Things to do - Bois de la Houssière

 

 

Cost; Free

Distance from SHAPE; 25 mins by car

Where; Bois de la Houssière, 7090, Braine le Comte

Cafe & Toilets; Cafe and toilets are currently closed.

Dogs; Permitted 

Open; All the time

These are fabulous woods, you can bring the dog, the bikes, skate boards! There are fun things for the children or adults to exercise on as you go along the main path.

There is a cafe just beside the woods, near the big car park. Unfortunately this is closed at the moment but post covid is a lovely place to get a drink and bite to eat after a long stroll! 

Things to do - Chateau de Seneffe and grounds

 

Cost; Grounds are free. For information about interior visits of the chateau see more information. The orangary and Library are currently closed. Adults - 6 euro, Children over 12 - 5 euro, children under 12 free.

Distance from SHAPE; 30 mins by car

Where; Domaine du Chateau de Seneffe, Rue Lucien Plasman 7-9, B-7180 Seneffe

Cafe & Toilets; Toilets, yes, but may not be open. Coffee shop is currently closed.

Dogs; Not Permitted 

Open; Grounds are open 10- 18.00

Disabled Access - Yes

The Château of Seneffe or Château de Seneffe is an 18th-century château located in the municipality of Seneffe in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.

This is a great place for an afternoon visit not far from SHAPE. There are lovely grounds to walk around with lakes, statues and fountains. Often there are exhibitions on also, inside and out in the gardens. For a beautiful Autumn walk, this is a lovely place to visit.

For More Information Click HERE

Five Principles For Good Sleep Health

The 2-Memorial Sonian Forest Walk

This 11 km circular Sonian Forest walk takes in memorials to foresters killed during World War One, and the terrorist attacks in Brussels in 2016.

Cost; FREE

Distance form SHAPE; 40 mins by car

Where; Sonian Forest

Cafe & Toilets; No

Dogs; Permitted 

Open; All the time

 For further details click HERE

The walk starts off at the car park of the Bosmuseum Jan Van Ruusbroek, Duboislaan 2, 1560 Hoeilaart. An alternative starting point is the car park at the intersection of drève du Comte and drève des Tumuli. This is accessible by transport from the Coccinelles bus stop or the Boitsfort railway station. You then follow the route southwards and the Bosmuseum will be your halfway stop.

The walk is especially beautiful at this time of the year with the autumn leaves in their full splendour, but anytime of the year has its attractions. 

 For further details click HERE

 

 

Looking for Belgian heroes? - A fun musical video celebrating a number of them!

Here’s a short, delightful and informative musical video celebrating a number of well-known Belgian heroes. Starring Pippa the dog! 🐶

To watch the video click HERE or above

Things to do; Bois d' Havre

 

Cost; FREE.

Distance form SHAPE; 12 mins by car

Where; Bois d'Havre, Mons

Map; CLICK HERE

Parking - Yes and free

Cafe & Toilets; No

Dogs; Permitted 

Open; All the time 

Originally an integral part of the estate of the Dukes of Havré, the Bois de Havré are fantastic woods with an area of 250 hectares.

On the outskirts of Mons, it has many species of trees  such as oaks, ash, cherry, larch and pine

These are great woods to spend an afternoon exploring. Bring the dog or running gear or bikes. Close to SHAPE, perfect for a last minute outing!

 

Things to do; Troll Finding, De Schorre Park, BOOM

My children loved finding the huge trolls at Trolls of De Schorre Park. We had a lovely afternoon, lots of fresh air and exercise completed with a lovely hot chocolate at the cafe afterwards 😊

The Domaine is huge and is great for walking. It has lots of other activities also (See link to website)

Cost; FREE!

Distance form SHAPE; One Hour by Car

Map; CLICK HERE

Where; Troll Park - Provinciaal Recreatiedomein De Schorre, Schommelei 1, 2850 Boom

Cafe & Toilets; Yes

Dogs; Permitted on a lead

Open; 10.00-19.00 

Buggy Friendly; Yes mainly..some muddier parts

Parking; Free Parking, easy walk, kid and pet friendly. It takes about one or two hours of walking to find all seven trolls. 

Website;  https://www.deschorre.be/

Once upon a time there were seven giant trolls hiding in the forest of the De Schorre Provinciaal Recreatie domein in Boom, Belgium.

The huge creatures are the most recent project of artist Thomas Dambo who has been creating massive wooden trolls and hiding them throughout forests and wilderness areas all around the world. 

