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Secret Britain page 8 Summer Recipes page 26

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4 Busy doing NothingA few years ago, Mike Francis took the decision to retire. In this issue he shares his experience with readers and offers some advice for anyone contemplating retirement.

6 The London 1948 Olympic GamesThis year the largest sporting event in the world returns to the UK. We look back at when London last hosted the games in 1948.

8 Secret BritainOften in the more remote corners of the countryside, a wealth of stunning landscapes and habitats can be found. Discover some of Britain’s best kept secrets.

17 Perfect StayHotel review. Our writer travels to Cornwall to experience the luxury spa destination at The Cornwall Estate and Spa.

19 Out and AboutEvents taking place throughout the country.

20 SubscriptionSubscribe and have Retirement Today delivered direct to your door.

22 Footloose in LondonDebra Rixon and her husband have been making walking films for over ten years, both in the UK and abroad. Read about how they trailed through

London, taking in the most popular sights and

tourist spots.

24 CompetitionsYour chance to win tickets for

the theatre, an exhibition, and a forest adventure, plus books and DVD.

26 Summer days and Balmy NightsRecipes for simple summer food inspired by Mediterranean shores

29 Rehoming a pet when an owner diesRead about animals change of behaviour following the death of a companion and also how pets can be cared for when you no longer can.

30 Charity NewsRead what is happening within the world of charity.

34 Grey HairsRegular columnist Robert Grey highlights the new format of the Pension Statement forecast.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Although every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information and the advertisements contained within the magazine, the publishers cannot accept any liability. Retirement Today would be pleased to receive your articles and photographs for possible publication. Although all reasonable care will be taken the magazine can assume no responsibility and contributors are advised to retain a copy.

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Cover images:

Bottom Left: Dunmore Pineapple, Stirling Photography: Chris Coe Taken from Secret Britain, by kind permission of New Holland PublishersBottom Right: Summer Vegetable Skewers Taken from Summer Days & Balmy Nights, By kind permission of Ryland Peters and SmallMiddle Right: ©

Olympic Committee Taken from The Games: Britian’s Olympic and Paralympic Journey to London 2012 by kind permission of Wiley publishers

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A few years ago I took a decision and along with the money scuttled deep into the long grass of retirement. There may be others teetering on the brink of making a similar journey and just need a few facts straightened out first which I, from my privileged position knee deep in the long grass,

may be able to provide.

Hours to spendWe who have withdrawn our labour find it easier to talk in hours than other units of time. Ask us the day or week and we will scratch our forelocks, if we still have them, furrow our brow and plunge deep into thought. Hours are generally easier to remember because they have just happened.

them to fill every year. Talking to the flowers even if you have a very capacious herbacious border will only while away a few and spending the day in bed until 4pm

only gets you grumpy and bedsores. Like everything else in life you only get out what you put in. So put in lots!

Treat every day as a new adventure. At work your day was repetitive, now’s your chance to break out of the mould. Do something completely different from yesterday and tomorrow. Build, demolish, join, meet and attend, these are all actions you should consider doing at some time, shuffled around the week to keep spontaneity going. Meeting people suddenly assumes greater significance when you’re left high and dry on your little sand bank with nothing to do. The background buzz of wall to wall work, interchange of ideas, jokes, arguments, drinks down the pub, has disappeared and needs replacing with new faces, trips to the country, walks in the town, evening classes, clubs and hobbies.

I live in London, worked in London, never really knew London, not when I was rushing several hundred feet below to the office. Now as a retired tourist, I’ve cased Sherlock Holmes’ joint, splashed out at the Aquarium, breezed by boat down to Greenwich, walked warily in the steps of Jack the Ripper and patrolled Constable country. The more doors you open the more there are to knock on. Whether you live in Gravesend or Goole, Bridlington or Bristol the principle’s just the same.

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I live in London,

worked in London,

never really knew London,

not when I was rushing

several hundred feet below to the

office

doing nothingFinanceOne of the biggest worries refugees from work have to face is the fear of poverty. Without the prop of a salary dropping into your currrent account every month your rosy finances lack a bit of colour and certainty. But the future’s not so black. Presumably you are going to acquire a nest egg of a certain size otherwise you wouldn’t be thinking of taking early leave of work. This may be in the form of a lump sum pay out or through diligent investment on your part, a pension scheme, investments, and so on. Some of your money should be used to pay off credit card balances as soon as you can because these are expensive drains on your resources. Go through your monthly expenses and check out where you can save, what you can cut out. You will be surprised how beneficial a detailed trawl through your monthly statement can be. Commuting costs can be saved at a stroke, you’ll have lower laundry bills and less fancy restaurant dining. You won’t be bombarded with a high tax demand either although telephone bills, at least in the short term, will increase as you try to keep in touch with the outside world. When you do your final estimate you’ll be surprised how lean your expenses can be.

HealthWhen people retire they get ill, usually because they have plenty of time to think about what they have, might have or would like

to have. All manner of diseases suddenly manifest themselves in the head, small blemishes become contagious diseases. Most are imagined and the sooner you get out for a brisk walk or hit some sort of ball about the better. The simple philosophy of surviving retirement is to idle with purpose and keep busy doing nothing

GuiltSome people get the notion that when they retire they’ll be racked with guilt toasting their feet on a roasting fire while everyone else is slogging it through the fog. Think back though. You did all this for a major part of your life sometimes in far worse conditions. In smog when the buses couldn’t run and you had to walk home with a scarf over your mouth and the only thing to show for it was a dirty tidemark. Throughout the three day week when London went to work without light or heat and civil servants were given a candle to keep out the cold. You endured all this, you worked for your retirement. Now go out and enjoy it. Guilt need never enter your head.

Keeping fitIt’s a commonly held assumption that workers who choose to retire early generally make a better fist of it than those who have retirement foisted on them at the appointed age. It’s all down to attitude. Some people need the template of work, they find it impossible to adapt to leisure and view looming retirement as something to be postponed as long as possible and then only endured like having deep root canal treatment on your teeth. If you say to yourself ‘my life is my work,

I’ve no outside interests, I’m not going to enjoy retirement’, then you might as well pull down the blinds right now. Then there are those who adopt a positive stance. Regimented at work

most of their life, they see retirement as a great opportunity to break rank, have a field day and realise ambitions they’ve been secretly

Learning the piano and crossing America by motorbike will do for a start they say; For myself I always wanted to have my feet rubbed, so every month a reflexologist visits and afterwards I feel like bouncing over the uneven pavement like a trampolining teenager. Keeping fit certainly helps to keep your positive attitude up to scratch. Playing tennis is a great help for concentration and timing, swimming the perfect relaxation of all known limbs cranked down to your own gentle pace. I try and do both as often as I can.

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by Mike Francis

Meeting people suddenly assumes greater significance when you’re left high and dry on your little sand bank with

nothing to do

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Ihurtling towards another global conflict, the IOC voted to decide the venue for the 1944 Olympic Games. London fought off the

claims of Rome, Detroit, Budapest, Lausanne, Helsinki, Montreal and Athens to secure the vote. Six long years later, however – after the 1944 Games had been cancelled – with the end to hostilities mercifully in sight, much of Europe lay in ruins. The IOC quite sensibly set about starting a new bidding process to find the Host City for the 1948 Games. All previous bets were off.

Very few nations or cities in war-ravaged Europe were in a position to contemplate staging the event. In America the President of the American Olympic Association (AOA), Avery Brundage, who was also Vice President of the IOC, initially offered the opinion that

only an American city, untouched by conflict, could realistically contemplate staging an Olympic Games. Many agreed with him, and as if on cue Baltimore, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Los Angeles all immediately announced their candidature, along with Lausanne from neutral Switzerland. Arguably they had the infrastructure, facilities and resources to take on the Games and see it through.

In London, officials of the British Olympic Authority (BOA) viewed things very differently.

They objected that their great city had helped out the Olympic

the vote for the 1944 Games fair and square. Britain had stood alone in the war for a critical period; did it not deserve first crack at a peacetime Olympic Games? King George

VI was keen as well, sensing the challenge of holding the Olympic Games would galvanise Britain. He believed the Games offered the perfect opportunity to restore morale in the weary country and to signal a return to ‘normality’ across the globe. Quickly the momentum for a new British bid started to build. In October 1945 Lord Burghley, now chairman of the BOA met with the President of the IOC in Stockholm to discuss London’s possible selection. As the official report for the 1948 Games observes, ‘an investigating committee was set up by the British Olympic Council [sic] to work out in some detail the possibility of holding the Games. After several meetings they recommended to the Council that the Lord Mayor of London should be invited to apply for the allocation of the Olympic Games of 1948.’

Sigfrid Edström, the President of the IOC, had always been in favour of Britain staging the 1948 Games. He was also keen that the first Games after the war be slightly different – a commemoration of those who had perished so recently. The priority was simply to get as many nations as possible gathered under the same roof, and to let the unique atmosphere of the Olympic Games inspire the youth of the world again. Brundage was quickly convinced by Edström’s enthusiasm for London and changed his position.

Britain’s determination also struck a chord with IOC candidates generally. There was a widespread feeling that London, a symbol of democracy and freedom throughout the years of conflict, would be the most fitting venue for the first post-war world gathering. In practical terms it would certainly be the easiest for most hard-pressed nations to travel to. The IOC duly organised a postal vote in March 1946, with London emerging as the overwhelming choice. Slowly, the so-called Austerity Games began to take shape. Germany and Japan were not permitted to compete and Russia,

The London 1948 This year the largest sporting event in the world returns

to the UK for the first time since 1948. This article looks

back at when London last hosted the Olympic Games.

The official poster of the 1948 Olympic Games. London agreed to host the ‘Austerity Games’ despite still suffering the after-effects of the Second World War.© 2011 International Olympic Committee

Fans enjoy the Athletics action at a full Wembley Stadium during the 1948

Games. There hardly seems a spare seat, and notice how there is no roof over the far

straight of the famous venue.© Mark Kauffman/Time Life Pictures/

Getty Images

although it had begun competing internationally in other sports, chose not to travel. They did send a large team of observers, however, to make notes at all the events.

