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Friend to Friend Newsletter

February 2013 Some interesting facts about the month of March every year and February in common years only. March ends on the Can you believe same day of the that March is already nearly here? week as June every year. In leap Where does the years, March time go? starts on the same The name March day as September comes from the Roand December of man Martius from the previous year. Mars the god of war and it used to be the first month of the year. March starts on the same day of the week as November
Inside this issue:
Facts about March Meltham Lunch Project Group 15th Feb Denby Dale Group Marsden Group Fund Raising Events Poem from the Marsden Group Answers to the January Valentines Day Quiz and facts 3 4 5 6 1 2

In common years, March starts on the same day as June of the previous year. March's birthstones are aquamarine and bloodstone. These stones symbolize courage. Its birth flower is the daffodil The zodiac signs for the month of March are Pisces (until March 19) and Aries (March 20 onwards). According to an old Scottish rhyme, the last three days in March were "borrowed" from April, in return for which March promised to destroy three young sheep. But the weather proved to be an obstacle, and the promise was never fulfilled.

March said to April, I see 3 hoggs (sheep) upon a hill; And if youll lend me dayes 3 Ill find a way to make them dee. The first o them wus wind and weet, The second o them wus snaw and sleet, The third o them wus sic a freeze It froze the birds nebs (noses) to the trees. When the 3 days were past and gane The 3 silly hoggs came hirpling (limping) hame.

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Meltham Lunch in February


The Meltham Lunch on Friday 1st February was very well attended by members and volunteers. Forty six people enjoyed a lovely lunch of Chicken/Leek Pie with New Potatoes, Carrots and Cabbage. Dessert was Spotted Dick and Custard. We had seven raffle prizes which included daffodils, pot of bulbs, nuts and chocolates. Our entertainment today was from Hoot Creative Arts. Hoot encourage people from the age of 55 who live in the Holme Valley to join one of their singing groups. No previous experience is required and you dont have to be able to read music as all songs are taught by ear. Part of the Hoot group are The Valley Singers. Twenty one members of the choir came to entertain us on Friday 1st Feb and what a great time we all had. The choir started with Singing in the Rain quickly followed by River River. The choir split into 3 groups for the next songs and the members joined in the singing of Swing low Sweet Chariot and When the Saints come Marching In and I wanna sing, sing, sing, . Way Mammy Zola came next which is an African song which takes females back to their routes and this was immediately followed by another West African song called Belly Mamba and the last song was a song from the Hebrides called Sealing Calling. We were all encouraged to join in with the songs and Jess Baker who is a Hoot musician introduced each song and led the singing. Moira Wade is the Project C0 -Ordinater. Hoot are willing to entertain any other Friend to Friend group. The Office and myself have further information if you are interested. We very much look forward to Hoot entertaining us in 2014. Jenny

Project Group 15th February


Another visit from the group from Kirklees College. it was great to see them again and from what was said they appeared to have thoroughly enjoyed our last session. We had had a few problems in that session with recording what people were saying so the members and students were split up into three groups placed as far apart as possible. Conversation flowed very well and the students went back with some valuable information that we will be able to use as part of our project. Unfortunately we had problems with the computer and music. Maybe next time we will succeed and have a good sing-a-long. Shirley

Denby Dale Group


Thankfully there are still some good folk in this world, who do not blame people for being homeless or walking the streets, but try to help them. One such 'Street Angel' came to give us a talk on what they do in the dead of night and why they do it. Street Angels were set up in Halifax in 2005 and then in Huddersfield in 2007. There are now teams countrywide. Their aim is to help make the night time streets safer and calmer. And they have succeeded, as there has been a large drop in crime since they started. The team gets set up at 10 pm with charged up radios, high viz jackets and very thick gloves. They have a talk with the bobbies to find out what is going on and then go out on the streets in mixed sex teams of three. There is no age restriction to joining a team but they do make sure they only patrol streets with CCTV. They are able to help with all kinds of incidents on a Friday or Saturday night, mostly young people who have drunk too much alcohol and lost their friends and cannot get home. They even carry a supply of flip flops with them as often the girls have had to ditch their really high heels and are walking about in bare feet. The Angels do not get involved in fights - they leave that to the police but they often call an ambulance if needed and their thick gloves come in handy to clear broken bottles off the street so that they cannot be used as a weapon. They also befriend homeless people. The Mission Cafe in Huddersfield stays open late so that they can have shelter for longer into the night. The 'Angel's' talk gave us lots to think about and loads to be thankful for. We then got our own brains going with a 'What's The Letter' quiz - letter for a drink? T. Letter for a vegetable - P - easy peasy, although it did get a little bit harder with two letter words. Marjorie Brown, Tony Fisher, Dorethea Tarbatt and Hazel Locke came tops on that. Tony, Hazel, Marjorie and Dorethea were also lucky with the raffle along with Audrey Mathers and Mary Wadsworth. Julie Barber

Marsden Group
Due to the recent snow one of our sessions was cancelled as we had only one hardy member, Margaret, turn up for the meeting. Nevertheless, Liz, Margaret and I (Cynthia) had a cup of tea, a chat and a laugh and we enjoyed our little get -together, as we always do.

