For information
please email kevin@keepingpace.co.uk
Latest
News
January
2025 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Ang Jones came to the group this month. She talked
about children with special educational needs and it was a really
interesting add on to the previous Saints Foundation speaker. We
were a small (but perfectly formed), group this afternoon. The
session ended with a game of Boccia. Two teams up against each
other. The atmosphere was electric….. After 2 of 3 rounds,
the teams were level pegging. The decider was full of tension as
fortunes swung first one way then the other! It came down to the
very last throw…. And the winners were————-
the RED team. The losers did the washing up!!!! Sue E made delicious
cup cakes and a ginger cake. The other Sue played an absolute scorcher
of a game, despite still carrying a shoulder injury!
Next month we have Lisa Osbourne Jenkins talking to us about her
research into back pain.
November
2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had a lovely meeting with guest speaker Bethanie
Lee. She gave us a comprehensive view of the marvellous work that
Rose Road Association do for disabled young people in Southampton
and surrounding areas. We particularly noted the important service
they offer of respite care allowing the carers to re-find their
lives and renew friendships. The disabled young people really do
appear to blossom under their loving care.
Next month is our annual Christmas quiz. We are having mince pies
and please remember your £1 Secret Santa present.
October
2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
An enjoyable open meeting run by our members under
the watchful eyes of Christine and the two Sue’s.
A bit of information to pass on to you all. Lisa popped in to tell
us about a study she is recruiting for. The information is on this
leaflet.
If you are interested in taking part, recruitment
closes at the end of December. She will come to the group in February
to tell us of the study’s progress.
September 2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Tsvetelina Georgieva, the Health and Wellbeing
Coordinator for The Saints Foundation, came to our meeting today.
I had no idea how many free exercise classes are available and
run by The Saints Foundation throughout Southampton. It is an amazing
facility and one that I encourage people to look into. You can
just turn up to access them. They also run a comprehensive Falls
Recovery programme and for this you need to be referred via a GP
or Physiotherapist. Tsvetelena was also very keen to tell us about
the service they offer for men to improve mental health and wellbeing.
This is a self referral programme and offers a safe space for men
of all ages to learn ways of coping with mental health issues.
The links to all the timetables and referral details
are here:
August 2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
It was lovely to welcome Ailsa and Jennie to the
meeting today. They work for Gift of Sight and are part of the
fund raising team. Gift of Sight is located in Southampton University
and is dedicated to funding research into the prevention and treatment
of blindness.
It was fascination to hear about the amazing advances in detection
and treatment of eye conditions. They also discussed prevention;
the importance of a healthy life style in the prevention of aging
eye disease such as Macular Degeneration. More about them can be
found here https://www.giftofsight.org.uk/
Next month we will have a visit from a member of The Saints Foundation.
July 2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A beautiful sunny afternoon in the Pavilion and
a good turn out for our speaker, David Turver, from The Blue Lamp
Trust. This is a non-profit organisation originally set up by 2
retired policemen to help to support vulnerable and elderly people,
and keep them physically safe in their homes. A few years ago they
realised that they can also fall victim of cyber crime and so in
addition set up the Cyber Bobbies to promote safety on line. David
discussed many aspects of this including how to recognise scam
phone calls and emails, and how to generate safe passwords. Sometime
people feel embarrassed about being the subject of cyber crime
and feel that it’s a very personal matter. The Blue Lamp
Trust are very happy to do home visits to go through such events.
A self referral can be made here https://www.bluelamptrust.org.uk/bobby-scheme-landingpage/
Some useful resources can be found here:


Next month we will be hearing from Gift of Sight
and their research into the prevention and treatment of blindness.
June 2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Due to a last minute speaker cancellation we enjoyed
a chance to sit around a table and chat. Discussions included giving
up smoking, choirs, acupuncture and Greece! Instead of a general
knowledge quiz we did some riddle solving which generated a few
groans and amusement. My favourite was: Question - How do you measure
a Millennial? Answer - In Instagrams!
