The Mag. In this issue: Summer Yummy Mushroom Soup Recipe T-Shirt Design Competition Lots of Lovely Holiday Stories

Transcription

1 The Mag In this issue: Yummy Mushroom Soup Recipe T-Shirt Design Competition Lots of Lovely Holiday Stories Summer 2014 A magazine for and by those who use MacIntyre Services

2 Who is who on The Mag group Mary Hughes Sui-Ling Tang Iain Smith Donald Delmohamed Anthony Tull Emma Killick Sarah-Anne Morgan Welcome to the Summer issue of The Mag! We hope you like our front cover by Hannah Sharp, look in our Art Corner for more lovely art work. Congratulations to our Spring competition winners. Check out our new competition in this issue, to design a t-shirt. We had some great articles sent in, my favourite article was the one by Kevin Booth who went to see Celebrity Squares being filmed. Editor: Iain Smith

3 Contents Page 4-9 Page Page Page Holidays & Day Trips What s Happening Around MacIntyre Celebrations Hobbies & Interests Page Entertainment Page Food & Drink Page Art Corner Page 34 Competition Winner Page 35 Competition Front cover by Hannah Sharpe from Leighton Buzzard 3

4 Holidays and Day Trips My Lighthouse Holiday by Chris Nicholls from Welwyn Garden I m Chris Nicholls and I would love to tell you about my amazing holiday that I was supported to go on in October. I told Clare Murphy my Support Worker that I wanted to stay in a lighthouse. I know what you are thinking, is that even possible? YES! Clare found me a lighthouse hotel in Beachy Head and it was just as brilliant as it sounds. I met the owner called Shirley, who made my stay lovely! She was really friendly and made me laugh a lot. The lighthouse wouldn t be the same without her. While I was away with my two support workers Clare and Farhan I went on trips to the sea side and went on steam trains and buses which are some of my favourite activities to do. There was also an arcade, who could resist a go on a 2p machine, not me! It was so special to be able to go and stay in a lighthouse as it is something I have always wanted to do. Every time someone asks me where I want to go on holiday now, my answer is always to a lighthouse! 4

5 Holidays and Day Trips Birthday Trip to London by Christopher Martin Ayres from Welwyn Garden City My name is Christopher Martin Ayres and I live in Welwyn Garden City and I want to tell you about my amazing day trip. One thing you should know about me is that I love London! My Birthday was on the 21 st May. I was supported by Lorna Brewer to go to London for the whole day. I was so excited to go to London that it seemed to take forever for my birthday to happen. On the morning of my birthday, I made sure that I was all set for the day. I got up nice and early to get ready and I set up my new camera that I got especially for my trip. All I wanted to do was get going! Me and Lorna took the train to London which is something I love to do. When we finally got to London there were lots and lots of things that I had planned! I took an open bus tour ride around London for a little bit of sightseeing. I also went on a tour boat and even got to see the London Eye! However, my favourite part of the day was when I went to the best toy shop ever called Hamleys! It was great to see all the latest gadgets and I even met the Hamleys Bear who I gave a huge hug too! I even managed to find time to go to an Arcade for a bit of race car driving, which of course I won at! The day was amazing and it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had. I can t wait to go back to London and I m even planning my next trip which will be to see a show! I hope that everyone has a good Birthday like I did. 5

6 Holidays and Day Trips Holiday in Spain by Jenyth Elcome from Milton Keynes On 31 st May I went to Spain with my Mum and Dad. I stayed at a villa next to some mountains. We had hot weather and lovely dinners out and in. I had my own bathroom and bedroom. This is the pool area, with a shower. You must have a shower before going in the pool. We had an umbrella to keep out of the sun. There was also a cool place to sit to write, draw and do puzzles. 6

7 Holidays and Day Trips My Walk Down the Cobbles of Coronation Street by Sylvia Gow from Warrington There was so much to see and do; Sweets from Rita s Kabin, a taxi from Steve s, lunch at Roy s cafe, a drink at Nick s Bistro, working at underworld, Fiz and Tyrone s house! The best bit though was the Rovers! What a day to remember! 7

