Merton CIL Newsletter
Issue 11
April 2015
CIL Matters
Spring 2015
Newsletter
SCREENREADER
This newsletter reflects the diverse views of Merton CIL members
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April 2015
Contents
1. Merton CIL Update
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2. General Election Special!
6
3. Your Views
21
4. Dates for the Diary
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Message from the Manager
Merton CIL’s Programmes and Services
Thank You to Our Volunteers
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4
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Opening Speeches From Mitcham and Morden Candidates
Summary of Questions for Mitcham and Morden Candidates
Opening Speeches from Wimbledon Candidates
Summary of Questions for Wimbledon Candidates
Candidates on Your Doorstep!
Your Vote Matters. Register to Vote
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Merton Resident Column... on loneliness
Access: Its not all about wide doors and toilets!
So apparently I’m autistic… A late-life diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome
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MCIL Members Group every Thursday 1pm – 4pm
The MCIL What A LiberTeas Sponsored Walk 13th June 2015
Come and see us at Wimbledon Fair 27th June 2015
World Food Bring and Share, and Annual General Meeting 29th September 2015
My Voice Matters: Hear Me Speak! 3rd December 2015
Independence, What Does it Really Mean? 22nd February 2016
External events...
Low Vision Clinic is held on the first Tuesday of the month with Merton Vision
Wheels for Wellness Accessible Cycling Session 28th May 2015
Aspirations and Outcomes for Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCP’s) 19th June
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5. A Final Word ... Damaged Flat Pack
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Sponsorship Form
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April 2015
1. Merton CIL Update
Message from the Manager
Dear members,
Welcome to what is a bumper newsletter this edition, full of our special
General Election coverage (p. 6) as well as other exciting news and views.
We’ve been doing a lot of reflection and evaluation of the year just gone, as
well as planning for growth and increased services in the year to come. We
have seen very high demand for our services, and we’re excited to announce
that from early summer, our Advice and Advocacy Services will have twice as
many appointments available, thanks to funding from The Big Lottery and
London Borough of Merton.
We’re also going to be running our brilliant volunteer training twice over the
next year, in addition to an ongoing programme of core skills development
(see page 4).
Our next event for the year is our Sponsored Walk on 13th June, sign up
today to raise a few pounds to help us run more services for local disabled
people – all entrants get to share our pic nic on the day, so sign up now (see
page 31)!
We’ve had a record number of contributors to this edition of the newsletter,
and if you want to have your say on an issue that’s important to you, or
submit something to our ‘final word’ section (p. 35) just get in touch!
Lyla
Merton CIL CEO
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Merton CIL’s Programmes and Services
Advice Service
The Advice Service has supported over 200 disabled people in the past 12
months and we can support you with reviewing your finances, debt advice,
help with your benefits, and more!
Get in touch if you would like an appointment – we can visit you at home. To
book an appointment, please contact us on 020 3397 3119 or email
advice@mertoncil.org.uk
Advocacy Service
We’ve supported over 70 people in the past year and we can help you with:
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Making your views, wishes and feelings heard
Attending tribunals, assessments, reviews, meetings
Being informed on choices
Making complaints
If you would like support to get your voice heard then contact our advocate
on 020 3397 3119 or email advocacy@mertoncil.org.uk
Peer Support Programme
We offer a 12 week programme of 1-2-1 support run by trained volunteers
with lived experience of disability. If you would like further information about
our Peer Support programme, then please get in touch on 0203 397 3119 or
email advocacy@mertoncil.org.uk
Volunteering Opportunities at MCIL
MCIL offers volunteer opportunities for disabled people in Merton. We provide
in-depth training throughout the year, and our next training programme starts
12th May. Get in touch to find out more! inclusion@mertoncil.org.uk or 020
3397 3119
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Thank You to Our Volunteers
We are appreciative of every hour spent by volunteers in support of the
organisation and its values. From April 2014 to March 2015 MCIL volunteers
contributed an enormous 637 hours of their time.
Every single individual hour of support from our volunteers is appreciated,
and, we’d also like to celebrate our top 10 supporters!
Davood, Charles, Tam, Tony, Jacqueline, Gina, Helen, Sarah, Carole, Anita –
Thank you!
Davood supported MCIL in the area of Admin and Reception work, as well as
helping out at events. We spent some time with Davood talking about his
journey with MCIL. He said at the outset he was frustrated and isolated. At
the end of his first year he feels more confident, more able to use English as a
second language, particularly over the phone and is now re-engaging in the
job market.
We have loads of volunteering opportunities including, admin, advice,
advocacy, being an ambassador or peer supporter, and opportunities to shape
your own role.
Interested? At MCIL we like to think you take out what you put in. What can
you put in? Speak to Rich on 0203 397 3119 or email
inclusion@mertoncil.org.uk
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2. General Election Special!
Recently, Merton CIL, in partnership with Merton Seniors Forum, Merton
Mencap and Age UK Merton, invited the main General Election 2015
candidates to answer questions from you, on the issues you care about.
We met the Mitcham and Morden candidates on 9th March and we met the
Wimbledon candidates on 9th April.
We have included their opening speeches in full below. Candidates drew lots
to decide the speaker order and got 5 minutes each.
Opening Speeches From Mitcham and Morden Candidates
Richard Hilton, UKIP: Thank you. Well, good afternoon everyone, and
thank you for welcoming all of the candidates here today to talk to you about
the election campaign that is going to be running for the next two months. I
think most of you will be aware this is probably the most unpredictable
election that we’ve had in decades in this country. The opinion polls certainly
show that what’s happening in Scotland is very different to what’s happening
in London, which is very different to what’s happening in the rest of England,
for example. Now, what is also consistent in those polls is that there are three
issues that most people, nationally, are particularly concerned about, and that,
of course, is tackling the deficit, the NHS and controlling immigration, and
those three things come up consistently, time and time again. Locally, of
course, we’ve seen a huge amount of activity recently, further to the council’s,
the Labour council’s move, actually, to cut very deeply in to our local services,
particularly around adult social care budgets and adult education. We’ve got
ourselves into a situation that, where our Labour representatives blame the
Tories, our Tory representatives blame Labour, and, actually, nobody is really
talking about what he’d do differently to sort these things out in the future.
