Osborne House

Phil Bowen gave us a fun and informative, illustrated talk on Osborne House. It really is a time capsule, left just as it was when the family were living there. It must have been lovely for the royal children to have the freedom of the grounds and the beach where they could play safely, away from the public gaze, as they were growing up. Phil always livens up his lessons (he is a retired headmaster) with a test and prizes.
Two members of Phil's family are running in the London Marathon tomorrow in support of the Roy Castle Trust, in memory of his daughter who sadly died of lung cancer at a very young age. So we gave him our raffle money to sponsor them.
We were pleased to welcome a new member who thoroughly enjoyed herself and said she is looking forward to coming back again next month.

Dinas Rock Abseil - March 31st 2013

Yet another great day ! In a week of grey skies and bitingly cold winds, Sunday dawned bright and sunny, which lifted the mood even though we had cold feet. And, most importantly the day was dry.

Morgan helped all day unclipping ropes and sending them back up to the top after each abseiler had finished.

Here, the first group are getting the harnesses and helmets on - much nervous laughter and silly remarks.

We can only stand and cheer as the brave souls descend at varying speeds.

 

Many thanks to all who came along to take part, to help or to watch and cheer. Without all of you there would be no event and also many thanks to the sponsors whose generosity raises much needed funds for British Lung Foundation Wales.

 

It's not too late to donate - every little helps so please do your bit and sponsor us now - THANK YOU !!

 

Cwmcerrig Farm Shop

What a lovely day out we had at the Cwmcerrig Farm Shop at Cross Hands, near Carmarthen. It's a treat to see such attractive displays of fresh produce, cuts of meat and other delicious treats.

Then, after we had bought all we wanted to take home with us, off to the carvery for a delicious lunch.

Inhaler techniques

Our local pharmacist, Peter Littlewood, brought along more inhalers than we thought existed. We had a fascinating discussion and demonstration of inhaler techniques, varying for each type and with the contents of each device.
We all thought we were experts, as most of us have been doing this for so many years now. But Peter had something new for all of us. It just shows, it's never too late to learn. I, for one, have removed my inhalers from my bedroom to the bathroom. So after each use of an inhaler I now clean my teeth and rinse with mouth wash to get rid of all those nasty little droplets, or bits of powder, which settle in the mouth or throat. As Peter said, this stuff is intended for our lungs and the last place we want it to go is down into the stomach where it can eventually end up in our liver or kidneys, where it will do more harm than good - especially steroids. 

Great news at the end of the meeting, the hall committee has decided to drop the extra charge for use of the kitchen as from April 1st (hope it's not an April Fool !) That will save us £4.00 per booking, which is not to be sneezed at.

Respiratory Services in Neath Port Talbot

Fiona Reynolds, Head of Nursing & Community Services, Abertawe Bro Morganwg University Hospital, came to our group this month to talk about plans for the future of respiratory services in our area.
Over the last couple of years the nursing and physiotherapy team have been affected by long term sickness and that has affected the quality of the service they have been able to deliver. It was good to hear Fiona's plans to get back to the good service we had before all these problems started, with more people taking on duties within the respiratory team.
Fiona will pay us a return visit in October to see what has been achieved and to talk about where we need to go from there.

Swansea Jack is on his way to Wembley

I made Swansea Jack when our team joined the Premiere League with high hopes that he would join the boys on their way to glory.
And now he's

on his way to Wembley !

Abseil at Dinas Rock

   Do you have a       
   head for heights ?

If so, why not head for the heights and abseil Dinas Rock at Pontneathvaughan

On Easter Sunday, 31st March 2013

 

From 10.30am until 4.00pm

With many thanks to Call of the Wild for running the

event and the Dulais Valley Independent Ambulance Service for giving first aid cover

in support of

Breathe Easy Neath Valley and British Lung Foundation Wales

for more information contact us on
01639 700140 or Breathe Easy Neath Valley


 Once again we are holding our annual abseil event in Pontneathvaughan in the Neath Valley in South Wales. It's a lovely location to spend Easter - waterfalls and walks, lovely pubs for meals and the Gower is close by for glorious landscapes and beaches. Why not visit us for Easter, abseil for charity and have a great few days while you are here - it's a lovely part of the country !