The players are showing their support for this important local charity by wearing the Air Ambulance t-shirts as they warm up before the game.

The two aircraft, Anglia One and Anglia Two, provide a 365 day-a-year emergency service across Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. They receive no government or National Lottery funding and have to raise £4.2 million per year to keep the two ambulances flying and stocked with advanced medical equipment.

Nichola Whymark, Area Fundraising Manager for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, said: “Our two helicopters are called out on a daily basis to assist people who need specialist medical attention at the scene of an incident. We fly a highly skilled crew and with specialist equipment out to remote locations where it can be difficult to get a land ambulance and help people at the scene, effectively taking the hospital to the patient.

“The beauty of the helicopter is that we can also take the patient to the most appropriate hospital for their needs rather than just the nearest.

“All this costs the charity £4.2million a year and it’s only through the support of the general public and businesses like Ipswich Town that we can continue to operate. We’d be really grateful for any loose change that supporters have to help us keep these life-saving aircraft in the air.”

Ipswich Borough Council is joining forces with partners across Suffolk to help vulnerable people stay warm this winter.

The Council is working with Suffolk County Council and other local councils to tackle winter fuel poverty thanks to a one-off £265,000 grant from the Department of Health’s ‘Warm Homes, Healthy People’ fund.

The cash will be used to fund a number of initiatives, led by a special telephone line 08456 037 686 set up to deal with enquiries and potentially offer:

Free information, advice and support to anyone in private accommodation struggling to keep warm this winter;
Installation of free community alarms fitted with extreme temperature sensors in vulnerable people’s homes, along with a befriending service;
Free temporary heater loan scheme;
Free emergency boiler repairs for vulnerable households through the Age UK ‘Surviving Winter’ Appeal and funding through the Warm Homes project. Groups to benefit will include the over 60s, families on a low income, families with children and young people with learning disabilities;
Free insulation and small energy efficiency improvement jobs including draught proofing;
Free independent energy surveys in the home – carried out by an independent surveyor authorised by Ipswich Borough Council – to help households struggling to pay their energy bills by offering advice and providing help to install measures to save money and energy.

Further information is available at www.suffolk.gov.uk/warmhomes. Initiative is subject to eligibility.

The event, which is in its third year, takes place at 7pm on Monday December 19 and will feature the Ipswich Gospel Choir and the Sainsbury’s singers as well as performances by soloists, staff and children from The Treehouse hospice.

The concert is a real mix of traditional carols, Christmas songs, poems and readings. The line up is specifically designed to represent the meaning of Christmas, with both fun elements and time for reflection at what can be a difficult time of year for some.

Talking about the event, Ray Travasso, EACH Music Therapist, said: “This is one of the highlights of my year as a music Therapist for EACH. It’s a truly wonderful event and I am delighted that we have secured such brilliant acts for 2011.”

Nikki Brown, EACH Fundraiser, said: “Here in the fundraising office we are very much looking forward to the Carol Service. We are incredibly grateful to Ray for putting in so much effort to secure excellent acts for this event. It will really help to bolster the fundraising for The Treehouse and carry on the support for life-threatened children and their families during the Christmas period.”

The Council is considering changes to its grass cutting operation across the town. This would result in some areas being left for longer periods before being mown.

The areas are both large and small, ranging from parts of parks to roadside areas. The proposals for some of the parks include developing community woodlands and nature conservation areas. In total, 35 hectares out of nearly 500 hectares of parks and open spaces are affected.

The 26 areas proposed for change are:

Alexandra Park, Aster Road, Belstead Road tree belt, Birkfield Drive, Bourne Park area, Bramford Lane Rec, Castle Hill Rec, Chantry Park, Clapgate Lane tree belt, Dumbarton Rec, Ellenbrook Open Space, Gippeswyk Park, Landseer Park, London Road tree belt, Lovetofts Drive, Nacton Road tree belt, Robin Drive, Sherrington Road Rec, Stone Lodge Park, The Dales LNR, Tuddenham Road tree belt, Valley Road, Wallers Grove, Westwood Avenue, Whitehouse Park and Whitton Rec.

