Monday 31st May 2021: Monthly Health Pack Issue 2 - June 2021: Released

Posted 1:10pm

We have just released the second of our monthly health packs. 36 pages crammed full of encouragement, motivation, and information, for you to use as you wish.

Mind-set:  We look at how we can deal with disappointment.

Nutrition:  Carbohydrates and added sugars.

Exercise:  We have some stretches, and then we talk about our friendship with the brilliant US based Walk With A Doc, encouraging people to get outdoors and walk, before we review three more basic exercises: plank, lunge, squat thrust.

Health:  what is physical health, mental health, emotional health, and social health?

Plus, three recipes (two from the weekly packs and one new one - Dorset Apple Cake - it was the first time I had ever bought cooking apples in my life).

Our fiendish quiz, a film-based photo game page, a letter game page, and details of some online exercise classes (UK time).

Plus, we discuss Healthy Minds, Healthy Bods, who we are, why we are doing what we are doing, and more.

It is an absolute delight to do these, even though they are time consuming.  We have applied to local Islington Giving for funding to provide another twelve issues.

If you want to see a copy - they are in PDF form on our website:  www.hmhb2016.org.uk

Thanks

Thursday 27th May 2021 - Our Thursday walk is going strong

Posted 1:10pm

Lovely photograph from this morning's walk in Clissold Park.  We left the health centre with five of us, picked up two on the way to the park, met one at the park, and then three joined us in the park as we walked.  A smorgsaboard of walkers!!!

Weather was fab, and we made it down to the ponds this time, to actually see the ducks, and ducklings. What a terrific group.  And we had several regulars missing due to being away, so we are really picking up the numbers.

Wednesday 26th May 2021 - a tribute to our Rosie

Posted 3:45pm

Rosie is sitting on the wall, with the white top  This photo was almost four years ago exactly, on the canal between Kings Cross and Highbury, as we walked to Islington Museum for an afternoon visit.

Rosie was on our first ever course, and had changed her life around, but very sadly was taken from us on Monday 24th May by cancer.  She was only 46, and this was a sad day for all of us.  She had taken part in so many of our exercise sessions and walks, and had become a real friend of HMHB.

Here she is with me last December, at Highbury Corner, as we had finished an exercise session on Highbury Fields, and had come down to have a coffee and chat with others, and take some photos for our weekly health pack exercise pages (hence my shorts!!).

We all have our demons, and Rosie would be the first to say she had not dealt with them well in the past.  But in the last four years she had overcome many problems, made a lot of friends, and we are all heartbroken at her being taken from us at quite a young age - she had not even reached 50.

This is one of the last photos of her, taken last Saturday 22nd, just two days before she passed.  It was at the Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead, and we were sitting in the garden, still having a laugh, not thinking at all of the illness, or the pain she was so clearly going through.

I just wanted to do a tribute.  Working in health intervention, we are bound to come across tragedy, and it is something that will come to all of us.  But we will miss our Rosie very much.  She was a real character!!!  Hugs and kisses and cuddles!!

Wednesday 26th May 2021 - Monthly Pack 2 completed today

Posted 3:30pm

Absolutely delighted to finish the second of our monthly health packs, following the success of the 50 weekly health packs we produced between April 2020 and March 2021.

We produced our first Monthly Health Pack for May 2021, and the second is now complete.  This one is also 36 pages full of information, news, and fun, focusing on Mind-set, Nutrition, Exercise, and Routine.

In this pack:

News - we focus on HMHB and who we are

Mind-set - we look at dealing with disappointment

Nutrition - carbohydrates and added sugars

Exercise - we look at walking - as well as he plank, lunge, and squat thrust

Health - we cover physical, mental, emotional, and social health

Recipes - three: one new one of Dorset Apple Cake, plus Beef Stroganoff and Toad In The Hole

Quiz, Game, Classes and much more.

We will be publishing it on Monday 31st May, and emailing out and printing copies then for distribution.

