April 2008   

Sadly I couldn't think of anything even remotely 'hair' or 'hare' related to talk about this month, so I thought that I would start April's blog by exploring a Great English tradition... 

...not roast beef and Yorkshire pudding! 

...or welly-wanging! 

...not even traditional British Ale!  (I'll get back to these later!)

But in celebration of our somewhat  'unusual' start to this month - I thought that I would start my April Blog by discussing a very appropriate topic:

I felt that the most apt quote to describe this April's weather would be this one by Mark Twain:

"In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours."

So what on earth has been happening with our Great British weather this April?  You only have to compare the pictures of Brighton beach from The Daily Mail on Sunday 6th April 2007 and again on Sunday 6th April 2008 (see below) to notice a distinct drop in the temperature.  What a difference a year makes!   My street alone boasted three snowmen in various states of completion before breakfast that particular Sunday; and my house developed that distinctive smell of steaming teenage socks and damp dog. 

As you may be aware, the weather is our most common topic of conversation in Great Britain.  I only have to take a stroll around the park to hear the weather mentioned on at least one occasion - usually by someone with their own pessimistic predictions for the weekend ahead.  It reminds me of that old (and not terribly funny) joke that goes: "Don't knock the weather; nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in awhile!  

Now if this strange weather obsessed British phenomenon has escaped you, then I would recommend taking a little educational trip to Fareham Post Office on a Monday morning........when it's raining!!!   I've noticed that The Post Office has adopted a brilliant marketing technique that they have named "The Weather Station".   Possibly assessing the age of their average client - they position their plastic rain bonnets and umbrellas within easy reach of the till.  I've resisted those plastic rain bonnets so far; but it's only a matter of time!

Therefore, quite unsurprisingly over the centuries much of our British folklore has centred around the weather.  Here are just a few examples of the weather related phrases I could find for the month of April:

So we have ascertained that the British like to discuss the weather and have probably done so since we first crawled out of the primordial swamp (now called the Isle of Wight) and felt a chilly breeze blowing across our scales.  So what has this got to do with extended services?  Let me quickly explain.  Now T.S. Eliot wrote that  “April is the cruellest month,” but I've decided we should endorse our Birthday Boy Bard’s far more optimistic quote on behalf of the extended services consortium this month:  

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything"

It is now springtime, therefore it is a season for youthful celebration for extended services.  So I'm joining Mr Shakespeare and discarding those thermal tights (not that he wore thermals - but he might have worn tights), looking ahead to the summer months and putting our Area Action Plan into operation.  And it has certainly started with a youthful bang this month (if you would excuse the turn of phrase!)    Although it is not youth orientated, the first of our April 'celebrations' saw the opening of our new Family Play Group in Portchester.  Sadly I was unable to attend the launch, but I look forward to seeing my two excellent volunteers in action in the very near future.  However much I would have preferred to get paint splattered by over-enthusiastic toddlers, or even try my hand at modelling the Sistine Chapel out of Play Dough, the Safeguarding Workshop I attended that day was extremely informative and useful.  Obviously safety is of paramount importance when planning extended school activities - without being Safe a child cannot be expected to be Healthy, achieve Economic well-being, Enjoy and achieve...or even make a Positive contribution. 

It would be a HEEP...not a SHEEP! 

Therefore I felt that the Aide Memoir to this workshop may be of interest to all of our stakeholders who have not yet attended this training, so I've popped a copy for you to view below.

       Extended Schools & Safeguarding Children 

Happily I did get an opportunity to go along to the opening night at Darcy's Youth Cafe on Friday 25 April.  Although it was a fairly quiet launch, it is hoped that teenagers in Portchester will start to filter through the doors as word spreads.  Certainly if they smell Chris and Rosemary Brown's delicious, mammoth size hotdogs (selling for £1.00) and caramel milkshakes they will be rushing through those doors.  The partners who have contributed to the success of this project can be very proud of their achievement - and many thanks must also go to the kind volunteers who are giving up their Friday evenings to sit in the cafe to ensure that everything goes smoothly. 

Meanwhile, over at Westland's Youth Club at the Community Centre things were a little more 'lively' (the older person's term for 'noisy') that evening and it was encouraging to see that Kyle Conway (our new youth leader) seemed to be settling in to his new role comfortably. 

On behalf of the extended services partnership, may I offer Kyle a very warm welcome to Portchester and I hope that he will be very happy.

In the same week another exciting project finally left the action planning stage and became a reality.  The Scooter project at X-Perience Young People's Centre launched on Thursday 24 April.  When I arrived on my trusty two-wheels and sporting a cute Paul Frank moped T-shirt (trying to look hip, groovy and down wiv' the kids) we gathered together with a cup of tea and to wait to see if anyone arrived.  You could almost taste the tension in the air.  Then we heard the sound of a solitary moped pulling up outside.  Possibly scared by the 'oldies' with eager faces who were falling over themselves out of the door, the poor little moped rider was hastily despatched to gather up his friends.  Can you imagine our delight when only ten minutes later, fifty-three mopeds rolled into the car park?  The professionals who kindly gave up their evening to launch this project were fantastic on the night.  Many thanks must go to Paragon Training from Gosport, Trevor Pope and to Hampshire BikeSafe who chatted to the young people in such a lovely, informal manner and casually checked over their scooters.  Also many thanks to Bob (PCSO), Dave (Youth Worker), his lovely wife and friends who made some amazing cakes, to Steve (my neighbour) and of course to our core team...tearful Charlee, cheerful Claire and Sam "nips" Couchman.

