Volunteers' Meeting

We will be holding volunteers' meetings every 2nd Thursday of the month at Ross Street Community Centre in Cambridge (just off Mill Road), between 7.30 and 9.30 pm. Anyone interested in the branch is very welcome to drop by, and we hope that one of the two local inspectors will be able to attend some of the meetings and answer questions about their work and the relationship between the branch and the inspectors.

The meetings are intended as a social event for all our volunteers where they can exchange experiences of helping with branch activities, and also as a focus for recruiting more helpers, and a chance for volunteers to meet members of the branch committee and ask any questions they may have.

RSPCA week April 26-May 2nd is our next big fundraising event and we need as many collectors as possible—even a few hours can raise as much as £20. We are also planning a sponsored dog walk in Histon, and more helpers, donors and shoppers are always needed at the three charity shops.

If we are to start giving emergency help via private vets again we need to raise an extra £30,000 each year.

View Larger Map

How to find Ross St Community Centre

There is limited parking at the centre (disabled bay, plus a few other spaces), but there is a car park within easy walking distance on Gwydir Street.

And another cat

Owner thinks the cat has a chicken bone stuck in his throat. He's never been to any vet before, although, as he's on benefits this is another cat who could have been registered with our clinic and so eligible for out of hours emergency treatment from our veterinary service provider.

Cat's Protection are going to try to get the cat seen by a vet — which is likely to cost them over £100 at this time of night and their funds won't hold out indefinitely either if something similar happens every evening. The added problem is that the owner has no transport and no friends with transport, so getting to a vet is going to be difficult.

And a cat

Feel terribly sorry for the owner, but again it's just such a shame the cats weren't registered at our clinic. The cat's probably been hit by a car and at this time of night just the consultation fee for the 24 hour vet would be over £100 with treatment costs on top of that. I've advised her to phone them in any case in the hope that they may be willing to give some treatment and try for help from the PDSA in the morning.

The out of hours cover offered by our clinic's veterinary services provider would cost less than a third of this. At our current income there is just no way we can fund the £36,5oo p.a. which would be needed to pay for one out of hours consult at private vets every day of the year on top of running our clinic and pet rehoming.

If you live in our branch area and are on benefits (including carer's allowance, working tax credit, attendance allowance) and know you would struggle to pay a private vet PLEASE be proactive about getting your pets registered at our clinic. Provided your pet attends the clinic at least once a year (booster vaccinations should be given yearly in any case), they will be eligible for the clinic's out of hours service. This is not free, but it is much more affordable than the alternatives.

How to import your Thunderbird emails into Thunderbird v3 from another hard disk or location.

Tutorial on how to get your Mozilla Thunderbird e-mails imported from another drive.

Over the years I have often upgraded my system and changed hard disks etc and wanted to keep all of my emails from the previous system, now with Outlook Express this was something I was used to doing.
But then I came to try this using Mozilla Thunderbird and thought I would share my findings on how to do this.

Here is the scenario:
I have had a problem with the main hard disk on my Windows XP machine, namely the dreaded "NTLDR is missing" message at bootup and despite best attempts to get the drive up and running it was not possible fix it. Unfortunately this drive had all my emails on it in Thunderbird v2, so how am I going to retreive them from the old hard disk? I don't have them backed up anywhere! I will explain how to do it here:

I removed the  no longer bootable hard disk, I installed a new blank hard disk and installed Windows XP and put all the software back on (lots of fun!)

I downloaded Thunderbird v3.0.1 :
Mozilla Thunderbird
I installed it, I ran it but at the first screens that showed I clicked cancel and on all other setup screens that followed, then closed Thunderbird.
The reason for running it but not configuring it is so that it creates a folder and profile ready for use.

Now I used Windows Explorer (with it set to "Show hidden and system files") and navigated to the following location :

C:\Documents and Settings\YOURNAME\Application Data\Thunderbird\

As you can see there are about 23 files and 7 folders in this folder. This is where you need to place your original files, I will show you that bit next.

