Achievements

July/Aug 2013; Once again, the Forum members come to the aid of the poor unfortunate children who are still affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster of 1986. A group came to Nottingham on 13th July - 10th August so they can eat fresh food and breath fresh air. They live in a radioactive polluted environment and eat food that may harm them.The impact on the children born after the disaster gives cause for concern with genetic blood disorders, leukaemia and cancers Their health problems are compounded with economic and social hardship. The break each year is four weeks recuperative holiday of fresh air, uncontaminated food, fun, love and attention as well as dental and eye check ups. The children chosen to visit, are the poorest children, several orphans, who sometimes arrive with just the clothes on their backs and maybe one change of pants/knickers. Generous Forum members have given desperately needed toiletries which are not available in Belarus; tooth paste, tooth brushes, creams, soap, shower gel etc and wonder gifts of hand knitted garments for the severe winters they encounter back home.

December 21^st 2012; 32 members attended the Christmas Dance despite the icy weather and being so near Christmas. It was great with a party spirit with fun and games for all to join in whether dancers or not.

December 11^th 2012; This years Christmas Dinner took place in the highly recommended Stadium Leisure with good entertainment and a dance to shake down the four course dinner. 150 people had a fantastic afternoon.

November 2012; Member Tom Ryan was nominated by the Forum in the City Council’s Sports Award in the ‘Older Persons’ category. Tom had overcome a very disabilitating accident caused by a tree felling company which left him in great pain unable to hardly walk. He persevered however and is now a very active volunteer in the Irish community and has resumed dancing and gardening to keep fit. Congratulations Tom on winning the award.

New Police Commissioner; Our Chairman Dennis Andrews was asked to be part of the panel with Radio Nottingham when they broadcast the meeting from the University Building, which was full to capacity and proved to be a very interesting event.

October 8^th 2012; Launch of the Age 4 Action’s innovative Ice Skating for the Elderly project in the National Ice Arena. It was televised and well covered in the media, as the manager of the Ice Arena and the Notts County broadcaster Colin Slater as well as the famous keep fit and Dancing on Ice star Rosemary Conley all helped to launch the scheme. Homemade cakes and drinks were provided by the Arena and a fantastic and very different event was enjoyed by a large number of people.

August 2012; Anderton Boat Lift a once in a lifetime trip, when we visit the unique Anderton Boat Lift. It is also known as the 'Eiffel Tower of the Waterways' and was built in 1875 to transport boats 50 feet from the Trent and Mersey Canal to the River Weaver. It closed in 1983 but was reopened in 2002 after major structural improvements at a cost of £7m. It is set in landscaped grounds with minimal steps and many picnic areas. There are exhibition areas and a maze, and one may marvel at this Victorian masterpiece from a truly unique vantage point. We travelled in a glass topped boat and had a trip on the canal plus a conducted tour of the Weaver Navigation A truly memorable day

July 2012; The Forum has been very successful in being granted a £8,350 “Sports England” award for our Age 4 Action programme to purchase equipment and get several activities started to keep the older citizens of Nottingham fit and active. There will be indoor bowls and boccia which is bowls that can be played whilst seated. This gives the less able bodied a chance to exercise whilst having a really good time. Next there will be a chance to shine as a table tennis champ! Remember the good old days when we could all race around like mad? Now we can play at our own pace whilst having fun and getting fit at the same time. Line Dancing and Belly Dancing both of these activities are such great fun and can be hilarious as some of the best belly dancers are quite big ladies. Make those tassels rattle with Gabriella. Aqu Aerobics is another activity planned and is a great way to keep fit. We are starting Ice Skating for the elderly, which is believed to be a first in the Ice Skating field, and the Nottingham Ice Centre is very eager to be part of this venture and will of course provide professional coaches.

July 2012; The Forum was invited to join the Indian Centre for a meal by a branch of the Masons who also made a generous contribution of £100 to our funds. It was very good meal and we were pleasantly surprised to see several of our other Forum Member’s there.

June 2012; A fantastic holiday at Eastbourne was enjoyed by 48 members.

August 2011; Another accolade for the Forum. Yvonne Eicher a graduate from Berlin is to start work from the office this month and is being funded by the Berlin University. Yvonne is studying social care for the elderly and had seen our website with the kind of work we did and our hopes and aspirations for the future so chose the Forum to continue her studies. After investigations by the Berlin authorities, they saw fit to fund her time with us until the end of March next year.

