Housing News Spring 2009 - South Derbyshire District Council

Spring 2009
in partnership with
South Derbyshire
Tenants’ Forum
Housing
News
THE MAGAZINE FOR SOUTH DERBYSHIRE HOUSING SERVICE CUSTOMERS
IN THIS ISSUE
NHS Dentists
Meet the Repairs Team
Customer Satisfaction
Sheltered
Housing Winner
2008 Gardening
Competition
Annual Gardening Competition

Opening
Times
Monday, Tuesday
and Thursday
8.45am - 5.00pm
Wednesday
9.30am - 5.00pm
Friday
8.45am - 4.30pm
Useful
Contacts
Antisocial behaviour hotline
01283 595795
Careline
01283 225810
Citizen advice bureau
01283 210107
Contents insurance
01283 595781
Council tax
01283 595970
Homelessness
01283 595804/2
Housing advice
01283 595778
Housing benefit
01283 595790
Repairs
01283 595808/9
Right to buy
01283 595806
Tenant participation
01283 595788
Out of Hours Repairs
01283 221225
In this issue
3 Mystery Shopping Project
4 Information Centre
5 Annual Gardening Competition
6 Estate Tours
7 Sports Sessions
7 Exercise on Prescription
8 Sheltered Housing News
9 Telecare
10 Repairs Team
11 New Starters
11 Housing Benefit
12 Customer Satisfaction
12 Improve Services and
Make a difference
13 Gas Regulations
13 New Gas Servicing and
Maintenance Contractor
14 Laminate Flooring
14 NHS Dentists
15 Keep Your Property Safe!
15 Garden Tips & Recipes
16 Competition
Send us your letters
The Editorial Board has decided to allocate space in future issues of
Housing News for tenants letters, and where appropriate responses from
Officers, Councillors and Tenant Representatives.
If you have any questions or comments on housing matters
please send them to:
Tenant Participation Officer, Housing Services,
South Derbyshire District Council,
Civic Offices, Civic Way, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE11 0AH
or email: kirsty.titley@south-derbys.gov.uk
Please make questions as brief as possible, no more than about 50 words.
The Editorial Board reserves the right to refuse publication of any letter.

MYSTERY SHOPPING PROJECT
WE NEED TENANTS OF ALL AGES AND WALKS OF LIFE
TO MYSTERY SHOP TENANT SERVICES WITHIN
DERBYSHIRE AND THE MIDLANDS
➢
➢
➢
Do you have an interest in being involved in and helping to shape the services you
receive from your landlord?
Would you like to meet new people with the same interests?
Do you have a small amount of spare time on your hands?
If the answer is yes to any of the above then participating in Mystery Shopping could be for you.
We provide a Mystery Shopping service to almost 20 landlords across Derbyshire and the rest of the
Midlands. Each customer selects an area of their service to be reviewed and tenants of other
landlords then carry out the shop to assess how good services actually are. This takes the form of
telephone enquiries.
If you are interested you will receive training from our Mystery Shopping
Co-ordinator who will help and guide you through the process
Your feedback will help us to improve and shape the services you
receive from your Landlord. You could make a real difference!
INTERESTED?
If you are interested and would like to become involved them please contact Gill Holland Mystery
Shopping Co-ordinator on 01283 228746 or your Tenant Participation Officer on 01283 595788
or alternatively email
gill.holland@south-derbys.gov.uk
or
tenant.participation@south-derbys.gov.uk
“WORKING TOGETHER, IMPROVING STANDARDS”
3

Granville Court
Hall Farm Road
Swadlincote
Derbyshire

Annual Gardening Competition
You may remember we launched 2009’s gardening competition in the last edition of the Housing News
in an effort to encourage more of you to start planning your entries.
You still have three months preparation time left to get your garden ready. We’d like to make this event
an even greater success and would like to encourage more of you to enter. So no matter how big or
small your garden or what age you are, all are welcome to enter.
The categories for 2009 are:
Best Front and Rear Garden
Best Rear Garden
Best Front Garden
Best Water Feature
Best Garden Feature
Best Small Garden
Best Small Sheltered Communal Garden
Best Large Sheltered Communal Garden
Tubs, Pots and Basket
Most Improved Garden
Children’s Category (Under 16 Years)
Closing date for the entries is Wednesday 8th July 2009 at 12 noon. The judging dates will be Monday
13th, Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th July 2009.
All entrants will receive a certificate to say thank you at the prize presentation event which will take
place Wednesday 29th July 2009. The venue will be confirmed at a later date.
If you would like to enter please contact the Tenant Participation Officer on 01283 595788 or email
tenant.participation@south-derbys.gov.uk or contact your housing officer. Your contact details will be
registered in order for an application form to be sent out nearer the time of the competition.
5

