BCA ANNUAL REPORT

Acknowledgements
Age Concern
Barnes Community Association
Barnes Workhouse Fund
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames / Grants Direct
Richmond Parish Lands Charity
Richmond Consortium
Richmond and Kingston Accessible Transport
Richmond Council for Voluntary Service
Helen Robinson for graphs
Leslie Spatt for Annual Report design
Ian Downing for website updates
Printed by aquatint bsc, Wimbledon, London SW19

FiSH Helpline: 020 8876 3414

FiSH Administration: 020 8876 3335
FiSH Busline: 020 8876 3765
Email: info@fishhelp.org.uk
Website: www.fishhelp.org.uk

RaKAT Ltd.
Richmond and Kingston Accessible Transport

2008 - 2009
Richmond Parish Lands Charity
24
 CONTENTS

Chair's Report 3

Barnes Mortlake & East Sheen Director's Review 6

Churches Fellowship of Service Transport Scheme 12
Barnes Green Centre
Church Road Tuesday Talks 14 Sheen Lane Centre, SW14
London SW13 9HE Wednesday & Thursday 10.15am – 12.30pm
Charity no. 1083996 PQASSO 15
Friday 10.15am - 12.30pm
Vice-Presidents FiSH 'n' Chats 16
Jean Lewis
but not the first Friday of the month
Veronica Schroter Clive Wallis 18 - 19
If you feel like a confidential chat with people who enjoy
Executive Committee Finance 20 listening, pop in and visit us
Margaret Harrop Chair Treasurer's Report 20
Jon Blythe Hon. Treasurer
Margaret Saunders Hon. Secretary
Statement of Financial Activity 21 We also visit residential homes Walsingham Lodge
Balance Sheet 22
Catherine Dewe-Mathews and Lady Elizabeth House once a month;
Rachida Ez-Zihi and St Michael's Barnes Community Centre
Penny Kegerreis
Mel Le Vesconte
on the first Friday of each month.
Revd. Graham Pulham CTiB Representative
John Wilson CTIMES Representative

Co-opted members:
Sue Boyd
Nigel Newby RaKAT
Kit Peck

FiSH Staff
Jenny Hughes FiSH Director
Leslie Spatt Office Assistant
Phyllida Cornfield Transport Scheduler
Clive Wallis (to Feb 09) Bus Driver
David Leftwich/ Tim Waite
(from June 09) Bus Drivers
Helen Robinson FiSH Statistics

Auditor
Brian Cripps FiSH 'n' Chats at Sheen Lane Centre

2 23
 2009 2008 FiSH – Chair's Report 2007/8
£ £ £ £ Chair’s report
Current assets
Until now annual reports from FiSH have included a review by the Co-ordinator.
Bank balances (restricted) 1,099 1,098 This year the review is by the Director – still Jenny Hughes, but with a new job title
Bank balances to reflect the development of the charity and her changing responsibilities. When
65,285 47,345
(unrestricted) she started she was the only employee and FiSH was basically a telephone service
Debtors (petrol refunds) 1,520 1,520 arranging help from a team of volunteers. Now we provide a range of services.
We still depend crucially on our volunteers but there are many more of them -
over 250 – and we also need a team in the office to co-ordinate their work. As a
67,904 49,963 result Jenny‟s role as leader and manager has grown and the Trustees decided last
year that she should become Director. This was announced at the 2008 AGM.
Creditors
The year 2008/09
Grant received in advance 9,850 9,850 My report last year stressed the partnership between FiSH and Age Concern and
Accrual (petrol reclaims) 2,450 2,450 reported that the Council would be going to tender for the services we together
Accrual (salary) 1,500 1,500 provide at the Barnes Green Centre. This did indeed happen, and we all faced a
nerve-racking period, especially when we heard that four national organisations were
Accrual (RaKAT bus
bidding for the contract. If Age Concern had lost, FiSH could have been seriously
replacement) 5,536 5,517 affected, losing the core finance for our bus and possibly also our excellent offices in
Accrual (other) the Centre. But I am delighted to report that Age Concern made a very good case,
which FiSH strongly supported, and were awarded the contract. This means we can
21,865 21,846 move forward with confidence, without the constant worry that we might have to go
back to square one and rethink all our activities. We are very grateful to Age
Concern, and particularly Allan Lockett, for the working partnership which we will
now continue to enjoy and develop.
Net Assets 46,039 28,117
We have had another successful year, with new clients, new volunteers and the
varied activities described in Jenny‟s report. I feel that particular successes this year
have been the befriending service, supporting frail people in their homes, and the
Capital Account Tuesday talks, providing stimulus and company at the Barnes Green Centre and
attracting increasing numbers of people who are not regular FiSH clients. Our drop
-in service, FiSH ‟n‟ Chats, open three mornings a week at the Sheen Lane Centre,
Reserves brought forward 28,117 24,156 has also been very popular.
Surplus/Deficit for the year 17,922 3,961
Transfer to Bus Reserve (16,000) -- Bus transport
Our accessible bus, Angel, has been busy taking clients to and from the Barnes Green
Free Reserves 30,039 28,117 Centre and in between taking people on shopping trips, pub lunches or other outings.
Add Bus reserve 16,000 -- Our full-time driver, Clive, had driven Angel from the start and was key in all this.
We were devastated when he died suddenly from cancer in February. He was much
Reserves carried forward 46,039 28,117 loved and his well-attended funeral was very moving. His friends have planted a rose
in his memory at the Centre and the next FiSH bus will be named Clive.