August 2011; Success with the repeal of cheques abandonment which NEF have been actively campaigning for. A blessed relief to thousands of people that the crazy idea to abandon the use of cheques and find another way of making paper based funding available was so flawed it failed. Obviously some clever person sitting behind a desk trying to justify their existence with another ridiculous idea without even contemplating the catastrophe this would cause to thousands of individuals, small businesses and charities that rely on cheques to manage their affairs.

July 2011; Many thanks to the following members who through their own initiatives made financial contributions to the Forum in an unusual way. Beryl and John Martin who kindly asked guests at a birthday party to donate to the Elders’ Forum instead of giving presents and Jean Mills, a widow who very kindly collected spare change in a jar in memory of her dear husband to give to charity and NEF were the fortunate charity.

Thursday 14th July 2011; The kindness and generosity shown by our members has been breath taking, both by the donations of toiletries etc and by knitting some wonderful items for the children. We all remember the Chernobyl disaster and the resultant radiation fallout which is still affecting children twenty five years later. These children live in very deprived conditions. During July and August a group of these children will be on a four weeks visit to Nottingham and will be hosted with Nottingham families. The Forum will host the leader of the party. In an endeavour to make their stay memorable, an appeal was made to our members for donations of knitwear and toiletries. The response has been breathtaking not only in quantity but in quality, the knitwear 'brigade' have produced socks, scarves, gloves, helmets, hats, jumpers and soft toys that would be a credit to any designer range. The range of branded shampoo’s, shower gels, toothpastes and talc will ensure they all stay clean. Each child will be given an extra luggage bag so they have the means to take home to their families what they do not use; they will also get extra baggage allowance for the flight home. Our members should be very proud of their skills and generosity also their compassion for these children and families who are still suffering through no fault of their own. Their actions once again demonstrate how the older generation can contribute to the benefit of others who are in greater need. Thank you all, YOU are the Big Society

June 2011; Merging Day Centres. The Forum was horrified to learn that the Nottingham County Council were to close Day Centres and update others to be multi centres to house older people, disabled people and people with learning difficulties together. All these people need different specialised care and are some of the most vulnerable in society. Being amongst people in similar circumstances and who they are familiar with is very important, and disrupting the conditions they are used to, is most distressing and disturbing to the elderly and people with learning disabilities in particular. Many have much longer journeys to reach their destinations which will be very upsetting and uncomfortable for both the frail elderly and disabled. Don't these decision makers realise that this section of the community are some of the most disadvantaged individuals who need more care and protection than most and are not just commodities they can move around and fit into any little box deemed convenient, regardless of the inconvenience and hurt they may impose upon them? A little TLC when decision making could make the difference of living or simply existing to some poor souls who already have an unbearable burden to bear and that is why we had to make clear to the council our great disappointment in their proposals. Certain decisions were revoked.

December 2010; Once again the Forum delivered over 6,000 calendars to the older citizens of Nottingham, many in the biting winds and freezing weather on the Old Market Square where it took volunteers all their efforts to stand on the icy surface.

December 2010; The Forum found it necessary to join with other organisations to protest in front of the Council House about the massive increases in costs for Adult Social Care for the most vulnerable in society.

September 2010; We are very pleased to announce that the Nottingham Elders Forum was successful in its bid to obtain the services of Andrius an economics graduate from the Nottingham University on a work experience programme. 19 people applied for the post, but Andrius from Lithuania stood out from all the rest. He is an extremely enthusiastic twenty two year old and is already proving to be a great asset. Andrius will be with us for a period of nine weeks when he will be doing a vast amount of research on both the latest government policies on older people and how local councils are implementing such policies. Another very important part of his work will be obtaining details and comparisons of how each council throughout the country involve and value their Older Peoples Forums. This information will then be processed into relevant formats and this research will assist the forum in its' contact with the Nottingham City Council, as at present, there is a vast amount of difference between councils attitudes towards the elderly. This valuable information could be very useful to Government departments, national organisations other councils and forums who have similar aims and aspirations as the Nottingham Elders' Forum. A really exciting venture!!

