Bring Out Your Festive Jumpers!

Save the date! December 13th is Christmas Jumper Day!

Ron Weasley's mum was famous for her knitted Christmas jumpers in the Harry Potter books; maybe someone in your family has the same claim to fame? If so, it's time to search those cupboards and bring out your festive jumper stash!

Or perhaps you preferred Sarah Lund's stylish jumpers in The Killing and have one of your own like this one. No problem, that counts too!

It's all a bit of fun to raise some festive cash for Save the Children.

Who can take part?

NB This is a general blog post available to everyone in Smiths News,  so do check whether your location is taking part first. If it is, and you don't have any customer-facing meetings planned, then we're asking for a donation of £1 to take part.

OK, I'm in, but I don't have a Christmas jumper :(

That's no problem, you could buy, borrow or decorate one!

Sweater style knows no limits, so why not get creative and decorate your own glitzy knitwear with tinsel, stars, baubles and snowflakes?

Deramores are Save the Children's partner wool supplier* - they also have plenty of freebie knitted and crochet decoration ideas to make your jumper festive. So far there are patterns for puddings, a holly garland, robins, stockings, bears and snowflakes with more to come.

The Save the Children website also has a downloadable mini jumper pattern created by Debbie Bliss, which you could add to your clothing as your cheeky contribution to the day!

This is a fun idea suitable for lots of locations to join in. Don't forget to send us your photos!

Or make your own

A festive jumper isn't just for Christmas Jumper Day! If you're looking for a longer term project and like the look of the snowman sweater featured at the top of this post, then you'll also find a link to the downloadable pattern on the Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day website.

The Deramores website has a selection of other festive designs for an alternative to the snowman jumper e.g. snowflakes.

* = Throughout November Deramores are also donating 50p to Save the Children where any order includes one ball of sirdar wool.

Children in Need Ahead!

Next Friday (15th November 2013), the UK will explode in a frenzy of Pudsey bears as this year's Children in Need is upon us!

Last year Newport decided to support this event and we'd love to hear from any location taking part in 2013.

Stuck for ideas?

[caption id="attachment_4399" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mmm - Pudsey Cupcake anyone?[/caption]

The Children in Need website has a downloadable workplace fundraising pack, plus plenty of other downloadable ideas and resources for you to use.

Remember, there's an additional £20 donation up for grabs for any fundraising stories/pictures featured - about Children in Need or otherwise - here on Community Link-Up.

Simply complete the Publicity Form and send us your pics!

Michael Joins Swim Britain

It's a while since we've heard what Michael Jamieson's up to, so I thought you'd like to know a little more about a major swimming initiative he's involved with :)

Swim Britain is a relay event which takes place in August and September. The idea is to get teams of four adults (all over 16 years of age) or a family (with up to three children aged 8 to 15) together to swim a 4,000 metre relay. Each team member swims 4 x 250 metre relay legs, which makes it very achievable for most swimmers.

This is a major Olympic legacy event which aims to get half a million of us swimming more regularly.

The relays take place in 10 venues around the UK (hence the differing dates), plus there's also the chance to sample an open water swimming experience in the lake at Blenheim Palace. This latter option is for adult teams only.

As well as the swim itself, there's also the opportunity to benefit from 4 x 30 minute swimming coaching sessions at a pool local to where you live. The Swim Britain website also has a set of 20 training sessions, plus nutrition advice and other top tips designed to take you from just 400 metres of easy swimming through to being more than capable of managing 1,000 metres.

Can't swim front crawl? Don't worry, there are top tips and training for swimming either front crawl or breaststroke, or a mixture of both.

Can't get to one of the 10 nominated pools? Then there's the DIY option, which means your team completes the relay on your own at a local pool. I think this option is also adaptable for solo swimmers wishing to take part in an 'unofficial' capacity. NB this option doesn't include coaching, but you can select to receive motivational emails from your favourite swimming star.

Can't get a team together? You can still sign-up to secure a place.

Think 4,000 metres is too far? Then the Little SwimBritain 2,000 metre option is perfect for those less confident in the pool.

And at least one lucky team will get Michael as their team member! NB other Olympic or Paralympic stars and David Walliams are available ;)

Come, Listen to the Choir

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="320"] Sing for Water West in 2009[/caption]

Bristol Harbourside is the place to be on Saturday afternoon (6th July 2013) when Sing for Water West comes to town!

A massed choir of 1,000 voices drawn from community choirs across the south-west will gather to perform watery themed songs to raise money for WaterAid.

Busking starts at lunchtime when the big choir splits into its individual ones to show off their own talents after the morning's rehearsal .

At 1pm, the Tropical Discovery Marquee opens for kids of all ages and then the singers assemble at 3pm for THE BIG SING! The song selection includes hits by Rihanna and Carly Simon, plus gospel, African and Georgian vibes.

At 4pm the WOMAD stage opens, with 3 world artists set to perform. To round things off Harbour cruises on The Matthew are available at 12pm, 1pm and 4.30pm.

Your blog's editor, plus Group Communications Director Mark Charlton's wife will be singing their socks off on the day! It's a wonderfully relaxed, family oriented event and it would be great to see you there!

If you're wondering what a choir of 1,000 sounds like, take a look at the video here from Sing for Water West in 2011. That was a choir of 850 - 1,000 will be awesome!

Pet Month Extra Ahhhhhsome!

Just when we thought we'd ended our coverage for National Pet Month, we've found some extra special contributions from you this morning. It's the perfect excuse to bring you more cute pictures to help brighten up your Monday :)

First up are Sue and Pete Lammings' trio of Schnauzers...



