At 2 a.m. on Sunday 27 October, the clocks will go back by one hour to signal the start of British Winter Time.
This year, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is encouraging residents to ‘Tick, Tock, Test’ – a memorable phrase which provides a catchy reminder to prompt everyone into action when changing timepieces throughout the home.
A working smoke alarm can buy the valuable time people need to get out, stay out and call 999. Figures show that people are more than four times as likely to die in a fire if they don’t have a working alarm.
Councillor Colin Spence, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for public protection said; “Tick, Tock, Test is straight talking, easy to remember and intrinsically links clock change weekend to testing your smoke alarm.
“A working smoke alarm is a proven life-saver and is absolutely essential in keeping you and your family safe. Worryingly, only half of all householders who own a smoke alarm say that they test it on a regular basis.
“Don’t take the chance on your family’s life. When you change your clock this weekend, please take a few seconds to test your smoke alarm.
By simply pushing the ‘test’ button, people could save the lives of their loved ones.”
Nice Things
No Slouch When it Comes to the Cheeseboard.”
Damian Thompson rarely fails to produce an informed smile on Saturday mornings. Here is an extract from yesterday’s column in the Daily Telegraph:
How fascinating to learn yesterday that the health-conscious President Sarkozy of France took cheese off the menu while he was in office – “except when Angela Merkel was in town”, according to his head chef. This doesn’t strain credulity, I think we can agree. Mrs Merkel looks to me like an extremely determined cheese-eater; I can picture the glint of excitement in her eye as she digs into a ripe Elysée Camembert. She’s partial to British cheese, too. “You should have seen her scoop into the Stilton when she visited No 10,” says my Downing Street source. “It was like a JCB. Even the PM was impressed – and, believe me, he’s no slouch when it comes to the cheeseboard.”
The full column can be found on:http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100242123/first-they-came-for-the-scientologists/
Warning: The consumption of alcohol
WARNING:
The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think that you can sing
Hands off Hadleigh
Today Tesco’s application to develop the Brett Works site in Hadleigh was defeated by seven votes to six. Bearing in mind that four votes were predictable the result was absolutely first class focusing on the economic impact of our town.
My address to the committee received a heart-warming round of applause from the Hadleigh supporters – and is enclosed).
Floreat Hadleigh
Clown Doctors
I popped into Endeavour House this afternoon to check on my in-box. It is sometimes just a repository of what seems to be junk mail. So it was with no expectation of being enthused that I opened a brown envelope and saw the Annual Report of Suffolk Artlink.
Suffolk Artlink works to improve the quality of life of people of all abilities through taking part in engaging and inspirational activities. So far so ho hum. But before looking for a bin I flipped it open at pages 18 & 19 to see this project which engages children and young people in hospitals and hospices in clowning, storytelling, music, magic, circus skills and improvisation helping to distract them from what can be a very difficult time.
If any picture can be worth a thousand words – this is it.
Please enjoy and think of the artists who do this work (Dr. Fillie Fidget (Filomena Cristallino, Dr Christobell Misschief (Chris Draude) and Dr. Hyacinth Haystack (Vicki Weitz).
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
So far today, God, I’ve done all right.
I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my temper, haven’t been greedy, grumpy, or nasty, selfish or over-indulgent.
I’m really glad about that.
But, in a few minutes, I am going to get out of bed and from then on I’m probably going to need a lot more help.!
Amen
Calais for Fun
We have just returned from a quick trip to Calais. This was the break we have been promising ourselves since May! It was just a quick overnight and was very relaxing. One of the highlights was to visit the open air market at Place Crevecoeur. This is a lesser-known market open on a Thursday and was a great market shopping experience.
The stallholders were very tolerant of my French.
I was reminded of the Damon Runyon character Harry the Horse. The is (I recall) short for Harry the Horse Thief. He didn’t actually steal horses but he looked as though he might. This is an illustration of how he might have ended up had he left Broadway.I didn’t have the courage to ask for the dobbin burgers nor did I try the Bar Amnesia – perhaps you can’t have one without the other.
