winter 2016 newsletter extracts
Christmas
Christmas is family time and an occasion to all be together, laugh and play silly games. It begins with the communal stirring of the pudding and writing the cards, listening to Christmas Carols and the Christmas message. We appreciate Christmas through music. The smells of Christmas are special – the tree, greenery, the cooking and the candles. Someone is appointed to think up the games. Last year we raced tiny clockwork monkeys across the table whilst waiting for the flaming pudding. Later there was a competition to see who could put an after eight on their forehead and slide it down their face without it falling off before it reached your mouth! This was followed by rolling a malteser down a metal tape measure from one end of the room to the other and to catch it in your mouth. This is not about presents and how much things cost; it unites the family across the age range and is great fun. Most of all it is about Love for the family, messages from friends, entertaining friends and helping those in need.
May the good times this Christmas become the treasured memories of tomorrow. Happy Christmas to you all.
Keith and Zena Worters
A banker remembers - part 2
To raid or not to raid, that is the question.
"We have information that a bank raid on your branch is planned for today". Well I don’t know about you but when I hear that news while I’m having coffee and biscuits in the staff rest room at 10.30 in the morning I don’t shout out Whoopee !
The date is the mid sixties and I am slowly climbing the greasy banking pole and am now working in a large branch (4 floors and 40 staff) and in those days bank branches were largely staffed by men. The branch in question had a split of around 25 men and 15 females with all senior positions occupied by men. It also had a large number of very big companies on its books and handled at certain times large amounts of cash. Over £500,000 was not uncommon. So a tempting target.
The news that we might be raided was taken with surprising calmness. I don’t remember anyone asking to go home or feigning illness! But there was a tension and the girls were asked to stay upstairs as much as possible with all the tills being manned by men. We also had a couple of under cover police in the branch and we were assured that there would be police somewhere outside.
Well time dragged on and lunch time came and went and the Manager returned from his usual pub lunch which always included several pints, hence his rosy cheeks. Bets were taken as to when things might happen and even a slight light headedness crept in. As a precaution the cash on the tills was reduced and even some tills closed in the afternoon.
When 3.30 arrived and it was closing time the police told us that further information had been received which indicated that the raid had been cancelled although they couldn’t promise that it might not occur in the future !!
Did we feel deflated that nothing had happened? No drama. No "hands up". No "give us your money". Well in fact yes we did. My recollection is that many of the younger guys were a bit disappointed that nothing dramatic occurred. I was one of them. But at least it gave us a talking point in the pub for quite a while. And the management bought everybody cakes and drinks for coping so well. As one of the staff said, perhaps we could have a raid scare every week!!
Mike Tarren
Nutrition, Exercise and Seniors' Health
After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here is the final word on nutrition and health.
1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks
than us.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you !
Most seniors never get enough exercise. In His wisdom, God decreed that seniors become forgetful so they would have to search for their glasses, keys and other things thus doing more walking. And God looked down and saw that it was good.
Then God saw that there was another need. In His wisdom he made seniors lose coordination to they would drop things requiring them to bend, stretch and reach . And God looked down and saw that it was good.
Then God considered then function of bladders and decided seniors would have additional calls of nature requiring more trips to the bathroom, thus providing more exercise. God looked down and saw that it was good.
So if you find that as you age, you are getting up and down more, remember it is God's will. It is all in your best interest even as you mutter under your breath.
Pat Mc
Merry Christmas to My Female Friends
If I were ol’ Santa, you know what I’d do
I’d dump silly gifts that are given to you
And deliver some things just inside your front door
Things you have lost, but treasured before.
I’d give you back all your maidenly vigour,
And to go along with it, a neat tiny figure.
Then restore the old colour that once graced your hair
Before rinses and bleaches took residence there.
I’d bring back the shape with which you were gifted
So things now suspended need not be uplifted.
I’d draw in your tummy and smooth down your back
Till you’d be a dream in those tight fitting slacks.
