Bromley Christmas Charter Market

• Date: 10 Dec 2015 - 24 Dec 2015
• Every day
• Location: High street, Bromley
• Time: 09:00 - 15:00
• Cost: Free

This year add some sparkle to you Christmas shopping and visit the regular stalls plus additions for gifts, refreshments and more.

With a variety of stalls every day, there will be something different each time you visit so why not take a look?

Open daily from Thursday 10 to 24 December (9am till 3pm Christmas Eve)

Event organiser: Bromley Council 

Telephone: 0300 303 8658

Stay well this Winter

As the winter weather heads this way, Bromley Council is working with health colleagues at the Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group to share NHS winter health advice.

The advice will help residents to keep well  during the winter, including encouraging those eligible to get a flu jab.

It also includes information on using the right service if they do become ill this winter when there is added pressure on A&E.  At this time of year it is particularly important for our vulnerable residents and those at risk of ill health to take good care of themselves and home carers visiting elderly and vulnerable residents are also offering advice and information about staying warm, safe and well.

This is part of the council’s work to help prevent avoidable harm to health by raising people’s awareness of the negative health effects of cold weather and enable them to prepare for wintry weather.

For lots more advice and information on how to keep warm, safe and well this winter you can visit
www.bromley.gov.uk/winter or http://www.nhs.uk/staywell

Christmas Services at St Andrew's Church

CHRISTINGLE 

Sunday 13th December 2015 at 4:00 PM for 50 minutes

An atmospheric pre-Christmas celebration using oranges and candles to symbolise Jesus Christ as the light of the world. Money raised goes to the Children's Society to help children in need.

The orange represents the world, the red ribbon Christ's blood, the four sticks God's creations and the four seasons and the candle represents the light of the world

Service of Carols & Readings 

Sunday 13th December 2015 at 6:30 PM for 1 hour

Do join us at St Andrew's for our Carol Service

ADVENT CAROL SERVICE

Monday 21st December 2015 at 8:00 PM for 50 minutes

Mince pies and mulled wine are traditionally served by the St Andrew's Women's Guild after this lovely service with music by BOES and carols sung by the congregation

Carols

Thursday 24th December 2015 at 11:00 PM for ½ hour

Carols before the start of the Midnight Eucharist

Midnight Mass

Thursday 24th December 2015 at 11:30 PM for 1 hour

A specially atmospheric Eucharist on this special and holy night

Family Eucharist

Friday 25th December 2015 at 10:00 AM for 50 minutes

A simple service for Christmas Day with a talk around the crib

Yet Another Fake Courier Scam

This was forwarded by a member of the Petts Wood & Knoll Safer Neighbourhood team :

Wednesday a week ago, I  had a phone call from someone saying that he was from some outfit called: "Express Couriers,"(The name could be any courier company) He asked if I was going to be home because there was a package for me that required a signature.

The caller said that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an hour. Sure enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a beautiful basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. I was very surprised since there was no special occasion or holiday, and I certainly didn't expect anything like it. Intrigued, I inquired as to who the sender was.

The courier replied, "I don't know, I'm only delivering the package." Apparently, a card was being sent separately... (the card has never arrived!) There was also a consignment note with the gift.

He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a £3.50 "delivery/ verification charge," providing proof that he had actually delivered the package to an adult (of legal drinking age), and not just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen or taken by anyone, especially a minor.

This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the delivery company required payment to be by credit or debit card only, so that everything is properly accounted for, and this would help in keeping a legal record of the transaction. He added couriers don't carry cash to avoid loss or likely targets for robbery.

My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled out his credit card, and 'John,' the "delivery man," asked him to swipe the card on a small mobile card machine with a small screen and keypad. My husband, was asked to enter his PIN number and a receipt was printed out. He was given a copy of the transaction. He guy said everything was in order, and wished us good day.

To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday, £4,000 had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines. The "mobile credit card machine" which the deliveryman carried now had all the info necessary to create a "dummy" card with all our card details including the PIN number.

Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we immediately notified the bank which issued us a new card, and our credit/debit account was closed. We also personally went to the Police, where it was confirmed that it is definitely a scam because several households had been similarly hit.

WARNING: Be wary of accepting any "surprise gift or package," which you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never accept anything if you do not personally know or there is no proper identification of who the sender is. Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!"

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040.

Elderly Targeted by Fake Police Officers

This is a message sent via The Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network (England & Wales). This information has been sent on behalf of Action Fraud (National Fraud Intelligence Bureau)

Message sent by

Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

There has been a recent series of incidents whereby fraudsters either phone or attend the home address of elderly members of the public, claiming to be police officers.
The fake officer/s will claim that they are investigating a fraud which they believe the elderly person to be a victim of. The fake officer/s will then request the bank cards and personal identification numbers (PIN) of the victim and claim these are needed for investigation purposes. If the first contact was made by a phone call, the fake officer/s will tell the victim that someone will be over to collect the evidence. In one case the victim was instructed to attend their local bank and withdraw all of the money from their account. The suspect was left alone in the victim’s house whilst the victim carried out the instructions.
 Protect Yourself

• Before letting anyone into your home who claims to be from any law enforcement agency, ask to see their identity card and check it by calling 101.
• Ask if they can attend at a pre-arranged time when a family member or friend can also be present.
• If you receive a phone call from a police officer,  ask for their name and force and tell them you will call them back. Wait a few minutes and then use 101 to call them back through their force’s switchboard and verify their identity.
• The Police will never ask for your PIN or passwords. Do not give this information to anyone.
• The Police will never request that you withdraw/transfer any money to them.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040.

Waste Collection Calendar Dec 2015 to May2016

The waste collection calendar can be viewed by clicking on the link in the Pages window on the right hand side. With luck Bromley will deliver the paper version to all houses soon.

Burnt Ash Library Christmas Coffee Morning