At the top left we find all three - from left to right they are Bertie, 7 years old, Barney 5 years old  and Betsy (leader of the gang) 8 years old. Below them there's Bert chilling on the chair. Top right finds Barney keeping his 1 good eye on Sue ( he lost the other at 10 months old) and finally there's Betsy with her ‘WHAT’ face, the littlest but by far the stroppiest!

Then Keith Foster not only introduces us to Sami Hyypia Foster, he also slipped in a gorgeous puppy pic!



Keith says he hopes they'll make you smile. I think that's pretty much guaranteed Keith!

And finally, Laura Morris introduces us to Billie and Shandy...



Laura says Billie is still a kitten at heart; she loves nibbling crisps and belly rubs. Shandy is a clever kitty who enjoys doing crosswords!

I think you'll agree we have a superb trio of contributions for our Pet Month Extra! :D

Extra! Extra! Here's Plum; she’s an Irish Water Spaniel and is owned by Val Wichel, who loves her dearly.

The Last Ahhh!

Today's final post in support of National Pet Month, showcases some very special pets...

First up is Rachel Varney's much-loved pug, Stanley.

Stanley likes cuddles, carrots and cheese.

And to round things off nicely, here's some more about the twosome who launched our look at the pampered pets of Smiths News...



Skimble likes feet, the colour red, chasing laser pointer dots and the elastic bands the postie leaves around. Jess likes posing as the Felix cat, cheese and sitting on heads - particularly when they're asleep!

In case you missed them, here's the links to our previous parades of pets:

• Week one - Misty, Pippa, Tom, Rosie and Smokey


• Week two - Lexie, Fred and Ty


• Week three - Archie

Thanks to everyone who took part, it was a great to have such a cheerful start to every week in April!

Getting Wiggy With It

[caption id="attachment_5269" align="alignright" width="198"] The Consortium's Jo Trigg unwittingly gets in training for Wig Wednesday on Red Nose Day[/caption]

Save the date!

Wednesday 22nd May - 4 weeks today - is officially designated as Wig Wednesday!

Organised by CLIC Sargent, Wig Wednesday is one big day when people across the UK will unite to raise vital funds for children and young people with cancer. As well as being a frightening experience, the gruelling, often life-saving cancer treatment frequently leads to them losing their hair.

Wig Wednesday is the perfect way of raising awareness in a fun way as well as supporting a good cause.

Don't have a wig? Don't worry, CLIC Sargent have got it covered! Visit their official store to buy your wig and you're already donating to the cause.

So, get together with your colleagues, wear a wig for the day and ask them to make a donation to take part. Don't forget to take some photos - the wiggier the better - and send them to Community Link-Up. We'll add a £20 donation for each location featured :)

Ahhhsome!

Caroline Alexander shows us just how much she loves her dog Archie with this lovely collage of cute pics!

Can you do better?

One final slot is available for our National Pet Month celebrations to be published next Monday. We'd love it to be a bumper edition!

Single pictures or collages are equally welcome :)

Send your photos to community.linkup@smithsnews.co.uk  with the name of your pet and we’ll do the rest!

It's That Ahhhhhh Time Again!

We have our second batch of pet pics to show you! First up we have Tamsin Succony's beagle Lexie with her (dog friendly) Birthday cakes! Swiftly followed by Fred gripping his new toy. Fred is an African grey parrot and belongs to Andy Whitehurst.

Andy also has a staffie called Ty, who shows us he's rather partial to staying in bed and licking crisp packets! We have at least one more pet picture to show you for National Pet Month. Whether you have a pampered pooch, a cuddlesome cat, or a gollumptious goldfish, we want to see them all!

Send your photos to community.linkup@smithsnews.co.uk with a couple of details (e.g. name and what they're doing) and we'll do the rest!

National Pet Month - The First Pets Are In!

Welcome back. We have the first set of our National Pet Month photos to show you!



First up are Misty and Pippa. Misty is Marina Morgner’s 4 ½ year old Staffie. She loves chasing pigeons, swimming and cuddling on the sofa after a long day of having fun. Pippa is Jo Kelly’s lovely chocolate cocker spaniel.



Jen Taylor’s two cats are Tom and Rosie. They’re brother & sister.



And finally we have the Before and After photos of Rebecca Hedges's Smokey, a soft-coated Wheaten Terrier. He’s recently had a haircut and looks very different, almost a new dog! You may recall Smokey made an appearance here last year, along with Rachel Varney's pug, Stanley.

We have room for lots more! Send your photos of your pampered pet(s) to community.linkup@smithsnews.co.uk

Nic Sells a Host of Golden Daffodils

Nic Hewlett (Rowan House) and her fellow fundraisers for Marie Curie Cancer Care ensured the town of Cirencester was turned into a host of golden daffodils last Saturday. She was invited to join the team for the day and a sum of £67.11 was found in Nic's tin at the final tally!

The local organiser sent the following thank-you message:

"Thank you all so much for turning up on a cold and drizzly Saturday morning/ afternoon to collect for Marie Curie. I think the response from members of the public was really positive and hopefully you all enjoyed the day. Please find attached a summary of how much you collected in your tin, it is always nice to know how much went in!!!

The amazing grand total was £1143.65 so once again on behalf of the Cirencester fundraising group thank you. Catherine" 

Nic was participating in fundraising for Marie Curie's Great Daffodil Appeal, just one of the major initiatives highlighted in your Events Diary for 2013.