Entield Borough Over 50s Forum
AnHhUAl Annual Report RepoOre
For the year ending 31st March 2024
This report to be presented at the Forum’s annual general meeting in the Chamber at Enfi eld’s Civic Centre on Tuesday 25 June 2024.
“Helping our members keep active, involved and healthy” “Helping cur menbeus Reep active, imuolued! aumal frecubtifigy’”
Registered Charity No. 1122859
June 2024
Executive Committee 2023/24 Acting Chair Vivien Giladi Social Events Team Secretary John Ball Roy Barrows Assistant Secretary Tony Watts Heather Cole Vice Chair Peter Smith Olivia Goodfellow Treasurer George Rufai Jean Mittins Health Team Lead Vivien Giladi Jan Oliver Newsletter Editor Yvonne Mulder Jacky Pearce Members: Clifford Appadoo Sue Scott Vicki Pite Graham Thomas Talat Shaikh Peter Smith Meetings arranger Helen Ball Finance Committee John Ball Fund Raiser Jim Cantle George Rufai Tony Watts Offi ce Staff Ruth Fathaddine, Development & Offi ce Manager Diane Barron, Administrative Assistant
Representation on external organisations
John Ball:
Chair, Outer North London Companions Friendship centre Vice-Chair, Greater London Forum for Older People
Vivien Giladi:
Enfi eld Partnership Board CCG Access to Services group North Central London ICP/Enfi eld Clinical Commissioning Group’s Voluntary Community& Stakeholder Reference Group (VCSRG) group Working meetings on Isolation
Vicki Pite:
Enfi eld in Bloom
Talat Shaikh:
MCEC Trustee Committee member Faith Forum for London Member Enfi eld Faith Forum Muslim Faith rep London Resilience Group. Member LBE Strategic Partnership. Member Brunswich Park Medical centre PPG Trustee and Chair of North Los ndon Asian Care
Peter Smith:
ASLEF representative and Executive Member on the NPC London Region. Patient Representative Forum (PRF) and Public Led Assessment of Care Environment (PLACE) at the North Middlesex University Hospital. Heathwatch Public Involvement Association
Tony Watts:
Enfi eld Voluntary Sector Steering Group AgeUK National Policy Sounding Board
Forum Club and Group Organisers
Book Club Bingo Club Coffee Club Film Making Group
Sue Scott Lunch Club Sue Scott Jim & Lynn Cantle Lottery Peter Smith Sue Scott Poetry Group Brian Darby Jan Oliver Writers Group Ruth Serner
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REVIEW OF YEAR
The Forum’s 2023-2024 year has been a period of mixed fortunes.
Membership numbers after the impact of Covid are again slow in climbing back to pre-covid numbers. A number of our committed trustees have had health problems that have put strains on our management capabilities. The reduced fi nancial support from government coffers for local authorities has forced Enfi eld to change its priorities. Millfi eld Arts Centre,which includes Millfi eld House, has been leased to Platinum Dance Academy, while the contract to manage Enfi eld’s leisure centres has been transferred to Greenwich Leisure Limited.
On the positive side, thanks to our many volunteers and organisers, there has been a busy programme of meetings, social events and holidays, club activities - the Writers, Readers, Poetry, Film-making, Lunches, Coffee mornings, Bingo and Fundraising sessions, Christmas Parties and more - something for all to join in and enjoy.
Our executive committee and members representing the Forum on external organisations ensure that our collective views are listened to and considered. The project that the Forum initiated some fi ve years ago to help over 50s cope with the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) universal credit system has continued with a number of Forum members using their computer skills to support DWP clients. Thoughout this period Williamz Omope, the programme director, has provided outstanding leadership in helping many individuals back in to work.
many have with the increasing digitalisation within our society and has been lobbying for support in ways to help those who are excluded through fi nancial, disability and other circumstances.
to run the Leisure Centres and these are now managed by Better (Greenwich Leisure Ltd). We have managed to retain the Forum discount for the concession card with the new management. Unfortunately Edmonton Leisure Centre remains closed until the Council undertakes vital health and safety remedial work.
MEETINGS PROGRAMME
Throughout the year, on the last Tuesday morning of each month apart from December, the Forum hosts meetings with interesting and diverse speakers on relevant topics, especially pertinent for older people.
April 2023 – Williamz Omope – Consultant and long term advocate for Forum members talked about the Job club and Digital Inclusion
May 2023 – Michael Stennett – Solicitor - Ways to avoid a contentious will
June 2023 – Forum AGM – Bambos Charalambous MP – Health and Social care. Bambos talked about these with particular emphasis on Enfi eld Borough and residents thereof.