Particularly, I would say, our local MP, and you will hear from her soon,
Siobhain, often will say, ‘This is all the fault of Tory government cuts,’ and she
will have a lot of people who will applaud her for saying that. At the same
time, our local Tories will tell you that this is actually all the fault of our Labour
council group, who are ring-fencing things like their communications budget
and their My Merton budget, whilst taking the knife to social care. While
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they’ve been having all those arguments, we in UKIP have actually had a very
considered approach to dealing with each of those three things that I’ve
mentioned, and also to dealing with the problems that you’re dealing with
locally, particularly in relation to adult social care. I’ll start by talking about the
NHS, actually. UKIP have pledged for a long time now, actually, that we
guarantee that we would keep the NHS free at the point of delivery. Now, you
may hear other parties saying differently, but the fact is that is what we are
committed to. UKIP have also announced recently that we would deliver an
additional £3 billion in funding to the NHS, paid for through a policy you’re
already well aware of, through leaving the European Union, in the savings to
our membership fees there.
Additionally, we would find an extra up to £2 billion based on current
government figures by ending what frankly has been a national disgrace for
such a long time, which is the health tourism. This is a National Health
Service. It is not an international health service. So we will actually make sure
that visitors coming from abroad have to have insurance, in the same way as
when we go abroad, we also have insurance. That will save £2 billion a year.
So, that means £5 billion a year more going into NHS frontline services.
Actually, that’s a figure that can’t be matched by either Labour or the Tories.
Labour, I don’t know if they’ve even announced a policy yet, but the Tories
have not been able to match those figures, and we’re saying that it’s fully
costed, and we’ve said exactly where we would find that money from.
Additionally, we’ve said that we will find an extra £1 billion a year, every year
for adult social care. Now, all of our current services are deeply impacted by
almost two decades of mass uncontrolled immigration under both Labour and
more recently, as you’ve seen in the news, the Tories. UKIP have a very clear
policy on that, and, actually, it’s no surprise to me that UKIP is the most
trusted party nationally to bring immigration back to normal levels, because
what we have said is that we will introduce an Australian style points based
system.
What that means is that we will treat everybody, regardless of where they are
from in the world, equally, so that commonwealth citizens are no longer
treated second class to European Union citizens, who can come over, at the
moment, at will. Then finally I’m going to talk about the deficit issue. The
Tories pledged that they would cut the deficit, of course, all of this caused by
Gordon Brown’s Labour government (Time Up).
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Paul Holmes, Conservative: Thank you very much. Good afternoon
everyone, and thank you very much for the invitation to speak here this
afternoon, to what is the first hustings, of many, in the Mitcham and Morden
general election campaign. Thank you, Zara, for chairing. In the short time
that I have, I just wanted to outline why I’m asking for your trust to be your
next member of parliament in Mitcham and Morden, and why I think it’s vital
that we have a Conservative government in May. This general election is the
most important in a generation. Never before has there been such a dividing
line between the main parties in where we want this country to go. Britain is
recovering from the mess that Labour left us in in 2010. We have the fastest
growing economy in the G7. There are 1.85 million people who are now in
work. Income tax has been cut for 26 million people, and there has been a
30% drop in unemployment here, in Mitcham and Morden. I don’t want
Labour to wreck that economy again. Labour have an uncosted tax and spend
plan should they be elected, and, of course, I’m standing on a pledge that if
we have a strong economy, we will have a strong NHS, and we will have the
stability to look after our most needy. I want to focus on that clearly matters
to you, this afternoon, welfare, pensions and disabled services.
On pensions, this government’s record is clear. We are protecting the triple
lock, which will guarantee that your pensions will increase by a minimum of
2%, 2.5%. The state pension has gone up by £800 since 2010, and I’m sure
you will remember the 75p increase in 2000 that was brought in by the last
government. We’ve removed the compulsory retirement age. We’re also going
to protect, and I think we’ll discuss this later, but we’re also going to protect
universal benefits. Labour have plans to means test universal benefits such as
the winter fuel allowance. We recognise that we must keep our pensioners
safe and secure in retirement. After all, they’ve given us so much service in
years gone by. Labour raided pensions, raided savings and left woeful
increases in the pension, and UKIP in their latest leaflet that’s going out in the
consistency don’t mention pensions or disabled services at all. I’ll always
campaign for the equality for disabled people, and we have one aim in this
government, and that’s to simplify and make fairer the benefits system in this
country. We spent £50 billion, and we’re continuing to spend £50 billion on
supporting disabled people, and that’s more than Europe and the USA. There
are 150 people, disabled people a day that are going into work placements
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because of our support to try and get those that can work to work, but those
that are the most vulnerable we will continue to help.
That didn’t happen under Labour, and once again UKIP didn’t mention it at all
in their latest communication. Now, today, locally, you’ve got a number of
issues that you’ll want to discuss. I just wanted to touch on those briefly.
Labour and Siobhain will say that the cuts here in Merton are because of the
nasty Tory government that are cutting services across the country, but let’s
look at the local situation. Labour Merton Council are sitting on £40 million of
unallocated reserves, which could be spent on protecting the services that
they are cutting, such as Merton Adult Education Centre, The High Path and
All Saints Centres. They’re cutting £9 million from adult social services, and
Siobhain will say that that’s a Tory government that’s causing that.
Unfortunately it’s not. It’s the budget that was passed by her councillors last
week. Your Labour MP has said nothing about it. She’s said nothing about cuts
that are happening here, and I have stood on a pledge to protect those
services. We have plans, the Conservatives have plans locally to protect those
services, and Labour could if they wanted to. I look forward to taking your
questions later on about the local issues that you have in the area, but I just
wanted to touch briefly on what I plan to do for you locally.
I have a plan for Mitcham and Morden. I think our town centres are being left
and neglected, and I want to see rejuvenation and better town centres come
in, and I want to see vibrant local high streets. So many people locally are
complaining about the amount of litter and, the state in which our streets are
being left. That’s, again, because of local Merton Labour’s decisions, and we’re
standing, I’m standing to make Mitcham a cleaner place. So, there we are
ladies and gentlemen. I believe that we are keeping the lowest out of tax,
we’re protecting the most vulnerable, and I want a fairer Britain, but for more
importantly Mitcham and Morden for all, and that’s why I’m asking for your
vote on May 7. Thank you very much.
Anthony Fairclough, Liberal Democrats. Thank you very much. I would
say thank you for inviting me, but you didn’t actually invite me, you invited
Diana, who apologises for not being here. She called me this morning
sounding pretty dreadful after being up all night with the winter vomiting bug.
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I’m sure you’re probably glad she’s not here as well, in terms of her being sick
all over everyone. She says, and I’ve got this very difficult, sort of, situation,
I’m trying to represent, from conversations I’ve had with her, what she wants
to stand for as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Mitcham and Morden, so
forgive me if this isn’t polished. I literally had two hours notice, and my boss is
very cross with me for not being at work, because I’ve only just come back
from being on holiday, so I apologise now. I’m sorry. I’ll do my best, I’ve got
my notes, I know what I talked about with Diana, and I’m looking forward to
your questions. Diana’s starting point was, you know, she’s really sorry she
can’t be here. You’re here to quiz the candidates and we’re here to find out
what you think, so the fact that she’s not here is unfortunate. I’m not going to
tell you what’s important to you, like some of the candidates may have said
what’s important to people. I don’t think that’s what hustings are about.