22 3
Looking ahead Barnes Mortlake and East Sheen FiSH
We often need extra accessible buses from our partner RaKAT, to cover the Statement of Financial Activity for the Year ended 31 August 2009
demand for transport for activities arranged by FiSH or other local organisations.
We are, therefore, now looking at the options for developing this very successful 2009 2008
service. As a first step we are recruiting some extra help for Phyllida, who INCOMING RESOURCES £ £
organises all aspects of the service and has somehow managed to make things work Grants - restricted (see People Costs
in spite of almost impossible demands. This is an example of the sort of problem below) 13.068 13,095
caused by the Council‟s lengthy tendering process; we could not have responsibly Grants - other 17,000 16,800
recruited extra help while the future was so uncertain.
Donations & Legacies 26,825 10,513
More generally, we are watching the moves to give people more choice in how they FiSH bus income 13,036 13,651
get the support they need. This sounds admirable, but could all too easily lead to a Petrol refunds 3,614 4,759
shift from the statutory sector to the voluntary sector, without a corresponding Event income 3,865 3,581
increase in funding for groups like FiSH who might face increasing demands for help Other Income (interest) 365 1,177
which we cannot provide. We are in close touch with the other local voluntary 77,773 63,576
groups and with the Council.
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Thank you People costs
I am very grateful to the staff - Jenny, Phyllida, Leslie, Helen, David and Tim - and to
Salaries - part financed by restricted
all the volunteers. Some do an immense amount of work for FiSH, others just a grant 28,308 26,384
little because of other commitments, but it all adds up to a series of services which
Training 3,262 2,255
really help local people.
Premises costs
Thank you also to the trustees for all their support during the year. Trustees, who Utilities 1,241 500
are usually volunteers as well, generally serve for a maximum of 6 years, and we try Travel costs
and have a mix of people from Barnes, Sheen and Mortlake. We are starting to plan FiSH bus running expenses 13,036 13,651
ahead, and if anyone might be interested in finding out more about becoming a Petrol & taxis 803 939
trustee please let me know. General administrative costs
Telephone 2,044 2,325
There is a provision to allow trustees to serve for longer than six years in
Postage & stationery 1,745 1,780
exceptional circumstances and this has been used for our Treasurer, Jonathon
Blythe, who has served for about 10 years. He has not only done the accounts but Insurance 470 419
has set up the office systems and been on hand to advise when things go wrong. His Subscriptions 25 --
office has also handled the payroll which has been a great help. So particular thanks Computer & equipment costs 1,032 2,478
to him for all his work for FiSH. Office costs 2,319 2,459
Marketing & promotion & events
Margaret Harrop. Event expenses 3,976 3,918
Publicity 1,590 2,507

