I hope that you all had a very happy Christmas and New Year and that you didn't over indulge. I am still trying to shed the odd pound/gramme (or two!!). At the moment the sun is shining and although cold it is very pleasant. Can we hope that we have seen the worst of the winter?
May I welcome and introduce Karen Turner to the branch, unfortunately I do not have further information regarding Karen, hopefully, she will get in touch and tell us a little about herself?
I must apologise to Ivy McDonald, for re-christening her in the last newsletter, her name really is Ivy and not Joy! put it down to me misinterpreting Janet's handwriting, that's my excuse anyway.
Thanks to the 'hardy' supporters who braved the windy conditions, we had a very successful collection at Colchester North Railway Station, on Friday 12th October. We collected in the morning and again late afternoon/early evening. The total sum for the day was £322.22. The surprise of the day was when Stuart Holden found a £20 note in his bucket. We must encourage Stuart to turn out even more frequently!
Unfortunately we do not get the results of the Cards for Good Causes, Christmas card sale for a month or two. However I would like to thank those members, who spent time on the stall in Colchester Public Library. My thanks therefore go to Sally Smith, Stan Angier, Stuart Holden and Beryl Leeks. Your assistance was very much appreciated.
Our congratulations to Maria Fremlin for her fund raising sales of Kefir, anyone not conversant with Kefir should contact Maria direct for further information. To date, Maria has exceeded sales of £300, mainly through the internet. A great contribution to our fund raising.
At very short notice we attended a Christmas Bazaar in Clacton. Many thanks to Ivy and Sandra McDonald for providing items for the stall and Janet and Norman Saunders and Beryl and Don Leeks for manning ( or should that be 'personing') the stall, throughout the day. We made £50.85 on the day. Unfortunately there was a larger event in the Town Hall at Clacton, at the same time, which meant that fewer people attended our bazaar.
Our thanks must also got to Bridget and Tony Farley, for the assistance they have given to our fundraising, on the collections which they have attended, with the organ, they have accounted for up to 30% of the total collection. Special thanks must go to Tony for continuing to attend collections while suffering from a shoulder injury, from which he still has not fully recovered.
We have a reasonable number of events lined up for the year but there are still one or two gaps in the calendar to fill.
| Jan. | 26th | Asda store, North Station | Collection |
| Feb. | 1st | Sainsbury's, Tollgate | Collection | 23rd | Waitrose, Sudbury | Collection |
| Mar. | 16th | Fiveways, Brightlingsea | Collection |
| Jun. | 8th/9th | Aldham Olde Tyme Ralley | Stall |
| 22nd | Fiveways, Clacton | Collection | |
| Jul. | 5th/6th | Tesco, Clacton | Collection |
| Aug. | 3rd | Colchester Town Centre | Street Collection |
There are still other events, in the pipeline, yet to be finalised.
Whilst on the subject, we urgently need additional volunteers to help out with the above events, with the exception of Asda and Sainsbury's. All we are asking is a minimum of just one hour, at the most two hours of your time. Surely that is not too much? Remember, the money raised is going to help research, into treatments and cures for MD. That must be worth making, what is after all a very small effort?
If you decide that you are willing to help out, please telephone or e-mail me, to discuss the situation, without any commitment.
WE REALLY DO NEED YOU!
You will recall that I mentioned a proposed 'boat trip', on the Broads, in the last newsletter. The response I received was encouraging and I intend to take the matter further over the coming weeks. Hopefully there will be more information in the next newsletter.
I have been asked to include the following, which is for information purposes only. It makes sense that anyone, disabled or not, should carry information on their person, indicating their blood group, allergies, medication, details of a person to contact etc. We never know when that information might be needed or indeed life saving
One method of carrying this information is the SOS Talisman, the information is carried on a non-soluble paper that is securely contained in the talisman capsule.
More information can be obtained from:
Talman Ltd.,
21 Grays Corner,
Ley Street,
Ilford,
Essex IG2 7RQ
Tel: 0181 554 5579
Fax: 0181 554 1090
I am sure that most major Pharmacies such as Boots etc would also be able to offer you advice on this subject.
It is not sufficient just to have this information in your handbag or wallet, in an emergency you could become separated from these items. Ideally the information should be attached to your person as with the SOS Talisman.
I know that I have said this in the past but this is YOUR newsletter and it would be nice to receive contributions from you, whether they are of a serious or frivolous nature, informative or critical. This is your forum, in which you can express your views and opinions, preferably with relevance to MD, the way the branch is run, offering tips and advice to our members, asking questions etc., but anything, within reason and the bounds of decency, would be welcome.
MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY CAMPAIGN
COLCHESTER AND DISTRICT BRANCH
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND PARTY.
SATURDAY 9th MARCH 2002
1.30PM - 5.00PM
At
Tollgate Hall, Villa Road Stanway
RSVP
Sue Wood, 63 Godmans Lane, Marks Tey, Colchester, CO6 1NQ
01206 212100
Please make every effort to attend the AGM, to find out how your committee has run the branch, during the past year and to give you the opportunity to put forward your own views, as to how your branch is run in the future and elect the people that you want to run it.
Once we have finished the AGM business, we can then start the serious business of socialising! The earlier start time for the meeting will give more time, later, for listening to some great keyboard playing and chatting to old friends and of course refreshments.
If you know of someone who would like to be on the committee or perhaps you would, yourself, please complete the nomination form included and pass it on to Sue Wood, Branch Secretary.
See you there? Please come up and say hello, I would be very pleased to meet you.
Geoff Wiseman,
Branch Chairman / Editor
57 Winsley Square,
Old Heath Road,
Colchester, CO1 2ET
Tel: 01206 792654
E-mail: geoff@gjwisecol2.freeserve.co.uk