8 Holidays and Day Trips My Caribbean Cruise by Bill Smith from Milton Keynes After only being able to arrange and meet my carer Don at the last moment. We drove to the Gatwick Travelodge on 24th January and took off for Barbados at 8:30 the next morning. I found it quite difficult going through the extremely tight customs security. They searched my hand baggage and took away a bottle of shampoo. The flight took eight hours, but was quite comfortable. On reaching Barbados, which is quite a tiny island, we were transported by minibus to the ship which is like a floating hotel on the water. The ship holds 3000 passengers and 1200 crew. Most of the security staff were dressed in clean white trousers and shirt and some had stripes on their shoulders. Two port men were at the entrance to the ship to take my wheelchair on board. The security was very tight. Every day they checked on me. The first port of call was St Lucia, where we were unable to dock because the port was quite small and the wind was 40 knots. The sea was quite rough with white ruffles in the ocean. It was marvellous to wake up to a different view each morning. You could see the wooden houses and there were ships dotted around the port. Most days we spent sitting round the pool and I became a little bit frustrated, because we were spending so much time on the water. Occasionally, there would be a rain shower that would make all the sunbathers scatter for cover, but most of the time it was only brief. 8

9 Holidays and Day Trips Luckily I found it wasn t unbearably hot most of the time and I think they must have been in their early spring. The food was delicious. We had a fully cooked breakfast, though it was a bit of a struggle to find a seat. I enjoyed my meals. Arriving at St Kitts we got off the ship at last after nearly three days. As we walked through the main street we were greeted by the locals who were very welcoming to the passengers on the ships coming into the port, hoping we would buy something. In St Kitts High Street the traffic was quite heavy. They appear very keen for you to visit the jewellery shops. Luxury hotels are scattered around Frigate Bay. The North part of the island is more mountainous, while the South has all the beaches and tourism. After that it was back on the ship, as we couldn t go any further with my wheelchair. By the way, we never saw the captain, we sometimes heard him though. Antigua was quite an interesting large place, full of tourists. To see the two ships side by side was a magnificent sight. Looking down the main street you could see it was full of palm trees with flower beds scattered around. The roads were quite rough. Beyond are the hills and the rest of the island, which are full of luxury apartments. A large amount of time was taken up with drinking lime and orange juice. My main disappointment was not to be able to go into the countryside and see the real Caribbean; we were on the water for too long. We were soon back to Barbados and on the quite long coach drive back to the airport we saw the locals and a lot of shops. I noticed that there were many shops not finished and the houses were made of wood. Don took me to Barbados cricket ground. There was a statue of Gary Sobers outside the ground. I found the trip quite enjoyable and loved an ice cream and hot dog most days on the deck. The cabin beds were little bit too high and I fell out once responding to a call of nature! I hope I ve given just a small glimpse of my holiday. 9

10 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Great Holm Reopening By Donald Delmohamed from Milton Keynes The Day of the Great Holm reopening had arrived after months of building work. There were two days for the re-opening in which lots of people came to look around on Friday 27 th and Saturday 28 th June I was so excited to have been asked to have The Mag stand there in Moot Hall. Great Holms New Coffee Shop As a wheel chair user I found it so easy to use as I found it so easy get around the building and using the lift was very easy. I hardly had to ask anyone to open a door for me. In the new look Great Holm we have a new Lifelong Learning area, a relaxing swimming pool and a state of the art sensory room, along with the coffee shop which will be open at a later date. There is even a big conference room upstairs where meetings can be held. It all looks so lovely. Bill Mumford making an opening speech 10

11 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Here is what a few people at the opening said: Sui-Ling Tang Very nice, I like it and the coffee shop. I think they have done a marvellous job. Goldie Sayers I am so pleased to have been asked to come and open Great Holm and to meet such lovely people and see all the work MacIntyre does is amazing. Mayor of Milton Keynes I am so pleased to have been asked here today and I am proud to have MacIntyre as my Charity of the year. MK Mayor Councillor Subhan Shafiq When the coffee shop is reopened at a later date why not come in for lunch or a morning cuppa. MacIntyre Stories have done a short film about the re-opening, you can find the film on line on YouTube at =wwysdnrkiq4&list=uujtu9k37 s9kaca0quognsaw Me and Goldie Sayers 11

12 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Fletchers Mews Open Day by David, Jo, James and Gary from Milton Keynes Fletchers Mews held an Open Day on 16th April. We did lots of preparation work in the run up to the day. We designed posters and put them up round the community. We made a piñata, key-rings, magnets and wordsearch books. We had lots of activities on the day including tombola, lucky dip, guess the name of the chick, guess the weight of the cake and an Easter egg hunt. It was a fun and enjoyable afternoon and thanks to the catering team for their help and providing us with yummy cakes to sell. We also thank the Point coffee shop for making our cake for the guess the weight activity. We raised just under 100 which will go towards future equipment for the service. 12

