UK News links
In the May
|
I
have recently been made a trustee of a Village hall in a village a few miles away from Gamlingay.
As a result it has been brought home to me how significant such halls are to village life and also the
responsibility which is borne by those who are in charge of such buildings. There are a large number of
general maintenance issues to consider, but there are also big issues about health and safety, access for the
disabled and the appropriate use of such buildings for the benefit of the whole of the community. We are, of
course, well provided in Gamlingay and the Hatleys with halls of various descriptions. These are very
important facilities in the villages as reflected by the wide variety of activities which occur within them,
including sporting activities, children’s work, dramatic activities and a wide variety of social activities. I am
sure that many of us simply take these facilities for granted and fail to consider the important work of those
who are responsible for managing them. I am sure that I speak for many in the village when I record in this
diary my gratitude for the hard work of these people.
One of the other facilities in the village which I for one too often take for granted is the Fitness Workshop
at the Village College. I recorded in an earlier Diary my resolution to attend the Gym regularly.
Unfortunately, my attendance has not been as regular as I had hoped but, following the eating of rather too
many Easter eggs, drinking a bit too much beer and purchasing a book entitled ‘Banish that belly’ (this is fast
becoming Gamlingay’s version of Bridget Jones’ Diary) I have made renewed efforts to attend the Gym. I
have been attending on and off for about two years now and I continue to enjoy it, despite the odd
embarrassing experience.
I did fall off the jogging machine once when I was momentarily distracted and I
remain embarrassed by my inability to lift heavy weights. Am I the only person who lifts weights on one of
the machines of, say, 30 kilos and, when the exercise has been completed, adjusts the weights so that it looks
as though I had lifted 60 kilos? I am also starting to learn the words to some very cheesy pop songs and also
some very odd ways of describing different parts of my anatomy. But, at least the exercises are starting to
work. My belly is starting to be banished or, slightly more accurately, seems to be shifting to another
location. And finally, if you wish to banish your own belly, or move it about for a bit of variety, then do join
the Gym, but also drink a lot of water since, so my book tells me, it helps to clear out your system. Maybe I
should start a new health section in the Gazette to complement ‘Green Wellie’, perhaps I should call it ‘Pink
Belly.’
|