Cotswold Link (West Oxfordshire) July August 2023

Acres and acres of farming, food and family fun

For one day only, Moreton Show 2023 returns to the heart of the North Cotswolds on Saturday 2nd September.

Set in 165 acres of pasture and established for over 70 years, Moreton Show is now one of the largest one-day agricultural shows in the country. The team brings together the best of the British countryside, traditional values and a genuine passion for farming.

Moreton Show is a firm favourite in the rural calendar and attracts more than 20,000 visitors and 200 trade stands. This year, the team welcome back the Shetland Pony Grand National, Heavy Horse Parade and The Sheep Show, plus the Clumber Spaniels, Strigidea Gun Dogs and the Food & Drink Theatre.

New attractions include The BMX Show and the Sheep Shearing Competition. There are heaps of free activities for young people to enjoy, including the introduction of Young Adult Classes in the Home & Garden section.

Jess Parkes, Horse and Farms & Crops Secretary, said: ‘Always on the first Saturday in September, you can expect to find all the best bits of the countryside packed into our beloved showground…’

Watch out for some woolly wonderful competitions to win family tickets to Moreton Show.

To enter, discover more and book your place at Moreton Show 2023 go to: www.moretonshow.co.uk.

Visit Tanzania: the Trip of a Lifetime

Tanzania is unarguably the greatest all-round wildlife destination in Africa, if not, the world. But choosing where exactly to stay can be overwhelming.

Massawe Adventures (www.massaweadventure.com) is ready to help you plan your next adventure. Family-owned and based in Moshi-Kilimanjaro, Massawe is run by two brothers with over 20 years’ experience between them in the safari business, and their sister in the UK. Massawe specialise in ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences, from luxury holidays to ‘bucket list’ requests, like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or seeing the ‘big five’ on safari.

They arrange safaris to the awe-inspiring and legendary Ngorongoro Crater, the magical Serengeti where the wildebeest migrate, and Tarangire National Park with its herds of elephants. As well as the landscapes and wildlife, Massawe takes visitors to experience the unique local culture in Maasai villages. In fact, the packages they offer are endlessly

flexible and can be perfectly tailored to your requirements.

They effortlessly cater to dietary requirements and offer a huge choice of accommodation, from sleeping under canvas through to a 5* luxury lodge out in the wilderness, via a coastal sojourn for the ultimate beach experience by the waters of the warm Indian Ocean.

Massawe builds holidays around your hobbies too; they can plan photographic expeditions to the best sites for the perfect shot, golfing holidays to take your breath away, and exotic, culinary experiences. How about Tanzanian bread-making or touring a coffee plantation?

Finally, for making special moments all the more memorable, you might choose a balloon flight over Mount Kilimanjaro at sunrise - a truly magical experience, or a moonlit picnic under the wide, starry skies.

Massawe remains at heart a family venture with a great love of its homeland, Tanzania, and is overjoyed to share it with you.

THE ‘R’ WORD �RETIREMENT, THAT IS� PREPARING YOUR PENSIONS FOR LIFE AFTER WORK

You might have guaranteed pensions due to start now or in the future, and at least you should have a State Pension. Check how much you should receive and when it starts by requesting a State Pension forecast at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Equipped with this information, you can figure out how much you’ll need your pensions and other savings to produce. All investments and pension can produce income, but we’ll concentrate on ‘money purchase’ pensions in this article, basically those with a capital value, rather than defined by the amount of income they provide.

The pension income maze

You’ve reached the point where you want to rely less on your labour and ask your hardearned savings to start paying you back. The flexibility of pensions can be of great help with this transition.

How do you go about it? What are the options?

The first step is to work out how much

The rules and options for taking income and cash from pensions have become ever more complex in the last few years. Added to that, not all pensions are the same – some older schemes may have guarantees or may not offer the full range of benefit options. These should be investigated first before any decisions are made.

At the planning stage, it doesn’t help to get too bogged down with technicalities, so start with some basic questions to point you in the right direction:

• Do you need an immediate cash sum?

Cash lump sum

The pension rules allow you to take up to 25% of the value as a cash lump sum, free of tax. That could be useful for paying off debt, work to your house, or if you want to start your retirement with a good holiday. However, if you don’t need a large amount of cash up front, the pension flexibility allows you to use the 25% tax-free cash rule to reduce the tax on your pension income (see below).

Pension annuities

An annuity is the option to take if you want certainty of income with no risk of capital loss. It involves passing a sum from your pension scheme to an insurer in exchange for a guaranteed income for your lifetime (and for a dependant spouse or civil partner if required). The income is taxed in the same way as earnings. The income can be level or increasing each year, but aside from pre-agreed increases, you cannot normally change the amount of income, or get your money back.

