In March we have Mother`s Day, June we see Father`s Day, then there`s Grand Parent`s Day, Armed Forces Day, Merchant Navy Day and everything else`s day, but where`s CARER`S DAY ? Carers don`t get the recognition they deserve, so by making a National day specifically for carers will highlight the importance of their role in society !!

Because businesses that make large profits from the UK market, such as Cadbury, can and should be paying their fair share of taxes. Failing to do so means there is less money to spend on schools, the NHS and other vital public services, which companies rely on to educate and look after their workforce and customers. Cadbury was set up by Quakers and had a long tradition of being a responsible employer that looked after its workforce and made a positive contribution to the communities where its chocolate was manufactured. In 1893, George Cadbury developed the Bournville estate in Birmingham, a model village designed to improve the living conditions of its employees. Easter time, when supermarket shelves are stacked with Cadbury's chocolate, is a good time to remind them of their roots and start putting people ahead of profits. For more information, read: http://ind.pn/1Ode1QJ

The area is needed for physical and mental wellbeing for all the nearby residents, living in high rise and low rise flats. It is our only garden space, used by children and families, dog walkers and wildlife such as foxes, hedgehogs and bats. It is where we see the seasons change and have a moment of peace. Now there is a bike park development happening without local people knowing anything about it. The trees have all been cut down and the grassy area is about to be covered in tarmac. The residents here have not asked for a bike park, nor want it. Consultation was kept to a finely calculated minimum, and an arrangement for just one person on the council to approve planning consent, sealed the deal. Most people had no idea the land was being sold off for £1 pa and no other ideas were discussed, despite surveys having taken place with the residents. The idea for a bike park only came from councillors, who are keen cycling enthusiasts, back in 2012. They then involved other cycling specialist interest groups to set up a charity, called Braidwood Bike Group aka Skelf,, and ‘supported’ them with planning agreements to give away our land for £1 per year. This means that the bike group, Skelf, now own the land and can build a bike park. Whether you support a bike park or not, there was supposed to be a full consultation of local residents to discover ideas for our green space - promised as part of the planning permission presented to the council. The council refuse to do anything despite being presented with evidence of the flawed consultation and so we need your help - please - to make them take notice. Every single person who signs will make a difference. Results from surveys in the area asked for: · benches and picnic tables, · keeping the area as it is as a quiet space · some playpark activities for kids. (NOT a bike park) The trees have all gone already but stage 2 is to cover up the grass areas with tarmac bike paths - please stop this from happening without proper consultation.

At yesterday's Penge Forum meeting which was very well attended, standing room only, residents, trustees and councillor’s agreed to set up an action group led by Cllr Kevin Brooks, to work with and support the Trustees to devise a plan to make the services provided at Melvin Hall financially sustainable. Trustees had given notice of closure to LBB but the portfolio holder for care appeared to have listened to the residents demand to save this vital service in Penge, and he suggested there was a possibility of further rent relief payments and an opportunity of hiring out the halls when not required by Age Concern. This is just a very brief update on our last blog on the possible closure of Melvin Hall. This facility has not yet been saved, there is still a long way to go so work needs to start now to engage with the Trustees and LBB and take this fight forward. Ever since opening at the end of the second world war the Melvin Hall Day Centre’s main aim has been to increase the happiness of the older people of Penge.

With Five Quarters nolonger in operation there is only Cluff Natural Resources with licences who want use the North East as a testbed for undersea coal gasification (UCG), an experimental method of squeezing out the remaining drops of coal. They have received licences to test down the NE coast from Seaham to Hartlepool In Australia linc energy UCG wells were found to leak the same substances to groundwater as can be released by fracking resulting in a 320km zone be made around the plant. There are dangers of blowbacks and explosions. Many test have failed. It has never been used on a commercial basis. The gas produced is syngas or coal gas. It is a mixture of methane (natural gas), carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. They plan to pump it back into the hole they have made using Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). This is another process that has not been fully tested. Surely it would be better to use renewables and not produce the CO2 in the first place? There is of course the carrot of job creation. Any jobs created by UCG/fracking will be highly specialised. However, if the same amounts of money were to be invested in renewable energies and/or home and public building insulation, which the public have been shown to prefer as the majority of surveys have shown. There would be far more new jobs and far fewer environmental concern's. For more information see Frackfreehartlepool.co.uk

