June 2013 Halfway through the year already and it has officially been the coldest spring on record for over 30 years! Hopefully as we turn the corner into June we will have some better weather ! We can’t help you with the outside but to warm you up from the inside have a read of our latest newsletter. You can hear about some of the lovely things our volunteers have been up to, the results of our Fayre, the Chick Knit so far. And if you like cake read on !!

I’m sure many of you have interesting stories to tell or things you would like to share with us, we want to hear about you – your interests and your hobbies, even your favourite recipe so please send in your articles! (More details back page) Any suggestions for input please contact Carole Jacobi, Volunteer Co-ordinator. [email protected]

I am sure you would all like to join me in giving a very warm welcome to our latest new volunteer recruits Alan Jones – Chemo Day Unit and driver Diane Healey – Meet and Greet, Kim Harris – Meal Support, Rachel Marsh – Meal Support, Rachel McCarthy – Meal Support, Geraldine Williams – Garden, Carol Gould – Clinical Trials Unit

If you see these new volunteers around I am sure you will make them feel welcome and part of our team!

IMPORTANT NOTE TO VOLUNTEERS’ If you are unable to attend any of the training courses you have been booked on could you please let me know so the places can be used by others. Many thanks.

Volunteers wanted for Headstrong hair loss service Headstrong’s hair loss advisory service is based in Velindre Cancer Centre on a Wednesday and they are looking for volunteers. Headstrong offers the chance to learn how to use headscarves, hats and hair pieces to help reduce the impact of hair loss. They are looking for people to train as advisors, offering practical support and information to people who have lost or may lose their hair through treatment for cancer. Full training will be provided. Please contact Carole Jacobi Volunteer Coordinator 02920 196860 or [email protected]

Crafty People Wanted! I have had a renewed request for Syringe Driver Bags so if you are a “crafty person” could you help Velindre by using your skills and making Syringe Driver Bags for us ?

What is a Syringe Driver? Syringe Drivers are most frequently used in pain management for palliative care, particularly cancer care. They are small portable battery powered machines, usually about the size of a pencil case, which administer a continuous dose of painkiller or other medication by subcutaneous infusion i.e. below the skin. At one end there is a small needle or a cannula (fine plastic tube) which is placed under the skin. A small tube runs from the needle to the syringe containing medication. The syringe is placed into the driver which is used to pump the medication continuously. The syringe driver is therefore ‘attached’ to the patient. We desperately need more bags made for the patients to put the drivers in. If anyone is interested in making these bags a pattern and instructions are available which you can collect from my office or I can email to you. Please email me for a pattern to [email protected] Please deliver any finished bags to Carole Jacobi Volunteer Coordinator in Velindre and I will pass them on to the appropriate nurses.

Spring Fayre and Craft Sale Another fantastic success! This year we decided to hold our Spring Fayre in the Radiotherapy Radiotherapy Reception and incorporate some craft tables. This is the first time we have used this area and despite a certain amount of concern by some that people would not like the change, it proved proved to be another success. In the two hours the fayre was open we managed to make a staggering £3068.92 Anyone who has attended our our fayres will know they are always incredibly well supported, either by people kindly donating items for us to sell, helping set up, running a stall or simply coming to enjoy the sale. This This year was no exception. exception.

Many thanks to everyone involved and particularly to the Radiotherapy Department for use of their space and the WRVS for use of their drinks hatch. Watch out for the next one!

Some Funnies…… I really need to confront my phobia of German sausages but I fear the wurst. At hospital over the weekend I heard a lot of patients reciting Scottish poetry, apparently it was the serious burns unit After years struggling with my addiction to alcohol gel, I’m finally clean Police are hunting a “Knitting Needle Nutter” who stabbed six people in the backside recently; they believe the attacker could be following some kind of pattern. What anti perspirant do indecisive people use ? Not Sure I just penned a song about a tortilla, actually it’s more of a wrap. My ultra sensitive toothpaste doesn’t like it when I use other toothpastes Ever thought of buying a parrot and teaching it to say “Help they’ve turned me into a parrot” I saw a Dutch guy with shoes that had built in satnav, bloody clever clogs

My name is Honey Thomas and I am 3and a half years old. I live in Caerphilly and I have just started in Cwm Ifor Nursery which I love and have made lots of friends. My daddy’s name is Vaughan and I do a lot of lovely things with him at the weekends. My daddy plays rugby for Caerphilly and I go and watch him play with my Nana, Nana, Bampi, Aunty Bethan and Uncle Lee. One weekend in February me and daddy did a sponsored walk around the rugby Volunteers. ers. We hope this pitch and we raised £100 which we have give to the Velindre Volunte helps many people in the hospital. Love Honey Thomas.