Wednesday 26th May 2021 - back at the gym

Posted 3:20pm

Here I am back in Highbury Leisure, and it is not just myself.  Mark and his team have allowed us to use their large studio every Tuesday from 9:30am to 10:30am.

This is fantastic news.  We have our amazing Personal Trainer (PT Zombie) Dean, who comes along to put us through our 

Wednesday 26th May 2021 - Great feedback from course.

Posted 3:15pm

We finished our course in Haringey - and the feedback was superb.  In fact I am going to put here the full feedback from one of the participants, called Alex.

"absolutely life changing course.  Clear, unpatronising, friendly, inventive, funny, informative, and crucial approach to self-care, nutrition, and exercise.   Lawrence is a gem, and both he and Oliver were born to be communicators, both are highly skilled at imparting information with great humility, humour, and both possess a wealth of knowledge and great soul.  They seem to understand how to incorporate these vital life survival skills whilst inside the mind of depression and debilitating anxiety, without ever being anything less than empathetic and caring.  Wonderful people.  I am so glad I got myself to attend this course."

Wow!!!  That just about says it all.  It really was a great course, and we thoroughly enjoyed working with the clients at Haringey Well-Being Network.  Absolutely superb!!!  That alone should be able to get us salary funding!!!

Tuesday 11th May 2021 - Lots of news to share

Posted 12:25pm

One of our amazing users has sadly been transferred from UCH to a hospice in NW3 this week.  It brings home how cruel a disease like Cancer can be.  She was only diagnosed around five weeks ago, and we have been doing our best to support her during the last few weeks.

This has had a knock on effect with the group too, as she would take part in our walks and exercise sessions, and we first came across her when she attended our first ever course four years ago and she has come such a long way.  It's another example of how we must all strive to improve ourselves, stay as healthy as possible, and keep aiming for targets.

Lazza cooked a terrific Dorset Apple Cake last night, for our June health pack recipe pages, and he handed out slices after our Tuesday Highbury Fields exercise session, managed by our wonderful Personal Trainer Dean.  I believe that both he and the cake went down well.

One of our users, Georg, piloted a model boat on "Islington Boating Lake" (the puddle that forms at Highbury Corner opposite Pret A Manger, The White Swan etc.)  We posted the video online and it got hundreds of views.  That led to the Islington Tribune giving us a call and lo and behold Georg featured in a story on Page 3 at the end of last week.  We had a mention too.

Thursday 6th May 2021 - Quiz night comes to HMHB

Posted 3:10pm

We like to try and add more our portfolio, especially for some of our older users, but also want to be able to have anyone enjoy themselves.

So, we at HMHB, have started a quiz night with a difference.  It is one where you really do not need to have a lot of intelligence - in fact most of it is guesswork.  We wanted to create a fun experience for all participants which was more about laughter and friendship, with a little bit of competitiveness too.

Lazza prepares three rounds of ten questions:  it could be around "what age was ..." or "what year did ..." where the answers are obscure.  This week we have one "what is/was the cost ....".  

We have had some fabulous answers so far (we have been going around five/six weeks) and welcome anyone along.  The scoring system gives you points just for writing something down, so nobody could possibly end up with zero.

We are using "Google Meets" for this, not Zoom, but it is very similar.  Every Thursday at 7:30pm start.  If anyone is interested just email HMHB and we can ensure you get the link.

hmhb2016@outlook.com

Yay!!!

Wednesday 5th May 2021 - Funding opportunities and the DWP frustrations

Posted 1:50pm

As always, funding is the bane of organisations like ourselves.  We love what we do, and everyone praises our work, but salary funding is so elusive.  We clearly provide a cracking service, so why is it so hard to get paid for it?

I am currently looking to apply to around ten different organisations which I have ascertained we fit the criteria for their funding wishes.  Naturally, if we get anything is down to pot luck.

During the Covid pandemic we have been lucky enough to get certain pieces of funding for various projects, and I have just applied to Cripplegate for help with monthly packs, exercise sessions, and some video work.

