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Oh yes it is!

Image: Kate Darkins Photography

Panto returns to the Churchill Theatre in Bromley on 4th December with a spectacular production of Jack and the Beanstalk, starring Strictly’s Anton du Beke as Jack, comedy genius Lloyd Hollett as Silly Simon and West End musical star Rhiane Drummond as the Princess. All three have happy connections to Bromley – Lloyd remembers going to the Churchill as a child and Rhiane loves the shops in the Glades like Zara. As Anton says, “It’s a great town and I’m genuinely excited about coming to Bromley.” Audiences can expect “a great show, it’s going to be a lot of fun! We’ve got a 3D giant and a traditional pantomime cow!” Jack and the Beanstalk runs at the Churchill Theatre from Sunday 4th December until Saturday 31st December. Visit churchilltheatre. co.uk for more information

Life In…Magazines is hiring!

We’ve got two exciting positions open for those looking to grow with a small company that has big ambitions. First up is a home-based salesperson. We’re offering a commissiononly salary of 15% on revenue brought in with target-based incentives. You’ll be a quick learner and have a great ability to listen. Previous telesales experience is essential. We’re also looking for an office/editorial assistant who is pro-active, confident and super organised. Both positions are for those who are self-employed. Please send your CV and why you think you’d be perfect for the job to lauretta@lifeinmagazines.co.uk by Friday 4th November.

Armistice:

Why should we remember

Peter Whapshott (left) with Chas Jordan from Fair Contracts/ Bromley Business Network.

Peter Whapshott, founder of Barbed Wired Tours and Ambassador for Care For Veterans, will be offering a one-off talk on Remembrance Day, Friday 11th November to raise money for Care for Veterans. Taking place at Bromley Football Club from 7pm until 9pm, Peter will be looking at why we should remember the Armistice, exploring a number of battles and the people who were active in them, and talking about some of your relatives who may have taken part. Tickets cost £5 per person. All age groups are welcome - to register your interest email hello@armistice.org.uk or call 0204 548 3000

Double celebrations!

It’s a double celebration for James Broomfield from Our Tech. Firstly, he ran the London Marathon to help raise money for local community group, Young at Heart, a small local elderly group where funds help provide days out and support. James set a target of raising £500 and instead raised over £2,000 for the charity! And in another celebratory victory, for the third year in a row, James has been awarded ‘IT Technician of the Year for London’ from Prestige Awards. James said: “Being picked is an honour but now being chosen for the third time indicates just how dedicated I am to perfection in customer service and how passionate I am in bringing you an IT support service that’s unique. Thank you to all my customers as always.” You can visit James’ website at ourtechnician.co.uk

Local resident, 10-year-old Faith, sadly lost two members of her family in quick succession and spent her summer holidays raising awarenesss (and funds) for St Christopher’s Hospice, who helped looked after her grandparent before she passed away. She set a target of raising £500 and, to date, has raised over £2,000. Faith’s mum, Tracey, tells us she’s so proud of Faith and that what she’s done needs to be highlighted. Over to you Faith!

Q: It must have been tough coming to terms with losing two members of your family. What has helped you deal with the loss?

I always try to remember that they wouldn’t want me to be really upset because that would upset them too, looking down on me. I found the Candle Child Bereavement Service at St Christopher’s really helped me understand more about losing people and grief.

Q: How have you helped raise money for St Christopher’s Hospice?

First of all I started by selling lollipops in school with pocket money that I saved and making fidgets to sell. My friend helped with this so we will be donating that money separately. When I was at my football camp in summer I told them I wanted to raise more money and would be doing a sponsored walk in September. They helped me set up a fundraising day where I planned fun activities such as egg & spoon/relay races. We also did a raffle and my football coach, Elyon, kindly donated a brand-new pair of football boots! On 9th September I did the 10km Moonlight walk along the Thames with my mummy and daddy. We set up a Just Giving page a few weeks prior and raised over £2,500! I was also gifted a signed pair of boxing gloves from heavyweight boxer Joe Joyce as a raffle prize.

Faith with her dad finishing the walk Faith fundraising at her football camp.

Q: Your goal was to raise £500 but you’ve totally smashed that figure! How do you feel about people’s response?

I feel really happy and grateful. It means a lot to me to raise this money for the hospice in memory of my Nanny Ange and Uncle Ty. My nanny felt really comfortable when she spent time there and they also make lovely cakes! The money raised goes towards the running of the hospice, caring for the patients and services such as bereavement therapy.

Q: What message do you want to say to the people who’ve helped sponsor you?

A big thank you to all those people that helped me with my fundraising! It means so much to me. I would also like to say to all of them that they’re amazing because they helped me make this possible. My target was £500 and they supported me so much that I raised £2,507 in six weeks! Also their nice messages and comments made me feel really good.

Q: Finally, what does community mean to you?

It’s about coming together for a good cause, all supporting each other and lifting each other up! It has made me want to do even more fundraising for our local community!

Do you have a little treasure you want to highlight in an upcoming issue? Perhaps your child has done a good deed for someone, helped raise money for a good cause or has been a carer. Email hello@lifeinmagazines.co.uk with you details.