13 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Quotes from the people we support who came along: David Morgan The Open Day was good because I got to meet new people and friends. My favourite activity was hitting the piñata. Jo Bowering I enjoyed coming to the Open Day, I got involved in all the activities and won the cuddly chick as I guessed the correct name. James Casey It was a good day. I enjoyed planting my sunflower seeds and having a few goes on the tombola. James Beckwith-Smith I thought it went very well indeed- I enjoyed the cake very much so. Gary Edwards It was a great day. There were lots of laughs and jokes. I enjoyed meeting new people especially some of the neighbours. I won the sweets which were great and my brother was very happy winning the cake. 13

14 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Angela Ryan s Blue (Autism) Day by Donald Delmohamed from Milton Keynes As part of my role with MacIntyre Stories I went up to Warrington to film a lovely story called 'Knitty Kitty Angela's Story which was about a lady who we support at Warrington. Angela has set up her own knitting enterprise which she calls Knitty Kitty. She even had her own stall at the Autism day which we at MacIntyre called Blue Day. Angela even dressed up for blue day. Angela also sells her knitting at our Warrington Learning Centre where she has her own catalogue. To watch the MacIntyre Stories film 'Knitty Kitty Angela's Story go to 14

15 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Easter Bag Competition By Sui-Ling Tang from Milton Keynes Myself and Donald helped judge an Easter Bag Competition it was for staff to enter and it was organised by Lynn Kennedy, Barbie and Bronwen James at our head office in Milton Keynes. Staff had to design an Easter bag. They all made cakes or biscuits to go inside the bags. All money raised went to The Pancreatic Cancer Research and to MacIntyre. Here are the winners: 1 st - Chris Tribble 2 nd - Yvonne Burton 3 rd - Sarah Underhill Congratulations to everyone who took part as a lot of effort went into making the bags. Everyone helped raised an amazing 100. Here s to next Easter. 1st 3rd 2nd 15

16 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Our Friends and Family Day by David Thomas from Ellesmere Port On Saturday 10 th May 2014 we here at our Seymour Drive service in Ellesmere Port held a friends and family Open Day. We invited loads of friends and family members. Some of our friends from The Stran-Hat Pub in Ellesmere, who had called on us before, came. They were dressed in fancy dress clothes, one was a cowgirl, a Super Mario Brother, a bottle and a cat. It was also my Birthday too! I can t wait for our next event here, as this one was so great. Hopeful I can enjoy The World Cup Football. I would like to thank our lovely Staff who worked so hard to make my Birthday and The Open day great. 16

17 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Safeguarding for Keeping Safe By Mary Hughes from Milton Keynes On Tuesday 11 th March Haddon Beats went to Northampton for a conference on keeping safe with the whole group. At this conference we got to perform a song with a dance routine to it. Then right at the end they had a disco which everyone joined in. The whole of Haddon Beats got a rucksack with a cap and lots of things included inside it. Paul Payne, Sui-Ling Tang, Iain Forrest, Iain Smith, Becky Hammond and Lee Cernio plus me all went out. At mid-day they all broke up for lunch. Police Interview Training by Martin Oakey from Derbyshire On Monday 26 th March 2014 some of the Keeping Safe Champions and I had a day at Leicester Police head quarters. It was an excellent day doing witness training with Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers. We looked at videos and we witnessed what was happening. Then we were interviewed. We told the police afterwards what we thought of the way they interviewed us. We suggested they gave us more time to answer questions as we sometimes felt rushed. It was tiring because we had to concentrate so hard but it was a good day. They supplied food and drinks and some nice cake for us. 17

18 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Walk for Charity in Milton Keynes by Jonny Howlett and Sharon Pratt from Milton Keynes On the 5th May, bank holiday Monday myself (Jonny Howlett) and myself (Sharon Pratt) took part in walk for charity in Milton Keynes. We had to be at the Stadium: MK for 9 am. What I (Jonny) had to say about the walk: I did a fast walk around the course, I liked it and when I had finished I got my medal. When I got home I put it with all the other ones from previous walks and runs I ve done. What I (Sharon) had to say about the walk: It was a nice sunny day. I walked slowly around the course as I have very bad knee problems and sometimes I wear a bandage on it. There were Marshalls along the route giving out bottles of water to drink, I liked getting the water. I enjoyed the finish when everybody clapped and I got my medal, it took me one and a half hours to complete. 18

19 What s Happening Around MacIntyre On Your Bike from Womaston School Students at Womaston School were very excited to take delivery of their new bikes at the start of term. The new bikes will be used as part of a new programme of activities centered around the Schools exciting Adventurous Enquiry based Curriculum, and will support their mission Adventurous in Learning Ambitious in Life. Students will begin their biking adventure by taking part in National Standards bike training sessions funded and delivered by Powys County Council. The school purchased the bikes and specialist trike from Clive Powell Bikes, Rhayader. Clive Powell will also be instructing the students in National Standards Training, he said The students were really beaming when they saw their new bikes, I look forward to working with them in the near future and to see the bikes in action. Written by Max 19