July 2023 – George Ttouli – Burlington Wealth Management, long term supporter of the Forum gave advice on Finance and Trusts
-The Haselbury Retrofi t Houses Project
September 2023 – Matt Burn – Better Homes for Enfi eld
October 2023 – Anna Eager – Energetik , District Heat Network in Enfi eld
November 2023 -Joanne McCartney – London Assembly member for Enfi eld – London as an Age Friendly City
January 2024 – George Ttouli – Burlington Wealth Management – Savings and Investments
February 2024- Inspector to an Age Friendly Richard Lee, Metropolitan Police – Neighbourhood Policing in Enfi eld and Haringey
March 2024 – Jan Oliver – Forum Film Club – Focus on Loneliness fi lm screening
All meetings were held in the Council Chamber at Enfi eld Civic Centre apart from the February meeting at Barchester’s Southgate Beaumont Care Home. We are grateful to the Council and Barchester for the use of these facilities. We would also like to thank those who researched and sourced the speakers and the speakers themselves.
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Health Issues 2023/24
This AGM will be critical for the continuance of the good work of the Forum in supporting the wellbeing of Enfi eld’s older population through its clubs, trips, events, meetings and social gatherings.
It is very rewarding to give your time and skills for the benefi t of others and be part of the group running the Forum; but, the committee needs revitalising; it needs newly retired volunteers to come forward and carry on the good work for which the Forum is recognised.The Forum has had its work cut out to maintain effective pressure to improve local | l . health provision and, indeed, to protect what there is. We have always been short of GPs in modern premises and an outlier eit in North Central London (NCL) in terms of both need and facilities but have had the ear of the local Community health Clinical Commissioning Group in-their and its forbears. Pressure for
Camden, Islington, Harringay, Barnet & Enfi eld resulted in an Integrated Care system and we have lost a signifi cant number of staff with whom we have worked for twenty years or more as they have taken redundancy or been made redundant or moved to other positions in NCL to work for the whole of that entity or perhaps just left. Vital continuity has been lost and with it the suspicion that opportunities for listening to the public and co-production of planning have been weakened along with knowledge and understanding of Enfi eld and its needs. The Forum also fears that Camden and Islington will dominate, and hopes to be proved wrong.
GPs, with dysfunctional telephone systems, digital exclusion and lack of face to face diagnosis, but some progress is being made in recognising and trying to offset the problems by re-confi guring GP services. It’s up-hill work for our remaining GPs who do recognise the challenges but are not being helped by the shortages of GPs being trained and the numbers leaving under pressure of work and better conditions elsewhere.
One solution has been to extend some work to pharmacies but this has been undermined by lack of active central government support for them and by not necessarily reliable on-line pharmaceutical
prescriptions. At present record numbers of small pharmacies are closing down or struggling as their profi tability is eroded and even the bigger chains are affected but, so far, Enfi eld has not been hit. The Forum urges its members to support local pharmacies.
booster vaccinations and our members have become increasingly aware of the value of keeping active, eating well, avoiding tobacco and too much of the hard stuff, and the Forum was the fi rst to recognise and sound warnings r to the CCG, Public Health and the Health & Well-Being Board of the resurgence of measles. As a country, we had measles-free status until 2018 and the Forum considers aa * it deplorable that this was allowed to slip, as measles, which so many enable people to stay readers will have had, can be very for longer serious and is easily preventable.
We were able to run a very successful and well-attended Falls, Flu, Loneliness and Isolation Day in the Autumn with excellent speakers giving sound and easily followed agefriendly advice on nutrition, suitable movement and exercise and immunisations. We were given strong support from Enfi eld Council and the North Middlesex hospital for which we are very grateful.
In the Autumn we became aware that the borough was experiencing admission to in-patient treatment for malnutrition among older people living alone. The North Midd. and the NCL ICB each gave Public Health money to work on this and the Forum was pleased to play its part. We have published a list of a great variety of activities, some free, others at minimal cost, available in all parts of the borough, to try to get ordinarily mobile residents out of the house and out of habits of avoidance formed under Covid restrictions. The high cost of food may be a contributory factor but malnutrition, where there is no underlying causal factor, should not be a problem in a rich country and we know that loneliness and isolation can have negative consequences.
They mainly grew up with a fully functioning NHS, free at the point of need and adequately staffed and resourced. We urgently need a return to that provision and a complete re-think of our care system.
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Forum in Focus
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The Forum’s newsletter continues to be produced every two months, with a wide range of topics covered. The newsletter is sent to all members and is available in libraries, leisure centres and other public spaces in the Borough.
