Dear Reader: Each year as I put the Winter edition of your Assembly Times to bed I have the

same thoughts - where has the year gone, how come I didn't do all that I had

planned to and it can’t be nearly Christmas already!!! Well yes it is less than

seven weeks away and no doubt like me you have seen too many of those

cleverly targeted TV Christmas fayre advertisements. Christmas preparations

used to begin just a short while before the 25th and gifts were about the thought

not the value and xmas eve was the time for those turkey and fresh produce food

bargains. Oh Christmas humbug I hear some of you say! Well yes you may be

right but lets not forget the true message of Christmas and especially remember

those less fortunate or able than ourselves and maybe just taking the time to

check on a neighbour or friend will make all the difference.

Please also don't forget to prepare yourself for ‘winter weather’ - remember the

message of previous years : if possible have some larder supplies, keep yourself as warm as you are

able , have your flu jab, let others know if you need help and do look at the various websites that offer

lots of advice about being ready for winter.

That’s enough of thoughts of cold and maybe that white stuff . Our winter newsletter has some new

features including ‘I remember’. If you have memories you think would be of interest to other

members please send them to us and we will publish in future editions. We also have a contribution

from Jim Worsdale who many of you will already know from the local press and we hope that he will

continue to write for us—many thanks Jim. We have included a four page special featuring our

Active Ageing event which was held in September at The Victoria Shopping Centre and proved yet

again to be a very popular and successful event. Please take a look at the many photographs that

capture just a small flavour of the day - our thanks to Mike Tranded for being our ‘official

photographer’ and providing us with so many excellent visual memories of the day.

Your committee still needs your support– we urgently require more committee members and others

who can help in various ways - please see the page 10 message and consider how you might help.

Without fresh blood we could flounder and it would be very sad if this town lost its Active Voice of

the Over 55’s. If you can help with committee, the website or our magazine please contact us.

We launched the new website earlier in the year and are still keen to know what you think so please

do let us have your opinion of the new look. You can do this via the website using the ‘contact us’

option or just email us southendopa@yahoo.co.uk

Along with our Chairman Mike Grimwade, Derek Iles Vice Chair and all the committee I wish each of

you every best wish for this Christmas season and for 2016.

We do hope that those of you who are able will join us for the

December meeting which will, I am sure prove to be most interest-

ing; we have a report on the outcome of the recent ‘Mapping for

Change’ consultation in Southend plus Bill Potter from the Police who will tell us about the proposed

changes to services . Please see your Agenda and our website for full details.

With best wishes for Christmas…….

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Up, Up and Away Page 2

The Older People’s

Strategy Update Page 3

Brian's Book review Page 4

Active Ageing - four

page special Page 5-8

Suffragette Page 9

Keep Safe - Be Scam

Smart Page 10

Cooks Corner Page 11

Established 2007

Issue 26 Winter 2015

The Assembly Times

Newsletter of the Older People’s Assembly

NEXT PUBLIC MEETING

2nd DECEMBER 2015 - 1.30 pm

CIVIC CENTRE - COUNCIL

CHAMBER

The Active Voice of The Over 55’s

Its time for a change and so instead of Hobby Time we introduce ‘I Remember’ a series of articles where

our members recall times and events of times gone by. We begin with some memories from Derek Iles... Sometime in January 1954 I had finished ten weeks of training in how to fire a Rifle, a Machine Gun, Sub-Machine

Gun and how to get rid of a hand grenade once the pin had been removed (the consensus on that was as quickly as

possible!!). I and twenty other raw recruits were sent North to an Army outpost known as Fort George situated on the

Solway Firth near a tiny hamlet called Ardeseer.

After nearly a fortnight of bitterly cold weather we were told to pack our kit (again) as we were about to be sent

abroad to have further training. A long train journey now began at about 17.00 to London, it was not yet the era of

High Speed train travel and if memory serves we arrived in Euston at about 04.00; then on to a Transit centre situated

between Goodge Street and Warren Street stations on the Northern Line of the Underground. Readers might be

interested to know that during the second world war these underground tunnels were used by Industry to produce

equipment for the war effort, with every facility for the workers including catering.

