you, your friends and family a cause to celebrate. A generous relative will give you seed money for a business around the 18th.

Trust your instincts regarding a flirtation on the 25th. The end of August brings an unlooked for opportunity, what will you do with it?

As August turns to September you will find yourself in great demand socially and if you’re looking for love you could meet someone special at a party or get-together. Don’t try to talk reason with an emotional friend or lover near the 8th. The days surrounding the 12th may be quite stressful, due to a financial shortage. Money from a building society or bank helps you make a domestic decision that might mean a change of address or a move up the property ladder. Be willing to admit your ignorance in the days surrounding the 26th. The end of September is made for a romantic candlelit dinner for two.

PISCES February 20th - March 20th An unusual opportunity or offer puts more money in your back pocket as the month begins. An interesting job assignment or career option comes your way around the middle of the month while a meeting with a professional expert on or around the 17th helps you make a decision. A writing project gives you great pleasure near the 18th. A relationship takes an intriguing turn as August shifts seamlessly into September and you will have to do some serious thinking.

Encourage an old friend or lover to take a creative risk during the first few days of September and they won’t regret it. You’ll have to play the aggressor in a love affair around the 11th. You will fall short of a personal goal near the 12th; try not to be too hard on yourself. Plan a short trip for pleasure in the days at the middle of the month. A sudden expense will weaken your financial security near the 17th.

You are a hive of industry at the end of September as you shift mountains of work and clear the TAKE ME HOME! decks for an action-packed October.

130,000 of our readers DON’T see any other newspaper

GETTING ON . . .

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Gordon Nicholas, chairman of Vintage Radio, said: “The award will help us to further fulfil our aim of catering for a mature audience with a wide range of content selected to appeal to our target audience.

“We will continue to produce, for example, interview-style programmes, allowing people in residential homes and day care centres to share their life experiences, bringing enjoyment to themselves and listeners.”

Vintage Radio was founded in late 2008 with help from Help the Aged, now Age UK. It broadcasts via FM radio for limited periods and also free through the internet from 9am, seven days a week, at www.vintageradio.org.uk

All the lonely people . . .

LONELINESS is bad for your health, say campaigners.

Laura Ferguson, of charity The Campaign to End Loneliness, said: "Loneliness should be better understood and prioritised by health providers.

"Reducing loneliness is likely to reduce the vulnerability of older people plus health and social care costs."

Researchers rate loneliness as a comparable risk to lifelong smoking.

Being at home alone for increasingly long periods during the day is identified as a risk factor in becoming more isolated and lonely over time.

Twelve per cent of older people feel trapped in their own home.

Half of all older people (about 5 million) say that the television is their main form of company.

New age dawns

N

EW ways of keeping us all healthier and living longer was the theme of the world’s largest conference on ageing.

The Science of Ageing – Global Progress, brought together more than 200 experts on ageing from over 20 countries.

The four-day event was the first ever joint meeting of the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA) and the International Association of Biomedical Gerontology (IABG) Professor Richard Faragher, BSRA chairman and a leading expert on the ageing process, said: “Lifespans more than 10 times greater than normal can now be achieved in laboratory animals – and the critical finding is that these increases in lifespan come about because the animals are much healthier than normal.

“This shows us that it is possible to combine long life with healthy life, something which most older people today fail to do.

“When the BSRA was first formed, its records show that there were only about 14 scientists in Britain and America studying how the ageing process worked.

“Today there are several hundred such researchers. This is still too few given the scale of the problem. However, these few have achieved real progress.”

The conference was hosted by the University of Brighton.

AGEING EXPERT: Professor Faragher

SENIOR MOMENTS

27

Ageing is all in the mind. The challenge is stopping it from creeping down into the body . . .

WINNERS: The team at Vintage Radio with TV and radio presenter Mariella Frosup and organisers of the awards

Floating on air!

A RADIO station staffed by older people from all walks of life, has scooped a top honour.

Vintage Radio, which broadcasts online from Birkenhead YMCA, Wirral, won the Community Voices category at the Technology4Good (T4G) awards.