What Diana wanted to do now is tell you a little bit about herself, a little bit
about the kinds of values she has and the kind of person she is, because most
of the stuff that comes up if you’re an MP you’re going to be reactive to. So
hopefully, by getting an idea of what she’s about and the kind of person she
is, you’ll know whether you want to lend your support to her. I’ll also add, if
you want to ask anything directly to Diana, grab me at the end, give me your
contact details, or I’ll give you Diana’s and you can ask her, so that’s where
we are. So, Diana’s notes start with a bit of a history lesson. She talks about
why she’s a Liberal Democrat. Firstly, going back to the 19th Century, it’s
quite difficult when, you know, the last time you were in government on your
own is, you know, 100 years ago, but also a bit about the kind of person she
is and the kinds of characteristics she has that make her approve of the
Liberal Democrat approach. She says that it was the radical heritage of the
party that attracted her to the Liberal Democrats. You know, we were the
party that invented the NHS, after a fashion. Labour were kind enough, very
kind, to implement it, but it was Beveridge who invented it. It was the Liberal
government in the 19th Century and the early 20th Century that put in place
the first pensions.
These were truly radical things, and that, Diana says, is what, for her, being a
Liberal Democrat is about, coming up with new ideas, radical ideas, and
implanting them. Looking at the evidence, not being afraid to change your
mind when you get it wrong, that’s important to her as well. She’s selfemployed, she was born in Morden. She says in her work she needs to
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compromise all the time, and sometimes that means doing things that you
don’t like because you get something else that you do, and don’t we know
about that, from being in the coalition. I’m sure lots of you are cross with the
Liberal Democrats for the things we’ve done in government. Believe me, I’m
cross with the things the government as done, the coalition has done. I’m also
pleased with other bits, but it’s about compromise and this is what we face in
every day life. What she said to me was about being a Liberal, and why she is
pleased to be backed by the Liberal Democrats. It’s about promoting
independence for everyone, helping people reach their full potential in their
lives, and providing people with the support and assistance that they need to
do that, whatever that is. Now, some people need more or less support, some
people have completely different ideas about what a good life is. Who are we
to say that that’s not, you know, that’s not the way things should be?
So that’s what elected representatives should do, that’s what Diana would
hope to do, and that’s, you know, into that conversation, it’s about evidence.
It’s about learning from people, and seeing what you can do to make a
difference, and that’s why that kind of person should be in, and that’s why she
wants a chance to be your representative. I’ve only got a minute left, so I’ll
tell you a little bit about Diana’s background. I said before that she was born
in Morden, grew up in Morden. She’s currently self-employed, but she’s been
in all sorts of employment in the past, both in the private sector and the public
sector. She was a Sutton councillor in the early 2000s, including being a
cabinet member. So she’s got quite a lot of experience about the way that
councils work, and the difficulties you can have achieving things in councils,
and she’s not afraid to stand up to officers and make things happen. I think
that’s, from the conversations I’ve had with her about it, that’s the kind of
things, that’s the kind of approach that she’s about, and I hope that’s gone
some way to answering the kind of person she is and why you might think
about giving her your vote. I’m sorry for stumbling over this. Thank you for
bearing with me.
Siobhain McDonagh, Labour: Thank you very much. Good afternoon
everybody. My name is Siobhain McDonagh and I have been the MP for
Mitcham and Morden since 1997. It seems extraordinary that by the time of
the next election I will have been the MP for the last eighteen years. I was a
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child when I started. If you think that-, and there are many people that I have
been fighting with for longer than eighteen years in this room. I stood in 1987
and I stood in 1982 and lost both elections to the previous Conservative MP,
the late Dame Angela Rumbold. I tell you that because I want to say that this
is the only seat that I have ever sought selection for. It’s the only one that I
will ever seek selection for. It’s the constituency that I was born and brought
up in, and it’s the reason that I get up every morning to do my best, however
imperfect that is, to make my community and my area a better place to live
in. The way I see the next election is that we have huge challenges. It really
wasn’t supposed to be this way. Children were always supposed to have a
better life than us. The world was going to get better year on year, and for
most it has, but there are people being left behind in our community, and so
that’s why I’m looking at five different areas at the moment. Young people.
We all believe that going to school and working hard assures you a good job
and a good job is the best way to have a better life.
For a substantial number of our young people, that’s not happening any more,
because wages aren’t increasing at the same rate, because of the introduction
of zero hours contracts. If you go to the job centre, you will certainly see very
small numbers of young people unemployed, but if you ask the manager at
the job centre, ‘What are those young people doing?’ they will tell you, ‘It’s
retail and it’s security. It’s zero hours contract.’ We have to do better than
that. We have to provide career and opportunity for people to be able to
support their families, buy or rent their home and have a decent future. My
job in that is to ensure that we get a fair share of all those jobs out there that
are available. That our young people know what they are, so they know about
the smart meters that are going to be fitted in all our houses by 2025, that
they know about the energy insulation jobs that are there with small local
businesses. So they go not just for the first job to get them off the books, but
a job that provides a future. I run a work experience scheme every year
where I get companies, small local companies, to provide work experience. I
do that because I began to realise that it was mainly young people from
Merton and from Wimbledon who were asking for work experience in my
office, because lots of the kids in our constituency didn’t know that they could
or they should. So far we’ve got about 90 young people into work as a result.
I am a member of the education select committee, and it’s made me focus on
one of the weakest links in our schools, and our school locally are getting
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better all the time, but our careers service is pretty dreadful. We have to do
something about it for those young people, and for the fact that it’s causing
us-, costing us a great deal of money for young people not to know what’s out
there. Housing. Half of all the people see at my advice surgery lack proper
housing. Something like two out of-, 20% of children in London are in short
term accommodation. They move, or have the potential to move, once every
six months. What is that doing to our social fabric? Where you don’t know
where your home will be next year. However bad the housing we were all
brought up in, it was fairly secure in its tenure. That’s not the experience
today, so I see as one of my primary functions to ensure that we can find as
much low cost home ownership and as much social rented housing as we can
to ensure that basic right of somewhere warm and decent to live for your
childhood.
