Community Radio

Today, I went with Moggy to Panj Pani Radio ,he was doing the 1-2 pm show with Enya.She was surprised that he had got 2 guests with him, Charlie and Lucy had come all the way from Crawley to talk about their passion, Rock 'n 'Roll. They talked about music, bands, concerts and the 3 of them educated Enya about  that style of music, Moggy played several rock'n' roll songs, mostly by Showaddywaddy, the girls loved them and being a Leicester group, Moggy had met the lead singer, and seen them many times in concert ....I can say I've kissed Dave Bartrum !!

Charity Gig 28/1/11

On Friday night myself and Moggy went to the Braunstone and District WMC for a charity evening, in aid of Nev's School, raising money for a school in Ghana,on the bill were The up Beatles and Mickey Vegas. Both acts were very good and there was a raffle, Moggy won a dry cleaning voucher !The up Beatles are a tribute band for The Beatles, 2 members work for BBC Radio Leicester and Mickey Vegas was an Elvis Presley tribute act and he wore some eye catching costumes.Moggy and me had a few dances during the evening and went home in a taxi.

Ladybirds

Today I pruned the roses in the front garden, and found some snowdrops in bud.The sun was warm on my back as I worked, filling 3 carrier bags with prunings.Then I went out into the back garden and after cutting down some tall foliage I found this group of ladybirds,hopefully they are alive.

Thurncourt Ward Meeting 17/1/11.

At the Thurncourt Ward meeting recently,there were several presentations during the meeting. One was Community Transport. This is a fleet of 6 minibuses with tail lifts for community groups to hire for the day or week with either the groups' own driver or a volunteer driver. Breakdown cover and insurance is included in the cost of the hire but not the fuel costs. If a group has a person willing to be a driver, there are courses available in drivers' assessment, they must be under 70 years of age and have D1 on their licence,also there is a course about securing wheelchairs whilst the vehicles are in motion.
A question was posed as to which members of the community could hire these vehicles.With these being 'specialised vehicles' it was stated elderly and disabled groups because they are considered disadvantaged,but a local group leader asked whether some children from a local group could be considered,the answer was no because of the criteria  but he was offered an amount from the Ward Fund towards the cost of a coach trip  for all his group.

Caring with Confidence.

Today I attended a training course called "Caring and Coping', this is the 2nd module, there are 7 in total.Being a carer for a loved one can be very stressful and we were asked how / if we cope,what are the important problems,and how do / can you relax. I said I have a cuppa and shout at the TV or go outside and potter in the garden, just to have that break from the situation, others said the same and a few are able to go out, but most of the group are stay at home lone carers. We were shown some breathing exercises to do , to help us calm down, and reduce our stress levels.We said it isn't easy as we seem to go from one problem to another, it's difficult to find a professional who can help/advise ,but we carry on, and we all seem to be swapping "life skills" with each other which is in valuable.We are given 'homework'! This week we were asked what we would like to do for ourselves and how to achieve it and plan it on a chart, I'd like to visit a garden centre.

Guided Walk

Today I went on a guided walk, Inns and Coffee Houses of Leicester. We met at Town Hall Sq, and as soon as the walk started so did the rain !!The first stop was The Turkey Cafe on Granby St, then onto Gallowtree Gate, St. Matthews and Highcross St, ending up back at Town Hall Sq. Colin Crosby was the leader ,and he told us where King Richard 3rd spent his last night when staying in Leicester, also where Mary Queen of Scots stayed and about the history of coffee houses.If you want to know more....book to go on one of his walks.

Spring

I went out into the back garden this afternoon and I was surprised by how much new growth some of my plants had got. A patio rose bush had sprouted new leaves since I last looked at it , rockery plants were looking good and some bulbs had poked thru the soil. Spring will not be long coming. We've recently had a heavy snowfall and frosts which some plants need in order to grow for a new season.