So now we need to get them from your original drive. I will assume now that you have either put the original hard disk into your system set as a slave drive OR you have placed the hard disk in a hard disk caddy and plugged it into your USB port.
Either way you will now need to access your original files. So in this example here I have connected my original hard disk to my pc via a caddy so this is showing as Drive E:
Now again using Windows Explorer you need to navigate to the same location but on your original drive so in my example here that would be :

E:\Documents and Settings\YOURNAME\Application Data\Thunderbird\

You should see the same structure of files such as a Profiles folder, Profiles.ini and a registry.dat file.
You now need to copy everything in the Thunderbird directory so press Control A to select the three items then press Control C to copy them to the clipboard.
Now navigate to the Thunderbird folder that is on your Drive C (your new hard disk) and press Control V
It will now say Profiles folder already exists do you want to overwrite it, click YES.
It will now copy all of your emails, address book etc (Note: Depending on how many emails you have and how big the attachements are there may be many hundreds of megabytes of data to copy so may take a few moments).
Once its has finished you can run Thunderbird, you will now see all of your emails that you thought you would never see again along with your address book too!

n.b: If your previous version was 2 then you will need to go into accounts and security tab and remove the tick from the area asking for additional user/password for authentification. If you do not do this then it will fail to send emails.

Of course if your original hard disk is actually faulty (rather than just not booting windows) then you wont be able to read the files from it.

I hope this tutorial helps those people in the same situation as me.
Please leave some nice comments if you found this information worked for you.

A Gecko...

Again, the vets were very good and agreed they would at least take a look even though the owner claimed to have no money at all to pay them.

I don't think the no money claim bodes well for the poor little beastie as even small reptiles are high maintenance because of their absolute requirement for suitable heating and light, unlike, say, a hamster which can at least survive at room temperature so long as it has food and bedding.

And another dog

This vet was very helpful and is at least prepared to see the dog and possibly give first aid knowing that they're very probably not going to get any payment back from the owner. However they're not going to be able to commit to doing anything seriously expensive.

Dog is now collapsed after being ill for several days and isn't registered with any vet. If ONLY the owner had pulled out all the stops to get him to our clinic this morning. If the private vet's first aid can keep him alive until Thursday we can do our best for him then, but it doesn't sound good.

And another...

Feel worse about this one, as the dog's clearly in a bad way: vomiting and very dull, and it's another 6 hours until our clinic opens. However, it does illustrate why we have to press owners to take more responsibility so our funds can be used to best effect. The dog's registered at a local private vet and was previously on long term medication, but hasn't been seen there for some time. This was presumably because the owners were short of money and just let it lapse and hoped for the best.

They're on benefits, so they could have transferred their registration to our clinic before things got desperate. At this time of day (night) it would cost £150 just for the consult at the 24 hour vet, which just wouldn't be a sensible use of our limited funds.

Collar wounds again

This story does have a happy ending because the cat's microchip enabled us to trace her owners. She had been missing for nearly nine months and they had given up hope of ever seeing her again. However, they are now going to be faced with a pretty substantial bill at their own vet as the wound caused by her collar will need cleaning and stitching under anaesthetic, and possibly a skin graft because so much of the skin around the area is infected and rotting. She's otherwise well and is eating so has a good chance of surviving and not losing the damaged leg.

All cat collars are potentially dangerous because the cat can be caught up and hung, or put a leg through the collar and slice into the soft skin where the cat's leg and body join. The least dangerous kind have a fastening which is designed to click open if it is put under tension, but this may not work if the cat is small and light or if the fastening is glued together by mud or food. Flea collars are the most dangerous because the wound they make will be contaminated by the insecticide with which they have been impregnated, making it even more difficult to heal.

Just refused my first request for welfare assistance

I've just had the first request for help that I've had to turn down since the suspension of welfare assistance at private vets.

This was a dog who'd been in a fight the previous evening, and his injuries were at least not life-threatening, although it is definitely not good practice for bite wounds to be left two days before treatment. Maddeningly the owner had previously been to our clinic with a different dog, and if she'd only registered this dog he could have been seen today. To her credit she realised this and was very upset and cross with herself.

Welfare assistance at private vets

With great regret Cambridge branch committee have decided there is no realistic alternative to suspending help with the cost of veterinary treatment at private vets for owned animals.

This does not affect branch help with first aid for strays whose owner is not known.

