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Bereavement counsellors wanted The monthly Bereavement Café, held on the last Thursday of each month (11.30am-1.15pm), is seeking qualified bereavement counsellors to offer their voluntary assistance every month. For details see facebook.com/bereavementcafe or email michelleharvey.lifecelebrant@yahoo.com
40 YEARS & COUNTING
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This September will see the U3A’s 40th anniversary. The group was initially set up by three friends in Cambridge with inspiration taken from the French model. Today the U3A is global and has its biggest presence in China. In the UK there are around 500,000 members across 1,000 groups, with Orpington welcoming 1,000 members pre-Covid. If you are retired or have the time why not join us? We have 80 widely varied interest groups, which include Bridge, IT, philosophy and walking. Our monthly meetings feature a topical public speaker, plus the chance to meet other members and potential friends over refreshments. Membership is just £12 a year. If interested, call the Membership Secretary on 07732 005819 or visit u3aorpington.org.uk
Caught speeding
PIB (People In Business) recently held a charity Speed Networking event at the Bromley Court Hotel to help raise funds for the MumMum Foundation and The Chartwell Cancer Trust. Just under £400 was raised as the ticket money was kindly fund matched by Southeast Legacies.
Best known for his role on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, the King of Ballroom Anton Du Beke will star in this year’s Churchill Theatre 3D family pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, running throughout December 2022. Tickets can be booked at churchilltheatre.co.uk
London neighbours
Richard Wraith from Wesh.uk has developed The London Neighbours Project, whose aim is five-fold:
• Develop a positive community within each London borough • Encourage residents in each borough to get to know each other • Promote the use of local businesses through community engagement • Reduce social isolation and loneliness for residents through engagement • Share all the good news that is in your borough and safety alerts Residents can join their respective forums online and discuss topics and issues that are important to them. Richard initially developed the platform to offer everyone a voice in their community and as a means of preventing loneliness.
For more information visit https://neighbours.london/
TICKET UPGRADE GIVEAWAY & £100 BAR SPEND!
In our final giveaway with Priory Live (taking place in Orpington’s Priory Gardens on Saturday 6th August), we’re giving one lucky reader the chance to win an upgrade on their Priory Live tickets to VIP plus £100 bar spend for the day-long event. For your chance to win, just purchase tickets at priorylive.co.uk and enter the code ‘LifeInMags’ to be entered into the prize draw. *Shared competition with other media sponsors. For full competition T&C's see https://bit.ly/lifeincomps
FESTIVAL THEATRE AT HEVER CASTLE
Family, music & comedy Festival Theatre at Hever Castle in Edenbridge has a number of events coming up this month including the family show, Rapunzel, on 27th July at 2pm. Other events include plays, opera, speakers, music and comedy events – visit the What’s On section to discover what’s coming up. To book see heverfestival.co.uk or call 07379-488477
POPPY APPEAL
Do you have a couple of hours a week to spare? Do you enjoy meeting people? Would you like to help the Royal British Legion?
The Locksbottom and Farnborough branch of the Royal British Legion are seeking volunteers to help on our stall in Sainsburys, Locksbottom, during the Poppy Appeal fortnight starting in October 2022. We are a small, friendly team and we welcome newcomers to help us collect donations for the traditional paper poppies as well as other RBL-licensed merchandise. All donations generate funds to help our current serving armed forces, and ex-servicemen and women and their families. For more information, please contact Catherine Melia (Deputy Poppy Area Organiser) by email at RBLPoppies@gmail.com
Local legend by Olivia Bridgen Bromley borough resident, Hamdi Faragalla, wrote to us to tell us about her neighbour, Irina Tiselita Tomsa, who ran a half marathon to raise money for AVUK, a charity that helps her son David, who was diagnosed with severe hearing loss at just two weeks old. Irina shares with us more about AVUK and the help it and others have given…
Q: First of all, congratulations on completing the half marathon Irina! Did you do any training for it and how much money did you manage
to raise for the charity? I did three months of training. This was my first half marathon and I did it in under two hours and raised over £800.
Q: Can you provide some background on David’s condition – and how did you discover
AVUK? Two weeks after he was born, David failed his new-born hearing test, we thought perhaps he was too little, but after failing it twice he was diagnosed with severe hearing loss. Just before he was one year-old he had his cochlear implant surgery. Not only did David had difficulty in hearing voices and sounds, it affected his ability to develop his speech, language and social skills. It was when I was looking online for help, when I found the charity, ‘Auditory Verbal Therapy’. A deaf specialist also recommended them.
Q: What help has the charity provided over the years and how has this impacted on
David? They focus on helping David’s speech, language development and social skills, while providing us with tools to incorporate into our daily routine. David is now 11, he’s very outgoing and has a good sense of humour. He speaks English and Romanian and has big dreams for his future. Without AVUK David would not have thrived the way he did.
For further information about AVUK call 01869 325000, email info@avuk.org or see avuk.org/contact
Feature on the
Community Noticeboard!
Email hello@lifeinmagazines.co.uk A small fee applies - we have limited space for free charity listings.
Music in the Garden 2022 Freda Davis BEM will be opening her garden (Gardenview, 6 Edward Road, Biggin Hill TN16 3HL) for her popular Music in the Garden event on Sunday 3rd July (2pm-5pm) to raise money for the NSPCC. The afternoon will feature a number of musicians and light refreshments will be available, as well as a small art exhibition and a range of stalls selling cards and gifts. For details see fredasgarden. co.uk The garden will be open again as part of the NGS on Sunday 24th July (12pm - 4pm), with more musical delights including the Orpington Rock Choir.
