Quote of the Week

Words do two major things: They provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness

Household Hints and Tips

- Don’t put Daffodils in with other cut flowers they release a toxin which kills them.

- Marks left inside cups and mugs from metal cutlery can be removed using either nappy powdered cleaner or toothpaste.

- To bring back the fluffyness in pillows put them in the tuble drier with a new tennis ball on cool for a few minutes.

Children in Need

Children in Need has just been broadcast but did you know that it first began in 1927? It was first a broadcast appeal for children that constituted a five-minute radio broadcast on Christmas Day in 1927. The response was phenomenal and it raised £1,143 18s 3d which was split between 4 prominent children's charities. The first televised appeal was the 1955 'Children's Hour Christmas Appeal', presented by Sooty and Harry Corbett. The Christmas Day Appeals continued on TV and radio right up until 1979, raising a total of £625,836. In 1980 the appeal was broadcast on BBC One in a new telethon format, hosted by Terry with Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen for the first time. It has continued up to this day and has so far raised in excess of £600 million.

Pudsey has been the mascot since 1985 but he first appeared as a cuddly brown bear, he took on his more familiar appearance in 1986 when he became yellow with a spotted bandage and he stayed like that until he was revamped again in 2007 this was to made him brighter and more appealing.

Children in Need’s vision is that every child in the UK has a childhood which is:

· Safe
· Happy and Secure
· Allows them the chance to reach their potential

They provide grants to projects in the UK which focus on children and young people who are disadvantaged. They operate all throughout the UK and give grants to both small and large organisations four times a year. They help such a wide range of children and on their website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/ there are so many wonderful and tear jerking stories of how people’s money has gone to help those really in need.

So this year try and spare what you can or get involved in any way you are able to raise money for this fantastic Charity that does so much to help those who otherwise would be living without the things most of us take for granted.

Portage Wins Charity Bands

Portage is one of StairSteady’s favourite charities and we particularly support the locally based Rotherham service. Portage is a home-visiting educational service for pre-school children with additional support needs and their families. The National Portage Association was established in 1983 to offer support and information to parents and professionals involved in Portage, and have been at the forefront of developments in support to very young children and their families since then. The Association became a charitable company in 2001.

Portage aims to:

work with families to help them develop a quality of life and experience for themselves and their young children in which they can learn together, play together, participate and be included in their community in their own right

play a part in minimising the disabling barriers that confront young children and their families receiving Portage services

support the national and local development of inclusive services for children

Through our involvement with this charity, StairSteady has become aware of the invaluable help and support that Portage provides to families within the community. Most services are reliant upon donations and funds raised through events and initiatives to maintain their work. Rotherham Portage Service recently entered a competition run by Steel City Marketing, who are based in Sheffield, and were the proud winners of 100 charity bands.

The charity bands are white with blue writing and have the words Rotherham Portage Service on them. Portage is offering a band for a minimum donation of £1 each to raise much needed funds for them to carry on their valuable work within the local community. StairSteady employees were amongst the first people to buy these unique bands! If you too would like to buy one of these bands or make a donation please contact Ruth on 0845 652 88 04. All donations will provide resources for the Rotherham Portage Service to help home visitors working with local families with children with additional needs. Please do what you can to keep this important service going.

Quote of the Week

The reason why most people face the future with apprehension instead of anticipation is because they don't have it well designed.

Household Hints and Tips

- To get rid of cooking smells from your hands rub your hands over a stainless steel spoon under warm running water.

- To get crayon off of walls either warm with a hairdrier and wipe with a damp cloth or spray with WD40 and then wipe over with a damp cloth.

- You can clean your kitchen surfaces with equal parts cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle, it works just as well as cleaners and has no chemicals in.

Quote of the Week

Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.

Household hints and tips

- To clean a toilet pan put cheap cola in over night and then flush in the morning and it will have dissolved any residue.


- To clean your toilet use two denture cleaning tablets over night

- To get rid of cooking smells from your microwave but some lemon juice in a bowl of water and cook for 5 minutes, then wipe the surfaces over with a clean hot cloth.

Stress!

