Health & Wellbeing

Regular exercise after retirement helps you get out, stay active and make new friends, say Haringey’s health ambassadors, as the council launches its over-65s free fitness campaign.

The Health Ambassadors are the face of the council’s new campaign, which aims to get more older people into the keep-fit habit, with a host of free classes and facilities on offer at each of the borough’s main leisure centres.

Regular gym goer Dot Collins, aged 75 from Hornsey, said: “I think it’s a good thing for when you retire because it gets you out and active. It motivates you to be active really and you meet other people. You can do it at your own pace –  it’s up to you. You don’t have to be competitive.”

John Hadley, aged 72, from Noel Park agrees. He said: “If you come to the gym, even if it's once a week, you can socialise and get to know different people, and you can start to get stronger.”

Haringey’s over 65 health ambassadors attend free gym sessions and fitness classes available at Park Road, Broadwater Farm or Tottenham Green leisure centres, Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.They can choose from various fitness classes like Zumba and Pilates, do a few laps in the swimming pool, or do their own thing in the gym.

Cabinet Member for Finance and Health, Councillor Jason Arthur said:

“We are delighted to have the support of our health ambassadors to champion health and fitness in Haringey – they show how much of a difference regular exercise can make to your physical and emotional wellbeing. With free access to Haringey’s state-of-the-art leisure facilities on offer to all residents aged 65 and over, there’s never been a better time to get active in Haringey.”

Joining the gym is easy, and fully trained staff are always on hand to help. All that is needed to register is ID (e.g. birth certificate, passport, driving license) and a proof of the applicant’s Haringey address (council tax or utility bill or a Freedom Pass).

Qatar Airways welcomed Orbis Flying Eye Hospital to Doha with an official reception at Doha International Airport (DIA) attended by His Excellency Mr. Ajay Sharma, British Ambassador to the State of Qatar, His Excellency Mr. Ashud Ahmed, Bangladeshi Ambassador to the State of Qatar and Executive Director of Qatar Fund for Development Mr. Misfir Hamad Al-Shahwani, alongside other dignitaries and special guests. A welcome speech was delivered by Hamad International Airport Vice President Commercial and Marketing, Mr. Abdulaziz Al Mass.

The aircraft, a medical training facility housed within a MD-10 aircraft, will be on display until 29 March as part of a tour to raise awareness about preventable blindness and its impact on developing countries. The plane, which touched down in London and Ireland over the last few weeks, will offer students, medical professionals and partners a unique experience - the opportunity to explore the ‘hospital with wings’. While in Doha, the Flying Eye Hospital will be promoting Qatar Creating Vision, an eye health initiative that brings together three charities and 19 hospitals with the aim of providing 5.5 million child eye tests and treatments to children in India and Bangladesh before 2020.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways strongly believes in giving back to the global community. When you have the power to contribute towards making a difference, it is your obligation to do so. As an airline that connects communities and people around the world, we are delighted to have supported Orbis since 2012. We are proud to host the Flying Eye Hospital, and its arrival is a great way to draw attention to the work of Qatar Creating Vision. The initiative is highly commendable, helping give visually impaired children the chance to see again by providing them access to much-needed eye care.”

Thermae Bath Spa has announced Wednesday 29th March as the opening date of its innovative new Wellness Suite to its guests. The Wellness Suite replaces the previous steam room pods and comprises of: Two new Roman and Georgian-themed aromatic Steam Rooms, a contemporary Infrared Sauna, an invigorating Ice Chamber, a new Celestial Relaxation Room, and Chromotherapy Showers.

The Ice Chamber offers the most bracing experience in the Suite. A cool fog drifts from the ceiling, enveloping users in an ethereal mist. Flakes of ice tumble into a blue-lit trough in the heart of the room, where brave guests can immerse a hand or rub the ice into their skin. And a stimulating menthol fragrance finishes off the invigorating experience. The dominant colour in this room is blue with mosaics, tiles, porcelain and tumbled glass. Blue LED lights illuminating the ice feature and reflective glass-like panels enhance the light and space. The refurbishment was undertaken by sauna and steam room specialist, Dale Sauna.

Colin Skellett, Chairman of Thermae Bath Spa, said: “The Wellness Suite marks an exciting new chapter for us. Thermae Bath Spa has now been open for over ten years and it was time to reinvest in the facilities. The new Suite really strengthens our offering. It has involved a significant investment – the largest that has been made in a decade in fact. It is extremely important to YTL to invest in the quality of Thermae Bath Spa to keep the experience original, relevant, and interesting – and to entice guests back for more.”

