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Looking at your Community
Clamping down on the gang masters Health advice on depression… in memory of Luke, the beloved physician Casinos may have to carry a health warning….. 21 October is Apple Day It is like golden straw with a hint of lemon sherbet…. great beer!
Clamping down on the gang masters New regulations that come into force this month [October] will help to protect migrant agricultural workers who are being lured to the UK by unscrupulous ‘gang masters’ who then exploit them.
It has been estimated that there are 1,000 providers of temporary labour in the farming sector in this country, most of whom work within the law, but there are many who, through adverts or employment agencies in Portugal or Poland, make false promises of well-paid work and accommodation here. Applicants are persuaded to pay a big ‘arrangement fee’ for a flight on a cheap airline, which means that they arrive burdened with debt and become virtual slaves, living in overcrowded rooms in so-called houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).
Factories and farmers may pay proper minimum wages but the guest workers receive only a fraction from crooked gang masters. They may be charged for transport, in uninsured vehicles without seat belts, and even for work clothing. Passports taken for the officially required registration with the Home Office are often not returned but are sold on or used for fraud. Then the workers can’t prove who they are.
Church folk who are aware of this situation are trying to help the migrants. Churches in Lincolnshire, for example, have set up chaplaincy services in the county, which is one of those most affected (others include Kent and Worcestershire). The chaplains enter into dialogue with all the parties involved and seek to help the migrants in practical ways.
From now on, gang masters will have to be licensed by the Gang Masters Licensing Authority and all applicants are vetted by inspectors. It will also be an offence for farmers to use an unlicensed labour provider. The new rules are fully supported by the big supermarkets, which have been criticised for indirectly contributing to the problem by imposing short delivery times on farmers (who at busy times then have to find extra workers very quickly). The new system is designed to create a level playing field for all gang masters so that the crooks can’t undercut legitimate labour providers who pay proper wages and tax.
Health advice on depression… in memory of Luke, the beloved physician It is estimated that almost three million people in the UK are suffering symptoms of depression and that one in five of the population will be affected at some point in their life. The Depression Alliance charity receives over half a million website hits and thousands of calls and emails each year from people seeking information and advice.
While it believes that anti-depressant drugs are a valuable form of treatment for many sufferers, the Alliance says that these medicines work best in conjunction with other therapies, such as self-help and talking treatments. Sadly these other treatments are largely unavailable in many areas, forcing GPs to prescribe drugs alone.
A valuable resource is the self-help groups that have been formed in many parts of the country.* They provide a forum where people affected by depression can share experiences with other in similar situations. Each group differs according to the needs, wishes and ideas of its members. Groups can provide mutual support in a non-judgmental and confidential environment. They are not the same as therapy (although they have therapeutic value) but many people find them helpful.
Groups may meet weekly or monthly, many using a community centre, office or hall, while some may meet in the organiser’s home. Usually he or she is a Depression Alliance member who has volunteered to be a local contact and to help set up and run the group. People who are seeking a group are asked to bear in mind that the organiser is not a trained therapist and may be suffering from depression themselves. Those in immediate distress are advised to call Saneline (0845 767 8000) or The Samaritans (0845 790 90 90).
The annual cost to the NHS of treating depression has been estimated to be more than £9 billion in England, according to a study by the Mental Health Foundation. Another report, commissioned by the Prince of Wales, calls for more use of complementary therapies. But people who think they are affected should see their GP before embarking on any treatment.
The Depression Alliance does not run a helpline but offers an information pack (call 0845 123 23 20). Website: www.depressionalliance.org
Casinos may have to carry a health warning….. Casinos, betting shops and bingo halls may be required by law to warn customers about the dangers of gambling.
The Gambling Commission, the watchdog of the gambling industry, is now calling for signs to warn people about the risks, posters containing helpline numbers for those who become addicted, and training for staff so they can spot the signs of problem gambling. All new casinos would have to adhere to the guidelines – or face fines and closure.
In the UK alone, one million people regularly gamble online. This growth of internet gambling sites is causing the most concern.
21 October is Apple Day Apple Day is the annual national celebration of our apples, orchards and local distinctiveness. It was launched by Common Ground in 1990, and since then been celebrated each year by people organising hundreds of local events across the UK. Why not join in?
Apple Day is a way of celebrating and demonstrating that variety and richness matter to a locality. It is hoped that by linking particular apples with their place of origin, orchards will be recognised and conserved for their contribution to local distinctiveness, including the rich diversity of wild life they support.
At an Apple Day you can sometimes see hundreds of different varieties of apples, taste some of the more unusual kinds that you cannot find in the shops, and buy some to take home. Nurseries offer interesting varieties of apple trees to buy. There is often an apple identification service when you can bring some apples from your mystery garden trees to be identified by experts and an Apple Doctor with whom you can discuss problems.
There is usually lots to eat and drink from apple cakes and chutney to apple juice and cider and often cookery demonstrations with apples. Sometimes there are pruning and grafting demonstrations and games such as apple bobbing and the apple and spoon race, storytelling and archery.
Since 2000 Apple Day has been celebrated in more than 600 events around the country and abroad. Events have been organised by Councils from Cornwall to Ryedale and Essex, schools, Women's Institutes, historic properties, museums, juice producers, apple growers, cider makers, farmers, nurserymen, restaurants, wild life Trust, supermarkets, arts centre, agricultural and art colleges, garden societies, parish councils and in Community Orchards.
It is like golden straw with a hint of lemon sherbet…. great beer! One of the pleasures of enjoying wine is the quite pretentious language you can use to describe it. Now you can begin to do the same with beer.
In an attempt to boost beer sales, the Campaign for Real Ale has done the same thing to the humble pint. Its recent Cyclops scheme aims to give newcomers an accurate guide to what they are about to drink.
The new system offers not only a one-to-five scale for sweetness and bitterness, but gets delightfully dotty when describing colour, smell and taste.
For example: Everards’ Tiger ale is now “auburn or chestnut brown, smells of spicy hop and toffee, and has a sweet-bitter balance”. Caledonians Deuchars is “golden straw in colour and tastes of grapefruit and lemon sherbet.” The Burton bitter is “pale amber, dry and biscuity”, …
There are 2,500 real ales available in the UK, and this scheme wants to help people find what suits their taste buds. The long-term aim is to help real ale fight back against the mass-produced beers, lagers and alcopops which dominate the market.
The British beer market, including pub and off-license sales, amounts to about 33 millions barrels a year. Real ale accounts for about seven to eight per cent of the total.
Now, with one gastropub in London already recommending: Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter for haddock and chips Fullers 1845 for steak Schneider Weisse for fish cakes … surely the day of the beer snob is not far away!
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