This is important because bullying affects thousands of children across the UK and whether it be in, primary, secondary or college it can affect them greatly. When I was in school I was bullied very severely and it led to many future problems that I then had to deal with myself because of the bullies I had. Bullying can lead to a variety of different problems from anxiety to self harm. I myself when through self harm and am still dealing with it now, three years later, I am so far beating the urge, but the feeling is still there and I hate to think that so many other children are going through the same thing that I went through. There is a statistic that shows 1 in 30 children self harm, which works out 1 child per classroom, which to me is an outrage and if stopping bullying or at least doing more to prevent it, can reduce that statistic, I think a lot more children would be happier. Bullying doesn't necessarily mean a child will self harm, but I feel that if you are bullied is does knock your confidence, no matter who you are, it will knock you. If schools started to put in place real policies and procedures for bullying, like a zero tolerance rule and go through with real consequences then bullying will cut down. When i was in school I would often go to my headteacher with the fact that i was being bullied, and nothing was ever done about it. It got to the point where my mum would call in, but still nothing was done. I feel like this probably happens for a lot of other students, and I think school staff should take it a lot more serious than they do and actually do something when a student comes to them about being bullied. Children are often too scared to go and tell someone, children should be able to feel like they can talk to someone if they're being bullied. I would like to start this campaign against schools dealing with bullying. Eventually i would like to be able to go into schools and do talks about bullying, and maybe ask children to fill in a confidential survey about bullying with questions such as: Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever bullied someone? Has there been any consequences for your bullies? Has there been any consequences because you bullied someone? Has there been any consequences on yourself as a person because you've been bullied? What do you feel when you bully someone? Do you get anything out of it? I could then use these surveys to get statistics to use in other talks and to help show the severity of bullying in certain schools. This is an issue very close to my heart as i don't want children to have to feel the same way that I did when I stepped into school and to have to face the same issues that I did. I know the world is never going to be rid of bullying completely, but if i can at least make a small change in some schools across the UK, it would give me a great sense of achievement and i feel like it would benefit a lot of children.

For some self employment is chosen, for others, in this current climate, it is the only way of having an income, for some adoption is chosen and for others it is their only chance to have a family. An independent report by Julie Deane OBE recommends that self employed people should be given the same rights as those that work for an employer. This has been seen by parliament and so far ignored. I am proud to be self employed, I am also very much looking forward to starting my family however and whenever it happens but I know that without the same support the my employed friends get, we could struggle. This is unfair. The current government is very proud of the rise in self employment. It is one thing that has made the unemployment figures look better over the last few years. The entrepreneurial spirit is something to be proud of. It is time to bring adoption, maternity and paternity pay for self employed people in line with that of employees.

At the moment pensioners are expected to live on Approximately £100 less per week than someone on the minimum wage working a 37 hour week. How is this fair a retired person should be able to heat their home eat well and enjoy their retirement. There is no justification or logic to setting the pension rate so low. Pensioners need the same amount of money as anyone else to live on their costs are greater not less.

These children are suffering they are orphaned They have been suffering for weeks We have a human duty to look after suffering innocent children They are no threat to us or our country We have to be a helping hand to those who are can't help themselves We cannot ignore this matter with more talks about nothing we are to take action

