Tea parties to put the heart back into the community & build friendships

ACCORDING to findings from a senior psychologist a return to the traditional tea party has the potential to improve your social life and rebuild community spirit.

Psychologist Dr David A Holmes said:- “The chances of meeting someone new during the course of normal life are worse than they have ever been. Modern daily life is an insular affair and this is added to by an increased fear of strangers amongst adults as well as children. In the past you would know most of the people in your street, not just by name and by job but also by their groups of friends, which would often include much of the neighbourhood. In the shadow of the number of single occupancy households rising from one in 25 to almost one in 3 since the middle of the last century¹, there are probably more single people in the UK now than there have ever been. Many of whom are not happy being alone. Modern life is fine for established friends, or happy couples, but it tends to further alienate those who feel alone. It can seem impossible to meet people as going out for the evening into noisy darkened bars on your own is very difficult for a woman and not easy for a man. Perhaps the answer to this modern dilemma is a return to the familiar inviting surroundings of the tea party. Hearing bright and cheery voices across cake laden tables is possibly the best environment to make strangers into friends and bond closer with those you already know. You do not need to be young and trendy to meet people over tea and there is none of the pretension, noise and drunkenness of clubs and bars.”

With Leonard Cheshire Disability’s Tea for Ability Week scheduled to take place from 13 June to 21 June 2009 why not sign up to a tea party. The money raised from the tea parties enables the charity to carry out its work with disabled people throughout the UK. You could join one in your area to meet new people, or hold one at work to bond with colleagues, or invite family and friends to your home.

Dr David A Holmes continued:- “The benefits to Tea for Ability tea party goers do not stop with meeting people as the tea parties are planned with the agenda of charitable action. It is well established in psychology that sharing positive experiences bonds us together, making us happier as well as healthier. Having a common purpose that does some good in the world, not only rekindles community spirit and achieves charitable aims, it also bonds us all in friendships that endure over time and with the best of all feel good factors. In psychology we have the concept of learned effectiveness. It is the simple process of achieving something of significance, which sends a reward signal to the brain that increases our confidence and well-being, as well as encouraging us to achieve more and more. Getting together with like minded volunteers in order to help others is a prime source of learned effectiveness producing a deserved and very real sense of reward in the brain. Thus, Tea for Ability tea parties not only have the potential to improve your health, rebuild community spirit and help others, they can also give you a rush of endorphins to put a smile on your face. With all that going for them I’d tell people to sign up today.”

The money raised by holding a Tea for Ability tea party could make a real difference to the people Leonard Cheshire Disability supports as:-

► £50 could help adapt a kitchen for a wheelchair user

► £100 could buy arts and crafts materials

► £150 could pay for 6 people to go on a day trip

Nora Smith, Head of Community Fundraising at Leonard Cheshire Disability, said:- “We urge as many people as possible to host a tea party and make a simple donation to the charity. They really are a great place to make friends, or get to know the people you work with better.”

Leonard Cheshire Disability has a presence at Freshfields, College Path in Formby providing residential, day services and respite care for disabled people.

For a free Tea for Ability fundraising pack, contact Leonard Cheshire Disability on 08450 552 195 or visit www.teaforability.org.

Local volunteers needed

CLATTERBRIDGE Cancer Research (CCR) is looking for motivated and enthusiastic volunteers to help carry out its community work within the local region.

CCR is launching its Summer Survival Appeal and is looking for reliable people to help promote its work at venues across Merseyside and Cheshire, such as Liverpool John Lennon Airport, throughout July, August and September this year.

Full support and training will be offered to those who are interested in helping. Anyone wishing to volunteer for Clatterbridge Cancer Research should be flexible and motivated, possess excellent communication skills and preferably have their own transport.

Clatterbridge Cancer Research is an independent charity which is committed to understanding cancer. It was formed 29 years ago to fund world-class research and today continues to invest in research with the ultimate aim of beating cancer. It is in no way funded by the NHS and relies solely on voluntary donations to help meet the £2 million required annually to continue its work.

To find out more, contact Kate Karmy, Community Fundraiser, on 0151 343 4300 or email Kate.Karmy@ccrmail.org.

‘TALES OF BEATRIX POTTER’ DANCING ON A SCREEN NEAR YOU!

LONDON, UK – As part of their special Opera season, Vue Entertainment are delighted to announce a special screening of Tales of Beatrix Potter, danced by The Royal Ballet, on Sunday, 26 April 2009, 10:30 am, at sites across the UK.  This charming performance, filmed at the Royal Opera House, brings to life the famous characters from the fields and ponds of Beatrix Potter’s well-loved animal stories.

Join Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Peter Rabbit, Mr Jeremy Fisher and a host of other characters from the original stories of Beatrix Potter in this charming one-act ballet. The cast, dressed and masked to look just as we know them from their illustrations, perform six of the best loved extracts; ‘The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle’, ‘The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck’, ‘The Tale of Pigling Bland’, ‘The Tale of Jeremy Fisher’, ‘The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin’ and ‘The Tale of Two Bad Mice’.   With original choreography by the renowned Frederick Ashton, the music was scored by English composer and conductor John Lanchbery with a spirited performance from the Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Paul Murphy. Christine Edzard’s designs conjure up a lost England of field mice and Berkshire black pigs, of foxgloves and shady groves.

This will be the third opera and ballet season from Vue. They have proved extremely popular and provide audiences with another opportunity to watch spectacular music on the big screen from the comfort of their local Vue cinema. Audiences will be able to see the performances in the latest High Definition Digital technology and 5:1 Dolby Surround Sound, giving fans the opportunity to see the show as if they were really there.   Mark de Quervain, Sales and Marketing Director for Vue Entertainment said:- “We are really excited about the opportunity to have such fantastic opera and ballet broadcast in our cinemas as part of our ongoing opera and ballet season. I believe this continues to show Vue Entertainment’s pioneering involvement in bringing diverse cultural entertainment to our customers.”  Tickets for all the performances can be purchased at www.myvue.com/opera or by calling 08712 240 240 or directly from participating cinemas.

Ticket Price:- £10 Adult ~ £7Child

*Participating Vue sites screening Tales of Beatrix Potter on 26 April 2009*

Southport; Camberley; Birmingham; Blackburn; Bristol Longwell; Carlisle; Croydon, Purley; Finchley Road; Fulham Broadway; Hamilton; Harrow; Hull; Islington; Newcastle Under Lyme; Plymouth; Portsmouth; Romford; Staines; Thurrock; Watford; Worcester

...Background... Tales of Beatrix Potter was first conceived as a film in 1971 and later brought to the stage in this production by Anthony Dowell. The ballet calls on the phenomenal success of Potter’s stories; The Tale of Peter Rabbit has alone sold over 40 million copies. Beatrix Potter was home schooled in London and often turned to her many pets for company. She regularly visited the Lake District on family holidays and it was here that she encountered many of the animals that later became characters in her books.  Tales of Beatrix Potter is based on The Original Peter Rabbit Books™ by Beatrix Potter, copyright © Frederick Warne & Co. Frederick Warne & Co. is the owner of all rights, copyrights & trademarks in the Beatrix Potter character names and illustrations.  The ballet Tales of Beatrix Potter is based on choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton and features costume designs by Christine Edzard © 1970 Canal+Image UK Ltd. By special arrangement with StudioCanal.