heart to herts in touch
TRANSCRIPT
Helpline 07532 179314 http://www.heart2herts.org
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This edition of Keeping In Touch was edited by Cyril Turbutt and printed by Jim Cromack. “Keeping In Touch” is a BREXIT - and Trump free zone.
Heart to Herts
Cardiac Support Group
Contact us
Chairman, Clive Waters : [email protected] Secretary, Teresa Batchelor : [email protected]
Treasurer, Rex Russell : [email protected] Membership Sec., Freda Leslie : [email protected]
Newsletter, Cyril Turbutt : [email protected]
Our monthly meetings are held at Leverstock Green Community Centre Village Hall, Leverstock Green, Hemel Hempstead, HP3 8QG. You will find us there on the first Tuesday of each month; meetings start at 7.30 pm , and we try to arrange a variety of interesting speakers to entertain and sometimes educate us. Visitors are always welcome.
Our other activities, exercises, outings, etc are confined to Registered Members of Heart to Herts, for insurance reasons.
Keeping In Touch
The Newsletter of Heart to Herts Cardiac Support Group
March 2017
Do you remember theses guys?
If you do (or if you don’t) you will enjoy our
April monthly mee�ng. See page 4
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Puffers Walk
April 2017
The Puffers is a walking group open to any member of Heart to Herts, their families and friends who feel they would enjoy walking around six miles in around three hours in the lovely countryside around Dacorum, Chesham, Redbourn and St Albans.
The group, which has been in existence for some 18 years, usually walks on the last Sunday of each month and then enjoys an optional meal together afterwards. For our April walk we are making a change by walking on a WEDNESDAY. If anyone would like to have more information about the Puffers they can call Pauline or Brian O'Ready on 01442 403449.
Date and time. –.9:45 am on WEDNESDAY APRIL 26th
Meet. - Pauline and Brian at the Windmill Pub Chipperfield
How to get there. - Drive into Kings Langley Village (A4251) and turn uphill into Vicarage Lane. Go ahead for about 2 miles until you come to Tower Hill Crossroads, Kia Dealership on RHS. Turn Left uphill and as you enter the Common turn Right, go past the church and the Windmill pub is on the RHS. Park in the overflow car park just past the pub on the LHS.
The walk. - A roughly circular 6 miles towards Flaunden. There is only one short gentle climb. There (continued)
Country Walk
April 2017
When: Wednesday 19th
April at 11 am.
Meet: - Adrian Greenlees in the car park at The Cock Inn, Church Lane, Sarratt, WD3 6HH
How to get there. - Entering Sarratt Village from Chipperfield direction, The Green is on the right and The Boot PH on the left. At bottom of The Green is The Cricketers PH and pond. Turn right onto Church Lane and The Cock is approximately half a mile on the left.
The Walk. - A gentle and mainly level walk around the woods and fields of Sarratt
Optional Lunch. - after walk at The Cock - choice of main menu or pensioners’ menu may be viewed on The Cock's website. Please let Adrian know (01923)268830 or 07599 550558 by 16th if you intend to stay for lunch.
Puffers Walk (continued) are a few stiles and there may well be mud.
Lunch. - We can pre-order our meal (if lunching) and use the toilets prior to our walk, courtesy of Dave and Dawn our hosts. Please confirm to Brian or Pauline that you will be walking and / or lunching by Monday April 24th either by phone as above or email [email protected]
Contributions to
Keeping In Touch.
The closing date for receipt of
items for next month’s edition
is Thursday 6th April 2017
and should be sent to Cyril
Turbutt, 215 Northridge Way,
Hemel Hempstead, HP1 2AU.,
Thanks,
From Brian Smedley…
Understanding Buildings
Having been involved with buildings both architectural and structural all my working days and well into retirement, I thought probably a little information on the subject might be of interest.
Architectural styles have changed dramatically over the centuries enabling Architects of the day to “show off” their skills and consequently giving Engineers “headaches” designing structures in support.
With all its varying phases of developments commencing from primitive efforts to modern day complex ideas, man has always provided protection against weather, beasts and human enemies. Comparative analysis and first introduction to architecture, one could say, started in prehistoric times (unearthed and recorded by dedicated archaeologists) followed by Egyptian, West Asiatic, Greek, Roman, Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque of many Countries, Gothic, English Mediaeval, Renaissance (14th to 16th century) and modern English. Throughout the ages there have been Castles (providing military fortifications) Monasteries established from the 16th century, Stately Homes built in Tudor and Elizabethan styles, Parish Churches of Norman influence and grand Manor Houses to list just a few.