With a personal goal to create awareness of the potential for materials that often go to waste, the Copenhagen, Denmark based Dambo uses only recycled materials to craft all of his works.

If you want help finding the trolls CLICK HERE

 

Loads of great ideas for days out with the kids!

 Loads of great ideas for days out with the kids - click HERE

Things to do in the local area, October 17-18, 2020

NATO Special Operations Headquarters Compiled by your Host Naon Advisor

Things to do in the local area, October 17-18, 2020  

Visit the Belgian coast 

Highlight this week on Knokke-Heist and area 

Even in Autumn and Winter time, you will discover numerous sites of interest on the Belgian coast. Put on your boots and windproof gear and explore one of the below suggestions: 

The Zwin nature reserve 

 

The Zwin is a nature reserve on the border of the Belgian-Dutch coast and a former tidal inlet. It was formed original ly by a storm in 1134, creating a tidal channel that reached some 15 km inland. The new waterway offered access to  the sea to the inland city of Bruges, which consequently rose to become one of the foremost medieval port cities of  Europe. 

 

However, from the late 13th century onwards, the channel was affected by progressive silting, which ultimately caused the waterway to become unusable and cut off the harbour of Bruges from the sea. The present-day  nature reserve is famous for its large variety in salt-resistance flora, such as sea lavender. It is also popular with bird watchers.

 

Visitors can walk or cycle the various trails inside the nature park. The roof of  the visitors’ centre is accessible to visitors and gives a panoramic view over the reserve. Several observation shelters are spread inside the  reserve. Dogs are not authorized inside the reserve. 

Where: Graaf Léon Lippensdreef 8 in 8300 Knokke-Heist 

When: Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5  p.m. 

Cost: Entrance tickets are at €10 per adult; €5 for youth 5 up to 17 years old; free under 5 years old. Prior registration and purchase of tickets is mandatory at https://www.zwin.be/nl/ 

tickets

         

 

 Knokke-Heist Art City 

Knokke-Heist is well known for its art galleries. No less than 80 art galleries can be visited most of them in town and some in neighboring cities. 

 

To see a listing of all the art galleries CLICK HERE

 

The weekend of Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 50 of the art galleries will open for the 29th edition of Art Knokke-Heist,aiming at making art accessible to all.

 

You can also discover the 11 sculptures spread through town. 

 

 

For Freedom museum

Dennis Jones, Normandy veteran from Crewe/Cheshire (UK) married a girl from Knokke-Heist in 1947. The military uniform that father Jones wore during his mar

riage will later form the first uniform of the collection. Ever since, the World War II  collection has grown and every item in the museum has a personal story.

Where: Ramskapellestraat 91/93, in 8301 Knokke-Heist 

When: Open daily from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. up to Nov. 16, after which the museum is only open during school holidays and weekends (same times) 

Cost: €10 per adult; €6 for children 7 up to 12 years old incl. the audio experi ence, or free without the audio experience. No prior registration needed. While there, go to Zeebrugge (6 km from Knokke Heist)

 

Seafront 

The theme park Seafrontis all about sea, shipping, fish and  fisheries. Real-like

sceneries, videos and images witness the  hard life of fishermen over the years. 

 

Learn about the wide range of fish in theNorth Sea, about the North Sea itself, about fish auctions and more. Visits can last up to 2 hours. 

Where: Vismijnstraat 7in 8380 Zeebrugge 

When: On Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.  

Open also during the Autumn break (same times). 

Cost: €13.50 per adult; €9.50 for children under 12 years old; free for children under one meter. 

 

Prior registration is required at http://www.seafront-zeebrugge.be/en/zeebrugge/ 

book-your-visiting-time-here. 

 

You can purchase your tickets  on line or you can book your visit and pay your tickets upon arrival. 

 

Fietskotje (25 km from Zeebrugge) 

Ever had a meter long pancake? At “Fietskotje” (tea-room) you can get one or half a  meter pancakes with either sugar, apple, egg, ham, cheese, and you name it...  

Where: Zandstraat 69, 8450 Bredene  

When: Open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. 

If the weather is bad, prior reservation is recommended at 059/323007 

Note:  On the way from Knokke-Heist to Zeebrugge, you can also visit the well known  Sea Life in Blankenberge, Belgium’s famous aquarium and sanctuary for sea creatures. For information, go  to https://www.visitsealife.com/blankenberge/en/

 

 

 

New Universal Credit Assistance Webpage And Tool

In order to help claimants better direct their queries, the DWP Debt Management phone number is being removed from the Universal Credit claimant statement and replaced by signposting to a new GOV.UK page. 

