REPORT FOR JUNE
St. Oswald’s Ladies Group met in the Parish Centre for our monthly meeting on Monday
11 th May when we welcomed Ruth Allen to speak to us on behalf of Hearing Dogs for deaf
people. Ruth brought along her two dogs, Myrtle and Iker. Hearing dogs are provided to
deaf people at no charge. The charity receives no government funding and they rely on the
generosity of individuals, groups, companies and other organisations. The dog is trained to
the specific needs of the deaf person they have been matched to. The life long care of
each hearing dog costs around £45000. It takes 12-14 months for a puppy to complete it’s
training and further sixteen to eighteen weeks to complete this.
Hearing dogs alert their deaf recipients to household sounds by touching them with a paw
or nudging with a nose to gain attention. The recipient then asks the dog ‘what is it’ by
voice and/or hand command and then the hearing dog leads the recipient to the source of
the sound. For danger signals such as the smoke alarm, the hearing dog will alert the
recipient in the same way but when asked ‘what is it’ the dog will lie down to indicate
danger. Ruth demonstrated this for us with Myrtle and Iker and of course they were
rewarded with a treat.
Hearing Dogs for the Deaf was officially launched at Cruft’s as a three-year pilot scheme
by Bruce Fogle and Lady Beatrice Wright with help from Tony Blunt and Gill Lacey. At first
all Hearing Dogs’ operations were carried out in Gill Lacey’s living room. They were
granted full charitable status and HRH The Princess Royal became their Royal Patron. In
1996 they changed their name to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and in 1999 opened their
main office and training centre at the Grange in Saunderton Buckinghamshire. They
support thousands of people who are deaf or have hearing loss every year. They have
over 3,000 volunteers.
What a wonderful afternoon we had with Ruth, Myrtle and Iker.
Ruth has just informed me that she is organising a Paws for Coffee Morning on Saturday
6 th June at Welshampton Village Hall 10 a.m.- 12. if you would like to support Hearing
Dogs for deaf people.
Our next meeting will be our afternoon tea at Dobbies on Monday 1 st June when we will
meet at 3 p.m. prompt.
We are always pleased to welcome new members to our group. If you would like further
details please contact me at the Sunday morning service in St. Oswalds Church or
telephone 01691657903.
Ann Sagar
Honorary Secretary
REPORT FOR MAY
Our May meeting was held in the Parish Centre on the second Monday of the month
12th May at 2.30 p.m. because of the Bank Holiday. June welcomed everyone and led us in prayer.
Unfortunately we had been unable to organise a trip out to one of our local churches for our meeting on June 2nd with afternoon tea but after discussion it was agreed to return to the Orangery at the Derwen College who always make us most welcome.
Due to unforseen circumstances our Speaker Julie was unable to join us but Chris Abram very kindly organised a quiz. Members really enjoyed it and there was a lot of chatter and fun. Cynthia, Ann Harding, June and Ann Sagar were the winners.
Jassica joined us and June presented her with a card and some flowers. On behalf of all she wished her and her family all the best in her new ministry in Great Yarmouth. We will really miss Jassica as she has given us a lot of support during her ministry at St. Oswald’s.
If you would like further details of our group please contact me on 01691657903 or
e mail ann_sagar@btinternet.com or speak to me in church.
Ann Sagar
Hon. Secretary
ST. OSWALD’S LADIES GROUP REPORT FOR APRIL
For our April meeting we welcomed Chris Birdsell-Jones the General Manager of Oswestry’s Wynnstay Hotel and a retained firefighter in Welshpool.who had been on a special mission driving a fire engine all the way to Ukraine. Chris and eight other colleagues from Mid and West Wales were among over one hundred members of the British Fire Service from all over the country who delivered thirty three appliances to beleaguered fellow firefighters at the Ukraine border. It was organised by the Home Office working in partnership with Fire Aid, NFCC National Resilience, English and Welsh fire and rescue services and the Fire Industry Association. He told us that it was a tremendous honour and very humbling to be part of the convoy including twenty fire engines, eight incident command units, one aerial ladder platform and a 4 x 4 vehicle, two mechanics vehicles and a HGV carrying over 2,800 items of surplus equipments all vital when handling an emergency.
They all met at Ashford in Kent before driving from France into Belgium through Holland into Germany and on through Poland to the Ukraine border where they handed over all the appliances and kit to their Ukrainian colleagues. The journey of over 2000 kilometres took five days and they were hosted by fellow fire-fighters all along the way sleeping in all manner of accommodationincluding a boarded-over rink floor.
It was so fascinating to hear a first hand account of being in Ukraine and seeing the dangers they had to face. He was a very brave man.
Our next meeting will be on the second Monday in May because of the bank holiday - May 12th at 2.30 p.m. in the Parish Centre when we welcome Julie Dean, Ellesmere Honey Company, to be our Speaker. If you would like further details of our group please contact me on 01691657903 or e mail
ann_sagar@btinternet.com. Subscriptions for the year are due £15 with no increase from last year.
Ann Sagar
Hon. Secretary
Unfortunately because of the weather our January meeting had to be cancelled but luckily Chris Birdsell-Jones has agreed to rejoin us as our speaker for our April meeting.
Our next meeting will be on Monday February 3rd in the Parish Centre at 2.30 p.m when we welcome Justin Soper as our speaker to talk about ‘Tales of Shropshire in the English Civil War’.
We are always pleased to welcome new members to our group and if you would like further information please do not hesitate to contact me on 01691657903 or ann_sagar@btinternet.com.
We meet in the Parish Centre on the first Monday in the month except bank holidays when it is the second Monday at 2.30 p.m. We have a speaker each meeting followed by a cup of tea and a chat.
Ann Sagar
Hon. Secretary