Sport and Leisure
Expand your mind and cultural horizons How about volunteering?
The Oink Gallery in Old Town
Swindon has always maintained a respected, diverse, artistic and cultural offering for its residents. These range from large events such as the Swindon Fringe Festival, Swindon Shuffle, Swindon LitFest and the Old Town Festival, (all of which will be returning in 2017) through to almost nightly live music, theatrical and creative offerings. The town has an abundance of venues such as Swindon Arts Centre, The Victoria and Oink Gallery in Old Town, The Bohemian Balcony at the old Palladium Cinema in Rodbourne
and the Shoebox and Wyvern theatres in the town centre. If you feel the urge to learn new skills in 2017, both Swindon College and New College offer a huge array of courses for learners of any age and level of experience, whilst UTC offer an alternative for the more technically minded to hone their skills. And of course there is always the option of enrolling with Oxford Brookes University. Make 2017 the year of expanding your mind with a show, a visit to a gallery or by learning new skills.
Volunteers provide vital support to organisations in Swindon and the people they are working to support. Are you free on Saturdays? Uplands Educational Trust are looking for people to help support their Saturday Youth Club for young people aged 11-19 with disabilities, either physical or learning. You will be helping with trips, arts & crafts and sport and more. Want a home based role and are passionate about adult education? The WEA is an adult education charity and they would like to be able to offer courses in Swindon. They are looking for a volunteer who can support the Area Education Manager with tasks such as choosing courses that could be run, distributing publicity and supporting the tutor in the classroom. This role would suit someone with tutoring or teaching experience Looking to gain admin experience? Adult Community Health – Swindon based at the Great Western Hospital has various departments where you could assist staff with administrative
/ clerical type duties. There is a range of tasks that you can get involved with to suit your skills and experience Do you want to help promote equality and support for the LGBT people? Swindon and Wiltshire Pride have a range of roles on offer to support the planning of the annual Pride event, including looking for event sponsors, writing press releases, researching and applying for funding. Enjoy singing? Why not help with Alzheimer’s Society Singing for the Brain group in Freshbrook on a Monday. You will be helping set up, welcoming attendees and helping them join in the session as well as making refreshments. To find out how you can get involved in these or any of the many other volunteering opportunities please contact Volunteer Centre Swindon on 01793 420557 or email info@ swindonvolunteers.org.uk . We are at 1 John Street Swindon and we would love to see you between 11am -3pm Monday to Friday. You can also find these at the Do-it website: https://do-it.org
Need a financial health check for 2017? UTC Swindon
How to keep those resolutions Now this is the hard part. You make those resolutions, you swear you’ll keep them, yet when February rolls in you find yourself back into old habits. So how do you keep resolutions? Especially the ones like drinking, smoking and weight loss. Seeking out help to keep those commitments and achieve your goals is always advisable, and should be sought in a positive way. There is never any harm in finding someone to talk to about your issues and how you want to resolve them, ranging from weight loss to giving up cigarettes and anything else you want to rectify in 2017. Counselling services are one way of keeping yourself goal-orientated, and should not be feared, especially with the compliment of skilled counsellors working in the Swindon area, such as Elaine Watt who runs Focussed Counselling in
West Swindon or counsellor Simon Vizard, both of whom our readers may have seen regular advice from in the magazine. For those tackling relationship and emotional challenges, Relate offer free counselling options Another alternative, if you feel your resolutions need a different approach, could be hypnotherapy. Professionals across the Swindon area, including The Hypnotherapy Studio in Cricklade and Lucy Brown Hypnotherapy in North Swindon, can offer a counselling service with a difference and help you focus on your aspirations for the new year. The NHS Choices website offers helpful advice on a number of subjects, as well as a list of counsellors in your direct area. Visit the site at: www.nhs.uk/ conditions/Counselling
The end of the tax year may seem like a long way off, and you’re probably thinking “why should I worry about April? I have enough on my plate already.” Taking stock after the Christmas spending spree is always a good idea, as some of us reach for the credit cards to get us through the festive period. However, when the new year rolls in, budgeting and financial stability are key to keeping the stress of a seasonal financial hangover away. Peter Bromiley ACA, director of Swindon based AMS Accountancy, shared some tips on managing finances in the new year. He said: ”The tax year ends on 5 April so, if you want to make any investment
decisions or pension contributions, it’s a good idea to be thinking about them in January. “Work out your likely taxable income, maybe get help from your accountant regarding possible tax-saving actions, and – if you need your Financial Advisor to do something – tell them as early as you can in 2017 as they’ll be rushed off their feet in March.” The best thing to do if you have any financial worries is to not try and struggle through on your own. Seek advice as soon as you feel in difficulty from a professional financial advisor or your bank, who will be able to provide you with information on how to solve most issues. swindonlink.com n January 2017
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