Stress is something people seem to take for granted as just one of the daily facts of living we forget that it can have a real effect upon our lives. It isn’t something that can simply be shrugged off as one of those things it can cause some really damaging symptoms for our bodies and minds. It is however something that we can each do something about. There are many simple changes that can help reduce these harmful aspects of daily stressors.

The symptoms of stress can be divided into four separate areas: Body, Mind, Emotional and Behavioural. If we look at each of these areas in turn we can see that stress isn’t just a feeling it has tangible effects on our physical health, mental health and our ability to do tasks and interact with others.

Body: Headaches Taut Muscles Fatigue
Frequent infections Skin irritations Breathlessness
Increased blood pressure Slowed digestion Increase sweating
Higher heart rate

Mind: Worrying/anxiety Muddled thinking Nightmares
Impaired Judgement Indecisiveness Negativity

Emotional: Depression Loss of confidence Irritability
Apathy Apprehension

Behavioural: Insomnia Loss of appetite Accident Prone
Increased coping behaviours e.g. Smoking or drinking alcohol
Restlessness Loss of sex-drive

As you can see from the above lists there are many negative and harmful effects on our lives from Stress all of which can leave us feeling ill and unable to cope with our daily lives as well. The good news is we don’t have to suffer from these and we can take simple steps to reduce the way we react to the stressors in our lives.

Activities like taking regular outdoor exercise such as walking or running can help, especially if we can take the time while doing these to concentrate on our environment around us. Making a stress reducing relaxation routine part of your day or night can have really positive effects; it can include aspects such as deep breathing, aromatherapy, listening to soothing music or sounds, meditation, yoga or affirmations. Many people also find that massage can also act as a stress reliever. Self massage on hands, arms and face can be done anywhere and only takes a little practice and a few minutes.

Deep breathing is one of the simplest things you can do in times of stress. As seen earlier one of the effects of stress is breathlessness, this reduces the amount of oxygen being taken into the body and increases the feeling of being unwell. Once you start to feel this happening you can halt it by consciously slowing down your breathing and concentrating on each breath. If you try to breathe in for a count of 4, and then hold your breath for the count of 4, and then breathe out for a count of 4 and repeat the process you will start to feel calmer and more able to cope with the situation.

Many people find the natural stress relieving of yoga and meditation works for them. Spending just a few minutes each day focusing on calming the mind and energising your body can really help beat the effects of stress. Combining this with other natural remedies such as herbal treatments and aromatherapy often helps to soothe and reduce stress. There are many guides for yoga, meditation and natural approaches to stress relief on c.d., d.v.d. and book form out there that may help you to learn and then integrate these practices into your arsenal of defences against daily stressors.

Although stress is something that can’t ever be completely removed from our lives we can use the above techniques to help limit its effects on our bodies and minds and help us to lead happier, healthier and more productive lives.

Women's Institute

As winter is approaching are you feeling down in the dumps, wondering what you can do with yourself as the nights become longer? Why not consider joining your local W.I.? They offer friendship, laughter, a chance to be creative if you wish and a great way to broaden your mind. Our local W.I. has had a series of very interesting speakers, a dancing demonstration which was great fun to join in, the opportunity to try curling (no ice required!), cycling, walking, food tasting competitions and much more. You can take part in as much or as little as you wish and mix with ladies of all ages. Trips to the theatre etc are a real bonus.
If all this sounds as if it might appeal to you why not find out more about your local groups, I’m sure there will be one to suit you.

http://www.thewi.org.uk/ General information on the W.I
http://www.thewi.org.uk/federations.aspx?id=83 Find your local W.I.
Or contact the W.I. at: NFWI 104 New Kings Road,
London
SW6 4LY T: 020 7371 9300

Quote of the Week

One person caring about another represents life's greatest value

Household Hints and Tips

- To sharpen a pair of scissors cut through a brillo pad and they should be much sharper after.

- To clean hard to reach areas around taps etc use an old toothbrush or an old electir toothbrush, they are slim enough to get around most areas.


- To clean chrome appliances rub with a very small amount of baby oil on a clean cloth or rub with a fabric softner sheet from the tumble drier.