Having seen off the immediate closure threat, this Summer has seen M.I.H. again under attack, but this time from the paint brush and rollers.
The Scaffolding went up and the outside of the house was painted at the start of the summer, and the one extra sink in the Kitchen, which was needed to meet House of Multiply Occupancy rules, was also put in over the Summer.
With the house half empty due to the kitchen work (something we have not had for many years), the staff were able to address the areas of the house which were looking somewhat tired. The above picture is the new look lounge.
Mark had his first prolonged time off for sickness in over twenty years; after a head injury on his fiftieth birthday. It had to be while Zuzana was on Holiday of course; September was ‘a keep on top of it month,’ and certain areas of decorations are still being finished off. With Peter leaving home to start at a residential college, Mark and Sheila are now having two separate weeks on holiday. The first on their favourite Canaries Island. The other is for a week in Scotland, with Dawn and Peter joining them. Sheila cannot let Mark being in hospital on his fiftieth birthday pass without having an operation herself on her big 50 in November.
Staffing wise, Pauline remains loyal, (new) Zsuzsanna from Hungary has helped with the decoration and has now permanently joined the staff. Daouda started during the Summer, and now has responsibility for the bathrooms and public areas, while Zsuzsanna and Pauline look after the kitchen and bedrooms between them.
We are again full with new students looking forward to year in Bristol, and to welcome them we are holding a party on October 18th. Hopefully the Air Training Corps band will be joining us again; will you be here to listen? In June, the evening in the garden was very pleasant, with the young people informally playing after their main performance. See you at some point?

Sheila

Life as an assistant warden.

Since I started working here at M.I.H I have learnt that when you start work you may have an idea of what jobs you have to do that day, but by the time you finish you haven’t even started what you had planed to do.
Even when all seems quiet a student/ resident won’t be lurking far away with a question/ problem, wanting to pay room fees or just a washing token needed for very urgent washing.
I have even walked through the front door right into 3 students waiting as they all needed something there and then. It all adds to the madness.
Amazingly I’ve had one day when I was working and I didn’t see one student (but then I think I was too busy so they didn’t interrupt).
The socials and parties are always lots of fun and enjoyed by all that take part. We have just had a mixture of students who enjoyed being social and joining in events. I hope the mix we have this year is just as willing to be sociable and join in.
Talking of the new mix, we are already welcoming the new residents. Although it is fun and games as same do change their arrival dates and times. So far I’ve had to show a student or two how to use the English cooker as there are many different ways of cooking around the world.
All the residents that were leaving us for the next part of their journey have now all gone leaving us with a handful that are staying at least until January 2009.
We started September with Zuzanna on a well deserved holiday.
We celebrated dad’s (Mark’s) 50th birthday which he decided needed to go with a bang. Which it did but not in the way Dad was thinking. As he was then off sick (for the 1st time in around 20 years I’m told) for just over a week followed by a slow staged return to work following a head injury. Let’s pray that this has not started a pattern for the rest of the year. And let’s hope Mum doesn’t anything to top Dad on her 50th in November.
Judit and I are now enjoying being back to more normal hours after doing over time to cover.
All in all I do enjoy working here and have learnt a lot. I hope I can take many of the skills I have learnt here forward into nursing as I will be leaving the warden team in January to start a 3 year full time course at UWE in adult nursing, leaving the staff at M.I.H to breathe a sigh of joy, and enjoy training my replacement. Working for/with your mum and dad is an experience that most young people should try at some point as you learn a lot

Karen.

TV for Cash

On Saturday 4th October, I was filmed for Dickenson's Real Deal TV programme to be shown at some point during the current series in 2008.
 
I sold some silverware which had been donated to MIH about two years ago to sell to raise funds during the 50 year celebrations. Local jewelers valued it at £150 but did not want to buy it at the time.
 
The screening /selection valuers put the selection at the same price and wanted to include it on the programme. Nerve racking.
If you have never seen the programme you then sit "head to head" with a dealer who tells you about your items (all of ours were from 1902 to 1922) and then makes an offer. Your job is to try and get them to increase their offer. When they reach their final offer you can then either accept it or elect to go to Auction, October 23rd in this day's filming case.
 
£70, no thank you. £100, not sure. In steps Mr. Dickenson (stressing that the items were for Charity) and tells everyone what the valuation team had said. He then persuades the dealer to increase their offer, which you either accept or elect for auction.
 
I accepted the £120, to Mr. Dickenson's relief because he could say his punch line:
"A fair price, that is the Real Deal!"
 
We then refilmed little bits that they had liked in our natural interaction and I could come home with £120 cash in my pocket for MIH.
Yes I have entered it in the MIH books...
30 seconds of TV fame: A STAR!?

Mark

Some letters we have received

I could not say good bye to you when I left. I would like to say thank you very much for supporting us to allow us experience such a wonderful time in MIH. I really appreciate it. It was such a unforgettable experience to make so many friends from all over the world. I never felt lonely when I was in MIH. Could you please tell all the staff and the people who supported the MIH that I really appreciate the time in MIH and thank you very much for all the help an Dear Mark, Sheila, Zuzana, Judit, Karen, members of MIH support staff and residents of MIH, much appreciated for your support and caring which has made my short stay in MIH a pleasant and memorable one.  I treasure the opportunities to meet with residents from different nationalities, background and experiences.  The home atmosphere is particularly admirable.

I'll certainly miss the many occasions of chatting in the kitchen when preparing our meals, the moments of discussing various issues when watching the news on TV and the exciting instances when watching the European Football Cup matches.  I'll miss you all.
 
It's time to say goodbye.  I'll be traveling back to Hong Kong today.  Wish you all a pleasant and memorable time in MIH.

Best wishes,
KS

Dear all.

I and Scott are leaving M.I.H. Thank you very much for everything. We have really enjoyed stay here for one year. All the warden team members are so kind and helpful.
Thank you for all the friends. (list of names) you guys make us feel we are in a warm big family. Hope everybody have a good future!

Tanya and Scott.

And one received in July.

I might have been escaping from your memory. But days at MIH were the nice memory when I was in Bristol during 2004--2005. Many thanks for the caring from you and your family at that time. This appreciation might be too late, though. ( Do remember me to Peter).
I wish I could be there seeing you again some day in the future. Very delighted to see you are still taking care of the house, actually you are doing it for our beautiful memory.
By the way, if possible, drop me a line about Philip's address. I lost the password for the former email address and lost contact with him. Does he still keep visiting our social?

All the best,
Yucai LIN

Advance Notice

In January it is intended that there will be a two week exhibition at the New Rooms which will be showcasing the various Methodist projects in the Bristol District. The Midland Road, Methodist Centre, The Wesley College Conference Centre, The New Rooms and Charles Wesley House, and ourselves, are joining together with a launch on January 19th. During the exhibition there will be the opportunity to make appointments to visit the various buildings and see the valuable, diverse work that The Methodist District is successfully engaged in.
These projects may be considered "costly" by £ sign only, focussed individuals but are worthy ways of witnessing to Christ's work. From The District's website it says:
The calling of the Methodist Church is to respond to the Gospel of God's love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.
This the projects do effectively and your continued prayer and/or financial support is both needed and appreciated.

Mark.