59,851 59,615

NET INCOMING RESOURCES 17,922 3,961

4 21
 Treasurer's Report "First Friday" lunch
at St. Michael's, Barnes
As I say every year, if you want an indication of the Charity‟s growth and activity, you won‟t
find it in the financial statements! Our costs are incurred to facilitate the free giving of time
by many volunteers and, as always, the free giving of time has continued to increase.
This year, our „normal‟ income and costs were very similar to last year and were in line with
our forecasts. However our donations and, in particular, legacies were well above our
forecast. This not only enabled us to reach our target level of free Reserves, but also enabled
us to set up our Bus Reserve with a transfer of £16,000. Included in this figure is nearly
£2000 of donations in memory of our much loved Clive. This Reserve is specifically available
to develop and expand our bus service.
We have continued to benefit from our bus partnership with RaKAT. During the year we Anthony Gardiner, "Herbs for the winter "
have kept up our contribution to them to help fund a replacement bus. As well as running the Tuesday Talk
bus, they largely finance the salaries of our „Bus Department‟. They are an integral part of the
FiSH team. As always we are really grateful for the grants, donations and legacies. These are
the lifeblood of the charity ensuring that we can continue to offer our support to the
community, so many thanks to:
Richmond CVS, Barnes Workhouse, Richmond Parish Lands
Richmond Consortium
RaKAT and its funding partners
FiSH Friends, the local Churches
And all other FiSH donors (every donation counts!)
Thanks also to Jenny, Phyllida, Clive, Leslie and Helen for the professional support they give
to the financial activities and many thanks to Brian Cripps of Cripps Dransfield (020 8876
8070) for carrying out the Audit. Jon Blythe
Extract from Audit Report, Year ended 31 August 2009
Sarah Warren, "History of Gold "
Basis of opinion Tuesday Talk
We conducted our audit in accordance with the Charities Act. An audit includes
examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosure in the
financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and
judgements made by the Executive Committee in the preparation of the financial statements, May Bank Holiday concert at
and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Charity‟s circumstance, St. Mary‟s Barnes
consistently applied and adequately disclosed.
Connaught Opera entertaining
We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations
guests at the "First Friday" lunch
which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give
reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material error. In forming
our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the
financial statements.
Opinion
In our opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Charity‟s
affairs as at 31 August 2009 and of the incoming resources and application of resources of
the Charity for the year then ended and have been properly prepared in accordance with
applicable Accounting Standards and the Charities SORP 2005.
Cripps Dransfield, Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
5
20
 Director's Review 2007-2008
FiSH can once again look back with pride at the end of this financial year, even
though the period has had some low points as well as high ones. The demand for
our services continues to develop and once again we can show some very positive
outcomes for our service users, our supporters and funders.
The FiSH Office
As the nerve centre of the organisation, the FiSH office continues to be an
extremely busy place on a daily basis. In order for FiSH to provide a smooth
running and a professional service it is essential that the staff and volunteers work
well together. I am enormously grateful to all the members of the staff team for
their dedication and support throughout the year.
My thanks also go to the FiSH executive committee for their continued direction on
strategic matters as well as giving extremely vital practical help when asked. In
particular I would like to thank our Chair Margaret Harrop and Treasurer Jon
Blythe for their personal support and wisdom over the year.
The administration team currently consists of:
FiSH Director - Jenny Hughes.
Transport Enterprise Scheme co-ordinator - Phyllida Cornfield;
handling the bus schedules, drivers and numerous other tasks.
Office Assistant - Leslie Spatt
Full time bus drivers (job share) - David Leftwich and Tim Waite; core duty
being the daily transportation of clients to and from the Barnes Green
Centre.
Statistics collator and general assistant - Helen Robinson who accounts
for all recorded FiSH work which is necessary for data monitoring and
evaluation.
Volunteer database officer - Caroline Edelin
Volunteer group transport assistant - Penny Cowell
Office admin volunteers - Rachida Ez Zihi and Pia Jenk
Office Helpline volunteers - Deirdre Aguma, Sue Boyd, Bruce Cryer,
Vicky Davey, Susie Lowish, Yvonne Reid and Richard Buttle.
The low point of the year came at the end of February with the sudden and
unexpected death of Clive Wallis our full time FiSH bus driver. Clive was a much
loved member of the team and we were all extremely shocked at the news. He is
greatly missed by everyone.
6 19
CLIVE WALLIS 1947-2009
Receiving the news of Clive‟s sudden and unexpected
death was an enormous shock for all of us who
worked with him at FiSH. He was an important
member of the FiSH team; a respected colleague and
much loved friend.
Clive served FiSH for exactly four years to the day.
Two weeks before he passed away, he reluctantly asked for time off to enable him to
undergo some investigations into his health. Despite his feeling very unwell he
nevertheless popped into the office during this „time off‟‟ just to make sure everything
was all right. This was typical of Clive, always putting other people first and not wanting
to let anyone down. I practically had to bully him to take his annual leave every year!
Back in 2005 when Clive joined FiSH as our first full time member of staff, he fitted into
the team from the word go, getting involved in many aspects of the work on top of the
daily driving. This was a new post and there was no template to follow. However Clive
eagerly threw himself into developing his role, so in the end it was much, much more
than just taking the bus out. He was always kind and helpful to all who boarded his bus
and seemed to be patience personified when faced with traffic jams, road works, and
road chaos of one sort or another.
These things never seemed to worry Clive unduly, despite the clock ticking away and
the need to get everyone home safely. There was always a friendly word for his
passengers to cheer them along the way. He loved making contact with people and
would chat to anyone and everyone arriving at the Barnes Green Centre and the FiSH
office. He would always find time to talk even when there wasn‟t any time.
Clive was never slow to offer wise advice and his many skills and often surprised us with
the extent of his numerous talents: - replacing bicycle chains, fixing cars, producing
spotty maps and the most detailed instructions, sorting out the boiler in the FiSH office,
managing the FiSH cash book and overseeing the office computer system - to name but
a few.
He was a familiar figure around the streets in his green and white FiSH bus, whether it
was fetching people to the Barnes Green centre; driving the children of the Barnes
Summer Play School or the members of the Active Retired Group, he always seemed to
have a positive effect wherever he went in the local community.
As you see, he was much more than a bus driver. He showed real concern for all of our
clients and often reported worries about individuals so that they could be followed up
by our volunteers. He went well beyond the main call of his duties.
We shall miss Clive dreadfully as a kind, selfless and great-hearted member of this
family. When the first FiSH bus was delivered we decided to name it „Angel‟. The next
time we have to name a bus it will certainly be called „Clive‟
Jenny Hughes