Watch this space for more updates in the future months from the scooter project. e.g. charity ride-outs, a dedicated website and possibly much, much more.    I must also mention that the young people themselves (both male AND female riders) were also an absolute pleasure to work alongside and we all look forward to the growing success of this community project.  

So now it's back to the beer and wellies...

Then Wellies...

I'm going on a bit of a 'green' campaign trail at the moment.  First of all I've reduced my carbon footprint (by opting for two wheel instead of four) and I decided to leave my garden to grow into an natural, untamed environment for all the local birds and wildlife.  Any excuse!  But as a country lass I couldn't help but be attracted to the idea of wearing my groovy festival wellies to work.   Unfortunately the date has now passed for Welly Week (as it took place the last week of April); but I thought it may still be of interest for planning ahead for next year.  Please see the press release from Garden Organic  to find out what Welly Week is all about - then plan fun ideas to remind children and young people about how much fun it is to be outdoors (even in the pouring rain) and even learn a little bit about food and organic growing at the same time. 

You may also be aware that 40% of schools have now registered as Eco-Schools since the Government announced in 2006 that it wants every school to be sustainable by 2020.  For lots of ideas for 'going green' in your school, how to register, and details of conferences etc. pay a quick visit to:

Eco-Schools  

For parents of the younger age group, Susannah Marriot has produced a book called "Green Babycare" which is available at all good bookshops and online at Amazon.  This sustainably produced book has a mission statement to do what's right for children and protect the planet's future.  There's lots of information for new parents with an interest in sustaining our beautiful planet for future generations.

Still remaining firmly on the green trail - are you, or do you know any group who interested in setting up an environmental volunteering project for 16-25 year olds? 

BTCV are offering free taster sessions (with thankfully very little paperwork involved).  If a group is really keen there are grants available of up to £10,000 for them to then tackle a project on their own.  Click below for more details about this exciting opportunity for young people to get involved in their local community:

Environmental Volunteering Opportunities

To support healthy schools, you may also like to signpost your parents to one of the latest Which? campaigns that highlights the issue of irresponsible marketing of junk food to kids.  Log on to www.which.co.uk/kidsfood to join the campaign.  You can even register to receive a free shopping bag (while stocks last) and other downloadable resources to support your healthy schools initiative. 

Another useful resource for raising health awareness amongst young people has been produced by The Dairy Council.  The Teenage Advice Leaflet offers some very useful information to support PHSE in secondary school and is available to view below:

Teenage Advice Leaflet

As well as a downloadable 30 second video about dental health called Slurp & Chew your way to Dental Health, there are lots more publications produced by The Dairy Council to support the primary curriculum available to order or download free at: 

 www.milk.co.uk/publications

Keeping kids fit with the help of their football heroes is the aim of the Children's Society.  A health report from the Children's Society found that there is mounting concern over the rise in mental and physical health issues amongst youngsters.  In a survey "The Children's Society Good Childhood Enquiry" a significant number of people said that children are a 'lot less happy' today compared to their own childhoods.  Poor diet, lack of exercise and drugs were cited as having the most negative effect on health; with family breakdown, conflict and peer pressure exerting the most damaging impact on well-being. 

To help give children a better start in life, the charity has teamed up with Manchester United to develop a family healthy guide.  "Shaping up with the Children's Society and Manchester United " has simple advice on fitness, nutrition, motivation and family relationships.  The emphasis is on the whole family participating and is free to download from:

 www.childrenssociety.org.uk

Finally, I would like to say a HUGE welcome our new Portchester Children's Centre Coordinator  

Claire Howden will be familiar to all of our partners who have attended our Portchester meetings, and I'm sure they will wish me to extend a big welcome to Claire in her new role.  I look forward to working alongside Claire planning and implementing all of our ideas for the Portchester Children's Centre.  In a month or two I shall also be re-locating (during part of my week) into a shared office at Portchester Community Centre.  We feel that it will be much easier exchanging messages via paper darts rather than text messages, answer-phone messages and e-mails.  It may also be useful if I am on hand to talk to any unwitting volunteers who stumble through our door.   There is always plenty of work to do extending the services to children, young people and their families in East Fareham and we would always welcome any offers of help.

To finish this month's bog I thought that I would take you right back to the beginning of the month and pay a final tribute to the excellent BBC April Fool's joke about flying penguins.

Penguins @ BBC - iPlayer

For all of my friends, colleagues and partners - it also offers a useful reminder:

"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year" Mark Twain

Please get in touch if you would like to speak to Susie about any matter regarding extended services or if you would like to see any activities, organisations or initiatives mentioned on this website.

Kind regards

Susie Higgs (ESCO)