Sutton Poyntz

We all appreciate how great the need is for the local foodbank at the moment.  Many of our lovely residents already contribute to the local collection whilst in their favourite local supermarket.  Just a reminder though that when you put your bins out on a Sunday night you might like to think about donating dried or tinned food via the white container next to the phone box in Sutton Poyntz.

 

Thank you.

 

J & S

(1) Our normal (first Friday in the month) date has been hijacked by Good Friday so the April Coffee Morning will be held on Friday 31st March.

Normal time, normal place, exceptional Easter snacks (?) and an excellent way to spend an hour or so putting the world* to rights.   *Well, DT3 and environs.

Look out for Good Friday plans currently being hatched...  (Do you see what I did there?)

 

(2) And while you're updating your calendars and diaries make sure you highlight April 12th:  Richard Backwell will give a talk on his last visit to Nepal and - warning for the faint-hearted - it includes people jumping off a 150m high cliff!  If that's too exciting for you then good news - it'll be followed by the Society AGM.  Come with your annual subs (£2.50 single, £5 household) - cash or contactless.  Yes, you read that right.  If you have any topics for the AGM, please raise them to a committee member (or by replying to this very email) before March 29th.  More details (agenda and various reports) will be issued in due course.

 

(3) Oh, and mark in April 29th - we're having another Village Quiz.  Our question-setters are beavering away as you read this.

 

(4) News from Peter Jones:  Residents may have noticed that the Green Hill finger post (junction of Plaisters Lane and Coombe Valley Road) is missing its fingers, as the new bracket has to be fabricated to install the repaired digits.  Roger Bond at Normatec has the job in hand and promises a pristine finger post back in position within weeks. You'll be relieved to know that there are no additional costs to the village.

 

J & S

Today I'm recovering from a fun Race Night!  Over 50 of us spent tens of thousands of £SP (Sutton Poyntz Pounds) on a motley assortment of racing hounds.

Someone managed to come away with almost 5 times her initial investment to the admiration of all.  She's keeping her secrets under her hat.

 

In case like me, you forget things these days, just a reminder that the next Coffee Morning is Friday March 3rd.

We are very lucky to have local First Responder Alan Hale joining us at the end of the morning to give us some Defibrillator training.

Again if like me you need a 'refresher' session, please try to be there, as we all know how vital this life-saving equipment is.

 

And a change of date: because of Easter, our April coffee morning will be brought forward to March 31st!

 

J & S

As you probably all know, the Sutton Poyntz Society got a defibrillator for the village.  It was over 5 years ago and we’ve recently had to replace the batteries and the electric pads.

 

The defibrillator cabinet is located behind The Springhead near the entrance to the kitchens and The Duck Bar.  If you haven’t actually been to see it, make sure you do…  (Other nearby defibrillators are at the Preston Village Hall and (coming soon) at the St Andrew’s Church Rooms.)

 

It’s being discussed whether we should have another, probably at the Phonebox, but we’ll have to do some fund-raising as we’re talking about £1500-£2000.

 

It’s good to be familiar with how to use one, but they’re automatic (could even say foolproof) and they provide voice guidance to step you through the process.  And they definitely can’t hurt anyone.  From time-to-time, usually after a Coffee Morning, we get the local First Responders to come to the Mission Hall and give us a short demo and a reminder of how to do CPR.

 

 

Something that’s useful to know is that if you call 999 because someone has chest pains, they will of course send an ambulance - but they will also ask if there is a defibrillator nearby and suggest you send someone to fetch it.  If it’s your spouse or partner lying on the floor you’ll probably want to stay with them, so it’s a good idea to think now who you would call to fetch the defibrillator.  You’ll probably choose a neighbour (or someone living near the defibrillator) but once you have decided who it is (and of course asked them) you might also suggest they attend this next defibrillator awareness session with you.  And put their phone number in your speed-dial / favourites!

 

It’s a great comfort to know that, if your patient takes a turn for the worse, you have a defibrillator right there beside you – just-in-case.  There’s no need to open it up, and certainly not to open the sterile* electric-pad package, nor to get out the special scissors and start cutting their clothes off!

 

 

* Yes, the pads are sealed, can only be used once, and cost the best part of £100 to replace.  Guess who we’ll ask to pay for a replacement!  But if they did their job I can’t think of anything with such good value!

 

J & S

Why do you call your dog 'Carpenter'?  Because every time I call him, he makes a bolt for the door!

 

Pity he can't repair the Dog Litter bin.

 

Do we have any part-time dog-loving, DIY carpenters in the village who could do a little job to help keep the village nice?

We replaced the lid of one of the dog litter bins recently but now the rest of the bin has disintegrated, so we need someone to knock up a replacement - it's just simple square box.

All the bins were made by Ray Aggett (thanks Ray!) but he's currently feeling a little under the weather. If you think you could step into his shoes a lot of people would be very grateful.

You can see exactly what’s needed if you look at the two bins (one-and-a-half bins) on Sutton Road.   Of course we can cover the material costs.

 

If you'd like to help, please form an orderly queue... and reply to this email.

 

With thanks in advance,

J & S