With just enough time to let my parents know, we were then off to Victoria in the late afternoon to the, now defunct

BOAC building, then on by coach to London Airport as it was then known and booked in for a flight to British

Guiana on what was the most advance passenger airliner of the day, a

BOEING STRATOCRUISER, small by today's standards having seating

for 84 passengers. Even in the lights of the airport it was an impressive

machine and once on board it got better, there was even a lower deck

with a cocktail bar, seats that reclined with plenty of leg room, and

naturally two very pretty flight attendants! Now as a young not quite 18

year old it was up up and away into the night on the first part of the

journey. Our first stop was Keflavik in Iceland to refuel, then on towards

our destination. Although comfortable it was not all that easy to sleep,

the plane had four large Rolls Royce engines that droned quite loudly

outside, but for me and others who had never flown before it was also in

a way comforting.

If we thought it had been cold in Fort George we were in for a shock, because our next stop was Gander, in

Newfoundland and it was cold, cold!. Even with an army issue greatcoat on by the time we had walked from the

plane to the airport terminal I was chilled almost to the bone. Having recently seen the terminal building on a TV

programme it looks much the same today as it did in 1954!

After an hour or so we were on our way again flying down the East coast of Canada and the USA towards our next

re-fueling stop which was Hamilton in Bermuda and surprise surprise it was NOT cold, and by sheer coincidence we

were able to enjoy this for longer than intended, because an engine on the Boeing whilst preparing for take off

stopped working, emitting lots of smoke. So back to the terminal building for several hours until engineers sorted it

out, during which time we caught up with some lost sleep in the warm sunshine.

Repairs completed we were off again for the next stage of the flight and landed in the evening at Montego Bay in

Jamaica where we said goodbye to the Boeing Stratocruiser. We also said goodbye to some of the comfort we had

enjoyed, and with hardly any time to gather our thoughts were transported to a railway station and a very noisy two

coach train that traversed the Island to the Capital Kingston. My memories of this part of the journey are a little

vague but I recall that the next aircraft we boarded was a British West Indian Airways DC3 or a Dakota as it was

commonly known and we soon got airborne again for the next stop, the Island of Curacao off the coast of Venezuela

for a brief stop to re-fuel. I think that present day travellers would have been exhausted by now, but in 1954 there

were no aircraft that flew directly to the East coast of America, they had to make re-fueling stops. We just seemed to

take it in our stride. After leaving the Island of Curacao we landed at the airport outside Port of Spain in Trinidad for

a couple of hours respite then finally flew on to the airport of Atkinson

Field some miles from Georgetown the Capital of British Guiana as it was

then known. It must have taken us three days at least to complete this

journey but a wonderful experience for me, to fly over the Caribbean

looking down on the numerous small islands that there are, and coming

along the South American coast to see the distinct division of the waters of

the Rivers Essequibo and the Demerara as they entered the Atlantic Ocean.

There was still more journeying to do before we could relax but that might

be an article for another time.

Note:: it is now possible to fly direct from London to Guiana!! .

Have YOU an ‘I Remember’ to share with our members - send it to us: southendopa@yahoo.co.uk

P a g e 2 I s s u e 2 6 W i n t e r 2 0 1 5

T h e a s s e m b l y t i m e s P a g e 3

In our Spring Newsletter (No 23) Matthew Mint, Commissioner for Older People and

Carers at Southend Clinical Commissioning Group spoke about the strategy and

consultation, now he writes to update us on the progress so far with implementing it.....

Older People Strategy Southend’s first joint health and social care strategy for older people was agreed in June. The strategy, which was produced by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Southend CCG, explains how local health and social care services will deliver services for older people over the next three years and the reasons why these are needed. Over the past five months we have made progress on a number of points including:

Recruiting a community Consultant Geriatrician to support GPs in looking after frail and

elderly patients with complex needs.

