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One of the good things about being a Scot in London versus a Scot in Scotland is the weather. Its really really hot!

And new newsletter heading your way this week.

Yesterday, Monday 18th May, was a very busy day in the life of yours truly. This was the day that an ad for Volunteers appeared in the Metro so I was fielding calls and emails from interested applicants. We regularly advertise for Volunteers in the Metro and the Evening Standard as this is a free service that the papers offer to charities seeking to recruit volunteers. It’s brought us a great many volunteers, the only downside is that they are unable to inform you when the ad will be placed as they rely on ‘available space’. This means that I’m dealing with responses to the ad whilst juggling other balls.
In the morning I had scheduled an Induction training session with a new Reception Volunteer. The induction consists of numerous aspects – a detailed account of what ScotsCare and Borderline actually do, health and safety issues, confidentiality issues, a practical breakdown of how reception operates (phone system, franking, faxing, photo-copying, emailing) and showing the Volunteer around the building and introducing them to staff members and other Volunteers. So the morning reception shift which runs from 9am – 1pm was full-on to say the least.
As well as sending off application packs to potential Volunteers, Monday afternoon was taken up with a varied array of tasks. I’m in the process of co-ordinating a boat trip on the Thames for all our Volunteers for Friday 31st July. We held a boat trip last year which proved most successful and everyone wanted a repeat performance. But getting everything in place – negotiating the boat hire, the catering and informing Volunteers, staff and Trustees is another full-on task. You’ve also got a niggling worry that no-one will be able to make that date and be left with egg on your face (I had to rearrange the boat trip last year as the majority of our Volunteers were on holiday).
So if there are any Volunteers, Staff or Trustees reading this please put the 31st July in your diaries.
Cheers

As summer approaches, we’re planning outings and activities that are more outdoors-based. In August we have a coach trip to the seaside planned for our clients over 60. This annual outing is always popular, and even in the heat waves we’ve frequently experienced, I’m put to shame by how most our clients pack in a full day’s sightseeing. At half their age, when it’s 90 degrees in the midday sun, I’m found wilting in a shady café, but many of our clients are made of sterner stuff – even when wearing smart shirts and jackets, they’re out there seeing the sights , immune to the sunstroke I’ve worried about.

It’s also encouraging to hear that for some people this has been their first trip to the beach in years, and how much they’ve enjoyed it. Mobility is a real problem for many of our older clients, and while we try and facilitate attendance by booking mobility coaches and providing free places for carers, there are still many people who can’t manage to get out to our trips.

I’m also planning our summer outing for families who’ve received a children’s grant from ScotsCare, and we’ll be going by train again. That way we save money ( as we don’t have to buy tickets for no-shows); it’s greener; and it also means the trip is more flexible for families, who can leave when the kids are tired, while there’s more room for children to stretch their legs on the train than the coach.

We’re also doing a canal cruise for one of our tenants groups in June, on a riverboat along the River Lee, a tranquil green waterway which offers a beautiful escape from London city life.

Our regular monthly lunches for Scots over 50 continue at Euston, Bloomsbury and Luton, and we welcome new faces. Camden Council Libraries staff visited our London lunches this month, to encourage our clients to attend new computer courses being run in the borough, and several people have signed up for this. (Hopefully they’ll be reading this on-line now!) I also met with Age Concern Camden, and we’re hoping to develop more collaboration between our organisations.

Dear all, this is a very brief post just to apologise for the complete lack of posting on our blog. Due to illness, annual leave and other unforeseen problems with the site, we have not posted in over a month now. Rest assured though that the blog will be back up and running over the next couple of weeks with more than just three regular contributors.

Very often we receive fanmail at ScotsCare.  OK, when I say fanmail I really mean letters expressing thanks that we’ve been able to help but I use fanmail because very occasionally we also receive the opposite…hatemail!

If I’m honest, there is not much that can be directed towards me as a Scot that offends me, I was brought up to believe the mantra of stick and stones and like a good brainwashee it’s all mostly water off a duck’s back (how many more clichés can I fit into this entry do you think?) but having said that there is one term I don’t really like and that is being described as Scotch. Read the rest of this entry »