Over the past five years the demand for emergency financial help at private vets has more than quadrupled, and the amounts of money required for each treatment has more than doubled. This is just not sustainable without a gigantic increase in our income, which has not been possible in spite of our best efforts.

Treatment at a private vet is enormously less cost effective than using our branch animal clinic, and most of the time there is no good reason why the animal's owner could not have got their pet registered there. The vets who contract to provide services to our clinic will treat out of hours emergencies provided the individual animal involved has been registered at the clinic previously. Animals can be registered provided that the person who owns them is on a means-tested state benefit (which includes working tax credit, job-seeker's allowance and state pension and carer's allowance, but not child tax credit on its own).

Our animal clinic is at 1 Pool Way, Whitehill Road, Cambridge CB5 8NT and it is open on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (8.30 am - 10.30 pm). To register an animal you need to bring proof of current benefits and a £7 consultation fee, and the animal must attend to be checked over. Sick or injured animals can be seen for the first time on these days, and they will then be treated as registered. Animals must be brought to the clinic at least once every two years to keep their registration current.

We have not come to this decision lightly, but the only possible alternative would have been to put a strict limit to cover the vet's consultation fee only. This would still strain our funds and it would mean that we would frequently be achieving nothing beyond reimbursing the vet for part of the cost of putting the animal to sleep. The number of animals put to sleep using RSPCA funds is frequently used in campaigns to discourage donations to the RSPCA, so in the interest of our overall ability to help animals it would be preferable to stop help at private vets entirely rather than continue at a low level.

Webshop newsletter

Be the first to own Whiteout on DVD and Blu-ray The 25th of January sees the hotly anticipated release of Dominic Sena's chilling thriller Whiteout staring Kate Beckinsale. Pre-order your DVD or Blu-ray today and you’ll receive £6.00 off the recommended retail price. Get Whiteout for £9.99 on DVD and £13.99 on Blu-ray. Whiteout Review Antarctica; cold, desolate, nothing but ice and snow for miles and miles. Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) is a U.S Marshal and she's made the ice her home. In its vastness, she has found a place where she can forget her troubled past and feel at peace... until someone commits a murder in her jurisdiction and that peace is shattered. Based on the award-winning graphic novel of the same name and starring Kate Beckinsale, Whiteout is a chilling thriller from legendary producer Joel Silver that will have you on the edge of your seat and chilled to the bone. Support RSPCA Cambridge & District Branch when you purchase Whiteout today. Visit www.buy.at/RSPCA.Cambridge for more great offers from over 150 top retailers.

Purchases made through www.buy.at/RSPCA.Cambridge are made according to the information and terms provided by the company making the sale to you. Further details on using the buy.at shop are provided on the site.

Feature on E61 in Local Secrets e-zine

the RSPCA's funky Emporium 61 on Burleigh Street. Popular with Cambridge's resident students, the shop does a glamorous trade in 70s maxi dresses, pussy bow blouses and fake fur. Woof! Proceeds from the locally donated goods fund regional services such as the charity's animal A&E.

What would you do if your pet needed an £800 operation?

In comparison with the astronomical costs of human surgery, veterinary operations are (almost) a bargain, but they come as a complete shock to many otherwise good owners. Many cats (and some dogs) will sail through life, needing no more than annual boosters and some geriatric care as they age. Sadly this is not something that is guaranteed, and sometimes the owners of quite young animals may be faced with horrible choices if they are unaware of what may happen.

If a cat or dog is hit by a car, treatment costs may quickly reach the thousands, but there are also acute medical conditions which can need treatment that cannot wait. Some of these are completely preventable (pregnancy complications are my particular hate), but some are nobody's fault. It's particularly upsetting if an otherwise healthy animal's life is endangered by a condition that is treatable.

As a branch, we will do our very best for animals whose owners really cannot raise the money needed to save their lives, but we cannot work miracles and we cannot spend money that we don't have. If you are earning, PLEASE make sure you have a credit card with available funds cover the cost of unexpected emergencies, or an insurance arrangement that will pay your vet direct. If you are not earning, don't simply assume that charity funding will be available - often any charity help will go no-where near covering the cost of treatment, particularly if the emergency happens outside normal surgery hours.

