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An event to draw men’s attention to their health was held by Bexley’s Live Well and Safely project and Bexley Care Trust at Belvedere Community Centre recently.
‘Men and health’ was aimed at promoting healthier ways of life and to form a group to help men raise their own issues around health. It was the second event of its kind held in Bexley, the first was at the same time last year and was so popular the team decided to run another event this summer.
There were videos and talks about cancer, diabetes, heart disease and healthy eating together with a chance to sample reflexology, shiatsu, body massage, aromatherapy and Reiki thanks to therapists from the Douglas Centre and Greenwich and Bexley Hospice.
On arrival at the centre, men were weighed and had their height measured. A specialist nurse discussed preventative measures and problems associated with diabetes and there was a pharmacist available to discuss medicines and their side effects.
The event was very successful with more than 30 men attending. In Asian men in particular, incidents of heart disease, diabetes and cancer are high and many do not feel comfortable discussing these subjects with their GP. It was refreshing to see so many taking part during the day.
The Council and the Care Trust hope open days like this will be a way forward to encouraging more men to take an interest in their health in the future.
For more information contact Rosie Bedi, Development Officer, Live Well and Safely Project, on 020 8310 5198.
Bexley’s welfare rights service has run a succession of benefit take-up campaigns to ensure that the borough’s residents claim the extra money they are entitled to. A total of £1.3million has been raised per year for over 700 residents in the past 20 months.
The overall aim of the service is to improve the income of people vulnerable to social exclusion, by making sure that they receive their full entitlement to benefits.
The Council has funded three voluntary organisations to achieve this - Age Concern (Bexley) for residents over 50, Carer’s Support (Bexley) for carer’s and the Thamesmead Law Centre (TLC) for all client groups.
To find out more about the service contact Banji Adewumi, Contracts Officer for Welfare Rights on 020 8303 7777 ext 2883.
The Co-op’s store on Picardy Road in Belvedere will unveil its smart new look on Thursday (25 August) following the completion of a £350,000 revamp, which has created three new jobs.
The shop is being transformed with its conversion to the consumer-owned retailer’s latest market town format, which is designed to provide a modern shopping environment and a more comprehensive range, tailored to the needs of the local community.
Features of the new look store include new fittings and refrigeration plus a more shopper friendly layout, as well as a much wider choice of goods. The emphasis will be on fresh foods including a selection of in-store baked breads and pastries while a range of chilled beers and wines will be available. In addition, the popular lottery facility and cash machine will be retained.
As the leading supermarket supporter of Fairtrade, the Co-op’s popular Fairtrade products will feature while the supermarket will also carry the retailer’s own health and beauty range with products that are not tested on animals.
Shoppers will also benefit from the Co-op’s policy on honest labelling which gives the full facts about its food and drink products and can carry shopping home in 100 percent degradable bags.
Electrical goods and cookware will be another new addition to the store.
Bexley Council’s Town Centres Management Team concluded the inaugural summer entertainment programme in Erith by bringing the Bureau of Funny Ideas to the Erith Riverside centre over the bank holiday weekend.
The group of three widely traveled, talented artists performed amazing feats of acrobatics, balance and juggling. They came to Erith after appearing at this year’s Glastonbury Festival as well as performing as part of the summer bill at the National Film Theatre
Bexley Accessible Transport Scheme (BATS) is proving very popular with community and voluntary groups in Bexley.
The scheme which recently received a £3,525 grant from Bexley’s Areas of Opportunity programme, provides local organisations with transport at a minimal cost and aims to help groups get out and about and run activities and services at a lower cost.
The grant money has enabled the group to buy specialist software that will help BATS to manage and monitor scheme bookings more effectively. This will enable them to provide an enhanced community transport scheme to local community and voluntary groups.
The scheme is hoping to increase the number of groups accessing the scheme from those areas covered by the Areas of Opportunity Programme. Since the installation of the software in April 2005, the scheme has recruited 23 new members and received 241 bookings from local groups.
Recently, BATS enabled a local group from the Chinese and Vietnamese community in Thamesmead to visit Birmingham for the Vu Lan Festival. They hired one of the mini-buses for the day to take them to the Tudam temple in Birmingham to commemorate ancestors with other Buddhism followers at the Festival.
If you would like further information about Bexley Accessible Transport Scheme, please contact Andrew Grieve on 01322 333377.
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