London’s candidature wasn’t entirely without its critics at home. The London Evening Standard delivered a critical editorial, complaining that, ‘a people which has had its housing programme and food imports cut … may be forgiven for thinking that a full year of expensive preparation for the reception of an army of foreign athletes verges on the border of excessive’. Generally, however, the British public seemed glad to have something positive to focus on.

The BOA formed an Organising Committee. Three or four of its members were very much ‘usual suspects’: Lord Burghley, for example (Eton, Cambridge, an Olympic gold medallist from 1928 and a former MP) was a natural choice as Chairman of the Organising Committee, while Colonel Evan Hunter OBE proved an unsung hero as Secretary, a role in which he had served the BOA since 1925. Hunter, a career soldier who had fought in both world wars, had organised the British Empire Games at the White City Stadium, London,

and relaxed view of affairs. Nothing could faze him. New Zealander

medallist in Athletics at the Paris 1924 Olympic Games, had settled in London where he became surgeon to the Royal Household. He was placed in charge of Olympic Medical Services while Harold Abrahams, who beat Porritt at the 1924 Games, was appointed Treasurer to the Games Committee. It was a rock solid team combining experience and influence. However, history shows that in delivering something as big as the Olympic Games you also need somebody who thinks outside the box, an entrepreneur who sees the bigger picture, and 1948 was to be no exception.

The maverick this time was another brilliant self-made entrepreneur, Sir Arthur Elvin. He had rescued Wembley Stadium from

Managing Director of Wembley Ltd. He found various ways of making it pay – mainly through greyhound racing, the formation of a speedway team and staging Rugby League Cup Finals. He also established two successful ice hockey teams, the Wembley Lions and the Wembley Monarchs, at the Empire Pool.

Although no new venues were to be built and expenditure was to be kept to a minimum, Wembley needed

million pounds in today’s money) for essential repairs and the installation

government were not prepared to spend such money, while its citizens still endured strict rationing and large areas of Britain were being rebuilt. The all-powerful Elvin soon managed to persuade his Wembley Stadium Management Board to put up the money, offset against future ticket sales. It was the key moment in deciding whether the Games would take place, and King George

rewarding Elvin with a knighthood.Elvin really was an extraordinarily

adroit mover behind the scenes. Somehow he persuaded Arthur J.

in 1948) for exclusive film rights to make the official film of the 1948 Games. This amounted to three per cent of the total budget and was an early indication of the Olympic Games’s commercial potential. Rank, the shrewdest of businessmen himself, had also done his sums: he knew he could make it pay as well. Unlike the Leni Riefenstahl masterpiece Olympia, which appeared 18 months

people had the official Technicolor film, The Glory of Sport, showing in all his cinemas two weeks after the end of the Games. Rank also had separate crews filming in black and white to turn around twice weekly news packages to show in his cinemas before the regular feature.

Elvin was a tough practical operator, but he was also a sports fan. His enthusiasm shone through when he was quoted in the News of the World on the eve of competition, ‘Cannot everyone in the world see that even in far-away Moscow

it is better that men should run and jump against each other rather than to blow each other to pieces on the battlefield? The approach is

Games. We want to see the best men win, no matter where they come from and who they represent.’

Such an approach was genuine and reflected in the responses of spectators and organisers alike. Just staging the Games seemed reward enough for Britain, evidenced on the last but one day of the Athletics when the 4 x

won Britain’s first gold medal of the Games. The USA had actually won the race by five yards, but they were mysteriously disqualified for a faulty baton change. The British quartet thus accepted the gold medals on the podium in front of a very subdued home crowd before the decision was officially reversed three days later. Impressed, the New York Times reported the following day that: ‘The judicial victory awarded the British sprinters was the first time the British crowd had the opportunity to cheer a triumph by their countrymen. But the Britons disagreed with the judges. They did not want to win even one victory that way. They gave their loudest cheer to the disqualified Americans … that is sportsmanship at its best.’ It was a far cry from the

Games, a reflection of changing

Two world wars had forged a deeper relationship, and a new and proper perspective had been rediscovered

The Games: Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic Journey to London 2012, edited by Andrew Longmore is out now for £29.99. It is one of nine beautifully illustrated books being published by Wiley, an official publisher to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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Building work takes place at Wembley before the start of the 1948 Games with the laying of the track. The Stadium was to prove one of the great homes for Olympic Athletes’ feats with the multi-medal glory of Dutch superstar Fanny Blankers-Koen.© William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Discover some of the best of Britain’s most famous, fascinating and beautiful places, such as the Welsh village of Portmeirion, and some less well known landscapes and habitats like Dennis Severs’ House in London

Derek Jarman’s Garden KentBest known as an artist and film maker, Derek Jarman (1942–94) came to this remote, some would say bleak, corner of Kent during the last years of his life. Round his tiny cottage, which faces out across the vast sea of stones toward the huge futuristic power station, he created a remarkable contemporary garden.

If you decide to visit, you must divest your mind of the normal conceptions of gardens and gardening, for Derek Jarman created his patch of green from objects picked up on the beach, but the resulting garden is all the more interesting as a result. More like a sculpture or installation art, the garden mixes found objects with stones and a few salt-tolerant plants.

SecretsDerek Jarman’s Garden, Prospect Cottage, Dungeness, Kent.While you’re thereRide on the wonderful narrow gauge Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, which takes you miles across the unspoilt marshlands (rhdr.org.uk).Secret place to stayGeorge Hotel, Lydd. (thegeorgelydd.com). A real gem.

Dennis Severs’ House LondonThis strange little house is in Spitalfields, one of the most unspoilt areas of early 18th-century London. Here a grid of streets retains their magnificent door cases and much of their interior fireplaces and panelling. They are known as silk weavers’ houses because they were built by immigrant silk weavers, who settled in London to escape persecution in France. Typically the attics of the houses were organized to fit their silk looms.

Most of the houses are still privately owned, but one can be visited. It was formerly lived in by Denis Severs (1948–99), an American with a passion for all things English. When he retired to the house he wanted it to appear as if an 18th-century family was still living there. To achieve this, there is no electric light, the rooms are left cluttered and dusty, in some rooms the plaster is crumbling and on a dining table can usually be seen what looks like the remains of a half-finished meal. To preserve the atmosphere, visitors are not allowed to talk

while visiting the house.

V i s i t i n g Dennis Severs’ House feels like time travelling to an 18th-century home whose i n h a b i t a n t s have just gone to bed.

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nFor 200 years , The National Benevolent Charity has been a lifeline to people who have fallen into poverty and distress and who have nowhere else to turn.

Despite state benefits, sickness, disability and old age can still

mean a life of awful hardship. For Leah and David and hundreds

like them, The National Benevolent Charity can help.

Please support the 1812-2012 Bi-Centenary Appeal

Donations should be sent to: The National Benevolent Charity Peter Hervé House, Eccles Court, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8EHFor more info visit www.thenbc.org.uk or telephone 01666 505500

Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales Registered Charity Number 212450

People like nurse Leah, 58, and her

artist husband David, 63. They

wanted a happy retirement together

but Leah became crippled with

arthritis and cannot walk. David is

dedicated to his wife and cares for

her full time. But, the loss of earned

income has been devastating, and

they are poverty-stricken.

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SecretsDenis Severs House 18 Folgate Street, Spitalfields, London E1 6BX (dennissevershouse.co.uk).Opening times and prices vary so check the website. No children.While you’re thereVisit nearby Spitalfields church, the masterpiece of Nicolas Hawksmoor, who rebuilt many of London’s churches after the Great Fire. Secret place to eatFazenda, Spitalfields 020 7375 0577. Authentic Italian; reasonable prices.

Stephenson’s Cottage NorthumberlandIt is difficult to see how the Industrial Revolution could have been quite as world-changing as it eventually was

were extraordinarily humble. Visitors to the tiny isolated cottage on the banks of the Tyne where he was born will justly find it hard to believe that the little boy who grew up here at the end of the 18th century was destined to take the world by storm and – via the steam engine – to change

the whole nature and pace of transport forever.

To get to the tiny stone-built cottage, go to Wylam, a pretty, largely stone-built village that straddles the Tyne, about 19km (12 miles) inland from N e w c a s t l e .

the Tyne was so dirty that few if any salmon

were able to penetrate as far as Wylam, let alone reach the spawning beds further upstream. But a huge clean-up means that salmon now lie regularly beneath Wylam bridge, just as they would have done when Stephenson was born here. The whole family lived in one room, but they would have enjoyed clean air and water as the house overlooked the river.

Walk half a mile from Wylam Bridge along the trackway that the great man would once have taken. It was Stephenson’s Rocket that launched the era of railway travel when, in September 1825, it ran from Darlington

(15 miles) an hour.

SecretsGeorge Stephenson’s Birthplace, Wylam NE41 8BP(nationaltrust.org.uk) 01661 853457. Open: mid-Mar–Oct Thur–Sun 11.00–17.00. Price: adult £1.80, child 90p.While you’re thereVisit nearby Corbridge with its lovely old houses and medieval tower.Secret place to stayCrag House Hotel, Hexham01434 681276. Beautifully situated on an alpaca farm.

Portmeirion,GwyneddBright, quirky, charming, eccentric and delightful – over the years these and many similar words have been used to describe this extraordinary village on the Welsh coast. It would take an architectural historian to understand every style and parody of style contained in a village which is essentially the life’s work of one man – the architect Clough

In many ways Williams-Ellis was a man too far ahead of his time. He

wanted to prove that building did not necessarily ruin a beautiful place, which

he owned. With its whitewashed or pastel-coloured cottages, Portmeirion looks like something from the Mediterranean, but it does just what its architect intended it to do – it fits well into an area of outstanding natural beauty, surrounded as it is by gardens and woodlands and miles of beautiful beach. Williams-Ellis was a passionate conservationist long before such things were fashionable, and he would be delighted to know that, today, the village to which he devoted his life is in the hands of a trust – a registered charity called The Second Portmeirion Foundation, which carefully guards his legacy.

The Portmeirion Hotel lets all the cottages in the village and there are restaurants, shops and delightful walks. But perhaps Portmeirion’s greatest claim

It’s hard to believe that this is a Welsh town.

SecretsWhile you’re thereJust enjoy the spectacular coastal walks in this lovely region.Secret place to stayPortmeirion Hotel, Portmeiron (portmeirion-village.com).Right in the heart of the village and remarkably unchanged since 1926.

