Wereham Village News December 2007

Our monthly update from Wereham who clearly had a busy month

From St Margaret's

Thank you, all of you who managed to find time this month to clean St Margaret's in good time for the Armistice service on Sunday. Our next cleaning day will be Wednesday, December 5 at 10 a.m. as usual see you there!

Remembrance Day Service

The day dawned cloudy and cold- but despite this, the service was well attended and the presence of the Ist Werehamand Wretton Scout Group, looking impressively smart, as always, added a special touch to this ceremony. The service, fittingly, was led by Pippa Blackwell, herself the daughter of a professional soldier, who fought in and survived the Second World War. We learned that there has been an unprecedented response to the Poppy Day appeal this year as the public have become more and more aware of our soldiers who return wounded from the war in Iran and Afghanistan. Well done, all the generous givers

Enchanting Tots

What a special party it turned out to be as the Wereham Tots turned out in their Halloween finery -there were dainty, enchanting fairies in glittering dresses, beguiling witches in tall hats with broomsticks, ghostly walking skeletons (even very little ones) and devils and ghouls, as well as prowling black cats and pumpkins and Batman too. The prize for the best costume was won by little George- as the most delightful pumpkin! Finally there were sweets and balloons and of course a Halloween feast.

We hope you will remember to support their Tabletop Sale in Wereham Village Hall on Sunday 9th December 9am-12pm which will raise funds to replenish and replace puzzles, toys and equipment.

Two photographs

Wereham Wildlife Woodland

Dudley and Margaret are pleased to announce that their Boundary Ride raised an impressive son of £176.20 and would like to extend their sincere thanks to all those who encouraged and supported their fundraising effort.

Riding for the Disabled

Please remember the Christmas Wreath Making Workshop on Saturday 8 December between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Masonic Hall, London Road in Downham Market.

The requests for have kept coming in -"Thank you, so much- all of you who have supported our fundraising activities so generously this year".

Stina Burger.

How can we get children to exercise? That was the headline in a recent issue (6 October) edition of the British Medical Journal. I was arrested by the idea of having to persuade children to exercise and looking back at my own family wondered if I had ever had to encourage my children to exercise- and the answer was emphatically no. Obviously things must have changed a great deal in the last 30 years. On reading the article, it seemed that the fairly elaborate strategies to promote children's physical activity-ideally to incorporate 60 minutes daily of moderate to vigorous, intense physical exercise- had not been effective. And so the pundits must go back to the drawing board.

How do we get children to exercise? In my case, perhaps part of the answer lay in that we, as parents, were both involved in regular sport and exercise routines, made easy by the fact that the climate in Zimbabwe lends itself to outdoor life and activities. However I realise, that is not the whole answer because our children did not have access to full daytime television, video games, play-stations , their own personal computers and endlessly versatile mobile telephones, among other distractions to use up their time .For our children, the school day began at 7:30 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m. and the afternoons were taken up with sport and homework and usually they did not have to spend hours in the bus or motorcar each day in the school journey itself.

But nevertheless this appears to be the new headache for parents, teachers and doctors alike.

Anyone for the gym?

With the problems of exercise and fitness much on my mind -- that is exercise and fitness for ourselves and not only our children and grandchildren, I visited our local gym in Wretton to talk to Colin Peake and Charlie Harwood who run this friendly family gym. Colin was inspired to establish his own gym as result of the "wake-up call" in his own life when he decided to reform his own lifestyle and opt for a healthier way of living. Two years ago he was joined by Charlie, a local girl who is a fitness training professional with a B.Sc( Hons) and diplomas in weight management, exercise therapy and rehabilitation. Together they provide just about everything you need to get your fitness back on track.

I asked them a few questions about health and fitness generally.

Would you say that everyone needs the gym? No, not everyone- but we can't think of anybody who wouldn't benefit in some way from using a gym, if it is possible, simply because it is ideal for those who find it hard to keep to an exercise routine on their own, and because it also helps with both information and motivation, as well as social interaction and the opportunity to exercise whatever the weather.

What advice would you give to people who begin full of good intentions and then fall by the wayside? Charlie explains that the most important thing is to make yourself keep going in those early weeks if enthusiasm is lacking. Once you have repeated something 16 times the brain then processes and programmes it into its routine of expectation, and this is when enthusiasm and enjoyment should be at their highest

Setting achievable long and short term goals are helpful to most people. Being able to see, measure and record results also are big motivators, this is why it is important to get the right exercise routine for you and your goals. Over time we see people achieving their long term goals and these are often those who have fully committed themselves to regular exercise.

Is this when the endorphins -the feel good factor in the brain- kick in? Yes, exactly.

This makes good sense to me because I find them at times in my life when my exercise disciplines have lapsed it takes me a good couple of weeks before I suddenly begin to want to exercise and really look forward to it each day

How do you define fitness? Colin says that. There are many components to health and fitness, namely balance, flexibility, strength, strength with endurance, muscle endurance, cardiovascular endurance, power, agility, co-ordination, nutrition and mental health --- these all work together.

Do people who do hard physical work every day really need exercises in the gym on top of all that physical exertion? Colin explains that regular work of the physical nature will strengthen some muscles, but in most cases this will not be balanced and this is an important factor. This can lead to muscle imbalances, which are among the most common causes of injury and repetitive strain injuries such as frozen shoulder, back pain and tennis elbow.

These could have often been prevented through a balanced exercise routine. It is natural to use a preferred hand, arm or side for certain tasks- for example- most people will have a preferred side for hold the spade and digging, which will strengthen muscles more one side than the other and thus create an imbalance.

Does exercise contribute to weight loss? Nutrition and exercise go hand in hand for weight loss and, almost as importantly, the maintenance of weight loss. Charlie runs classes and individual sessions for exercise relating to weight loss, and will also provide nutritional advice in specialized classes (with the option of individual sessions) for weight loss and maintenance

All this is really food for thought...........

Health authorities are now extremely concerned about the effects of overweight, and whereas being fit means to being able to carry out everyday activities without feeling exhausted or out of breath( for example: going up stairs and shopping) unfortunately much of the population either finds these activities exhausting or considers it "my exercise for the day"!

Its no longer a secret that obesity kills more people in one year than all smoking related illness and it contributes dramatically to high blood pressure, strokes, arthritis, diabetes II and chronic heart disease.

So, if like me, as Christmas approaches, you wonder how much your waistline will be expanded by the Christmas cake, mince pies and turkey dinners it could be an idea to add an exercise routine to your lifestyle.

Charlie and Colin say;. We are very happy to help wherever possible by answering any queries by phone or in person at the gym

Pammie Walker