Our branch can help some people who are working, but on a very low income, but many charities have tighter restrictions, and in the end it all comes down to our ability to continue raising funds. 2009 was a bad year for this because of the economic downturn and the freeze just before Christmas. If you care about animals, please support our charity shops in 2010 - they are a lifeline for animals in Cambridgeshire, and at the moment it is a lifeline that is close to breaking.

Volunteers needed in Newmarket

Our charity shop at 156 High Street, Newmarket urgently needs more volunteers to cover Saturday afternoons. We particularly need helpers for sorting incoming donations and cleaning and tidying the shop and stockroom so that they're ready for the Monday volunteers.

If you don't have time to volunteer every Saturday, it would still be very useful to have more people willing to come in on a monthly rota.

If you can help, please call in at the shop (ideally on a Saturday morning or early Saturday afternoon).

Derby (Street by Street), A great book for local history buffs and anyone interested in their street.

Derby (Street by Street) by Maxwell Craven.
ISBN 978-1859834268

I have been using this book for a few years now, its an excellent reference tool for any local historian or if you just want to learn more about your street and how it came about.

This book gives a detailed history of all of the streets in Derby.
It includes over 150 photographs.

And gives information such as the origin and former names of the streets. Dates they were layed out and built up, notable people that lived there.


Even though this book came out in 2005 its still available to buy today, I often use this for finding out about streets that people mention to me that don't seem to be present on todays maps, this in often because the roads have been redeveloped during the 1960s to make way for new things.
Combine this book with some old A-Z maps from ebay and your able to find most things out.

Webshop newsletter

Millions of products discounted at Play.com Play.com has over 8 million discounted items on offer including new and soon to be released movies, perfect for evenings at home when it’s cold outside. As always everything at Play.com comes with FREE DELIVERY. Doctor Who: The Complete Specials Box Set (5 Discs) Only £26.99 saving you £13.00 (32%) off the RRP. Filled with exclusive extras, this box set contains all five 2009 Doctor Who specials. The Taking Of Pelham 123 Only £11.99 saving you £8.00 (40%) off the RRP. Edge of your seat thrills like a giant rollercoaster. Antichrist Only £9.99 saving you £6.00 (37%) off the RRP. Both nightmarish and apocalyptic. Sorority Row Only £11.99 saving you £8.00 (40%) off the RRP. Teen horror, recommended for anyone who likes to scream. Whiteout (White Out) Only £9.99 saving you £6.00 (37%) off the RRP. Pre-order now for release on 25/01/2010. A chilling thriller with Kate Beckinsale. 500 Days of Summer Only £11.99 saving you £8.00 (40%) off the RRP. Pre-order now for release on 18/01/2010. Boy meets girl love story, highly recommended romantic comedy. Play.com’s highlights of the week The Best of the Noughties is Play.com’s collection of the most popular movies, music and books from the Noughties. Prices start from £2.99 and come with FREE DELIVERY. Movies for Lovers is a collection of movies including romance, comedy and action thrillers, ideal to share with that special person. Prices start from only £2.99. Play.com's Fitness Store offers a massive range of workout DVDs, games and books including celebrity DVDs with up to 70% off. Don't forget every purchase you make via this newsletter or via our webshop will generate a donation to RSPCA Cambridge & District Branch please try to use our webshop when you shop online. Visit www.buy.at/RSPCA.Cambridge for more great offers from over 150 top retailers.

Purchases made through www.buy.at/RSPCA.Cambridge are made according to the information and terms provided by the company making the sale to you. Further details on using the buy.at shop are provided on the site.

Can anyone help?

We have the chance to do a house clearance in early February, with anything saleable to be given to our charity shops. However, to do a proper job—and make it worthwhile for the generous donor—we need a good number of volunteers and several cars (or a van) to remove the house contents.

Can anyone with use of a large car help us for a day? Date and time to be arranged.