Articles in Forum Focus have explained how the Forum is working with other local community groups to facilitate digital inclusion and to combat loneliness. We also raised concerns about environmental, transport and housing issues, as we carry on our work of fi ghting for a fairer, friendlier and greener Enfi eld. We
continued to cover health issues and tried to help our members improve both their physical and mental health.
The Look on the Bright Side of Life column continued to be very popular as always, and we value our regular columns from Glenn Stewart at Public Health Enfi eld. We also use the newsletter to keep readers up to date with the activities at Better Leisure Centres – especially
the ever popular Over 50s Days.
The newsletter also advertises the Forum’s wide range of social activities and the Forum Groups (all organised /run by volunteers) and keeps people up to date with ForumFocus fs our fund-raising activities.
Thanks to the advertisers and sponsors who help to fund the printing and postage of Forum Focus and to the volunteers who write for, edit and proofread the newsletter and those who work to send it out.
Our offi ce staff Ruth Fathaddine and Diane Barron have the task of managing our membership records which are held on a Zoho cloud based system. Our IT specialists, Clifford Appadoo and Jean-Claude Rassaby, are currently reviewing all of our requirements with a view to improving and reducing inhouse costs and have already upgraded some of our computer equipment.
Paid up membership numbers are similar to last year with some old members still to renew. We encourage all members to renew promptly as this simplifi es the load on the offi ce. Our offi ce arranges the posting and distribution of the newsletter. This includes printing labels, stuffi ng the newsletter into envelopes and liaison with the Royal Mail. Here we are dependent on a team of volunteers to prepare everything for posting.
Members subscription can be paid by cheque, postal order, cash, card payments in the offi ce or by bank transfer.
events such as the Flu and Falls day in October 2023 which was very well attended. Feryal Clark MP, Enfi eld North, opened proceedings and we had excellent expert speakers on Nutrition, Vaccinations, Exercise and Orthopaedics. Our members enjoyed lunch and participated in activities within the Centre, including Zumba and chair based Yoga. Some of our affi liates and partners in Enfi eld attended and provided advice and information on relevant topics.
Coffee and Cake mornings and Board Games afternoons were 7 eam Yo t Ty am. a, ae organised by our . > = cr offi ce staff and held at Millfi eld House f A ye 2 were resumed but —— ° A attendance was poor
mainly due to inclement weather. We are hopeful of attendance picking up during the warmer summer months.
partnership with Platinum Dance Academy was “A Chance to Dance” where members enjoyed learning dance routines such as Abba, the Cha Cha Cha and Dancing in the street. This has proved popular with our members and is now being held monthly.
to improve the use of the available space.
5
Social Committee Programme
The Forum has seen a wide variety of social events to satisfy our members ever-increasing appetite to get out there and have fun - whether near or far!
Below are some of the offerings made by our Social Events Team (SET) - a small team of volunteers who work tirelessly to keep the range and cost of our events in mind. This team of volunteers arranged all these trips and holidays, with the numbers of members who took part shown in brackets. The team is led by Olivia Goodfellow.
Audley End Day trip (34)
Hever Castle day trip (35)
Romney marsh and Rye Day trip (35)
Namibia-explore and safari holiday (4) Turkey cultural discovery and retreat (24}
Train visit to local wildlife gardens with tea (6)
Train trip to old fashioned summer Heever Castle garden with tea (8} visit
Peak District Historic Houses (30)
South Africa Holiday (4)
Lincolns Inn and Middle Temple lunch (12) Mississippi Riverboat Cruise to Norfolk Broads (11) St Albans day trip by bus (8)
Bletchley Park day trip (30) Annual Christmas buffet lunch (90+)
New Year buffet lunch (104)
Kenwood House visit by train and bus (10)
Events are not arranged to raise funds for the Forum but a small donation for each activity produced over £600 towards Forum fi nances.
The social events are never a closed shop and all members are welcome, particularly those joining in for the fi rst time and those coming on their own. The SET (Social Events Team) are always looking for new and challenging destinations to keep the membership happy. It is already planning for the coming year and beyond, so please keep supporting our efforts as it gives us feedback that we are getting it right!
The Forum is so lucky to have volunteers to make all these events happen and would welcome additional support from members for help so we could continue to increase our offerings. You would be welcome to join the SET when it meets informally over lunch, every couple of months for a couple of hours. Even if you just arrange one small event per year, just think how much more we could offer our members.
Particularly welcome would be offers to arrange theatre outings and evening meals, walks or day trips and trips into London using the freedom pass.