Annuities generally come to an end on death, so to reduce the loss if you die early, you can include a guarantee period of up to 30 years .

In effect, an annuity is an insurance

Let’s imagine you have diligently built up decent-sized pensions and savings, through the ups and downs of your working life and the vagaries of investment markets.

Annuities became much less popular in the years since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, because the rate of income was so low compared to the capital value, and because of the appeal of flexible pension benefits. However, since Autumn 2022, annuity rates have shot up, and now look much more attractive.

Income drawdown (or Flexible Income)

If you decide you prefer flexibility, then you can keep your pension as a pot of money and investments, and draw a regular or ad-hoc income. If you have taken the full tax-free lump sum, then any income you draw will be taxable in the same way as earned income.

However, if you have not taken the tax-free lump sum, you can deem that 25% of each regular payment is tax-free cash, and only pay tax on three-quarters of the income. Neat, but not all pension providers offer this option.

The key advantage of retaining flexibility is that you can change the amount of income to suit your needs. However, the key drawback is that if you draw heavily on the fund, or the investments perform poorly, it could be exhausted within your lifetime, or you might have to reduce the income you take.

Investing a pension fund for income

As you near retirement, you might want to review how your pension fund is invested. For example, if you are planning to take a large lump sum, or buy an annuity, there may be a case for reducing the risk level of the investments.

On the other hand, if you are more likely to take flexible benefits, then jumping into lowrisk investments may not be ideal. Your life expectancy may be 30 years or more, and you’ll need your pensions to be able to grow. Over longer periods, assets like shares have a better chance of growth than cash or bonds. a balance should therefore be struck between the shorter-term need for income, and the longer-term need for capital growth.

The value of financial planning

A good financial planner can help you figure out how to meet your lifetime income needs, examine all of the options with your existing pensions and other savings, advise you on whether you can keep your existing pensions or might do better by moving them to another scheme, and formulate an investment strategy to meet your requirements.

At Wise Investment, our retirement income service covers all of these angles, and we can manage and review your pension funds to adapt to market conditions and your changing needs.

wise@wiseinvestment.co.uk www.wiseinvestment.co.uk 01608 695100

future performance. Any investments you make and any income, can go down as well as up - you might

Revolutionary Technology: Robotic Hip & Knee Surgery

Mr Nadim Aslam, Consultant Orthopaedic Hip & Knee Robotic Surgeon is one of a few Orthopaedic Surgeons in the UK currently performing this technique.

By using the latest technology to plan the surgery using a CT-based 3D modelling of bone anatomy, the hip or knee can be replaced with less soft tissue damage, enabling a more predictable surgical experience with increased precision and accuracy.

‘‘Patients who have opted for robotic-arm assisted surgery have seen great results, faster recovery, a shorter hospital stay and rapid return to full function.’’

worcesterkneeandhipclinic

Worcestershire Knee and Hip Clinic Robotics

........................................

Practice addresses:

Spire South Bank Hospital: 139 Bath Road, Worcester, WR5 3YB

The Droitwich Spa Hospital: St Andrews Road, Droitwich, WR9 8DN

For more information about this revolutionary technology or to book a consultation: Contact: Mr Nadim Aslam / info@wkhc.co.uk / wkhc.co.uk / 01905 362003

Risks and Rewards of Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Hip and Knee Surgery

I am one of a few Orthopaedic Robotic Surgeons in the UK currently using this revolutionary technique Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery for total knee and hip replacements.

I warmly welcome this state-of-the-art technology to Spire South Bank Hospital in Worcester. In this article I explain what Mako is, how it works and the advantages of using the robot.

What is Mako robotic arm technology?

Stryker has developed Mako robotic-arm assisted technology taking surgery into the next generation. The Company worked alongside Orthopaedic Surgeons to design an innovative system, that can be used to pre-plan joint replacements procedures using a CTbased 3D scan of the patients unique anatomy. Mako assists with more accurate positioning of standard implants, which help to improve clinical outcomes.

How does Mako work?

Before surgery, patients have a CT-based scan of the damaged joint. A 3D virtual model of their unique anatomy is loaded into the Mako system software and used to create a personalised pre-operative plan. During surgery, I guide the robotic arm, using it to prepare the joint to receive the prosthetic implant.

The Mako system supports me to remain within the pre-defined area of the joint, so only damaged or diseased tissue is removed. As a result, the implant is positioned in precisely the right place and as much of the patient’s natural joint as possible is retained. If a revision joint replacement is needed at a future date to replace a worn-out prosthesis, then having had an initial Mako assisted joint replacement can reduce the risk of complications and ensure better outcomes.

What are the rewards of Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery?

