Moreton Hall Health Club

The Moreton Hall Health Club is one of the longest established health and fitness clubs in the area, on the lovely leafy green outskirts of Bury St Edmunds. This week I spent a day there to see what’s on offer.

The fitness class I attended was fun - but hard work too

My first stop was at one of the fitness classes - Body, Mind, Conditioning with Maria. This gentle, and then more advanced stretching and balancing turned out to be a lot of fun. "Imagine you’re passing a pizza to someone," said Maria, as she gracefully swept an open hand in front of herself " Followed by another pizza" she added, as the second hand followed the first.

The class was an effective, full body workout too and I came out feeling the effects!

Maria varies the exercises according to the needs of the class, and also according to season. "There are lots of back exercises included at this time of year" she explained, "as people are gardening. In winter we do hamstrings and hips, and in the skiing season I include exercises relevant for that sport too." There are over 35 weekly fitness classes on offer at the club.

The club has a Power-Plate!

Next I had a taster session on the club’s Power-Plate with Lorna. This is the machine certain celebs (especially Madonna) have been swearing by and it can apparently get you toned with just three ten minute sessions a week. I was very eager to give it a go!

When I got on however, I found it isn't called the Power Plate for nothing. The plate vibrates between 30 and 50 times a second, so your muscles have to work mega hard, and the feeling takes a bit of getting used to. On the other hand, ten minutes on the plate is equivalent to sixty minutes of toning exercises, and it can apparently reduce the appearance of cellulite too. Depending on how you position yourself, the power plate can target any muscle group, including abs and pelvic floor. Worth getting used to, and a brilliant time saver - count me as a fan.

After the all intensive toning, I went for a swim in the pool. At one point I had it all to myself! I nipped out for a steam too (the sauna and steam room are right next to the pool) before heading back to the ladies’ changing rooms where I was glad of the showers and hair drying facilities.

Space to relax, the licensed bar area

Lunch from the salad bar in the lounge area was a treat. You can help yourself from the selection of freshly prepared salads on offer - healthy as well as delicious. The lounge and licensed bar area is obviously a popular stop for many and it filled with people while I was there. After a coffee, I had time for a wander before my own final stop the day.

Lovely leafiness; one of the five superb squash courts; swimming lesson; tennis courts; the main gym; creche with indoor and outdoor play areas; aqua aerobics class; lounge; ladies' gym

The final stop was an appointment with beauty therapist Sharon Tricker. By now I could really feel the effects of my morning exercise, so taking time out to be pampered was lovely. I lay back and relaxed to soothing background music, while Sharon gave me an hour long Priadara facial, tailored to my skin type. It included a peel to remove dead skin cells, and a facial massage to stimulate blood flow. It was a great way to round off the day. Sharon is just one of the qualified therapists working at the club's beauty centre and a range of treatments is on offer, from manicures and pedicures to Reiki and other holistic therapies.

Sharon gave me a relaxing Priadara facial treatment

For anyone looking to join a gym or fitness club in the area, a visit to the Moreton Hall Health Club is a must. As well as the fantastic facilities on offer, here are my top three reasons for finding it a winner:

1. The friendliness. This was evident to me the moment I walked in. I was treated like someone who comes every day right from my arrival at reception. The staff are friendly, the other members I met were friendly, and the atmosphere in both the gym and classes is relaxed.

2. The family friendly nature. I don't know of another club where children can join too - for just a minimal additional fee on to the parent's membership. Children can use the pool at certain times, and over 10's can use the gym at allocated times too. Some children's classes are available, there is a creche on weekday mornings, and during school holidays there is a holiday club - which is FREE to members (except during summer).

3. The woodland surroundings. If a health club is about "me time" and somewhere to escape from the daily grind, then this one achieves it. I love the green leafy surroundings. You really do feel as though you've got away from it all here.

There's plenty going on for children, too!

The Moreton Hall Health Club is on Mount Road, Moreton Hall, Bury St Edmunds. It is open daily, closing at 10pm weekdays and 7/8pm at weekends. There is currently no joining fee and the first month's membership is free. An individual membership starts at £20 monthly for use of gym only. Various deals and packages are available. Power-Plate prices start at just an additional £10 monthly (incl induction and programme) on an existing membership. Some activities - including Power-Plate, are available for non-members too. Tel. 01284 704232. Website: www.moretonhallhealthclub.co.uk.

Mystery Shopper meets Lord Powell

Lord Powell

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Lord Powell at his home just outside Bury St Edmunds.

Lord Powell has spent much of his working and political life representing others and his particular area of expertise is consumer rights. He now has a website, a totally free venture, which gives people the opportunity to raise and publicise issues of concern to them.

"It would be a good place to air a grievance about unfair treatment by a company or organisation, for example," he explained. "People can leave the comment anonymously if they wish, but comments are validated before publication. The site is intended to be very constructive, and also gives companies the opportunity to reply."

Lord Powell has been involved in many community minded projects locally and was a founder member of the St Edmundsbury Town Centre Management Group. "Views on Bury St Edmunds and how we can move forward are also welcome here" he said.