Next month we hope to have a speaker from the Blue Light Trust
talking about Cyber Crime.
May 2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
John Nightingale returned this month to give us
a guided tour of the trees in the gardens surrounding the Pavilion,
including a London Plane (I never knew it was a hydrid of the
American Sycamore and an Oriental Plane), Japanese Cedar, Weeping
Pear, Norway Maple and a Ginkgo tree (native to East Asia and
a species which first appeared over 290 million years ago). Trees
from around the world in these fascinating gardens in the heart
of Highfield. Who’d have known!
We finished off with scones, cream and jam. A lovely afternoon.
Next month we have our old friends Chris and Steve Beale talking
about Hearing Dogs for the deaf.
April 2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Has a very helpful session with Katie Hayes, an
exercise rehabilitation instructor from the Pain Clinic. She gave
us an introduction to Tai Chi and how it can be helpful to those
with persistent pain. We did a brief set of exercises base on Qigong
and it was quite special to see the group moving with such harmony.
Attached are links to some videos which can be tried at home, if
appropriate. There is an introduction explaining who should try
the exercises and the advice to seek first.
https://www.solent.nhs.uk/msk/self-help/persistent-pain-management/
https://www.solent.nhs.uk/msk/self-help/persistent-pain-management/tai-chi-videos/
Next month we have John Nightingale coming to tell us more about
the lovely gardens that surround the Pavilion where we meet.
March 2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
It was our 19th birthday this month so we celebrated
with an open meeting, cake and a quiz. It was a good opportunity
to refresh our memories of everyone’s names especially as
we have several new members. The quiz stimulated good discussions
ranging from the Greek God of the sun to the collective noun for
a group of pandas! Luckily the meeting did not end in the latter.
Next month we have Katie Hayes, a physio from the Pain Clinic,
coming to talk to us.
February
2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We were most fortunate to have a session from Stephen
Smith about mindfulness. Probably the best introduction to this
technique that I have ever heard. The time was short so he explained
a couple of the concepts along with some brief exercises. He emphasised
that this is a technique that needs practice, just as learning
to play the violin, in order to become skilled in it and to gain
the maximum benefit. One nugget that I took away with me was that
for a pleasant experience to have a positive effect on the nervous
system you have to dwell on it for at least 14 seconds and yet
an unpleasant thought has an immediate effect. (Maybe part of our
flight or fight defence mechanism.) So as we appreciate the signs
of spring emerging, remember to hold those lovely thoughts for
at least 14 seconds to get the true benefit.
Message from Steve:
This is a link to a breathing practice meditation:
Dropbox
This is a link to the organisation I work for which
will tell people more about the course I was talking about: Web
This is a link to the book I mentioned: Amazon
Anyone can be in touch with me - details below
- if they want to know more or work together privately.
If there was enough interest to form a group of 10 - 12 people
we could even explore offering a course at an affordable rate.
Steve Smith
Post Grad. Cert. Mindfulness Approaches
Breathworks - Associate/Senior Trainer/Teacher Trainer
Rareminds - Mindfulness Lead
NHS Avon Valley Primary Care Network - Health and Wellbeing Coach
m: 07792 782 374
January
2024 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Rob and Karen from Steps
to Wellbeing came to the
meeting today to explain what it has to offer. It is a NHS funded
organisation with 140 staff in Southampton and their headquarters
is in Granville House opposite the main train station. They offer
a variety of services. Their Body and Mind service can help those
struggling to cope with long term health conditions. They have
an employment advisory team who can assist with explaining your
rights, writing CVs and interview practice. They offer talking
therapies including CBT, counselling, on-line courses and guided
self help for people with stress anxiety. You can self refer and
currently the time taken for your initial assessment, which is
done over the phone, is under a week. Contact can be made in person,
on the phone, by email, GP referral or via their website - steps2wellbeing.co.uk
Next month we have Stephen Smith coming to talk about Mindfulness.