Raising the bar

The team at Devonshire House and Newman Flexible Workspace held a Coffee Morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Trust recently to help raise much-needed funds. The morning proved a huge success with a bakeoff competition, quizzes and prizes galore and an impressive £300 raised for the charity with donations still coming in. Pictured is Newman’s Aimee Cooter (left) and Jaya Sharma. The Mayor of Bromley, Cllr Hannah Gray, also attended to show her support.

TV Licence

One eagle-eyed reader (thanks Sam!) spotted that in last month’s issue (22 UK laws you didn’t know existed), we wrote about how you needed a TV licence to watch TV. That’s not strictly true as you only need a licence to be able to watch Live TV or BBC iPlayer – just to set the record straight. For details see gov.uk/tv-licence

Feature on the Community Noticeboard!

Email hello@lifeinmagazines.co.uk A small fee applies - we have limited space for free charity listings.

Orpington Brass and Sax Band welcomes new players

If you can already play an instrument a little or have the time to learn from scratch, you are very welcome to join this friendly band! Some brass instruments may be available to borrow. We rehearse on Monday evenings 7pm - 9.30pm in Green Street Green, Orpington. See our website for further details www.orpingtonband.co.uk or call 01689 854657 What a wonderful tribute to our late Majesty The Queen; local resident and drone operator, Stephen Sangster, helped create and organise an event that saw members of the community place 250 candles to create a stunning piece of art in Orpington’s Broxbourne Gardens. A number of media outlets picked up on the story including the Evening Standard – see https://bit.ly/3SBBuUT (case sensitive).

Become a Bromley Community Champion!

Bromley health and care services are inviting residents to join their new voluntary community champion programme. Community champions help by sharing important information in their community.

Sarah Spencer-Adams from Orpington volunteers as a Community Champion for the One Bromley Integrated Care Partnership. One Bromley is a partnership of health, care and voluntary services working together to provide more joined up services for Bromley residents. We ask Sarah what her role entails…

Why did you become a Bromley Community Champion?

I’m semi-retired and have always been keen to get involved in my local community and help other people. I saw an advert on social media asking for people to join the programme and it was really easy to sign up. I know what I’m doing is really valued and that every conversation, phone message, social media post and event counts.

What does it involve?

I do a couple of hours a week as a community champion. This can include joining a meeting to find out what important information I can help share across my networks or attending an event to talk to local people. I also use what I do most days such as chatting to friends and family and posting on social media to help with sharing information.

Can you give examples of what you do?

I recently volunteered as a champion at a local children and family centre to help promote the importance of being vaccinated and to encourage those not registered with a GP to sign up. I have learnt about social prescribing and have promoted the importance of having your blood pressure monitored.

Would you encourage others to join?

Yes! I am really enjoying the opportunity to meet and connect with different people and it’s just so rewarding knowing you are making a difference. I urge others to sign up. It’s really easy and you can do as much or as little as you can manage.

Interested? For more information on how to become a Community Champion see letstalkhealthandcareselondon.org/onebromley-community-champions-programme

community NOTICEBOARD

Green flag status

Seven Bromley parks have been awarded with Green Flag status, the quality accreditation mark, with Friends of Parks groups being thanked for their hard work and dedication.

The seven Bromley parks include Biggin Hill Recreation Ground, Chislehurst Recreation Ground, Darrick & Newstead Woods, Hayes Common, Keston Common, Queens Gardens and South Hill Wood, with Green Flags proudly flying at these locations.

Be scam aware!

Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative, which aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering people to take a stand against scams. See friendsagainstscams.org.uk

Foster Denovo is a multi-award-winning firm of financial advisers that provides financial advice to individuals and families.

Our local financial advisers based at our office in Bromley, specialise in providing financial advice in the following areas. • Financial planning • Trust and estate planning • Savings and investments • Retirement planning • Pension options at retirement • Mortgages • Protection • Small business solutions

Working in partnership with your local Foster Denovo financial adviser can help you make the right financial planning choices.

Why Foster Denovo?

Our advisers are friendly, knowledgeable, and approachable and our priority is to help our clients achieve their immediate financial planning needs and longer-term financial aspirations. For a fee free, no obligation initial meeting to discuss your immediate or long-term financial planning requirements, please: call John Winters or Sharon Cain on 01689 868 163 or 07767 818 665 or email john.winters@fosterdenovo.com or sharon.cain@fosterdenovo.com.

Website: www.fosterdenovo.com Devonshire House, 29-31 Elmfield Road, Bromley, Kent, BR1 1LT.

If you seek advice there may be a fee involved, full details will be provided prior to any work undertaken. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate taxation and trust advice. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount invested. Accessing pension benefits early may impact on levels of retirement income and your entitlement to certain means tested benefits and is not suitable for everyone. You should seek advice to understand your options at retirement.

Foster Denovo Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: Ruxley House, 2 Hamm Moor Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2SA. Telephone: 01932 870 720 Email: info@fosterdenovo.com Website: www.fosterdenovo.com