Telscombe

COUNCILLORS SURGERY: On the first Saturday of each month from 10am to 11am at the Civic Centre. No appointment necessary. Come along and see your local councillors.

RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION: Telscombe Residents’ Association meet on the first Thursday of each month from 7.15pm to 9.15pm in the Civic Centre. Email the secretary at [email protected] for a copy of the meeting agenda.

SUPPORT GROUP: Breast Cancer Support Group meet on the first Wednesday of each month from 1pm to 3.30pm in the Civic Centre. Contact email: [email protected]

YOGA: With Natalie Heath every Tuesday from 6pm to 7pm in the Civic Centre. Contact Natalie Heath email: [email protected] phone: 07738538094.

LIVING LIGHT PILATES: Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the Civic Centre. £6.50 per class or class pass for £44 (eight classes plus one free session). Contact Nicola Murray-Smith 07776 457752.

FITNESS PILAGES: Every Monday and Thursday in the Civic Centre. Get fit, tone up, prevent back pain, improve flexibility and posture. Equipment provided, just bring some water. Only £6 per class or £40 for eight weeks. Contact name: Jennie Palmer email: [email protected] phone: 07825 702775.

STROKE ASSOCIATION: Support Group meet on the first and third Thursday of each month from 2pm to 3.30pm in the Civic Centre. Come along to your local stroke group and meet other people who have been affected by stroke. Website: stroke.org.uk Stroke Helpline: 303 303 3100.

FOOTNOTES: I have never been an early riser. As a schoolboy, I had a mother whose method of getting me up was to rip the bedclothes off me. Whilst this method had the desired effect, it also left me with a lifelong reaction to rising early, once I had escaped the family home. Fortunately, I joined the theatrical profession where we finished work around 11pm at night and when I was younger, I usually got home around 3am to 4am. This meant that I never arose much before 10am the following morning. In case there should be any tut tutting, there were also the occasions when filming, where I was on set for 5am for several weeks running. Nowadays, I am usually awoken by Chaplin around 8.30am, seeking breakfast. So it was a bit of a shock the other morning to hear the door bell being rung persistently at 8am. Both Chaplin and I looked at each other in puzzlement. Far too early for the postman or the paper boy, neither of whom would ring the bell anyway. Pulling on a dressing gown, I opened the door to be confronted by a Southern Water engineer, who explained he could not find my outside stop cock. This is for the meter I am having fitted. So, in slippers and freezing cold, I led him to the front gate and pointed to the grass verge. ‘Somewhere under there’, I growled. ‘A little early aren’t we?’ I enquired. He muttered something about catching people before they left for work. No problem in my case. Nothing much gets done until after coffee, breakfast and the crossword, around 10am usually. I went indoors and fed Chaplin and then myself. Many years ago I was sharing a cottage in Somerset with a friend who had a hatred of rising early. One morning we were due to start filming at 6am, which meant rising at 5am. I awoke to find him in the garden vigorously shaking a tree. ‘What an earth are you doing?’, I asked. ‘If I have to get up at this hour, no damned bird is going to remain asleep’, was the response. Have a good week and go safely.