I’d remove all wrinkles and leave only one chin
So you wouldn’t spend hours rubbing grease on your skin
You’d never have flashes or queer dizzy spells,
And you wouldn’t hear noises like ringing of bells.
No sore aching feet and no corns on your toes,
No searching for spectacles when they’re right on your nose.
Not a shot would you take in your arm, hip or fanny,
From a doctor who thinks you’re a nervous old granny.
You’d never have a headache, so no pills would you take.
And no heating pad needed since your muscles won’t ache.
Yes, if I was Santa, you’d never look stupid,
You’d be a cute little chick with the romance of a cupid.
I’d give a lift to your heart when those wolves start to whistle,
And the joys of your heart would be light as a thistle.
But alas I’m not Santa. I’m simply just me,
The matronest of matrons you ever did see.
I wish I could tell you all the symptoms I’ve got,
But I’m due at my doctor’s for an oestrogen shot.
Even though we’ve grown older, this wish is sincere,
Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year!
Name supplied but wishes to remain Anon
Book Review
Citizen Clem by John Bew
published by Quercus Editions, £30 (£24 from Amazon)
Most of us passed a portion of our youth under the Prime Ministership of Clement Attlee, but in the collective memory he remains an indistinct figure compared with the man whom he replaced and was in turn replaced by, Winston Churchill, or even compared with his giant contemporaries in the Labour movement, such as Nye Bevan. I for one knew very little about Attlee before I read this book, and I was glad to have him brought out of the shadows, with his place in history, as well as his personality, given an up-to-date and comprehensive treatment.
This is a substantial book which will tell you everything you might want to know about its subject, and though there are a few longueurs in the period between the wars, and a few errors of fact – for example, asserting that the landslide victory of 1945 was shown on television, whereas TV did not get going again, even in London, until the following year – these are outweighed by the solid picture of the man and his achievements. He comes across as a man of principle untouched by any hint of corruption or more than a reasonable degree of self-interest. Growing up in very comfortable circumstances, his background gave him an ethic of public service, and at an early age he followed an older brother into the burgeoning Labour movement in the East End. Thereafter he rose through the ranks of the party not by force of personality but by being the right man in the right place at the right time. He was a loyal second to Churchill in the War Cabinet, and then was called on to shoulder an entirely different burden in managing the expectations of the post-war electorate and balancing the ideas of his more hot-headed colleagues. Much was expected in this period, not all of which could be delivered, but he brought civility, experience and moderation to bear on competing demands and on the frightening new world order which almost immediately began to emerge in the shape of an aggressive Soviet Union and the collapse of Empire.
As for his private life, it was dull in the extreme: he married late, had only one wife, no mistresses, and no major fallings-out with any of his four children or his own siblings. As a man, however, he does not come across as at all dull, being as full of contradictions and complexities as any human being. He was a politician with a hinterland, being a keen reader and writer of poetry. Professor John Bew has done a fine job in presenting Clement Attlee for our times and I can thoroughly recommend this book, not least for reminding us all of a vanished world that we ourselves were part of.
Maggie Jameson
Celebrating Christmas
The timing of the Christian festival of Christmas is probably based on the pagan mid-winter festival. The name Cristes Maesse or the Mass of Christmas was first recorded in a Saxon text in 1038.
The enjoyment of food in connection with a sacred occasion is common throughout the world and in many different religions but for a lot of people nowadays the eating and drinking is more important than the religious observation of the festival.
In England during the Tudor and Medieval periods the feasting and merrymaking often extended over the 12 days of Christmas. After the ban on celebrating during the Commonwealth period was lifted in 1660, celebrations were more subdued. The Puritan ban on celebrating Christmas was very unpopular. Christmas was designated as a normal working day with no decorations of greenery, celebratory food or even special church services.
The number of days of holiday was reduced in the early 19 century with only Christmas Day as a holiday and in 1871 just 26 December was added despite the Victorians love of Christmas. There was a revival of old traditions in the Victorian period and the introduction of some new ones
Today there is an excess of decorations and present giving with many shops starting the season in October. Also many people take at least a week off from work. It can be, however, a lovely family occasion and for small children very magical.
