Message in a bottle

Posted 3 March 2010 at 00:00 in Past mayor - Cllr Keith Sedgewick

I took a life-saving trip down to the flag market on February 20th to help the local Lions club promote their ‘message in a bottle’ campaign.

The idea is a very simple one, which encourages people to keep their personal and medical details on a standard form and in a common location. The completed form is placed in a specially marked bottle inside the fridge, and labels for the fridge door and the inside of the front door indicate that you are part of the scheme.

Whilst it is mainly aimed at more vulnerable people such as the elderly, anyone can have an accident at home, so it can benefit the whole community. It is also completely free, and can save the emergency services valuable time in the event of a sudden illness. Lions clubs around the country are working very hard to get people on board, and are providing a great service for the public. Find out more about the “Message in a bottle” scheme on their website.

That same weekend I also launched Preston’s Fairtrade Fortnight, opening an event at Starbucks opposite Debenhams.

I had the pleasure of meeting walker Ray Gill, who was travelling on foot from the first Fairtrade town of Garstang all the way to Bridgenorth, which was recently granted Fairtrade status and is the first in Shropshire to receive the title. Ray covered a distance of over 120miles in the space of week, hopefully without too many blisters, which is a fantastic achievement – well done Ray.

Also on the agenda was the annual Chinese New Year celebration. Despite the pretty miserable weather the crowds turned out to watch the parade and lion dancing, bringing a great atmosphere and providing a fantastic day out. ‘Kung hei fat choi’ to you all – Happy Chinese New Year that is!