Kindly submitted by Suzanne Hughes, Volunteer in Chemo Day Unit

A Cry From The Heart Marlene Waugh Submitted by Vanessa Lobo-Li , Volunteer Spring! Will you never come? Can you not feel the longing of the flowers for the sun? The world is like a bride without her groom Or like a summer’s night without the moon. Spring! Will you bring us hope? Do you not see that nature without your magic touch just cannot cope? The flowers grow and die again of cold And on the trees the leaves will not unfold. Spring! Why do you delay? I look around and watch the very soul of men decay. The winter has been long and hard to bear And man without you has to face despair. Spring! What promise in your name! It’s like a forest fire that smoulders and with the breeze it bursts into flame But yours is not a fire of fear and horror But one that makes us long to wake tomorrow!

Máire Rua Soup (Beetroot Soup) My mother was Irish and my father was Cumbrian born, with Scottish maternal grandparents. I was given the name Má Máire, which is Irish Gaelic for Mary. All my life my Christian name has been either misspelt or mispronounced. I have simply accepted that this is part of being me. It was only when I lived and worked in Éire that this did not happen. However my maiden name is Dalton and the Irish would always assume that this should be spelt the Gaelic way - D’Alton!!!! On a recent visit to a cousin in County Roscommon Roscommon I was delighted to come across this recipe on her kitchen calendar featuring my name. Legend has it that Má Máire Rua Rua (Red Mary) who lived between 1615 and 1686 in County Clare, married and murdered several husbands on their wedding night. This was untrue but she did have 3 husbands. Traditionally this soup is eaten for Samhain(pronounced sowin) the ancient Celtic festival festival when witches gather, drink wine and eat red foods – the colour for love spells. More recently the soup is eaten for Halloween Halloween. en. I make it with pre peeled vacuum packed beetroot if I’m in a hurry, but the original recipe is for raw beetroot. 675g/1½lb 675g/1½lbs ½lbs raw beetroot peeled and diced 454g/1lbs potatoes peeled and quartered 225g/8oz onions roughly chopped 110g/4oz carrots chopped into small pieces 1.2litres/2pints .2litres/2pints chicken or veg stock or water Garnish - yoghurt and chives (optional) minutes. s. Liquidise Bring all ingredients to the boil then simmer for 20 minute then gently reheat. Season to taste before serving in bowls with a swirl of yoghurt dotted with chopped chives. Delicious made with new season midmid-summer British beetroot. Máire (pronounced (pronounced Moira) Kite Maire volunteers for us in Rhosyn Day Unit.

Dee Barry shares her experiences in Japan Some Newsletter readers may have read of my exploits in Nepal last year, and when Carole asked me to write a piece about my visit to Japan in March this year, I was a bit concerned that I would either have too much to say or too little. However, I am counting on Carole to do a good job of editing for me as necessary. My son and his partner were on a 6 month tour of Asia and had emailed me with their arrival date in Japan suggesting that I meet them there. I didn’t need asking twice. I have long been fascinated by the Japanese culture and have wanted to visit the country since I was in my twenties which, as those of you who know me will agree, was a very long time ago.

I visited Hong Kong before flying to Osaka and the travelled to Nara, Kyoto, Hakone and finally Tokyo. Briefly I have to say that I loved Hong Kong which is so very different and diverse to any other city I have visited. I met Marc and Nia is Osaka. My intention was to spend a few days with them before taking our separate pathways around Japan. Their plans included travelling in Japan for over 2 months, whereas I was on a whistle stop tour of just under three weeks. It was lovely to see them again and although I had been keeping up with them on Facebook, it was great to hear them recount their adventures – which I suspect had been slightly diluted for my ears. Osaka is quite industrialised and a bit of an urban jungle. Nevertheless, I felt there was plenty to see and do and excellent for food and nightlife. Victoria Harbour Hong Kong

Marc and Nia came to Nara with me. Nara was the first capital of Japan and is full of history and treasures and Nara Park is a central park teeming with wild deer.

