Thursday 29th October 2020: Funding Success with Camden Giving

Posted 1:00pm

Absolutely delighted to report that we had a funding application with Camden Giving's Pathways to Employment Fund accepted.  Wow!!!

This is especially pleasing as we had been asked by Kentish Town Job Centre to be part of their intervention with their 18-25 year olds following our incredible feedback back in February, when we ran one of our Ajani courses with some of their users.

The money will cover access to Pancras Leisure (I am chatting with them about studio usage), and the cost of our wonderful Personal Trainer Dean, as well as some volunteer and travel costs for me, as I will also be doing some stuff around mind-set and confidence with them.  It's a real bonus for us, and it is great that others can see our potential.  Now, if we could just find some people who can influence salary funding too, that would be great.

We have other funding applications for various different projects currently pending. This includes for our packs, for other gym studio sessions, and our walks. Even if we could get one more that would be a success, but keeping everything crossed for as many as possible.

Thursday 29th October 2020 - Funding Applications: Health Blog: Accounts software

Posted 12:30pm

Yep, that clipart seem to sum me up at the moment - drowning in paperwork and looking to be rescued.

There separate updates here - some good, some not so much.

We are currently waiting to hear on several applications, and finished another one today. This one is for the Comic Relief Covid Fund, and we are hoping they will fund the health packs from December to February.  We were so grateful to Islington Giving who sponsored for four months from April to July.  Then the Lottery stepped in and sponsored them for the next four months (Aug to Nov). We are really hoping that Comic Relief will then help us for the three months to the end of February.  As always, we believe our application was solid, but it is also very competitive. Keeping Fingers Crossed.

Delighted to be adding to the Health Blog again. In fact, in the packs we claim we add over ten entries a week, so that is a real incentive to find interesting and relevant information and guidance on our four main topics:  mind-set, health, nutrition and exercise.  And I know that they get read, as I can see the access from here. Yay!!!!

Finally, a little tale. We have Sage Accounting software.  I did management accounts for years, and I know how important it is, especially for our funders, that people see we are responsible with our funding and use it properly.  I had an email yesterday from Sage saying they wanted to upgrade me to a newer software, for a 20% increase in cost (from £20 plus vat a month to £24 plus vat a month). The newer software was "better" apparently. However, if I wanted to stay as I was it was going to cost me £25 plus vat a month (increase of 25%0.  In other words, total blackmail.  Transfer to the new software or we will charge more money!!!  And this is legal!!!!  I did argue a bit. Hey ho!! Onwards.

Tuesday 27th October 2020 - A big November ahead for both HMHB and our Lazza

Posted 12:50pm

It's a wet and blustery Tuesday morning/afternoon, so we did not do our daily outdoor session earlier. But, next week it will not matter, as Tuesdays we are back at Highbury Leisure. Yay!!!

November is going to be a busy month for both HMHB and our Lazza.

Sunday 1st November, and every Sunday afterwards, we have Zumba. At the moment it is outdoors on Highbury Fields from 9:30am, but we are hopeful that Highbury Leisure will allow us to run it indoors in a studio soon, probably at a later time.

Monday 2nd November 9:30am, we launch our Kilimanjaro walk challenge around Highbury Fields (all month, not in one day), with the Islington Mayor, Janet Burgess, joining us that morning.  We will walk Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays after that from 10:30am onwards.

Tuesday 3rd November, and every Tuesday afterwards, we have Highbury Leisure Centre from 9:30am to 10:30am, which is fantastic.

But our Lazza also has a couple of operations coming up in the month. On Monday 9th he is back to Moorfields Eye Hospital for his 6th, and final, operation following both eyes suffering detached retinas and cataracts over the last three years. This last op is a basic small one.

Then on the Thursday 19th he is having an operation to fix his right knee meniscus cartilage tear, and this has been causing aggravation since April 2019. In fact, tomorrow, he is not only getting his pre-op checks at UCH, but also talking to the consultant about a similar operation to happen on his left knee.

So, November is going to be a busy one!!!!

Sunday 25th October 2020 - Returning to the gym on Tuesdays

Posted 2:15pm

Here is Lazza (me) following his meeting with Mark, the manager at Highbury Leisure Centre on Friday afternoon.  It was fantastic to meet him, and he knows us well.  I got shown around the centre, and they have had to follow some quite strict guidelines on distancing and cleaning.

The swimming pool should be opening up again in January, following the fire in September 2018. It feels like it has taken a long time, but in some ways it has been beneficial, as the pool is newly tiled and the changing rooms have been done. There are even new screens up.  I am definitely looking forward to getting back into the water.

Mark has also been terrific in allowing us our old Tuesday morning slot back - and this time using the main studio. We also have to follow distancing rules, but that is fine or us, as we have been doing so for the last six months on Highbury Fields. We are so grateful to Mark and his team for the continuing support and belief in us.

So we start back there on Tuesday November 3rd.  It is going to be a busy month for us. :-)

Sunday 25th October 2020 - Pack 28 released

in this week's pack Lazza baked Cheesecake (it was so delicious)

Posted 2:10pm

This weekend we have released the 28th of our weekly health packs, and this is an other one jam-packed full of information:  24 pages this time.