Estate Tours
Letters to the Chairman of Housing and Community Services
Committee, Cllr John Lemmon
Mrs J from Melbourne asks, “Last year I saw you walking through Melbourne with a group
of people, who were stopping and looking at areas on the estate. What were you doing?
I was indeed walking the streets of Melbourne where the Council housing is centred as
part of what is called an ‘estate tour’. There are 13 estate tours throughout the year each
covering a different location in the district. Each tour is led by the Housing Officer for the
estate who plans the route around the local area. You will always find a local Councillor
present and as the Chair of the Housing Committee I aim to attend as many of the tours as
I can.
We advertise the dates of each tour in Housing News so that you can come along and join us. We welcome as many
residents as possible to come along for the tour and point out their concerns. We walk the streets where Council housing is
located and look to identify areas that require improvement, cleaning or particular attention so that we can put them right.
This may be a parking issue, rubbish, vandalism or unkempt gardens.
We are committed to improving the localities you live in to make your neighbourhoods cleaner, greener, safer, healthier and
better places to live and estate tours are one of the tools we use to help us do that.
In one example in Hartshorne we noticed that the fencing around an electric substation had become damaged presenting a
health and safety concern. After talking with Eon we were able to get it replaced. In another positive example in Melbourne
we observed that the bench in Peniston Rise was unsafe, so we were able to action its repair.
A list of the forthcoming estate tours are as follows:
All start at 10am
Meet at:
Hatton Thurs 23rd April 18 Heathway, Hatton
Newhall Thurs 21st May Four Lane Ends
Newhall Thurs 18th June Corner Pingle Farm Rd
Melbourne Thurs 16th July Penn Lane
Swadlincote Thurs 13th August Corner Darklands and Davis
Netherseal Thurs 10th Sept Hawthorn Ave Garage site
Lower Midway Thurs 24th Sept Corner of Guildford A/Salisbury D
Etwall Thurs 8th Oct Bottom of Belfield Rd
Hilton Thurs 5th Nov New Road
Goseley Estate Thurs 12th Nov Hartshill Rd
Linton Thurs 25th Feb Corner of Main St and The Crest
Woodville Thurs 9th March Smallthorn Place flats
Upper Midway Thurs 23rd March Elmsleigh Green
Hope this answers your enquiry.
John Lemmon
6