Clive was a great friend
to everybody. He was
kind, helpful and
understanding. Very
much missed by all.
Clive "as normal" -
helping people
Clive was an example to us all
Clive's natural warmth and generosity of
spirit touched the hearts and minds of all
those he helped at FiSH and Age
Concern over the four years of his work
with us. We will always remember him.
Veronica Schroter, vice-president and
former Chair of FiSH
Clive was so kind and considerate in
every way - he couldn‟t have been
more so if he had been my own son.
FiSH helping to move client into sheltered
housing
Thank you for our
driver Clive, a more
caring man would
be hard to find.
Clive was a very special person. I
worked with him for 3 years,
helping him put the world to rights
in the morning, and sharing his days
with him in the evening, after he had
taken members to their homes on
the FiSH Bus. Clive always went
that extra mile for people.
Allan Lockett,
Barnes Green Centre Manager
18
Following job adverts and interviews I am very happy to report the full time driver
post was filled by Tim Waite and David Leftwich on a job share basis at the end of
May. Both Tim and David are well settled into the staff team and are now a familiar
sight driving the FiSH bus around Barnes, Mortlake and East Sheen.
The Helpline
The Helpline deals with the daily requests for our help that come in from individual
service users. Our team of eighteen Helpline Volunteers have managed extremely well
all year to match FiSH volunteers willing to give their time with the clients who have
made requests. The team have successfully arranged 4007 helpline jobs this year; this
figure does also include some signposting and sorting out enquiries. It seems year on
year this vital FiSH brokerage role is made increasingly challenging by a number of
factors. For instance many new clients have higher expectations of the services FiSH
can provide; cutbacks in statutory services have caused increasing demand for the
voluntary services we offer; a diminishing number of volunteer car drivers makes
finding transport help particularly difficult; the increasing difficulty in parking legally in
local streets when collecting or dropping off clients has created added stress, and this
year the numerous road closures due to water and other road works have increased
the time needed to carry out transport tasks.
FiSH would particularly like to thank our regular volunteers below who staff the
helpline every weekday between 9.00a.m. –12.00 noon. As they are the first port of
call for sometimes anxious and distressed clients, their patience and understanding
in dealing effectively with enquiries are a vital part of the FiSH service.
FiSH Helpline staff:
Deirdre Aguma, Sue Boyd, Richard Buttle, Bruce Cryer, Vicky Davey,
Rachida Ez Zihi, Ann Fegelman, Dorothy Jones, Susie Lowish, Diana
Midmer, Gwen Peck, Davina Phillips, Iain Radford, Yvonne Reid, Beata
Reynolds, Claire Robin, Anna Sanders, Mo Saunders
Publicity
Leslie Spatt leads our effort to maintain the public profile of FiSH through local
magazines and networks. Our FiSH Newsletter, produced three times a year,
remains extremely popular and keeps both users of FiSH and our volunteers in
touch with what we are doing.
During the year a new FiSH leaflet was printed and distributed to key agencies. This
important update on the information available about FiSH was needed to advertise
the extent of the services we offer. We also included a statement setting out the
limits of what we can provide in order to clarify the boundaries of our remit.
7
In October 2009 we will target Mortlake, as the area of highest need in our locality,
and distribute the new FiSH leaflet door to door. Many thanks to Michael Hill and
the Richmond Consortium for their expertise and financial help with this project. Pastor Keith Gaitskill, FiSH Sunday
2008 at the URC, Vernon Road
Volunteers
This year we have welcomed 41 new volunteers to our team which is a record (at
least since records began!) The total volunteer establishment is now just under 260.
The new volunteers have taken on a variety of roles depending on the time they can
offer and we are very grateful to them all for their energy and enthusiasm.