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

. . . with FRANK HARRIS

WISE WINNIE . . . helps to solve some of the problems faced by older people

Q

For 12 years my best friend was Blackie, my Labrador. I am a 69year-old single man and have enjoyed the companionship of a number of dogs through my life, but Blackie was special.

We covered many miles on our walks and in the house he knew my every move, from putting the bags in the wheelie bin to settling down to watch television.

Now the inevitable has happened. I have had to have him put down because he was beginning to suffer, and I am now on my own. My neighbour’s pet, a brindle Boxer, is having puppies soon and the lady is insistent on giving me one of them to fill the gap. She says she knows it would have a good home.

But would it? I am not getting any younger and what she does not know is that I have started suffering from gout, which is very painful and restricts my movements from time to time. I think I could cope with the destructiveness of a young dog, but I do wonder if I am in a position to give it the exercise it should have. Blackie has left an empty space.

How can I fill it? I hate cats!

A

I agree with the way you are thinking. Too many dogs are living shut up in a house, and a variety like a Boxer needs plenty of exercise and someone in strong control.

You may think you can take ‘destructiveness’ but when gout strikes your patience could snap. Tell your neighbour this and she will understand.

Have you thought about getting a bird? I mean, of course, of the feathered kind. A budgie, or preferably a couple of them, might seem a bit low key after Blackie, but they are probably the easiest of pet birds to look after. They are colourful, interesting to watch, and some do learn to talk.

A parrot would be a bit more of a challenge. They tend to hang on to their wild characteristics and they need regular baths for preening and daily exercise outside the cage. They are also very noisy.

Alternatively you could tune in to the wild birds. A bird table or bird basket in the vicinity of your home could quickly attract visitors. Blackbirds, for instance, are territorial and once they know you provide tasty treats like currants their regular appearance and antics will amuse you. A big bonus is their song.

A growing interest in wild birds could see you becoming a ‘twitcher’, even taking part in events like the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.

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All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

20,000 ways to help you stay independent

. . . with JAN LOCKYER

Guide is a must-read NATIONAL charity Counsel and Care want to remind readers about their hospital guide for older people, following the shocking report about the way older people are treated in some NHS hospitals.

Caroline Bernard, from the charity, said: “Anyone using hospital services, including older people, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

“Families and carers need to ensure they are armed with the right information and advice that can enable them to know what to expect when an older person is admitted to hospital.

“Our guide about care in hospital gives clear information about what you should expect, and is available free from our website.” n The guide can be downloaded from: www.counselandcare,org. uk Tel. 0845 300 7585.

DID YOU know there are over 20,000 products on the market designed to assist disabled and older people?

If you need equipment to help you stay independent, how do you make the right choice?

Disabled Living Centres provide independent information and advice and the opportunity to see and try a

vast range of products with the aid of expert advisors From beds to bath aids, showers to stair lifts, local Disabled Living Centres provide equipment info helplines.

So for information on equipment and how to get it contact your local Disabled Living Centre. Many

products can be provided free on loan through local Community Equipment Services.

All Together Now! has teamed up with Liverpool Disabled Living Centre to help readers of all ages and abilities stay independent. If you have a question contact the team on 0151 296 7742. Minicom: 0151 296 7748.

New awards for carers

A

NEW international awards scheme for carers aged 18 and over has been launched.

“Carers are often the unsung heroes,” said Angus Russell head of Shire Pharmaceuticals, who are running the awards.

“And we hope the BRAVE Awards will draw attention to the important and sometimes undervalued role that mums, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbours or frankly anyone in the community can play in the life of others around the world.”

Shire’s 4,700 employees across the world will then be invited to select up to 10 winners from the pool of eligible finalists through an online voting system, and each winner will receive over £6,000. n Nominations are being accepted until August SITTING COMFORTABLY: Sir Bert and Huyton resident Paul 31 at www.ShireBRAVEawards.com

Centres of attention

Doyle trying out bathroom equipment at the new centre

Lifehouse is a new approach to providing services for disabled and older people in Liverpool.

InAll the summer of 2007 the under following moved together to Lifehouse: these teams are now oneservices roof, working to provide the information and advice people need toDock. be as safe and an accessible, newly renovated building at Brunswick independent as possible .