If you might be able to help with this, please email camshop@rspcabookshop.co.uk or phone 01223 212 644

Webshop newsletter

Cut Costs in 2010 After the financial excesses of Christmas make amends and figure out how to streamline your budget. Have you tried shopping around for a better energy deal? If you haven't you can compare energy suppliers by using Switch and Give. It only takes about 10 minutes to submit your details and find a deal. If you choose an online tariff and use the same supplier for both gas and electricity, you’ll generally find the best offer. Buy TV, broadband and phone as a package and save a bundle With Sky Digital you can customise your bundle so you only pay for the channels and broadband you want, you can also get free off-peak calls. BT Vision allows you to watch digital TV on demand. If you add BT Vision to your package before January 15th and you will receive a FREE BT Vision+ box. Cut costs further with a Freeview box which allows you to watch a number of free TV stations. Asda is offering a standard Freeview box for £22; you can also get boxes which automatically record your favourite shows so you can watch them anytime. Find the right mobile phone deal for you There are lots of great deals on mobile phones, with T-Mobile you can get 300 minutes, with unlimited texts for just £15pm, it’s a 24 month deal and you’ll get a FREE Samsung Tocco Lite S5320 and FREE iPod touch (8GB). 3 Mobile’s Texter Plan is now reduced. For £10 you’ll receive unlimited texts and 75 anytime, any network minutes. The contract is for 18 months and there are lots of FREE handsets to choose from too. You can't switch water supplier but you can conserve water The Water Reduction Spray Magic Cartridge is easy to use and helps to reduce the flow of water coming out of taps by approximately 70%. Save yourself money and reduce water wastage by fitting a Bath Water Diverter. This device is designed to divert your used water from the shower/bath to your rain butt for use in your garden. Find a competitive deal on home and motor insurance The most popular insurance brokers in our webshop include Endsleigh Motor Insurance, ASDA Finance, Aviva Car and Aviva Home insurance. Women can save by buying their policy via Sheila's Wheels. Don't forget every purchase you make via this newsletter or via our webshop will generate a donation for RSPCA Cambridge & District Branch please try to use our webshop when you shop online. Visit www.buy.at/RSPCA.Cambridge for more great offers from over 150 top retailers.

Purchases made through www.buy.at/RSPCA.Cambridge are made according to the information and terms provided by the company making the sale to you. Further details on using the buy.at shop are provided on the site.

Funny video : Nickelback Matlock Rocks, you MUST watch this great video.

If you have never seen this before then your missing a treat. I'm always keen to promote local stuff and this is wicked:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBa4AKWNlZM
It features Nickelback's hit Rockstar with an assortment of local people from Matlock and nearby miming to the band's lyrics.

See if you can spot the many local scenes such as..
Matlock town viewed from the Heights of Abraham
Belper River Gardens
Riber Castle
Driving up Bank Road
The Gate Hotel, corner of Bank Road amd E Smedley Street
Thorn Tree Inn, Jackson Rd
Black Hippo bar, Bakewell Road
The crown round-a-bout before the bypass came to Matlock.

Animal Welfare Statistics for 2009

Animals rehomed
Dogs: 32
Cats: 82
Rabbits: 128
Others: 11
Total number of animals rehomed: 253

Veterinary Treatment of Owned Animals
(i.e. where the owner could not afford the cost of treatment at a private vet)
Dogs: 2,874
Cats: 1,475
Rabbits: 193
Others: 88
Total: 4,630

Veterinary Treatment of Unowned Animals
Dogs: 25
Cats: 193
Rabbits: 9
Others: 2
Total: 229

Microchipping
Dogs: 128
Cats: 165
Total: 293

Animals Neutered
Dogs: 175
Cats: 189
Rabbits: 112
Others: 4
Total: 480

Six feral cats were tested for FIV/FeLV, neutered and released.

Video of Sledging at Allestree Park, Derby, Derbyshire, U.K.

Here is my latest video of Sledging in Derby, this time at Allestree Park.
The sledging hill at this park is much longer than the one at Darley Park so if you are up for a challenge then take your sledge here next time it snows.
Check out my new feature : Where to go sledging in Derby, Derbyshire.



Map of the exact location to take your sledge to:
http://tinyurl.com/ybwbwd2

Hedgehogs and cold weather

Any hedgehog that you see moving about during this period of cold is in trouble. When they hibernate, it is normal for a hedgehog's body temperature to drop in order to reduce energy use. If exceptional or prolonged cold causes it to fall below safe levels, then the hedgehog will wake up and search for food and/or another better-insulated place to hibernate. When the ground is hard frozen and snow covered, food will not be available and the hedgehog is at risk of perishing, because it is burning up fat all the time to keep up its body temperature.

