TheNetwork Jan2011

PAGE 5
Save Money on household bills
PAGE 3
Rent Increase Information
PAGE 6
Customer Committee
PAGE 10
Events for all the family
PAGE 4
CHS’s Customer Profiling
PAGE 9
The Astors - A cook’s story
PAGE 13
Sleep-in-a-box for Moorlands Court!
PAGE 14
CHS’s Croatian Visitors
PAGE 12
Gillian’s Diary
The Network
The CHS Group Newsletter
January 2011
Spending Review Bringing Bricks To Life!
by
Nigel Howlett
CHS Chief Executive
The biggest reforms to social
housing in a generation have
been set out in a Government
paper called ‘Local decisions a fairer future for social housing’. Some of the changes proposed
may be welcomed by everybody,
such as giving higher priority to
existing tenants when you need
to move home. Others are likely
to be much less popular, such as
the plan to let new homes at much
higher rents. Public spending cuts
will also reduce funds we use
to provide services that many
of you will have used.
The New Horizons Action Group
is our customer led group which
will be looking at how CHS should
respond to the changes in social
housing. We also plan to ask for
wider views through our Customer
Panel. If you want to be part of this,
please let us know. Sooner or later
we will have to make some difficult
decisions. Whatever these are
we will listen carefully to what
you have said to us.
Telephone
0300 111 3555
Jadryk
Daniel Lumbardy
A talented young artist named
Jadryk, a 16 year old CHS
resident, was involved in the
biggest legal street graffiti event
Cambridge has ever seen.
The Network; “I first got into
graffiti around the age of 12.
This is when my interest in art
began, and I first started to actually
enjoy creating my own artwork.
The owners of a building on
Newmarket Road wanted its
dull exterior livened up and
so, on the 18th September,
Jadryk and the Blight Society,
Cambridge’s largest street art
society, rose to the challenge
by transforming a dull part of
Cambridge, completely free
of charge.
I was inspired originally by artists
such as D*face and Faile, the
more fine art side to street art
than just lettering. This is what
urged me to learn to create
stencils. After I had picked
up my own style I began to
experiment a bit more, trying
to push myself as an artist.
I want to be able to use the
spray can as a tool to bring
my drawings of portraits and
the like to life on larger surfaces.
Jadryk won a scholarship to
the Perse School in Cambridge
and has been interested in street
art from an early age. He told
Website
www.chsgroup.org.uk
(Continued on page 6)
Email
help@chsgroup.org.uk
CHS News
2
Editorial
The Network
Editorial Team
Members:
by John Ide
Have you got a mum you
think is great? If so, why not
win her some flowers! If you
write or email me with the
reasons you think your mum
is great, the best answer
will win a bouquet of flowers
on Mothering Sunday (3rd April)
delivered to your home or her work place. The two
runners up will receive a £10 gift token of your
choice. See page 16 for more information.
If you would like to include an article in the next
newsletter please phone 01223 713 769 or email
john.ide@chsgroup.org.uk
www.chsjobs.org
Colin Stapleton
Community
Editor
Anna
Constantas
Roving Reporter
Halloween Competition Winners!
Here you can find out about the
different types of roles we offer,
which include:
• Care and support
• Childcare
• Administration
• Managerial and technical roles
You can also find out about what
it is like working for CHS Group,
and what benefits we offer. The
website allows you to search for
vacancies and carry out the whole
application process online. Visit
our jobs website and take a look
for yourself!
If you have any questions
about working for us, please
call Lucy or Debbie from
our Human Resources Team
on 0300 111 3555.
Consultation Prize
Activities Winners
Congratulations to Bethany
Henderson, from South
Cambs, and Mrs Simmons
from Cambridge who won
our Halloween competitions
from our last edition. Both were
rewarded with £20 for their
creative efforts in the ‘Flying
the Flag’ and ‘Pumpkin Design’
competition, and their good
detective skills to find the
cheeky hedgehog that was
hiding in the last issue.
CHS Group employs over
400 staff in a vast range of jobs.
And we have been working to
make it even easier to find out
about our job vacancies and
apply to work for us.
We have a jobs website:
Since we re-launched The Network, we have had
all sorts of suggestions for articles of general interest,
from how people used to live during the war to
money saving ideas. Remember, if you write an
article that gets included in this newsletter we
will send you £10. Winners this time included
Marjorie Simmons, Jan Lander and Mr Price.
High on many people’s minds at the moment
are the Government cuts and benefit changes.
We have included articles to try and deal with some
of peoples fears on these issues, see pages 4 and 5.
CHS Jobs
Community
3
Rent Increase
in April 2011
The Government allows us to
increase your rent by no more
than the rate of inflation, plus
0.5%. The actual change in your
rent will vary according to whether
your current rent has reached
a ‘Target Rent’, which is based
on the market value of your home.