Wheelchair Service 0151 296 7765 Fax:0151 0151296 296 7764 Wheelchair Service Tel: 7765 Assessment for and provision of wheelchairs for people who live in Liverpool.

Disabled Living Centre 0151 296 7742 Fax: 0151 296 7743 7748 Disabled Living Centre 0151 296 7742 Minicom: 0151 296 7744 Moving and Handling Team Tel: 0151 296 7750 Fax: 0151 296 7749 Independent information, assessment and advice on choosing daily living equipment and how to get it.

Communication Aids 0151 296 7408 Fax: 0151 296 7764 Moving and Handling Team Tel: 0151 296 7750 Practical advice for disabled people and their carers on moving and handling people.

Adaptations Team 0151 296 7757 Fax: 0151 296 7758 Communication Aids Falls Team

0151 296 7769

Tel: 0151 296 7408

Assessment and provision of communication aids for people who live in Liverpool.

Lifehouse is a newTeam approach to providing services for disabled Adaptations Tel: and 0151older 296 7757 Installation of adaptations to safely people in managing in their ownroof home.will improve people in Liverpool.

Having allassist these services under one accessibility.

Falls Team Tel: 0151 296 7769 A multidisciplinary team providing practical advice and assessment for people who have fallen.

Services will be able to work together to provide the independent information, advice and practical assessment people need to make the rightTel: choices 0151 about 296 7782 Telecare service 7733 Advice, assessment and installation of Telecare equipment. equipment.

The existing services will be joined by others which will greatly increase theinformation range of information and available.

For further call thethe service youadvice require or contact main reception forDay a further information call service you require or visitour a Lifehouse Open list ofifehouse Lifehouse Open Days.

Lifehouse Lifehouse Lifehouse ifehouse Units 4–5 Dempster Building Units 4–5 Dempster Building Summers Road, Brunswick Business Park Summers Road, Brunswick Business Park Liverpool 4BL Liverpool L3L3 4BL Main Reception: 0151 296 7733 Main Reception: 0151 296 7733 www.liverpoollifehouse.org www.liverpoollifehouse.org

T

WO NEW Centres for Independent Living have opened on Merseyside.

Disability rights campaigner Sir Bert Massie opened the Huyton-based centre which features an equipment showroom and an information hub.

Rosemary Hawley, chair of NHS Knowsley, said: “This fantastic new centre will help many people in Knowsley to live more independently in their own homes.

“It’s thanks to feedback from people who will be using the service and to our partnership working with the council, the voluntary sector and Knowsley Housing Trust that all these vital services have been brought together in the one building.”

The centre, which is open six days a

week, is located at Unit 11, Brickfields, Huyton Business Park, Huyton. Tel. 0151 244 4070.

THE other new Independent Living Centre has opened within the Community Service Station in Southport.

A full range of services include a benefits advice unit, fully fitted showrooms for lounge, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom furnishings, and the Shopmobility Service.

An Occupational Therapy Drop in Clinic is also available every Monday between 10am and 4pm.

The Community Service Station, Scarisbrick Avenue, Southport, tel 0151 288 6890.

Four in every five readers — almost 200,000 people — say All Together NOW! has helped them become more aware of the issues disabled and older people face . . . and how those issues can be overcome — The Murray Consultancy

Help on the line n BLACKBURN Independent Living Centre, Mill Hill St, Mill Hill, Blackburn.

Tel. 01254 269 220. n ELLESMERE PORT Pool Independent Living Centre, New Grosvenor Road.

Tel. 0151 337 6399. n HALTON Collier Street, Runcorn.

Tel. 01928 582 920. n HANDFORTH East Cheshire Independent Living Centre, Redesmere Road, Handforth Tel. 01625 374080. n HARTFORD Hartford Independent Living Centre, Hartford Business Park, Chester Road, Hartford, Northwich.

Tel. 01605 881980. n LIVERPOOL Disabled Living Centre, Lifehouse, Summers Road, Brunswick Business Park, Liverpool.

Tel. 0151 296 7742.

Minicom 0151 296 7748. n MANCHESTER Assist UK, 4 St Chads Street, Manchester.