20 What s Happening Around MacIntyre My Volunteering at Mums and Tots at the Salvation Army Café by Patty Harris from Worcester Hello! My name is Patty and I would like to tell you all about my volunteer placement that I recently started. Before Christmas one of my support staff at Whiteladies arranged for me to help out with a mother and toddler group at the local Salvation Army in Worcester. I help out for a couple of hours on a Tuesday morning each week. I wanted to volunteer at this group because I love spending time with children. Some of the staff bring their children and grandchildren to Whiteladies and I really like it when they visit. We do a variety of things in the group. The toddlers have a play with the soft toys for a short while. They also do some arts and crafts such as decorating plants pots, making photo frames and we also do some baking including making rice crispies cakes. I like spending time of one of the group called Martha. You will see a picture of me with Martha above. I have been volunteering with the mums and toddlers group for about six months now and I really enjoy it. All the other volunteers are really friendly and I get on well with them. The mums are also really friendly, especially Martha s mum! I hope to keep on volunteering here, as it is a lot of fun!! 20

21 What s Happening Around MacIntyre Grass Routes and Holmewood T-shirt Enterprise From all at Grass Routes Garden Services On the 27 th,may, 2014, we were lucky enough to be invited to play a match at Chesterfield Football Club. Our friends at our Grass Routes service have been working at the football club doing the litter picking after the matches this season and the football club kindly offered MacIntyre the opportunity to play a match on the hallowed turf to say thank you for all their hard work. Grass Routes needed some worthy opponents so Holmewood and New Square Lifelong Learning Services were only too pleased to oblige! It was very exciting for everyone as most people involved are Chesterfield FC fans. We were allowed full use of the great facilities and used the professional changing rooms etc. Prints Charming, Holmewood s printing enterprise made all the players a personalised football shirt. The teams were made up of people that MacIntyre support and staff and it has to be said that the quality of football was really impressive. The match resulted in a 3 all draw, which meant a penalty shoot out had to take place..the tension was unbearable, but the team spirit shone through and it was just a fabulous afternoon..end result? A draw! 21

22 Celebrations My Birthday Party for my 50 th by Andrew Pinches from Chester I celebrated my 50th Birthday in February. My staff from where I live arranged for me a surprise party at my local sports club, many of my mates and family attended also my team of staff from my house were their. My Staff also got me a surprise limousine stretched car; I had an hour drive around Chester my town then onto the party. I had a fab night s party. 22

23 Celebrations My 70 th Birthday Bash By Mary Boyle from Birkenhead I want to share with you my birthday in March I was 70 years old and not feeling a day over 30! We celebrated in the lounge at Cherriton we had music by the buffet which was delicious consisting of Indian, Chinese and lots of sweet cakes for the sweet people. Everywhere was decorated with banners balloons and pictures through the years of me at Cherriton. I was surprised at the amount of people that came from the staff who remain at Cherriton and past staff these being Lynn Kennedy and Lynn Holmes and Paula Hall and Joy Delaney who all used to support me it was lovely to see these people and yes I remembered them all. Please take a look at my pictures and may I thank all of you for celebrating this day with me. 23

24 Celebrations My Christmas Visit with my Family by Susan McDonald from Warrington 26 th December 2013 was a very special day for me and my family as it was the first Christmas together as a family in 50 years. As a family we had only found each other in May of this year (2013), so as you can imagine spending our first Christmas together was going to be emotional, amazing and memorable. Thanks to my staff and family I was able to spend Boxing Day with my family. When I heard the news this had been organized I was over the moon. As I do every year I went Christmas shopping but this year in particular was extra special for me as I had to include gifts for my sisters, brother-in-laws, my nieces and nephews. I had to make sure that I had made my family s Christmas gifts personal to each person. When Boxing Day came along this was going to be a very special day for me and I wanted to look nice for my sisters so I picked out some of my favourite items of clothes which my staff helped me with and my favourite perfume. When I was ready I made sure I had all my Christmas gifts ready for my family. I was so happy I couldn t wait to hand out all my lovely Christmas gifts I had got my family so much so I passed Helen the car keys. 24