If your current rent is below the
‘Target Rent’, then we are allowed
to add an extra £2 per week
to your rent to get it closer
to the ‘Target Rent’ set by the
government. All our homes will
have to reach their target rent
by 2012 .
We will write to you by the
beginning of March to let you
know what your new rent and
service charges will be in April.
We are planning for rents to
go up by an average of 5.1%
this year, which is less than the
Government policy would allow.
We realise that for many people
there are growing financial
pressures on household budgets
but we do need to increase rents
each year to maintain services.
We do work hard to get the best
value for money to make your
rent go as far as possible.
If you would like more
information on ‘Target Rents’
please contact Helen Tonks on
helen.tonks@chsgroup.org.uk
or on 01223 713570.
Bethany’s entry
Mrs Simmons entry
Mr Gibbons won our £250
quarterly Prize Draw for completing
a feedback form on the services
we provided him with.
Could you be our next winner?
Your Festive Pictures!
Little Paxton’s Safety Day
Families who live around our
Paxton Mill development in
Little Paxton attended a safety
presentation held by one of our
builders, to raise awareness of
the dangers of living and playing
on a site still being developed.
We then provided some pumpkin
carving and face painting for the
follow on entertainment.
Sunflower Nursery’s Creative Halloween
A great day was had in our
Halloween Arts and Crafts
event held at our Sunflower
Nursery in Cambourne.
Children (and adults!) spent the
day pumpkin carving and creating
lots of interesting festive artwork.
Helen Tonks
Head of Housing Management
CHS News
4
Customer Profiling
Think CHS is all about Housing?
Think again...!
One of the reasons we changed
our name and image last year
was to try to make sure that more
people understood that we’re not
just a housing provider, and we’re
not just focused on Cambridge.
Many of the people who help
us at the Customer Committee
say that they’re surprised at what
else we do. Just to name a few we’ve got a lot of expertise in
providing support services for older
people; we’ve got two nurseries;
and we do quite a lot of teaching
and training.
That’s one of the reasons why,
from time to time, we ask you
questions about you and your
household. It’s not to be nosey –
it’s to try to make sure that you
can get the benefit of the wide
range of services we provide.
With the help of customers we’ve
put our finger on three important
issues. If your records are up
to date with us, we’ll be able
to contact you:
• We house around 300 older
people who currently don’t
receive any support services.
We’ll be contacting some of
you to ask you whether there
are any support services you’d
like us to provide to you, now
or in the future.
• We’re concerned about the
impact of the Government’s
changes to welfare benefits
and tax credits. So, we’ll be
contacting those of you with
young people going onto
College to see if there are ways
of reducing the loss of the
Educational Maintenance
Allowance. And we’ll be making
contact with those of you who
have a disability to see if you
want support around the
changes to Incapacity Benefit.
• We also think that some of you
may consider downsizing as your
house is bigger than you need.
We may contact you to talk
through your options. If you are
already considering this, please
get in touch with Helen Tonks
helen.tonks@chsgroup.org.uk
or call 01223 713 570.
If you’d like to tell us about any
changes in your circumstances
then please contact our Customer
Involvement Officer, John Ide,
on john.ide@chsgroup.org.uk
or on 01223 713 769.
Don’t Get Stuck:
Move On!
Everyone wants to get ahead,
but sometimes it can help to
have expert advice to know
which path to take, so you don’t
end up down the wrong road!
Community
5
Your
Letters
Save Money on
your Gas and
Electricity Bills
with Sarah Bellow
Can you beat this? One of our
customers was able to make
a £120 saving on his gas and
electricity bills and get a free case
of wine in the process. If you think
you can make a bigger saving,
let us know how you did it and
we’ll provide a mystery prize.
If you have any questions
for Sarah please give her
a call or drop her an email:
Take Claire Apwell (not her real
name), who had completed a
basic maths course with the help
of CHS and wanted to go into
book-keeping and accountancy.
Sarah Bellow
01223 713746
sarah.bellow@chsgroup.org.uk
Claire contacted a home study
company about a book-keeping
course she saw in a leaflet they
had put through her door. The
company sent round a sales
person who spent 3 hours trying
to convince her to sign up to a
course costing £1600! Fortunately
she was due to see one of our
Training Advisors, Jo Burton,
to see if she could help.
I am very worried about all the changes and cuts that were recently
announced. I get Incapacity Benefit because I have depression.
I’m worried that I may lose all my benefit and if housing benefit
is stopped I may lose my home too. I am not sleeping or eating
properly due to the worry. I am sure that there are other people
out there, like myself who aren’t sure what 2011 will bring.
What can I do?
There was a happy ending
to this story. With Jo’s advice,
Mrs Apwell was able to find
a course through the Open
University, and was able to get
help with the full cost of the course
fees (it would have cost £310).
It ended up costing £0. Mrs Apwell
started her course in November.