Successfully solving problems with adapting good design to requirements, architects must consider the original function of design, planning layouts, styles of doors, windows staircase, arches, chimney stacks concluding with roof shapes, when added together reflect at times opulent but magnificent buildings and naturally not forgetting affordable comfort dwellings for today’s living.
On reflection it is very sad to think of the numerous instances that important historical buildings that have been, and are still being, mutilated or destroyed by wars and man’s stupidity. In conclusion one would hope revised and improved architecture will appeal to the wider public of today with buildings comparable to great monuments of the past, expressive of “our times” but worthy to be handed down as a national heritage to future generations. Brian Smedley.
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As always, the Soloists are all young professionals of international standing supported by an orchestra of professional musicians.
Although I am not a musician and cannot sing, I have endured the last 50+ years being married to the conductor and musical Director, my wife Delia, who has been in this post and led the Society for the past 25 years. Tickets £15 available from the box office - telephone: 01923 400520
For more information go to:- http://www.chipperfieldchoral.co.uk/
MikeMikeMikeMike
Mike Meehan writes…
I note your call for contributions which might be of interest to members of the group. I still value the H2H's organised exercise sessions and do not attend any of the other activities and so I am not aware of the other cultural activities that might be of interest.
The local Chipperfield Choral Society’s annual Spring Concert is to be held on Saturday 1
st April at
7.30pm. I can say that this is considered to be biggest and dare I say it the best local choral group in the area with over 100 active members. This year is their 70
th anniversary and they are
performing Handel’s classic work ‘The Messiah’ There will be a VIP guest, the Mayor of Dacorum.
The Society’s Spring Concert is normally held in a local venue, but this year they are planning to attract an audience of up to 500 so it is to be held in the Great Hall at The Royal Masonic School for Girls, Rickmansworth, WD3 4HF, which is located on the Chorleywood road, a short distance from the Rickmansworth Station. The School has magnificent grounds with ample space for parking.
They said that it could not be done, He said “just let me try.”
They said “Others have tried and failed” He answered “But not I.”
They said “It is impossible,” He said “There’s no such word.”
He closed his mind, he closed his heart To everything he heard.
He said “Within the heart of man,
There is a tiny seed. It grows until it blossoms,
It’s called the will to succeed. Its roots are strength, its stem is hope,
Its petals inspiration, Its thorns protect its strong green
leaves, With grim determination.
“Its stamens are its skills
Which help to shape each plan, For there’s nothing in the universe
Beyond the scope of man.” They thought that it could not be done,
Some even said they knew it, But he faced up to what could not be
done…. And he found he couldn’t do it!
(The above parody of “IT COULD NOT
BE DONE” by Edgar A Guest is attributed to Benny Hill.)
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Exercise Sessions
Heart to Herts
Supervised Aerobic
Exercise Sessions
at Hobbs Hill Wood Primary School Peascroft Road
Hemel Hempstead, HP3 8ER.
Tuesdays and Fridays 6.00 to 7.00 pm & 7.30 to 8.30 pm
(except the first Tuesday in each month when there is only the 1st session)
Session charge £3.50
The Clock Room Berkhamsted Town Hall
196 High Street, HP4 3AP
Supervised Aerobic
Exercise Sessions
Mondays at 2.00 pm and 3.20 pm
The session charge is £6.00
For information telephone
Eleanor on 07580 246238
Social Centre for the Blind 6 Alston Road,
Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, HP1
1QU.
Supervised Pilates Sessions
Thursday 09.45 & 11.00 am
The session charge is £6:00
For information telephone
Gerald Darvill 01923 262896
The following exercise sessions run by other
organisations are available to Heart to Herts members
Sportspace Hemel Hempstead
Park Road, HP1 1JS.
Supervised Aerobic Exercise Sessions
11.30 am Mondays and Wednesdays
Session charges: £4.00. (Non-
members will be charged an additional £2.40 entrance fee)
Supervised Health Ride
An indoor cycling class. Suitable for cardiac rehab. phase IV,
and the management of weight, high blood pressure
and diabetes. 10:30 am Thursdays
Session charge: £6.50
The cost of all classes and other activities e.g. use of the gyms and pools are included in direct debit
memberships
For further information on any of the above please telephone
01442 507097/8
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New Members We are pleased to welcome new members who have joined Heart to Herts since the last edition. Mark Reddyhoff & Sue Shanahan from Chipperfield
Sylvia Pearson from Hemel Hempstead
Jane & Noel Lynch from Berkhamsted
We look forward to welcoming
you in person at some of our
activities in the near future.
Membership
April 2017 Monthly Meeting
Tuesday 4th April, at Lever-stock Green Village Hall, start-ing at 7.30 pm.