Dunmore Pineapple StirlingshireJust a few miles south of Stirling is one of Scotland’s most bizarre buildings – the Dunmore Pineapple.

exotic fruit were still rare and extremely costly, the 14-m (46-ft) high sandstone pineapple is actually a sort of gazebo – a place where the Laird of Dunmore could look out across his gardens and land.

The pineapple is part of a walled garden and reflects the fact that pineapples were being grown in that garden in the 18th century – being able to grow such exotic fruit at that time was a huge status symbol and the stone pineapple would have announced that fact to the world.The Dunmore gardens, the Pineapple and 6.5ha (16 acres) of surrounding land – the policies, as the land is known in Scotland – were given to the Landmark Trust by the Countess of

and wildlife, including the rare great-crested newt

SecretsIf you are really taken with the Pineapple, you can stay in it by contacting: The Landmark Trust, Shottesbrooke, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 3SW (landmarktrust.org.uk) 01628 825925. While you’re thereDon’t miss the well-signposted walk through the unspoilt local woodlands. Secret place to stayAirth Castle, Airth (airthcastlehotel.com).Try staying in a real ancient castle.

Taken from Secret Britain –The Best of Britain’s Hidden Gems by Tom Quinn, published by New Holland. ISBN 978-1-84773-947-6

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A s summer starts you

might be thinking about taking a bit of time out to relax and enjoy yourself. Whether you’re going abroad or taking a ‘staycation’, having travel insurance in place can remove some of the worry if something does go wrong. The Financial Ombudsman Service – the free service set up to sort out problems between consumers and financial

complaints about travel insurance last year.

Retirement today spoke to the ombudsman for some top tips to ensure you have a hassle free holiday.

To insure or not to insure: When you’re planning your big getaway, travel insurance may not seem that important. Tempting as it may be to make savings where you can, a good insurance policy can help you out if things go wrong. Bear in mind that travel policies can vary considerably, so check your cover.

What the EHIC is that? The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gives you the right to healthcare in many European countries if you’re on a temporary visit there. It’s a good idea to get a card, which is free and available through the NHS. But remember - while the EHIC will entitle you to some free or reduced price care, it won’t cover everything and is not an alternative to insurance.

Keep covered with credit: If you’re paying for your holiday – or making some holiday purchases – with a credit card, you could be protected legally by something

under certain circumstances, but if you don’t receive the goods you paid for or what you purchased isn’t of the required standard, you may be able to get your money back from your credit provider.

Caravan: If you own or plan to purchase a caravan make sure you have appropriate insurance in place to cover it – and if you’re towing a caravan check your motor insurance allows for this. If you have a static caravan there may be security features required by you insurer, so make sure you read the policy carefully and keep the documents in a safe place.

Protect yourself before you go: If you manage to snap up a last minute deal and you’re taking out insurance, ask your insurer when the cover starts. Last year many of the travel insurance complaints the ombudsman saw came from consumers who had taken out cover to start on the 1st day if their holiday – which meant they didn’t have cancellation cover for the period before.

Have a back up plan: Whether you’re staying at home or going abroad, it pays to have more than one source of money available. From lost wallets, to problems with plastic cards, it’s a good idea to have back up funds, should something go wrong. If you’re going abroad, and are planning on using your card let your bank know in advance. And it’s worth keeping a record of their international phone number, just in case.

Don’t forget to get in touch: If you do encounter a problem while on holiday, make sure you let your insurance company know as soon as you can. You may be required to make a police report in the country you’re in, or obtain other documents, so keep a copy of your policy handy so you know what you need to make a claim if something goes wrong.

Wherever you choose to escape to this summer, we hope you have a trouble-free trip. If you have a problem, let the financial business know – they should be able to sort things out for you. But if you’re sstill unhappy, the financial ombudsman may be able to help

Holidays without the

hassle

You can contact the ombudsman service on 0300 123 9 123 or http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

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First Floor Unit 6, Snowdonia Business Park,Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd, LL48 6LD. 1106

Tel: 01766 772030Fax: 01766 772049 5050

FfestiniogTravelisownedbyacharitabletrustandprofitsgotosupporttheworldfamousFfestiniogandWelshHighlandRailways.

Call: 01766 772030 Email: info@ffestiniogtravel.co.uk or visit our website at www.ffestiniogtravel.comTo speak to our team of expert consultants or order a brochure

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Ffestiniog Travel began its journey in 1974 and specialises in railway holidays around the world.

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Not so long ago, any mention of a rail journey conjured up thoughts of nothing more than the daily grind of the commute to work, something that was endured rather than

enjoyed – an unpleasant but necessary means to an end.

Things are changing. Passengers now travel by train in the UK more than at any time in the railway’s history and, believe it or not, an important ingredient in this is travelling for pleasure, either to visit friends and relatives or, increasingly, simply riding the trains to visit new places or enjoy the scenery. Perhaps even more surprising is that an increasing number are choosing to spend their annual holidays riding the world’s trains where, once upon a time, they would have settled for a two week package to the Costas. No longer is the holiday by rail the preserve of the enthusiasts pursuing their hobby. Today’s rail travellers have a broad range of interests and come from a wide background.

What has brought this change about? It is fashionable to point to delays at airports and the general hassle involved with air travel generally but the truth goes much deeper than this. There are probably a number of issues which have influenced the trend, ranging from the introduction of Eurostar

services from London to Paris and Brussels in the nineties suddenly making it a whole lot easier to visit continental Europe through environmental issues (Eurostar proudly boasts that it is a carbon neutral mode of transport) to customers themselves aspiring to something a little different from their customary fortnight in the sun.

Ffestiniog Travel, the tour operating arm of the Ffestiniog Railway family, has been

before they became fashionable, but has remained loyal to its roots. Back then, the vision was to provide holidays overseas for exactly the same kind of customers who enjoyed riding the Ffestiniog’s own narrow gauge trains in North Wales. Enthusiasts were welcome of course and still are but the Ffestiniog Railway’s real bread and butter comes from customers who simply enjoy soaking up the superb mountain scenery which Wales has to offer. It is no surprise perhaps that Ffestiniog Travel chose Switzerland as its first overseas destination. Here was a country, not only with fantastic mountain scenery but also a superb rail network from which to enjoy it.

Since then the repertoire has expanded to include not only the whole of Europe but also worldwide destinations - Indian Hill Stations, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Peru and many more. In fact, any country which has a railway running through good scenery or to an interesting destination has probably received at least one Ffestiniog Travel visit. There are just two provisos – as a responsible tour operator, the company only visits destinations which are both safe and can offer a reasonable standard of accommodation.

In recent years, the company has made it an objective to seek out more unusual destinations away from the mainstream which not only provide “something different” for the customer but, equally importantly, inject much needed finance into the local economy. Romania is a case in point. The country

rarely features in mainstream brochures and has suffered through adverse media coverage which has concentrated on the activities of a tiny minority of its inhabitants. The truth is that it is an absolute gem of a destination – spectacular mountain scenery coupled with an interesting history, welcoming, friendly people and a rural life which disappeared in the rest of Europe fifty years ago. Ffestiniog Travel has teamed up with local operator My Romania (www.myromania.com.ro) and can now claim, through this partnership, to be one of the few specialist operators to the country. Nor is the expertise confined to rail travel as the company is also able to offer other special interest holidays including culture and history, walking and wildlife. Almost all the money spent on the Romania holidays go directly into Romania’s local economy – locally owned accommodation, restaurants, transport and so on, not forgetting local guides who rely on visitors for their livelihood.

It will be gathered from this that perhaps Ffestiniog Travel’s greatest strength is its flexibilty. Its holidays now include both those that are aimed at customers with a passion for railways (it calls these “Connoisseur Rail Tours”) and those which cater for people who simply want to enjoy the rail travel experience. Yet by far the greatest number of holidays sold are its “Signature” holidays where customers ask for a bespoke tailor made package to a destination or destinations of their choice

For more information, visit www.ffestiniogtravel.com or phone 01766 772030 for a brochure.

by Alan Heywood - Founder of Ffestiniog Travel

The World’s Railways Offer Endless Holiday Possibilities

Forestry Railway at Viseu de Sus, Romania credit Ramona Cazacu.

Switzerland’s Glacier Express

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“I left my home with nothing”Third year nursing student Amy Mullins lost everything when she left the family home after experiencing domestic abuse.

She was desperate and didn’t know where to turn for help until she was put in touch with Cavell Nurses’ Trust which acted quickly to give Amy the support she urgently needed.

Amy explained: “The situation at home was very difficult and I left with nothing apart from what I was standing up in. I had no money and no job; all I had was the support of a very good friend. I felt so alone.”

Amy had worked as a health care assistant for 13 years before starting her nursing training and continued to do bank work for her former employer.

She secured funding for a deposit for rented accommodation but had no household items at all and her poor mental health meant she was unable to work.

When Cavell Nurses’ Trust heard of Amy’s plight it worked quickly to award a single grant towards the cost of essential household items. Thanks to an In Memoriam donation from the Lowe family, it was also able to offer a regular grant of £30 per week to take Amy to the end of her studies.

“The weekly grant enabled me to pay for food, electricity, gas and buy the small items I needed to enable me to live from day to day,” Amy explained.

“When I heard about the grants I felt an enormous sense of relief - it was as if a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.

“It helped me through a very difficult time and is enabling me to complete my nursing study.

“When I’ve qualified I will support Cavell Nurses’ Trust to give back what they have given me.”

Vital support so Heather could keep her home“I was overwhelmed

by the support I received”Heather devoted much of her life to helping others through her work as

a healthcare assistant and later as a volunteer.Heather, 83, who is partially sighted and has diabetes, feared she would

have to sell her home as she could no longer pay the service charge on her flat.

Cavell Nurses’ Trust processed her application quickly and awarded her a single grant towards the current service charge bill together with a regular grant, which has been in place since 2000.

She said: “I was overwhelmed with the support I received. It was wonderful to know I could rely on a regular sum coming in to cover the service charges.”

Cavell Nurses’ Trust – helping nurses in their hour of need

There are only a small few whose lives haven’t been touched by a nurse, midwife or healthcare assistant.