You’re not alone - we have had
several customers contacting us
about this. Many of the changes
are not due to happen for two or
three years, so it is important to
look at what will change this year.
Jo comments “There are
unscrupulous companies
charging large amounts for
all sorts of courses that are
not even officially recognised –
it can be really helpful to get
expert advice”.
If you would like FREE advice on
courses, training or employment,
please contact Julie Corbett on
julie.corbett@chsgroup.org.uk
or call her on 01223 713 768
and book an appointment with Jo.
Dear Sarah,
Many thanks, Helen
Dear Helen,
The main change which may affect
you is a review of people who are
disabled to see if they are ‘fit for
work’. Basically, from February,
over a 3 year period, almost
everybody who gets Incapacity
Benefit, Income Support on the
grounds of disability and Severe
Disablement Allowance will be
re-assessed to see if they are
fit for work. Those who are
considered not to be fit for work
will be awarded a new benefit
called Employment Support
Allowance (ESA). People who
are fit for work will move onto
Jobseeker’s Allowance.
There’s been a lot in the
news about how people are
re-assessed. We can help
and advise you through all
stages of the process. Before
the assessment we can talk you
through the new questions in
the ‘work capability assessment’,
prepare you for the appointment
and advise you on how best to
approach it. We can also advise
on how to appeal the decision,
what to say and the supporting
evidence (from your GP and any
specialists) to provide. If you are
not able to write an appeal
submission yourself we may
be able to help with this.
Please be re-assured that you
are not alone, and that we can
help and advise you.
Yours sincerely,
We advised Mr Jones that
switching to a social tariff might
save him money on his fuel bills.
Mr Jones was a customer of EDF
Energy and at the time his bills
were based on a standard EDF
tariff. After making enquiries with
EDF he switched to their social
tariff for his gas and electricity
and saved around £80 a year.
More recently Mr Jones has
changed supplier again after
using Martin Lewis web site
www.moneysavingexpert.com
This site advises on companies
that can compare the costs of
gas and electricity and the deals
that they offer. Mr Jones found
out that by using “Uswitch” to
compare prices he would receive
a free case of wine after the switch
had been completed! Following
his investigations on the Uswitch
web site Mr Jones discovered
that by changing to NPower’s
on line tariff he would save about
£40 a year over the social tariff
he was on.
Send your story to Carol
Hopkinson on carol.hopkinson
@chsgroup.org.uk or phone it
through to her on 01223 713 748
Feature
6
New Shared
Ownership
properties
being developed
in 2011
Customer
Committee
by Colin Stapleton
Chair of Customer Committee
At present the Customer Committee consists of 27 tenants of which
three are also CHS Board members. The Committee works on behalf
of all tenants to ensure their questions, feelings, and aspirations are
uppermost in our working relationship with CHS.
Some of the achievements of the Customer Committee that I am
most proud of include:
We worked with CHS to reduce the time it takes to re-let their houses
after someone moves out (void time). This led to void times being
halved and saves us over £10,000 per year.
We worked with CHS to reword some of our standard letters
which people found offensive.
With shared ownership you can
buy a proportion of the home usually 50% or 75% - and pay
rent on the part of the property
you don’t own. With many of
the shared ownership properties
you can gradually buy more of
the property.
In 2011 we are building in:
• Cambourne
• Little Paxton
• Little Downham
• Bottisham
• Comberton
• Orwell
We worked with CHS to review all of its policies and procedures to
ensure they meet customer expectations. CHS regularly reviews the
way it works to ensure it is providing the best service to its customers members of the Committee are regularly involved with reviews.
For more information please
phone Tim Walker Sales
and Marketing Advisor on
01223 713 541 or e-mail:
tim.walker@candcd.co.uk
The Customer Committee meets on a quarterly basis in the evening.
They work with CHS to ensure that tenants’ views are at the forefront
of its decision making. CHS is totally committed to the Customer
Committee and appreciate the work carried out by it.
Bringing Bricks
To Life
In this time of change in the Housing sector we must be vigilant to
make sure we are up to date with the changes that are taking place
and to work with CHS to get the best possible deal for both existing
and future customers.
“I have been experimenting with
tea and coffee stains to create
drawings and want to transfer
this style to my large scale work”.
If you feel you would like to become a decision maker as a member
of the Customer Committee, then why don’t you come and join
us and become one of the team. Remember, as a Committee
we have a voice so let’s make sure we use it.
11-16 year-olds in the Abbey
and Coleridge area of Cambridge
can now learn some of the skills
used to create the murals on
Newmarket Road. Jadryk will be
teaching creative street art with
Abbey and Coleridge Action for
Youth on Tuesdays at the East
Barnwell Centre, Newmarket Rd.