Our main focus is the DWP.  On March 11th, Lawrence promoted HMHB to over 100 representatives of the North London DWP, which we were told after went down very well.  We were recommended by Kentish Town Job Centre, and even Jeremy Corbyn sent in a terrific letter asking them to help find us the resources we needed to work with the Job Centres in multiple boroughs.  We have still heard nothing back, despite the praise.  It is SOOO frustrating.

I will chase them up after making this posting.  We deserve our chance. We deserve salaries.  Why is it so so hard????

Wednesday 5th May 2021: Website gets updated - do check it out

Posted 1:45pm

After giving the blog a good dusting off yesterday and updating everyone on three month's of progress and change, I thought I should glance over the website too.

I have adjusted several pages, and even added a new one (this the first time I have ever done that, so I was very proud of myself - it's the simple things in life!!!).

We looked at the walking and exercise pages to make sure we now were able to advertise our Highbury Field outdoor sessions, and the two walks we currently provide.  I also set up a new page for the Monthly Health Packs, adding content and a PDF, and ensured the new recipe for that pack was included on that page.

Finally, we made adjustments on the news page so that we were completely up to date now lockdowns are being eased.

Tuesday 4th May 2021 - HMHB launch outdoor Zumba on Sunday mornings followed by a Picnic

Posted  1:45pm

With the fantastic help of our amazing Zumba instructor, HMHB decided to bring our Sunday Zoom Zumba session into the outdoors, so a couple of Sunday's ago we started on Highbury Fields at 11am (a time that we all agreed as much better).

At the top of the main field, near the closed off road, and also near to two benches so some of our older users could relax and rest, we have enjoyed some brilliant dancing (I use that term loosely), and it definitely makes you sweat!!!  Hopefully, some of my extra tummy built up over lockdown can get reduced!!!

And after the zumba, from 12pm, we are having a support group picnic, with distancing, that enables people to get together, and just have a good time, safely.

It feels terrific to be providing FREE exercise, and group social to our users.  I am so proud of what HMHB is doing.

Tuesday 4th May 2021 - Outdoor Fitness Sessions are going again

Posted 1:40pm

 It feels fantastic to be back on Highbury Fields with our exercise sessions.

Last lockdown, in April, we actually started doing daily sessions, which ran all the way through to December, and then of course came the big lockdown.

We have restarted on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday mornings at 9:30am, on the large field on Highbury Fields, near to the closed off road in the middle, the Highbury Place side around two benches down (that sounds so complicated, but anyone can find us).

Om Tuesdays, due to funding from Camden Giving, we have our incredible Personal Trainer Dean (PT Zombie) putting us through our places, and on Wednesday and Saturday our very own Lazza takes over and makes us all sweat.

Now, all I need to do is start losing my lockdown weight!!!  Lol

Tuesday 4th May 2021 - Izzwalkz is back again - great to be walking

Posted 1:25pm

Absolutely delighted to report that we have managed to restart our walks, as we are officially a support group too, so can have more that the two households and rule of 6.

Here we are last Thursday in Clissold Park, and what a fantastic group we had.  Yes, some of the group have mobility issues, and the average age is something I dare not think about, but we all have a laugh, chat, and get outdoors and are social - isn't that what it's all about?

We walk every Thursday, meeting outside Highbury Grange Medical Practice, Highbury Grange, N5, at 11am, and normally get back to the practice around 12:15pm after taking a route into Clissold Park.

This Thursday walk is quite leisurely, due to the mobility, but nobody seems to mind, and in fact it is delightful to get everyone together.

We have also started a walk around Highbury Fields (which is a little faster doing three laps) on a Friday morning, for people who are in more of a hurry.  We meet outside Highbury Leisure Centre at 9:30am. :-)

Tuesday 4th May 2021 - Update on Lazza's Recipes

Posted 1:20pm

The photo was the Beef Stroganoff!!!!

Way back in Issue 3 of our weekly health packs, our Lazza decided to start a recipe page, but one with a difference.  Each week he was going to prepare a meal, dessert, or a baking item, that he had never cooked from scratch before.  And, wow, it worked fantastically.