Creating a dedicated project team to work on ‘The Community Recovery Pathway’

which aims to:

≫ Make it easier to access information and health and social care services

≫ Support people who are discharged back into the community after a period in

hospital.

≫ Improve the availability of GP support in care homes.

Involvement in NHS England’s Year of Care project which looks at how services best

support people who have a number of long-term conditions.

A review of End of Life support and this includes looking at how services and systems

need to change, and this includes testing End of Life training in five care homes across Southend.

Talking to community groups and residents about how we can best work together to

support older residents in Southend. This included a public meeting attended by 150 local citizens.

The strategy is intended to be a document that can be developed to reflect changing priorities. As such we will be working on it alongside residents to make sure that their voice is heard and acted upon. If you have any thoughts or questions on anything contained within this article please contact:

Matthew Mint (Commissioner for Older People and Carers at Southend Clinical Commissioning Group) by phone on 01702 314 299 or e-mail southend.ccg@nhs.net

Shidaa Adjin-Tettey (Strategy and Commissioning Manager for Older People, Carers and

People with Physical and Sensory Impairment at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council) by phone on 01702 215 000 or e-mail council@southend.gov.uk

We have invited representatives from SBC to our Spring 2016 meeting to give you, our members an

opportunity to discuss and question on the topic - more details after Christmas.

P a g e 4 I s s u e 2 6 W i n t e r 2 0 1 5

This time Brian offers us a Christmas bargain with two reviews for the price of

one!!!

If you like your stories to be gruesome and gory then ‘Hunt the Wolf‘ by Don Mann and Ralph

Pezzullo, is the book for you. Don Mann was a member of the US Navy SEALs and

the book reflects that.

In typical American style it opens with a Prologue, setting sight and sounds. It has

plenty of expletives; while not intending to shock, they tend to give the impression

that the reader knows nothing of life as it really is – and the author is saying ‘so this is

it, live with it’

The story is about a fully fit ‘gung ho’ team leader of a group of SEALs; Warrant

Officer Tom Crocker and his five companions who are part of the US anti-terrorism

unit. In their search for a gang of terrorists and particularly one terrorist, their

adventures take them to Pakistan, France, and the Middle East, during the course of

which we are reminded three times of their pedigree for tackling terrorists.

It has a little romance as well as a treacherous mountain climb and during the course

of their search for the named terrorist they encounter a white slave operation – naturally they mount a

rescue operation before continuing with their quest.

I liked the ending. Shades of the film ‘The FBI Story’ or perhaps ‘The Untouchables’.

Open the book, read and all is revealed.

‘Comes the Dark Stranger’ by Jack Higgins is a contrasting read. First written

in 1962 it tells the tale of Martin Shane a veteran of the Korean War.

With his Regiment making preparations for a big push forward he is sent on

patrol, ambushed and captured and tortured along with four others for

information about the Regiments movement; the Chinese are aware of the push

forward but require to know when.

One of four talked, resulting in huge casualties for the regiment.

With the war over and back in England he is determined to find the one who

talked and with a splinter of shrapnel in his head causing increasing memory

loss time is running out....... Brian Dillon

Calling all OPA members with email access. Help us to reduce our costs & paper usage by agreeing to

receive your Quarterly Newsletter - The Assembly Times, Meeting Invitations, Agenda and Minutes

electronically. To let us know and confirm email address please just send us an email with the message

‘CORRESPONDENCE TO MY EMAIL’ to southendopa@yahoo.co.uk or use the ‘contact us’ link on

our new website www.olderpeoplesassemblysouthend.co.uk .

We will not share your details with any third party.

T h e A s s e m b l y t i m e s Page 5

Our fifth year of hosting the event and what a super day we had with yet again an increase in the numbers of visitors, exhibitors and a varied programme of entertainment plus the outdoor wheelchair proficiency on the concourse at the top of the High Street. Our thanks to those members and friends who were able to join us and I am sure they will agree that it was a really interesting and happy day. We also want to share the day with all our readers and so have dedicated these next four pages to images of the event which we hope you will enjoy.