Tel. 0161 834 1044. n STOCKPORT St Thomas’s Hospital, Shawheath, Stockport.

Tel. 0161 419 4476. n WARRINGTON Beaufort Street, Warrington.

Tel. 01925 240064. n WILMSLOW Redesmere Road.

Tel. 01625 374080. n WIRRAL St Catherine’s Hospital, Birkenhead.

Tel. 0151 678 7272.

MIDLANDS n BIRMINGHAM St Marks Street, Springhill. Tel. 0121 464 4942/9525. n DUDLEY St Giles Street, Netherley.

Tel. 01384 813 695. n SHREWSBURY The Lantern, Meadow Farm Drive.

Tel. 01743 210820. n WOLVERHAMPTON Bell Street.

Tel. 01902 553 648.

TAKE ME HOME!

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

All Together NOW!

August/September 2011

29

Beat the bogus caller

Don’t fall victim to bogus callers!

• LOCK Home or away – keep all doors LOCKED • STOP Is anyone EXPECTED? Is the back door LOCKED? • CHAIN Put the CHAIN ON before opening the door • CHECK Ask for caller’s ID card Check it by PHONING 0845 746 2200 Or ask for your PASSWORD

United Utilities is calling on all customers to protect themselves from doorstep criminals.

Statistics show that around 20 bogus caller crimes are committed every day in the UK, but this might only be 10% of the total that actually take place as victims often feel too embarrassed to report it to the police.

Bogus callers often claim that there is an emergency and that they need to check the water supply; they will use this as an opportunity to trick themselves into customers’ homes claiming to be from United Utilities or ‘the water board’. Once inside, they will distract the homeowner while they or an accomplice helps themselves to money and valuables.

Genuine United Utilities’ employees always carry an ID card and are happy to show this to you. They will never put pressure on you to get into your home and are happy for you to phone United Utilities

to check their identity. And genuine employees won’t refer to ‘the water board’ as this hasn’t existed for more than 30 years!

Bogus callers can be very persuasive, but our advice is to never feel under pressure to let someone into your home.

To help you, we operate a ‘password protection’ scheme.

Joining the United Utilities password scheme is easy.

It takes just one call to 0845 746 1100. We simply need your details and your choice of password. Then, whenever someone claiming to be from United Utilities calls at your home, you can ask them for your password. Only a genuine visitor from United Utilities will know what it is. It’s a simple deterrent that really does work and will give you the confidence to turn people away.

Most gas, electricity and telephone companies will operate a similar scheme – see a recent bill for further details and contact numbers.

Need a little ExtraCare?

We offer a range of free services to help customers who: • are older • have a disability • have a serious illness • have sight, hearing or learning difficulties Our services include: • personal notification of water shut-offs • large print, Braille and talking bills We also offer a free password scheme for all our customers.

To find out more call 0845 746 1100 or textphone 0808 143 1195

03/11/SD/4574

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All Together NOW!

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August/September 2011

Hoe, hoe, hoe!

Wheelchair group dates

T

HE FIVE lucky winners of our recent gardening competition are: Diane Neill, 21 Portree Close, Walton, Liverpool. Diane picked up her copy of All Together NOW!

from Fazakerley hospital: “I originally found All Together NOW! at the physiotherapy centre, Fazakerley Hospital. Now I find it all over the place – I can’t get enough of it!”

Mrs Parr, Vicarage Road, Wigan (Southport Visiter office): “All Together NOW! is a pleasure to read. It perks me up.

Mrs Bailey, Briggs Fold Road, Bolton (Bolton Library): “What a great newspaper! All Together NOW! is full of valuable information” Mrs Leech, Granville Road, Northwich: (Warrington Market Disability Information Point) Mrs Hawkins, Halsey Avenue, West Derby, Liverpool

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

LIVERPOOL Wheelchair Users Group’s meetings for the rest of the year are: Mon Aug 8; Mon Sep 5; Mon Oct 17; Mon Nov 14; Mon Dec 12.

The group meet at the Lifehouse in Summers Road, Brunswick Business Park.

Tel, 07939 450849 www.lwug.co.uk email: lwug@hotmail.co.uk

Second dementia cafe in Cheshire A NEW cafe and advice centre for people affected by dementia has opened at Hazelmere Extra Care Housing, Hambleton Way, Winsford, Cheshire.