These committed and compassionate men and women devote their lives to caring for others but so often are among the last to ask for help for themselves.

Nurses are the backbone of our society but they too fall victim to sickness, accidents, stress and many other problems which prevent them from working. After a lifetime of service many find themselves in financial hardship.

Cavell Nurses’ Trust (formerly known as NurseAid) is a charity that helps retired and working nurses, student nurses and midwives and healthcare assistants get the care and support they need when they fall on hard times.

Without enough nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, patient care would be significantly compromised.

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The support we offer depends on individual circumstances but very often it only takes only a small grant or regular payments to give them the support they need to get back into the jobs they love... providing the first class care so many of us have experienced.

Our charity was established in 1915 with the public donations made following the execution of British nurse Edith Cavell during the First World War.

As we approach our centenary year, we are proud to have been able to help thousands in the nursing profession in their hour of need.

We couldn’t continue with our vital work without the support of generous donors.

How you can help Cavell Nurses’ TrustWith your help we can reach many more nurses,

midwives and healthcare assistants in need. Please remember us in your Will... a legacy, no matter

how small, will help us continue with our important work.We rely on donations from people like you to

support the vital work we do. Your gift will be used to help nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, giving them the support they so desperately need.

Like to know more about us or make a donation, please visit www.justgiving.com/cavellnursestrust

Compassion and care helped student nurse Amy continue

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Email: stamps@jerseypost.com or call us on 01534 516320Write to us at Jersey Philatelic Bureau, POHQ, JERSEY, JE1 1 AB

www.jerseystamps.com

Commemorative Jersey stamps

First Day Cover envelopes and Presentation Packs are available for all Jersey stamp issues. To view the complete range, visit www.jerseystamps.com or ask for an information pack.

Aviation History XI 75th Anniversary of Jersey AirportIssue date 10 March 2012 Painted by Tony Theobald

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Issue date 1 June 2012Featuring the holographic portrait ‘Equanimity’

Diamond Jubilee - Accession Issue date 6 February 2012

Jersey Nature - Butterflies & Moths III Issue date 8 May 2012 Painted by William Oliver

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www.stanthonys.org.uk

World class healthcare with a local approach

St Anthony’s Hospital combines the most advanced medical procedures and skills with the kind of personal care that many hospitals have forgotten how to provide.

We specialise in complex cardiac cases,

orthopaedics, urology, vascular, breast and

colorectal cancer surgery – and in the dedicated,

compassionate care of the individual.

St. Anthony’s has been established at North

Cheam for over 100 years. The only independent

hospital in the area to provide full intensive care,

it offers a safe and secure setting for complex

and routine surgery.

St Anthony’s Hospital, North Cheam, Surrey SM3 9DW, UKTel: 020 8337 6691 Registered Charity no: 1068661

R elaxation might be the last thing on your mind when going into hospital, unless it is to a hospital that has been designed from first principles with you in mind where everyone you will meet is concerned with your welfare.

Situated on the borders of South-West London and Surrey, St Anthony’s Hospital has been providing compassionate health care for over a century! Still owned today by the Daughters of the Cross (Registerd

local community.With its focus firmly on the needs of each

individual patient, St Anthony’s provides a level of care that sets it apart from other hospitals. The high specification of equipment and an 8 bed intensive care unit has allowed the hospital to become South London’s leading independent provider of major procedures as well as routine surgery.

All major specialities are available with a particular emphasis on cardiac surgery, cardiology, orthopaedics, urology, gastroenterology, colorectal, general and vascular surgery. An excellent level of staffing includes resident anaesthetists, general medical officers, cardiac surgeons and on-call intensive care consultants making it possible to organise urgent admissions directly from home or from other hospitals.

With excellent transport links, high standards of nursing and a large roster of top Consultants, St Anthony’s is a real gem for those seeking high quality healthcare but in a more welcoming and serene environment

The hospital is an exhibitor at this year’s

found at www.stanthonys.org.uk

Relax! You’re going to hospital

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The Diabetes Wellness News is the monthly publication of the Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation, who fund medical research and provide educational support to people living with, or who are at risk of diabetes, to ensure they are ‘Staying well until a cure is found…’

For your 3-month FREE TRIAL OFFER please send your name and address to:

Diabetes Research and Wellness FoundationFREEPOST SCE9746Northney MarinaHayling Island, Hampshire PO11 0BR

(Please note: using a stamp will reduce cost for the charity)

OR email subs@drwf.org.uk quoting Free Trial Offer RT2012

You will receive excellent advice about diabetes and its related conditions and help support a worthy cause at the same time.

There is no obligation to subscribe at the end of the trial period, but we hope that you will decide the newsletter is just too good to miss out on and take out a year’s membership at a specially discounted rate.

FREE3 ISSUES

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RT2012

PERFECT STAYThis issue our writer travels to Cornwall to experience the Cornwall Estate and Spa, one of the counties leading luxury spa destinations

Just a few minutes from St Austell, close to the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the Cornwall Estate and Spa is a hotel that also includes luxury woodland holiday homes to buy and to rent. For the duration of our stay we were based in the hotel which consists of the main house with traditional bedrooms, and suites, and connected to the house is an extension with 56 Woodland rooms. We stayed in a superior woodland room decorated in contemporary style complete with large balcony where we could relax and enjoy

of dining, the more relaxed informal Acorns Brassiere, or The Arboretum Restaurant which we opted for, offering fine dining, with much of the menu sourcing local products.

No stay at the hotel would be complete without a visit to The Clearing Spa to completely unwind and be pampered. Facilities include an infinity swimming pool, sauna and steam room and a state of the art fitness suite. I was met by my

instantly likeable and knowledgeable therapist Jodie who gave me a facial analysis, and talked me through the improvements that would be made with my bespoke facial using Aromatherapy Associates products, and more attention to my skin care regime.

The hotel setting really is outstanding with many unique features to be enjoyed. For those who want to be active, there is a tennis court, woodland walks or if you want something a little less strenuous a game of croquet might just be the thing. The estate boasts a Victorian wall garden, ornamental lake, an old vinery and abundant wildlife.

The perfect time to visit Cornwall is anytime but for those who like to avoid the crowds out of season is the perfect time and The Cornwall Estate and Spa the perfect place

Woodland rooms cost from £89 per night including a full Cornish breakfast.

Woodland Room

Drawing room

Freedom to enjoy your home. Support to stay secure there.

Discover Age UK’s Gifted Housing ServiceHome. It’s important to our identity, our independence, our wellbeing. Most people would like to stay in their own homes for as long as possible. But as we grow older, health problems can be a worry and sometimes it’s a struggle to keep up with repairs or pay the bills.

When you donate your home to Age UK through the Gifted Housing Service you’ll enjoy all the benefits of home ownership without the anxiety. Set up 35 years ago, this unique scheme helps you live in your own home for longer.

Under the Gifted Housing Service we will:

buildings insurance

and improvements with your agreement

care at home or elsewhere should you need it

for longer.

0800 169 29 39 or 01225 447800 www.ageuk.org.uk/gifted-housingOr complete the form below quoting

If you are an older person and own your own home in England or Wales, and would consider donating the property to charity and receiving help with property maintenance and support to stay living there please get in touch to find out if you could benefit from the Gifted Housing Service.

Name ................................................................................................................ Address ...............................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Postcode ......................................................... ...........................................................................Email ......................................................................................................Return to We will use the information you have supplied to communicate with you in line with Data Protection guidelines. For the purposes of Data Protection, Age UK also

selected third parties please tick the following boxes: I do not wish to be contacted by the charity’s group of companies Please do not pass my details on to carefully selected third parties By providing your email address and/or telephone number you are agreeing to receiving electronic marketing messages from us, unless you indicate otherwise by ticking this box

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London 2012

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Girl with a Fan, c. 1879. Oil on canvas 65.4 x 54 cm© Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA, 1955.595Exhibition organised by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, in association with the Royal Academy of Arts.

By Way of These Eyes: The Hyland Collection of American PhotographyThe American Museum, Bath14 July-28 October An exhibition that presents treasures from textile designer Christopher Hyland’s comprehensive collection of American photography. Iconic images from the early 20th century by artists in awe of the colossal scale of American cities will be displayed alongside “paintings in film” crafted by later generations of photographers working in the United States who spurned urban monuments for the minutiae of the natural world – the abstract in reality.To commenerate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee being celebrated throughout Britain this year, Hyland commissioned Bill Armstrong (fittingly born in 1952) to produce a triptych portrait of Queen Elizabeth II which portrays her as a child, in middle age and the full dignity of her maturity. In honour of the Olympic Games in London in 2012, Hyland also commissioned Armstrong to create a triptych which, along with Herb Ritts’ iconic image of British Olympian hurdler Jacqui Agyepong will be on display during the exhibition.www.americanmuseum.org

Capital Age FestivalUntil 15 JulyLondon’s only arts festival by older people returns this July Now in it’s 10th year, Capital Age Festival returns for the first time as a two-week event. The festival has grown year by year and continues to evolve to reflect the changing face of older people’s art. More than 250 older artists are involved in this year’s festival. Over 50 performances, workshops and exhibitions across London,

all made by Londoners aged over 60. The festival will showcase music, theatre, dance, photography, film, poetry, comedy, storytelling, visual arts and crafts. There is sure to be something for everyone.For further information www.capitalagefestival.org.uk

FROM PARIS: A Taste for Impressionism Paintings from the ClarkThe Sackler Wing of Galleries Royal Academy of Arts, LondonUntil 23 September This exhibition is displaying 70 major works, many of which have never been on public display in the UK before. Masterpieces by Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Degs, Sisley and Morisot, as well as an exceptional group of more than twenty paintings by Renoir, are being shown.The paintings are presented by genre, to reveal the range of subject matter and diversity of stylistic approach in French 19th century art. The groups of work include landscapes and cityscapes, marine views, genre paintings depicting scenes of life; nudes; still lifes; portraits.For further information www.royalacademy.org.uk

Out&About...Your chance to own a piece of Olympic History The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games are auctioning the authentic London 2012 Torches from an official online auction throughout the Torch Relay.

Each Torch is packaged in an Olympic ~Torch Relay collectors box and comes with a certificate of authenticity and unique serial ID number to protect customers. Each Torch will be available on the auction website for approximately 7-14 days.