December 2023 ramblings
from the "Doc" We had a visit from Stephen Alexander, the Occupational
Therapist from the Pain Clinic. We talked a little about the services
offered by the Pain Clinic and the merging of our local health
care providers to form the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare
Foundation Trust in April 2024.
He briefly mentioned our 8 sensory systems: Olfactory (Smell) – Gustatory
(Taste) – Auditory (Sound) – Visual– Tactile– Proprioceptive
(Body Position) – Vestibular (Movement)– Interoceptive
(Internal) and sensory processing. He then talked a lot about the
importance of the breath in managing symptoms.
Next month we have Rob Jarvis from Steps to Wellbeing.
November
2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had a good turn out considering the rain in
the morning. Luckily it stopped for us and the sun shone! Had a
fantastic talk from a contact of Pauline. Charles Haskell from
the WW1 Remembrance Centre in Portsmouth. He told us all about
how he got interested in the World Wars in the first place and
went on to set up the WW1 Remembrance Centre. He brought various
pieces of uniform and equipment to show us. It was great to hear
all the little details comparing German and English equipment:
the helmets, the barbed wire, the grenades etc and what a difference
they made to the death toll. He certainly whetted our appetites
for more and has agreed to return sometime next year. More information
about visiting the centre can be found at www.ww1rc.org.uk
Next month is the last before Christmas. Instead of our usual party
we have squeezed in an extra speaker, Stephen Alexander, an occupational
therapist from the Pain Clinic, to talk about pacing. Probably
a good topic for this time of year. However we will still do our
Secret Santa - a wrapped present to the value of £1 (do say
if the present is only suitable for a man or woman). If you wish,
you are welcome to contribute a seasonal food item to share on
the day.
October
2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
It was lovely to welcome Vicki Rowell back again.
She is a community pharmacist and is especially interested in highlighting
the importance of managing chronic pain without relying on medication,
particularly opioids. She told us about some new research which
showed what an important roll peer support plays in enabling people
to come off long term opioids. She is also very interested in exploring
what patients wished they had known before they were prescribed
opioids. She will tell us more about this once funding has been
secured. We discussed non-pharmacological approaches to flare-ups.
She also gave us a list of useful websites with information and
resources for living with persistent pain.
www.painkillersdontexist.com
www.livewellwithpain.co.uk
www.flippinpain.co.uk
www.versusarthritis.org
www.painconcern.org.uk
www.breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk
Next month we have Sally-Ann Belward talking about falls.
September 2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A last minute cancellation by a speaker once more
meant that we had another open meeting. Once again it was very
enjoyable and a chance to chat. Sue gave us a short quiz which,
as usual, showed our general lack in knowledge but was great fun.
We talked about mindfulness and its usefulness when living with
persistent pain. We are hoping to get a speaker to expand that
topic for us next year.
Next month we have Vicki Rowell, our lovely friend and pharmacist,coming
and we have sent her a variety of questions that we would be grateful
if she could cover.
August 2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had a short notice speaker cancellation and
so decided to have an open meeting fuelled by a cream tea. Every
cloud has a silver lining! We discussed pacing, as that had been
the intended topic of the meeting. It was a very pleasant afternoon
and a good opportunity to refresh our memories of everyone’s
names. We are hoping to rebook Steve Alexander for a session on
pacing later in the year.
Next month we have members of the fire brigade coming to talk to
us about safety in the home.
July 2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had such a lovely, amusing time listening to
Marilyn Harlow and her tales of bird rescue. She is Carol a member
of our group's sister. She came into bird rescue somewhat by accident
but it has become a full time occupation for her and her husband.
She brought photos of so many damaged birds that she has helped
to bring back to health to be released. Stories about swans, peregrine
falcons, pigeons, robins, blackbird to name but a few. Truly fascinating.
A few of our group preceded the talk by accompanying John Nightingale
on an informative walk around the meadows to hear all about the
lovely trees. See picture below.