Summary of Questions for Mitcham and Morden Candidates
Lots of questions were asked of the candidates ranging from issues of
accountability, housing, education, health, slavery, social care, benefits,
employment, coalition plans, sovereignty of Parliament and changes to the
Independent Living Fund.
Candidates all planned to integrate health and social care but none would
commit to universal social care free at the point of use, while still insisting the
NHS would remain free. None of the candidates made a commitment to Save
the ILF.
You can find all the questions and the answers from candidates on our
website at http://www.mertoncil.org.uk/getting-involved/general-electionspecial-2015/
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Opening Speeches from Wimbledon Candidates
Charles Barraball, Green Party: Good morning. The time has come for
change. The political systems that we’ve had since the war don’t really do
anything to evolve, they just bicker one with another. It’s time we voted for
change. Vote Green. Our justice system is impossible, successive governments
have done nothing to make life better for the individual at street level when
they come into conflict with the law. It’s time to bring back the NHS. We all
depend upon it. It should be public, ours and free at the point we use it.
Dentistry or foot care, you name it, we should have it as a basic part of our
caring society. That is a fundamental issue. For me, I could tell you why later,
but it’s two sheets of A4 from my doctors if they want to see my version of my
notes.
We also have a very tired economic system. Austerity just isn’t working. The
Green Party will rethink this and bring a new clarity, transparency and
democracy to evolving a healthy economy. It’s important to think of our
national defence and we would emphasise the role of assertive peacekeeping,
rather than promenading around the world with three great, big nuclear
submarines. That, again, will release lots of money, create more jobs in a
new, Green economy.
That is the reason why. If you want to vote, vote for the changes you want to
see and I bet you will end up voting Green. Thank you.
Shas Sheehan, Liberal Democrats: Good morning. I’m here today to give
you an opportunity to find out more about me. I hope to convince you that a
vote for me on May 7th will be a vote for a strong voice for our community
both locally and in Westminster.
I’m going to say a little about myself, then move onto my work locally. I
expect the national picture to be covered in the Q&A that follows. I grew up in
Tooting Broadway and went to local state schools. I am married to Patrick, we
have three children, the youngest of whom has started university. We’re
looking forward to our 25th wedding anniversary later this year. I have worked
as a teacher and a nurse. I followed a career in advertising and I really
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wanted to get back to my scientific roots, so I studied environmental
technology at Imperial College.
Locally, I serve on the board of trustees of the local Citizen’s Advice Bureau in
Wimbledon. I’m a founding member of the Twenty’s Plenty group for Merton.
I help at homeless projects when I can and I am a member of Amnesty
International and the RSPB.
I often refer to myself as the accidental politician. I got very angry about the
war in Iraq, which I saw as illegal. I got angry that the green issues were not
being dealt with. I joined the Lib Dems, whose views chimed with mine. I was
working for Susan Kramer as her case worker in Richmond Park and ran her
office. I saw for myself the difference that a committed constituency MP could
make to the lives of local residents. You need someone in authority to take up
on your behalf.
I want to talk about my local work. I have worked hard to make sure we don’t
lose A&E, maternity and children’s service at St. Helier hospital. I have
opposed the cuts to Merton Adult Education, it’s not necessary. This really is a
council that knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Roads
and pavements are so important to elderly and disabled people. I’ve been
campaigning to improve those and including step-free access to Raynes Park
and Motspur Park stations, an important issue you have told me that you need
help with.
Your MP is your representative, your voice, both locally and in parliament. If
you give me the honour of electing me as your MP, I promise I will never lose
sight of that. I will service you to the best of my ability. Thank you for
listening.
Andrew Judge, Labour: The criticism of the council is not well founded, but
this election is about national issues. Is this to be a country where everyone is
treated with dignity, respect and compassion, or hard hearts, ignoring the
plight of many? Fair and equal society or evermore divided?
Let me mention a few of the highlights of this government’s record. The
fundamental decision was to reduce the deficit through spending cuts more
than tax increases. Public spending has been cut to a staggering extent.
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Spending on children aged under five fell 21%. There has been an 11% cut
for early education, 35% for housing and community. Between 2010 and
2013, an average of 139,000 new homes were completed, compared with
190,000 under Labour because spending was cut.
A non-pension benefit has also been cut. The switch to Personal Independent
Payment has affected people adversely. The government want to take £12
million more from benefits and won’t tell us how. We know the carer’s
allowance is under threat. Disability benefits would no longer be paid tax-free.
All to achieve a saving of £1.5bn. These extreme cuts are unwarranted.
Labour will reduce the deficit to nothing in the next parliament, but by taking
more taxation from the very wealthy, reinstating the 50p tax rate for incomes
over £150,000 and taking firm action on tax avoidance, for example abolishing
the non-dom tax status. It’s estimated that £80bn was lost last year in tax
evasion. Over five years, we will cut many billions more than the
Conservatives. This is a massive difference. In terms of St. Helier hospital, I
was instrumental in saving it, but it’s threatened now by the coalition’s
financial treatment of the NHS. Labour will enable 20,000 more nurses and
8,000 more GPs and stop the fragmentation of the service. We will also secure
the future of social care by bringing it into the NHS, so that everyone has a
personal care plan.
On a personal basis, I have worked as a barrister and councillor. I took the
council from a weak to a strong position. As your MP, I will be dedicated to
representing you and I will act, I hope, with integrity in all matters.
Peter Bucklitsch, UKIP: Thank you. My name is Peter and my roots are
from near Guernsey. This election is about the difference between two parties
who have failed this country. Every time Labour gets in, they make a car crash
of the economy every time, apart from 1924 when they were only in for one
year. The last administration sold their gold off at less than optimum price,
they destroyed the final salary pension schemes, took us into a disastrous war
with Iraq and since 2003, our armed services have had a devastating
reduction in numbers, which the current administration has continued.
Our armed forces these days have eleven past debt squadrons. We have two
aircraft carriers, one which is being built and one which is being fitted out.
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There is no provision for adequate numbers of aircraft. Our soldiers are being
reduced to 82,000 and we have a predicted 30,000 people coming into
reserves. Having been in service, I can assure you that their target of 30,000
people who now get shot at and may not come back in one piece will not be
tolerated. This objective of having a large reserve force to go out and replace
trained soldiers, I don’t think will work.
The record of the Conservatives, they started out by saying they would reduce
the deficit. Now they claim that they have reduced the deficit by half because
the country got a pay rise. I don’t think if you go to your credit card company
and offer to only pay half because you got a pay rise, you won’t get a great
answer. We still pay more. Interest rates have to go up and we will pay a
great deal more. That is unsustainable. Governments have one economic
objective, to provide a stable framework for business to thrive. They can only
do that if they keep within their budgets and make money with what they’ve
got. Unsustainable deficit doesn’t allow them to do that. We have a trade gap
that isn’t mentioned very much. The difference between what we buy and sell
is currently about £20 million. The difference between the two parties is fairly
negligible in terms of financial confidence. Neither have answered the issue of
the deficit. Your choice is to have more of the same or to vote UKIP.
