The Parish Magazine June 2023

around the villages — 3
A Crest fit for a New King?
By Magnus Smyly
A great example of our new King’s
Coronation focus on volunteering
has been the coming together
of local groups to enable our 1st
Sonning-on-Thames Cub Scouts to
go pond dipping in mid-April.
The equipment they used was
purchased for Sonning Church
of England Primary School by a
donation from Sonning Scarecrows a
few years ago (see The Parish Magazine
July 2019).
The school uses this equipment
in many classes during the year and
kindly lends it out to local groups.
With a big thank you to Nikki
in the school office and Miss Reid
as science lead for making the
arrangements, the cub scouts
enlisted our local environmental
expert Professor Ali Driver to assist
them explore both ponds west of
King George’s Field.
Among the myriad of wildlife
were two species of newt, including
the protected great crested newts,
which Ali is accredited to handle.
Thank you to everyone involved
for making this activity possible
and allowing the cubs to have such a
great time with nature.
RENDEZVOUS
IN THE ARK
Open to everyone of all ages
for lunch and conversation
Tuesday 13 June
Tuesday 27 June
at
12 noon
Reserve your seat in advance:
0118 969 3298
The Parish Magazine - June 2023 29
Could you be a
visiting link?
The Link Visiting Scheme, a local
charity based in Wokingham
Borough, aims to help people
struggling with the serious impact
of loneliness and enables them to
make friends and engage again with
their community.
Feeling lonely and isolated can have
a negative impact on our health and
can lead to low mood, stress, anxiety
and a lack of confidence. To resolve
this, The Link Visiting Scheme works
with volunteers who give time to
visit an older person for a couple of
hours once a week or fortnight. Their
aim is to improve wellbeing and
have as much fun and enjoyment as
possible.
QUALITY TIME
‘This is a fantastic scheme offering
support to the local community. It offers
Margaret more social activity and has
enriched my life listening to her stories
and being in her company. Thank you!
I’m so pleased I signed up!', said one
previously lonely person.
Spending quality time with
someone can be transforming and
the scheme's organisers say they
have had the pleasure of seeing many
lives improved by friendly volunteers
regularly visiting someone who sees
very few people from week to week.
There are over 400 volunteers
throughout the Wokingham Borough
engaging with people and often
taking them out to coffee shops or
garden centres where possible.
SOCIAL
A growing programme of social
activities is aimed at encouraging
older people to venture out and
meet others in a safe, friendly
environment. These include regular
pub lunches, friendship groups,
singing, yoga, bowling, friendship
tables in local cafes and lots more.
INTERESTED?
If you are interested in finding out
more about being a volunteer, either
visit the scheme's website at:
https://www.linkvisiting.org/volunteer
or email: arjie@linkvisiting.org, or call
0118 979 8019.