He added, “If it weren't for Bath's natural thermal waters, we wouldn't have this unique spa for local residents and visitors to enjoy today. So it was important to us to infuse our new Wellness Suite with the very essence of the city, to honour the local culture and history. As such, many areas of our new Wellness Suite subtly evoke elements of the city, such as the mosaic of Sulis Minerva in the Roman Steam Room. We acknowledge Bath and North East Somerset's support for this project and it represents our shared ambition to enhance the city and its economy.”

The Infrared Sauna showcases the very best in contemporary sauna design. The largest facility in the Suite, the sauna seats guests in its warm acacia and lime wooden interior. Guests breathe fragrant essences while the warm amber glow from the infrared heaters embraces them. The room is completed by a beautiful fanned wooden sculpture, designed to mimic the contours of Bath's thermal waters.

Appropriately, the two steam rooms take inspiration from the history of Bath. The Georgian Steam Room will be light-filled, decorous and elegant, with a flowing fountain and a bright floral fragrance. The seating area is muted in colour with a soft sheen as befitting a genteel Georgian design. This room is heated to 45 degrees at 100% humidity. The Roman Steam Room in contrast has a bold, muscular design, drawing heavily on local Roman architecture. The predominant material used is natural stone, and all finishes are handcrafted by traditional stone masons. This room features fluted Roman columns and lion heads and an Italian crafted mosaic of the image of Sulis Minerva, courtesy of Heritage Services of Bath and North East Somerset Council.

The intimate, twinkling Celestial Relaxation Room was designed with relaxation in mind. Guests enjoy individual tiled heated loungers as they lie back, breathe in the fresh scent and take in the fibre optic lighting and audio visual display of stars and planets. The lighting and music reference historical links with astrology, notably William Herschel's discovery of the planet Uranus from his home in Bath.

Once guests have indulged in the key thermal and sensory experiences of the Wellness Suite, they can enjoy the refreshing Experience Showers, which include two sets of body jets and Chromotherapy showers.

One family has an extra special reason for picking up their game cards and taking part in Wolverhampton's exciting Beat the Street competition, which got underway today. Because the walking, running and cycle challenge is set to help nine-year-old Myles Broadhurst as he continues his recovery from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

He and his family played Beat the Street when it came to Wolverhampton for the first time last year and, according to mum Ann-Marie, the game has played an important role in helping nine-year-old Myles to regain his strength and confidence.

Mum Ann-Marie said: "Myles was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a cancer of the blood, when he was six and underwent a year of intense treatment at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

“Thankfully he’s now in remission, but the treatment he had left him very weak. At one point, he lost the ability to walk, leaving him wheelchair bound, and it was a long time before he was able to walk even a short distance.

"As well as losing his strength, Myles lost his confidence. However, Beat the Street helped us greatly in motivating Myles to get outside with his younger sister Perdy and to start walking again, strengthening the muscles in his legs and improving his health in the process.

“His treatment is due to come to an end later this year and, although he still has some mobility issues, he is going from strength to strength.”

Ann-Marie, who with husband Mark have raised £1,300 for cancer charity Bloodwise, formerly Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, through their Smiles For Myles appeal, said: "We are very excited that Beat the Street is back again this year. It is a fantastic, fun way to spend quality time together as a family, and both Myles and Perdy are really looking forward to playing it again."

Councillor Paul Sweet, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: "It's great to hear the positive impact that Beat the Street has had on people like Myles, and I'm delighted that it has played a part in his ongoing recovery.

"Walking is one of the best forms of exercise you can do; it not only improves your physical health but also has a positive impact on your mental wellbeing, and Beat the Street is a great excuse for anyone, young or old, to get out and about."

Beat the Street, which runs for seven weeks from today, invites people to score points by tapping special sensors called Beat Boxes which can be found on lampposts around the City.

Tapping one of the 191 Beat Boxes at the start of the journey, and others en route or at the end, will calculate the distance that the player has travelled. This is recorded against the card and added to the player’s individual total, their team total and the city’s overall score.