“It’s a chance for people drop in and have a chat,” All five readers each win a super says Carolyn Rowberry, SpeedHoe, courtesy of British plant Alzheimer’s Society support protection specialists Haxnicks. services manager for

Cheshire West and Chester.

The café is open from 10am-noon on the fourth Thursday of the month.

A similar café operates on the fourth Monday (10amnoon) at Hollymere Extra Care Housing, Grosvenor Road, Ellesmere Port. Tel 01606 781110 or 01244 851351

HELP AT THE END OF A PHONE n ANGLESEY:

TARAN Tel 01407 721933 n BLACKPOOL Disability Information and Support.

Tel 01253 472 202.

Textphone 01253 476 450 n CHESHIRE Dis Federation Tel 01606 888400 n CHESTER Dial House Tel 01244 345655 n DENBIGHSHIRE Tel 01745 354445 n ELLESMERE PORT DICE Tel 0151 355 1420 n HALTON Disability Service Tel 01928 717222 n KNOWSLEY DISABILITY CONCERN. 0151 480 4090 n LANCASTER DISC Tel 01524 34411 n LIVERPOOL Association of Disabled People. Tel 0151 263 8366. Text 0151 260 4076 n MERSEYSIDE Coalition of Inclusive Living.

Tel 0151 260 4001 n NEUROSUPPORT Centre Tel 0151 298 2999 n MANCHESTER (GTR) Coalition of Disabled People Tel 0161-273 5154 n MOLD Flintshire Disability Tel 01352 755546 n NELSON: Pendle Pakistan Welfare Association.

Tel 01282 603 616 n PRESTON DISC: Tel 01772 558 863.

Textphone 01772 204 787 n RHYL Tel 01745 350665 n STOCKPORT: Disability Stockport. 0161 480 7248

n WARRINGTON

Disability Partnership. 01925 240064 n WIRRAL WIRED Tel 0151 670 1500 n WEST LANCS HELPLINE Freefone 0800 220676 n ST HELENS DASH Tel 01744 453053 n WREXHAM Tel 01978 262955 MIDLANDS BIRMINGHAM Disability Resource Centre Tel 0121 789 7365 Disabled People’s Network Solihull Tel 0121 788 1544 STOKE: Disability Solutions Tel 01782 683800 WOLVERHAMPTON Elder and Disabled Group Tel 01902 448552 ORGANISATIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND n ACCRINGTON Tel 01254 233332 n BARROW Tel 01229 820698 n BIRMINGHAM Action for Blind Tel 0121 665 4200 n BLACKBURN Tel 0125 554143 n BLACKPOOL Tel 01253 792600 n BURY Tel 0161 763 7014 n BURNLEY Tel 01282 438507 n CARLISLE: Action for Blind People Tel 01228 595121 CHESHIRE & N WALES: Vision Support. Tel 01244 381515 n CUMBRIA (West) Tel 01946 592474 n CUMBRIA (Sth Lakeland) Tel 01539 726613

n GUIDE DOGS Tel 0118 983 5555 n HENSHAW’S 0161 872 1234 Tel 0151 227 1226 n LIVERPOOL: Bradbury Fields.Tel 0151 221 0888: Action for Bind Tel 0151 708 9008 n MANCHESTER: Action for Blind Tel 0161 787 9252 n PRESTON: Action for Blind People Tel 01772 320550 n OLDHAM Tel 0161 682 8019 n ROSSENDALE Tel 01706 873256 n SIGHTLINE (North West) Tel 0800 587 2252 n WIGAN Tel 01942 242891 n WIRRAL Tel 0151 652 8877 ORGANISATIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF n BIRMINGHAM Institute for Deaf Tel 0121 246 6101 n CHESHIRE Deaf Society Tel 01606 47831 n CUMBRIA Deaf Society Tel 01228 606434 n LANCASHIRE (EAST) Deaf Society Tel 01282 839180 n MANCHESTER Deaf Centre Tel 0161 273 3415 n MERSEYSIDE Society for Deaf Tel 0151 228 0888 n ST HELENS: Deafness Resource Centre Tel 01744 23887 n WOLVERHAMPTON Centre for Deaf Tel 01902 420904 n N WALES Deaf Association, Tel 01492 542235

CARERS’ CENTRES n ACCRINGTON Tel 01254 387 444 n BLACKBURN with DARWEN Tel 01254 688 www.bwdcarers.org n BLACKPOOL Blackpool Borough Council, Tel 01253 477 716 n CUMBRIA Carlisle.