For more information contact
a.constantas@hotmail.com
For further information contact myself or John Ide:
Colin Stapleton
Chair of Customer Committee
01763 260 331
colinmairi@aol.com
John Ide
Customer Involvement Officer
01223 713 769
john.ide@chsgroup.org.uk
Feature
(from page 1)
Keeping a piece of history
In the last few months we have
consulted our residents in Montreal
Square, Cambridge about the
future of their homes. The houses
are 80 years old and have had
various repair issues. They also
generally only just meet the
Government’s ‘Decent Homes’
minimum Standard. We asked
residents what they thought of
four options, one of which was
to redevelop the whole site.
This would have involved
demolishing the houses and
replacing them with high quality
new build homes. We planned
to make recommendations to
our Board in March after taking
residents’ feedback into account.
It quickly became apparent that
none of the residents wanted
us to redevelop Montreal Square,
as they feel very attached to their
homes and to the area. We told
the residents before Christmas that
redevelopment and refurbishment
will not now be a priority for further
consideration. This saved them
having to wait until March to find
out if such a major change will
go ahead. We will focus instead
on developing residents’ preferred
options, which are to leave the
houses as they are and to look
at fairly minor improvements
in heating, insulation and the
general state of repair.
Feature
Colin’s Corner
March 1st is St. Davids Day.
Why not join in the festivities
and make something Welsh
to celebrate? Classic recipes
for Welsh dishes can be
found across the internet.
For example go to:
www.bbcgoodfood.com/
content/recipes/occasions/
st-davids-day
For pudding try this recipe submitted by Mr Price of St Andrews
Glebe, Cambridge:
Mr Price noted; “This recipe was passed to my mother
by her grandmother - and fresh ones taste lovely with butter”.
Welsh Cakes
Welsh Cakes originated in South Wales during World War One and
are also known as Bakestones, a part of one of the earliest forms
of baking and a tradition in Wales.
Ingredients
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
8 oz. (240 grams) Self-raising flour
3 oz. (90 grams) Margarine
3 oz. (90 grams) Sugar
3 oz. (90 grams) Currants
1 oz. (30 grams) Candied peel
1 Egg, mixed with a little milk
Small spoonful of baking powder
Pinch of salt
Sprinkle of nutmeg
Cooking Instructions
1. Rub the fat into the flour, then mix in all the dry ingredients.
2. Mix to a stiff dough, using milk as needed.
3. Roll out to a thickness of about 3/8 inches (1cm) and cut out
to 1½ inches (3.5 cm) rounds.
4. Bake on a pre-heated griddle.or heavy frying pan for 3 mins
each side or until golden brown.
Colin’s Verdict:
“This is a really nice, cheap and easy recipe with some history to it”
If your recipe is chosen and included in the Newsletter you will receive
a £10 cash prize. So don’t delay – send your recipe to us today for
the attention of Colin.
8
Feature
9
When Peanut Butter
was a luxury
by Marjorie Simmons, customer
Between 1940 and 1952 lots
of the things we are able to buy
in the shops today were rationed.
The 2nd World War caused
shortages in many types of food.
Given the shortage of food we
had to make the food we had
last longer. Here’s what a typical
weeks dinners looked like in
our household:
Sunday: large meat joint
Monday: remainder of Sunday’s
joint with pickle
Tuesday: remainder of the joint
mixed up with Oxo and bread
Wednesday: remainder of
the joint made into a stew
Thursday: corn beef hash
Friday: sausages
To bulk out meals my mother
used to use lots of potatoes.
For years after the war I hated
the sight of them!
Everybody over the age of five
was issued with a ration book
containing stamps or coupons.
Each coupon could be exchanged
for a certain amount of bread or
butter etc. Children under 5 had
a green ration book for oranges
and bananas.
Once you had used up your
coupons, that was it - no more
food for the week. In 1940 rations
applied to the following foods on
a per-person basis, but it soon
spread to most foods:
•
•
•
•
•
Butter or lard: 4ozs
[113.4 grams]
Sugar: 12ozs [340.2 grams]
Raw bacon or ham: 4ozs
[113.4 grams]
2 Eggs
Cooked bacon or ham:
3.5ozs [99.3 grams]
The Astors
by Joe Masters
In the 19th century, the Astor family
was the wealthiest family in the
United States, known nationally
as ‘The Landlords of New York’.
Their wealth was self-made, having
arrived penniless in New York in
1784. Part of the family moved
to the UK in the late 1800s. The
Astors have numerous famous
historical figures including Nancy
Astor (John Astors mother), the
first female member of the Houses
of Parliament. Many roads and
some towns in the US have also
been named after the Astors.
Gina Clark, 90 who lives at one
of our residential care homes,
worked for 2 years as a cook
for Lord John Jacob Astor V
(1886 -1971). Lord Astor moved
from New York as a child. During
his life he was a military officer,
head of The Times newspaper,
director of Barclays Bank for
10 years and even an Olympic
gold medalist.
