By Guest Blogger, Chief Lion Tamer and Sensation that is Samantha Heywood-Cox
A huge thank you to Mika and her Crew for giving us an upbeat, blood pumping start to our new year here at Let’s Make Jam. The activity of the evening was based around the Rockbox classes run regularly across Stoke-on-Trent. The idea of the class was to “Punch, kick and smash drumsticks to classic and modern rock tunes!” and members young and old certainly did that.
A smooth introduction to get us moving before the drumsticks were handed around for us to (somewhat disc-coordinatedly) exercise arms, legs, hips and laughter muscles in ways we could never have imagined.
The session was certainly fun, even our own Julie Wells joined in (though she will not let us publish the evidence of such). There was lots of great music played as we were guided through upper-body exercises and lower-leg stretches.
“…really good fun and didn’t take my own or anyone else’s eye out with the drum sticks, so bonus” Lisa Mansell
“It was a great night. Thank you all” Mags Johnson
You can find out more about what Mika and Crew get up to, and the classes & activities they offer on www.workoutwithmika.co.uk as well as the usual socials including (thanks to Jenny Cook) on the LMG Private page on Facebook.
We were joined too on the night by our newest member Mae – a trainee hearing dog. She behaved fantastically and Elizabeth Barratt should be very proud.
The cake table was resplendent, as always, and we had all earned those extra calories, sent away with a warning that in a day or two we might feel some muscles that we didn’t know we had!
For those that really enjoyed the music, Mika has kindly sent over the playlist – perhaps you could practice at home with some chop sticks or rolling pins! Just let us know on the LMJP page and we can forward to you.
Da Business:
A little down on the main committee member’s but we had bluffed our way through the usual mid-month meet-ups. With several minutes spare before the room booking ran out, our lovely Julie requested that we went around the room and each shared a little win for the month. What a fantastic idea, Gema Opal Goldstone said that it was a great experience, very uplifting and we should do it more often.
There is still an outstanding query as to why the June session has been bought forward by one week (sitting on the printed programme as 7th June) – we don’t mind, if you don’t mind, but please watch this space for news in case that does have to change.
Thank you Sam, you’ve done a STELLA job!
So this week gone, has been Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, and as a WI, we at LMJ, strive to do our best to keep women’s health in the foremost of all our members thoughts and minds by regularly devoting whole meetings to the cause. Especially now ‘The Jade Goody Effect’ seems to be waning!
“The Jade Goody effect”, stemming from the public’s heightened awareness of cervical cancer after the British reality TV star Jade Goody’s battle with the disease, appears to be experiencing a gradual decline.
Initially, Goody’s openness about her diagnosis and subsequent death in 2009 prompted increased screening rates and awareness campaigns. However, over time, as the initial shock has waned and other health issues gained importance, the sustained impact on cervical cancer awareness seems to be diminishing, as the numbers of women attending regular screening has, once again, fallen off.
Ongoing efforts are essential to maintain awareness and emphasise the importance of early detection and prevention, ensuring that the Jade Goody effect remains a lasting influence on feminine health rather than a passing phenomenon!
The symptoms of CC can be many, making it hard to put a finger on. However, we all know this is the very reason regularly screening in paramount. Symptoms are many, including vaginal bleeding and/or discharge, pelvic pain and pain during intercourse or exercise, fatigue, to name but some. Many of these are often minor discomforts, felf regularly, by many of us and are often not a symptom of anything sinister. Symptoms can also often be dismissed as ‘age’, ‘menopause’ and ‘periods’. So, although uncomfortable and often inconvenience, these are the very reasons why it’s so, so very important to get yourself screened.
So please, please look after your lady bits ladies, and get yourself checked out.
As with the ‘Downstairs’, it’s equally as important to look after the ‘Upstairs’ too, with good Mental Health also being a topic we regularly devote whole meetings to. This years programme will have no exceptions so keep an eye out on the socials and, of course, I will keep you updated on the blog.
Our next sub committee meeting is this Tuesday night at Brindley Farm at 7.45 for an 8pm start, and we will be discussing Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and our BYO Book is Coming Home to Island House by Erica James. We will also be deciding on this year’s Jamanory Book Hub reading list, so if there is something you’ve always fancied but not gotten around to yet, bring the list with you. We’ll pop them in a hat, handbag, pint pot or whatever we can find, and pull out a list of 13 core books.
These are books you want to read, so haven’t yet, while your BYO Book is a book that you have read and are desperate to share the love with others.
Don’t let not finishing or even not starting ‘the book’ yet, put you off though, all are welcome, so come and join us for a brew and some book talk !
and finally, our next LMJ meet up is on the 9th of February, titled Love Yourself.
So, if we don’t see you before then,
Stay Jammy!
Let's Make Jam 
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