On Thursday 9 May 2024 the Mamma Margherita Club met and had a very informative and enjoyable talk given by Pete from The Bobby Scheme of The Blue Lamp Trust.
The Bobby Scheme is a free service that has the aim of making the old and vulnerable, including victims of domestic abuse and burglary victims feel safe in their home.
It is a free survey of one’s house that highlights home safety and security, they then fit alarms and smoke detectors, door chains, and other security items. Some more expensive items cannot be provided free (such as key presses, security cameras and camera doorbells).
Pete highlighted the value of the items he brought with him with anecdotes from his own experiences.Â
He also talked through how to avoid scams from the phone, or emails.
He reminded us that trade organisations do not always vet applicants well, so word of mouth so word of mouth should also be used as part of the selection process for tradesmen.
He talked about a ‘buy with confidence directory’ issued by the Hampshire County Council which can be accessed here: https://www.hants.gov.uk/business/tradingstandards.      Â
After a lively question and answer session, some club members inspected and discussed some of the items displayed.
Thereafter we had tea and cakes and the meeting was brought to a close by Graham Dorey with a ‘Thought for the Day’ drawing on a quote from St Teresa of Avila which we all found very moving and thought provoking:
Christ has no body now, but yours, no hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks with compassion into the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world.