The auction takes place at www.london2012.com/auction and the proceeds will help subside the costs of Torchbearers and contribute towards the stating of the Games.

FAMOUS IN THE FIFTIES: PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANIEL FARSON

National Portrait Ga A new display of photographs by legendary Soho figure, Daniel Farson is on show at the National Portrait

Gallery, celebrating the multi-faceted career of Farson who worked as a Picture Post photographer, television presenter, and writer.

The sixteen portraits on display include artist Lucian Freud and writer Brendan Behan in Dublin, Cyril Connolly and Lady Caroline Blackwood on Old Compton Street in Soho, artist and illustrator Nina Hamnett, actress Barbara

Windsor, artist Graham Sutherland and actor Richard Burton, Writer Anthony Carson, critic John Davenport, photographer John Deakin and poet David Wright are all photographed opposite the French pub in Soho where

Farson was a regular.

Admission free. For further information www.npg.org

Bill Armstrong (b.1952) Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, 2012Chromogenic print, 50.8 x 61cm, 20 x 24in ©Bill Armstrong

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Don’t be in the dark about glaucoma!

Just diagnosed?

Questions about your treatment?

Difficulty using or storing your eye drops?

We can help. For free advice, call our Sightline team on 01233 64 81 70.

The IGA is the charity for people with glaucoma.

As well as offering free information and advice,

we also support research into the condition.

To support our work, make a donation

or become a member, visit

www.glaucoma-association.com.

The Charity for People with GlaucomaEstablished 1974

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Visit our stand atthe 50+ Show,

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Woodcote House, 15 Highpoint Business VillageHenwood, Ashford, Kent TN24 8DHAdministration: 01233 64 81 64 Email: info@iga.org.ukCharity Registered in England & Wales N°274681, in Scotland N°SC041550

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Subscriptions Department, Amra Media Solutions, The Old Lavender Mill, 46a Brook Street, Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, HP22 5ES

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London is so well known to the British that we all feel as though we know it well, but I suspect it would take many lifetimes to truly come to feel familiar with all its nuances and complexities. So planning a walking trail through our capital was a daunting but not

impossible task. My husband and I have been making walking films for over ten years, both in the UK and abroad, and living outside the capital, we tackled London just as we would a foreign city. I have adored London since I was a child, and for me, no walking trail would be complete without involving the Thames, so plotting the most popular sights and tourist spots had to include our world famous river.

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We also wanted to include an air of celebration too; with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, it made sense to take another look at the existing Silver Jubilee Walkway for inspiration. To our delight, it came very close to what we had envisaged, and where possible we have kept true to it. There have been detours because for the section from Trafalgar Square to St Paul’s, we missed glimpses of the river, so we wandered off the Walkway to stroll onto Waterloo Bridge to get the fantastic views back to Westminster, and forward to Tower Bridge.

We talked to Eileen Geibig of VisitLondon for some suggestions on how to visit our capital on a budget, and then started our trail at Oxford Street and the Marble Arch, walking into lovely Hyde Park. All of the Royal Parks are vital green spaces in London, with histories almost as long as the city, and featured heavily in my childhood. The Serpentine is still a draw, and it’s funny that the urge to break off little chunks

of your sandwich to throw to any attendant bird doesn’t seem to dim with the passing of years. We met the Director of London Walks at Hyde Park Corner to talk about their amazing array of guided walking trails throughout London. We both agreed that walking is by far the best way to see this and any other capital, and she had little tips to pass on, such as the view of the Queen’s private gardens at Buckingham Palace from the top of the Wellington Arch. The Duke of Wellington is a personal hero of mine, so actually going up the Arch and looking at the splendid tile paintings in the underpass was a ‘first’ for me.

The Commonwealth war memorials are mostly situated here, which seems fitting somehow, and the walk down Constitution Hill towards the Palace affords you a chance to see the relatively new memorial to the Commonwealth war dead from India, Africa and

Footloose in London

By Debra Rixon

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the Caribbean, and the ornate and gilded ironwork of Canada Gate signals the exit into the bottom of the Mall and Buckingham Palace itself. Walking this film gave me the chance to see the Changing of the Guard in all it’s splendour – how many decades has it been since I came up to London specifically for that purpose?

We strolled through St James’ Park, perhaps the loveliest of the Royal Parks, to Horseguards, which hosts a mini display of changing the guards and then there you are in Whitehall. Not perhaps a pretty street, but full of important and grand buildings from another age and time, although No

Street is terribly unassuming, despite the armed but friendly police.

As a general rule, I’ve found that trips up to London have been for a specific purpose; to a particular place or venue, so walking this trail took me to parts of the city I have never been to or spent much time in. It’s a short distance to Trafalgar Square – should one be nostalgic for the hordes of pigeons that are no longer there? A simply wonderful square, packed with interesting things to see, including the old Imperial weights and measures, almost hidden on some steps below the National Gallery. From here, only a short step to Piccadilly and then we plunge into Theatreland and reach Leicester Square, which is a great deal tidier than I remember from years ago!

Walking gives you an appetite, and if like me, you love the old London character pubs, then resting the feet inside (or outside) one is a welcome stop. We chose the Lamb and Flag, close to Covent Garden and had a

friendly chat with the landlord about the bare-knuckle fights that took place in the back room – the Bucket of Blood! – and the infamous attack on author John Dryden that took place in the adjacent alleyway.

I love the Thames, and strolling along the Embankment is a particular pleasure, but I had never walked into the City of London that way, and never having had the need, I’ve never gone into the intriguing Temple and Inns of Court before. There is so much to see in London that is not obvious; I would never have wandered to the corner of Giltspur Street to look for the golden chubby cherub that marks the end of the Fire of London’s path had we not been walking a trail through London. Walking is always a joy, but this was even more so because I was re-learning and re-discovering a city that I thought I knew.

Strolling along to Ludgate Hill – not much of one, it must be said – and stunning St. Paul’s is a pleasure I don’t take very often – I mean, I’ve seen St. Paul’s, so what else is there? Well, Paternoster Square for one, with the original Temple Bar and the memorial to the Great Fire for two more. Would I have been looking for them, had I not been researching this film? Visiting the Museum of London

in the Barbican meant walking through streets I have never known, their names retaining their medieval origin just as their foundations are built on the old city.

The sense of history was strongest for me here and as I wandered down to the Tower and the river.

Gazing on that amazing fortress never fails to stir the imagination, and walking across Tower Bridge on the Jubilee Walkway, you can’t help gazing up at the gantries above and wondering if the bascules (not a word I’d learned before!) will suddenly start to rise. Once across, it’s all the non-stop alternative entertainment of the South Bank – the Golden Hind replica ship, and Southwark’s tiny cathedral is a little undiscovered jewel and Borough Market is a real treat for all the senses – try some of the mixes bubbling aromatically in the huge frying pans! So much to see: beachcombers and sand sculptures whilst the tide is out, people moved to

dance to the music of a performing band. This walking trail wasn’t about striding out, it was about strolling, meandering and savouring the richness of our nation’s capital – and the breathtaking views from a capsule on the London Eye can put it all into perspective.

Reaching Westminster Bridge and leaning on the parapet just to drink in the magnificent sight of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben is a satisfying finish to our trail, which is unashamedly celebratory. Our capital is world famous and rightly so – London is one of the greatest cities of all time, and has been so for a large part of its chequered history, so why not be proud?

Walking this trail through London had made me see it as never before: almost like a foreign city, London

had recognisable landmarks, but now also with some marvellous terrain in between that, by shunning public transport, I was coming to look upon with fresh eyes. My twelve-mile trail over several days through the best known areas had left me with the exciting prospect that ahead of me lay years of discovering the uniqueness of London.

Debra and David met in their forties, both widowed, with two teenaged daughters and a son between them. Second families are always a challenge, but as they excitedly welcome the birth of their first grandchild, it seems to have worked. After 36 years, David took early retirement from the BBC to focus on their filmmaking exploits, and two years later Debra also left her job. Walking provided a low cost and spontaneous past time that provided much needed privacy for a middle-aged newly married couple with teenagers at home. Turning it into a new career was another challenge, but with the help of local Oxford SIXTV and a broadcast agency contract, it evolved into just that. They have a 22-part Footloose television series that is broadcast in Europe and beyond, and all their films are available on amazon.co.uk – find out more about their travels on www.footloose.tv. You can also watch previews

of their films on Youtube

The Footloose in London DVD is a glorious walking trail through the heart of the capital and a perfect souvenir of all the best sights in summer.

The DVD normally retails at £11.99 and we have five to give away to readers. For your chance to win a copy, just send in your name and address, quoting FL to:

Amra Media Solutions, 46a Brook Street, Aston Clinton,

info@amramedia.co.uk

Walking is always a joy, but this was even more so because I was re-learning and re-discovering a

city that I thought I knew.

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For a chance to win any of the prizes, send your name and address (quoting reference code) to:Amra Media Solutions, The Old Lavender Mill, 46a Brook Street, Aston Clinton, Bucks, HP22 5ES or email: info@amramedia.co.uk

WIN TICKETS TO SEE CLASSIC BRITISH COMEDY PLAY THE 39 STEPSFollow our handsome hero Richard Hannay in this

blissfully funny comedy thriller featuring four fearless

actors playing 139 roles in 100 minutes of fast-paced

fun. Complete with stiff upper lip, British gung-ho and

devastatingly beautiful women, The 39 Steps is a

must see!

Win one of three pairs of top tickets to see The 39 Steps!

The Criterion Theatre, Piccadilly Circus,

London W1V 9LB

Box Office: 0844 847 1778

www.love39steps.com

Terms and conditionsPrize is valid until 30th September 2012. Subject to availability. Prize is as stated and cannot

be transferred or exchanged. No cash alternative will

be offered.

Closing date: 31 July 2012

For a change to win send in your details,

quoting ref 39S

BEL AMIBel Ami is out on Blu-ray, DVD and EST on 23 July 2012, courtesy of StudioCanal

A sizzling sexual drama, starring heart throb du jour Robert Pattison, BEL AMI tells the story of down-on-his-luck Georges Duroy, who travels

through 1890s Paris, from its cockroach ridden

garrets to its opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty

to wealth. Introduced into higher society by a former comrade at arms, Duroy becomes the talk of the town as he captivates and manipulates some of Paris’ most powerful women, blinding them with deceit, distraction

or debauchery whilst trying to prevent his sordid house of cards from falling apart.