Stephen Hammond, Conservative: It’s been a great honour to have
worked in this constituency. Many of you will know that there is many a true
word spoken in jest. The legacy many will remember from the last
government is Labour saying there was no more money. That was true, but
five years later, the country is in a different place. Contrary to what the UKIP
candidate has said, the measured way says that the deficit has been halved.
Our economy is growing the most strongly of any in the Western world. It’s
important because of what you do with a strong economy. If you look at the
record of the last five years, living standards are now rising, having started
falling in 2008, 1.8 million more people have a job, 80% are long term and
well paid, they are not zero hours. 3 million of the lowest paid people have
been taken out of tax. This government is committed to spending £2 billion
more per year through the next parliament. The record may show that we
may want to deliver more doctors and nurses, but more have been delivered
in the last five years. You have seen the Nelson Hospital designed and
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reopened, the Raynes Park Health Centre opened. Despite the
scaremongering from the Labour Party, it has been proven that St. Helier
hospital is safe.
Pensioners are now £950 per year better off. More disabled people are now in
work than they were five years ago. Far from people receiving less, the
Personal Independence Plan is more targeted. The strength of the economy
has allowed us to put more into care allowances.
£20bn has been put into social housing in the last five years. Where the
Liberal Democrat is correct is that the council has failed. Whether you like it or
not, the council has over £100 million in reserves. At least £40 million of those
reserves are usable. This council has chosen to make those choices and that’s
what happens. There are a number of inconvenient facts about fairness. The
top 1% now pay more tax than they did under a Labour Government. The
social care fund is now in place. He and his party could have voted that. Tax
evasion, this government has put in 41 changes to the law to bring in more
money. The only party being honest about where the cuts are coming from is
the Conservatives. Some from welfare, some from departmental spending. No
one else has outlined any of that to you. You can continue to have a strong
economy, or go back to borrowing and spending with no limit. The choice is
clear and the choice is to vote Conservative.
Summary of Questions for Wimbledon Candidates
Questions were extremely wide-ranging from Trident, TTIP, education, hate
crime, to the integrity of MPs. There was considerable focus on austerity and
candidates’ plans for disabled people, as well as plans around mental health. A
number of questions asked about the future of the Independent Living Fund.
You can find all the questions and the answers from candidates on our
website at http://www.mertoncil.org.uk/getting-involved/general-electionspecial-2015/
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Candidates on Your Doorstep!
Over the next few weeks, people can expect to get leaflets through their door
from all the main parties, and often they’ll even knock on your door for a chat.
Obviously they want to persuade you to vote for them! Whoever you think you
want to vote for, this is a great opportunity for you to quiz all the candidates
on the issues you think are important.
Not sure what to ask the candidates when they turn up on your doorstep?
Here’s our pick of the top 10 questions asked by our members.
1. Social care packages for disabled and older people are being cut by up to a
day a week in Merton. What are you going to do to support people who are
losing the valuable support they need?
2. Housing in Merton is in crisis. What are you going to do to support disabled
and older people to live independently and in suitable accommodation?
3. How will you support disabled people in Merton left with no income
because of benefit changes, delays and sanctions?
4. What steps will you take to support Independent Living Fund recipients
after the closure of the fund and transfer to the Local Authority?
5. What will you do to tackle Disability Hate Crime?
6. Integration of Health and Social care risks privatising the NHS and rolling
back the gains of the Independent Living movement. What is your view on
this?
7. Disabled women and girls are among the most marginalised in society.
What will you do to address this issue?
8. Will you commit to abolishing the Bedroom Tax?
9. If you were MP, what would you do to make sure local businesses and
services are accessible for disabled people in your constituency?
10. Will you fight to keep freedom passes for older people and disabled
people?
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Your Vote Matters. Register to Vote
If you’re not registered to vote, then you won’t have a say at the General
Election on 7th May.
The voter registration process changed recently and some people may no
longer be registered to vote, even if they were registered in the past.
You should have had a letter to confirm that you are still registered to vote. If
you’re not sure, contact London Borough of Merton Electoral Services on 020
8545 3407
If you think you’re not registered to vote, do it now as the deadline for
registering is 20th April 2015.
You can register online at gov.uk/register-to-vote and you’ll need your
National Insurance number to register. Or you can fill out a paper form. Get
one from the Civic Centre in Morden, or call Electoral Services on 020 8545
3407 to arrange getting a form sent out – but hurry as time is running out.
Not sure you’re interested in voting? Here are some thoughts people
have shared about voting.
1. If you don’t vote, you have no say at all in who represents you in
government. At any election in your area, one of the candidates will be
selected to represent you whether you vote or not. If you’re registered, you’ll
have the chance to have a say on who represents you by voting.
2. Around the world people have died fighting for the right to vote and be part
of a democracy. This isn’t meant to be a guilt trip, but less than 100 years ago
in the UK, people were killed during their struggles to get the vote for women.
Battle bus coming to Merton!
Join us on 16th April 2015 outside the Civic Centre with the Operation Disabled
Vote Battle Bus where we’ll be helping disabled people make sure they’re
registered to vote.
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3. Your Views
We accept letters and articles from all our members, so please get in touch
with your story or comments.
Merton Resident Column... on Loneliness
This week the media is full of news of loneliness and the older people, but
what does it mean if you are a disabled person?
Loneliness can be subjective. It’s an unwelcome feeling of loss, of
companionship and of understanding. For some disabled people, loneliness
can be this frequent companion. Disability can have a profound effect on our
social intercourse, our emotional well-being and quality of life. Our social
isolation may influence us profusely and this can lead to experience of
depression.
Loneliness can be that feeling that your disability affects how you interact with
the world around you. We may find that people don’t know how to react to us
or what to say, perhaps because they don’t understand disability or because
they are worried that they might offend or make us feel worse.
It is extremely painful when the loss of one’s professional identity, senses,
mental capabilities or physical mobility and sometimes the inevitable absence
of family and friends affect a person's ability to maintain relationships and our
independence. This in turn leads to a higher incidence of depressive
symptoms and loneliness.
Being stuck at home and having to listen to friends and family telling you to
just accept and manage your disability without them stepping into your shoes
can be very difficult. These negative feelings can force us to shut ourselves
away from the world and you feel isolated because of the stigma and
discrimination we face as disabled people. As disabled people, well-being
should be our right.
