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First, we need to say thank you to everyone who supported our refreshments at the village fete this month. We were delighted with our new position at the front of the Village Hall – thank you to Beth for your suggestion and brilliant layout plan illustrating your idea. There were some last-minute doubts in the week leading up to the event as we really weren’t sure how it would work in practice, especially the pop-up kitchen. We needn’t have worried, although a sunnier, drier day would have been preferable. Thanks, must also go to Keith & Richard from the Village Hall Committee who helped by supplying suitable extension leads to power our PAT tested equipment including the school urn, loan arranged by Jane. We had an abundance of cakes thanks to the generosity of members and villagers alike. Several of our members (mostly the committee) were there all day preparing, serving and taking down, supported by other members throughout the day.
It is thought that the numbers attending the event were down on last year, but nevertheless for the first time ever our surplus on the day exceeded £1,000, so thank you to those who came and enjoyed the results of all that baking etc. A lot to live up to next year?
We had a few hitches at the start of our meeting this month. Unfortunately, our President Lynne was unwell, so Vice-President Sharon stood in for her. There was obviously some miscommunication as our members had to sit amongst the nursery school equipment and we had some technical issues using the projector and screen. Nevertheless, our speaker Jude Price coped very well.
Jude explained that she had both dyslexia and dyspraxia and had other issues throughout her life, but she didn’t know how to express herself and explain how she felt. In December 2020, she decided to walk, initially to help mend a broken heart and to avoid Christmas. On a cold, wet and windy night in borrowed wellies, she came up with the idea to gather others who might be in a similar position to herself, to form a walking group. There is a difficulty in talking about mental health, it is time consuming, often painful, and sufferers don’t necessarily have the language to open-up. This has led to her starting the charity Walk N Talk – 4 Mental Health.
Becoming known as the lady with the Pink Rucksack, on 21 June 2022 Jude embarked on a walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise funds and gain recognition for this fledgling charity. Initially her team tried to plan the route down to the last detail, but soon realised that wasn’t going to work. So, they planned in stages adjusting the route as necessary. Sometimes she was joined by members of her team or people living along the route, at other times she was alone. Her pink rucksack contained a tent for the nights she didn’t have other more comfortable accommodation paid for or supplied by strangers. She was touched by their kindness.
Three months after setting off she arrived at the end of her long trek to be met by her number one supporter who gave her a lift home! Surprisingly, she only wore one pair of boots for the whole walk and only suffered from one blister and that was because she didn’t stop to remove a stone from her boot. Members were keen to ask her questions and offer suggestions for her next walk!
Walk N Talk currently runs three regular walks in Andover, one in Romsey and one in Basingstoke. All walks are led by a trained Mental Health First Aider. It has been discovered that it is easier sometimes to talk side-by-side rather than face-to-face. Once again, our members met an inspirational woman.
During the evening members voted to swap their post-Christmas lunch date for Thursday 05 December when they could enjoy a festive menu in a local hostelry. Unfortunately, since the demise of Essebourne Manor it has been difficult to source a suitable venue and menu in January. Members will be asked to make their choices soon.
Our next meeting is 31 October (Halloween – no jokes about Witches & Broomsticks please!) and we have invited Ann Orr to our meeting, she is going to be asking “Are You Legally Prepared?” As usual we welcome non-members to our meetings, although we do ask for an entrance fee of £5. Do come along and meet us, or if you prefer, attend one of our coffee mornings which are more informal. See below for date and time.
DIARY DATES:
02 October – Book Club : Dobbies Garden Centre 10.30 a.m.
10 October – Coffee Morning : Sports Pavilion at 10.30 a.m. (Refreshments £2) Non-members welcome
12 October – Walking Group
31 October – Monthly Meeting : 7.30 p.m. in the Village Hall
Abbotts Ann VILLAGE SHOP