We have 3 DVD’s to give away.

For a chance to win send in the details, quoting ref BA.

Closing date: 10 August 2012.

BBC Springwatch British WildlifeBy Stephen Moss and The Springwatch Team

The much-loved BBC series Springwatch has been back on our screens revealing the nation’s rich and diverse wildlife at its finest.

This wonderful companion book is designed to help viewers learn about the wildlife featured in the TV programme, covering everything from blackbirds and blue tits, to less common examples such as natterjack, toads or rare orchids, as well as the majestic variety of eagles and whales.

We have 3 copies of the book to give away, for a chance to win send in your details quoting ref SBW.

Closing date 10 August 2012.

Go Ape!Take one lush forest and blend with a smattering of wind-in-your face zip wires, tree-top high wires, rope ladders and Tarzan swings, for an exhilarating family adventure that is second to none. To coincide with its 10th birthday, Go Ape! the Forest Adventure Company is teaming up with Retirement Today to offer two pairs of tickets for one of its 28 courses nationwide. The tickets entitle two adults to enjoy an exhilarating day-out climbing around one of its giant tree top courses using ladders, walkways, bridges and tunnels made of wood, rope and super-strong wire, and top it all off with flights along some of Britain’s best zip lines. Visit www.goape.co.uk to find your nearest adventure!For your chance to win, send in your details quoting ref GA.Closing date 31 July 2012.

JAMES PATTERSONAND MICHAEL LEDWIDGE

I, MICHAEL BENNETTAward - winning and bestselling author, James Patterson is back with another compelling thriller.

The latest instalment is now out on hardback from Random House.

Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous South American crime lord in a deadly chase that leaves Bennett’s lifelong friend Hughie McDonough dead. From jail, the prisoner vows to rain epic violence down upon New York City and to get revenge on Michael Bennett.

A no-holds-barred, pedal-to-the-floor, action-packed novel, I, Michael Bennett is James Patterson at his most personal and most thrilling best.

We have 5 books to give away – For a chance to win a copy send in your details quoting ref. IMB

Closing date: 10 August 2012.

COMPETITIONS

Win a pair of tickets to Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye at Tate ModernFew other modern artists are better known and yet less understood than Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944). This exhibition examines the artist’s work from the 20th century, including sixty paintings, many from the Munch Museum in Oslo, with a rare showing of his work in film and photography.

Munch is often seen as a 19th-century Symbolist painter but this exhibition shows how he engaged with modernity and was inspired by the everyday life outside of his studio, such as street scenes and incidents in the media – including The House is Burning 1925–7. The show also examines how Munch repeated a single motif over a long period of time to re-work it, as can be seen in his most celebrated works, such as The Sick Child 1885–1927 and Girls on the Bridge 1902–27.

We have 2 pairs of tickets to give away.

For a chance to win, send in your details, quoting TM.

Closing date: 15 August 2012.

T’s and C’s: Valid until 14 October, subject to availability

Edvard Munch The Girls on the Bridge 1927 (detail) ©The Munch Museum/The Munch - Ellingsen Group, BONO, Oslo/DACS, London 2012

THE DOCTOR’S DILEMMASee THE DOCTOR’S DILEMMA for £35 (usually £38 and £47)

by Bernard Shaw

National Theatre, South Bank

Bernard Shaw’s funny and incisive play takes on with an irreverent glee the dubious ethics of the men who play God. Aden Gillett plays Colenso Ridgeon.

Harley Street doctor Sir Colenso Ridgeon’s revolutionary tuberculosis treatment remains experimental and his resources restricted to ten selected patients. Jennifer Dubedat, desperate to save the life of her brilliant artist husband dines with Ridgeon and his colleagues. Beguiled by the charismatic Dubedat and his lovely wife, they concur that his is a life worth saving, even at the expense of another. Meanwhile, their impoverished colleague Blenkinsop, the most worthy but least exceptional, reveals himself in dire need of treatment. From 17 July.

To Book: Enter promotion code ‘5875’ before selecting seats at nationaltheatre.org.uk/dilemma or call 020 7452 3000 quoting ‘Retirement Today Offer’. Offer valid on performances 25 July – 8 August. Tickets must be booked before 31 July. Subject to availability.

LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHTSee David Suchet in LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT for £32.50 Mon-Fri and £42.50 on Saturday performances (Usually £56)

Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue

David Suchet, (‘a force to be reckoned with’ Georgina Brown, Mail on Sunday) returns to the West End in Eugene O’Neill’s Pulitzer prize-winning masterpiece, LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, one of the greatest American plays written in the 20th century. The critically acclaimed 5 star production runs for a limited season at the Apollo Theatre. ‘The play sends you out of the theatre uplifted - glowing performances by David Suchet and Laurie Metcalf’ Michael Billington, The Guardian.Directed by Anthony Page with designs by Lez Brotherston. ‘A masterly production of a masterpiece – the dramatic rewards are enormous’ Charles Spencer, Daily TelegraphSet in 1912, the play is a riveting view of the life of James Tyrone (David Suchet), Mary Tyrone (Laurie Metcalf) and their sons, Jamie (Trevor White) and Edmund (Kyle Soller) during one fateful summer’s day.‘A remarkable evening with moments of marvellous humour - shockingly good’ Libby Purves, The TimesIntense and passionate, ‘This beautifully acted revival sends you into the night elated’ Caroline McGinn, Time Out.

To Book: Call 0844 412 4658 and quote ‘Retirement Today Offer’ Offer is valid on Monday – Friday performances until 17 August. Saturday tickets are also available for £42.50 with this offer until 17 August. All tickets subject to availability.

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YES, PRIME MINISTERSee YES, PRIME MINISTER for £35

(Usually £46.50)

Trafalgar Studios, Whitehall

THE AWARD WINNING COMEDY NOW

ON STAGE!

Following two smash hit West End runs

and a successful nationwide campaign

trail, the award-winning YES, PRIME

MINISTER has been updated and voted

back into London!

Taking up residence in the heart of

Whitehall, this hilarious comedy by original BBC writers Antony Jay & Jonathan

Lynn thrusts the much-loved characters Sir Humphrey Appleby and Jim Hacker

into the chaos of 21st century coalition politics. With the threat of financial

meltdown just hours away, and the only hope of rescue resting on a morally

dubious deal with the Foreign Minister of Kumranistan, the stage is set for a

riotous comedy of sex, scandal and scheming.

‘As sharp and blissfully funny as ever’ (Daily Telegraph)

‘A delightful stream of one-liners’ (Evening Standard)

To Book:

Call 0844 871 7632 and quote ‘Retirement Today Offer’.

Offer valid on performances until 22 September, excludes Saturday

evening performances. Subject to availability. Booking fees apply.

FASCINATING AIDASee FASCINATING AIDA for £17

(usually £22)

London Wonderground, South Bank

FASCINATING AIDA are in residence for the whole of September at the Southbank Centre’s fabulous new London Wonderground. Britain’s best loved comedy cabaret trio – global internet sensations with more than eight million hits to date – return to London after their sell-out Christmas season with their smash hit show Cheap Flights. This show includes several numbers hot off the press, plus a few old favourites

including their infamous anthem to budget travel, Cheap Flights (8 million

plus hits on YouTube) as well as The Dogging Song, a fond homage to the

joys of al fresco sex.

‘The glamour is magnetic, the satire razor-sharp, the lyrics brilliant...

intensely poignant.’ (The Guardian)

‘See them before you die otherwise your life will have been

meaningless.’ (Mail on Sunday)

‘It is, as the whooping audience insisted, feckin hilarious.’

(Daily Telegraph)

To Book: Call 0844 545 8282 and quote ‘Retirement Today Offer’.

Offer valid on Monday - Thursday performances between 3 September

and 29 September. Subject to availability.

olive-infused chicken with charred lemons

This delicious concoction of olives, lemons, fresh marjoram and succulent chicken makes an ideal main course for a barbecue party. Serve with a selection of salads, such as tomato and basil.

1.5 kgchicken

75 g pitted black olives

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

plus 2 halved lemons

freshly ground black pepper

Serves 4To prepare the chicken, put it onto a board with the back facing upwards and, using kitchen scissors, cut along each side of the backbone and remove it completely. Using your fingers, gently ease the skin away from the flesh, then put the chicken into a large, shallow dish. Put the olives, olive oil, salt, marjoram and lemon juice into a separate bowl and mix well, then pour over the chicken and push as many of the olives as possible up between the skin and flesh of the chicken. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat the barbecue, then cook cut-side down over medium-hot coals for

minutes or until the skin is golden, the flesh is cooked through and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the meat is pierced with a skewer. If any bloody juices appear, cook for a little longer. While the

barbecued fish bathed in oregano and lemon

Greece is known for its simple and delicious cuisine made from fresh ingredients with seafood often being the highlight of any menu. This is a typical Greek dish of char-grilled bream with oil, oregano and garlic, but you could use other small fish such as red mullet, snapper or even trout.

grated zest of 1 and freshly squeezed

juice of 2 lemons

250 ml extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

6 snapper or bream, about 350 g. each, well cleaned and scaled

sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper

Serves 6Put the zest and juice of 1 lemon in a small bowl. Add the olive oil, reserving 4 tablespoons, the oregano, garlic, parsley, and some salt and pepper. Leave to infuse for at least 1 hour.

Wash and dry the fish inside and out. Using a sharp knife, cut several slashes into each side. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lemon into a bowl, add the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil, some salt and pepper and rub the mixture all over the fish.

Put the fish on a large, warmed serving platter, pour over the dressing and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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A selection of recipes taken from Summer Days & Balmy Nights, published by Ryland Peters & Small.

Summer Balmy

All images taken from the book ©Ryland Peters & Small

summer vegetable skewers with home-made pesto

Full of sunshine flavours, these kebabs/kabobs can be served with pasta tossed in some of the pesto sauce. Home-made pesto is very personal – some people

like it very garlicky, others prefer lots of basil or Parmesan – so simply adjust the quantities to suit your taste.