PEOPLE SAID "a community resource not luxury flats": after a petition, an Independent Inquiry and a local referendum (July 2015) 96-98 Shoot up Hill was listed as one of the community facilities to be protected from any change, in the Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Plan. Both occupiers: the current day centre and People's Centre who run projects after day centre hours and weekends are recognised as communities (alive, developing and growing). But now the council is looking to reverse this decision changing the use to residential, in order to eventually sell it on the open market. THE IMPACT OF DAY CENTRE CLOSURES: The council wanted to close the day centre at Shoot up Hill in 2012. Day centre closures leave many people with learning disabilities even more isolated, stuck at home, without meaningful occupation, friendships lost, ever more dependent on their family carers. (see Mencap report “Stuck at Home”). PERSONALISED (choice) BUT NOT ATOMISED (excluded): the council justified the closures saying that people wanted other choices than day centres and they should go out and about in the mainstream, using their personal budgets. Many people with learning disabilities are ready to embrace the changes in social care and to take control of their individual lifestyles using personal budgets to make choices. But the “community out there” does not yet provide the environments, activities and social opportunities they need and deserve and which give them a sense of belonging. Some people also need the continuity and familiarity of a vibrant and inclusive community where they they are understood, fully accepted and welcomed and can choose from adapted and suitably challenging activities, and develop relationships with all sorts of people. PEOPLE'S CENTRE = AN ALTERNATIVE: a group of family carers campaigned against the closure and in April 2012 the council agreed to delay the closure and give them time to develop their proposals and raise money to buy the building. People's Centre was then set up as a not for profit organisation to fill in a gap in provision and offer an alternative to a traditional day centre, taking advantage of personalisation: excellent individually tailored choices of activities, social and employment opportunities and support to people with a wide range of learning disabilities in a friendly, INCLUSIVE environment as well as new opportunities for the wider neighbourhood; modelling successful inclusion and supporting people to access other community venues. NOT BACK TO INSTITUTIONS!: the council recognises the need for “building based” services but want to build a single, purpose built, large institutional facility (Greenwood Place) grouping people with all manner of impairments in discrete units: learning disabilities, mental health, dementia, autism, multiple and profound learning disabilities. People will be segregated according to what they cannot do, as well as set apart from the neighbourhood (in a back street, semi industrial area). Moreover Greenwood Place also lacks capacity to provide facilities for the current and growing numbers of people with high support needs. SMALL SCALE, INCLUSIVE, COMMUNITY RESOURCES, INSTEAD: People's Centre is developing a friendly and welcoming community place where people of all abilities and backgrounds complement each other, can get the support they need and engage in meaningful activities as well as go out to other places. We will model good practice. BUILDINGS AT 96-98 Shoot up Hill ARE IDEAL: two semi detached houses which front a main road, look just like the neighbouring houses and allow for flexible use. They been adapted with accessible lift, WC facilities, changing room etc. There are no equivalent premises in the area and the cost of providing such facilities in another building will be prohibitive as well as wasteful. WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW, outside day centre hours and weekends: - Weekly creative, social and therapeutic sessions for adults and young people with learning disabilities supported by volunteers, family and support workers. Open to everyone in the neighbourhood. Cafe with freshly cooked delicious food. - a “Unique Products” enterprise where people with and without disabilities work together. - weekly sessions and special events for unpaid carers in Camden - Saturday Stay and Play for families with children with disabilities, siblings and friends. - (soon) Weekend specialist yoga to families with a member with disabilities. - Open Days, Special Concerts, Carers Week Day and Community Festivals bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to make music, art and enjoy life. VOLUNTEERS: from all backgrounds and abilities help make it happen FUNDING: we have received funding from Co-op, National Lottery, School of Social Entrepreneurs, Comic Relief, Camden Carers Service, SIBS, a local Hampstead Trust, Baily Thomas and individuals. SUSTAINABILITY: our business case demonstrates that we can be a sustainable enterprise, taking advantage of the changes in adult social care which give people with support needs the means to decide on the services they want and combining this with provision of opportunities for the wider community and small businesses. We are continuing to develop the service offer and detailed business plan. CAPITAL FUNDING: People's Centre are working to raise capital to buy the building and keep it for the local community. This won't be possible if the building goes up for sale in the open market as a residential property. SUPPORT PEOPLE'S CENTRE PETITION and the opportunity to continue providing support for people with severe learning disabilities, their families and carers and creating an inclusive community resource for local people. We need 100s of signatures http://peoplescentreforchange.org.uk/ [email protected]

This is a nature reserve and contains an array of wildlife that will be affected as a consequence of building on the green land.

As a recovering gambler with an online addiction to bingo sites/slots I spent over £70,000 In four years and was suicidal. The adverts advertising Gambling on TV glamourize gambling all singing all dancing with an untrue reality, using quotes like "friends who play together stay together" so NOT true. The adverts target young and vulnerable and in the current climate make out this will get people out of poverty and financial hardship. They entice people in with offers like deposit £10 we'll give you £60. This is a hook to get people in and addicted. I understand not everybody who gambles will be addicted but support for those who do get addicted WHERE IS THE SUPPORT. These sites take millions and are based out of the UK to dodge Tax don't let the industry destroy life's as it does. STOP ADVERTISING ON DAY TIME TV.