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Access: Its not all about wide doors and toilets!
Although accessible entrances and other factors of access are very important
to disabled people, attitudes and awareness of staff are as equally important
to disabled customers. A brilliant example of this is the staff at The Morden
Brook pub. They have a great disability attitude: helpful, aware and open to
what you might need. Your drink being brought to your table, the credit card
machine being brought around from the bar so the staff member serves you
at your level, or, in my case, a straw in my pint. No request is a big job and it
isn't questioned or dealt with as strange or odd - its inclusive, normal and
accepted. Even when busy, staff do this, its a great experience and you feel
valued as a customer.
How does your local business manage when two or three wheelchair users
and a person with guide dog and a BSL (British Sign Language) user all come
in together? Oh and the non disabled person with them is a friend not a PA or
carer as is often assumed. If I'm with a non disabled friend I like to maintain
my independence, we are together as equals, I'm not there reliant on them to
help me. So for example if we are eating I will always ask on ordering if any
large food can be cut. I've been in a few 'large chains' where the first
response has been the chef can't touch the food once its plated up. Once I've
explained there is a thing called reasonable adjustment (in law) the food is
finally cut and served a bit cooler thanks to the delay. Thankfully this has
never been the case at the Morden Brook, they have always been
accommodating changing my food onto a plate rather than a bowl or one of
those fancy boards that food comes on (and falls off in my case). My needs
are met and the food comes out as I need so I can enjoy it as any other.
A disabled person has spending power and their pound is the same value as
anyone’s. To be honest I tend to go to the shops where I know staff are
helpful and show awareness: they get my money.
Access is about lots of different things, yes ramps, wider aisles, easy to open
or automatic doors, accessible/clean/monitored toilets that aren't used as
storage areas, but also good signage that helps the customer with the use of
pictures or clear large print, or being guide dog friendly, or having staff that
are willing to help customers.
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In fact, on the whole, good access is good business for everyone. As well as
the physical environment, good customer service such as the Morden Brook
demonstrates is critically important. Often we don't return if the experience is
negative or at worst we can’t even get in or aren't helped. Most access and
awareness issues are actually about good business practice and businesses
that do it well profit from that fact and are to be celebrated for that fact. This
year’s Merton Best Business Awards has a new public vote category for ‘Best
Customer Service’. Morden Brook gets my vote, who gets yours?
http://www.mertonbestbusiness.co.uk/best-customer-service/ or call Merton
Chamber of Commerce on 020 8944 5501 if you can’t get online.
So apparently I’m autistic… A late-life diagnosis of
Asperger’s Syndrome
I’m 42, male, self-employed, working in the field of social care. Indeed you
may recall a past article I wrote for this newsletter about Personalisation. I
know I have greying hair, brown eyes, a beard. I know I have a loving
partner, an ex-wife and two teenage children. I know I like watching Have I
Got News for You and I loved Breaking Bad. But until a year ago, I didn’t
know I was autistic.
Wow.
How is it possible for me to have lived 40-odd years without knowing? I had
no inkling whatsoever, and that is perhaps even more remarkable because I
have worked with autistic people and those with learning disabilities for many
years. Indeed, I am also Vice-chair of a learning disability organisation. I
thought I knew about autism. I was wrong.
I’m not alone, because getting this diagnosis later in life is not altogether
uncommon. Indeed, it is estimated that around 1 in 200 people have an
Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) without having a learning disability. As you
can imagine, I’ve learned a lot about autism since my journey began about 14
months ago.
My partner had been joking with me about Asperger’s for a while, but it took
me a couple of years to realise that she wasn’t joking. At that point, I sought
out online tests, where my scores were so extreme that I couldn’t ignore
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them. I ended up at my GP, scared that she wouldn’t believe me, but I was
referred to the local diagnostic centre. Their screening process, to see if I
was worth seeing face to face, included one of the online tests I had already
taken, written by Dr Baron-Cohen. Having passed that process, I was warned
that my face to face interview was dependent on funding, and it could be a
two year wait. In the end, it was about 10 months, and my diagnosis was
confirmed after a long interview with a psychologist, who produced a
comprehensive written report.
You may have noticed that I’ve referred to myself as autistic and not as
having Asperger’s Syndrome. There’s a lot of debate about Asperger’s at the
moment, especially since it was removed from the DSM (Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) relatively recently. That’s a can of
worms I don’t really want to open in this article, except to make a couple of
comments. I don’t claim to be an expert, but the most recent research seems
to suggest that autism is not so much a spectrum as a collection of clusters.
So whilst there are many similarities, there appear to be different types of
autism, but much of this research is genuinely cutting edge and there are still
a lot of things we don’t truly understand yet.
One of the upshots of this research is that more women are getting a
diagnosis, when previously it was seen a male-dominated condition. This
seems to be about a cluster of autism in which people have a particular ability
to mimic social skills, creating masks that hide what’s really going on
underneath – it’s like ‘role-playing’ your way through life, being an actor who’s
permanently on stage. Indeed, anecdotal evidence from some experts may
suggest that there is a small cluster of autistic people who are significantly
better than neuro-typicals at ‘reading’ other people, such is their eye for detail
and noticing facial micro-expressions. It is this cluster that I seem to fall into.
A lot of things have fallen into place and make sense now. I have learned
things about myself that I didn’t know until now. For example, I was an
elective mute as a child - although I knew the words, I chose not to speak
until I had to. I had only one friend until I was a teenager, and that was
someone I was able to boss around, so I always got my way. Then I
discovered that a good way to make friends was to become the listener, the
counsellor, feeding off the teenage angst of my peers and being willing to
listen to their problems. Looking back, perhaps this is where I really honed
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my ‘cognitive empathy’ skills, picking up on how people felt and how to
respond.
One of my difficulties is that I don’t have many memories at all before about
age 15, but again, anecdotally, this does seem to be a shared experience
within my particular, emerging, small cluster of autistic people with the
highest IQ’s.
I didn’t know I was autistic, but I did know I had struggles with my mental
health. And perhaps age 15 is significant, as that’s when I first became so
depressed that I attempted suicide and was put on Valium and sent to see a
psychiatrist. Ah yes… the psychiatrist who refused to change their
methodology for me and initiate any conversation, so we sat in almost total
silence for 18 months. Utterly pointless and no help at all.
Anxiety and depression have been part of my life for as long as I can
remember. Autism helps to explain the constant anxiety. If one is less able
to imagine consequence, to predict behaviour, then one is in a constant state
of anxiety about what might happen next, how a conversation may go, and so
on. Indeed, I had always known that I had panic attacks in certain situations,
especially those where I felt there may be some conflict, such as taking a
faulty item back to a shop or making a complaint.