Tel 01228 542 156 Penrith.

Tel 01768 890 280 Barrow-in-Furness.

Tel 01229 822 822 Kendal.

Tel 01539 732 927 Whitehaven, Tel 01946 592 223 n CHESHIRE Helpline: 0800 085 0307 n KNOWSLEY Tel 0151 549 1412 n LANCASTER Tel 01524 66475 n LIVERPOOL Tel 0151 705 2307 n MANCHESTER Tel 0161 835 2995 n MORECAMBE Tel 01524 833456 n PRESTON Tel 01772 200173 n RUNCORN Tel 01928 580182 n WIDNES Tel 0151 257 7767 n SALFORD Tel 0161 833 0217 n SEFTON Tel 0151 288 6060 n ST HELENS Tel 01744 675 615 n STOCKPORT Tel 0161 456 2808 n WARRINGTON Tel 01925 644 212 n WEST LANCS Tel 01695 711243 n WIGAN & LEIGH Tel 01942 683711 MIDLANDS n BIRMINGHAM Tel 0121 675 8000 n SOLIHULL Tel 0121 788 1143 n WALSALL Tel 01922 610 810 NORTH WALES n ANGLESEY Tel 01248 722828 n BANGOR Tel 01248 370 797 n CONWY Tel 01492 533714 n DENBIGHSHIRE: NEWCIS, Tel: 0845 603 3187 n DOLGELLAU Tel 01341 421167 n FLINTSHIRE: NEWCIS, Tel: 01352 751436 n WREXHAM: NEWCIS, Tel: 01978 310414.

Email your news to us at news@allltogethernow.org .uk

Pure GOLD for Brits in Berlin

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

August/September 2011

B

RITAIN’S disabled swimmers put up a tremendous performance at the IPC European Championships in Berlin.

Returning with a massive haul of 83 medals – 27 golds, 26 silver and 30 bronze – the team are now well on track for next year’s London Paralympic Games.

National Performance Director John Atkinson said: “This has been a great all round team performance. We have achieved 27 gold medals without four of our world champions.”

The Berlin event was rounded off perfectly on the final day when the women’s 34 point 4x100m medley relay team set a new world record.

The quartet of Salford’s Heather Frederiksen and Louise Watkin, Claire Cashmore (Leeds), and Stephanie Millward (Swansea) dominated their final.

Frederiksen led the team with the backstroke and put them into a comfortable position ready for the second and third leg which went to Cashmore and Millward.

It was a really good way to end the meet

and it looks really good for 2012.

As the race entered the final 50m Watkin had moved into the lead with her powerful freestyle stroke and held on to take the victory.

Watkin touched in 4:52.40 to lower the world record set by the Brits in 2009.

Frederiksen said: “It was absolutely fantastic. We all pulled together and swam really strong to get a fantastic result at the end of it.”

Other highlights on the final day ...

Jonathan Fox (Manchester) lifted his third individual gold medal with victory in the S7

100m Freestyle.

The 20-year old broke the world record en route to both S7 400m Freestyle and 100m Backstroke gold earlier in the week and made light work of adding the 100m Freestyle title to his collection.

Having qualified in first, Fox built a 0.39 second lead at the turn before powering home to touch in a personal best 1:03.83 for the gold.

Fox later helped the men’s 34 point 4x100m Medley relay team to take bronze in a time of 4:25.17.

Eleanor Simmonds (Walsall), who claimed two world records during the week, narrowly missed out on her third title in the women’s S6 100m Freestyle.

Simmonds turned behind Dutch swimmer Mirjam de Koning-Peper but used her powerful leg kick to begin to catch the distance up. De Koning-Peper touched just ahead of Simmonds in 1:16.21 with the Brit securing a time of 1:16.35.