Jenny Cupit
Cantata Memoria –For the children
Most of you will remember 21st October 1966, when after days of incessant rain, a gigantic spoil tip collapsed and enveloped the Junior School and nearby houses in the mining village of Aberfan in South Wales. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of 116 children and 28 adults.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the disaster for which no person was held culpable, Karl Jenkins composed his Cantata Memoria, setting a multilingual text in English, Welsh and Latin, by Mererid Hopwood comprising eleven brief but inspiring movements, to his music.
The work has two distinct sections, but is performed continuously. Initially dealing with the tragedy and the immediate aftermath, the second part moves from darkness to light, re-living memories and celebrating childhood. The Cantata begins as the adult choir sings 'Pitran, patran' which is onomatopoeic Welsh for rain, then moves into the children's choir singing part of Cecil Alexander's hymn 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', which was often sung by the school children. After a questioning of the disaster by the solo baritone, the music continues with a Welsh song, Myfanwy by Joseph Parry, believed to have been sung by rescuers as they attempted to locate victims. It then intersperses with four texts from the Latin Mass, whilst blaming the National Coal Board for burying young lives. It concludes with Lux Aeterna (Everlasting Light).
This recently issued recording by Bryn Terfel (baritone) and Elin Manahan Thomas (soprano) together with choirs and Sinfonia Cymru, does not match the majesty of Brahms' A German Requiem', but nevertheless provides a reflective account of the tragic event of 50 years ago.
John Jameson
A Postscript
The real deal this Christmas?
Something transient or permanent?
The Choice
Focusing on the transient- and relatively trivial
Focusing on the Profound and Enduring
HAPPY Christmas!
John Skinner
Christmas is family time and an occasion to all be together, laugh and play silly games. It begins with the communal stirring of the pudding and writing the cards, listening to Christmas Carols and the Christmas message. We appreciate Christmas through music. The smells of Christmas are special – the tree, greenery, the cooking and the candles. Someone is appointed to think up the games. Last year we raced tiny clockwork monkeys across the table whilst waiting for the flaming pudding. Later there was a competition to see who could put an after eight on their forehead and slide it down their face without it falling off before it reached your mouth! This was followed by rolling a malteser down a metal tape measure from one end of the room to the other and to catch it in your mouth. This is not about presents and how much things cost; it unites the family across the age range and is great fun. Most of all it is about Love for the family, messages from friends, entertaining friends and helping those in need.
May the good times this Christmas become the treasured memories of tomorrow. Happy Christmas to you all.
Keith and Zena Worters
A banker remembers - part 2
To raid or not to raid, that is the question.
"We have information that a bank raid on your branch is planned for today". Well I don’t know about you but when I hear that news while I’m having coffee and biscuits in the staff rest room at 10.30 in the morning I don’t shout out Whoopee !
The date is the mid sixties and I am slowly climbing the greasy banking pole and am now working in a large branch (4 floors and 40 staff) and in those days bank branches were largely staffed by men. The branch in question had a split of around 25 men and 15 females with all senior positions occupied by men. It also had a large number of very big companies on its books and handled at certain times large amounts of cash. Over £500,000 was not uncommon. So a tempting target.
The news that we might be raided was taken with surprising calmness. I don’t remember anyone asking to go home or feigning illness! But there was a tension and the girls were asked to stay upstairs as much as possible with all the tills being manned by men. We also had a couple of under cover police in the branch and we were assured that there would be police somewhere outside.
Well time dragged on and lunch time came and went and the Manager returned from his usual pub lunch which always included several pints, hence his rosy cheeks. Bets were taken as to when things might happen and even a slight light headedness crept in. As a precaution the cash on the tills was reduced and even some tills closed in the afternoon.
When 3.30 arrived and it was closing time the police told us that further information had been received which indicated that the raid had been cancelled although they couldn’t promise that it might not occur in the future !!
