On September 17th loads of Thrapston residents will be having a sort out and selling from their garages and front lawns…. it’s always a busy day with lots of laughs and money made – plus treasures found…

All the pitches are £5 and this means your house gets to go on the map.  Proceeds from all these fivers, plus maps sold on the day will all go to a chosen charity.

This time the charity will be The Grenadier Guards Col’s Fund as put forward by Thrapston resident Matthew Ellmer.

The Grenadier Guards Col’s Fund, is a Registered Charity, Number 1062257, and was set up to support wounded members of the Regiment through their recovery, their families and the bereaved families, of those who have been killed in action or wounded on operations in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Matthew is the Regimental Casualty Officer and has been employed by the charity since 2012. He left the Grenadier Guards after completing twenty eight years service from 1984 to 2012. He is now responsible for delivering the care and support to over fifty five wounded Grenadiers and their families and twenty one bereaved families. The Regiment has been involved in many operational tours of service in recent times, Northern Ireland, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and most recently they completed three tours of Afghanistan. During Northern Ireland losing five Grenadiers and in Afghanistan losing fifteen Grenadiers and one Grenadier that was killed in a training accident whilst preparing for operations.

The list of injuries range from; Loss of limbs which include double and single amputations, Loss of eye sight, brain injuries, blast injuries, and the hidden injuries that are mental health, which includes PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Matthew delivers this support by visiting the individuals and their families on a regular basis and by putting together funding requests when required to help these individuals when they require the support, and by sign posting and working with other charities that are able to help our Grenadiers. The wounded and the families live across the United Kingdom and he travels as far north as Glasgow in Scotland, through England from the North East and West down as far as Falmouth covering all areas in between, he also has individuals and families in North, south and west Wales.
The Regiment is committed to supporting our wounded and bereaved and has an increasing number of mental health cases that are coming forward, and is consistently carry out charity events and are for ever grateful of others for their charitable support, which enables them to continue to deliver this support where it is much needed.

Matthew would like to take this opportunity to thank Lindsey and the people of Thrapston for supporting his charity, without the support and generosity of people like yourselves they wouldn’t be able to support our wounded and bereaved in the manner that they do.

So have fun on Garage Sale day in the knowledge you are helping to support a hugely worthwhile charity.

You don’t have to choose a boaty theme when you get your Reiki Pillow from Mary, you can choose from literally hundreds of designs, all hand made by her, but what, you may ask, is a Reiki Pillow?

Firstly – Reiki.  Reiki is a healing technique based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient’s body and restore physical and emotional well-being. In order to perform Reiki the practioner needs to be attuned by a Reiki Master to the technique.

Mary has had such an attunement (well actually a few to reach the level she is at) and now Runs Reiki Pillows here in Thrapston.  I first met Mary at the Smile & Style events held in the town.

I went to see her the day after I’d had a rather nasty ‘hot coffee incident’ and was in need of a little comfort, plus I’d been a bit tired and achy for a few months.

Mary’s reiki room is a little sanctuary near the cattle market, on the day I went we could hear the sheep bleating.  Mary got me to choose a pillow cover plus the insert I liked and to just take it home and cuddle with it.

When I got home, my dog went a little crazy for the pillow, she cuddled it gently and rolled with it, she was very curious indeed!

I took my boaty cushion to bed that night and slept very soundly.  I didn’t wake up with a headache like I had been doing, and awoke feeling like I’d had a good nights sleep.  My dog comes up each morning and lays next to the bed while I drink my morning cuppa, she snuggled up to the pillow which was now on the floor and soon began to snore!

There hasn’t been any miraculous healing of broken limbs type of effect from my Reiki Pillow (not that I had any!) but it’s been a hugely comforting thing to use and own.  If I’ve felt things get on top of me during the day or felt ‘in a grump’ I’ve gone and cuddled my pillow for a while and felt much better.

I’d recommend a Reiki Pillow to all sorts of people, I think they could be comforting to small children and help them sleep without night terrors, I think during pregnancy they would comfort and if anyone had depression they may help.  I also know someone with a very nervous dog who gets upset on their boat when they go into a lock and I wonder if a Reiki Pillow might help calm and comfort her.

If you think of someone who may benefit from a Reiki Pillow then contact Mary here https://www.facebook.com/ReikiPillows

If anyone has been to Inspired to Change Hypnotherapy they will have seen “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”  on a plaque on her wall.  Now I wonder how many people have sat in her therapy room and thought ‘Well that’s OK for you to say!’ ?

It seems that Caroline too realised that maybe she needed heed her own words and try pushing that comfort barrier…

The Inspired to Change blog is documenting her (dare we say ‘rise to fame’??) as a Strictly Dancing star…  It’s an entertaining read whether you know Caroline or not, plus there is news of the charity she is supporting with her intrepid and sequined adventures…

Read here for weeks one and two, and stay tuned for updates on how she’d doing…

LIFE BEGINS AT THE END OF COMFORT ZONE

Local Northamptonshire Company, Zephyr TVC is proud to be the supplier of flags and banners to the 1st annual Noel Johnston Foundation Charity golf day.

The Noel Johnston Foundation, set up by Johnston family members Jackie, Andrew, Emily and James will help to raise money to help disadvantaged children into sport, supporting local sports clubs and charities. 

Andrew Johnston – known as ‘Beef’ is ranked number 89 in the World Golf Ranking and the bearded Londoner is being hailed as a breath of fresh air in the golf world.  It’s for this reason that Zephyr TVC wanted to get on board and literally help his charity fly the flag!

Simeon Skey, Sales Director of Zephyr TVC commented: “We were contacted by The Noel Johnston Foundation in response to one of our usual mail shots, when we heard about the golf day of course we were happy to become a supplier.  We’ve since heard that due to Andrew’s recent golfing successes the day is set to be fully-booked, a total sell out and covered by TV and radio too. We wish them every success!”

About the Charity:

Noel Johnston was a keen sportsman who played just about every sport there is, football and golf were his main sporting passions, but he coached table tennis in the winter, played cricket in the summer and would have a go at just about anything. He always included other people in the games, whether he knew them or not or whatever their ability, inviting whoever was about at the time to join in and make a bigger game of it (sometimes to the annoyance of his own kids). He spent a huge proportion of his free time organizing and coaching junior football teams at St Johns School, Table Tennis at Enfield and of course golf at North Middlesex Golf Club as well as for Middlesex County and even helping England golf at Woodhall Spa while driving his son, Andrew round the country and further afield for golf tournaments.

It is with this spirit of inclusion and participation that the Johnston family proudly named the charity after him and the values he stood for.

They aim to help support local schools and provide a free golf experience and equipment with help from the Golf Trust who will liaise and visit the local schools to allow all children to try the game. With the help of North Middlesex Golf Club they will then offer more advanced junior golf coaching at the club for those who take to the game and enjoy it by providing a weekly free coaching session at the club and encouraging and backing the new junior organiser to progress the junior section. The charity also aim to help support other local sports groups and will be considering how to best allocate any funding they can to causes or clubs that uphold the values and core beliefs of inclusion and participation for all that Noel held so dear.

Its official! All places to play in The Noel Johnston Foundation 1st annual charity day on Friday 12th August have been allocated.

See Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston talk about his charity here https://youtu.be/l4jVDD08CxI