“We want community groups and schools to take the lead,” said Councillor Bryony Rudkin, the Borough Councillor in charge of parks. “The plan is to help provide managed havens for wildlife and people, with cut paths through larger areas of longer grass and we would like schools, for example, to seed local areas with wild flowers and to produce some beautiful oases across our town. There are already some beautiful meadow grasses growing in our parks and open spaces and earlier this year I was delighted to see orchids in Alderman Road recreation ground and elsewhere.”

The Council believes the proposed changes will make grass management more cost-effective but says saving money is not the primary reason for undertaking them.

The Council is seeking the views of local people.

Please go to www.ipswich.gov.uk/consultations to give your views on the proposals online or pick up a form from the Reg Driver Visitor Centre in Christchurch Park.

The Suffolk Coastal Resource Network (SCRN) is urging local community, voluntary and faith groups to give their details to their local Volunteer Centre to be placed on the site, which aims to pull together all the volunteering opportunities on offer in the district. Members of the public interested in volunteering can then see what opportunities are available in their area.

“This is an attempt to get both an accurate picture of all the activities underway in our district and it also matches potential volunteers to the needs of local voluntary and community groups, using online technology,” said Jonathan Moore of the Suffolk Coastal Local Strategic Partnership Board.

“Volunteer Ipswich and Volunteer Centre Framlingham & District are running this important initiative for us within the SCRN and I hope that as many organisations as possible will register their details. Those groups on the west side of the A12 should register with Volunteer Centre Framlingham and the east side with Volunteer Ipswich, while groups in the Woodbridge area can register with either body.

“We would also like existing volunteers themselves to come forward and register with their local volunteer centre, and say with which organisations they are currently working.

“So that their contribution to their local community can be widely acknowledged, we would also like to know what role they have and how much of their time and skills it takes to fulfill that role. Volunteer Ipswich and Framlingham Volunteer Centre are able to support these existing volunteers, and people interested in volunteering, to find the right opportunities for themselves, either in person, or by going onto www.do-it.org and seeing what is available,” added Mr Moore.

The registration forms for volunteers and also for local groups can be obtained by calling Kirk Jackson, Volunteer Support and Development Officer at Volunteer Ipswich on 01473 261116 or emailing volunteer@ipswich-cvs.org.uk . Volunteer Centre Framlingham & District’s contact is Jan Wright, available on 01728 621210 or by emailing framlingham@volunteercentressuffolk.co.uk

The SCRN is a Suffolk Coastal LSP backed project that has been playing an important role in helping Voluntary and Community Sector groups in the district, and has so far offered support and advice that has gained over 400 groups over £500,000 of funding from national, local and regional sources.

The Suffolk Craft Society has teamed up with the carpenters at Genesis, who have made 10 wooden Christmas trees from recycled wood, all painted white. They will set the scene for the Suffolk Craft Society’s Christmas Exhibition, titled The Magical Forest, opening in Gallery 2 at the Town Hall Galleries on 5th November. Some of the Society’s members have also made trees for the display so the resulting display will be a ‘mixed woodland’, with members work displayed amongst the trees. Shoppers and visitors will be transported to a magical festive wonderland full of beautiful items!

In the Magical Forest you will find the Suffolk Craft Society members’ most recent craft work on display, alongside their special seasonal favourites. Everything in Gallery 2 is made entirely by professional crafts people in Suffolk, and it’s all for sale! Prices vary from just a few pounds to a few hundred pounds.

The keen eyed amongst you will find some small, white, wooden trees in other venues around town. 10 partner venues, all public and arts venues will have one of these trees on display during November and December. The trees form a trail you can follow with a chance to win a Suffolk Craft Society gift voucher at the end. To take part, collect a form from Gallery 2, at the Town Hall Galleries or from any venue where you have spotted one of the trees. (Forms will also be available from www.suffolkcraftsociety.com) This will set you on your way with clues as to the whereabouts of the other trees. Completed forms with information collected from each tree can be submitted at Gallery 2 for your chance to win. By taking part in the trail, apart from the promise of wonderful Christmas treasures in Gallery 2 and the chance to win a voucher to spend there, you could discover the many public and arts venues that are open for free to visitors all over Ipswich.

This is the 6th year running that the Suffolk Craft Society’s Christmas exhibition has been held in Ipswich at the Town Hall Galleries. Admission to the Town Hall Galleries is always free and they are open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, all year round. The Magical Forest is open until 24th December 2011.