Platinum Clubhouse - September2005 Newsletter

Editorial Now that the summer is drawing to a close, all our members are back at work both within the clubhouse, and in their various places of employment. Next month see a visit from America of two people who are here to carry out a Accreditation of our clubhouse, if you are a member of our clubhouse, we need your help with our Accreditation. We welcome all our new members, and it is great to see Pierce on the road to recovery. Finally, don’t forget our weekend away in Killarney on the 14, 15, and 16th of October. We also welcome Ian, to the clubhouse as a permanent member of staff.

. We are busy preparing for the upcoming visit by Steve and Jack who will be here on behalf of the International Centre for Clubhouse Development [ I. C. C. D], based in New York. The purpose of this visit is to ascertain if we at Platinum Clubhouse are running the clubhouse in line with the internationally agreed standards which are a guide for Clubhouse around the world. The possible outcomes of this visit are as follows; Certificate awarded with a return visit in three years Certificate awarded with a return visit in one year A suggestion to re-apply for another certification visit. This will be our second accreditation visit having successfully undergone one previously when we received an accreditation certificate with a return visit in three years. We have finished preparing a self-study where we looked at all areas of Platinum and through discussions with staff and members, pointed to our positive points and also some areas that could be improved. Thankfully, this process is now complete. We look forward to seeing many members over the next few weeks, and a successful visit.

On Thursday 11th August 5 members and two staff went to the Osprey Hotel and Spa in Naas. We had two treatments each one was a massage and the other was a facial, or a manicure. We had a light lunch and then that evening. We had a beautiful meal in the Mash restaurant. We also had the use of the Leisure Centre. Six of us stayed the night. I found the experience really amazing as I never had a massage or facial before. I feel we all enjoyed the experience.

Social Calender

Regular office hours are taken up with the business of running the Clubhouse, so any social activities take place in the evenings and /or weekends. The focus of the social programme is to offer a range of supports to help members to access facilities in the community.

Sweet Memory

Skin as white and pure as fresh snow, When I needed comfort and counsel I knew where to go. This person represented a time and a place in space, Free from worry, stupidity and full of respect and grace. She saw the qualities that were strong in me, She brought them into consciousness and set them free. I was wild, adventurous, fit and able, And it was once said that we were like peas in a pod, Never quite realized what we had. From time to time I think of what might have been, Yet nobody can allow for life’s tricks; ‘Youth, love, drugs, booze, clubs, music, the buzz’, Everything we had valued faded and fuzzed. Brian

Farmers Wife's Omelette

Preparation time 5 minutes you will need… 1 large onion 2 tomatoes, peeled 1 oz. macaroni small shapes 4 rashers streaky bacon 1 oz. butter 4 eggs Cooking time 10 minutes salt and pepper to taste 4 tablespoons peas, cooked Peel and chop the onion. Peel and roughly chop the tomatoes (see quick tip below). Cook macaroni as directed on the packet. Grill bacon rashers until crisp. Meanwhile, using a strong 8-inch frying pan, fry the onion in the butter until golden. Whisk eggs with 2 tablespoons cold water and season to taste, pour over the onion. Sprinkle over the peas, chopped tomatoes and macaroni. Cook gently, stirring the centre and loosening the edges with a palette knife until set. Put under a hot grill for 1 minute. Serve in quarters, each topped with a crisp slice of bacon. Serves 4.

Quick Tip

To peel tomatoes: place Tomatoes on kitchen fork and Hold over high gas jet until skin Pops. Keep turning Alternatively, put tomatoes in basin, cover with boiling water, Leave for half a minute only.

Championship Update

Championship Update. The All Ireland series in football is soon to reach its climax with quarter final matches down for decision over the coming week ends. As with the Hurling only one or two teams have any chance of winning the trophy. The juiciest tie for me is the meeting of Cork and Kerry. For me the winners of this match is certain to go on and win the Sam Maguire Trophy. Kerry shall be raging hot favourites going into this match having already beaten Cork in the Munster final. Cork however I feel have improved in the interterm and a very close match is anticipated., don’t rule out a shock here. Dublin and Tyrone meet in another O. F. match and me despite being a Kildare man shall be rooting for the Sky blues in this one. Primarily, because northern football is dour, uninspiring and not very ease on the eye. Dublin are workman like and I don’t fancy them to go all the way. Armagh are Ulster Champions and are a very physical outfit and shall probably overpower Laois. In Hurling, Kilkenny look nailed on to win the McCarthy cup, with Galway in with an outside chance. Looking back at the Leinster Championship, teams like Kildare, West Meath, and Meath seemed to have sunk further and further into a black hole. At the moment the future for all these teams look bleak to say the least.

Pierce

I am just back from 10 days in a Spanish villa with a tan and a fit body after swimming at the pool and beach and playing tennis every day. My sister Liz and her two children Luke and Teresa were great company and my Mum and Dad organised everything perfectly. After we had our dinner out every night Colin (my brother) and me made good use of having every single channel on satellite, we chose a movie most nights and had a laugh. My Dad Liam was my partner in tennis and we played on 3 different types of court including Clay, Savannah and hard court. After each match we went swimming in the local pool and had coffee or a sandwich in the poolside bar. My brother (Bill) and his wife Emer have just joined the rest of my family in Spain for a final four days; Bill will be all right on the plane as he is a helicopter pilot.

Michael and myself Philip, went for a few days holiday in the McEniff Hotel in Waterford. The meals in the hotel were lovely, as were the staff of the hotel who were very helpful and nice to us. Waterford is a city with a unique place in Irish History, for a good number of years Vikings made homes in and around the city. Then a man called Strongbow, made a deal with a local chieftain, that he would protect the city from the Vikings in return for the chieftain daughter hand in marriage. By the way, Vikings brought the rabbit to Ireland. We learned this on a visit to the local history museum. Waterford is a city with some lovely shops, we got a lovely hair cut done by three angels. We were also lucky myself and Michael to back a winner each. One of the big tourist attraction in Waterford is when they lift the bridge across the river Suir, to let boats up and down the river. At night in the hotel there was music . One evening we went to the hotel gym, Michael done a few exercises on the machines, I did too and had a good lie down after it. All in all, we had a good time, our only regret is our visit to Waterford was far too short. By the way, the weather was good.

A major component of the Clubhouse is Transitional Employment Programme (TEP). TEP offers each member the chance to go to work in a paid, part-time entry level job and to stay in that job for approximately six months. Members chose the level of support and involvement they want from the Clubhouse.

Get Well wishes to: All our members who are unwell.

Birthday Wishes: Chris, Eileen, Seamus, George, Ray, Aidan, Michael, Robert, Paula, Liam.

Any articles, items or pictures in this newsletter may only be reproduced following permission from Platinum Clubhouse.

September 2005 Newsletter