Swaffham Newsletter

Swaffham Community Hospital L of F's
Another fairly short article this month as there is still
little new to report. I hope you all are weathering this
enforced period of having to mainly stay at home.It is
harder than it looks and we all greatly miss the direct
contact with family and friends.
By the time you read this we will be near getting
some of our lives back. As time goes on I must admit
it is getting harder to keep our spirits going. However,
when feeling a bit low it is best to remember all
those less fortunate, including those who have to be
admitted to hospitals, including ours.
We are all pinning our hopes on the continuing
vaccination roll out and it is encouraging to see the
national numbers are still doing well. I hope you
are availing yourselves of this as you are called. The
situation in care homes has improved and it is good
news that at least some limited direct contact with
loved ones is now possible.
Our NHS colleagues, as ever, are doing a wonderful
job and here in Swaffham the pressure remains as the
hospital has expanded the number of beds available
for extra patients.
As before we are delivering further supplies of
refreshments and hand creams for the staff as a token
of appreciation.
There is still no sign of us being able to commence
any fundraising activities so I continue with my
suggestion that if you would like to help, a good way is
to participate in our coin collection. The idea is to ask
you all to consider whether you would like to have
a jam jar or tin at home in which you might donate
any spare change over the coming weeks. It would be
a small way of recognising the fantastic service our
NHS colleagues are giving over this difficult period. If
you would like to do this the donations could be left
at hospital reception or if you ring me I can arrange
collection. We have had some more response to
this and I would like to thank those of you who have
contributed. Nothing further to report at the moment
on any capital schemes.
We are really keen to attract new people to join
our small committee (especially after the loss of a
member). Do ring me for an informal chat, I promise
it's not too onerous, so why not give us a try?
It is important that we all follow the latest Government
guidelines, so stay safe and well.
Colin Houghton (Chairman)
01760 336025
The Pickenham's WI
On Tuesday 9th March Carolyn
hosted an on-line Zoom meeting,
at 2.00pm and this time we were
able to stay on for a full 2 hours, thanks to Francesca
hosting Zoom for us on her contract. This did make
it all so much easier and we are very grateful to
Francesca. Francesca was initially unable to join us,
but she did manage to "arrive", virtually of course!
Our meeting started on a sad note as we held a
minute's silence in remembrance of our former
member and President, Sheila Warner, who passed
away only very recently following a long illness.
Sheila was a good friend and we will all miss her
immensely.
We were then joined by our speaker, Mandy Wild,
who had had to try out Zoom for the first time in
order to join us. Considering this was Mandy's
first experiment with Zoom, she made it all very
entertaining! She is an expert on style and fashion
and gave a presentation on "Looking good in a bin
bag". For the next 45 minutes we learned how to
assess our own body shape (triangle, pear, hourglass,
lean column). The danger is that if you put on
weight you can change from being a lean column to
a rectangle or from an hourglass to a circle!
Mandy is so amusing, sharing tips on how to
improve your appearance, that we all spent the
whole time grinning. We got advice on style and
colour, i.e. whether to change colour at the waist
or the hips, as well as the best style of shoes and
even handbag for a better line. Mandy did in fact
put on her bin bag plus belt and she still looked a
dream. After we said goodbye to Mandy, we spent
some time chatting - those of us who are now used
to Zoom chats are finding it keeps us in touch with
each other. In line with Government advice, we are
going to try meeting in groups of 6 in the outdoors
on 13th April. Arrangements will be firmed up in the
coming weeks. Our next meeting will be delayed to
20th April when we will again be on Zoom and the
speaker will be Christopher Peskett - representing
the charity 'Doctors without Borders'. We are all
looking forward to it immensely.
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