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September 2012 • Issue 7

The Big Knit 2012he Big Knit 2012 is under waywith Age UK Colchester’s pledge

to provide 5,000 little woolly hats togo onto Innocent Smoothie bottlesin Sainsbury’s stores later in the year.For every hat we make and send to AgeUK then Innocent will pay 25 pence.Please help us to raise money in this mostenjoyable way.Hats are already coming in thick and fastbut five thousand is quite a number so anyhelp you can give will be very muchappreciated.It you would like wool, needles or patternsthen please give Frankie a ring on 01206368420.The patterns can also be found on the AgeUK Colchester website:

www.ageuk.org.uk/colchester

I-tea and Biscuits Week17 - 21 September 2012� Learn how to use the computer� One to one tuition� FREE half hour taster session

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdayand Friday mornings and afternoons

Please phone 01206 368420to book

Itea and Biscuits Week is a week-long campaign being held between

17 and 21 September 2012.The week aims to bring together a range oforganisations to promote and celebrate thebenefits of digital inclusion for people in laterlife.During the week, Age UK will be supportingorganisations to deliver a network of tastersessions throughout the UK, to promote theuse of technology as a natural part ofeveryday life.The campaign aims to ensure that peoplein later life don’t miss out on the benefitsthat the internet and digital participation canoffer and that they are supported to developthe skills and confidence to accessinformation and services in an increasinglyonline world.Now in its fifth year, Itea and Biscuits Weekis part of Age UK’s Connect with ITcampaign, which also includes MyfriendsOnline Week run annually in March, and theAge UK Internet Champion of the Yearcompetition.Itea and Biscuits Week is not abouttechnology itself, but about ensuring thatpeople in later life are able to learn newskills and access information about services,hobbies and interests that allow them to beindependent and live the way they want.Technology provides opportunities forreducing social isolation and improvingquality of life for all, but it’s not an end initself.We hope that Itea and Biscuits Week willhelp participants to discover different typesof technology and how they can get themost out of them.

Globe House6 George Street

ColchesterCO1 1TP

We offer regular computer courses consisting ofthree one-hour sessions with a volunteer tutor.

If you would like to find out more about ourCatch the Mouse Computer Sessions

then please call us on01206 368420

Big Energy Saving Week22-27 October 2012

� Are you worried about yet another priceincrease from the energy companies?� Could you be paying too much for your gas

and electricity?� Has your boiler been serviced ready for the

winter months?� If your loft insulation is no more than 65 mm

(2½ inches) deep, then you may be eligiblefor an free upgrade to the depth of 270 mm.We may be able to help you in using less energy and

paying less.Don’t leave it until the cold weather - why not make an

appointment with Edward Pentney, our ConsumerManager, now?

Call us on 01206 368420

Age UK ColchesterAnnual General MeetingYou are cordially invited to the

of

which will be held on

(Coffee served from 10.00 am)in the

RSVP to Age UK ColchesterGlobe House, 6 George Street, Colchester, CO1 1TP or telephone 01206 368420

WalkingDerek Keeble loves walking and he has kindly agreed to provide us with details of

a walk so that we can enjoy the autumn tints in part of the Colne Valley.Derek’s idea is that we should enjoy our walk as part of a way of keeping our lungsfilled with fresh air, our muscles supple, our bones strong and our minds full of interest.So let’s step out …

COOKS HALL LINEThe objective of this Health Walk is to follow a way marked pathway in the Colne River valley fromAldham's Ford Street to West Bergholt's Lexden Road. The former is connected to Colchester by anhourly 88 bus service, and the latter is similarly connected with a 3 buses per hour service, viz 66.The intention is that the walkers decide their own pace, and it is likely they will need two hours butprobably not three.Wear what you would for golf or gardening because you will surely meet mud and vegetation. Bestshoes are those trusted to remain comfortable in two hours time, and the deeper the tread-patternon the heels and soles the better.Take your bus pass or fare, some drink and any navigational aids you are likely to rely upon. A stickor a long umbrella can have several uses too.