I was also vaguely aware of some sensory issues. I always knew that I
struggled to differentiate between foreground and background noise, so
conversations in a busy place were always hard. I just didn’t know this was
an autistic trait. Certain lighting or patterns make me dizzy. After a day in
public, the stress and sensory overload is utterly exhausting and makes me
impatient and moody. I need time alone, quiet time, and I begin to see the
value of so-called ‘obsessions’ for autistic people. Throwing yourself into just
one, single activity and cutting yourself off from all other stimuli while you do
it, is one way of relaxing and not feeling overwhelmed.
Unfortunately for me, my greatest obsessions have always been other people,
which didn’t make finding a girlfriend easy! I tended to overwhelm people
and, in turn, be overwhelmed by their unpredictable behaviour. I either didn’t
notice when someone liked me, or I drove them away by being too obsessive.
I recall one girlfriend in particular where, if she were even five minutes late, I
was on the phone, chasing her up. Although this presented to her as my
being jealous and controlling, the reality was that I thought she had gone
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under a bus and was dead. This was the only reason I could conceive of to
explain why she wasn’t on time. Suffice it to say, we didn’t last too long…!
The most telling thing I have discovered about myself is that, while I can read
how other people are feeling, I have little clue how I feel, myself. There is a
huge disconnect between my emotional response and my ability to recognise
and interpret that response. The stereotype of an autistic person having no
emotion is untrue – it’s that the mind doesn’t always recognise how the body
is feeling. For example, sometimes I notice that I’m sweating, have a tight
chest and stomach pains, and I have to logically work out that this means I’m
stressed.
As you may imagine, I could write a lot more. My journey of self-discovery is
only just beginning, and one of the biggest problems is that there is, quite
literally, no support at all for people like me post-diagnosis. And yet, like me,
many people fall off a cliff after diagnosis with a genuine existential crisis.
Who am I? Where does my condition end and I begin? I’ve done so much
role-playing to fit into society that I don’t know who I am underneath it all.
It’s like being given a pair of glasses when I didn’t know I needed any. So
many vague, fuzzy feelings are coming into focus and becoming concrete.
Thank you for reading this. I am Andrew. I am 42. I have brown eyes and a
beard, and now I know I am autistic.
If you’d like to get in touch about this, or the work that I do around Support
Planning and Brokerage, then please get in touch anytime –
andrew@londonbrokeragenetwork.com or 07796 884468
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4. Dates for the Diary
MCIL Members Group every Thursday 1pm - 4pm
Venue: Merton Tenants and Residents Association, 328 London Rd, Mitcham,
CR4 3ND
Those of us using public transport may like to know that the 118, 127, 200,
201, 280 buses all stop outside the building – next to the C.A.B. – at the
Glebe Court stop. The closest tram is Mitcham is the closest rail Mitcham
Eastfields.
Please note, anyone attending the group and needing to use a taxi to get
there or need to print out a map using directions like googlemap, then the
postcode doesn’t direct you to exactly the right place. The venue is right next
to the CAB building on London Road in Mitcham, and more or less opposite
Age UK. Please call us if you need help on 020 3397 3119
Even if you’re not a member yet, come along and find out more! Call Richard
on 020 3397 3119 for more information or email inclusion@mertoncil.org.uk
Forthcoming Members Group Talks
16th April 1-4
Have a Pyjama Day
Sarah Henley has had a film made about her. Will she bring it in today to
contribute to MCIL’s Pyjama Day. Pyjama day you say. What is a pyjama day?
How do you link Pyjama Day’s to Independent Living? Can you change the
world from your bed? What is Micro-volunteering? And what has Microvolunteering got to do with Pyjamas and MCIL Social Networks? Discover all
from 1-4 at the members group.
23rd April 1-4
Care for the earth - Earth cares for you
Top tips on taking care of the earth so that the earth can take care of you.
Save money, Save Energy, Be healthier.
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30th Apr 1-4
MCIL Priorities - 2015/2016
MCIL’s Chief Executive Officer, Lyla Adwan-Kamara, joins the Members Group
to take us through MCIL’s priorities for the year. Find out the what, why’s and
wherefores of MCIL
7th May 1-4
Speak Easy
It is unusual for us to have a theme for our speakeasy’s but two days ago was
the first European Independent Living Day. So let us talk about what makes
us independent and celebrate our lives.
14th May 1-4pm
Mindfulness
This week is mental health awareness week. The theme of the week is
mindfulness which is something we are hearing a lot about right now. What is
it? How does it help? Find out more from MCIL Advocate, Jacqueline Saeed.
21st May 1-4pm
Managing Debt
“I really enjoyed Justyna’s course on Budgeting in February and learned some
new skills. I am looking forward to her course on Debt” Find out what you and
Advisers need to know about managing debt.
28th May 1-4pm
Employment
A Pillar of Independent Living. We look at work in Merton, Volunteering
And Jobs at Merton CIL. With guest Clive Duke of Merton Employment Forum
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and Anne Hoblyn MBE from Mitcham Job Centre Plus and our local Disability
Employment Adviser Ayda El-Deweiny
4th June 1-4pm
Safeguarding
Take the MCIL Safeguarding Course as designed and led by MCIL’s CEO, Lyla
Adwan Kamara. What is safeguarding? How do you safeguard? How do you
look after yourself on MCIL business.
11th June 1-4
Speak Easy
Got a story to tell, Got something to get off your chest, Let us know about you
and what you do, Look for support from an understanding audience. Enjoy a
cup of char and biscuit. (Note: Occasionally Speakeasy’s will be changed for
consultations)
18th June 1-4pm
Self Advocacy For You
Come and learn about cases that Michelle has supported people with. Find out
ways to access people and services efficiently. How to use language they
might want to hear.
25th June 1-4pm
How to use the MCIL phone
MCIL’s telephone training day for Volunteers.
Led by MCIL Ceo, Lyla Adwan Kamara. Co-Trainer Davood Khobiar
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2nd July 1-4pm
Note Taking Course
MCIL’s note taking course with Trainer Nick Pizey. How to take notes. What
you need to know. What you need to respect. Etc.
9th July 1-4
Songs From A Not So Lonely Room
Attic Theatre Company lead us in a communal song cycle using songs based
on loneliness and isolation from the 60’s and 70’s. Come along and sing a
song.
16th July 1-4pm
Speak Easy
Got a story to tell. Got something to get off your chest. Let us know about you
and what you do. Look for support from an understanding audience. Enjoy a
cup of char and biscuit. (Note: Occasionally Speakeasy’s are used for
consultation events).