2 aubergines, cut into chunks

2 courgettes, cut into chunks

2–3peppers, cut into chunks

12–16 cherry tomatoes

4 red onions, quartered

Serves 4–6To make the pesto, use a mortar and pestle to pound the garlic with the basil leaves and salt. Add the pine nuts and pound them to a paste. Slowly drizzle in some olive oil and bind with the grated Parmesan. Continue to pound and grind with the pestle, adding in enough oil to make a smooth sauce. Set aside.

Put all the prepared vegetables in a bowl. Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt and pour it over the vegetables. Using your hands, toss the vegetables gently in the marinade, then thread them onto skewers.

Preheat the barbecue to medium-hot. Cook the

Serve the kebabs with the pesto on the side for drizzling.

souvlaki with bulgur wheat salad

Souvlaki is the classic Greek kebab, a delicious combination of cubed lamb marinated in red wine with herbs and lemon juice. The meat is tenderized by the wine, resulting in a juicy and succulent dish.

1 kg lamb neck fillets

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

300 ml red wine

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

75 ml olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serves 6Trim the excess fat off the lamb and then cut the meat into 2.5-cm cubes. Put into a shallow, non-metal dish. Add the rosemary, oregano, onion, garlic, wine, lemon juice, olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Toss well, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Return to room temperature for 1 hour before cooking.

minutes until the water has been absorbed and the grains have softened. Strain well to extract any excess water and transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, season to taste and set

turning and basting from time to time. Let rest for 5 minutes, then serve with the salad.

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Summer Days & Balmy Nights is available to our readers for the special price of £17.99 including postage &

packaging (rrp£19.99) by telephoning Macmillan Direct

Days & Nights Bulgur wheat salad

350 g bulgur wheat

25 g chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

15 g fresh mint leaves, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

150 ml extra virgin olive oil

freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons

a pinch of caster sugar

For the marinade

4 tablespoons olive oil

freshly squeezed juice of 1⁄2 a lemon

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon sea salt

For the pesto

3–4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

leaves from a large bunch of fresh basil (at least 30–40 leaves)

1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt

2–3 tablespoons pine nuts

extra virgin olive oil, as required

60 g/2⁄3 cup finely grated

Parmesan cheese

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Join a telephone group to improve

your health and well being!FREE

We are dedicated to the welfare and rescue of greyhounds everywhere, especially those in Spain which are used for hunting and dreadfully abused.

This work is successful but expensive.

For sponsoring one of our rescues, helping by

donating to our work or leaving us a legacy, please contact us, quoting ref. RT

33 High Street Wraysbury, Middlesex, TW19 5DA

Tel 01784 483206, Fax 01784 482501 Email: info@greyhoundsinneed.co.uk

For a complimentary

copy of ‘all about animals magazine‘

email info@amramedia.co.uk

quoting ref RT

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When an owner dies or becomes unable to look after a pet, the pet may have to be rehomed and this can prove difficult for both the pet and the new owner. Dogs often adapt quite well to a

new environment and, although there will be a time of adjustment whilst the animal settles down to a new routine and a new owner, the new environment may well help the dog to get over his pining for his previous owner.

In contrast cats tend to become closely bonded to one individual and if that individual dies they may find it hard to adjust, becoming introverted and changing their behaviour quite markedly.

‘She always remained my mother’s cat,’ the new owner of a rehomed cat told us.

Eventually the cat may form a bond with its new owner but it takes time and patience; old cats are much more set in their ways and therefore have much more difficulty settling down.

ReplacementA dog is also much more likely to accept a replacement after its companion dies than a cat would be. Some cats never really accept a replacement for the companion they grew up with; it may take many months or it may never happen. Many cats simply behave as if the replacement does not exist.

The decision to replace a pet must be based on your own

personal feelings and also on your assessment of how a replacement would affect your existing pets.

In some cases a replacement pet has proved positively beneficial. Brammer, a Labrador cross and Bungle, a beagle, were inseparable. When Brammer became ill and euthanansia was carried out, Bungle appeared to become very

depressed. Although he would show an interest in other dogs out on his walks, at home he was listless and miserable. After a year his owner acquired Bobby, another beagle, and after a period of adjustment Bungle is more or less back to normal.

Although many animals show a change of behaviour following the death of a companion, not all changes are adverse ones. The death of a dominant pet may allow its more submissive companion to ‘blossom’; a shy, nervous cat may become confident and affectionate, a submissive dog may become the ‘leader of the pack’. When the ‘leader of the pack’ in a household of dogs dies, a new leader has to emerge and this may initially cause friction until the new social order becomes established.

Sensing deathThe warden of a block of flats agreed to look after an elderly lady’s dog when she went into hospital. At 11am one morning, for no apparent reason the dog sat up and howled. A little while later the hospital rang to say the lady has passed away – at 11am!

In Taiwan many people ask a priest to visit them when they hear a dog howl, because a family death is believed to be imminent.

Even in the fictional Sherlock Holmes stories, the howling of a hound announced the imminent death of a member of the Baskerville family.

Tales of this nature are so numerous that it is hard to separate fact from fiction. It is not possible to reach any definite conclusion on the awareness of animals, but it is acceptable to suppose that animals may have faculties beyond our comprehension

An extract from Absent Friend-coping with the loss of a pet by Laura &

Books, a Division of Interpet Ltd

Rehoming a pet when an owner dies

All responsible pet owners know that they need to make sure that their four legged friends will be looked after and cared for if they were to die suddenly, but have you ever wondered “What will happen to my pet after I have gone?”

One of the charities at the forefront of providing a service to look after the pets of the deceased is the National Animal Welfare Trust (NAWT). The charity rehomes thousands of unwanted animals each year, of all kinds. Their excellent Pet Care Card is a free service that guarantees a complete peace of mind for owners in the event that they pass away, knowing that their pet’s future will be a safe and happy one after their lifetime, offering particular security to the elderly or those living alone.

Becoming a card holder couldn’t be easier, with just three easy steps. Complete an application form, receive your free wallet-sized card which you can carry on your person at all times, and leave instructions in your Will confirming that you would like the NAWT to look after your pet(s), so there is no confusion about your wishes.

In the event of your passing, the information provided about your pet will enable them to find the best possible new home. For instance, if you have a very active dog, they will make sure he has plenty of opportunities during the day to run around and play. In the unlikely event that they can’t find your friend a home, they will look after them for the rest of their natural life.

The peace of mind that a service like this offers pet owners knowing that their beloved pets are being taken care of offers a security and comfort that is truly priceless!

For further information on Pet Care Card visit www.nawt.org.uk.

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With supported housing, nursing and dementia care, the Church of England Pensions Board provides security and

peace of mind in retirement to those who have given their lives towards helping others in the name of Christ, including Clergy

Widows and Licensed Lay Workers.

We rely on donations and legacies to continue this much needed work.

PLEASE HELP US IN ANY WAY YOU CANThe Church of England Pensions Board (RT)

FREEPOST 898, LONDON SW1P 3YSTel: 020 7898 1800

Web: www.cepb.org.uk/appealsEmail: cepbappeals@churchofengland.org

Registered Charity Number: 236627

Making a Difference…

Charity N E W S

Beautiful Garden for Biggar The residents of Bield’s care home at Langvout Court in Biggar now have a beautiful community wildlife garden after Bield transformed an unused grassy area thanks to a grant from the People’s Postcode Trust. Sheltered seating areas enable residents and their families and friends to make the most of the Scottish Summers. Raised beds have been added to encourage residents to grow their own produce and children at Biggar Primary School come to visit to tend to their own area to grow flowers and vegetables. New residents in the garden include 2 ducks and there’s plenty of room for ladybirds and bees who can reside in specially created ‘hotels’.

For over 40 years, Bield have been providing quality housing and support services for older people in Scotland, helping over 15,000 people each year. They receive no government funding to support their Volunteer Development Programme which mostly provides a befriending service, social events and outings.

For further information www.bield.co.uk/Fundraising

Greyhounds and galgos (Spanish-bred hunting greyhounds) make excellent family pets, and, contrary to popular opinion, their requirements for exercise are moderate and many can live happily with cats. Here are two looking for homes.

Sam, a fawn male galgo (Spanish greyhound), approx. 3 years old, he was rescued in Madrid. He is very friendly and gets on alright with the other dogs. He is a lovely looking dog and despite losing 6 teeth he still loves his food and he also loves lots of fuss.

Chato is a large black male galgo, with some white markings on his chest. He is approx. 4 years old. He enjoys running in the exercise paddock at the kennels. He will need some time to gain his confidence again but he is a nice dog and deserves to be in a loving home now.

If you would like further information, please contact Greyhounds in Need on 01784 483206 or email info@greyhoundsinneed.co.uk

www.greyhoundsinneed.co.uk

Looking for

Gerry O’ Sullivan, Chair is pictured (centre) being presented with cheque from Joseph Ray and Lee-ona Young, People’s Postcode Trust.

The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916. We were established to care for the severely disabled young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. Today we provide brilliant care to the whole military family in our friendly, modern and comfortable homes. Elderly and disabled ex-Service men and women, and their partners, can all

therapeutic care.

A gift in your Will to The Royal Star & Garter Homes enables us to continue to provide brilliant care to those who have served our nation for generations to come.

on 020 8439 8125 or email john.ingram@starandgarter.org

www.starandgarter.orgRegistered Charity No. 210119

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Diabetes Wellness Weekend 2012The Elvetham Hotel, Hartley Wintney, HampshireFriday, 26th to Monday, 29th October

Join the team from the Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation for their annual Diabetes Wellness Weekend at the historic and imposing Elvetham Hotel. This special event is aimed at people living with diabetes who would like to learn more about their condition in a friendly and supportive environment. A varied programme of talks, workshops, gentle exercise classes, exhibitors and entertainment will take place all under one roof in this private country setting. Whether you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes or a general interest in diabetes, the weekend will provide you with a wonderful platform to learn more about your diabetes and get to grips with it, so you can change your life for the better. You will also get the chance to meet and make friends with other like-minded people.