25 Celebrations When I arrived at my sister s house I very quickly got out of the car and helped Helen to unload the car. In the meantime Doreen opened the door and greeted us both followed shortly by Janet. I noticed Doreen s house was full with lovely Christmas decorations and I particularly liked the tree. After having a drink and some Christmas cake we all decided to exchange gifts. This was a very emotional time for all three of us. I was so happy they liked the gifts I had chosen for them so much that they cried. This made me happy as I know I chosen well. It was my turn to give my niece Grace her Christmas build a bear, which she loved and as she looked at me and smiled. After we had all opened our gifts my sisters had made us all a lovely Christmas buffet which was a lovely surprise for me and we shared the joy of pulling Christmas crackers, sharing jokes. My sisters even remembered I enjoyed a beer which I enjoyed with them. When we all finished the buffet we all went back to the sitting room and relaxed. Again I couldn t stop taking my eyes off the lovely tree which had some pretty coloured lights on it. I enjoyed soaking up the Christmas atmosphere with my family as the hours flew by unfortunately and the day came to a close. We all really had a good day and I will remember it forever. Helen helped me load up the car with all the gifts I got from my family. We said our good-byes and I couldn t stop smiling on the way back as I had just spent the day with my family which I ll always remember. 25

26 Hobbies and Interests My Swimming By Becky Grey from Chesterfield Hello my name is Becky Grey I go to Grass Routes each Monday. I swim for a club for people with a learning disability called The Sheffield Otters. I recently won a medal at swimming on Saturday 17 th May For the medal I came 2nd in the breaststroke event at the gala and I completed 50 lengths at the swimming gala too. I ve been swimming for 4 years and have 65 medals. I am the blonde girl on the right of the photograph. 26

27 Hobbies and Interests Baking by Neil Roberts from Ponciau I live in Wales and one of my favourite things to do is bake cake. My favourite is chocolate. I asked Rob my support worker to help me bake some cakes and we went to the shop and bought all the ingredients. When we got home we mixed all the ingredients together and then we put them in the oven and I got to lick the bowl out. When the cakes were ready I went round all the people that live with me at Poncaiu and gave them each one, I had a really good time making the cakes but I didn t like the washing up!! 27

28 Entertainment Cinema Review of Frozen and The Monument Men by Gabrielle Harris from Oxford I like going to the cinema. I saw frozen with Lucy my staff at the Learning Centre. It was good. I liked the songs. There was a funny snowman called Olaf. I also liked the reindeer called Sven who kept trying to eat the snow and nose but in the end they were friends. It was fab. I also saw The Monument men with Lucy, I love history and the film was brilliant. It was about men during The Second World War who were too old to fight but made a group to find and steal back their art from around the world because the Germans had stolen it as they went through countries. Hitler wanted all the art to be destroyed. The film was happy though because the English men got them back. It was based on a true story. It was brill. 28

29 Entertainment Celebrity Squares by Kevin Booth from Cheshire We were invited to be part of the audience for the new series of Celebrity Squares. Warrick Davis was the host. Bradley Walsh was in the middle square. Eamonn Holmes and his wife, Ruth were under Bradley. We had to clap and then be very quiet when they were recording. In the final the lady had to answer questions on London. She won 1000! The show will be on ITV later this year (Show number 3). 29

30 Food and Drink My Step Mum s Recipe for Mushroom Soup By Sui-Ling Tang from Milton Keynes Ingredients 3oz of Butter 1lb of Mushrooms 4 Cloves of garlic Salt and Pepper to taste 2 Pints of milk 30

31 Food and Drink What to do Wipe and chop the mushrooms Fry the garlic in butter until cooked Add 1pint of milk. Then liquidise in a machine or with a hand blender add then add the rest of the milk Add salt and pepper to taste Cook for a further 30 minutes on a gentle boil and serve in a soup bowl It s nice with fresh bread or a bread roll. Serves four people. 31

32 Art Corner Plane by Vitesh Patel from Leicester Bob Marley by Carl Davidson from Milton Keynes Dog by Ian Fossey from Milton Keynes Animal Collage by Lynda Hill from Milton Keynes 32

33 Art Corner Sequin Art by Hannah Sharp from Leighton Buzzard I recently moved to Leighton Buzzard from Wingrave School I have settled in really well. I enjoy my art and beading. Look out for my stall at MacFeast in Wingrave this summer as I m selling my bracelets and necklaces!!!! 33

34 Competition Spring Competition Winner and Runner Up Congratulations both! We hope you enjoy your prizes! 34

35 Competition Summer Competition: Design a T-shirt For our competition in this issue we would like you to design your own t-shirt. Just send us your own design on an A4 size piece of paper like the one below along with your name and address on the back. The winner will be chosen by us and they will get their design printed on a t-shirt as their prize. The closing date is 26 th September. 35

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