We continue to attract volunteers of all ages to join the team and are lucky to have
some younger volunteers befriending clients on a weekly basis. In addition to this we One of our community groups,
have good relationships with St Paul‟s Boys and The Harrodian School. The boys "Good Companions," using the bus
from the Christian Union at St Paul‟s frequently offer their gardening services to to help them walk the Thames Path.
those who need it and a group of Harrodian Students chose FiSH as a charity to
promote in their Young Philanthropic Society project. FiSH benefited by £383.61
from their fundraising efforts.

Training
In order to support our volunteers in their work we have offered opportunities for
training courses, work shadowing, mentoring and skill sharing. Feedback and good
communication are vital tools to give volunteers and staff reassurance to work with
the most vulnerable members of our society.
FiSH one-to-one Befriending
This year we provided a Moving and Handling course run by Integrated Neurological
Services; First Aid courses and Learning to Listen run by Kit Peck and Louise
Gordon Walker (six sessions). We also ran regular in-house courses for
befrienders, and supervision for FiSH ‟n‟ Chats volunteers.

FiSH Jobs
Throughout this year FiSH volunteers have responded 7938 times, providing help
for a wide variety of needs to members of our community.

Assuming that each task takes an average of approximately two hours, this
represents 15876 working hours. Translated into full time equivalents this
represents the annual work of 8.5 full time staff members.

We have welcomed 56 new clients during the year, bringing the total number of
registered clients to 736. Sadly, but inevitably, each year we lose a number of our
longer-standing clients, but despite this we manage to maintain an increase in
registered members of between 2% and 2.5% each year. This upward trend is an
indicator of both the growing reputation of FiSH services and the demographics of
an ageing population. Barnes Green under snow, February

