Digest May 2023
SOUTHEND & DISTRICT PENSIONER’S CAMPAIGN
“Digest “ – May, 2023
What the comments in the Retirement Speech really mean:-
Active socially: drinks heavily.
Has the energy of a man half his age: he’s worn out 6 young secretaries so far – and that’s just this year.
Is well informed: knows all the office gossip and where all the skeletons are kept.
Last month’s Meeting.
Post Box Knitted Toppers.
Jill feeling, admiring toppers with Lin
We were fortunate to hear a talk from Lin Catling, who become widely popular in the British media after she paced a Knitted Top
on her very local post box. Lin soon found it had disappeared, so she put another one on and secured it more effectively. Having continued to knit more tops, the area became
featured in the local media and eventually major TV companies were seeking interviews with Lin. Our Members were surprised at the variety of the Tops which were on show, and
enjoyed viewing and touching them.
BT are making changes over to their new Digital Voice.
One of our Members wrote to BT about their problems with their phone. They replied explaining about planned changes to their new Digital Voice. It is their new home phone service which works over their broadband
network with a phone that connects via your hub.
If you don’t have broadband, they will send you any equipment and information you’ll need to set up, or they will send an engineer over to do this for you. Switching to Digital
Voice won’t cost anything, and you won’t pay more than your current home phone plan.
For the next 12 months they are excluding customers over 70 years of age, have care alarms, have additional needs or impairments, landline only users or in areas
with poor mobile signal.
Enhanced Community Transport within Southend
We are still waiting to hear about the setting-up of a charity to run a properly funded community transport service in Southend. We are waiting to hear from Age Concern (Southend) on the matter, and assume they have made a bid for funding.
Give Southend Pensioner’s a Champion.
Your Committee is following the lead of the NPC and three leading charities who are calling for a national Commissioner for Older People and Ageing. Wales and Northern Ireland already have one.
The London Region have been campaigning for a Deputy Mayor of London responsible for Older People for a few years, so we thought we should ask Southend Council to re-appoint a Councillor as a Champion for Older People.
Our President, David Norman MBE was previously such a Champion, so we are planning to ask him if he would write to the Council Leader seeking a positive response.
It’s good to campaign, avoiding cold, wind and rain.
Please send me your contributions to your
“Digest”.
Anything amusing or of interest to pensioners over 55 years would be welcome to be considered for publication.
Dates for your Diary
Jazz Centre UK. Live concerts on most Saturday afternoons. 2pm-4pm. Beecroft Art Gallery, Victoria Avenue, Southend. £10-£15.
Southend Central Museum. Victoria Avenue, Southend. Free. .A stunning display of recent finds from the “London wreck” is now permanently on show at the Central Museum. between Wednesday and Sunday from 11am till 5pm.
Music in the Park.
Live music at the Bandstand in Priory Park, Victoria Avenue, Southend will continue until Sunday, 1st. October.
Free from 3pm till 4.30pm every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday. The Council recommends you take a chair and rain wear.
Parking is restricted, so please walk, cycle or use public transport.
Southend Council Concert Series.
Monthlyclassical music concerts continue at Southend Christian Fellowship, Plaza Centre.
600, Southchurch Road, Southend. SS1 2PT.
Friday, 19th. May. Wiener Mozart Trio. 8pm.
Tickets are £10.
Saturday, 20th May. TrustLinks May Fayre.
11am-2pm. 47, Fairfax Drive, Westcliff on Sea.SS0 9AG. Parking in Prittlewell Chase.
Saturday, 20th May. May Fayre. Bridgewater Drive Church, SS0 0DS. 11am till 2pm.
Cakes, plants, BBQ, Jewellery, Bric a Brac, Games and refreshments.
Sunday, 21st May. The Haven Community Hub. Spring Fayre. 138-140, Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff. 11am-3pm. Over 20 stalls. Free entry.
Wednesday, 7th. June. SDPC Fund-raising Lunch. Shorehouse, Harvester. 12.30pm £15 for two courses. Call Margaret to book your place. 01702 295008 or 07814714937
Wednesday, 21st. June. SDPC Meeting. 2pm -4pm. Co-op Estate Planning “Tax Care and Toy Boy – Planning for later life.
28th and 29th June.
NPC Annual Convention. In Blackpool . 1 day costs £5 or 2 days is £10. Used to be known as the Pensioner’s Parliament. Interesting and fun.
Editors Comment.
We must keep campaigning for our State Pensions to be raised. As our pensions rise, so the next generations will benefit from higher pensions. If you go to other developed countries, you discover that even if the incomes are lower than ours, the state pensions as a percentage of their average incomes are higher than we receive. The British are near the bottom of the league of developed nations when it comes to this percentage.
We live in a rich kingdom, and we deserve to be treated in a fairer way, I believe.
We live in OAP. .
Editor: Robert C. Howes.
Tel. 01702 341047or 07913433752
Email howes01702@outlook.com