OPENING our January meeting, president Dot Waldron looked back to December, when Angela Kovacevic and Jane Baker had cooked a celebration Christmas meal for everyone.

Dot thanked them with much admiration and also thanked those members who had served seemingly endless appetisers to welcome members.

Dot introduced our speaker, David Howes, a physiotherapist, whose chosen title was: Accidents and how to avoid them. First, we learned that by far the greatest number of accidents were due to falls and that a large proportion of these took place in the home.

While most falls do not result in serious injury, there are a large number of unpleasant consequences, such as psychological problems and loss of mobility.

Jane Baker sportingly agreed to play the ‘victim’ in an exercise to demonstrate how to get up after a fall.

We also had timely warnings about safety in the home – overreaching being a major issue.

On the question of rehabilitation, the following of recommended exercises was considered paramount.

In her vote of thanks, Angela spoke for everyone when she commended David’s clear and comprehensive presentation.

PAT TONKS