The rewards of having a Mako procedure include:

• Accuracy – Because the system allows me to create a personalised surgical plan, implants are positioned with even greater accuracy. This is important as even fractional misalignment can cause pain, discomfort and reduced performance.

• Safety – The Mako system supports my skill, helping me to remain within the area identified in their pre-operative planning stage and reducing the chances of human error.

• Minimising stress on soft tissues – Mako maps the natural movement patterns of the joint to reduce stress on soft tissues and ligaments and ensure the joint can move naturally using the artificial implant.

• Fewer complications – Results show fewer prosthesis complications after surgery and shorter rehabilitation times. There may also be reduced blood loss as there is less unnecessary exposed bone surface.

• Reduced risk of implant failure – Improving accuracy helps to reduce the risk of implant failure and potentially the need for revision surgery in the future.

Are there any risks with Mako robotic surgery?

All surgery carries risks and Mako robotic arm assisted hip and knee replacements are no exception. I will discuss any potential risks with you.

To book a consultation or for further information, contact:

Mr Nadim Aslam

info@wkhc.co.uk

wkhc.co.uk

01905 362003

Where is the robot based and how can I get further information?

The robot is based at Spire South Bank Hospital in Worcester.

The Cotswold Sky

Look Out For Noctilucent Clouds

Image Courtesy of BBC Sky at Night

Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere some 50 miles high and were once only observable in the most northern latitudes but now probably due to climate change have been observed to appear at lower latitudes including those of the UK. According to the Sky At Night they are most likely to appear during clear summer nights commencing midMay to early August. “To observe them look towards the North West 90 – 120 minutes after sunset or a similar time before sunrise above the North East horizon.”

Connection With Climate Change?

They are made of ice crystals caused by water vapour freezing around

grains of dust and their reflection of the sun’s rays give the sky a most unusual affect. Where do the grains of dust come from? One suggestion is from meteors and other suggestions include from the pollutants produced by humans. A report by the New Scientist suggests, ”… with the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, particularly of methane. As more methane enters the atmosphere, more of it is converted to water vapour that can then fuel the formation of these clouds.”

Noctilucent Clouds can be viewed on YouTube and once observed they may enthuse the reader to go out and look for them.

Stay Safe – John Harris

ARE OUR INTERNET AND MOBILE PHONE SYSTEMS SAFE TO USE?

This is not the most reassuring of topics to address but I feel that everyone should be made aware of the progress being made regarding the potential dangers of mobile phones and wireless radiation that we are being exposed to in today’s world.

Before anyone begins to panic may I direct you to The Summary of Advice from Public Health England on Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields which states: “there remains no clear evidence of harm to health from exposure to radio waves below the internationally agreed (ICNIRP) guideline levels that are already adopted in the UK.”

This is somewhat reassuring but I still have concerns mainly based on the information on the internet is in many cases a few years old.

What recommendations are available from government sources?

In February 2020 the Environmental Health Trust updated recommendations to reduce exposure to cell phone radiation, especially for children.

The main advice is:

• excessive use of mobile phones by children should be discouraged

• adults should be able to make their own choices about reducing their exposure should they so wish, but be able to do this from an informed position

• moving the phone away from the body, as when texting, results in very much lower exposures than if a phone is held to the head

• using a hands-free kit, keeping calls short, making calls where the network signals are strong

• choosing a phone with a low specific energy absorption rate (SAR) value quoted by the manufacturer

Exposures from devices held further away from the body such as wireless-enabled laptop computers, and transmitter masts in the community are very much lower than those from mobile phones and PHE considers that community or individual measures to reduce such exposures are unnecessary.

Conclusion

How many of you reading this article have spoken to your children of moving their mobile away from their body when texting? Or using it only on hands free/ speaker?

Have you considered switching your router off each night?

The effects of our mobile and internet systems are under continuous scrutiny but do not underestimate the potential side effects; no matter how small; they may appear to be.

16th July `In Steam` Wildlife by the Evenlode at Combe Mill

We have invited exhibitors, Angela Mills- author and bat expert, Beekeepers, Alison Butt Cotswold National Landscape, BBOWild Life Trust, Chrissie’s Owls- Chrissie Gaines and Standlake Nature Recovery to bring along and show wildlife as it is all around us.

Combe Mill: a late 19th Century Restored Water Mill on Blenheim Palace Estate by the River Evenlode, all Machinery running `In Steam` volunteers will be on hand with lots of interesting information. Come along and see the Blacksmiths in the forge you might just be able to make a poker. Tea room will be open, BBQ, Gift Shop and Tombola.

Blenheim Palace Saw Mills, Witney OX29 8ET 01993 358694 / www.combemill.co.uk