Our last session was held on Valentines Day and we celebrated the day by doing some Valentine related activities. Firstly we had fun laughing at sayings about love. For example here are some amusing comments made by famous people: Mickey Rooney: Get married early in the morning. That way, if it doesn't work out, you haven't wasted a whole day. Oscar Wilde: One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry. Jules Renord: Love is like an hour glass, with the heart filling up as the brain empties. Agatha Christie: An archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her. Anon: Love - a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker. After going through many more sayings and jokes, the members did a word search which featured words and feelings associated with Valentines Day. The group did the word search in pairs and completed it quite quickly. Everyone appeared to get much enjoyment from the activity. We had a tin of Quality Street, donated by Cynthia and Liz, and the members were invited to take a chocolate every time they answered a question correctly and even when they didnt, which was fun. Liz read a very amusing article that included descriptions of food and other things from the 1950/60s and compared them with descriptions that are used for the same things today. This was really funny and generated much laugher and many recollections. In general it was a very good session with lots of laughter. We all had a very good time.

Cynthia Phillips

FRIEND TO FRIEND FUND RAISING EVENT APRIL

Ceilidh
27th April Wooldale Community Centre 7.30 pm 10-00 per ticket including food Bring your own drinks please.

More fundraising events.


Can you support the new Diary Lottery? Gill Evans will be visiting the groups with a diary. The idea is that you pay 1-00 per date and then the dates are drawn. The prizes are as follows: 1st Prize 2nd Prize 30-00 15-00

and then 3 prizes of 5-00 for 3rd.4th and 5th places. All other profits will be added for the Friend to Friend fundraising pot.

This is a lovely poem from the Marsden Friend to Friend members. Well done everybody! How about poems from other groups? We would love to receive any more contributions.

Marsden Friend to Friend Ode to 2011-2012 We meet twice and month on the second and fourth Thursday, And all our members are vocal and do love to have their say On activities that are always carefully planned purely for their pleasure Like this years project of scrapbooks filled with memories to treasure.

The team quizzes brought numerous challenges and also bonding and fun Especially when accompanied by a hot cup of tea and a biscuit or sticky bun. Card making, jewellery making and sugar craft gave great joy and delight, When the members creations were not only attractive, but also invariably right!

Poetry, monologues, life stories and reminiscences brought great merriment, With laughter as everyone recounted memories of past times so happily spent. The armchair exercises were testing and improved agility, mobility and balance, With songs from the 1940s and 50s the exercises were like an armchair dance.

The year 2011 to 2012 was a good one with many new members to please They all enjoyed their Friend to Friend sessions and integrated with ease. This charity is invaluable it enhances the lives of older people in so many ways It guards against loneliness and isolation and gives real meaning to their days. By Marsden Friend to Friend members

ANSWERS TO THE JANUARY QUIZ


1 Jan 18 , 1936 the poet and author of these witty lines died. The female of the species is more deadlier than the male. He is even better known for his story of Mowgli, a boy raised in the jungle. RUDYARD KIPLING January is named after which Roman god, the god of doors and beginnings. He is represented by two faces one looking to the past and one to the coming year). JANUS Twelfth Night, the official end of Christmas celebrations is when? JAN 6th Born in South Africa on January 3, 1892, the author of The lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. J.R.R.TOLKEIN Born Jan 8, 1935. Famous American singer, the King of rock and roll, whose songs include, All shook up, Wooden heart and Heartbreak Hotel. ELVIS Born Jan 9, 1913, the first American president to resign from the Whitehouse, following the Watergate scandal. RICHARD NIXON Born 1832, Jan 27, the Rev. Charles Dodgson creator of Alice in Wonderland. Better known as . LEWIS CARROLL 30 Jan 1948 saw the assassination of the great Indian leader and pacifist who secured independence for India from British rule. GANDHI Jan 26 is celebrated as Australias national day. Why? IN 1788 THE FIRST SHIP LANDED AT BOTANY BAY CARRYING CONVICTS FROM BRITAIN Born Jan 31, 1797, Austrian composer, famous for his Unfinished sym phony, No 8 in B minor. FRANZ SCHUBERT Died Jan 22, 1901 aged 81, British monarch, wife of Albert, who was said to be Not amused? QUEEN VICTORIA Jan 4, 1967. Killed attempting the water speed record, Sir Donald Campbell was doing over 300 mph when his boat somersaulted. What was his boat called? BLUEBIRD

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Ok, so Valentines Day is over but can you answer these questions about it Try this Valentines Day quiz! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Valentines Day is named after: a saint / a king / a poet How did it start? The government decided we should / It was from a Roman festival / We copied what was happening in the USA. What is a symbol of Valentines Day apart from the heart? When did Valentine Cards become popular in the UK? 15th / 16th / 17th century? How much do people spend on flowers in the UK for Valentines Day? 10 million / 22 million or 50 million pounds worth? Every Valentines Day which city receives lots of cards addressed to Juliet? Manchester New York Verona Which group of people receives the most Valentines Cards? Teachers / Grandparents / Children

And finally, some traditions and superstitions associated with Valentines Day:
There are many other traditions and superstitions associated with romance activities on Valentine's day including: the first man an unmarried woman saw on 14th February would be her future husband; if the names of all a girl's suitors were written on paper and wrapped in clay and the clay put into water, the piece that rose to the surface first would contain the name of her husband -to-be. if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentines Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a rich person. In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"

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