Gina’s life has been all about
cooking. Her parents were Italian
and their love of cooking was
passed onto her – and Gina
has passed it onto her daughters.
She’s given recipe advice to
Lords and Ladies – and even
to the Editor of this newsletter.
“I went to work for Lord Astor
with no reference or qualifications.
I had never worked for somebody
The Astor Estate in Hatley Park photo curtesy of Robbie Papworth
before, let alone working for
gentry.” Gina first heard about
the opportunity to cook for
Lord Astor from family who
were already working for him
in the gardens and in the house.
“They tried to get me to apply.
“Rose, good heavens” I said.
“I’m no cook for gentry!””
“I needed my husband with
me, since I couldn’t drive or ride
a bike. Women weren’t brought
up that way. I told him I needed
my husband to be with me for
the job, but he wasn’t interested
in my husband at all”. However,
Lord Astor was convinced to
employ Gina’s husband as well,
to help Gina out in the kitchens.
“We were given a lovely cottage
and a car”.
“I was up at 7.30 in the morning
to make breakfast - not just for
Sir, but for all the staff as well.
When bringing the breakfast, we
weren’t allowed to talk to them,
so we had to leave notes for them.
During the week, it was quieter,
but weekends were busy. His
wife lived in London during the
week and visited Lord Astor at
weekends, arriving on Friday
afternoon for long weekends.
There were often Dukes and
other Lords visiting for parties.”
Lord Rothschild used to come
on a Sunday for Gina’s Fish soup.
“I can’t even begin to list all
the Dukes and gentry I’ve met”.
“I wouldn’t let anyone tell me
how to cook. I believed in cooking
vegetables ‘Al Dente’ - not raw
or overcooked, just right. I did
things the Italian way, but I think
only once did Astor say “That
was rather Italian” “Sorry” I said.
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t
happen again”
“He didn’t like fussy things,
just something that tasted nice.
Sir and Madam loved the cooking
They even gave me a cookbook
as a gift to try some new recipes.
Visitors asked me for recipes,
but of course, you never reveal
your own recipes.”
At the end of the first year,
because of the way Gina ran
the kitchen she saved the kitchen
budget £500 in poultry and £600
in meat. Back then, that was
a lot of money. No wonder
Astor wanted Gina to stay!
“He said I was a marvellous cook
and had a marvellous character.
I brought a different atmosphere
to the place. He left me
a wonderful reference”.
Gina worked at Hatley House.
To find out more about the Astor
Family go to: www.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Astor_family
Community
10
Events for all the Family
Chinese
New Year
Huntingdon and Ely
The Chinese new year starts
on 3rd February. This year
it is the Year of the Rabbit.
Cromwell House,
Huntingdon
11.00am, Tue 22 Feb
Cambridge
free
Treasure trails, medieval writing,
dressing up in medieval clothes.
Tel: 01480 375 830
For more fun things to do during the
half term, check out these venues:
Ely Cathedral
The Maltings
Tel: 01353 662 633
www.themaltingsely.com
Ely Museum
Tel: 01353 666 655
www.elymeuseum.org.uk
Fitzwilliam Museum,
free
Cambridge
12.00 - 4.00pm, Wed 23 Feb
Drop in and draw at the Museum
with activities and inspiration
available from the Fitz Family
Welcome Point.
Tel: 01223 332 900
www.fizmuseum.cam.ac.uk
Science Week
Mon 14 - Sun 27 March
During the sixteenth century,
people returned to their church
for a service to be held on the
4th Sunday of Lent. This was
either a large local church,
or more often the nearest
Cathedral. Anyone who did
this was commonly said to have
gone “a-mothering”. Whether
this term preceded ‘Mothering
Sunday’ is unclear. In later times,
Mothering Sunday became a day
when domestic servants were
For Christians, Shrove Tuesday commonly known as Pancake
Day – is an important day in the
Christian calendar. It comes before
Ash Wednesday, the first day of a
period of fasting and prayer called
Lent. On this day, 8th March this
year, Christians used all their
rich foods such as sugar and
milk before fasting for 40 days.
The 40 days represent the period
Jesus spent in the desert before
he became a preacher. Traditionally,
Christians have used Lent for
prayer, charitable giving and self
denial leading up to the
resurrection of Jesus.
People born in the Year of the
Rabbit are said to be articulate,
talented, and ambitious; virtuous,
reserved, and have excellent taste.
They are also said to be admired,
trusted, and often financially lucky.
free
Mothering Sunday
In the Roman religion, Hilaria was
the first day of the year that was
longer than the night. This festival
was held in honour of the mother
goddess Cybele and it took place
during mid-March. As the Roman
Empire and Europe converted
to Christianity, this celebration
became part of the religious
calendar as the fourth Sunday
of Lent to honour the Virgin Mary.