Lazza had obviously cooked before, but using shop sauces, or prepared sachet mixes.  Baking, however, was completely alien to him.

Every week, for the pack, he would take photos of the ingredients, and the finished product, and each pack was the genuine first attempt.

It was a way of showing people that it was never too late to try something new, and that challenging yourself can be productive.  I, honestly, cannot recall any meal or bake that came out bad.  In fact, I was astonished at just how tasty some of the recipes were.  To make chicken supreme, lamb hotpot, coffee and walnut cake, cheesecake, carrot cake (there were quite a few cakes), was brilliant.

All 48 recipes are in PDF form on our website.  Why not give some a go?

www.hmhb2016.org.uk

Tuesday 4th May 2021 - Update on Weekly Health Packs - and new Monthly Health Pack

Posted 1:10pm

Who would have guessed just how big our Health Packs would get?  Certainly, not us.

Last April, HMHB decided they wanted to be part of the mental health intervention, but we wanted to do something different to anyone else.  We like to forge our own path.  So we decided to come up with a weekly health pack, focusing on promoting a growth mind-set mentality, guiding people on nutritional information to keep the body functioning properly, describing various ways people could be active and exercise, and provide health information on many subjects that are relevant to well being and overall good health.  We also mixed it up with recipes, quizzes, online classes, and much more.

From an original 10 pages, it grew to a weekly 26 pages pack, that went around the world, was shared with multiple organisations, companies, and individuals.  It was posted to people, delivered to people and emailed to people.  In the end there were over 200 email addresses, and we know we reached over 2000 people weekly due to the sharing of other organisations.

Feedback was stunning.  The resident psychologist for a mental health charity in Islington told us the packs were terrific, for example.  Above is a photo of one of our amazing walkers and exercise users, Angela, who is in her 80s, reading a copy in her front garden!!!

Eventually, we did 50 weekly packs, and felt that was pretty good.  We were soon contacted by various people asking for us to continue to provide something, so we decided to launch a Monthly Health Pack instead, the first issue coming out three days ago for May - 36 pages of our unique assistance.  We are not psychiatrists, psychologists, or case workers.  But we do have history of overcoming some huge mental obstacles, and people seem to love the way we share our knowledge.

All 50 of the weekly packs are in PDF form on our website. www.hmhb2016.org.uk

Tuesday 4th May 2021 - Update on Haringey Course with Well Being Network

Posted 12:55pm

We have three weeks left of our Ajani course with Haringey Well Being Network, which we started back in February after winning funding from Haringey Giving.

It has been on Mondays, so there has been a couple of Bank Holiday interventions, but we have thoroughly enjoyed our time, delivering first via Zoom from their Stapleton Hall Road address in Haringey, to then having people actually attend that address.

It has been a slight learning curve for us, as this was the first time we have attempted this intervention online, and it naturally brings up its own issues.  The interaction within our course is one of our selling points, and this was a lot tougher online.  Personally, I feel that mental health assistance is more effective if face to face, although we do recognise the problems that Covid 19 has brought forward.

Overall, so far we have worked with eight different individuals, all of whom have told us they enjoy what we do (with one saying - and I quote - it was good to see you weren't ar*e holes!!!)

We know we have been effective, and we thank Haringey Well Being Network, and Mind In Haringey, for allowing us the opportunity to work with their clients, as well as Haringey Giving for seeing our potential and funding this chance.

I know this course has worked, and we have three weeks still to go.  It makes us even more keen to work with more people.  Yay!!!

Tuesday May 4th 2021 - Back to blogging!!! - So much has happened

Posted 12:45pm

I am going to make several entries today, as it has been an astonishing three months since I last blogged - and that is not good at all.  I feel embarrassed, and even a little silly, as I have been meaning to update this on multiple occasions, as we have been very busy in the last quarter.

It is funny how we can procrastinate, all with the best intentions.

So there will be quite a few entries today, so I do hope you will check them all out.

And, I know I always say this, but I will try and keep much more up to date in the future.

:-)  Lazza