Did we feel deflated that nothing had happened? No drama. No "hands up". No "give us your money". Well in fact yes we did. My recollection is that many of the younger guys were a bit disappointed that nothing dramatic occurred. I was one of them. But at least it gave us a talking point in the pub for quite a while. And the management bought everybody cakes and drinks for coping so well. As one of the staff said, perhaps we could have a raid scare every week!!
Mike Tarren
Nutrition, Exercise and Seniors' Health
After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here is the final word on nutrition and health.
1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks
than us.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you !
Most seniors never get enough exercise. In His wisdom, God decreed that seniors become forgetful so they would have to search for their glasses, keys and other things thus doing more walking. And God looked down and saw that it was good.
Then God saw that there was another need. In His wisdom he made seniors lose coordination to they would drop things requiring them to bend, stretch and reach . And God looked down and saw that it was good.
Then God considered then function of bladders and decided seniors would have additional calls of nature requiring more trips to the bathroom, thus providing more exercise. God looked down and saw that it was good.
So if you find that as you age, you are getting up and down more, remember it is God's will. It is all in your best interest even as you mutter under your breath.
Pat Mc
Merry Christmas to My Female Friends
If I were ol’ Santa, you know what I’d do
I’d dump silly gifts that are given to you
And deliver some things just inside your front door
Things you have lost, but treasured before.
I’d give you back all your maidenly vigour,
And to go along with it, a neat tiny figure.
Then restore the old colour that once graced your hair
Before rinses and bleaches took residence there.
I’d bring back the shape with which you were gifted
So things now suspended need not be uplifted.
I’d draw in your tummy and smooth down your back
Till you’d be a dream in those tight fitting slacks.
I’d remove all wrinkles and leave only one chin
So you wouldn’t spend hours rubbing grease on your skin
You’d never have flashes or queer dizzy spells,
And you wouldn’t hear noises like ringing of bells.
No sore aching feet and no corns on your toes,
No searching for spectacles when they’re right on your nose.
Not a shot would you take in your arm, hip or fanny,
From a doctor who thinks you’re a nervous old granny.
You’d never have a headache, so no pills would you take.
And no heating pad needed since your muscles won’t ache.
Yes, if I was Santa, you’d never look stupid,
You’d be a cute little chick with the romance of a cupid.
I’d give a lift to your heart when those wolves start to whistle,
And the joys of your heart would be light as a thistle.
But alas I’m not Santa. I’m simply just me,
The matronest of matrons you ever did see.
I wish I could tell you all the symptoms I’ve got,
But I’m due at my doctor’s for an oestrogen shot.
Even though we’ve grown older, this wish is sincere,
Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year!
Name supplied but wishes to remain Anon
Book Review
Citizen Clem by John Bew
published by Quercus Editions, £30 (£24 from Amazon)
Most of us passed a portion of our youth under the Prime Ministership of Clement Attlee, but in the collective memory he remains an indistinct figure compared with the man whom he replaced and was in turn replaced by, Winston Churchill, or even compared with his giant contemporaries in the Labour movement, such as Nye Bevan. I for one knew very little about Attlee before I read this book, and I was glad to have him brought out of the shadows, with his place in history, as well as his personality, given an up-to-date and comprehensive treatment.
This is a substantial book which will tell you everything you might want to know about its subject, and though there are a few longueurs in the period between the wars, and a few errors of fact – for example, asserting that the landslide victory of 1945 was shown on television, whereas TV did not get going again, even in London, until the following year – these are outweighed by the solid picture of the man and his achievements. He comes across as a man of principle untouched by any hint of corruption or more than a reasonable degree of self-interest. Growing up in very comfortable circumstances, his background gave him an ethic of public service, and at an early age he followed an older brother into the burgeoning Labour movement in the East End. Thereafter he rose through the ranks of the party not by force of personality but by being the right man in the right place at the right time. He was a loyal second to Churchill in the War Cabinet, and then was called on to shoulder an entirely different burden in managing the expectations of the post-war electorate and balancing the ideas of his more hot-headed colleagues. Much was expected in this period, not all of which could be delivered, but he brought civility, experience and moderation to bear on competing demands and on the frightening new world order which almost immediately began to emerge in the shape of an aggressive Soviet Union and the collapse of Empire.
