Leave a light on and burglars in the dark!
Now that the days are shorter please follow some simple guidelines to help prevent becoming a victim of burglary:
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• Invest in a light timer switch
• Close and lock all your doors and windows when going out or to bed
• Keep valuables out of sight
• Don’t advertise you are away from home on social media
• Register your valuables with www.immobilise.com
• For crime updates sign up to www.thamesvalleyalert.co.uk

Do you have a spare room in your house? Share your home and make a difference

Do you feel that you could offer support to someone in order to make a difference to their life?  If so, you could be just the person we are looking for!!

The Oxfordshire Shared Lives Scheme supports carers to provide paid care and support in their own home to vulnerable adults. People who use the service need practical and emotional support in order to live their lives more fully and independently and feel part of a family household. They may have a learning disability, physical disability or mental health need or they could be an older person or someone with dementia.

Here in Oxfordshire we are keen to recruit people from all walks of life who feel they can offer this type of paid support in their own home. It could be anything from occasional short breaks or day time support through to a longer term full time arrangement. The support that our carers give makes a huge difference to the lives of people using the service, often enabling them to experience new opportunities and reach new goals.

No matter what type of arrangement our carers provide, they all receive on-going support and training from a team of qualified social workers to ensure delivery of high quality, person centred care. They could also be paid up to just over £400 per week for each person they support.

There are also regular opportunities to meet up with other carers and people who use the service at social and information events so a wider support network is also available.

If you have a spare room to offer and would like to play a key part in making a positive difference to someone’s life, then we really want to hear from you! Call the Oxfordshire Shared Lives Scheme on 01865 897971 or visit our website www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/sharedlives .

We are also holding a drop-in session for people to come and find out more about the service by chatting to other carers, social workers from the Shared Lives Team and people using the service.  This will be held on Thursday 6th December between 1.00 pm and 2.30 pm at Abbey House, Abbey Close, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3JD. We look forward to meeting you!!
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​The Eastern Star Christmas Market at The Lotus Retreat, Faringdon is this Sunday from 11-4:00!!

Chai tea, boutique bargains, mini-facials, taster treatments & 10 unique artisans in the yoga hall. Looking forward to seeing you there.
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Comments are asked for by 27th November. It does make a difference how many people leave a comment.

The link is here:

http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/java/support/Main.jsp?MODULE=ApplicationDetails&REF=P18/V0259/O#exactline
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​Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service

All it takes is one distraction

Did you know that 1 in 3 people rescued from house fires in Oxfordshire are rescued from cooking fires? Or that distraction is the main cause of cooking fires?
 
It's easy to get distracted - the phone rings, someone's at the door or a TV show catches your attention. If you need to leave your cooking, even for a couple of minutes:
 
• turn down the heat
• set the timer
• or ask someone to watch it for you
• Or could find that Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service firefighters join you for dinner!

Find out more at: www.365alive.co.uk/cooking

FARINGDON & DISTRICT U3A MEETING ON THURSDAY 13TH DECEMBER 2018

Faringdon and district U3A will hold their December meeting in the Corn Exchange at 2.30pm.  The speaker will be Derek Gale, a Faringdon local photographer and trainer, who will talk about “How to take a better photograph”.  Derek is well-known to the photography group;  he will explain the art of improving our photographs and even give an insight into the technical aspects of this fascinating hobby.  Refreshments will be available after the talk.  All members are welcome, but visitors are required to contribute £1.50.

For further information please use the website on https://faringdondistrictu3a.com/ or contact the chairman Margaret Brown on 01367 615 385. 

​Beauty Spot Thefts

Please be vigilant around rural beauty spots - this area has had 8 thefts from vehicles last weekend alone.
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​Citizen’s Advice

People who have difficulty paying their energy bills might be able to take advantage of the Warm Home Discount, a new kind of grant offered by the government and energy suppliers. 

The Warm Home Discount is a scheme that provides people on low incomes with a single discount of £140 on their winter electricity bill. (You might be able to get the discount applied to your gas bill instead - contact your supplier to find out.) 

The discount will not affect your Cold Weather Payment or Winter Fuel Payment.

Not all energy suppliers are part of the scheme. You can contact your supplier to see if they offer the discount. (If the supplier doesn’t, you might want to switch to a supplier that does.)

Most people who are eligible will receive the discount automatically, without having to apply. This will be the case if, on 8 July 2018:
- They were with an energy supplier that is part of the scheme; and
- They were receiving the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit; and
- Their name (or their partner's name) was on the bill.

If you don't receive the discount automatically, you might be eligible if you have a low income and receive certain means-tested benefits. Bear in mind that energy suppliers could have different eligibility rules. Applications for the discount open at different times for each supplier and people who are not auto-enrolled need to apply as soon as possible to improve their chances.

Further details are available from https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme. Citizens Advice can help. Contact us in person during opening hours or on the telephone (Adviceline 03 444 111444). For locations of offices and opening hours see www.citizensadvice.org.uk/local/oxfordshire-south-vale

In celebration of 100 years of votes for women : 

Saturday 17th November in the Corn Exchange 

Everyone is invited to a full day of celebration in the Corn Exchange - see back of Flyer for full details. 
Tickets are £3 (which includes a drink & a cake!) and everyone is welcome. 

There will be stalls & information & activities all day, including talks and taster sessions up at the Faringdon Clinic. 

In particular, there will be a brilliant discussion panel starting at 2.30 pm with speakers from a variety of backgrounds - have a look at the details. We look forward to seeing everyone there! For more information phone 01367 241452.
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