LINKLINE DECEMBER 2011 - JANUARY 2012
WISHING ALL OUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR
CHRISTMAS FAIR – 26 NOVEMBER. We had a very successful day – thanks to all who attended this enjoyable fund raising event.
A big thank you to Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco and Heinz for their kind donations, also to Bon Marché for staging a fashion show on 1st December 2011.
HOLIDAY SHUTDOWN AT PENSIONERS LINK:
Closed 26/27 December 2011 and 2 January 2012.
Open 28/29/30 December 2011.
Carers Helpline 01942 606086: As Pensioners Link holidays.
PENSIONERS LINK ACTIVITIES
Drop-In/Activities - Golborne, Lowton St Marys, Tyldesley, Worsley Mesnes, and Orell.
Friendship Groups – Leigh (Tuesday and Friday), also Hindley (Friday) and Wigan (Wednesday).
Coffee Mornings: Friday at Leigh.
We also have other activities at Leigh Allan Taylor House, e.g. Arts and Crafts, Spanish class, Exercise class, Computer courses.
It is possible to arrange Ring & Ride block booking for all groups if sufficient numbers.
If you would like more information on any of our groups, please call Pensioners Link on 01942 261753, or check out details on our website.
VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
Welcome to our new volunteer, Joan Clegg, who recently joined us here at Pensioners Link for two mornings a week, helping on our Reception Desk/Out Reach work. We hope Joan will enjoy her new role and being part of the Pensioners Link family. Also thanks to Christine Stuart, belly dancer!, who recently joined and will demonstrate her skills to our groups, as required.
THANK YOU!
A big thank you to Andrew Brown for completing the Cardiff Half-Marathon recently and donating £700.00+ to Pensioners Link. Well done.
A young volunteer, Amy Nash, dressed up on Halloween and “spooked” her college friends into donating £40.00.
A recent Quiz Night organised by The Lions raised £150.00 for Pensioners Link which is very much appreciated, and thanks to all those who attended.
COMPUTER CLASSES ARE STARTING AGAIN AT THE CENTRE ON FRIDAY, 27 JANUARY 2012, IF YOU WISH OR KNOW ANYONE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED ENROLMENT IS ON FRIDAY, 20 JANUARY 2012 (9.30am – 12.00pm). PLEASE RING PENSIONERS LINK RECEPTION ON 01942 261753 FOR DETAILS AND TO PUT YOUR NAME DOWN FOR THE NEXT SESSION/WAITING LIST, AND ENROL ON 20 JANUARY 2012.
CARERS UK – DATES OF MEETINGS IN 2012
Held on Thursdays: 5 January; 1 March + AGM, 3 May,
5 July, 6 September, 1 November 2012.
All meetings commence at 1.00pm until 3.00pm approx.
All carers welcome.
Get ready for the festive season with –
CRUMBLE-TOPPED MINCE PIES
Ingredients: For the pastry and crumble:
225g/8oz plain flour
100g/4oz butter, chilled and cubed
3 tablespoons light muscovado sugar
Grated zest and juice 2 satsumas
2 tablespoons flaked almonds
Icing sugar for dusting
For the filling:
225g/8oz mincemeat
Method:
To make the pastry, tip the flour into a large bowl and rub in the chilled butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and the Satsuma zest.
Spoon out four tablespoons of the pastry mixture and set aside (for the toppin). Add about four tablespoons of the juice from the satsumas to the main pastry mix to make fairly soft dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
Lightly flour a surface and roll out the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using a 9cm fluted cutter, stamp out 12 circles of pastry. Gently press these into individual tartlet tins so that the pastry just protrudes above the rim. Spoon the mincemeat into the pastry cases. Be careful not to overfill.
Sprinkle the pastry crumble mix over the mincemeat to cover lightly, top with the flaked almonds. At this stage you can cover them with cling film and freeze the whole tray ready for baking.
When you are ready to bake the mince pies, heat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Remove the cling film from the tray and bake mince pies straight from the freezer for 25 minutes until golden and cooked through. Cool on a wire rack and serve dusted with icing sugar. Bake unfrozen pies for 18-20 minutes.
MARVELLOUS MULLED WINE
50g sugar, zest of one orange, 2 cinnamon sticks – broken, grated nutmeg, 3 cloves (optional), 300ml boiling water, 1 bottle of red wine.
Put the water, orange zest, cinnamon, grated nutmeg, cloves and sugar into a large pan and bring to the boil. Cover, then let it simmer for 15 minutes.
Pour in the wine, heat through, then serve in warmed glasses.
CHRISTMAS POT PLANTS
Start choosing pot plans to decorate the house over Christmas. Large showy florists’ cyclamen, indoor azaleas and poinsettias are seasonal favourites, but you will also find various indoor primulas, pots of forced spring bulbs, and miniature roses in bloom. Buy plants that have been kept indoors – those stood outdoors will have had a chill and won’t last so long.
TIPS
Soak potatoes or carrots in water for 15 minutes before peeling to make the job easier. You can also remove vegetable skins more easily if you brush them with a stiff brush.
If you want really fluffy towels soak them over-night in cold water along with a cup of washing soda. Then wash the following day on the machine’s hottest setting.
Add a few drops of your favourite perfume to the water when you are ironing. This will make your clothes and sheets smell gorgeous.
SHOP ONLINE AND RAISE MONEY FOR PENSIONERS LINK!
If you already shop online with retailers such as Amazon, M&S, Argos, John Lewis, Comet, etc then we need you to sign up for FREE to raise money while you shop, plus you will get access to hundreds of exclusive discounts and voucher codes, so not only will you be helping us, you will be saving money yourself.
How much can you raise? For example, Spend £100 with M&S online or Amazon and you raise £2.50 for us. £100 with WH Smith puts £2.00 in our pocket and so on. There are over 2,000 retailers on their site.
Sign up at http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/wlpl and start making a difference – simply by shopping !!! PLEASE HELP, THANKS.
We are sad to report that Gladys Hunt, one of our oldest volunteers, has passed away. Gladys was a founder member of the Tuesday morning coffee club and, over 16 years, made lots of friends and nurtured many more new friendships within the group
Gladys was a very valued volunteer at Pensioners Link. Our thoughts are with her family
Inclusion of information and views in this publication does not necessarily indicate endorsement by Pensioners Link.
Registered Charity No.1003175
Company Registered No.2608731