As for his private life, it was dull in the extreme: he married late, had only one wife, no mistresses, and no major fallings-out with any of his four children or his own siblings. As a man, however, he does not come across as at all dull, being as full of contradictions and complexities as any human being. He was a politician with a hinterland, being a keen reader and writer of poetry. Professor John Bew has done a fine job in presenting Clement Attlee for our times and I can thoroughly recommend this book, not least for reminding us all of a vanished world that we ourselves were part of.
Maggie Jameson
Celebrating Christmas
The timing of the Christian festival of Christmas is probably based on the pagan mid-winter festival. The name Cristes Maesse or the Mass of Christmas was first recorded in a Saxon text in 1038.
The enjoyment of food in connection with a sacred occasion is common throughout the world and in many different religions but for a lot of people nowadays the eating and drinking is more important than the religious observation of the festival.
In England during the Tudor and Medieval periods the feasting and merrymaking often extended over the 12 days of Christmas. After the ban on celebrating during the Commonwealth period was lifted in 1660, celebrations were more subdued. The Puritan ban on celebrating Christmas was very unpopular. Christmas was designated as a normal working day with no decorations of greenery, celebratory food or even special church services.
The number of days of holiday was reduced in the early 19 century with only Christmas Day as a holiday and in 1871 just 26 December was added despite the Victorians love of Christmas. There was a revival of old traditions in the Victorian period and the introduction of some new ones
Today there is an excess of decorations and present giving with many shops starting the season in October. Also many people take at least a week off from work. It can be, however, a lovely family occasion and for small children very magical.
Jenny Cupit
Cantata Memoria –For the children
Most of you will remember 21st October 1966, when after days of incessant rain, a gigantic spoil tip collapsed and enveloped the Junior School and nearby houses in the mining village of Aberfan in South Wales. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of 116 children and 28 adults.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the disaster for which no person was held culpable, Karl Jenkins composed his Cantata Memoria, setting a multilingual text in English, Welsh and Latin, by Mererid Hopwood comprising eleven brief but inspiring movements, to his music.
The work has two distinct sections, but is performed continuously. Initially dealing with the tragedy and the immediate aftermath, the second part moves from darkness to light, re-living memories and celebrating childhood. The Cantata begins as the adult choir sings 'Pitran, patran' which is onomatopoeic Welsh for rain, then moves into the children's choir singing part of Cecil Alexander's hymn 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', which was often sung by the school children. After a questioning of the disaster by the solo baritone, the music continues with a Welsh song, Myfanwy by Joseph Parry, believed to have been sung by rescuers as they attempted to locate victims. It then intersperses with four texts from the Latin Mass, whilst blaming the National Coal Board for burying young lives. It concludes with Lux Aeterna (Everlasting Light).
This recently issued recording by Bryn Terfel (baritone) and Elin Manahan Thomas (soprano) together with choirs and Sinfonia Cymru, does not match the majesty of Brahms' A German Requiem', but nevertheless provides a reflective account of the tragic event of 50 years ago.
John Jameson
A Postscript
The real deal this Christmas?
Something transient or permanent?
The Choice
Focusing on the transient- and relatively trivial
- “Book early for Christmas” – so we did.
- But now the Turkey (and trimmings) have all gone, and the glasses are empty
- - Family gifts under the Christmas Tree, sparkling lights, excited children, paper hats, games – and a temporary truce for these 2 days
- But it’s all over now - time to ‘move on’?
Focusing on the Profound and Enduring
- The mind-boggling significance of God’s Son, Jesus, entering our World! The first greatest moment in the whole of world history! Wow! It’s just so profound – and Wonderful!
- The second greatest moment, 33 years later, when Jesus did for us what only He alone could do .
- For those who respond, the huge significance for them is both for Now and Eternity. Wow again!
HAPPY Christmas!
John Skinner
