August 2015 | Issue 94 | £1.50 where bought

In HOUSE CHATAccompaniedviewings

VOLUNTEERINGCharity reigns in Lee on the Solent

©Michael Branicki

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THIS MONTH..

HOUSE AND GARDENS

16 DahliasAdd a splash of colour to your summer garden asautumn starts to lick at our heels.

21 In House ChatOur award winning local agent Mark Rowe impartsmore house knowledge and tips on accompaniedviewings.

CHILDREN, PETS & EDUCATION

8 Kids PageIt’s time for swimming lessons in this months kidspage!

COMMUNITY

6 St Faiths’ ChurchA closer look at one of our local charities, TheRowans Hospice and their hard work in ourcommunity.

10 GNHWGosport Neighbourhood watch give us some topprotection tips for your property this summer.

august issue 2015

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If you’ve got a local Good News story we’d love tohear about it! Whether it’s kindly friends or

neighbours going out of their way to help eachother, children doing fab activities that make

them smile, winning awards or just doing a goodturn we’d love to know! Email your stories to us

at editor@bigvoicedirectories.co.uk

26Recipe

s, community,

health,

properties and more

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SmSmalal ltalkltalk

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“Motivation is what gets youstarted…

Habit is what keeps you going” said JimRyun, an American Athlete. It got me thinking that many of uswho have set our goals and wishes at the beginning of the yearmay be finding that now the summer is upon us, and willpower islowering as we think of slipping into Autumn, that those things wefervently set out to achieve in January may be sliding from ourgrasp.

And perhaps the reason is that we either weren’t committed todoing what we decided all those months ago, or we didn’t get intothe HABIT of making that thing happen. Indeed a decision wemade last year as a couple was to incorporate a fresh juice intoour diet, at least once daily. We enjoyed blending fresh kale fromthe garden, including thick broccoli stems which would ordinarilyend up on the compost, various fruit and other vegetables andchucking in copious amounts of ginger which sent Sean's hayfeverpacking (an unexpected, but very welcome result!).

With the cleaning of the blenders and juicers, and the extra bit oforganisation needed to make these each day it would have beeneasy to stop eventually. But once it became a habit it’s tough tobreak. So even when we have days out we make sure that we getour juice and do you know, if you look out for them there arejuice bars popping up everywhere. So we grabbed one recently inHyde Park at a festival, in a little street in Ibiza on a holiday andeven the kids join in now, despite what can seem a very dubiousmix sometimes!

If there’s something you want to do, or yourresolve has slipped, get started again and we’llhear no more excuses!

Much love until next monthCoralie and Sean x

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St Faiths’ C ommunity

The Rowans Hospice at Purbrookrecently celebrated its 20thanniversary. The Hospice has helpedover 7,000 patients and familiesacross Portsmouth and South EastHampshire. Its services include endof life, respite, home andbereavement care for peopleaffected by life-limiting illnesses andtheir carers and families.

It costs more than 5 million everyyear funded mainly throughvoluntary donations, communityfundraising, Support Groups andcharity shops.

Eager to find out more about itswork I decided to visit our localRowans Hospice shop at Lee. Afterarranging a time to visit I went to theshop on the day which, by co-incidence, was exactly three years tothe day since my partner died.

Before becoming ill she, too, hadworked in the Lee Rowans shopbefore it was relocated to its presentsite. During and after her illness we’dreceived considerable support fromone of the hospice’s home-care teamso I had a personal interest in thework at the shop.

On arrival I was immediately offeredcoffee and made to feel more thanwelcome by the manager, AnneWressell (shown wearing a redcardigan in the photo) and heramazing team of volunteers. Anne ismarried with one daughter,Cassandra. She moved with herhusband from Liverpool to Gosportin 1983 when she was 20. Afterworking as a teaching assistant atLeesland, Siskin and Bedenhamschools she became a volunteer atthe Gosport shop. Since then she hasworked as assistant manager in

Emsworth and Wickham and alsoholiday relief manager beforemoving to Lee as manager in 2013.

In total there are 28 volunteersworking at the Lee shop and, on theday of my visit, 5 helpers werepresent all of whom have beenworking for a varying number ofyears: Jan Rogers (nearly 4 years, apaid assistant) with volunteers, JohnShepherd (4 years) Cora Terry (9months), Roni Lee (who has alsobeen a Gosport support groupworker for 15 years) and, last but notleast, Barbara Harris who wears thecoveted gold badge awarded for 20years of service.

The area support groups raise extramoney by organising variousactivities including wine tasting, carboot sales and running stalls atvarious community events, etc.

The Rowans Hospice

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Another helper, Jean Craig, also runscoffee mornings at the MethodistChurch to raise funds on the firstWednesday of the month from 10am – 12 noon. The shop volunteers,as well as serving, also spend a greatdeal of their time in the back roomsorting and pricing the differentdonations – books and clothes etc.

Anne was keen to stress that shelooks on every one of her volunteersas ‘pieces of gold’ and regards themall as her extended family.