Clubs and Groups
Peak District visit
Liverpool explorer (32) Whitewebbs Museum of Transport Middle Temple lunch – (14) Southwold and Aldeburgh day trip Leighton House museum half day trip (10) Nice-Carnival and Menton Lemon Festival (6) Rochester Dickensian day trip (8) Tate Modern Infi nity Mirrored Room (6) Michael Bublé Sunday Roast
In addition to our extensive social programme the Forum has a number of interest groups: the Book Club (16), Lunch Club(25), Coffee Club (10) - led by Sue Scott; the Film Making Group (20)and Whats App Cinema Group (23) - lead by Jan Oliver; the Poetry Group - lead by Brian Darby; the Writers Group - lead by Ruth Serner.
shown above in brackets while the regular meeting dates, programmes and lead details are publicised in our newsletter. Any member interested in joining these thriving groups should contact the appropriate lead person.
The ever popular Christmas and New Year lunches were again meticulously organised by Jacky Pearce.
6
Environment and Climate Issues
Leisure Centres
From the early 2000s Fusion held the franchise to manage Enfi eld Council’s various leisure centres. For the benefi t of our membership the Forum committee negotiated discounted rates which encouraged older people to maintain fi tness and good health.
decision to transfer the contract with Fusion and award it to Better (the trading name for Greenwich Leisure Limited). The transfer of management to Better took place in December 2023.
Such a change was not achieved without hiccups and some uncertainty. However, we were able ensure that our members continued receive a discount on the concession card used at the Better centres in Enfi eld.
Initial feedback from members using the centres is that under the new management there have been improvements in customer service, with cleanliness and hygiene, short notice cancellations of classes and maintenance of the pool temperature at an acceptable level.
Currently Edmonton Green Leisure Centre remains closed due to health and safety concerns and a decision on the future is the responsibility of Enfi eld Council.
On 25[th] October 2023 prior to the management change, the Forum ran a “Falls and Flu” event at Southbury Leisure Centre, and we thank Fusion, the centre’s staff, the Forum Ambassadors and Volunteers who made the day a success.
Insofar as the Environment and the Climate and Ecological Emergency is concerned, the year has been dominated by Enfi eld Council’s Local Plan which was published a few weeks before Christmas. It’s hard to underplay the importance of a plan that could shape Enfi eld’s built, and green, landscape for decades and set the tone for its economic and social future.
The Local Plan runs to about 600 pages, with a further 7,000 pages of evidence which justifi es the policies included in the Plan so our Forum’s representatives were pleased, and relieved, to work alongside Better Homes for Enfi eld, The Enfi eld Society, Enfi eld Climate Action Forum and Enfi eld Roadwatch in the preparation of our representations on behalf of your Forum. It’s a mammoth task for volunteers.
Our representations covered housing: we questioned whether provision in the plan for an ageing population was aligned with the Mayor of London’s positive policies. And we expressed concerns about the impact of housing development on the availability of green space for health, well being and cooling effects, when very little additional open space is being planned for, and some 13% of the Green Belt is scheduled for development.
The speakers at our monthly forums from both the Council and local campaign groups helped to prepare the ground for members with presentations on housing, the Edmonton incinerator and Energetik’s Decentralised Energy Network. Regular articles in our bimonthly newsletter kept all members informed about the key issues.
We now await the response from the National Planning Inspectors who will examine the plan. It will be many, many months, possibly more than a year, before they publish their report which will indicate the modifi cations they feel are necessary, on the basis of the evidence presented, to make Enfi eld’s Local Plan sound.
All members are welcome to participate in any of the Forum’s groups, clubs and activities. Please look in the latest Newsletter for up to date information or contact the Forum Offi ce for details.
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Fundraising - Bingo and the Lottery
The Forum’s bingo club was started by Jim and Lynn Cantle and held in Malones cafe in Enfi eld. Kwaks, the cafe owner, gave it his blessing and the fi rst session began on 14/10/2019 with Danielle, the waitress, as our caller. The fi rst weeks profi t for the Forum and also for prizes was £26. 50, The sessions were held at Malones until covid intervened and the cafe was sold. Fortunately Jubilee Hall in Parsonage Lane became available and the club now meets there every Monday.
Numbers attending have grown and our record is 48 people. Many of our original players from Malones are still regular players and many good friendships have been made including the two ladies who recognised each other from school 60 years ago.
Jim and Lynn Cantle our Bingo organisers
At Jubilee Hall Jim Cantle has been helped by a number of volunteers as his sight deteriorated. Dave Cope who collects £1 per person towards the hall hire, John Yiannacou who sells bingo books at £4.00 for ten games or £2.00 for fi ve games. Our regular caller is Georgia Violari with John as an able stand-in as caller when needed if she cannot make it. The tickets are now sold by Mary Michael, Georgia or Lynne Cantle and pay out the cash prizes.