8 17

FiSH 'n' Chats
The fact that we have a number of regular visitors indicates that the FiSH 'n' Chats
Coffee Corner has established itself as a well-known corner in the community. In
addition to the 'regulars', there are always some who are trying us out for the first
time – some just for a chat, which is very important to someone who lives alone
and might not talk to anyone else that day, and to others who are grateful to find a
dispassionate listener to whom they can offload their concerns.
We are in the Sheen Centre every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning,
except the first Friday in the month. In the past year we have received 1635 client
visits – 996 ladies and 639 men; accompanied by 75 children. There are currently
some 45 volunteers, three of whom have joined recently having completed the
Learning to Listen course. Two more are due to join the rota shortly. A team of
four volunteers is on duty at each session, one of whom is a leader, and most
volunteers do three duties in each two monthly rota which is ingeniously organised
by Bruce Cryer.
In addition two volunteers visit two residential homes once a month – Lady Elizabeth
House and Walsingham Lodge. The number of residents who attend is low but those
who do come appreciate our being there. At Walsingham Lodge the numbers are
increased by staff and residents from the adjacent Viera Gray nursing home. In recent
months two FiSH ‟n‟ Chats volunteers have been assisting at the monthly lunch
organised by FiSH volunteers at St Michael‟s Community Centre in Barnes.
The leaders keep in frequent contact with one another to ensure that there are
adequate supplies of coffee etc. and to sort out any problems. They have also met
several times during the year to discuss, principally, ways in which the service can
be improved.
Two training and support meetings were held during the year for all volunteers,
with the purpose of reinforcing our listening skills. At one of these last November
Katherine Phillips from the Barnes Bereavement Group spoke very interestingly
about the work of that group.
New volunteers are always welcome. Please contact Jenny Hughes (8876 3335) or
me (8878 6453) for more information.
Christine McGuinness
16
The registered client total does not include the many users of our FiSH „n‟ Chats sessions
as the service is confidential. In addition there are a number of other unregistered
individuals who attend our weekly talks and concert events throughout the year.
One–to-one Befriending
Our efforts to promote this service over the last eighteen months have led to more
volunteer befrienders coming forward and an increase in referrals. The social
benefit of the quality time spent with individuals is a reduction in isolation and raised
levels of confidence and self esteem. In addition, feedback from our befrienders has
enabled us, on several occasions, to monitor vulnerable people, and direct specialist
support to where it is needed.
We now have 48 volunteers working on this project matched with the same
number of users whom they visit on a regular basis. 1066 one to one visits have
been made throughout the year and 100 contacts have been made with people who
are befriended by phone.
To avoid these volunteers becoming isolated from the main team, we have had
some useful training and support sessions this year where they have been able to
come together to discuss common problems and situations. Thank you to Kathy
Willman who kindly hosted the last session in May.
Events
FiSH Sunday 2008
This year we held a FiSH Awareness church presentation on Sunday October 5 th.
This was an opportunity to tell the wider church community about our work. At
each church in the area a FiSH volunteer was given time at the end of a nominated
service to talk to the congregation. This was a successful venture as it encouraged a
number of new volunteers to come forward to help us.
The annual FiSH Sunday service of thanksgiving was held at the United Reform
Church in Vernon Road East Sheen on Sunday 16th November. It was hosted by
Pastor Keith Gaitskill and The London Church International whose members
generously supplied a sumptuous tea. The theme was “FiSH International” and
featured many of our users and volunteers who make up such a diverse cultural mix
within our society.
New Year Concert
Sheen Lane Hall: Wednesday 28th January. This featured the vocal group „The Treble
Makers‟ and Marie Evans who brought the house down with her Joyce Grenfell
impersonation.
9
FiSH First Friday Event
This was a new initiative begun in March 2009. On the First Friday in the month
clients and volunteers can come together for a light lunch, a chat and to enjoy some
musical entertainment. The venue, St Michael‟s Community Centre, is perfect and
we have had a regular attendance of about 35 people each month. Volunteers from
FiSH ‟n‟ Chats are on hand to talk to people if needed and we have heard some
wonderful music provided by many talented local musicians.
Many thanks to Fr Paul Holland and St Michael‟s Church for generously offering the
space for FiSH to use on a monthly basis.
The Barnes Fair
Thankfully the rain managed to hold off until the closing minutes of this year‟s
Barnes Fair on July 11th. Thanks to a sunny day and despite being in the midst of a
recession the FiSH stall still managed to raise about £900. Once again an enormous
thank you goes to Mike Bayon and his assistant Joe who surrounded themselves
with plants that by the end of the day were pretty well all sold! Thanks also to
everyone, volunteers, friends and helpers who either donated items to sell or spent
time on the stall setting up sorting out or selling on the day.
The street procession which featured the FiSH bus driven by Adrian Roebuck with
passengers Dolly Oliver and Sadie Wootton dressed in beautifully decorated hats,