The event was opened at 10.00 a.m. by Southend ‘s Mayor Andrew Moring and Dave Monk DL, the OPA Honorary President. We are very appreciative of the fact that not only did they give opening speeches, but also took the time to tour the stalls and speak to all of our exhibitor and lots of the visitors.

P a g e 6 I s s u e 2 6 W i n t e r 2 0 1 5

On the day we had over thirty five exhibitors across two floors of the Victoria Centre, representing many of the organisations of relevance to us over 55’s with particular focus on support to help us remain healthy, active and involved. By showcasing such a wide range of services and opportunities in one place visitors - whether they were an older resident, family member, friend, neighbour or carer - all had access to information and support that was of interest and value. Throughout the day our exhibitors were on hand to talk about health issues, road safety, local transport, leisure, care and volunteering to name just a few.

T h e A s s e m b l y t i m e s Page 7

As well as a wide variety of stalls there was also a programme of entertainment throughout the day, led by our Master of Ceremonies Peter West. Mr Dickie Bows School of Retro Dance performed some highly energetic 1940’s style swing jive and 1950’s rock and roll sets. Nathaniel ‘Ace’ Allen mystified us with his street magic and amazing sleight of hand – he is certainly one of the very best I’ve seen. The Hoy Shanty Men were as always most lively and enjoyed by all. And two firsts this year – A Taoist Tai Chi demonstration which had us all mesmerised by the skill, precision movement and sense of peace and calm, plus we were very delighted to welcome friends from the Alzheimers Society’s ‘Singing for The Brain’ group. We so appreciated their contribution and it was so good to see how the singing of ‘old favourites’ brings so much joy to participants and pleasure to our visitors.

P a g e 8 I s s u e 2 6 W i n t e r 2 0 1 5

Finally, I want to express the OPA’s sincere thanks to our sponsors of the event. Without their enthusiasm & support Active Ageing 2015 would not have been possible: The Victoria Centre, who for the fifth year running has provided a superb venue free of charge. Our particular thanks go to Gina Evans and her excellent team on the day, for which nothing was too much trouble; Leigh Lions for once again sponsoring our publicity costs, Arriva Buses for displaying our posters; Adam & Greenwood for sponsoring our MC and the generosity of their printers VIP Print Design and all the members of the Event Planning Group. We would also like to extend our thanks to Mike Tranded of Southend Photographic Society for undertaking the task of “official photographer” for the day and providing us with such a comprehensive visual memory of the day. Lynda McLernon - OPA Treasurer.

T h e A s s e m b l y t i m e s Page 9

Jim Worsdale writes for Southend Older People’s Assembly ... I’ve just returned home from one of my now

somewhat rare visits to the cinema. I grew up when Southend and neighbouring districts had picture houses

galore, all of which I happily and readily visited in those long-ago years.

I will talk about those grand old picture palaces a little later in this offering, hopefully to revive lots of grand

memories for readers. First, my latest experience, at the multi-screen Southend Odeon at what many of us

always knew as Vic Circus.

Management – my nickname for my wife, as has appeared in many publications through many years – and I

decided on an early midweek viewing of Suffragette, having read upbeat reviews and how some scenes had broken

new ground by being filmed in the House of Commons.

There were, I suppose some 50 or 60 of us oldies in one of the smaller of the Odeon’s several studios. I would

guess that some of us – nay, probably several of us – were driven to tears, or close to, anyway by the moving,

distressing, angering scenes of women in the early years of this century so appallingly mistreated and humiliated,

denied the right to vote.

The camera work, the astonishing close-ups, the totally consuming realism of the acting and technical knowhow of

this age of speedily-advancing technology are simply breathtaking.

But all the foregoing is not intended by me to “sell” this film – or any other, come to that – to anyone. No, I have

written thus far to compare the films and the cinemas of this age to how these were for me, and surely for many

members of the Assembly, in years past.

