Sewards Furniture and Blinds in Gillingham have a full time vacancy available.
Role to include delivering furniture measuring and fitting blinds.
Please email: [email protected] with your CV.
Male Live in Carer Required
Job share, two weeks on, two weeks off.
Based DT9 Area
Must have skills in Alzheimer care.
Please contact – 07956 137061
Volunteer Coordinator Required | The Balsam Centre
The Balsam Centre require a Volunteer Coordinator
We are looking for an enthusiastic Volunteer Coordinator to recruit, manage and support our volunteers. If you like meeting and working with people, have experience of the voluntary sector, and enjoy being creative this is an exciting job opportunity.
From walk leaders to befrienders, trustees to babysitters, art teachers, sewing instructors, men’s shed woodworkers, toddler groups, breast feeding supporters, cooks, gardeners, peer supporters and youth workers. These are just some of the activities currently carried out by our fantastic team of 122 volunteers.
The role is part time 22.5 hours per week
Salary £25,000 pro rata
Please see our website page https://balsamcentre.org.uk/jobs.html for full details and application form
Closing date for applications is 5pm 17th May 2021
Interviews w/c 24th May 2021
Tiptoeing to a resumption ofservices | Simon Hoare MP
Covid has had impacts on so many elements of our lives. They have been in place for so long that sometimes it is quite hard to remember how things were before this killer hit our shores.
I don’t know about you but when I see a TV programme showing people in a bar or a big family reunion I look at them as if of something from a bygone era. But that’s pessimistic and a new normal will resume,
incrementally and step by step.
It’s been great to see our schools open to all of our young people. A Herculean Task has been delivered in all of our high schools with the lateral flow testing of all of their consenting pupils on three occasions over two weeks. Having had the immense good fortune to be able to help out in both Gillingham and Blandford High Schools I have seen at first hand the school and volunteer effort to get this job done. We all did so in the knowledge that we were helping our communities to stay safe and to get people back into the actual classroom.
Delivery of non Covid healthcare has, by force of circumstance, interrupted the flow of wider healthcare
needs. As the NHS has been saved from being overwhelmed, managers and clinicians have been turning their attention to tackling the backlog. Orthopaedics is one area where too many people have been left in pain. I realise how fortunate I was to have a hip replacement just 10 days before Lockdown
One. I know the debilitating pain of arthritis, so there’s much to be done to address those still waiting. The same is true, but to a lower volume, with oncology services. We were making such good progress with early diagnosis and survival rates, we cannot afford to slip back.
The other week I chaired a meeting with Health Minister Ed Argar and the chairs of a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups (I chair Multiple Sclerosis and I was joined by the chairs of Parkinsons, Acquired Brain Injury and Motor Neurone Disease) to make the case for a neurological services roadmap post Covid.
We were really encouraged not only with the seriousness with which the Minister took the issue but the work in hand to ensure effective catch-up can be delivered. There are significant personal health and longer term financial costs in not doing so and these need to be avoided.
At an earlier Round Table of the same APPGS we heard from patients with the various conditions. They were at pains to urge that the lessons learned during Covid of how to deliver healthcare should not be lost.
The lead example was the use of technology.
Many patients have been receiving therapies and support digitally, removing the need for travel to
a healthcare setting, journeys which can often be painful and arduous depending upon the condition.
The Minister took the point, and while none of us are advocating that IT can replace every one-to-one with a doctor or nurse, it can play a part. It’s often easier for the patient, and more patients can be seen due to efficiencies.
With greater emphasis on ending the digital ‘not-spots’ in our rural areas, and where distance to hospital and the shortage of public transport presents difficulties to some of our most vulnerable, we can and should embrace new ways of ensuring getting the care to those who need it.
In closing may I wish you and your family a very happy, safe and peaceful Easter. The cycle of new Spring life and the Resurrection story should give us all the hope and optimism we need following these more than challenging months.
by Simon Hoare MP
SUTTON, Ann
Ann Sutton
Died peacefully on 18th April aged 96.
Much loved wife of the late Cdr Dick Sutton RN. Loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
Private funeral.
Donations to Parkinsons UK via www.grassby-funeral.co.uk
Mum Cries as Ill Toddler Gifted Her Princess Shoes
It was a horribly familiar hot sinking feeling as Carla Charalambides was told in the Blandford branch of Clark’s Shoes that the voucher for her daughter’s shoes was declined – but two year old Caitlin did not understand why she had to leave her beloved new ‘princess shoes’ behind.
“She’s usually such a happy girl” said Carla “but when I told her we had to leave without the new shoes she was SO upset. I’d honestly never seen her react this way. And then of course I started crying… thank goodness for masks, it was just all so embarrassing.
