Buddy Can You Spare An Hour

Being retired and still fairly active we're in an ideal position to help in the local community. And what better way to do so than the Framlingham Hour Community which was last year voted the best Rotary Club community project in the country. We have nothing at all to do with the Rotary Club or any other associations but it is a very good idea as it puts those in need of help in the town in touch with those who are capable of offering it. There are a fair number of elderly people in Framlingham and many of them are for example housebound, struggling to get to the shops or having trouble keeping on top of their gardens. The Hour Community will ask for a volunteer to help them out with an hour or two of their time.

It's not confined to helping elderly people. Anybody who needs help can ask for it and the coordinator Angelika will do her best to oblige. It's not onerous for volunteers. Marion and I have not been called upon to give endless hours but it is important that everyone in the community is aware that it is available. This week we were put in touch with an elderly person who was struggling to complete a complex government form. It was quite a daunting bit of paperwork but we managed to do it with her and take a big weight off her mind. If you are in Framlingham and would like to help or need help just click here or Google Framlingham Hour Community and you'll find the contacts you need.

Last night we headed up to the college for a talk titled "A Love Affair With Churches" given by the Rev Roy Tricker. You may wonder why we , as non believers, would want to attend a talk on this subject but whilst we may not be in touch with God we do appreciate both history and beautiful buildings and Roy is an excellent and passionate speaker. He has the presentation and delivery style of Brian Blessed so there was no need for a mike. He's not into powerpoint presentations so we were entertained by an old fashioned slide show in which he explained his lifelong love of churches supported by photographs of some hidden treasures that are there to be found within just a few miles of here. It was an extremely entertaining talk and we bought his book 100 Years, 100 Treasures which highlights one unique and individual treasure for each of a hundred churches in Suffolk. We look forward to getting on our bikes and looking for some of them.

Remember my bit of stupid reversing? Well yesterday we headed down to Essex to pick the car up.

And hey presto it's as good as new again.It's a pity that I can't say the same for the bank balance but I think I've learnt my lesson. 

There's a busy couple of days ahead. It's Valentine's at The Crown tomorrow night. We're looking forward to another great meal from Chef Matt Ransome. On Saturday night there's a concert at the college with local musicians Modest Ike and Polly Gibbons. It should be a great evening as we've checked them both out on YouTube and they're both great acts.