Sports Sessions
Sport sessions provided by Community Sports Coaches from South Derbyshire District Council throughout
the district, in conjunction with the Positive Youth Activities Group, Safer South Derbyshire Partnership,
Youth Service and School Sports Partnership:
5-a-side football at Pingle School
This is for boys and girls in school years 7-11 on the artificial football pitch at The Pingle School. 5.30pm -
6.30pm. April 23rd, 29th, May 7th, 14th, 21st. FREE sessions.
Street Soccer
This is played on the parks and is small sided football based around skill and style.
Salisbury Drive, Midway. 10am - 12pm. June 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th. FREE.
Goseley Estate, Hartshorne. 10am - 12pm. July 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th. FREE.
Woodville Recreation Ground. 6.30pm -8pm. April 20th, 27th, May 4th, 11th, 18th. FREE.
Community Sports Leaders award
This course is for anyone 16+ plus who is interested in learning the skills needed to be a coach at The
Pingle School. 9am - 3pm each day. July 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th.
Beginners Archery Course
A beginners introduction to the ancient sport of archery delivered by qualified coaches contact 01283
563483 to book at Rosliston Forestry Centre. May 6th, 13th, 20th.
For any further information on the above sessions, please contact Community Sports Coach John Widdowson
on 07966490813
Get your exercise sessions on prescription
Did you know that if you are over 16, have a long-term medical condition and are ready and willing to get
more active then you can get a prescription for subsidised exercise session.
South Derbyshire’s “New to Exercise scheme” enables local people to get a 20 session exercise programme
on prescription. A referral to the scheme must be made via a GP, Practice Nurse, Community Physiotherapist,
Community Mental Health Team or Stop Smoking and Be Size Wise advisors. Once on the scheme each
participant gets their exercise sessions at a minimal cost.
Medical conditions that mean you are eligible for the scheme include: BMI (Body Mass Index) over 30,
High blood pressure, Stroke, Angina, Diabetes, COPD, Asthma, Mild mental health (depression, stress and
anxiety), Osteoarthritis, Osteoporosis and many more.
The New to Exercise scheme offers gym based activities at Greenbank Leisure Centre in Swadlincote and
circuit training sessions are also held in community venues at Hilton and Netherseal.
The sessions are held at Hilton Village Hall on Tuesdays and at Netherseal Village Hall on Thursdays. If
you would like more information about gym sessions please call Stuart Hunt at Green Bank Leisure Centre
on 01283 216269 or for community sessions Lewis Adams, South Derbyshire’s Community Sports Coach
at the Civic Offices on 01283 595772 or email him lewis.adams@south-derbys.gov.uk
The New to Exercise scheme is a partnership between SDDC, Derbyshire County PCT and SLM at
Greenbank Leisure Centre.
7

Sheltered Housing News Article
Our Sheltered Housing Service has a number of community rooms which offer entertainment and
activities throughout the year. We have ten community rooms in total around the district, in Swadlincote,
Church Gresley, Linton, Repton, Hilton, Etwall, Hartshorne and Findern.
Activities vary at different locations from traditional events such as bingo, to things that you might
not think of such as computer clubs, book clubs, lunch clubs to name but a few. Our partnership with
the 50+ Forum has helped both our residents and South Derbyshire District Council to organise and
establish these very well run activities.
More recently, we have become involved in chair-based exercise classes. Some of our Communtity
Wardens have already received training and are now able to deliver the classes to groups in our
community rooms. As the title suggests, chair-based exercise consists of seated exercise, with a gentle
warm up, followed by gentle exercise to loosen joints and strengthen muscles. A large ‘rubber band’ is
then introduced to offer resistance and to assist with stretching, which is then followed by a final ‘cool
down’. Not only is this great fun, but also it will help you tone up and keep those stiff limbs away a little
longer. If you are interested in any of these activities please speak to your Community Warden.
A member of South Derbyshire Tenants’ Forum and the 50+ Forum received a Christmas Card from a
couple of our residents at Peartree Court who let us know just what the activities meant to them. They
wrote, “Thanks for being such wonderful friends and making our lives so much happier. Without you we
would be stuck in the house like a pair of cabbages”.
Finally, if you would be interested in setting up a resident group, or joining the South Derbyshire Tenants’
Forum, please contact the Tenant Participation Officer on 01283 595788.
8

How Telecare Has Helped?
South Derbyshire Case Study
In 2005 Shelley was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) a
disease of the central nervous system. Shelley was forced to give
up work as a divorce lawyer in April 2006 and her parents became
her primary carers.
The Concerns
• The Loss of Independence: Shelley fell from her bed and was on
the floor for sometime before managing to get help from a family member.
• Her parents were growing increasingly worried about Shelley and felt they could not leave
her for periods of time in fear of something happening.
The Solution
• A Telecare solution was installed in Shelley’s home which included a Lifeline home unit, pendant,
and a fall detector which all link back to a 24 hour careline centre ensuring that Shelley can call
for help and support at anytime.
• A bed occupancy sensor was also installed to detect whether Shelley has got out of bed.
The sensor links to the lifeline home unit to ensure an alert is sent to Careline who can
check everything is OK if Shelley has not returned to her bed within a specific time period.
The Outcome
• Shelley’s parents say that the anxiety and frustration they previously experienced no
longer exists as they are confident of the support Telecare and Careline provides.
• Shelley is delighted with the greater independence and security Telecare offers her and
her parents in their own home as they can all now enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle.
• Shelley’s mum said, “The Telecare solution is brilliant. We wouldn’t be without it. It
provides us with the peace of mind that should Shelley need assistance day or night Careline
is always there if needed”.
Telecare update
South Derbyshire District Council are currently filming with students of Burton College to produce a Telecare
case study DVD. The film will show people of South Derbyshire in their own homes telling their own stories of
how Telecare has made improvements to their life. The finished film will be available towards the end of spring
2009.
South Derbyshire Careline currently have
over 200 active Telecare installations helping
people of South Derbyshire enjoy a more
relaxed and independent lifestyle. You are
welcome to visit our ‘Smart Home’ at
Granville Court, Swadlincote where you can
confidentially discuss your individual needs
with a member of our fully trained staff.
For further information please do not hesitate
to contact us via mail; Careline,
Granville Court, Hall Farm Road,
Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 8LH,
telephone 01283 550938 or 01283 225810
or e-mail Careline@south-derbys.gov.uk
9