Walking for healthSTART Alight at Coopers in Ford Street to start walking in the same direction as the bus, so passingover the River Colne with Fordham's Shoulder of Mutton swaddled in willow trees beside it. Nipthrough the pub's car park to the rear riverbank exit Path. This is not a right-of-way but the landlordis tolerant of such use as many of his patrons are walkers.FOREST You are now within the Woodland Trust Forest at Fordham Hall which also welcomeswalkers. Continue with river on right side and diverge as it meanders away. The short-cutting path isclear on the ground. and there are waymarks comprising a couple of Essex red Poppies, one large,one not so large to resemble a footprint. The river and path re-unite, and then part again, beforeFordham Millhouse is reached.Cross the road carefully by Snowdons and continue eastwards. Where field- dividing ditches tumbledown to the Colne, so handrailed-footbridges are in place to help walkers along The Essex Way fromEpping Forest to Harwich Lighthouse, or vice versa should they so wish.MILLENNIUM BRIDGE The second such bridge is adjacent to a larger bridge connecting Fordhamto Eight Ash Green. After many years of waiting this bridge was re-installed to mark the Millennium1999-2001. It is not needed for this project. Continue under the canopy of riverside trees on the northbank of the Colne through to a gate leaving the forest for access to grazing fields.Stay close to the left hand hedge, and at the hedge bend left, move that one field further from theriver, and sweep right to cross a cartbridge into West Bergholt continuing eastwards towards a remotebrick byre alongside what is now a droving track.COOKS HALL Beyond the building the track hitches left uphill diverging from the river for the lasttime on this trip. Walk carefully through Cooks Hall farmyard, being alert for reversing fork-liftingvehicle etc. and when on the drive, sweep left by the pond gaining more height as the cottages ofCooks Hall Lane are reached. Leave these to the right, ignore the road in preference for the still risingearthen track towards West Bergholt Hall and its attendant redundant church.Waymarks will indicate a right wheel by this interestingpond as a hedgerow is followed eastwards. Thesewaymarks should next persuade you to swap sides ofthe hedge, and then to fork left at the hedge end. Thelast field is crossed to enter the residential zone of FirminCourt off Lexden Road.FINISH Now unblinkered by back-garden wattle fencing,espy Orpen Hall and the Scout HQ on the eastern sideof Lexden Road and note the bus stops for theColchester-bound 66 route are on the western side ofthe road, the two nearest being enhanced by shelters.

Keep happy feetDerek

Target ColchesterAlthough Colchester suffered some one thousand raids

during World War II there were, fortunately, very fewcasualties. This changed in 1942 with two big raids on thetown on 11 August and 28 September.The August raid was on Severalls Hospital were 38 patients were killedand dozens more seriously injured by a Luftwaffe raid. It was believedthe pilots saw the hospital water tower and thought that the surroundingbuildings were a factory rather than a mental institution.Heather Borges (nee Cooper) was 12 at the timeand lived with her parents in one of the SeverallsHospital staff houses in Mill Road. Her fatherworked in the hospital and was on duty on thisfateful night.Heather, who recorded her wartime memories aspart of the Age Concern Colchester’sRemembering World War II project for juniorschools, said that the raid was very severe.

“My mother had heard the air-raid warning and got me and my siblingsinto the bed with her. The raid was very noisy with the windows rattling,the anti-aircraft guns firing and the searchlights. Then it went quiet andthe all clear sounded”

“A little later there was a noise at the window and when we looked outin the early morning light my father stood there all dirty and dusty withhis tin hat on”

“He said ‘W is down’ and my mother started to cry because she realisedit was the women’s ward that had been hit”

“My Dad came in for a cup of tea and then he went back to see what hecould do in the rescue. He was very lucky because he had been in thatparticular ward but had gone to the men’s ward just before the bombshit.”Hervey Benham, in Essex at War, considered the bombing of SeverallsHospital as the most tragic event of the whole of the war.

The Essex County Standard reportof the raid on Severalls Hospital

Photographs in the Essex County Standard of the ChapelStreet raid of 28 September 1942

This new presentation for Age UK Colchester willtake you back to the era of What’s my Line? andSunday Night at the London Palladium. Enjoy anhour of clips from television programmes of half acentury ago!

To book this presentation for your club then pleasecontact Peter Simpson on 01206 331715.

A donation to Age UK Colchester will be requested.

The Black NightieFollowing on from our poem about the BlackNightie in Vintage 5 we have received thefollowing from Mrs Deag:`My black nightie` takes me back to 1943.When a colleague asked me to be herbridesmaid (in 1943).We worked compiling wages for the workersin a factory.Saturday afternoon we were free to go offspending clothing coupons carefully.Amongst the precious items of purchasemade was a delightful nightie.You will never guess whathappened next! My colleague`smum made her take it back, toexchange for somethingsturdier, in 1943 .......A bridesmaid I was not to be. Ireceived my call up papersfrom the Royal NavyIn May 1943.

Our aim is simple: to help everyone makethe most of later life. We believe that oldage should be valued. That choice isimportant through life. And we believe inyour right to stay independent as long aspossible.

So, volunteers give practical support. Wehave expert information and advice youcan rely on; and we will campaign for yourrights.

Globe House, 6 George StreetColchester, CO1 1TP

Phone: 01206 368420Fax: 01206 500984Email: info@ageukcolchester.org.ukWeb: www.ageukcolchester.org.uk

Age UK Colchester is a registered charity (Registered Charity No. 1142414)and company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales No

7517777. Registered Office: 6 George Street, Colchester, CO1 1TP.

A Breath of AirThe finest tonic in the world, the best aperitif - whether it’s a lungful or the merestlittle sniff. If you feel out of sorts or lacking energy - its oxygen you need.So help yourself. It’s free!

Never let a day go by without a breath of air.Even if it’s only just a minute here and there.It will stir your blood and blow the cobwebs from your soul.Regardless of the weather or the season - take a stroll.

Think of those who cannot walk.How often they must sigh - to get out in the open and to look up at the sky …And if you’re tired indoors there’ll be a moment you can spare - to stand at open dooror window for a breath of air.

Patience Strong