In this pack:

Mindset - we have the solution to last week's murder mystery (don't worry - if you did not see last week's copy, or you didn't try and solve the murder, we have put the set-up again in this issue - the set-up is pages 5,6,7 - the solution on page 8 - so don't look at it till you have tried again).  It's about facing tricky challenges and finding solutions to life problems (don't worry if you don't discover the culprit. that's part of life too).

Nutrition:  We have a glance at condiments.

Exercise - this week we cover the abdominal muscles (abs) - all part of your "core" - which is very important to keep strong

Health - it's a topical look at Flu and Pneumonia, with startling facts and information.

Plus, Lazza bakes an incredible lemon cheesecake (honestly, very delicious), his fiendish quiz pushes you to the limit, and a picture game page which everyone should get 15/15 (but I bet they don't come close.)

Plus, news of exercise classes and much more.

We hope you enjoy this issue:

In next week's we look at confidence, esteem: milk varieties: big ball (we offer alternatives) exercises: and our bones.

All 28 packs are on our website in pdf form: as are all our recipes.

November next week:  Have a cracking week everyone. Stay safe, stay active.

To find copies:  www.hmhb2016.org.uk

Thanks everyone.

Wednesday 21st October 2020 - Can HMHB get nominations for "Team of the Year" for 2020 Islington Volunteer Awards?

Posted 10:10am

Hello, we need your help. Please read to the bottom.

Although we are currently actively seeking seed (salary) funding, at the moment HMHB is solely mentor and volunteer led.

Voluntary Action Islington are currently taking nominations for Islington Volunteer awards - which includes the "Team" award, and we were hoping people might nominate us.

I know this probably sounds egotistical, but we do have other reasons. Being a small project, even though our feedback is quite extraordinary (and if you were to read the report on our website of our course with Kentish Town Job Centre and see the quotes provided, you would be demanding we get salary funding) we are struggling to get noticed by the people with chequebooks. This kind of award could help.

During this year, and not just the six/seven months of Covid, we have provided our courses on Mindset to local groups, we were running three weekly FREE gym studio sessions (in partnership with Better Gyms) at Highbury Leisure, Sobell Centre and Pancras Leisure. We were running two weekly health walks in partnership with Highbury Grange Medical Practice and Highbury Leisure Centre.

Since lockdown, we have been running a daily outdoor fitness session on Highbury Fields available to any age and ability (every day - we have missed just five due to downpours), and this includes a new Zumba session on Sundays with an amazing lady called Karina.

We have also been the only health provider (including mega funded ones) who have been producing weekly health packs focusing on the four main areas - Mind-set, Nutrition, Exercise and Health - as well as including a quiz, a game page, a recipe page (every week Lazza cooks something he has never ever done before, as an example of trying new things), a news page, and much more. This health pack can not only be downloaded from our website, but also be printed and posted for people not on the internet.  Nobody is doing that, apart from us!!!!!! Our six month issue 26 was 28 pages. Last week, number 27 was 24 pages (and includes a murder mystery to solve as part of our mind-set section). Check all 27 out on our website - www.hmhb2016.org.uk

And we are volunteers.  It would mean the wold if we could be nominated.

I have tried to copy the link - I cannot.

It will just take a few moments to email Voluntary Action Islington (VAI): 

meera.jobanputra@vai.org.uk   or marta.aparicio@vai.org.uk   

and ask them for the form to complete (and it is team of the year, not us as individuals).

Lazza, Luke and Dean have worked very hard to build Healthy Minds, Healthy Bods up.  We hope you will take a small amount of time from your day and help us out, if you feel you can.

Many thanks

Lazza  :-)

Wednesday 21st October 2020 - Local Fund application

Posted 9:45am

So that is a map within a map within a map.  The small map in the corner shows all the London Boroughs, with the small red dot being Islington.  That i then the large red blob, and my ward (Highbury East) is shaded with the green lines.

I am very lucky to have three very supportive councillors who, in alphabetical order, are Osh Gantly, Sue Lukes and Caroline Russell.  Over the years I have met all three a few times, and they have been helpful and many ways.

One of them being the Local Initiative Fund in Islington.  According to the Council website:

"Local ward councillors have an annual budget per ward for small grants that deliver benefit to the residents of their ward (subject to the final agreement of the Voluntary and Community Sector Committee).  They can go towards a variety of locally run activities."

Over the last three/four years we have benefited a couple of times, and we have been encouraged to apply again. During this Covid period, the application process is quite fluid.  We have put in for around £900 to continue our walks from Dec to May in Highbury Fields.  I am due to have three operations as some stage, and also have days when I cannot attend. We have asked for volunteer funding for three days a week (£10 a day) to do the walk (which we will continue to do daily), so I can get someone else in to lead it on those three days, which is very important. Peace of mind, and we continue to deliver a great welcoming service.  We also asked for £25 a month for a one off sit down tea/coffee with the group which I am sure we will be able to do safely - obviously following all local current regulations and guidelines around the Covid pandemic.