The Repairs Team
As most of you will already know, Housing Services has a very high and competitive national rating with
regards to our housing repairs performance as well as a good reputation for excellent tenant relations.
Naturally, there are always improvements to be made and we are constantly striving to provide you with
an even better service. Those of you who have used our services will be familiar with our Foreman,
Ray Nobbs and various tradesmen of the Repairs Team, all of whom are proud of the standards of
the work they carry out and are committed to ensuring that the tenants are treated with respect and
professionalism. Most of our Tradesmen have been with South Derbyshire District Council for a number
of years and this has the advantage that you get to know them and build relationships, whilst at the
same time equally, they get to know you better too.
SDDC Housing Services is keen to offer opportunities to young people to become qualified tradesmen.
Our Apprentices not only carry out their practical apprenticeship under the mentoring and guidance
of other members of our team but they attend Burton College one day a week to learn the academic
aspects of their trades. Last year saw Matthew Hickey (Plumber) and Simon Tomlinson (Joiner) graduate
from Apprenticeship schemes.
Currently we have Jordan Knowles (Joiner) and Jason Dhesi (Plumber) undergoing their training.
Both are doing well and will make excellent tradesmen when they qualify. Jordan, Jason and Ray, the
Foreman, are ably supported by the rest of the team: Adrian Pipes, Andy Vernon, Brian Eagers, Gary
Canner, Harry Garland, Ian Gaunt and Pete Dakin.
One member of the team, Gary Middleton has reached retirement but was keen to carry on working
and continue the excellent service he has delivered to you over the years. Appreciating the loyalty Gary
has shown we have been able to secure his services 3 days per week. I’m sure those of you that know
Gary will be particularly pleased that we will retain his services for a good while longer.
All of our tradesmen carry identification cards with them and so we encourage tenants to ask to be
shown them prior to you allowing our staff into your homes.
10

New starters in our Repairs Team
Our Repairs Team has welcomed a number of new faces over the last few months
and we thought you’d like to know a bit more about them.
Bill King
Bill began work at SDDC on 8 December 08 and is employed as the Repairs Manager and is based at
the Darklands Road Depot.
During an Army career as a Building Engineer in the Royal Engineers, Bill has been involved in planning
and building all manner of projects throughout Britain as well as various locations around the world.
Since leaving the military, he has worked as the Property Manager (Estates Bursar) at a public school
in Gloucestershire, the Customer Services Manager for Redrow Homes in the Midlands, the Quality
and Warranty Manager for an engineering company building pre-engineered accommodation units
based in Newark and, more recently, as a Project Manager (Design and Build) for a Telecoms company
in Derby working on behalf of main operators such as Vodafone, Orange, T Mobile.
Louise Dowell
Louise began work on 5 January 2009 as the Repairs Liaison Assistant and is also based at the Depot.
Since leaving school Louise has worked for TC Harrison Ford in Derby in Customer Services followed
by a spell at East Midland Airport with BMI on their Frequent Flyer Programme. Louise has also worked
for Agrisearch in Wilson as a Report Writer followed by a brief spell with a small company in Foremark
called Kleverkids where she was responsible for running and maintaining their web sites.
Are you missing out on Housing Benefit?
Housing benefit could help to reduce how much you pay towards your rent. You may be entitled to a rent rebate
if you are on a low income, even if you are working.
In receipt of Housing Benefit?
If you receive Housing Benefit it is important you are aware of when you must report a change in your
circumstances.
You must report any change that may increase your entitlement within one month of the date of
change.
You must report any change that may reduce your entitlement as soon as possible.
Examples of changes that you need to report:
• If you move house or are temporarily absent from your property
• Any change to the people living in your household
• Changes to your income or savings (if you do not receive Income Support/Income Based Jobseekers’
Allowance, Employment Support Allowance (income based) or Guaranteed Pension Credit).
• Changes in your non-dependants’ income
Please note these are only a few examples. If you are unsure you should always check with us as soon
as possible.
Further information is available on our web site www.south-derbys.gov.uk. Go to Council Services and click on
Housing. On the next screen click again on Housing Benefit and Finance.
Alternatively give us a call on 01283 595795 and speak to a Customer Services Advisor. If you find it difficult to
visit our offices, we may be able to offer you a home visit
11

Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is important to us. It informs us if we are delivering the right services to you and how well we deliver
those services to you.
Many of you will have completed one of our satisfaction forms when we have carried out a repair on your home. The
performance of our own contractor and all other major contractors is measured against set targets based on customer
satisfaction, quality of work, general performance and completion against an agreed programme.
We also monitor satisfaction of our new tenants when they move in to one of our empty properties. Every 2 years we send
out a STATUS satisfaction survey to all of our tenants. The data and comments collected are used to learn about your
aspirations and help continuously improve our level of service.
We will be publishing more detailed results of the STATUS survey and where these fit in to the national picture in the next
issue of Housing News but thought you’d like to hear about the overall results now. We received excellent results which
prove you are very satisfied with our services. However please continue to complete and return satisfaction forms as we
are always committed to improving.
We wanted to take this opportunity to let you know how you have rated us as your landlord up to December 31st 2008 in a
number of service areas, which are shown in the table below:
Survey Target Satisfaction Rating
Responsive Repairs 95% 96%
Programmed Repairs 95% 97%
Moving into an empty property N/A 100%
Overall satisfaction with landlord
services amongst all tenants N/A 90.6%
Overall satisfaction with landlord
services amongst general needs tenants N/A 87.9%
Overall satisfaction with landlord
services amongst sheltered housing tenants N/A 94.8%
Improve services and make a difference
Would you like to improve the services you receive and make a difference?
There are many ways to get involved and you don’t necessarily have to attend long regular meetings to do so. You
can still give your opinion and help us to improve our services. If you are interested in making a difference and would like
to be involved in taking Housing Services forward then please complete the form below and send it to South Derbyshire
District Council, Civic Offices, Civic Way, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 0AH or email your details to kirsty.titley@southderbys.gov.uk
or phone 01283 595788.
✂ ......................................................................................................................................................
I am interested in getting involved in tenant participation:
Name: ......................................................... Address: .......................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................
12
Phone: ............................................. Email: ........................................................................................

Changes to the gas regulations
Since 1991, all gas installers have had to be registered with the Council
Of Registered Gas Installers (CORGI), as approved by the Health & Safety
Executive. This has been commonly known as “CORGI registered”.
During 2007/2008, the Health & Safety Executive reviewed the scheme and
appointed Capita Gas Registration and Ancillary Services Ltd to operate a
replacement registration scheme for gas installers on mainland UK.
From 1st April 2009 anyone working on gas installations and appliances has
to be registered with “The Gas Safe Register” and will be issued with an
identity card that shows the new logo and the cardholder’s name, picture and
registration number.
Anyone calling at your property to carry out gas related work on our behalf
will have a new card with the logo on. If you have our permission to make
alterations to the gas installation, you should ensure that the engineer you
use is properly registered.
CORGI will continue to operate as a commercial company, and remains the
HSE’s approved body in Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
For any queries relating to this article, please contact Gary Clarkson on
01283 595897 or e-mail gary.clarkson@south-derbys.gov.uk
New Gas Servicing and
Maintenance Contractor
On the 1st April 2009, Powerminster Gleeson Services Limited will take over from Gas Care and become our
new gas servicing and maintenance contractor, as well as continuing to carry out our electrical maintenance. They
will undertake all gas safety checks, servicing, repairs and out of hours emergencies for at least the next three
years, from their local base in Swadlincote, employing local labour.
All repair requests will continue to be reported to the Council in the normal way, which is:
• during normal working hours to the Repairs Hotline on 01283 595808 or 595809
• for emergencies outside of normal working hours, contact Careline on 01283 221225.
The transition will hopefully be seamless, and you may even be seeing familiar faces in different uniforms and vans.
To help you recognise them, a picture of
Powerminster’s vans is shown with this article.
All operatives will carry identity cards and you
should always be shown one before letting
anyone into your home.
If you have any queries please contact the
Repairs Hotline on 01283 595808 or 595809.
13