Throughout the area there arehundreds of volunteers all working indifferent capacities and from all ageranges. They become volunteers forvarious reasons, some for workexperience, some because they’vereceived hospice support themselvesand others, often retired, who simplywant to meet others and becomeinvolved in community work. All ofthe shop volunteers and supportworkers receive support from theMatron of the Hospice, the ChiefExecutive, Board of Trustees andRowans Trading group.

More helpers are always needed.

Gosport, for example, will beopening a new furniture shop andare currently looking for volunteers.Anne has all the details at the Leeshop and will be happy to pass themon. The Hospice does invaluablework which any of us might need inthe future or have needed in thepast.

If you donate items to the hospice,the gift aid scheme raises and extra25% and gift-aid cards are availableat all of the shops. Or, if you thinkyou might enjoy working with awonderfully friendly team for aworthy cause and meeting membersof the public, then why not become avolunteer yourself? I’m sure you’d bemore than welcomed and, if the Leeshop is anything to go by, I can’tthink of a nicer group of people towork with.

Alan

Our wonderful St Faiths contributor, Alan Millard can be contacted via St Faith’sChurch, Lee on the Solent.

Parish Office

Mondays - Fridays 10:30am - 12:30pm023 9255 6445

alan.millard@talktalk.net

Dates for your diaryThursday, 10th September 2 pm. St Faith’s Church. Service of Remembrance for Rear Admiral Charles WilliamsSaturday, 7th November 10.30 am – 5.30 pm. St. Faith’s Church. Haven Artists, Exhibition and Sale of paintings, crafts, Christmascards etc in aid of the Rainbow Charity. Refreshments available.Thursday, 13th August. 11 am, St Faith’s Church. Mothers’ Union Archdeaconry – Day at the Seaside. Coffee in Bulson Hall fol-lowed by a church service and free afternoon to explore the area.

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9Love where you live!

Important Phone NumbersCOMMUNITYCommunity Association 023 9255 2841Crofton Secondary School 01329 664251Family & Friends Lesbians & Gays 08456520311Lee on Solent Parish Office 023 9255 6445Lee on Solent Infant School 023 9255 1767Lee on Solent Junior School 023 9255 0551Local Councillor 023 9255 2177Local Council Offices 023 9258 4242Neighbourhood Watch 023 9258 3637Police 101 or emergency 999RSPCA 01329 667541Tourist Information 023 9252 2944Victim Support 0845 3899528

HEALTHAlcoholics Anonymous 0845 7697555Dental Helpline 0845 0508345Gosport War Memorial Hospital 023 92524611Lee on Solent Health Centre 023 9255 0220NHS Direct 111NHS Smoking Helpline 0800 0224332

TRAVELCoastguard 023 8032 9486Dial a Ride Gosport 01329 223151First Bus Service 023 9286 2412Hampshire Highways 0845 8504422IcanGo 07787 292666National Rail Enquiries 08457 484950

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Dahlia

August can often be dire for gardens, with dry soil and a natural lull between the summer and autumn floweringplants. But there are a few little garden life savers, such as the Dahlia which are relatively drought-tolerant that willgive your senses the splash of colour needed as you move through to the next season.

You’ll need to regularly dead-head to maintain the best blooms but it’ll be worth the time taken to maintain them.Make sure you don’t overfeed with high nitrogen fertilisers and do try to put them in a good sunny spot for directlight.

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171 - 173 High StreetLee-on-the-Solent

PO13 9BX

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This month I’ve highlighted theimportance of accompaniedviewings. It’s an essential part ofyour property marketing mix,here’s why:

Security

The number one reason foraccompanied viewings is that youare inviting someone, whomyou’ve never met, into your home.99.9% of the time there’s noproblem with this, after all, theyare a buyer so they need to seeinside! However, not that this hasever happened here at RPS,there’s that very small percentageof people who like to waste timeor perhaps have other, not sonice, intentions.

The estate agent not only placesthat vital barrier between you andthe buyer but can also weed outthose unscrupulous people thatyou perhaps wouldn’t want to dealwith face to face.

Negotiations

Another really important factorwhen showing a potential buyeraround a property is thenegotiations that can take placeliterally in your living room! This ismore common than you think andunfortunately I’ve heard of manyhomeowners made to feel quiteawkward when a buyer negotiateshard and they are pushed into atight corner, not knowing whetherto say yes or no. Referring backto the point made above aboutqualifying the potential buyer, anagent is best placed to negotiatewith a buyer to achieve thehighest possible figure withoutlosing them completely.

Feedback

Our policy is that feedback isprovided by the very next morningafter the viewing (at the latest),but there are occasions when abrief chat outside the property isbeneficial and provides vital

feedback immediately.

In the main buyers are verygenuine, but they don’t like to saynegative comments in front of ahomeowner as it can be offensive.Honest feedback is easily given toagents as, once again, we are amiddle party and won’t beoffended.

With the age of online agentscoming into the marketplacehomeowners are lulled into thesense of feeling ok about showingbuyers around their home, theabove points clarify why it’s vitalthat you demand your agentaccompanies these viewings,after all this is probably yourbiggest asset and shouldn’t be leftto chance.

In house chatTHE IMPORTANCE OF

ACCOMPANIEDVIEWINGS

Mark Rowe, MD & Owner of RPS Estate and Letting Agents

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