Players can monitor their progress by logging on to the Beat the Street website – https://beatthestreet.me/wolves – with top scorers in the running for a share of £4,000 worth of great prizes, including vouchers and goody bags. Schools and teams will also compete against one another to see who can travel the furthest and win up to £750 of sports and fitness equipment supplied by Decathlon, and if Wolverhampton collectively travels over 200,000 miles – and in doing so beats last year’s total - £1,000 will be given to charity.

National charity Young Epilepsy is appealing to everyone across the UK to back Purple Day on Sunday, 26 March 2017. In doing so, they’re asking the British public to dress in their finest pyjamas during any day of March. Donations for ‘PJs for Purple Day’ will go to Young Epilepsy. The charity acts as a voice for the 112,000 young people in the UK with epilepsy, advocating on their behalf to government to affect positive systematic change.

A new study shows further evidence for the view that spending too much time sitting down is bad for our health and our waistline. Research led by Dr William Tigbe, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick found workers who have a desk-bound job have bigger waists and increased risk of heart disease. It supports advice to sit less and be more active; as much as seven hours a day on your feet, and walking seven miles, may be needed to avoid heart disease.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity has announced on International Rare Disease Day it has only £650,000 left to raise in its £3.65 million campaign to build the UK’s first Rare Diseases Centre for children. The Star Appeal, which launched in October 2015, has now hit the £3 million milestone meaning it is one step closer to making the dreams of thousands of young people living with a rare or undiagnosed condition come true.

A driver who lost a leg after sleepwalking to her car and crashing into a tree is set to take on the Morrisons Great Birmingham 10K in April to raise money for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity, to thank the ‘fantastic’ staff at the hospital that saved her.  Kelly Jackson, 28, spent three weeks in a coma at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham following the horrific crash near her home in Hall Green.

Two bereaved mums officially cut the ribbon on a brand-new £1million support centre called Magnolia House – a national first at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Every year, approximately 120 life-changing conversations take place at the hospital between health professionals and the loved ones of young people. To help future families, mums Gayle Routledge, 45, from Stafford and Rachel Ollerenshaw, 46, from Warwick have worked together with the hospital’s dedicated bereavement specialists to make Magnolia House a reality.

Researchers at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham are appealing for members of the local Muslim community to take part in a study on the effects different medications have on people with Type 2 diabetes who fast for Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan Muslims are required to fast from sunrise to sunset which, with the holy month falling in May and June this year, could mean up to 14 and a half hours without eating or drinking.

This April the prestigious Cancer Research UK Boat Races will see two additional boats take to the water. Two teams of celebrities will master the skills required to take on the River Thames in the first ever Cancer Research UK Celebrity Boat Race. The two teams, coached by Sir Steve Redgrave and James Cracknell OBE, are made up of a range of familiar faces including television personalities, presenters, comedians, ex-Olympians and former Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Club rowers.

The Little Princess Trust – a charity which provides free real-hair wigs for boys and girls suffering from hair loss – has teamed up with Shrek's Adventure! London to find a Real-Life Rapunzel! The Hereford-based charity, which has given away nearly 5,000 free real-hair wigs since its inception in 2006 to boys and girls suffering with cancer and other medical conditions, receives thousands of hair donations a year. These donations are used to make some of the real hair wigs given away. Normally, a minimum of 7 inches / 17cm is required.

Rick Stein, Tom Kitchin and Deliciously Ella are amongst the celebrity chefs to come together to encourage the nation to bake their favourite cake for Bowel Cancer UK’s fundraising campaign Be a Star, Bake a Cake.  This year Bowel Cancer UK, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is hoping more people than ever will hold a bake sale during Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in April and raise as much money as possible to help fund vital research and lifesaving work to stop bowel cancer.

Walkers who took part in Alzheimer’s Society’s Memory Walk at Cannon Hill Park in the autumn raised £332,972, the charity has revealed. 5000 people took part in the charity’s walk at the park on Sunday 11 September 2016, making it one of the biggest in the history of Alzheimer’s Society’s Memory Walks. Walkers from across the city tackled a scenic route around the park on a sunny Sunday in September. The charity had set the target fundraising figure of £280,000.

Struggling with your New Year's resolutions or thinking about getting fit for the summer? SHA Wellness Clinic have a comprehensive anti-smoking programme which will help you quit smoking, avoid cravings and manage stressful situations that can lead to relapse. A personalised programme is created to target the nicotine addiction profile of each guest, including pioneering treatments and wellness consultations with world renowned specialists and doctors.