Banbury Canal Day
For many years, I have visited Banbury Canal Day. It has always been a lovely weekend event and I quite often meet a lot of the Brackley community. While there I recognised people I knew and had a long chat with the wonderful people from Banbury & District Samaritans. They have been proudly providing support to people in our local area and beyond, since 1974, mainly covering Banbury, Brackley and the surrounding villages, and out to Bicester, Towcester, Buckingham, Daventry and Shipston on Stour.
During our conversation, I learned that the service is currently in need of additional volunteer support. We spoke about the many challenges faced today in running this vital organisation and the important role volunteers play in helping it continue. If you feel you could offer your time as a volunteer, please visit their website for more information:
www.samaritans.org/branches/banbury/
If you need someone to talk to confidentially, you can call 116 123 – free from any phone.
ST John Ambulance
On the 16th of October I was invited to the St John Ambulance awards presentations in Northampton. There was a time when nearly every town had a branch of St John Ambulance and many of our local events used to rely on the organisation for first aid at events.
During the presentations I was so impressed with what I saw. Awards were presented to many from the age of 5 years old to a lovely lady that had volunteered for 60 years.
I spoke with some of the local volunteers and asked why such a wonderful organisation had been struggling and why many local
divisions had closed. Like many charities, they were finding things challenging even before Covid, and since then it has become increasingly difficult to maintain volunteer numbers.
Despite this, I saw firsthand the incredible work they continue to do. If you’re a parent, a young person, or an adult looking to gain new skills while giving back to your community, I would encourage you to visit the St John Ambulance website and consider becoming a volunteer. It truly is a worthwhile
and rewarding experience.
www.sja.org.uk/get-involved/
World Singing Day
Now for something a little lighter – Saturday 18th October was World Singing Day. I learned about this wonderful event during a visit to Brackley Care Home. Now in its 14th year, World Singing Day was founded by American singer-songwriter Scott Johnson, with the aim of bringing people together around the world through the power of song. Each year, Scott writes a new song and on the third Saturday in October, people across the globe gather to sing and share a smile.
This year, I invited the town to join me outside Brackley Town Hall to take part -and wow, what a turnout! Thank you so much to everyone who came along; it was a truly joyful experience.
For more information, please visit the Town Council website or Facebook page.
www.brackleynorthants-tc.gov.uk/news/world-singing-day-in-brackley/