This will allow claimants to self-serve and find the correct department to contact about any money taken off their Universal Credit. ​

Click here to find out about money taken off your Universal Credit payment

Find out who to contact

Improving Health & Wellbeing Support For Armed Forces Families In England

 

 

The NHS in England provides healthcare services for families of serving personnel (regular and reserve) who have registered with an NHS GP practice and the families of veterans.

Whilst most armed forces families enjoy healthy lives, the unique circumstances of military life can cause pressure for some, and affect an individual’s health and wellbeing. This is in addition to moving home every few years, which can make accessing the NHS difficult.

These factors can affect the lives of armed forces families, creating a difficult situation for them. We want to help change this, so armed forces families are able to access local NHS services easily in all parts of England. We also want to ensure that they can get care and support from clinicians and people who understand their health and wellbeing needs.

This questionnaire is an opportunity for people and organisations to share their views on how we can do this. ​

Please click HERE for further information and to access the online survey.

Cruse Bereavement Care - Signposting Pack

 

    To Access the pack - CLICK HERE

Veterans Railcard - Are You Eligible?

The Veteran's Railcard has been launched. 

The discounted rail fares will be valid for travel from 5 November 2020.

Check HERE to see if you're eligible

 

SSAFA Virtual Adoption Event

      For more information Click HERE

Domestic Abuse

 

MOD Issues Updated Safeguarding JSP (v5)

JSP 834 provides direction and guidance on the safeguarding principles and procedures that apply to all people in Defence, both in the UK and overseas and highlights that safeguarding remains a key responsibility of the Chain of Command.

The policy scope has been extended from children and young people to include adult safeguarding and is designed to be used by everyone in Defence, including staff who have particular roles and responsibilities for safeguarding.

                                    The JSP is structured in 2 parts:

Part 1: Directive, which provides the direction that is to be followed in accordance with mandated policy and statutory responsibilities.

Part 2: Guidance, which provides practical guidance to assist the user in complying with part 1.

For further information please click HERE

Finding and thanking our World War

 

FINDING AND THANKING OUR WORLD WAR II VETERANS 

 

The Not Forgotten is seeking your support to find and thank our remaining World War II veterans, who have been denied their 75th anniversary celebrations by Covid-19. 

 

While a sense of normality is returning for many, the harsh realities of the pandemic still exists for our veterans, who have been forced to spend VE and VJ Day at home. For our new centenary project, we will send up to 5,000 WW2 veterans a gift, to thank them for their service and the phenomenal generation they represent.   

 

Your support will enable us to find as many World War II veterans as possible so that we can give them a bit of cheer at this extraordinary time, remind them their service remains valued, and that they are not forgotten. 

 

The Not Forgotten was founded in 1920 to provide entertainment and recreational opportunities to wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans with disabilities.  Our founder, Marta Cunningham, declared that “... as long as there are sufferers so long will The Not Forgotten be needed”. One hundred years on we are proud and privileged to be still supporting over 10,000 beneficiaries each year.   

 

Any veteran of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Merchant Navy who served during WW2 (1939 – 1945) and who lives in the UK is eligible to receive the gift box – known as the Forgot You Not Box.  This includes those who served in the Commonwealth Armed Forces in support of Britain’s war effort and now live in the UK.   

 

The boxes will start to be sent out at the end of October and will contain a variety of specially produced commemorative gifts. The aim is to bring the veterans a bit of cheer and to thank them for all they gave. It will also be an appropriate way to acknowledge 100 years of support by The Not Forgotten to those who have suffered and served their nation. 

 

To register for the gift the veteran, or authorised member of their family or carer needs to send us the following information: 

 

• Full name - first name, surname and maiden name if appropriate 

• Service number  

• Military details – Arm/Unit of service and dates 

• Full postal address & Telephone number  

• Date of birth 

• Details of individual/organisation providing this data if not the veteran. 

 

Details can be submitted online at https://thenotforgotten.org/how-we-help/forgot-you-not/ 

(which will go live on the 15 September 2020) or sent to info@thenotforgotten.org.  This information will not be shared and will be deleted once the project is complete. 

 

I do hope you can help us on this quest to recognise that great generation for all they gave.