September 2010; Following the offer at the last meeting by a partner of Martin Smalley Solicitors, they have agreed to extend the offer of cheap wills until the end of October. These start from a basic at £55.00 for forum members on production of their membership card. Members who wish to take up this offer but have mislaid their card, can call into the office for a new one

April 2010; Saint George’s Day Gazumped. A tremendous amount of hard work has been put into making St George’s Day an event that the whole family could enjoy, by volunteers giving their time and efforts freely. It has been so successful that the council want to take it over now. Paid officers are now going to organise it, thus escalating the costs. We were invited to a meeting at the beginning of February with the Lord Mayor and a council officer supposedly to discuss St George's Day, but instead we were told what they had planned to do. It was pointed out that certain people had been booked since the previous year and that as St George was the patron saint of several countries, we had contacted their embassies last August and invited them to attend. Five embassies had accepted and others said they would like details to put on their website. What a truly international event it would have been with everyone in their traditional costumes and certain dancing schools taking part, putting Nottingham on the map. Instead we were informed they were having an English Market on the Square. When asked where they envisaged the Elders’ Forum fitted in, the reply was “if we’ve got spare space you could have your people there”

December 2009; The Forum once again distributed over 6,000 calendars produced and funded by Trading Standards and made specifically for the older citizens of Nottingham

December 2009; the Forums’ Christmas Party. A wonderful time was had by over 220 members at the Forums Christmas Party at the Britannia Hotel There was a welcoming drink on arrival followed by a three course dinner and then dancing, a game of bingo and a cabaret.

October 1^st 2007; The Forum organised the first International Day for Older People on the Market Square. The event was opened by the Mayor along with Leon Unczur the ‘Older Peoples’ Champion’ and our Chairman Dennis Andrew. We had 13 stalls and invited several different organisations with relevant information etc of interest to the older citizens. Inside the Council House, we held a wonderful display of the handicrafts made by our members (photo’s can be found on the photo page) It was a great success.

September 2007; As part of Local Democracy Week the Forum organised an event ‘Have your Say Day’ in the Council House, with the three Nottingham MPs and the Council Leaders from the three political parties. 54 members were chosen at random to attend this function and ask various questions to the guests on their tables. Each MP and Councillor headed a table with ten people on each and both the members, MPs and councillors learned something from each other. All together it appeared to be a very worthwhile event, with many asking for it to be repeated.

July 2007; Once again the Forum had their gazebo at the Mela which is an Asian festival held on the Forest. This is enjoyed by all nationalities and is a lovely family day out. Last year we recruited 55 members at the Mela and it was great to see so many different cultures enjoying themselves together.

July 2007; NEW DEAL FOR PENSIONERS’ The City Council are embarking on a new partnership to highlight the needs and aspirations of both the pensioners of today and the pensioners of the future. The Elders’ Forum are involved in these negotiations along with Help the Aged, Age Concern and other organisations, and hope to bring the real voice of the elderly to the forefront of any discussions and decisions that may be made.

December 2006; The Forum is on the committee of Trading Standards ‘Doorstep Crime’ and distributed over 5,000 calendars designed exclusively for older people with monthly messages and warnings by Trading Standards. The first distribution was so busy, it meant the chairman and secretary were out even on Christmas Eve delivering them up until 9.30 pm to individuals and groups.

We started a campaign against the new horrendous and very dangerous pedestrian crossings. Unfortunately Westminster informed us councils had to adopt the new type of crossing or they would be refused finance for any other type. This was despite the fact that no one could see the green men if there was a person or wheelchair in the way.

After hearing the broadcast by our chairman on the lack of Life Long Learning for the elderly, an executive from the PDCL which is dedicated to learning for the elderly and is a partner with New College Nottingham, crashed our December meeting to invite the Forum to help develop a learning initiative suitable for our members. It turned out a huge success.

Many members took up the opportunity to have a check of their electric blankets by the Fire Brigade at the December meeting, and many were overjoyed to receive a new one in exchange when theirs failed the safety test.

November 2006; The first Newsletter was such a success, we had to print a further 500 copies.

The Intergenerational Dance Fever in the Council House between the Youth Forum and the Elders’ Forum was a massive success where the accomplished and well acclaimed dance teacher and performer Joseph Hall demonstrated his own particular form of dance and ensured everyone took part. The elders’ demonstrated ballroom dancing whilst the younger element tried to teach them street dancing. The youngsters had to be escorted out at 9.0 so staff could close the building.

October 2006; The Forum distributed many thousands of free flower bulbs to older citizens of Nottingham courtesy of Woodthorpe Park.

The Forum is in regular contact with such organisations as Housing for the Elderly, One Nottingham, and the Library Services, Area Committees, Trading Standards, Cultural Diversity, Help the Aged, Primary Care Trust, Partnership Development Team plus many others.

September 2006; Prime Minister Tony Blair came to Nottingham to discuss the National Health Service, our Chairman Dennis Andrews was asked to speak on behalf of pensioners. When he questioned why, when older people needed help it was only people that was on benefits that got it for free, and people who had saved for their old age had to pay, but at a much higher rate therefore they were subsidising those on benefits. The rather pathetic reply “Well it’s just a matter of finance” Where’s the equality in that?