Aberystwyth
At the week end I went to Aberystwyth to stay with my older daughter and her family. These weekends always promise to be gentle day fest. We seem to get a lot of not much done, but we enjoy ourselves and clock up a pleasant time. One of the highlights was to travel to Caersws in Powys to visit the Mid Wales Arts Centre run by Cathy Knapp. Cathy’s centre is home to a unique permanent collection of large scale enamel murals and sculptures by the late world renowned Polish born artist Stefan Knapp. Richard Brown (my son in law) collected some of his works which had been exhibited there and we transported them back to Aberystwyth where they will be displayed in the Gas Gallery on Park Avenue. The Gas Gallery was launched at the end of June and is entirely self-funded by artists from the area, with volunteers staffing it on a daily basis. It is situated in the Old Gas Showrooms on Park Avenue – a building which has been empty for some years The new venture marks a triumph for the group known as Celf Ceredigion Art, who ha
ve spent many years negotiating with Ceredigion County Council to turn some of the town’s many empty buildings into exhibition spaces. The project is a one year pilot and sees the group working in partnership with the council as they work to promote the best art the area has to offer. Full marks to the Ceredigion County Council for their initiative in recycling an otherwise empty building which was going to waste. Richard will be taking part in the Ceredigion Art Trail 2013 Richard’s web page can be found on http://ceredigionarttrail.org.uk/richard-brown-2012/
More details of the Gas Gallery can be found on http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/Local-artists-win-long-campaign-for-new-gallery-in-Aberystwyth
High Street Loyalty Card Powers On
Yesterday I had the pleasant task of allocating £500 from the Community Locality Budget provided by Suffolk County Council for whom I represent Hadleigh.
The focus was on the Hadleigh’s Loyalty Card shopping scheme set up by the town’s Chamber of Commerce which has been such a success that it’s been difficult keeping up with demand for the cards.
Two print runs have been exhausted and cards were in short supply. So it was a timely intervention to finance the printing of 25,000 more cards with an allocation of £500 from the Community Locality Budget.
Jane Haylock of Hadleigh Chamber of Commerce received the cheque at the Chamber’s summer party at Priory Hall in Hadleigh.
Hadleigh Chamber of Commerce President, Tony Addison, welcomed the cheque and said how pleased he was to see such a commitment to Hadleigh’s future and the recognition that market towns are worth supporting.
The Loyalty Card, which was Jane’s project, encourages people to shop locally. Shoppers collect stars on the card each time they spend money in participating shops, pubs and restaurants. When all 10 stars are collected the cards are handed in to take part in a monthly prize draw.
“We now have 1,700 handed in each month which represents 17,000 sales in Hadleigh shops,” said Jane. About 75 percent of the cards handed in come from Hadleigh residents with the rest from neighbouring villages and some from people who have stayed in the town as tourists.
Genesis
Yesterday’s first reading at Mass was from Genesis and dealt with the visit to Abraham by Yahweh and two companions (minders?). Abraham plays the part of the unreformed man, calling for his wife Sarah to make loaves from three bushels of flour (that’s a lot of bread, unless bushels were a lot smaller in those days), the servant has to kill and prepare the calf and when all is ready Abraham serves everything to his guests. The reading ends with “Then his guest said, ‘I shall come back to you next year, and then your wife Sarah will have a son.’”
But Genesis continues with:
“Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him. So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ‘Now that I am past the age of childbearing, and my husband is an old man, is pleasure to come my way again?’ But Yahweh asked Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, “Am I really going to have a child now that I am old?” Nothing is impossible for Yahweh. I shall come back to you at the same time next year and Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah said, ‘I did not laugh,’ lying because she was afraid. But he replied, ‘Oh yes, you did laugh.’ “
Paul Johnson in his book “Humorists” describes this episode as the first joke in the Bible and points out that it is also a smutty one (is pleasure to come my way again?).
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