SWAP_PAMBooklet

Welcome As Head of Health Improvement, Equality and Involvement for the Western Health & Social Care Trust, I am delighted once again to support the annual Positive Ageing Campaign. The Campaign continues to be a huge success and is a great opportunity to celebrate the contribution that older people make to our communities. I would like to thank all our partners for providing a wide range of activities and events again this year, and highlighting the great results that can be achieved by working in collaboration with each other. This year, there is a focus on celebrating ageing in our community’s past, present and future, and in particular we want to recognise how we can make our communities a great place to grow older, and celebrate the important role older people have in making our environments a better place to live and age. There are loads of opportunities to get involved in a range of activities including storytelling, dancing, walking, and learning new (or old) skills and meeting new people while doing so. I would encourage everyone to have a look at what is on offer and try to attend as many as you can! Seamus Ward Head of Health Improvement, Equality and Involvement for the Western Health & Social Care Trust Well folks, here we are again at the beginning of October, Positive Ageing Month. It hasn’t been much of a Summer heat and sun wise but May and June were glorious, I seem to remember but maybe I am still wearing my rose tinted specs! We do live in a very scenic part of the country and with the lakes, hills and rivers all around it makes for a peaceful countryside. Thinking of the riverbanks and lough shore it reminds me of the ‘Wind in theWillows’. Ratty (he wasn’t really a rat, he was a water vole and they live in riverbanks), Mole and Badger were sitting on the bank and Ratty said ‘There’s nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as messing about in boats’. This little quote reminds me of warmer days, sitting by the riverbank or shore making little paper boats and seeing how far they sail, eating a sandwich and drinking homemade lemonade. Who needs anything more? Just enjoy. We have some activities and events coming up in October that you will enjoy. Please take a little time to read through the calendar of events and watch out for more updates. We have programmes across Fermanagh and Omagh so there should be something for everyone to enjoy. We have some events indoors, outdoors and online. Let’s embrace the beautiful area we live in and take part in local activities. Have a wonderful month. I look forward to seeing some of you throughout October. Marj Aitken Chairperson (South West Age Partnership) Welcome 3 #positiveageingwest