Dear Editor,

Thank everyone who came to our Paulton pensioners get together up Paulton Scouts Hall on September 5.

We had wonderful afternoon being entertained by the Golden Oldies singing to all our favourite songs and also enjoying a cuppa cake and raffle raising funds for local charities.

I will be holding a Macmillan coffee morning on October 3 at Paulton Scouts Hall at 10.15am.

There will be lots of lovely homemade cakes tea coffee big raffle with good prizes like hampers, meal vouchers, train ride tickets, cream tea voucher and a golf day and lots more. Please come and support a very worthwhile charity, one very close to my heart.

The next pensioners get together is on October 25 with bingo and play your cards right, everyone welcome.

From Shandy Udell and friends

Paulton

Dear Editor,

Can someone like our local councillors or our MP or even the Metro Mayor, please enlighten the the residents of Spring Fields, Tyning , Woodborough Road and the estates in Westfield have to do to get a regular bus service. We need to get to Doctors for appointments , sometimes on the same day, Chemist for prescriptions that can not always be delivered, shops and opticians the same as anyone else. Yes some people rely on the Dial A Ride and a great service, it is and many of us would be very lost without them, but they also could do with funding to add to their service as they are busy.

Yet every bus starts in Radstock accept on a Saturday which is three times a day if you are lucky and has been known not to turn up, and now it appears that this service is about to be removed.. Have any of the above people ever walked up the hill from Radstock to Woodborough Road etc to see the problem we have, how do they thing the elderly, or the mums some with there own health issues mange with pushchairs and their children for school who have to cope four times a day, or walking from Westfield Estates to main buses Routes manage to be independent. We had a great bus that served all of the above the number 82 which aloud every one to be independent, go to Tesco to do shopping meet up with friends , make appointments, and Connect up with other buses. Please bring it back it was a life line to many.

I am pleased to read that some routes are being helped, but not everyone is able to get to the buses that are always starting or going through Radstock and how many more buses do we need to get to Bath. The Yellow bus is a route which is unsuitable as the time table is to long and doesn't service the right areas and as for the West link service that is not the answer as you can not book it and never have been able too, it has always been a total waste of money.

Also at this time 38 more houses are now being built in Woodborough Road near the school and nursery . How come other areas are getting buses back on service and other residents are being left abandoned. Where is are support and who is supporting us? I tried writing to above people on a number of occasions either I have no reply or suggestions. Would you like to live like this.

Still left abandoned.

Name and address supplied.

Dear Editor,

Every year, thousands of families face a terrifying crisis. A sudden diagnosis. A life-threatening condition. A desperate need to be close to their child, but nowhere to stay.

The Sick Children’s Trust provides a calm, comforting space for families to be near their critically ill child during the most traumatic time of their lives. A warm bed, a place to cook, and somewhere to rest – all free of charge, just minutes from the hospital.

It costs The Sick Children’s Trust £40 a night to support one family in one of our ten ‘Homes from Home’, and we rely entirely on donations. The reality is that costs are rising, and demand for our homes is growing.

That’s why I’m asking your readers to become a Friend of The Sick Children’s Trust by giving £10 a month. Their monthly gift will keep another family together, when they need it most.

The families we support travel an average of 86 minutes to be by their sick child’s bedside. One such family is that of Laura Makin, whose teenage daughter Keisha needed urgent treatment in Newcastle, over 200 miles from their North Wales home.

Our Crawford House ‘Home from Home’ became their lifeline, keeping them close to Keisha during months of uncertainty and heartache. Laura said: “Crawford House quickly became our sanctuary.

Being offered a room there meant I could stay close to Keisha while she faced months of intensive treatment.

“Spending Christmas and Keisha’s 16th birthday in hospital was tough, but the ‘Home from Home’ gave us comfort and normality in the chaos. I could cook meals, talk to other parents, and just breathe.

“It even gave Keisha a break from the hospital when she came out of isolation – she loved being there, just being a teenager again. “We stayed in Newcastle for nine months, and Crawford House was with us every step of the way.

“I’ll never forget the warmth and support we felt. It truly was a lifeline when we needed it most.”

Because people chose to give, Keisha didn’t have to face hospital alone. Now your readers can help another parent, another child, get the comfort and closeness they deserve.

Please visit sickchildrenstrust.org/donate to become a Friend today. Your regular support will help us plan for the future and will make sure our ‘Homes from Home’ are there for the next family in crisis – tomorrow, next month, and for years to come.

With heartfelt thanks,

Jane Featherstone CEO

The Sick Children’s Trust