I travelled on to Kyoto and spent a day in a typical Japanese home, trying on a kimono, learning to do a bit of origami and Chinese calligraphy, as well as watching and then performing a whole tea ceremony which seemed to go on forever, but was very relaxing. Even Nowadays with the onslaught of McDonalds and Subway sandwiches the Japanese people are very slim, and the lovely lady kitting me out in the kimono had to pull especially tight to get this wonderful garment around my body.As somebody who has spent the best part of her life wearing jeans, the kimono made me feel very feminine, though I discovered how it might feel to wear a corset! The people in Kyoto were very welcoming and I found it easy to get around. I think Kyoto was my favourite place in Japan.

I travelled on the bullet train to Hakone which is part of the Fuji National Park, a region famous for its hot springs, natural beauty and views of Mount Fuji (known locally as the shy mountain because it is more often than not shrouded with mist) As the train sped west I looked up from my book and to my astonishment there was Mt Fuji looking exactly like every photo image I had ever seen. I became quite excited but the Japanese travellers around showed no interest at all – undoubtedly commuters, I thought – so I controlled myself and decided to take the tourist photos later but, unhappily, I didn’t get so much as a glimpse of this iconic mountain again. I did, however, experience staying in a ryokan, which is based on a traditional Japanese Inn with public hot spring baths. The baths are segregated and after a ceremonial wash down the Japanese enter the baths naked. In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought. However it turned out that I had my own private hot spring tub on the veranda of my room so I didn’t need to commune. Rooms in the ryokan are furnished with tatami mats and futons. They also provide Yukata robes, a kind of dressing gown worn with a jacket which is worn after bathing for both dinner and breakfast. The experience is supposed to be relaxing but as a first-timer I did feel a little intimidated. On to Tokyo. Well, what can I say? If you want it Tokyo has it. I could prattle on for a good while about Tokyo but I won’t. I’m really glad I went there but the city overwhelmed me. It was impossible to get around without using the very efficient but confusing to a Westerner, subway system. I discovered a whole basement city beneath the city where one could shop and eat all day without coming up to join the traffic and see the sky.

On my travels I visited many (mostly Buddhist) temples, as well as Samurai castles and palaces. I was particularly intrigued to discover that the Samurai designed the wooden floorboards to be especially creaky to enable the guards to hear any intruders. That’s got to be a good idea! While the UK was experiencing snow and general weather misery during March, both Hong Kong and Japan were fine and sunny with temperatures ranging from 15 to 20 degrees and I was fortunate enough to catch cherry blossom in Tokyo. The Japanese people were very helpful and courteous, but although English is taught for 3 years in junior and another 3 years in senior schools it was rarely spoken and all signs, of course, are in the Japanese alphabet – kana, hiragana and katakana. Never mind. I’m used to getting lost. My philosophy is “all roads lead to the same place – eventually” And then there are the heated toilet seats….. but perhaps that’s a story for another time.

Dee is a volunteer in the Chemo Day Unit

Rachel Marsh is one of our Meal Support Volunteers and would like your help ! Hello ! In a moment of madness I have decided to climb Kilimanjaro in September 2013 (Yep! In 4 months time!!) to raise money for the Melanoma Fund here at Velindre. So, in a bid to raise as much money as possible I am offering my baking services! I am still very new to this but, I can make cupcakes, birthday cakes, other celebration cakes or just good old plain vicky sponges! So if you would like to order one, please contact me via Facebook or email and I will have a go at whatever you would like. I have put some pictures below to give you an idea of what I can do, but if you have anything in mind, please just ask and I can go over the details with you. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I deeply appreciate any support you could give me. :) My email address is: [email protected] or [email protected] or ask Carole Jacobi and she will point you to my office. Rachel (Marsh) x.

A massive thank you to everyone who has helped with the Chick Knit again this year! So far this year, we have received £49,019.07 back from people who have sold chicks for us and it is still coming in

3 Pupils at Pendoylan C in W Primary School named Hannah Davies, Maddie Dalley and Alys Phillips all aged 9 years have raised a fantastic amount of £400 for Velindre Cancer Centre. They had a fantastic time setting up their own stall selling homemade gifts including cards, cakes, biscuits and sold Easter Chicks for £1.00 each, they would also like to thank people for the very kind donations they received. Your very special girls and well done!

Your Articles I know by talking to you that many of you have some wonderful stories to tell or news to share. Please let me have anything you would like to share with other volunteers, a couple of lines or a couple of pages, everything is welcome. Pictures can be attached. Please pass any suggestions for content to Carole or email me at [email protected]