Thatcher's homely thoughts
A new unit at an old people's day centre set up specially for Asian people in the borough was visited by Finchley MP and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Friday.
The unit, at Etchingham Park Day Centre, Finchley, employs Gujarati and Hindu-speaking care workers to look after up to ten Asian people.
Management officer Ann Marshall explained that people of different faiths and sexes were separated to cope with the variety of customs.
Koshulya Raj Khanna visits the centre twice a week.
She said: “I get fed up being at home. I enjoy coming here because it gives me the chance to meet other people of my own age.”
The main body of the day centre has been running for 17 years.
Elsie Fussell, 80, who is vice-president of the Finchley branch of Imperial Cancer Research, said she loved coming to the centre.
“I enjoy the company and it gives me the time to knit children's clothes which can be sold in aid of the charity,” she said.
Other people spend some of their time making crafts or potting plants which are then sold on open days and fetes to raise money for the centre.
Appealing
Mrs Thatcher continued her constituency visit with a tour around The Havens Guild Home for the physically disabled, Hendon Lane, where she was asked to publicise the home's appeal.
At least £500,000 is needed to pay for building extensions and modernisation.
About £30,000 has already been raised from a bequest to the home which is owned by a charitable trust called The Field Lane Foundation.
Staff anticipate that at least some of the remaining £470,000 will come from a business sponsor.
Chairman John Wilmshurt said it was the trust's only home for the physically disabled.
He said: “We would like to remodel the whole of the interior so that we can have 25 single rooms.”
He added it would be more economical for the trust to look after 25 people than the current 19.
Although the home is private, some of the people are helped by social services.
Mrs Thatcher was introduced to residents and workers at the home, including one woman, Lucy Rowley, who had nine grandchildren—some of them living as far away as Brazil.
Mrs Thatcher, who has a grandson in America, said it was hard to be away from members of the family.
The Havens Guild is currently looking for volunteers to visit residents.
At the Manorhill Centre in Summers Lane, North Finchley, Mrs Thatcher was invited to witness a celebration of the passing of the longest nights of the year with the Finchley branch of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh.
The branch has over 200 members dedicated at learning the basic values of Hindu life and religion.
After almost an hour of religious rites, prayer and physical prowess by youths who built a human pyramid, branch secretary Shri Satyanarayana gave a welcoming speech.
He spoke about the group's aims, Hindu beliefs, culture and tradition.
“In Sangh, we aim at teaching these basic values of Hindu life and religion and build up the character of youth by way of physical, mental and moral development and self-discipline,” he explained.
The group's gifts to Mrs Thatcher encompassed these aims. She was presented with an image of the god Lord Shiva and a book entitled India's Contribution to World. Thought and Culture.
Mrs Thatcher's closing speech paid tribute to that “great culture and religion.”
She said: “We have to take these cultures and add a little bit to it so that the next generation can learn even more good things.”