The website is easy to use, and topics of both national and local interest have been raised. Lord Powell often responds personally and can sometimes follow up issues.

You can find out more about Lord Powell and this venture on the website itself. www.lordpowell.co.uk

Floatation

Floatation on Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds

I'd been looking forward to my visit to Floatation.

But as it turned out, on the day of my appointment I was very busy, slightly stressed, and I ended up arriving in a flustered rush at the therapy centre on Guildhall Street.

A few minutes later though, and I was already relaxing in the peaceful and calm surroundings of their reception area. Kevan the manager brought me a very welcome glass of chilled water, and chatted to me unhurriedly about the treatments I was going to receive: a float in one of the tanks and a no hands massage with therapist Sharon Dempsey.

Reception area where clients are welcomed; a glimpse into a floatation room

The idea of the float, Kevan explained, is to restrict stimulation to the brain so that it can relax. As your brain relaxes, so do all of the muscles in your body. A float in the tank can help you achieve a deep state of relaxation, relieves pain, and allows you to recover from stress. As it stimulates blood flow throughout your body, natural endorphins are released and your brain produces alpha waves.

There's just ten inches of water in each tank, and a third of a ton of Epsom salts is dissolved in the water, which gives it its buoyancy - and yes, you really do float. The beneficial effects of floating, as well as those of the Epsom salts used in the water are well documented. Although floatation therapy has been around since the fifties, the tanks at Floatation in Bury are state of the art, and each tank is in its own private room with a shower. The client has total control over the environment.

Private room with changing area; my tank just before I stepped in

Stepping into one of the floatation tanks is a bit like climbing into a giant space pod, and feels like it even more when you press the button for the lid to go down (you can also choose to float with the lid up if you wish, the choice is yours). Once lying in the tank, I could only just see my feet in the very dim red light. The water was like liquid silk and my body felt like it was dressed in it. And I was floating. Really floating.

When the music - which I had chosen to have for the first and last ten minutes - came to a stop, there was a real feeling of calm in the silence. I turned off the light so there was complete darkness. After some time, I'm not sure how long, I was no longer conscious of the water, and felt like I was suspended in the air. This happens, apparently, because the water is at the same temperature as the room.

The urge to move around left me, and I lay in stillness. My arms, I realised, were up by my head, my hands gently curled into fist shapes. Very unusually for me, I had no inclination to think about anything. Everything, seemed to have slowed down and the outside world was shut out. Towards the end of my float, the water began to feel very warm on my skin although it is only at body temperature. Sharon, who was waiting to take me for my massage, said I looked like I was glowing when I emerged from the room.

Therapy room where Sharon gave me my massage

Sharon's no hands massage was fantastic, probably the best massage I've had. In this form of massage, the therapist uses their forearms, and the transference of bodyweight to give a really deep and effective massage. Although I had slight lower back pains (which I sometimes suffer from) when I lay down, these were gone within a couple of minutes. At the end I was able to lay there for a while, until I felt like getting up and moving on to the chill out room.

It's hard to understand exactly why the chill out room is necessary until you have experienced the treatments at Floatation. I certainly needed time to "come down" before getting back on with my day. The room is lovely, and I appreciated the drink making facilities, with a choice of all sorts of teas, coffee, and chilled fruit juices.

A corner of the lovely chill out room

The effects of my treatments - which were very calming - lasted a few days and I found my ability to focus and concentrate much improved the day after. Effects of floating are cumulative, so I do plan to go back for more - highly recommended.

Floatation, in Guildhall Street, is the only floatation therapy centre in Suffolk and there are only seventeen in the whole of the UK. The one in Bury St Edmunds is the only one, anywhere, with a float room and tank made accessible for people with disabilities. As well as the no hands massage, a range of other therapies is available at the centre, any of which can be combined with a float. Gift vouchers are available for all treatments. A standard float costs £25 - all other prices and details of all the therapies are available on the Floatation website.

Contact Floatation; a glimpse of the chill out room

Floatation is at 31-33 Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds. Tel: 01284 724 800. Email: info@floatation.biz. Website www.floatation.biz. Open 7 days a week. Last session at 8.30pm, centre closing at 10pm.

Hopgoods

Hopgoods have a spacious showroom, stocking a great range of furniture and home furnishings

It was a treat visiting Hopgoods Furniture Store in Stowmarket this week. I ended up buying something (occupational hazard) - a new mat set for my bathroom, and have put the store on my list of places for a return visit. I have my eye on one of the bathroom dispenser sets which are among the nicest I've seen.

Hopgoods is very easy to get to, being on the main relief road through Stowmarket, and there is plenty of parking right outside. One of Stowmarket's long established stores, they stock an excellent range of products - furniture, flooring, carpet, wallpaper and accessories - in both contemporary and traditional styles.

Hopgoods is on Gipping way, Stowmarket Suffolk. Tel. 01449 615255. For further information, visit the Hopgoods of Stowmarket website.

Or visit the new website where you can now buy from Hopgoods online: click2furnish.com!