came to an abrupt end in Lonsdale Road when the leading shire horse decided it
had had enough! Luckily the horse soon recovered before a FiSH volunteer needed
to come to the rescue!
FiSH Bridge
The FiSH Bridge group has become so popular that it now meets at Barnes Green
Centre twice a month. Client players attended a total of 253 times. This is an
opportunity for FiSH volunteers and clients who are normally unable to play on a
regular basis to come together to play bridge and have tea. A very big thank you
goes to FiSH volunteers, Catherine Dewe Mathews, Jenny Giles, Margaret Harrop,
Diana Midmer and Sue Spence who organise each session on a rota basis and to
Ann Davies, Sue Carton, Sue Dodson, Anne Griffith, Jackie Herring, Jill
Hollingworth, Christine Nicholson, Carrie Ross who are invaluable helpers when
available.
Conclusion
As in previous years it is satisfying to see the key indicators for FiSH continuing to
show an upward trend: a growing number of registered users; an increase in
volunteers; a developing demand for our helpline services; a large number of bus
journeys and new social events for our clients.
10
The PQASSO Group
Since February 2007, when FiSH decided to replace Investors in People with
PQASSO (Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations), the group
which represents the seven aspects of the FiSH organisation - Jenny Hughes and
Leslie Spatt (Administration/Management): Liz Dallas- Ross (Bus and General
Volunteers); Margaret Lee (FiSH ‟n‟ Chats); Dorothy Jones (Helpline); Steve Perry
(Users); Mel Le Vesconte (Trustees and Convenor); Kathy Willman (Befrienders) -
has continued to meet regularly to discuss feedback from both users and
volunteers. By discussion, and taking suggestions to the Executive Committee four
times a year, this group is a useful tool for monitoring standards of practice,
implementing change and improving service. FiSH is very grateful for the group‟s
valuable input which produces a comprehensive overview of all of FiSH‟s activities.
We continually monitor our status by self-assessment, which includes annual
completion of the PQASSO Workbook. This provides a useful guide to service
levels achieved and improved upon; and keeps a running list of targets. We not only
reassure funders that we have fulfilled their criteria but PQASSO also enables FiSH
to receive a continuous picture of its development and ensures that our mission
statement below is adhered to.
‘Providing assistance and support to relieve the needs, distress or
suffering of the inhabitants of Barnes, Mortlake and East Sheen and to
help them to maintain their independence’.
Self-assessment is an acceptable monitoring method, and outside assessment to
obtain the PQASSO kitemark is not a prerequisite to funding. We may, at a later
date, decide to be outside-assessed in order to obtain the kitemark but, for the time
being, we are happy to continue assessment on the current basis.
Mel Le Vesconte
15
 On the other hand, closer analysis indicates that the growth is slightly less strong in
Tuesday Talks some areas than in previous years. We are planning to address this levelling out by
targeted publicity to reach more of our neighbours who could benefit from FiSH
services. The current trend, however, may be explained by an evolution in the types
The year from September 2008 to August 2009 once again brought forth a varied
of clients we are working with. Mortality and relocation has meant that this year we
and interesting programme of Tuesday Talks. Topics covered travel to familiar
have lost some of our clients who, historically, had high levels of dependency and
(Pompeii) and exotic (southern Chile) parts of the world, beekeeping, the organ
made fairly heavy use of FiSH services. These losses have been replaced by new
transplant service, gold thread embroidery and the Royal Ballet School at White
clients, some of whom are in a slightly younger age group and less in need of
Lodge - and many other subjects providing visual, intellectual and thought-provoking
individual help. However, they are enthusiastic users of our social and educational
stimulation.
events. Inevitably as these people age their demand for support services is likely to
increase and, of course, FiSH will still be on hand to offer the help we have provided
The talks are sometimes co-ordinated with FiSH outings, this is helpful in giving a
over the last 40 or more years.
deeper understanding of the places clients will be visiting. One of the most
successful outings this year was to the magnificent Byzantium exhibition at The
Royal Academy preceded by a wide ranging and informative talk by Sue Boyd. Jenny Hughes
Director of FiSH Neighbourhood Care Scheme
Our ongoing aim is to provide interesting subjects for our clients and other visitors: September 2009
keeping people informed about things which can help to improve the
quality of their lives
stimulating new interests FiSH Activity 2005
Fish Activity 05 -- 09
2009
giving an introduction to less well-known people, places and topics
illustrating travel to often remote or unusual parts of the world
providing a "safe" space to hear and talk about difficult topics such as
funerals or degenerative disease 9000
Many speakers give time for questions which often opens up a more general 8000
discussion of what has just been presented. 7000
6000
Over the year there have been 44 talks with a total of 1896 people attending
(average attendance of 45). The talks are not restricted to FiSH or Barnes Green 5000
clients - anyone can drop in without booking; and they are advertised at the Centre 4000
and on our outside noticeboard. 3000 05-06
2000 06-07
We always welcome suggestions for future talks, and offers to do a talk; so if
1000 07-08
anyone would like to approach us please don't be shy! 07-08
0 08-09
Leslie Spatt