Laminate flooring
The installation of laminate flooring in Council homes has caused a certain amount of confusion over recent years,
therefore it is important that we communicate our concerns to you as your landlord.
Recent problems following their installation have included:
(1) Once installed, laminate floors restrict access into floor voids to undertake essential repairs, the installation
of heating or rewiring, and once taken up in part, they can be difficult to repair.
(2) Laminate flooring increase the passage of noise to other neighbouring properties and can be the cause of
neighbour disputes.
(3) Some types of laminate flooring are not suitable for use in bathrooms, where they may be damaged from
becoming wet by normal bathing activities.
(4) Laminate flooring is generally not slip resistant, and can be a hazard especially to the young and elderly. If rugs
or mats are used on laminate flooring, they should grip the floor sufficiently to prevent them becoming
trip hazards.
(5) Laminate flooring can be harder to keep clean, especially if you have pets. They can show scuffmarks;
especially from black rubber soled shoes and can make rooms feel colder.
When permission is requested to install a laminate floor, it is not unreasonably withheld, but our permission
does include conditions relating to:
(a)
(b)
(c)
The work must be to our satisfaction and carried out by a competent person in accordance with the
manufacturer’s instructions.
It must be installed and maintained at no expense to the Council, including the provision of a levelling
compound to uneven floors.
It must be removed when needed for repairs and improvements or at the end of your tenancy.
If you are considering installing laminate or similar flooring to your home, please consider the above before writing for
permission to your Housing Officer at the Civic Offices.
NHS Dentists
There have been a lot of rumblings of late concerning the lack of NHS dentists. This seems to be a problem around
the country and owing to concerns from our own residents too the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee have
had a good look at what is provided in South Derbyshire.
Not surprisingly we have found that there is indeed a lack of NHS dentists accepting new patients and also a lack of
communication from the NHS as to where you can find one.
We have however found three NHS dentists in South Derbyshire that are accepting new patients and we thought you
would like to know where they are:
16a Dental, 16a High Street, Swadlincote.
Tel no: 221857
Swadlincote Dental Practice, Blueberry Way,
Hartshorne Road, Woodville. Tel no: 219221
Swadlincote Health Centre, Civic Way,
Swadlincote. Tel No: 818130
We realise for those of you that live in the rural
areas this may not be close enough to home so
would suggest you use the NHS link on our
website where you can hopefully find one that
is nearer to you. This website also gives details
of doctors and out of hours services. We are not
in a position to recommend any particular dentist
to you but hope you find the information useful.
14