It is possible to give such hedgehogs a better chance of survival by bringing them under cover and offering them suitable food: any meat-based pet food will do. Ideally they should be somewhere reasonably warm, but a well-insulated garden shed with dry leaves, straw or shredded paper to nest in will do for adult hedgehogs. Because they are mammals (like us) hedgehogs do not normally need a source of external heat to make it possible for them to eat (unlike reptiles who must be kept at an appropriate temperature). However, if they have got really chilled they need gentle warmth until they are eating and moving vigorously.

Pygmy hedgehogs, the species normally kept as pets, originally come from Africa and are unable to hibernate or cope with the cold and they must be kept at room temperature.

Sledging at Darley Park, Derby, Derbyshire, U.K.

Following on from my last post about where to go sledging in Derby here is a HD video I made on Friday at Darley Park. As you can see this is a very good park for sledging.

UPDATE : Check out my Derby Sledging Guide for ideas on where to go sledging.

The snow you can see here in my video settled on Tuesday night and is still showing no signs of melting yet. It has snowed a few times since then as well but not as much as last Tuesday.

If you know of any other great locations in Derby to go sledging then please let us know and I will add them to my Derby Sledging Map.

Its snowing again right now and more snow to come Sunday.

Enjoy the snow while you can as it may all be gone soon.
Andy

Snow in Cambridge

Mr Grumpy wondering whether a cat might be able to get a grant to retrain as a polar bear.

Where to go sledging in Derby and Derbyshire, Where to buy a sledge.

Here is a photograph I took at Rykneld Recreational Ground showing people on Sledges.

At the moment in Derby (6pm Tuesday) it is snowing very heavy here in Derby. Depending which weather forecast you watch, it looks like there may be more snow to come tomorrow so perhaps you may be going sledging tomorrow. I wonder which are the best places in Derby to take your sledge?

When I was a child we used to goto Rykneld Rec (off Burton Road), this has quite a good hill but with a path going across it part way down, also there are some trees at the bottom so you have to be very careful when you go down the hill.

Want to take your sledge here:
Rykneld Recreational Ground.


UPDATE : Derby Sledging Guide.


A great place to go sledging is Darley Park, I have never been sledging there but this is a large park with lots of hills of differing steepness so you can slide down the hills as fast or as slow as you like.

Want to take your sledge here:
Darley Park Fileds.

In the past I have actually seen people sledging down that hill at the far end of Sainsburys car park at Kingsway Retail park but I would not recommend trying to go down that hill as once you reach the bottom of the hill its the car park so highly likely you will hurt yourself or damage someones car.

As an Adult going sledging you have the option to drive further afield, so your not just limited to walking to local hills. I’m sure there are some great hills to go sledging on in Derbyshire. Do you know of some good places to go sledging?, if so please leave your sledging locations in a comment to this post. Give a detailed location please.
Or contact me via HERE and I will add the location to the Derby Sledging Map here.
I'm also interested in locations throughout Derbyshire too.

Where to Sledge in Derby Interactive Map:

View Best places to Sledge in Derby, the locations mapped. in a larger map

Where do you buy a sledge from these days?
I have seen them in that shop at the Cavendish Discount 2000.
Also ASDA have sledges for sale as do Halfords



If you are a bit of a DIY person then how about making your own sledge, this may be the best option as I'm sure any sledges in Derby will be selling like hot cakes.
Here are detailed instructions on how to build your own sledge.

If you have not got a sledge then a very thick sheet of plastic would always do the job, although you ended up with lots of bruises on your bottom of course.

At times like this it makes you wish you had invested some money in shares of Rock salt and Sledges.

If your a "misery guts" then perhaps the idea of going sledging is not for you then perhaps you would find this of use.
Its a Gritting Route map for Derby showing which roads the council will be gritting.

Interactive Route map for roads being gritted in Derby.


Have fun in the snow but be careful out there. Take a look at the live video feeds from the many webcams in Derby and Derbyshire here:
Snowing in Derby and Derbyshire Webcams.