Shrove Tuesday
So if you were born in 1915,
1927, 1939, 1951, 1963,
1975, 1987 or 1999 - that’s you!
150 mostly free events for all
ages to enjoy over two weeks in
Cambridge go to www.admin.cam.
ac.uk/sciencefestival
for more information.
given a day off to visit their
mothers and other family
members. It was often the
only time that whole families
could get together.
Check out our Mother’s Day
competition on the back page,
where you can win your mum
a bouquet of flowers!
To check out what your key
characteristics are according
to the Chinese calendar have
a look at: www.c-c-c.org/
chineseculture/zodiac
For events in Cambridge
check Cambridge City Councils
website and the Chinese
community centres website
www.cambridgechinese.co.uk
or phone 01223 365 228.
Milad un Nabi
(Muslim Celebration)
Milad un Nabi /Mawlid
is the celebration of the Birthday
of the Prophet Muhammad which
occurs in Rabi’ al-awwal, the third
month in the Islamic calendar.
Shia Muslims celebrate this
5 days later. Some Muslims
do not approve of celebrating
the birthday, and regard doing
so as a religious innovation.
Mawlid is celebrated in a carnival
manner, large street processions
are held and homes or mosques
are decorated. Charity and food
is distributed, and stories about
the life of Muhammad are narrated
with recitation of poetry by children.
Community
11
Pancake Day used to be part
of a much bigger community
celebration in the UK involving
street football matches up and
down the country; these came
to an end after football was
banned on public highways
in the 19th century.
Shrove Tuesday
in other parts
of the world.
Shrove Tuesday is known as
Bursting Day in Iceland, and
in Poland eating competitions
are held. Shrove Tuesday is
celebrated with street parties
during Mardi Gras (fat Tuesday)
in parts of America. In other
countries people eat different
sweet foods to celebrate
Shrove Tuesday including
cream filled pastries.
Sinterklaas comes to St Andrews Glebe!
by Jan Lander, customer
I was going through a really bad
patch and needed some advice
about how to control the build
up of lactic acid I was getting in
my legs ...and where better to ask
than a Runners Forum. I got such
friendly advice I’ve been chatting
there ever since!
A lady I have been chatting to
on and off for over 2 years on
the Forum became intrigued by
all my ideas for various parties: you may remember my Hawaiian
themed Birthday Party last
summer at my home in St Andrews
Glebe. She decided to give me
an idea for the start of December;
Sinterklaas. And very kindly,
she said she would send me a
‘few’ things to make a Sinterklaas
party a success. Sinterklaas is a
traditional Netherlands festival to
celebrate the arrival of St Nicholas
(de Sint) and his Page, Zwarte Piet,
who travel from Spain to the
Netherlands each year arriving
on the 5th December.
She even sent all the special
Sinterklaas paper plates, napkins,
the CD of carols and the Zwarte
Piet feathered hat. At 3.00 pm
on the day of the party I went
down to the communal lounge
and started setting up the tables:
French sticks to go with the cheese
and mustard. We soon had the
tables loaded with plates of food
- delicious Dutch cheese cut
into chunky sticks, two large
‘gingerbread Nicholas’ resplendent on large silver
salvers. I put windmill shaped
biscuits around the edge and chocolate letters.
I think everyone tried a little bit
of everything. Looking around
I could see everyone was smiling
and chatting animatedly with
their neighbour about all the
‘new’ foods and talking about
how they’d spent Christmas
as children ...it doesn’t get
any better than that!
St Nicholas
Feature
12
Gillian’s Diary
I have been a tenant of CHS
since 1996 both in Cambridge
and now in Ely.
In August 2008, I was made
redundant at the age of 55 from
my last job as a site sales executive
in the new homes property sector.
I became a “jobseeker” and signed
on at Ely Jobcentreplus. Since
then I have made a “journey”
through New Deal and Flexible
New Deal, applied for countless
jobs, searched on the internet
for up to 30 or 40 hours per
week, looked through newspapers,
consulted recruitment agencies
and job sites as well as employer
websites and my CV has been
on line on various sites.
I did begin to despair about not
being able to find a job and got
really stressed. It was really getting
to me. I soon realised if I was going
to get through this I would need
to keep my morale up. I have
increased the amount of sport
I do and joined a number of social
groups, I have networked friends
and spent some time doing
voluntary work for an Age UK
charity shop and completed
a Powerpoint computer course
through “Next Step” at the library
as well as gaining an IOSH
Fireworks!
by Gillian Aspinall, customer
certificate in managing safely.
Since January of this year I have
attended A4E an agency that has
a Government contract to help
those unemployed for over a year.
The initial two months were a bit
disorganised due to them moving
offices and having new staff. I had
my induction at the end of March
and a Directions training session,
meant to help you identify goals,
personal strengths and transferable
skills. I also had appointments
with different Employment
Coaches who made suggestions
on CV formats and passed over
a few vacancies I might apply for.