23rd July 1-4pm
Sell Off
Sandra Ash from Save Our St Helier’s Hospital campaign introduces Sell Off, a
campaigning film developed to support the campaign. Sandra will lead us on a
Question and Answers Session after the film when we may also seek to
discuss activism within the disability movement.
30th July 1-4pm
Boundaries
MCIL’s latest course on Boundaries. What is a boundary? How are Boundaries
useful? Will the newest course be ready on time. Come and find out.
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Future Meetings To include:
Members requests - what you want you will have
MCIL roles – what the staff do and why
Pillars of Independent Living – This time it was health, what comes next
Something from the diversity calendar. That’s here our legacy session came
from
Or social model issues. What is the social model anyway? Find out here
Consultations, Healthwatch, Merton Council, etc., queue to meet you
The MCIL What A LiberTeas Sponsored Walk 13th June 2015
To celebrate 800 years since the signing of the Magna Carta, Merton CIL is
very excited to be launching our sponsored walk! Please do help us raise
money by signing up to take part. You can use the sponsorship form on the
back page or get online! And there’s a free pic nic afterwards for all
participants!
How to sign up to fundraise for us online:
1. Go to www.givey.com
2. Sign up to Givey (or login if you are already signed up). To sign up you
need to pick a password and a username
3. Click on post and you can upload a photo of you training, a link to our
website or anything else that inspires you!
4. Give your fundraising a title like ‘LiberTeas Sponsored Walk’
5. Click on ‘choose a charity’ and then type in Merton Centre for
Independent Living – you’ll see our logo, click on it!
6. It costs £1 to load your photo or link and start fundraising and we get
100% of all donations (remember to tick the gift aid box and we’ll get
125%!)
7. Share it on social media and get other people donating too
8. Or for a standard fundraising page, just contact the lovely Emily at
support@givey.com to set one up for you.
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Come and see us at Wimbledon Fair 27th June 2015
We’re thrilled to be back at Wimbledon Fair this year, please do come and say
hello on the day. In the meantime, we’re collecting items for a Tombola so
that we can raise money to support our services. Please get in touch if you
have something you can donate for the Tombola. No item too small, but they
should be in good condition please.
World Food Bring and Share, and Annual General Meeting
29th September 2015
Time: 11am – 1pm. Venue: tbc
At Merton CIL we want to celebrate the wonderful diversity of our members,
volunteers, and staff. As part of our Annual General Meeting we’re inviting
everyone to “bring and share” their favourite dish. Whether it’s rice and peas
or sticky toffee pudding, bring something along to share with your fellow
members for lunch after the formal business. Plus! Come and meet the staff
and trustees and find out what we’ve been up to over the past year at Merton
CIL.
My Voice Matters: Hear Me Speak! 3rd December 2015
December 3rd is “International Day of Persons with Disabilities”. Join us to find
out more about how to be heard by decision-makers. Whether you want to
complain about poor service, or you think your local councillor should be doing
what you want. Or perhaps you want to influence national issues. Whatever
your cause, come and join us at this really exciting all day workshop event to
share your experiences and find out more from other campaigners.
Independence, What Does it Really Mean? 22nd Feb 2016
Following on from “World Day of Social Justice”, this event will discuss topics
around Self Directed Support, Personalisation, and what Independent Living
actually means, and why it is so important.
Watch this space for more details
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____________________________________
Please note, Merton CIL is not responsible for the content of external websites
or activities organised by other organisations below...
Low Vision Clinic is held on the first Tuesday of the month
with Merton Vision
Rather than going to the hospital, you could get a free magnifier to help with
low vision from Merton Vision.
If you would like to attend this clinic the only criteria is that your sight is
sufficiently poor that you need to use a magnifier for reading etc, and you have
had a sight test at a high street opticians within the last 12 months (even if you
have been told that you are sight impaired and nothing can be done). Just give
Merton Vision a call to make an appointment on 020 8540 5446
Wheels for Wellness Accessible Cycling Session 28th May
2015
Organised by MVSC and Wheels for Wellbeing, this accessible cycling session
will be held at the David Weir Leisure Centre in Sutton from 12.00 -1pm.
Contact MVSC for more details 020 8685 2272
Aspirations and Outcomes for Education, Health & Care
Plans (EHCP’s) 19th June 2015
with Paula Jewes, EHCP Consultant, London Borough of Merton
Venue: Chaucer Centre, Room J, Canterbury Road, Morden, SM4 6PX
Time: 10am to 12pm
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Merton CIL Newsletter
Issue 11
April 2015
Statements are changing to EHCP’s over the next 3 years & need to contain
“outcomes” for your child or young person. Schools will also plan their SEN
support using outcomes.
Come & find out what an outcome is, how it is different from an aspiration,
target, output or provision, how do we know if they are SMART? & how do we
know if they are the right ones for our children or young people?
For catering reasons, please BOOK ahead for all events. Just email or leave a
message on the answerphone with your name, contact details and the event
you wish to attend Tel: 020 8687 4644
email: kids.first@swlondonmencap.nhs.uk
website: www.mertonmencap.org.uk/kidsfirst.htm
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Merton CIL Newsletter
Issue 11
April 2015
5. A Final Word ... Damaged Flat Pack
I have tried very hard to make contact
But never receive a reply.
I am told writing letters is useless,
With that I am forced to comply.
So I rang up a number they gave me,
Rejecting the item they sent,
They delivered a different replacement,
Which was not at all what I meant.
The instructions were so complicated,
The flat pack laid out on the floor
In no way resembled a likeness to
The one they sent me before.
I have made further calls to their office
But always I get the same voice,
With a message so quick and so garbled,
It leaves me with no other choice.
I must push several buttons in sequence,
Repeating them all more than once,
But I find myself back where I started
Without any human response.
So now I am faced with two flat packs,
That lie in a dismembered mess.
If ever again I am tempted,
It’s some thing I’ll have to repress.
(c) Irene Goldsmith
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Merton CIL Newsletter
Issue 11
April 2015
Merton CIL What a LiberTeas Sponsored Walk Sponsorship
Form
Merton Centre for Independent Living is a disabled people’s organisation
providing essential services promoting the independence of Disabled People.
Our sponsored walk raises funds in support of our services and increases our
long term sustainability. Our members will walk with us on 13th June on a
proposed route in Morden Hall Park, along the River Wandle to Merton Priory.
Name
Home Address / Email
Amount
LiberTeas celebrates 800 years since the signing of the Magna Carta. Contact
www.mertoncil.or.uk or 020 3397 3119 for more details
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