A talk by Geoff Bowden titled “Funny Guys”. (Can we expect
fireworks? )
Members may recall Geoff’s pre-
vious visit when he told many
stories about comediennes from
�mes gone by. Tonight Geoff
will sa�sfy more than gender
equality laws as he talks about
great comedians from past days.
After a break for refreshments
and chat we will hold the 100
Club Draw and Kath and Mick’s
raffle, in support of Group
Funds.
Brian O'Ready will not be at the April meeting of Heart to Herts. Please do not bring any donations.
The BHF will always collect from you if you are unable to get donations to them. For further information ring BHF on 01442266747.
Annual General Meeting
The Heart to Herts AGM will be held on Tuesday 2nd May at Leverstock Green Village Hall. Formal notice of the meeting is enclosed, including a form for nominating Officers and committee members, in accordance with our Group’s Constitution.
This is your opportunity to introduce new impetus to the running of the Group which you subscribe to. Please don’t waste it. Cyril.
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Outing Report - Bicester Avenue Shopping Mall and the Guide Dog Training Centre
It was the start of an exciting day which many members, includ-ing myself, had been looking for-ward to since being announced. The weather was kind, the journey good, ensuring arrival at our first destination was on time. Bicester Avenue shopping centre having greatly increased in size, together with the Wyvale Gar-den centre, provided many well known stores and shops for brows-ing. Lunch at the centre either in the stylish restaurant or a tasty snack in the superb café area was extremely welcome before proceeding to the main attraction, THE GUIDE DOG CENTRE.
Wending our way to this ven-ue through country lanes, arrived on time to partake in tea or coffee be-fore introduction to trainers, handlers and a film giving a brief introduction of this wonderful organisation. Our next experience comprising working kennels and exer-cise areas for the selected dogs was amazing. Mem-bers had the opportunity to be blindfolded and the ex-perience of being escorted around a setting pertinent to permanent blind people assisted by a fully trained and harnessed guide dog. One can only say “marvellous” what training, patience and loving care has been given by their trainers to achieve this stand-ard. Just a few facts that I noted:- There are 180,000 people registered blind or partially sighted
who rarely leave home alone, but with the assistance of a guide dog can enjoy virtually the same free-dom of movement as everyone else. The organisation founded in 1934 is “non-profit-making”, simply relies on charitable donations. History records service and assis-tance animals were used back in the 16
th century.
First guide dogs introduced in Great Britain were trained by a Russian military officer Captain NIKOLAI LIAKHOFF and were Ger-man Shepherds. Four named Flash, Judy, Meta and Folly and given to veterans blinded in WW1. Most chosen breed is the Labrador Retriever, popular for trainability used globally today, having a good range of size, easily kept due to a short coat, general health and a gentle and willing tem-perament. Many other breeds are also considered
The breeding centre is a completely separate establishment with puppies selected at 10 weeks old. There are1500 paid per-sonnel and, would you be-lieve, 15,000 voluntary walkers. Each recipient of a dog pays 50p only, but the dog remains the property of
the association. Well, there are a few facts, hopefully of interest, but before closing I must say many thanks to Pauline and Denny, our organisers and the coach driver for a great and interesting day out. So as Dame Vera Lynn used to sing “ Here’s to the next time”.
Brian SmedleyBrian SmedleyBrian SmedleyBrian Smedley
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Thanks…. This month’s focus for thanks on behalf of all our members goes to
Kath and Mick Reeve for their great contribution to Heart to Herts by conducting raffles at our
monthly meetings at Leverstock Green. Each month they sit quiet-ly in the corner and it is easy to
underestimate the amount of ef-fort which goes into presenting an interesting variety of prizes to
entice us to buy tickets, and by doing so have raised £1,004 in the past year. It is great to see
how Kath and Mick have contin-ued the high standards set by Sal-ly and Peter Cross before them.
Thanks to all concerned, whether it is by organising, donating priz-es or simply buying tickets. Your
contributions are very much ap-preciated.
Readers’ Letters…
From Pauline White…
A Ford dealership mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a V8, when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his work shop. The doctor was there waiting for the service manager to come and take a look at his car, when the mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey doc, do you want to take a look at this?”
The cardiologist, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, "So doc, look at this engine. I opened its heart, took the valves out, repaired and replaced anything damaged and then put everything back in and when I was finished, it worked just like new. So how is it that I make £40,000 a year and you make £1.5 million, when you and I are doing basically the same work?”
The cardiologist paused, leaned over
and whispered to the mechanic: "Try doing it with the engine running!"
““““Can you hang on a sec? I Can you hang on a sec? I Can you hang on a sec? I Can you hang on a sec? I think I just took another think I just took another think I just took another think I just took another
picture of my ear.”picture of my ear.”picture of my ear.”picture of my ear.”
