Hello again………………..

Well we really have had a wonderful Olympics with so many interesting and impressive performances from athletes from all over the world – and VERY WELL DONE TEAM GB!!     I do fancy myself against that Usain Bolt; you know - I may be getting older, but I can still get a spurt on when I put my mind to it!  What’s that?  Having four legs gives me an unfair advantage? I don’t think so!

Anyway, however much we enjoyed the Olympics, I think the Paralympics [apparently the name comes from the fact that the games are held ‘in parallel’ with the Olympics] will be fantastic and will give us many more records and achievements to marvel.  I’m just impressed at the amount of work and sheer determination the athletes put into their training as I would much rather have a little lie down.

I also found out this year that two athletes are taking part in both the Olympics and Paralympics [a minute number have done so since 2004] and this shows that they must be at the very top of their game.  They are Oscar Pistorius of South Africa [he is a sprinter] and Natalia Partyka of Poland [she plays table tennis].  Of course I lived in Poland for a few years so I hope that Natalia can do well; sadly she lost her Olympic match in the third round to a lady from the Netherlands.  Some people think it is unfair for people who are disabled to take part in both games and that they should settle for taking part in one or the other but I think if you qualify, then why not.  What do you think??

Last time, I told you about the event I attended in Telford that was designed to provide lots of information to people looking for respite placements.  As we chatted with a number of people who expressed an interest in Vision Homes Association we have now invited them to come to Ludlow for a cup of tea with an informal quick look around and the opportunity to find out more about what we can offer.

We hope people will visit over two days [20^th and 29^th August from about 11.00 am] and of course I will personally be conducting tours of the site.  Service users who live there have told me they are OK with this as long as we don’t create too much of a disturbance; indeed one or two have said they would be happy to meet with visitors.  So if you would like to come over to Ludlow to find out more about VHA, please contact my ‘secretary’ Caroline on 0121 434 4644 or caroline@visionhomes.org.  [Actually please don’t tell her I said this as she’s not my secretary at all, but I do like to feel important].

The good news is that all three services at Ludlow have just had unannounced inspections from the Care Quality Commission – and they are all compliant with current legislation and standards.  This is brilliant work and my congratulations to the Managers and all staff.  I’m very proud of you all.

I just hope that it stops raining for the open days [what a horrible wet summer we have had].  My fur coat is almost completely waterproof, and I only have to have a good shake to be rid of the wet but you have to worry about umbrellas and raincoats and all sorts.  Mind you I did find that mud hard to shift when I had had a good old roll in it.  Ah the indignity of being bathed – ugh!