Group transport
05-06

Helpline jobs

Activities & events

FiSH'n'chats

Befriending
14 11
 of course enormously appreciative of the time and support given by all our
Barnes, Mortlake & East Sheen Enterprise Scheme volunteer drivers and, in particular, Adrian Roebuck, Diana Midmer, K Pengelley,
Coordinating transport for FiSH for over five years has taught me never to be John Hockley, John Wilson, Martin Gee and Martin Stuart - and the many escorts
surprised at factors outside one‟s control which happen to influence its smooth without whom none of this would be possible; also, a big thank you to Penny
running. The endless closure of major routes due to road works this year has been Cowell for her sterling work in the office on Tuesdays.
exasperating. However, this year threw a particularly unexpected and distressing
Phyllida Cornfield
spanner at us – the shockingly sudden death of our much loved driver, Clive. We FiSH Bus Yearly Passenger Usage, 2008 - 2009
always knew that Clive willingly did far more than his actual job called for but the
FiSH Bus Yearly Passenger Usage, 2008-2009
extent of this and the huge esteem in which he was held by so many people meant
that he left a very large gap. Bespoke bus
To from Centre
transport for
However, we were fortunate that David Leftwich, a RaKAT volunteer driver
Individuals, 207 Shopping trips
already driving for us regularly once a week, and Tim Waite, a FiSH volunteer Other non FiSH
To from Centre,
driver, were both available to share the job while things were sorted out. In June users, 2675 Outings
3791
these two were appointed on a full time, job share basis and we are grateful to
them for their efforts to fill the void left by Clive. Other non FiSH users

Bespoke bus transport

We are also grateful to RaKAT (Richmond and Kingston Accessible Transport) for for Individuals
all their support during these difficult times and for being so patient when, once
Outings, 994
again, „Angel‟ let us down. In fact, in view of all these mechanical problems, RaKAT Shopping trips, 1162
have decided to look for funding rather earlier than planned for a replacement bus,
to be called „Clive‟. The money that so many of you gave, and are still giving, for the
To from Other
„Clive‟ fund will go towards that. Year Total Centre Shopping trips Outings users

Demand for transport to the Barnes Green Centre has continued to increase and, 2005 - 2006 7773 2777 1007 1397 2592
inevitably as people get older and become more frail, and perhaps need the taillift, 2006 - 2007 8131 3243 978 1103 2807
the time taken to collect them and deliver them home takes longer. The majority 2007 - 2008 8842 3966 994 1110 2772
are Barnes residents with a few regular ones from Sheen and Mortlake and we are 2008 - 2009 8829 3791 1162 994 2882
actively trying to expand the numbers in Mortlake.
Comparison of FiSH bus use
FiSH has continued to organise its own varied programme of outings, nearly all of
which are oversubscribed and for some of which we now routinely operate a ballot.
9000
These have included visits to the Royal Academy, British Museum, Chelsea Physic 8000
Garden, and more local trips to Hampton Court Palace, Isabella Plantation, Musical 7000
6000
Museum and Poppy Factory. We have been to both Wimbledon and the Orange No of 5000
Tree theatres, and have organised regular pub lunches. An addition to the Journeys 4000
3000 2005 - 2006
programme is the popular lunchtime concert at St. Michael‟s and All Angels, held on 2000 2006 - 2007
the first Friday of each month. 1000
2007 - 2008
0 2007 - 2008

Total
2005 - 2006 2008 - 2009

To from Centre
The twice weekly shopping trips continue throughout the year, together with trips

Shopping trips

Outings

Other users
to Marks & Spencer and to Kempton Market. We regularly organise transport for
outside groups and this year Age Concern in Barnes have had a much increased
programme of outings. For the fourth year running we provided transport in July
and August for a number of trips organised by Barnes Summer Playschool. We are Type of Journeys

12 13