Natalie Jones (Manchester) followed Simmonds home to collect bronze in 1:21.54.

At a glance guide to who got what in Berlin . . .

WOMEN Heather Frederiksen (Salford) Gold, 34pt 4 x 100 Medley Relay 4:52:40 (WR) Gold, S8 100m Freestyle 1:06:83 Gold, S8 400m Freestle 4:58:80 Gold, S8 100m Backstroke 1:15:90 Silver, S8 50m Freestyle 31:62 Natalie Jones (Manchester) Silver, SM6 200m Individual Medley 3:11:44 Bronze, SM6 200m Individual Medley 1:21:54 Bronze, S6 400m Freestyle 5:58:56 Natalie Massey (Stockport)

Silver, S14 200m Freestyle 2:15:03 Bronze, S14 100m Backstroke 1:11:49 Louise Watkin (Salford) Gold, 34pt 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 4:27:53 (ER) Gold, SM9 200m Individual Medley 2:35:99 (ER) Gold, 34pt 4 x 100 Medley Relay 4:52:40 (WR) Silver, S7 50m Butterfly 1:15:16 Bronze, S9 400m Freestyle 4:54:54 Silver, S9 50m Freestyle 29:87 Bronze, SB9 100m Backstroke 1:21:73

Bronze, S9 100m Freestyle 1:04:70 Ellie Simmond (Walsall)s Gold, SM6 200m Individual Medley 3:08:09 (WR) Gold, S6 400m Freestyle 5:25:20 (WR) Silver, SM6 200m Individual Medley 1:16:35 Bronze, S6 50m Freestyle 36:52 MEN Jonathan Fox (Manchester): Gold, S7 100m Freestyle 1:03:83 Gold, S7 100m Backstroke 1:10:45 (WR) Gold, S7 400m Freestyle 4:47:33 Silver, S7 50m Freestyle 29:81

Bronze, 34pt 4 x 100m Medley Relay 4:25:17 Bronze, 34pt 4 x 100m Freestle Relay 3:57:79 Daniel Pepper (Stockport Metro) Gold, S14 200m Freestyle 2:01:27 (BR) Silver, SB14 100m Breaststroke 1:09:95 (BR) Matt Walker (Manchester) Gold, S7 50m Freestyle 29:21 Thomas Young (Manchester) Gold, SB7 100m Backstroke 1:24:13 Bronze, S8 400m Freestle 4:32:70

Kirkby warm-up for Romanians ROMANIA’S Paralympic squads are using Knowsley’s top sports facilities in their build up to next year’s London Games.

During a recent visit to Merseyside the swimming and tennis teams took part in various events at Kirkby Sports College and Wavertree Sports Centre.

Next year, the Romanian cycling team will use the new outdoor velodrome, which is due to open at Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park Some of the Romanian Paralympic team with pupils at Kirkby Sports College

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31

Top of the world feeling for Norfolk

P

ETER Norfolk is back on top of the world after winning his fifth British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships quad singles title at Nottingham – and just missing out on the doubles prize with Andrew Lapthorne.

Norfolk, pictured, went into the singles final world ranked No. 2.

But his 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win over over America’s David Wagner has put him right back at the top.

“It’s nice to be back in the top spot,” said Norfolk.”I was very happy with the way I played and happy with my new racket and the new shots that I’ve been working on.”

Norfolk and Lapthorne – who is now ranked No. 4 – lost their quad doubles final 1-6, 6-7(4) to top seeds Wagner and Nick Taylor.

The remarkable Esther Vergeer clinched her eleventh successive British Open women’s singles title after easing to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over her fellow Dutchwoman and world No. 2 Jiske Griffioen.

The third title to be decided saw Dutch top seeds Maikel Scheffers and Ronald Vink repeat their win over French Paralympic champions Stephane Houdet and Michael Jeremiasz in the Wimbledon men’s doubles final.

by MARSHALL THOMAS The last day of play also saw Dutch world No. 2 Maikel Scheffers retain his men’s main draw singles title after he beat world No. 7 Stefan Olsson of Sweden, 6-3, 6-0.