We provide free tea and coffee for everyone. Monica runs the kitchen and also helps to organise our Christmas parties in 2023 with sustenance and music was provided by John Prior.
We are so grateful to all our volunteers without whom we couldn’t run and presented them with a small commemorative gift in 2023.
To the year end over £6000 has been raised. Since starting the sessions in 2019 over £12,500 has been raised to support the forum.
If you know of anyone interested in joining our bingo club please ring Jim Cantle on 0208 363 4969 to register your interest. Besides running the Bingo sessions Jim and Lynn Cantle have been doing a magnifi cent job in running our monthly lottery. This is now being run by the Forum Offi ce and overseen by Peter Smith, a long standing Trustee of the Forum.
Bingo players in Session
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Forum Volunteers
Finance
Rsupport for many of the charities and clubs across Enfi eld and the Forum is fortunate in having a committee and many members who regularly give up their time to ensure the smooth running of all our activities and to support our offi ce staff. However, there comes a time when an organisation or a charity needs new blood to take over management ad support roles.
Within our Forum there are opportunities a plenty to use your skills and efforts to benefi t others be it as a committee member, helping at event, stuffi ng envelopes for the newsletter. All such involvement can be very rewarding - it gets you out of the home; you meet other people and make friends; you fi nd out all the gossip and what’s going on in Enfi eld. As illustrated in the previous pages if you get involved it keeps you young at heart and helps you remain fi t and active - so contact Ruth or Diane at our offi ce and join in - You can use the Forum to keep you active and involved and the Forum NEEDS YOU.
Looking at our annual accounts’ statement shows that expenditure exceeded income by almost £20,000 compared to the defi cit of £10,000 in the previous year. These defi cits are in part explained by the impact covid had on membership numbers. Additionally it has been a deliberate policy by trustees not to increase subscriptions in line with higher operating costs as our reserves makes it more diffi cult when applying for funding for projects to improve the lot of disadvantaged in our society.
These acoounts show that our total reserves stand at a healthy £88,285 of which £50,000 is the historical amount put by should the Forum be forced to close.
Over the year the main items of expenditure are staff salaries, the newsletter and offi ce rent. For the new fi nancial year we will work towards a balanced budget to ensure the good work of the Forum in supporting older people can continue into the future.
Our accounts have been scrupulously kept by our treasurer, Dr George Rufai, whom we thank for his diligence throughout the year. We also thank Ms Heloni Vipani, BSc, who has once again has agreed to examine these accounts later in June.
Star volunteer Joan Stephenson (standing) helping Diane Barron who works in our offi ce at Millfi eld House
9
APPENDIX I
Age UK Enfi eld Association of Ingleborough Residents BHP Bowls, Tennis and Social Club Enfi eld & Southgate Workers Educational Association Enfi eld Asian Welfare Association Enfi eld Choral Society Enfi eld COPD Support Group Enfi eld Croquet Club Enfi eld Light Operatic & Dramatic Society Enfi eld Over 50s Fun Group Enfi eld U3A Gardening Friends Grovelands Bowling Club Knit and Natter Mayfi eld Athletic Table Tennis Club North London Adult Care
North London Morning Orchestra Oakwood Art Circle Oakwood Horticultural Society Palmers Green & Southgate U3A Probus Club of Enfi eld Selborne Bowling Club Southgate Opera Group The Arts Society of Enfi eld The Enfi eld Arts Circle TheHistorical Association -North London Branch The Rotary Club of Edmonton The Walkabouts Rambling Group Weir Hall Ratepayers Winchmore Folk Dance Club Winchmore Hill Bowling Club
The Forum thanks our affi liates for their continuing support throughout the year. In return the Forum promotes their activities and programmes in our newsletters, eNews and website. Affi liates can also insert their leafl ets in our mail-outs for a nominal cost.
10
APPENDIX 2
The accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024 were independently examined by: Ms. Heloni Vipani, BSc.
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Forum Activities include:
Meetings, Conferences, Special events and projects, Drop-ins, Advice sessions, working with Fusion Social programmes: Holidays: Trips; Theatre Visits, Lunches, Dinners, Walks. Groups: Writing; Readers; Poetry; Whats App Cine Club; Film Making; Coffee Club.
Falls and Flu Day at Southbury Leisure Centre
Tel: 020 8807 2076 Registered Charity 1122859 www.enfi eldover50sforum.org.uk