We don’t often visit cinemas nowadays. We used to go, in what were then known as courting days (oh, dear, seems

so tame and corny now, eh?) Back then, we determined we would “go to the pictures” at as many of the local

cinemas as time and finances allowed. We did so, over the years.

Remember The Palace at Shoebury? Then, moving from that part of the borough to Southchurch, there was the

Plaza (where, on Wednesday afternoons, I seem to recall, one could order a cup of tea and a bun to be delivered to

one’s seated place during a break between films).

This journey back in time – and back to the cinemas – takes us to the Gaumont, in Southchurch Road, round from

Vic Corner, or the Civic just opposite. Then, too, there was the Strand, main frontage in Warrior Square,

eventually demolished to make way for the first of the town’s supermarkets, part of the Keddie empire.

In the High Street, of course, was Garons Cinema and, the wonderful Odeon (which also at times put on stage

shows and, in 1963, hosted the Beatles and a tightly-packed audience of noisy, screaming, yelling, youngsters,

many of the girls in tears at being so close to the Fab Four).

I’ll never, of course, forget interviewing John, Paul, George and Ringo the afternoon before their evening

performance. The foursome sat on the edge of the stage, legs dangling over the pit from which an organ and its

player rose on earlier occasions, while a fellow nosy newspaperman and yours truly asked questions and jotted

down some of the more printable responses.

Crownings of the town’s Carnival Queens also took place at the Odeon back then. What glittering, in-demand

occasions they were! Down the years, famous personalities such as actor Richard Attenborough came to take part in

proceedings.

The Odeon had a splendid sister cinema, the Ritz, atop Pier Hill, opposite

the entrance to the Palace Hotel. Completing the town centre cinemas was

the Rivoli, in Alexandra Street, opposite the then Southend County

Borough Police headquarters and the three courts in the rear grounds,

where I also spent many a day, thankfully in the Press bench and not the

dock!

West of the borough, of course, one could visit the Mascot or Metropole in

Westcliff, the Corona or Coliseum in Leigh. Potential customers and film

buffs willing and able, back then, to seek cinemas outside the borough had

a choice of the Hadleigh Kingsway or Rayleigh Regal. Canvey Island and

Pitsea had their very own picture palaces, too.

How times and tastes have so very much changed, eh? If only we

could turn back the clock. If only. Or might the stark reality of life in

distant yesteryear not be that wonderful, after all?

We’ll never know, eh?

P a g e 1 0 I s s u e 2 6 w i n t e r 2 0 1 5

Dear Readers, as always we feature something about Keeping Safe and being Scam Smart. Our friends from Turning Tides at SAVS have introduced a new aspect to their Safe as Houses Service which will, I am sure, be of interest to you and very relevant to our regular Scam features. Lee Bagnall—Turning Tides Team Leader writes... SAVS through Turning Tides are delivering personalised information and advice to older people in Southend who are at risk from fraud or postal/doorstep scams. Using the Responders List provided by Essex Police, our Safe as Houses project will carry out home visits to those on that list. The list is made up of 481 Southend households that are being targeted by criminal gangs and organisations. The home visits are made by trained uniformed Turning Tides staff and volunteer, talking with local residents about fraud and providing them with information packs and completing a questionnaire that is returned to the Serious Crime Unit to help with building a picture of scam activity. The visits provide residents with the skills and confidence to recognise and turn away scammers. This project builds on the success of our previous Safe as Houses visits, but changes the focus to those who are particularly at risk of fraud and doorstep scams. To further enhance the reach of the project Turning Tides will also visit 350 over 65’s who are listed on our data base to build resilience and raise awareness within the wider older communities. SAVS Turning Tides Team can be contacted via email: turningtides@savs-southend.co.uk Telephone 01702 356070 . Write to Turning Tides Team SAVS 29-31Alexandra Street SS1 1BW Note: remember their new HUB is open Monday to Friday 10am to 2pm –for more information see the article in our Autumn newsletter - edition 25..

