Swaffham Newsletter

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Magpie Centre News
It’s All Systems Go At Magpie Centre
With the start of the new school term, riding lessons
have resumed at the Magpie Centre, home of West
Norfolk Riding for the Disabled. Funding for these
lessons has received a huge boost from the Central
England Co-op community fund, although only one
of its stores, in Terrington St Clement, is within both
the Central England Co-op and West Norfolk Riding
for the Disabled catchment areas.
A grant of £3,700 will help to fund vital lessons for
young people living with a wide range of physical
and learning disabilities.
Caroline Dudley, who volunteers at the Magpie
Centre and shops at the Terrington store, said: ‘I
picked up a leaflet about the fund, and mentioned
it to our Trustee who deals with grant applications. I
never thought we’d have a chance, because we are
right on the eastern edge of the Central Co-op area.
‘Next thing I knew, we’d been awarded a grant to
subsidise 200 lessons. The benefits of riding to
people living with disabilities is immense and range
from the obvious physical ones to an improvement
in communication skills and social confidence.'
'I was over the moon,’ she added.
Funds for the Magpie Centre sensory garden,
officially opened in July by HRH the Princess Royal,
also received a welcome boost, thanks to the efforts
of two Trustees, Jan Calvert and Andy Beeston, who
completed the Grand East Anglia Run in very good
times and raised more than £700 in sponsorship
for the garden. Jan said: ‘Completing the run was a
fantastic experience, and many thanks to the kind
people who so generously sponsored us.’
Second pilot session of Tea With a Pony took place
early in September and was a huge success. These
mornings aim to attract people living with dementia
and their carers, who can socialize over tea and cake
in the sensory garden and stroke some of our gentle
ponies. Cost is £10 per participant, including carer.
A further session will be held in October. To book,
call the Centre on 01553 810202 or visit our website:
www.rda-westnorfolk.org.uk.
And finally, look out for the Magpie Centre 2022
calendar, now in production, which will be available
from early October. It features lots of lovely pony
pictures, plus ways in which you can help us, and
there’s plenty of space on every date to note
appointments. To get your hands on one, try Chalk
and Cheese in Shouldham, or West Winch Post Office,
or, again, order via our website, details as above.
Rotary
5
CELEBRATING President’s Corner
Swaffham I started writing this piece
shortly after having my “five
minutes of fame” talking about Swaffham Rotary Club
on Kayleigh Poacher’s programme on Radio Norfolk.
It was the first of five programmes being broadcast
from Market Towns. It was a brilliant sunny morning
when everything looks so much better.
As “my slot” was well into the programme it gave
me the chance to listen to several other contributors
before positioning myself before the microphone.
What struck me was the common thread of talking
about what we have got, not what has been lost due
to Covid10 or anything else, and how the town and
businesses etc could look forward to the future with
confidence. I hope I continued to sound that positive
note!
Only occasionally have I mentioned someone who
has spoken at one of our meetings. Not because they
have not been interesting, far from it, but because I
have tried to look ahead to what we have planned
for the weeks ahead. I make an exception to our
recent speaker from Admiral Nurses. Nameless, only
because I have not asked permission to use her name.
Our speaker had a comprehensive knowledge gained
over many years of the problems faced by those living
with dementia and those near and dear to them. She
recalled initiatives across Norfolk, including Swaffham
and what was planned for the future. All put across in
a simple easily understood manner without a note or
a single PowerPoint slide. We will stay in touch with
her and hope that we might be able to play some part
as new initiatives are rolled out locally.
For those who may not have heard of them before,
Admiral Nurses provide the specialist dementia
support that families need. When things get
challenging or difficult, our Nurses work alongside
people with dementia, their families and carers:
giving them one-to-one support, expert guidance and
practical solutions. Currently not all their services are
available in Swaffham, but their helpline 0800 888
6678 is available for telephone support and guidance.
Looking forward, early indications are that our 25th
Art Exhibition will be the success we hope for. This
year I am delighted to say four local schools have
accepted our invitation to exhibit some of their pupils’
work. Further details are available elsewhere in this
edition of this Newsletter.
Having seen Christmas cards etc in the shop I feel I can
give advance notice that we plan to hold our Charity
Christmas Fayre in The Assembly Rooms on Saturday
27th November. Invitations to have stalls have gone
out to local charities and voluntary bodies etc. More
details next month.
Meanwhile, if you want to find out any more
about our Club, please mail me club_president@
swaffhamrotary.org.uk.
John Wallace
YEARS
17