The women’s main draw doubles final featured both of last year’s champions, Annick Sevenans (Belgium) and Aniek van Koot (The Netherlands), but this year the two players were on different sides of the net and it was van Koot that managed to share in the title for the second successive year.

Van Koot partnered women’s singles runnerup Jiske Griffioen to victory, the all-Dutch top seeds defeating Marjolein Buis (The Netherlands) and Sevenans 6-3, 6-4 to add the British Open title to the Florida Open and BNP Paribas French Open Super Series titles that they had already won this season.

The last action of the championships ended with an all-British victory in a final set tie-break in the men’s second draw doubles final.

Dermot Bailey paired up with the former Great Britain Paralympian Kevin Plowman to defeat Argentina’s Augustin Ledesma and Noah Yablong (USA) 4-6, 6-1, TAKE ME HOME! 7-6(3).

Stay ahead of the game . . . www.alltogethernow.org.uk

All Together NOW!

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August/September 2011

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British Open for young players

A

NEW Junior Disabled British Open has been set up for young golfers from all over the world.

The new event is the culmination of a year’s lobbying by a 16-year-old boy, who was so excited with last year’s Disabled British Open golf championship that he immediately contacted organisers to enquire why there wasn’t a junior event.

Richard Warren, who plays off a handicap of 28, has not allowed cerebral palsy to diminish his passion for the sport.

He said: “With the possibility of golf entering the Paralympics in the future I feel it is the right time to introduce disabled junior golf into the public domain and to encourage more disabled young people to enjoy the sport.

“Through the development of the first Junior Disabled British Open, I hope to inspire and encourage other young disabled juniors to pursue their passion and realise their potential.”

Richard, from Ascot, Berkshire, added: “While taking part in various events I have met with some high-profile golfers, including

Ian Poulter and Colin Montgomerie, who have expressed a keen interest in developing the sport for young disabled golfers.”

The first championship event for youngsters aged between 12 and 18 will run alongside the third annual Disabled British Open at East Sussex National Golf Resort & Spa from August 20-21 – the biggest and most inclusive tournament in the country for disabled golfers.

Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, said: “The Disabled British Open golf championship is a fantastic example of how Britain can stage a world-class event for disabled athletes competing at the highest level.

“As a nation we should be very proud of the awareness this event has created, and the legacy of opportunities within sport for disabled people.”

Contact championship organiser Andy Barwell on 07961 315520 or visit www.disabledbritishopen.org

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PLENTY OF DRIVE: Richard Warren on the fairway

All Together NOW! is helping and inspiring tens of thousands of people whose lives are affected by disability. But the charity needs to find ways to balance the books.

You can help in a big way by becoming one of our loyal subscribers. For a suggested £12 donation (or more, if you can afford it!) we will send you the next SIX editions.

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Triathlon with a difference WORLD Paratriathlon champion Jane Egan is urging readers to sign up for a new triathlon with a difference.

The ‘Tri Together’ event – taking place on Sunday September 11 at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in south London – is a short distance triathlon of a 400 metre swim, a 15k cycle and a 5k run.

The event is open for everyone aged 17 and over – and especially those affected by disability.

Jane, 40, only took up triathlon two years ago, after being diagnosed with a neurological disorder.

“I had always enjoyed sport and didn’t want to give it up,” she said.

“I found triathlons were not only great fun, they are inclusive too.”

There are also lots of volunteering opportunities available on the day.

Contacts: Tel, 020 3242 0294; email tritogether@LCDisability.org, or text TRI to 80878*.

A registration fee of £30 and a minimum £220 sponsorship (individual), £600 (team of three) apply. www.lcdisability.org/tritogethe

Paralympians head to London

LONDON is to host a highprofile international event showcasing Paralympic sport.

International Paralympic Day takes place in Trafalgar Square on Thursday September 8, the day before ticket applications open for the London 2012 Paralympics.

People will be able to meet British and international Paralympic athletes, and find out more about the 20 Paralympic sports.

Tim Reddish, chair of the British Paralympic Association, said: “London 2012 for us is about putting Paralympic sport firmly on the map so that the nation sees and appreciates our brilliant sportsmen and women.”