Bromley Arts Festival aims to celebrate every arts event in the London borough throughout July. To date, more than 100 dates have been registered, including theatre, dance, comedy, music, art and poetry. From the 1st July with Breaking The Code debuting at Bromley’s Little Theatre, to the 31st with Magpie Dances presenting Global Moves and Grooves - A Festival of Dance and Culture, there’s something for everyone. The aim is to bring people near and far together to celebrate the diverse and exciting arts events that Bromley offers year-round. For more information, turn to the special What’s On listings for Bromley Arts Festival in this issue or see bromleyartsfestival.com
Win annual family membership to Kent Life Heritage Farm
Kent Life Heritage Farm is giving one lucky reader of Life In…Magazines the chance to win an annual family membership worth £125! Kent Life is a 28acre working farm and visitor attraction situated in Maidstone, Kent. Open throughout the year, it tells the Kent farming story and provides a fun family day out discovering more than 200 farmyard animals, indoor and outdoor play areas, and Kentish gardens and orchards. The winner will be able to explore the wide range of activities available at the farm - from animal encounters to paddle boating and exciting shows. For your chance to win, send your answer to the following question to hello@lifeinmagazines.co.uk with the subject line ‘Kent Life competition’: How many farmyard animals can visitors see at Kent Life Heritage Farm Park? (a) More than 100 (b) More than 200 (c) More than 500. For details see kentlife.org.uk/ plan-your-visit/membership
Charity spotlight
Name of charity: Greener & Cleaner
Location: We have a community Hub based in the Upper Mall in The Glades. What service do you provide? We support Bromley residents to find out more about what they can do to help sustain and protect our environment. We run workshops from our Hub ranging from mindfulness to eco crafting and have a very active Facebook group where members share tips on everything from creating wildlife ponds in back gardens to using less electricity and gas at home. We also have education and faith groups that support schools and local faith communities on their green journey. Who is it available to? Everyone! How are you funded? We receive funding from individuals who’ve been kind enough to donate to us, trusts, grants and also statutory funding. Do you accept donations? Yes, we have a Paypal account where people can make financial donations - see paypal.com/gb/fundraiser/charity/4456033 Do you run any events? We run workshops at our Community Hub – to find out what’s going on follow our Facebook page at facebook.com/TheHubGreenerCleaner Are you looking for volunteers? Always. Our Hub is run by volunteers and we also always welcome volunteers who are willing to help with the running of the charity – from helping with fundraising, to PR and marketing support. How else can people help? By joining our Facebook group.Contact details: For more information see greenerandcleaner.co.uk or email greenerandcleaneruk@gmail.com
Postbox Toppers - mystery solved!
Thanks to Mary Cody-Cowdery (a ‘Friend of Life In…Magazines’ who helps with distribution and keeps her eyes open and ears to the ground when it comes to local news), we were able to get in touch with one of the amazing people who make the ‘toppers’ for the local postboxes. Sheila Adby lives in Orpington and runs an afternoon tea business with a friend. She began making the toppers last year…
Q: How did it all begin Sheila?
I joined a Facebook page - Random Acts of Crochet Kindness, where people crochet small items and leave them out for people to find. I was impressed by the postbox toppers I saw so I decided to give it a go.
Q: Are they knitted or crocheted or a bit of both?
I crochet, but I have included a few knitted items that friends have made for me. I get inspired by other people’s toppers or from magazines.
Q: How long does it take to make them?
The base takes a couple of evenings to crochet. The items on it can take a matter of days or even weeks to complete. I’ve made about ten toppers so far. The box I regularly cover is near Crofton school, but I have placed others in Orpington high street and Carlton Parade, Orpington.
Q: Did you have to get permission from the Royal Mail?
I don’t have permission as such. Royal Mail are happy for them to be placed; in fact, they enjoy seeing them. The rule is that they must not prevent people from using the postbox.
Q: What response have you had to the toppers and has this inspired other people to knit or crochet?
I’ve received a lot of great feedback. I’ve now started a ‘drop in’ crochet session once a month in Orpington to teach people to crochet or help people with their crochet projects.
Q: It must be frustrating when the toppers are taken?
It is absolutely sickening when a topper gets stolen or has things removed from it. My first topper was stolen just 48 hours after I placed it. My remembrance topper near Orpington war memorial was stolen just before Remembrance Day which really upset me. I’ve had four stolen and three had pieces removed from them.
Q: What’s next in the pipeline – any new projects?
I’m currently making blankets for Ukrainian refugees with the help of a lot of people crocheting or knitting squares. I will continue making toppers especially for outside schools as I know they make people smile.
Accessible Petts Wood Station
A major £10.8 million scheme to make Petts Wood station fully accessible for the first time is underway. The work, funded by the Department for Transport’s Access for All scheme and delivered by Network Rail and its partners BAM Nuttall, is due to complete in autumn next year and will offer four new lifts. Southeastern’s Passenger Services director, David Wornham, said: “We’re always wanting to do more for our passengers and this investment at Petts Wood by the DfT will make a huge difference to people who use this key station on our network. When the four new lifts are fully installed next year, the station will be more accessible to a wider group of people, and we’re looking forward to seeing the project completed.”
Photo - Network Rail.
EST 2000
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