(From The New Yorker magazine) (From The New Yorker magazine) (From The New Yorker magazine) (From The New Yorker magazine)
Why is it that doctors and lawyers call what they do
“practice”? Shouldn’t they do that before they start?
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Readers’ Letters… From Alan Waugh
A while ago you published a map in “In Touch” with directions about get-ting to WATFORD GENERAL HOSPITAL.
We did a trial run today, as it is like-ly that I shall be “making use of their facilities” again soon. In spite of what the route might look like on the maps, the best route from Hemel is NOT that which you printed about going via Dalton Way. There is a much straighter route that does not use the Watford ring-
road, as described below.
Follow the A411 Hempstead Road to the roundabout at its junction with the A412 Rick-mansworth Road. Turn right along the Rickmansworth Road. Take the second left turn onto the A4178 Cassio Road. Follow this straight on. After a while the name changes to Wiggenhall Road. Again, keep going straight on. Just before the crossroads with Thomas Sawyer Way, there is a BP petrol station on the left. There is a dedicated right hand turn lane here for Thomas Saw-yer Way and traffic lights for straight on or right. (No left turn allowed.) Turn right on-to Thomas Sawyer Way and turn right at the second roundabout for Watford General Hospital car park and A&E.
In the hope that this will be useful at some point but not for a long time! Kind regards,
Alan.Alan.Alan.Alan.
Annual Membership
Renewal Your membership of Heart to Herts Cardiac Support Group runs out on 31st March 2017, You are invited to renew your membership for the year starting on 1st April 2017 by completing the enclosed form and sending it to Membership Secretary Freda Leslie with your subscription of £10 made payable to Heart to Herts. If you have joined The Group since 1st January 2017 you are not required to renew until April 2018. Members are reminded that each applicant and their spouse, partner or carer are equal members of The Group and as such are eligible to be an officer or committee member. Freda Leslie, 3 Old Oak Gardens, Northchurch, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 3YD.
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Heart to Herts Visit to Herne Bay for a day at The Sea-side with a coffee stop at
Tea Pot Island
on Wednesday 14th
June 2017 departing Gadebridge
Park and Ride at 08.30 am
We are making an early start today for a day by the sea. First stop will be for coffee at Tea Pot Island. Tea Pot Is-land is a family run business housing the biggest collection of teapots in England. There are over 7,600 teapots on dis-play in the exhibition and over 4,000 teapots for sale. And, fortunately for us, there is al-so a cafe where we will be able to have some refresh-ments before continuing on our journey to Herne Bay. You will be free to visit the exhibition if you wish at a cost of £2.50 (adults) or £1.50 (concession), not included in the price of the outing.
Herne Bay is a traditional,
friendly seaside town on the north Kent coast, per-fect for a day out. Two miles of splendid coastline lined with brightly coloured beach huts reflecting the great character of this tranquil, seaside town and offering seaside favourites such as candyfloss, ice cream par-lours, cafes and friendly lo-cal pubs. For those looking for some retail therapy, there is a pedestrian-friendly shop-ping centre just off the sea-front offering plenty of places to shop and relax, with an array of independent shops and places to eat.
Let us hope for a day of glo-rious sunshine, as we had with our day at Frinton last year.
The cost of this outing is £20. This outing is open to the member and up to three guests.
The deadline for applica-tions for this outing is 28
th
April 2017
Pauline White 01442 405930.
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Heart to Herts Visit to Standen House
and Gardens (NT) on Friday 14
th July 2017
departing Gadebridge Park and Ride at
08.30 am
Today is our National Trust fix for the year. Standen House is described as an Arts and Crafts gem. Filled with William Morris textiles and furnishings, the welcom-ing house was the former home of the Beale family and still exudes the spirit of an idyllic 1920s family home. The gardens have many dif-ferent areas to enjoy, includ-ing a kitchen and rose gar-den. There are hillside gar-dens and woodlands to enjoy (look out for Exmoor ponies and wildlife along the way). There will also be an oppor-tunity to find out about an ambitious restoration project
to restore the gardens to the Arts and Crafts-inspired vision of Margaret Beale at the turn of the 20
th century.
The Barn Cafe serves tempt-ing seasonal dishes with food grown in the Kitchen Garden. The shop sells Arts and Crafts-inspired gifts and plants grown at Standen.
The cost of this outing is £16.50 (NT members) £26.50 (non members)
This outing is open to the member and up to three guests.
The deadline for applica-tions for this outing is 28
th
April 2017
Pauline White 01442 405930
Why are they called “Apartments” when they are all
stuck together?