DropBy

Today the year ends.
I follow the shore
footprinting sand
untrodden before.

Ice-bearded cliff
water falls dumb;
exploring the foam
waders cautiously come

Salt-whitened wood
from the edge of the tide
to burn in my grate
until this year has died.



By Ian Blake

Here's something to help encourage the holiday spirit in us all: Santa's Official Reindeer Cam! Watch real reindeer on a live webfeed. Santa feeds his Reindeer twice a day - and maybe Rudolph will turn up........

http://reindeercam.com/

Norad starts tracking Santa from tomorrow but there are lots of fun things on their website to amuse us all

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/


Have fun and enjoy the Festive Season.

A greeting by Smilebox

We are writing to you to ask you to complete a short survey to help your ambulance service improve the way we engage and involve our patients, staff and stakeholders.

This survey is part of an intensive period of consultation, and so far we have held two large workshops with a range of people and we are conducting eleven focus groups to check our findings. The survey sets out what people told us at our workshops about how they would like to be involved in our work. It asks whether you agree, and whether you have any comments about how it should work. The survey is being sent to hundreds of people, including Foundation Trust members, but also patients, staff, volunteers, and stakeholders from organisations we work closely with or who represent the interests of people who may find it harder to use our services.

The survey will be open until 21 December, and should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.

Please use this link to complete the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/engageandinvolve

In addition, we would be grateful if you would complete a monitoring form so we are able to understand a bit more about who has completed the survey and, just as importantly, identify any groups of people that we haven’t reached.

Please use this link to complete the monitoring form: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Moreaboutyou

All responses will remain anonymous, however if you wish to leave us your email address at the end of the survey we will send you the outcomes in the new year.

If you have any questions about the survey, or would like a printed copy sent through the post, please contact 01273 897840 or reply to this email.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in having a say about the way the ambulance service develops in the future.

Best wishes and thank you for your time,
Izzy

Isobel Allen
Membership and Governor Engagement Manager
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
40-42 Friar’s Walk
Lewes
Sussex
BN7 2XW

Mobile: 07770 685 772
Tel: 01273 897 840
SMS/text: 07770 685772
Textphone (via TextRelay): 18001 01273 897840

I'm passing this on because a friend said it worked for her:

A Dr. on TV said "to find inner peace we should finish things we started" 
and we could all benefit from more calm in our lives.

I looked around my house to find things I'd started and hadn't finished, so I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, tha mainder of Valiuminun scriptins, an a box a chocletz.

Yu haf no idr how fablus I feel rite now.

Sned this to all who need inner piss. An telum u luvum.

Are you fed up with receiving visits to your home from cold calling traders?

Are you concerned about rogue traders calling on your elderly or vulnerable neighbours, seeking work?

If so, say "no" to cold calling doorstep traders with a Surrey Trading Standards door sticker.

We work closely with Surrey Police and other agencies to help reduce incidents of distraction burglary and rogue trading. Our sticker initiative is designed to empower residents, giving them the confidence to deal with cold calling traders.
We are committed to protecting Surrey residents, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, from being taken advantage of by rogue traders. We want to reduce the fear of crime and prevent residents from feeling pressurised on their doorsteps to make decisions that they may not otherwise make.

Pick up your free sticker to display on your property to send a clear message to cold calling traders. We expect all traders to respect your wishes but if they don't, they may be liable to prosecution for ignoring your request to leave and not return.
This initiative is a county-wide extension of our existing network of 'No Cold Calling Zones'. Whilst the existing zones will remain in place, we ask that residents in the zones pick up and display a new sticker on their property.

Stickers can be collected from your local council office, police station or library. We also hope to make them available through the Neighbourhood Watch network. If you have any trouble getting a sticker pack, please contact Surrey County Council on 03456 009 009.

 Ms Claire Hodgson
Senior Trading Standards Specialist

Policy & Operations Team
Surrey County Council Trading Standards Service
East Surrey Area Office
Omnibus
Lesbourne Road
Reigate
Surrey
RH2 7JA

01372 371786
claire.hodgson@surreycc.gov.uk