How to keep your property safe!
Residents are being reminded by the Safer South Derbyshire Partnership to take a few simple steps to help keep
their homes and vehicles safe after an increase in domestic burglary and thefts from vehicles in the District.
The period from the beginning of July to the end of September 2008 year saw a sharp increase compared to the
same period last year in the two offences.
Economic downturn often results in an increase in car crime and burglary and figures from around the country
suggest that the current credit crunch is no exception.
But the Safer South Derbyshire Partnership says that in many cases residents are making it easy for wouldbe
offenders by not securing their homes properly and by leaving valuables on display in their homes and
vehicles.
The way burglars have got into houses in some of the recent cases is through insecure doors and windows.
Safer Communities Manager Chris Smith said, “To our surprise the message has not got through to everyone
and some people are still leaving their doors unlocked and their windows open when they go out, even in the
cold mid winter.
“Around 40% of burglary could be prevented if people were a bit more careful, even when people are at home
they should still make sure they lock their front doors as it only takes seconds to steal a handbag or a set of car
keys from a hallway.”
Garden Tips & Recipes
Orange and Almond Cake
Ingredients:
2oz fine breadcrumbs
4oz ground almonds
rind of 1 orange
juice of 2 oranges
4oz caster sugar – 2 eggs
Grease and line a 9” tin. Set oven to 350ºF, MK 4. Combine breadcrumbs,
almonds, rind and juice. Beat egg yolks and sugar and stir into the orange
mixture. Then add stiffly beaten egg whites and pour into the tin. Bake for 30
minutes. This cake does not rise much. Leave to cool before turning out. Spread
top with cream and decorate as you wish.
Cranachan
Ingredients to serve 6:
1 pt double cream
3 tablespoons honey (clear)
3 tablespoons whisky
4 tablespoons thick plain yoghurt
1oz fine oatmeal
6oz raspberries
Toast oatmeal in a pan under grill until golden. Put cream, honey and whisky in
a bowl and whip together until it forms peaks, then fold in the yoghurt. Spoon
mixture into a serving dish or individual dishes if you so wish. Refrigerate for 2 -3
hours. Before serving sprinkle the oatmeal over the top and pile the raspberries
in the centre.
Gardening Tips
If you think your garden is dull at
this time of year, invest in a lovely
Hamamelis Mollis (Witch Hazel).
‘Pallida’ flowers have a lovely mixture
of colours. They are spidery looking
flowers but the scent makes up for it!
Why not bring a branch into the house
as it will be filled with fragrance. The
leaves appear later and you will get
autumnal colours. Witch Hazel also
flowers in orange as ‘Jelena’ but is not
so fragrant. The ‘Diana’ blooms with
lovely red flowers. Sarcococca humilis
(Christmas box) is also beautifully
fragrant. A Skimmia ‘Fragrass’ will
provide you with spring scent.
15

HOUSING WORDSEARCH
HOUSING WORDSEARCH
ind the 12 words below and be entered into a prize draw to win £25 worth of
Find the 12 words opposite
vouchers
and be entered into a prize draw to win £25 worth of vouchers
H O S I G C U A E Q J N M
A O F B E N E F I T S V Y
B E U N E F I T S X K W S
W B F S R E F N S H Q S T
HOUSING
CRANACHAN
COMPETITION
MYSTERY
FLOWERS
BENEFITS
GARDENING
NEWS
REPAIRS
ESTATE TOURS
SHOPPING
TREES
N E L R I P A I E D O T E
A G O R D N I N G D E U R
H R W B S E G F L O R N Y
C E E T E W E S T A T A E
A P R O E S H O P P I N G
N R S U R E P A I R S P P
A A E S T A T E T O U R S
R I P A R H O U N W E S W
C O M P E T I T I O N U I
Competition Details
Closing Date: Monday 27th April 2009
Return the competition form to:
Kirsty Titley, Tenant Participation Officer,
Housing Services, South Derbyshire District
Council, Civic Offices, Civic Way,Swadlincote,
Derbyshire, DE11 0AH
Name:
Address:
Postcode: _____________________
Rules: One entry per household. The winner will be
chosen from entries received by the closing date. The
judges decision is final.
HOUSING GARDENING CRANACHAN
NEWS COMPETITION REPAIRS
MYSTERY ESTATE TOURS FLOWERS
SHOPPING BENEFITS TREES
ompetition Details
losing Date: Monday 27 th April 2009
eturn the competition form to:
irsty Titley, Tenant Participation Officer, Housing Services,
Obtaining alternative versions of this document
If you would like this document in another language, or if you require the
services of an interpreter, please contact us. This information is also available
in large print, Braille or audio format upon request.
Phone: 01283 595795 email:customer.services@south-derbys.gov.uk
outh Derbyshire District Council, Civic Offices, Civic Way,
wadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 0AH
ame:
ddress:
Postcode: _____________________
ules:
ne entry per household the winner will be chosen from entries received by
e closing date. The judges decision is final.