For further details, please contact Event Co-ordinator Lee Calladine on 023 92 636133 or by e-mail at events@drwf.org.uk

Life LettersTo mark its 100 year anniversary in

2016 The Royal Star & Garter Homes is launching the Life Letters project. They would like you to share with

them either; your story of how you’ve lived your life to the full or the story

of family, friends, colleagues and members of your community, who have

been part of the military family in the last 100 years, and that you are proud of and inspired by. Letters are just as important today to the military family as they were 100 years ago. They are a powerful symbol of love and hope, and the millions of letters sent and

received have kept our military family connected. A Life Letter might be a story of love and friendship, passion and pride, jobs and service, hobbies and interests, life’s lucky-breaks and

challenges, differences made and lessons learned. It might be a special moment in time or it might sum up a

lifetime of memories. Over the coming months they will collect and share

these stories with the ultimate aim of publishing a book.

Life Letters can be emailed lifeletters@starandgarter.org or sent: Life Letters,

The Royal Star & Garter Homes, FREEPOST RLUX-CSXB-KZGG, TW10

6RR. For further information go to www.starandgarter.org/lifeletters

a home

COOKERY DEMONSTRATION for glaucoma charity at the 50+ showProfessor Ian Grierson is Head of Ophthalmology at the University of Liverpool and a medical advisor to the International Glaucoma Association (IGA), the charity for people with glaucoma. He’s also produced a recipe book – Home Cooking with the IGA – to raise money for the Association. Professor Grierson has kindly agreed to put on a cooking demonstration, using recipes from the book, at the IGA’s stand at the 50+ Show, Olympia, on 13th and 14th July. Here is one of the recipes from the book:

MACKEREL AND POTATOESThis is a dish full of goodness that I love and eat often, particularly when I am on holiday in the West of Ireland, where the freshly smoked mackerel are exceptional.

(for 4)

4-8 smoked mackerel fillets (depending on size)

1kg (2.2lbs) new or salad potatoes (any small potatoes will do)

200g packet or a large bunch of watercress

3 spring onions

1 red pepper

1 hard-boiled egg

60ml (4tblsp) of French Dressing (or just mix 45ml (3tblsp) virgin olive oil with 15ml (1tblsp) of lemon juice)

Halve the largest potatoes and boil in salted water for 10 minutes, drain and let them cool a little. Chop up the watercress roughly and flake the mackerel. Chop up the onion, pepper and boiled egg. Mix everything in with the potatoes and add the dressing just before serving.

Every year thousands of people put their faith and trust in Cats Protection when looking for a new addition to the family. Behind each volunteer and member of staff is a wealth of experience and expertise which means when you adopt one of our cats, you can feel safe in the knowledge that he has been given the best possible care. When he leaves Cats Protection, your cat will have been treated to a top-to-tail medical. This means he will have been: Fully examined by a veterinary surgeon Vaccinated at least once against flu and enteritis Treated against fleas, roundworm and tapeworm Neutered if old enough Microchipped

We also provide four weeks’ free insurance (terms and conditions apply) giving invaluable peace of mind and reassurance as you and your cat embark upon this lifelong friendship. All he needs now is a loving home to make his dreams come true – over to you!

T: 03000 12 12 12 E: helpline@cats.org.ukW: www.cats.org.uk

Reg Charity 203644 (England and Wales) and SC037711 (Scotland)

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For people with disabilities and those who care for them, a regular break can make the difference between coping and despair, between just existing and really living. Yet the complexity and cost of organising even the shortest of breaks often presents an insurmountable barrier.

That’s why, for thousands of people with disabilities and carers each year, Vitalise is a lifeline. The charity provides accessible, affordable breaks to those who so desperately need them at its three purpose built, accessible holiday centres in Chigwell, Southampton and Southport. Each centre provides 24-hour care on call from experienced nursing and care staff and the personal support and companionship of residential volunteers. As a result the guests enjoy a relaxing break in a non-institutional, holiday environment.

But for Vitalise, providing quality care is only half the story. The charity has been quietly developing a model of care that

challenges what respite care is and what it can achieve. Vitalise enables people with disabilities to take time out from their daily routine and enjoy an

energising change of scene. Carefully selected activities and excursions, designed to stimulate and inspire, enable the charity’s guests to regain their vitality and confidence, while for carers, the temporary relief from caring that Vitalise provides helps restore their ability to cope and reconnect with their loved ones.

Vitalise’s drive towards innovation also extends to enhancing the lives of visually impaired people. The charity is one of only two in the UK enabling visually impaired people to explore more of the world and enjoy life-enhancing experiences. Vitalise achieves this by organising assisted group holidays in the UK and overseas, where the visually impaired holidaymakers are supported by volunteer sighted guides.

It is perhaps not surprising, given the scale of Vitalise’s ambitions, that the charity relies heavily on the help of volunteers. It would be safe to say that none of what Vitalise prides itself on could

be achieved without the contribution of its volunteers, who support the disabled guests in the charity’s centres and accompany visually impaired people on holiday. Vitalise runs one of the largest and most diverse volunteer programmes of any UK charity, providing inspirational volunteering

individuals of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities each year.

An estimated six million disabled people in the UK exist below the poverty line. They struggle to meet the cost of their care and find statutory support for all but their most basic needs inadequate and difficult to access. Despite the fact that regular breaks are essential for their emotional and physical wellbeing, a great many disabled people and carers are forced by lack of funds to forego the opportunity to take a break, no matter how short.

Vitalise is determined that nobody should have to miss out on the opportunity to take a break for financial

reasons, so the charity subsidises the cost of each break it provides through its own fundraising efforts (not a penny of the charity’s income comes from central government). For those individuals in particular financial hardship, there is a further raft of support in the form of the charity’s Joan Brander Memorial Fund (named after its venerable founder), which can provide discretionary grants.

Nobody expresses the difference that Vitalise makes each day to people’s lives more eloquently than those who benefit from the breaks it provides. This is what Vitalise guest Alex Burke had to say:

“There’s nowhere else I feel so relaxed, so cared for. I become a different person when I’m here. I almost feel able-bodied for the week. I’ve been places on holiday here that I’d never imagine going to in my life, things I could never do at home. Until I found Vitalise my parents hadn’t been able to take a holiday. When I came here for the first time they went abroad for the first time in 15 years! Vitalise is a massive thing in my life. It recharges me to such an extent that I’m feeling the benefit of it for months. I come back thinking ‘I can survive’. For the small amount of time I’m here, I’m safe, I’m free, I’m human”

Vitalise -turning respite on its headOver the past 49 years Vitalise, a small charity with big heart, has been restoring hope and happiness into the lives of people with disabilities and carers.

For more information about Vitalise’s services or for info about ways to support Vitalise, visit www.vitalise.org.uk email info@vitalise.org.uk or call 0303 303 0147.

GREY HAIRS THE REGULAR PENSIONS COLUMN

By Robert Grey, Pensions Specialist

Grey

Hai

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The UK Government has recently changed the format of the information it provides to individuals about their State pension. The previous State pension forecast has now been replaced by a simpler and easier to understand two-page State pension statement.

In the first of a series of articles highlighting this new statement, Grey Hairs sets out how this looks and the information that it contains.

It is never too early to start finding out more about the State pension to see how much you will receive in retirement and when it will start to be paid (as part of your overall retirement planning). You can request your own State pension statement by contacting the Pension Service. Their contact details can be found in the top right-hand corner of this statement.

The next edition of Grey Hairs will look at the contents of the leaflet entitled ‘Your State Pension statement explained’ (that accompanies your statement) to help you better understand the information contained in your statement.

RETIREMENT today34

UNDERSTANDING YOUR STATE PENSION‘NOTHING WE CAN DO CAN CHANGE THE PAST BUT EVERYTHING WE DO CHANGES THE FUTURE’

Your State Pension Statement Our Address: Future Pension Centre Room TB218, Tyneview Park Newcastle Upon Tyne NE98 1BA MR GREY HAIRS Our Phone Number 0845 300 0168 65, STATE PENSION ROAD Our opening hours Mon – Fri 8:00am – 8:00pm RETIREMENTVILLE Our fax number 0191 218 7006 RET1 OAP If you have a textphone 0845 3000 169 www.direct.gov.uk/pensions Date: 17 April 2012 Dear Mr Grey HairsYou asked for an estimate of your State Pension

Your State Pension estimate as at 17 April 2012Total State Pension £97.22 a weekThis total includes your:Basic State Pension £75.22 a weekAdditional State Pension £22.00 a weekGraduated Retirement Benefit £0.00 a week

The date you can get your State Pension You are due to reach your State Pension age on 10 October 2037 This is the earliest date you can get your State Pension The Government has announced further plans to change the State Pension age rules. See the enclosed leaflet for more information. Important information about this estimate· This estimate is based on your National Insurance record at 05 April 2011 – it is not a forecast of how much State Pension you may get when you reach State Pension age. Please read the enclosed leaflet to find out more about what this means for you. · The amounts are in ‘todays values’ which means they show how much you may receive if you were getting your State Pension now. About you You were born on 10 October 1970 Your National Insurance number is AB123456BIf you think any of these personal details is wrong, let us know straight away. About your State Pension Your State Pension may be made up of three elements1) Basic State Pension Basic State Pension is based on qualifying years of National Insurance contributions. You currently need 30 qualifying years to get a full basic State Pension.You currently have 21 qualifying years.The full basic State Pension is £107.45 a week in 2012/2013. 2) Additional State Pension Also known as State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) and State Second Pension. The additional State Pension is earnings related and is paid on top of any basic State Pension you may receive. If an amount is shown in the estimate above, this has been rounded down to the nearest £1. 3) Graduated Retirement Benefit You earned Graduated Retirement Benefit if you paid graduated National Insurance contributions between 6 April 1961 and 5 April 1975. If, during this period, you were self-employed, any Class 2 National Insurance contributions you paid did not count towards Graduated Retirement Benefit. The enclosed leaflet ‘Your State Pension statement explained’ contains important information about your State Pension statement and answers the most frequently asked questions about the State Pension. Find out more about the State Pension at www.direct.gov.uk/statepension Please note this Pension Statement is not a formal decision – the amounts shown are only estimates. You will receive a formal decision when you claim your State Pension.

Yours sincerely

**** ******** Pension Centre Manager The Pension Service is part of the Department for Work and Pensions

RETIREMENT today 35

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