Help Direct at the Village Centre

If you live in the Gt. Eccleston area your Help Direct local base will be at the Village Centre on Wednesday mornings (in the Lounge) between 9:30am-12noon.

Help Direct is a new service being developed for all adults in Lancashire. Help Direct will offer practical support, guidance and information you need to get the most out of life.

Help Direct is working with a large number of local organisations and community groups to provide and develop support for you to get the most out of life in the following areas:

* Health and fitness
* Home and Garden
* Feeling safe in your home and community
* Learning and leisure
* Managing finances
* Mobility and transport
* Community groups and involvement
* Getting the right help and support
* Relationships and families
* Employment, volunteering and training

Accessing Help Direct

You will be able to access Help Direct across Lancashire. All areas will have a local base where you can walk in and talk to someone.

You will also be able to access Help Direct in all sorts of different local places. Look out for the Help Direct sign at: one stop shops, libraries, community centres, doctor's surgeries, community group organisation offices, and lots of other places where you live.

In some situations a member of the Help Direct team could come and visit you at home.

Please contact your local Help Direct if you would like to know more or tell us about support in your area.

Fylde Area Phone: 0303 333 1020

Wyre Area Phone: 0303 333 1021

Easy Fundraising

There are now two easy ways for you to help raise funds for Great Eccleston Village Centre Limited! Both come under the banner of 'Easy Fundraising'...read more

Map Reading & Navigation Courses

This course starts on Tuesday 11th August 9.30am-12.30pm at the Village Centre

If you have ever done some fell walking, or hill walking, but have never felt confident enough when it comes to reading maps, and navigating using a compass, then here's your chance to learn some basic techniques in map reading and navigation.

There are two navigation courses on offer, which will give you plenty of practice and a great start.



MAP-READING BASICS FOR TOTAL BEGINNERS

No prior knowledge of map reading/navigational skills is assumed, and so the course will start with the basics and will include learning about...

• Maps: types, scales, and symbols
• Grid references: what they are, and how to use them
• Map reading
• Relating the ground around you to the map
• Taking and following compass bearings
• Using a variety of techniques and strategies to get from A to B
• What to do if you get “lost!”

This is a full, one day course based at the Village Centre. It starts with a classroom session learning about maps, their orientation and interpretation, compass use and navigational techniques.

You will then spend as much time as possible putting what you have learnt into practice on a ramble in the countryside around Great Eccleston. Following the outdoor session, we will return to the Centre to review the day over a coffee, and answering any queries.

This course will give you the basic knowledge, and confidence to navigate on your own walks into the outdoors. The course will be run in a relaxed style to maximise your learning and enjoyment giving you plenty of time to practice.

Cost: £20 per person, please register at the Centre
Date: Tuesday 11th August 9.30am-12.30pm at the Centre, followed by an afternoon session putting the skills into practice, finishing at the Centre 4pm for a debrief and complimentary refreshments.

NAVIGATION BASICS FOR BEGINNERS & INTERMEDIATE

This course will be run to the same syllabus as above. We will have time in the classroom learning about maps and navigation techniques - before putting these briefly into practice in the countryside around Gt. Eccleston – a minimum half day in total.


Following a brief consolidation period to allow you to put these new skills to practice, we will discuss your experiences, answer any queries and then spend a full day on the hills in the Forest of Bowland using and consolidating all your new found skills.

Whilst in the hills, all instructors will be qualified mountain leaders, and a maximum ratio of 4 clients to 1 instructor will apply.

Cost: £30 per person, please register at the Centre
Date: Tuesday 25th August 9.30am-1.30pm at the Centre, followed by a day in the Bowland Hills to be arranged with the group.

Secrets of Effective Garden Design

Would you like to design your own garden?

Perhaps you would like to turn
your overgrown wilderness into a haven?

Then why not come along, and unlock
the secrets of effective garden design with

Sheenagh Panepinto BA(Hons) Garden Designer & Southport Flower Show Judge

Starts Wednesday 5th August for 5 weeks
1:00pm - 2:30pm at the Village Centre, Gt. Eccleston

Cost - £25
(payable to course leader at the first meeting)
Please call into Gt. Eccleston Village Centre
or telephone 01995 672292 to register your interest

Summer Wine Tasting - July

Summer Wine Tasting Evening
with Chris Rodwell
(Adult Education Tutor)

Wednesday 29th July 2009
7.30pm-9.30pm

Cost of £9.50 in total

Non-refundable deposit of £1.50 payable at reception (balance £8.00 to the Tutor on the night)

Do you find yourself in the supermarket, staring at all those wine bottles & not knowing which ones to pick? If you would like to know more about how to choose wines with confidence, then come along to this literal taster session! This promises to be both an informative and enjoyable evening. Nibbles will be provided.

Please register your interest at the Centre
– first come first served –
this has been a popular event in the past!
Telephone: 01995 67 22 92
Email: info@gteccvc.co.uk

CLICK HERE for a poster!