I was offered a part time job at
Next Home Store which opened
in July, but 20 hours on minimum
wage per week did not financially
make me able to accept it, with
the loss of a large portion of my
benefits and the cost of travel for
four hours work each day. Since
then the rejections have continued
and unemployment has risen,
a new Government came in in May
and my position has not changed
- I am just two years older!
Several staff left A4E (young staff!)
to pursue other careers and I have
seen new staff who have been
helpful, particularly an ex Senior
HR Manager who had been made
Community
13
redundant himself but who has
the support of a well paid working
wife. He has been the most helpful
person with regards to my CV
though I have only had one short
appointment. The other lady is
trying to organise a four week
work boost in Ely - (four weeks
work experience without pay,
a requirement of my contract
with A4E). I now have two
more months with A4E.
I have recognised that my time
of work is an opportunity to learn
new skills. I have gone for every
opportunity going to maintain
and learn new skills so I can have
things on my CV to show potential
employers for the time I have been
out of work. In the last year I have
become involved in various tenant
inclusion groups at CHS: Customer
Committee, New Horizons Action
Group and Communications
Group as well as being an
Estate Inspector. I have been
recently voted on to Customer
Committee as Vice Chairman
under Colin Stapleton, (Chairman
and Customer) with a view to
going on the Board next year as
a Tenant Representative. I have
been on an interview panel after
training, with two CHS employees
interviewing three young people
for jobs at CHS funded by the
Future Jobs Fund. Sadly this
Fund has come to an end with
the new Government.
To be continued...
All CHS customers can access
help with CV’s, educational
and employment matters
by contacting CHS on
01223 713 768 or by looking
at our website on
www.chsgroup.org.uk
by Bill Jones, customer
CHS organises events to get its young service users together to have
a good time, share ideas, and give us opinions on how we can improve
the service they receive from us. Here’s a write-up of our November
Fireworks’ night by Bill Jones, one of our Russell Street residents.
The Social Event that included food and fireworks took place on
4th November 2010. This was the first Social Event that I attended
since living at 82 Russell Street and it was in my opinion a fab event.
Loads of people from Russell Street and other CHS Services came
along to this event as most of us needed a night out (I in particular
needed one to put my mind off college and other things).
So the event started at 6pm at 82 Russell Street where we had some
potatoes with chilli for our dinner (which by the way was very tasty).
We then left Russell Street just before 7pm, and walked to Midsummer
Common in time for the fireworks. As we arrived we split up to find
a good spot for viewing the fireworks (I was with another resident
from 82 Russell Street and his friend). The fireworks (despite the weather)
started on time and despite being short, it was one of the best firework
displays that I have ever seen in my life with quite a variety of different
fireworks going around the place. It was a spectacular display and
I would love to go again next year.
Shannon Dawson and her box with members
of the Moorlands Court community
Sleep-in-a-box for
Moorlands Court!
Moorlands Court
Food Donation
The Girl Guides held a charity fund raising event where the guides
got to raise money for their chosen charity.
All of us here at CHS, including
all the residents at Moorlands
Court would like to say a
BIG THANK YOU to pupils
of Melbourn School in Royston
for donating festive food and
treats to our Extra Care Home
residents this Christmas.
Girl Guide Shannon Dawson from Melbourn did a sponsored sleep
in a box and her chosen charity was Moorlands Court.
Shannon raised an impressive £140 in sponsorship and has used
the money she raised to buy all of the tenants at Moorlands Court
a Christmas present.
For men contact Male Advice & Enquiry
on 0808 801 0327.
Or you can contact our Customer Services Team
on 0300 111 3555.
East Cambs: 01353 665 555
Forest Heath: 01638 719 000
Thank you to our
Estate Inspectors!
We now have over 70 Estate Inspectors who give
us feedback about window cleaning, caretaking
or handyman services. Many of them have been
doing it for a number of years and we would like
to say thank you for their time and commitment,
and for helping to improve the service. Most of the
feedback we get suggests that the service is good
and it has certainly improved over the last 3 years.
2010 Feedback from Estate Inspectors
al
For women contact the 24-hour
National Domestic Violence
Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
For more information, call:
ion
Our priority is to make sure someone suffering
from abuse knows all their options. In some
cases we can find a home for the affected
person to move to.
Around 1 Billion
(1,000,000,000)
people around
the world surf
the internet
every month!
Alternatively if you do not
have internet access you can
phone your Council and they
cancomplete the forms online
for you.
• The currency is Kuna.
(One Kuna contains 100 lipa)
• The necktie was invented
in Croatia and is locally
known as ‘cravat’.