"Your Organisation Needs You" . Could you help? If so please consider joining the Committee of Southend Older People’s Assembly. We urgently need more people to serve on our committee – the committee meets once a month on the second Tuesday where we co-ordinate the activities of the Assembly and where with your help we keep the organisation in the news and our members voices heard. At the moment we have several vacancies and it would be wonderful if we could fill all of these before the AGM meeting on 16th March 2016 . Your ideas & suggestions are needed to keep the Organisation going forward and to continue to work for the wellbeing of Southend 's Older Folk. Issues like Transport, Policing, Pensions, Benefits, Care, Housing and much more can all be improved with a united voice.

We also need help with publication of our magazine and someone to look after the website. Commitment is minimal, but if you think you have a skill or knowledge that might benefit the OPA then please let us know. Remember We are YOUR Active Voice and YOUR committee needs YOU Application forms are available from our secretary, via our website, email or telephone 07760183633

T h e A s s e m b l y t i m e s Page 11

‘

A quick and healthy spice-filled curry with peppers & tomatoes to liven up turkey leftovers

Preparation : 5 mins Cook: 15 mins

Ingredients:

1 tbsp sunflower oil 1 large onion, thickly sliced

1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped 2 tbsp curry paste (or gluten-free alternative)

2 garlic cloves, crushed 400g can chopped tomatoes

300g leftover cooked potatoes (either boiled or roast), diced

300g leftover turkey, diced 2 tbsp mango chutney

small pack coriander, roughly chopped rice or naan bread, to serve

Method:

Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan over a fairly high heat and cook the onion and pepper

for 3-4 mins until starting to soften and brown slightly.

Stir in the curry paste and garlic and cook for a further 1-2 mins.

Add the chopped tomatoes and 150ml water. Bring to

the boil and bubble for 5 mins.

Turn the heat down, stir in the turkey and potatoes, and

cook for a further 2-3 mins.

Season and add the mango chutney.

Scatter with coriander.

Serve with rice or naan.

Renewing and Reserving Library Books Did you know that you can renew, request and reserve your library items in the following ways:

Online :Access the Online Library Catalogue to check when your items are due and renew and reserve items; all

you need is your library ticket and a PIN code!

By Phone: You can also do this by phone. Just call 01702 215011 and select the renewals option.

In Person: Just drop in to any one of the borough libraries where staff will be happy to extend the loan of your books

OLDER PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY MEETING DATES 2015 Come and join us at Civic Centre Council Chamber Victoria Avenue SS2 6ER

1.00 pm Registration for 1.30 p.m. Start

WEDNESDAY 2nd DECEMBER 2015

2016 *** WEDNESDAY 16th MARCH 2016 ***

1.30 pm registration - meeting commences 2.00pm.

*** ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ***

Please note the revised date and time for the AGM meeting

All other meetings are at the regular time

WEDNESDAY 1st JUNE 2016

WEDNESDAY 7th SEPTEMBER 2016

WEDNESDAY 7th DECEMBER 2016

P a g e 1 2 t h e a s s e m b l y t i m e s

If you have an issue that's relevant to the OPA & over 55’s that you want raised at one of our

public meetings but don’t wish to speak yourself, please forward the details by email or

telephone us and we will be happy to present it on your behalf.

Visit our Website www.olderpeoplesassemblysouthend.co.uk

.

NIGHT OF THE LIGHTS FRIDAY 27th NOVEMBER 5 TILL 8PM.

Yuletide procession on Leigh Broadway, Christmas Market in Elm Road, Festive Window

Competition plus a children's’ pre parade Fun Time at Leigh Community Centre 4.30 - 6.00 pm

WINTER EXTRAVAGANZA

Saturday 5th December Southend High Street 11. 00 am - 4.00 pm

CAROLS FOR CHRISTMAS

Saturday 12th December

Southend High Street and The Royals Shopping Centre

10.00 am - 3.00 pm