“I thrust the shoes onto the side, mumbled a thank you to Amelia and left as fast as I could.”
A public toddler tantrum is tricky for any parent to cope with. But for Carla, watching Caitlin get upset is far more worrying.
In December 2019, a then-1yr-old Caitlin had six seizures in twenty four hours. After a battery of tests they discovered she has a mass on her brain. For now, she has a diagnosis of epilepsy, as they wait to see how her health (and the mass) develop.
“She has drugs to control the epilepsy, which do affect her mood. But if she gets too upset, it can trigger an Emotive Seizure. It’s a difficult line to manage with a toddler!” says Carla.
Carla quietly acknowledged that she was trying to use a voucher provided by the Family Fund, the UK’s largest charity providing grants for families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people.
Carla is desperately trying to move accommodation; she told the digital Blackmore Vale her current home ‘isn’t great’;
“Damp and mould had ruined Caitlin’s clothes, and the Family Fund were so generous, they sent me £200 in vouchers to buy her some new clothes and shoes that fitted. But they were a different type of voucher to that which is usually used in shops, and the till didn’t recognise it. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but obviously Caitlin didn’t understand. The new shoes weren’t just the prettiest she’s ever had; when she’d been fitted they were two sizes bigger than her old ones. I think they just felt so comfortable, and she couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t let her wear them. But… I just don’t have £22 in the bank to pay for them myself.
“Later that day, my sister in law called me to ask if I’d seen I was being looked for on Facebook. I couldn’t believe it – and there I was crying again!”
Amelia Morris, the Clarks branch manager in Blandford had felt sad for the young mum, and wanted to ensure Caitlin got her princess shoes.
“Honestly, life can be hard.” she says “We need to help each other when we can. I’m glad I could put a smile on both their faces”
Thanks to the power of the local Blandford Facebook community, Carla was swiftly tracked down, and put in touch with Amelia. Just a day later, Caitlin received her shoes (and has been wearing them ever since).
“I can’t ever thank Amelia enough.” Says Carla “I know she has said it was a small thing to do, but it honestly has meant the world to me. It made such a huge difference. I had to share the story, so that everyone knows what an absolute angel she is.”
Bar Staff Required | Plumber Manor
Plumber Manor Country House Hotel & Restaurant
Bar Staff Required.
Plumber Manor hotel (Sturminster Newton) requires a permanent part-time bar person to join the team. Own transport, good sense of humour and adaptability essential.
Some bar experience an advantage but training will be given. This is a long term employment which would suit a more mature person.
2/3 nights a week 6-11pm (variable) and 1 shift at weekends
Email [email protected] with cv or phone 01258 472507
Art Show in Aid of Breast Care Unit
Milborne Port art show in aid of Yeovil hospital breast care unit.
In the village hall on 9th July by ticket only to include a glass of wine – £5 – 6pm – 9pm
&
July 10th 10am – 4pm £3 (children free) Tea, coffee and cake available!
Artists wanting to exhibit, please call : 01963 251628
Glorious Somerset Gardens | St Margarets Hospice Care
The return of St Margaret’s Hospice Care’s Glorious Somerset Gardens!
More than a dozen stunning gardens are opening to visitors this summer in aid of St Margaret’s Hospice Care.
The charity has just launched its 2021 Glorious Somerset Gardens season, which kicks off with gardens on Monday, May 17, and runs until the end of July 2021. The hospice’s green-fingered supporters have taken lockdown in their stride and have spent months getting their gardens ready and Covid secure for the summer.
St Margaret’s 2019 Glorious Somerset Garden’s campaign raised over £23,000 for the hospice and they hope to raise more funds this year so they can continue to care for patients and their families facing a life-limiting illness in Somerset.
Kara Frampton, co-coordinator of Glorious Somerset Gardens, said: “Here at St. Margaret’s Hospice we know how important our gardens are to the health and wellbeing of our patients and their families, providing places of relaxation as well as reflection.
“For years, our loyal gardeners have been opening their gardens to raise funds for us and this year is no different. Our supporters have also stood by us in the face of Covid-19 so this year we wanted to give something back by offering more than a dozen amazing gardens for the community to visit, including walled gardens, steep woodlands, and many stunning gardens with beautiful views. There is something to interest everyone.
“Every donation made will help us continue to provide compassionate care to patients and their families, when it matters most.”
Full details of locations, opening dates and admission prices can be found in the Glorious Somerset Gardens 2021 brochure, available from St. Margaret’s Hospice shops, selected local garden centres and tourist information centres or via the hospice’s website: https://www.st-margarets-hospice.org.uk/glorious-gardens.