Tiger showing off her smart new splint

Tiger went up to the Veterinary Hospital to have her leg checked today, and she now has a smart newly bandaged splint instead of the old one which had got pretty grotty where she'd been digging in her litter tray. She also had an X-ray which showed the main lower leg bone is healing nicely, but the thinner one still needs support to keep the broken ends positioned together. It should be able to come off for good in another 10 days; then three more weeks cage rest while the bones are still in a weakened state.

Tiger isn't a stray, but was signed over to us because her owners didn't feel able to cope with a cat with a broken leg. She'll be up for rehoming once she's fully recovered.

Volunteering with the branch

Maisie, one of our injured strays

Volunteering opportunities with our branch probably don't fit the ideal image most people have of "helping at the RSPCA". Most of the animals we have up for rehoming are boarded at a private kennels, so we can't allow volunteers to just drop in and help out with dog walking etc. because this would mean disruption to the kennel owners' work caring for the private boarders.

A typical rescue case for us generally manifests via a call to the branch emergency phone from a private vet who has just received an injured stray with a log number from the RSPCA National Control Centre. This log number guarantees that the RSPCA will pay for emergency first aid. The Control Centre (NCC) is staffed 24/7 and responds to emergency calls from members of the public (or vets who have received injured strays directly). Sometimes an inspector or animal welfare officer will be sent out to deal with the situation (e.g. if the injured animal is dangerous), but if the finder has transport and can handle the animal they are usually requested to take it direct to a vet so that treatment can begin as soon as possible.

The National RSPCA pays the first £60 + VAT to get first aid started and the vet will then contact their local branch to fund continuing treatment and (hopefully) to rehome the animal once he or she is fit again.

This inevitably means that our rescues start off scattered all over our branch area, and we need to move them to our clinic for further treatment; to foster homes for recuperation, or to kennels for rehoming. Inevitably everything is guaranteed to happen at the most inconvenient time possible.

This is why we don't have many opportunities for people to come in and help with caring for the animals, but we always desperately need more foster homes and volunteer drivers.

If you might be able to help with either of these, please email: rosemary@rspca-cambridge.org.uk

Resolutions

"Raise more funds," has to be our motto going into 2010. Without money we can't pay vets to treat animals, or kennels to board them so that they can be rehomed.

You can help us by:

• Buying items from our charity shops at 61 Burleigh St, Cambridge, 188 Mill Road, Cambridge and 156 High Street, Newmarket.
• Donating items to our shops (textiles and shoes can be sold for recycling even if they are worn out, but other items need to be in saleable condition).
• Volunteering in our shops.
  
• Volunteering to help with our yearly collection in RSPCA week at the end of April.
• Adopting animals from us so that they spend a shorter time in kennels, costing us boarding fees.
• Donating a percentage to us when you sell items on eBay.
• Buying second hand books online from our Abebooks store
  

World Wide Panorama - Derby Cathedral Quarter Wheel

Happy New Year and welcome to 2010.
My first blog entry of the year is about my latest entry on the World Wide Panorama website which has just gone live today. My entry for this event is of the Derby Cathedral Quarter Wheel in Derby Market Place.
I have contributed 18 360 degree panoramic photographs over the years.

Here is my best of 2009 entry:
Derby Cathedral Quarter Wheel.
It is best viewed in Fullscreen Mode.

In case you have never heard of The World Wide Panorama:

The World Wide Panorama began in March 2004 and has become an ongoing series of events. Photography takes place on the solstices (longest and shortest days of the year) and equinoxes (day and night of equal length). There is also a "best of" each year.

A VR panorama (VR for virtual reality) is a specially created computer image that goes all the way around the viewer. It is a revolutionary way to document a particular place and time – the next best thing to being there.
VR panoramas are interactive - Use the mouse to rotate the panorama, use Shift and Control to zoom in and out.

To look at other peoples entries for the best of 2009 you can use this map:
WWP Best of 2009 Map.

If you use Google Earth then you can even download a .kml file which has place markers for every panoramic photograph that has been entered since 2004 :
KML File for Google Earth.

Hope you like this.
Andy