Speaker Tony Bloomfield

Today's speaker Tony Bloomfield came to tell us about Tapestry. When I first heard this I thought perhaps we were going to hear a talk about some the many famous tapestries which are to found around the world and perhaps even how to make one. Tony soon put me, and I guess a few other members, right as he told us of the work that Tapestry does with regard to Adult Social Care. Tony explained that the Hornchurch Old Peoples Welfare Association (HOPWA) was formed in 1949 and for over a decade they did just that, looked after the welfare of the elderly in Hornchurch. Later, in 1961, they took on the Meals on Wheels service and then in the mid 60's when the district became part of the London Borough of Havering they were still able to use the HOPWA logo and at the same time a grant led to the opening of HOPWA House. As the needs of Havering grew together with an ever growing number of elderly folk the services provided also grew. There followed a name change to Age Concern Havering and later still when Age Concern got together with Age UK it was suggested that there would be another name change to Age Concern UK  and Havering was invited to join the new organisation. The board decided for a number of reasons that they did not want to be part of the new organisation with its built in restrictions and so they continued the good work independently. The change of name to Tapestry came about because they were no longer just dealing with older people and the word Concern had a rather negative feel to it. There were a number of other suggestions for names but Tapestry was chosen because this new branding suggested a more vibrant, positive approach and that once a person was involved with one service it meant that all other services on offer were available because they were interlinked rather like the panels of a tapestry. They now offer a very large range of services and call upon a large number (over 200) of volunteers to support them as well as the paid staff. There will be difficulties in the future with funding cuts and the like but Tony Assured us, in his positive , informative and enthusiastic talk, that the board of Tapestry will do all it can to continue to provide the residents of Havering with a service to be proud of. 
George Larkey