Internal
Cleaning
Handy
Person
or
Ex
ce
• The capital is Zagreb
Go
• The population is just
under 4.5 million
Garden & Estate
Management
Window
Cleaning
Po
Interesting facts
about Croatia:
pt
We have provided specialist training for our
employees who might come across such abuse,
to give them the confidence and awareness to
provide support and advice. The support we can
offer varies with every person but can include;
advising on tenancy rights, asking specialist
agencies to help, helping with home security
and, especially, being a listening ear.
www.angliarevenues.gov.uk
od
My hobbies are reading (this I
do a great deal of), baking and
decorating cakes and sewing.”
CHS can offer support to people who suffer abuse
from partners, ex-partners or family members.
Domestic abuse will affect 1 in 4 women and
1 in 6 men in their lifetime.
If you need to apply for benefits
or change the details of your
existing benefits, or pay
a council bill you can now
do so online using at:
ce
We will let you know how
Stantic’s independent living
project progresses.
We can help.
le
“The meeting was a good thing
and hopefully, it will help them
to set something up like
Russell Street in Croatia.”
CHS Group has a new manager
at Ellis House, one of our sheltered
schemes in Cambridge.
The first 22
CHS houses
were built in
1927 and cost
a grand total
of £10,000
for the lot!
A modern
scheme of
this size would
cost in excess
of £2 million!
New Website
for East Cambs
& Forest Heath
ac
A group of people from Stantic
came to Cambridge to see how
we do it. At our project, in Russell
Street, Cambridge, young people
have their own rooms, with shared
communal facilities; residents
are taught life skills, with many
eventually living in the community
with support. Residents are
encouraged to put their views
across on what they want to
do and how the service can
be improved. The visitors were
able to see at first hand how
easy it is to put views and ideas
across in Russell Street.
Sharon, one of the residents of
Russell Street was glad to show
the visitors around her room and
chat with them about what it
is like to live in Russell Street.
Sharon felt that the visit was
a positive experience;
Suffering from
Domestic Abuse?
Did you know?
Un
In Croatia, young people with
learning difficulties are usually
looked after in hospital wards,
in some cases of 300 beds.
Deborah Amas from Anglia
Ruskin University has been
leading a project working with
a Croatian organisation based
near Zagreb called Stantic.
Stantic is developing an
independent living unit for
their young people with
learning difficulties.
Susan joins CHS
as new Manager
of Ellis House
Susan Palmer joined the team
at the beginning of November.
“When I left school I trained
to be a florist at Biggs and Sons
in the town centre! I then had
my first daughter and went
on to have two more daughters,
while continuing to do floristry
part-time. Then I worked for the
City Council providing out of
hours emergency cover for
sheltered housing, including for
CHS. By the time I left the Council
I was managing two sheltered
schemes in the north of the City.
Community
15
ab
Visitors included the Director of Stantic, Head Social Worker
and an University Lecturer from Zagreb University
14
pt
CHS News
CHS Help with Croatian
Independent Living Scheme
4
5
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7
0
2
9
3
1
0
6
3
1
0
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3
Our next Estate Inspector meeting will be on May 24th
6.30 - 8.30 p.m. at Dunstan Court, Cambridge.
Activities
16
Design Your Own Easter Egg!
Come up with the most interesting Easter egg design and you
could win £20! The winning design will feature in our next issue.
CHS CONTACT
DETAILS
Head Office
CHS Group
Endurance House
Vision Park
Chivers Way
Histon
Cambridge
CB24 9ZR
Monday to Friday,
9am to 5pm
Minicom: 01223 713 784
General Enquiries
Tel: 0300 111 3555
Fax: 0300 111 3556
Email: help@chsgroup.org.uk
Web: www.chsgroup.org.uk
Repairs
Tel: 0300 111 3555
(24 hours for emergency repairs)
Email: repairs@chsgroup.org.uk
Tell us about your
mum and you could
win her some flowers
Alternative Formats
Tell us about why your mother is the best mum in the world.
If our judges choose your entry, we will send a bouquet
of flowers for her in time for Mothering Sunday.
There’s a word limit of 100 words and entries need to be with
John Ide by 18th February. For more information please contact him
by phone on 01223 713 769 or email john.ide@chsgroup.org.uk
Spot the hedgehog competition!
Have you spotted this cheeky chap hiding
somewhere in this month’s issue? If you spot
him, send in your answers, and you could
have the chance to win £20!
You can receive a copy of
‘The Network’ electronically
via email. If you would prefer
to receive ‘The Network’ this way
please email your name and address
to john.ide@chsgroup.org.uk
Please contact us if you would like
it in different languages or formats,
including Braille, large print,
on audio tape or CD.
Call into our Histon office,
telephone 01223 713 769
or email John Ide and we will
be happy to meet your needs.
Send your entries to John Ide via email to john.ide@chsgroup.org.uk
or post it to him at our Head Office by 18th February.
Telephone
0300 111 3555
Website
www.chsgroup.org.uk
Email
help@chsgroup.org.uk