Next month we have Stephen Alexander an occupational
therapist from the Pain Clinic talking about Pacing.

June 2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
It was great to welcome back Pam Campbell. She
stepped in at the last minute and is definitely now a "friend
of the group”! She reminded us of her previous talk about
the homeless in Southampton and the various organisations that
offer help. She expanded by talking about her more recent work
with an organisation called Right by You which offers a support
service to anyone with a diagnosis of cancer. Their aim is to ensure
a joined up approach to cancer support that puts what matters to
patient first. She explained how this is particularly vital to
the many Ukranian asylum seekers that we have in our city. Cancer
rates are very high in this group; it is uncertain whether this
is contributed to by the Chenobyl disaster or stress. So a properly
coordinated approach to their treatment, given the language barrier
and their tragic circumstances, is so important.
Next month we have arranged a tour of the meadows and the trees
led by John Nightingale. Please meet promptly at the front white
gate posts at 12.30 if you wish to attend. We then need to be back
at the Pavilion by 1.30 to hear from Marilyn, Carol’s sister,
about her work rescuing birds.
May 2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had a really fascinating talk about trees from
John Nightingale. He took us right back to the origin of the earth
through the earliest known trees, 3 ice ages in Britain, hunter
gatherers, Neolithic man, Romans, Normans and deforestation to
the present day. He talked about how trees work and the benefits
of trees to us. The list was surprisingly long. They improve mood
(even tree hugging has been proven to be good for us in Japanese
studies), have a positive effect on ADHD, help with climate change,
provide habitats for numerous creatures and plants, are a source
of medicines and chemotherapy and provide several types of food
to name but a few. Apparently John’s wife thinks that he
is a tree bore and so bought us all some Trebor Mints! We, however,
were completely fascinated by the topic and were certainly not
bored! Though we happily accepted the mints.
Next month we have Sally-Ann Belward talking about Falls Prevention.
April 2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We were treated to a very thought provoking talk
from Kali Harmen about the health benefits of self compassion.
Self compassion has 3 major components: Common humanity, mindfulness
and self kindness. It is a technique that can be leant and becomes
easier with practice. It redresses the brain's natural state of
negativity and encourages self nurturing. She also touched on Polyvagal
theory and SEANA medication information about which are attached
for your interest. Polyvagal
1 - Polyvagal
2 & SEANA
Next month we have a talk on Trees. I’m sure it will help
us enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Pavilion even more.
March
2023 ramblings
from the "Doc" This
month was our 18th birthday and as usual it was celebrated with
cake! We had a quiz with facts about events
in the last 18 year for people to guess the correct year. Next
month Kali Harmen will talk about the evidence behind the therapeutic
benefit of self compassion.
February
2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A great turnout on our first grey day in the Pavilion.
We’re normally blessed with sunshine. It was lovely to meet
Dawn Gear and hear her story. She is a jewellery maker in the New
Forest who used to specialise in silver smithing. She experienced
a life changing medical condition but, instead of giving up, taught
herself to crochet with wire and started to produce exquisite items
using this technique. She began by giving them away to friends
and family but was eventually persuaded to add them to her range
and sell them. They truly are unique and each one a work of art.
Such infectious positivity. Do check out her website. https://www.dawngear.co.uk/
It’s our 18th Birthday next month so please come along. We
are not sure of the availability of our planned speaker so might
have an open meeting where everyone can discuss their tips and
ideas for living with pain that others might find helpful. There
will be cake!!
January
2023 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had a very informative talk from Michelle Sutcliffe.
She is a local community dietician. She gave us useful facts and
tips about dietary supplements and vitamins. She encouraged the
use of vitamin D supplements as per the current government guidelines.
She is also a fan of regular multivits but recommended buying just
your supermarket’s cheapest, own brand. Much discussion was
generated and the group were keen to have her back to speak again.
One suggestion was for her to tell us a little about the role of
a community dietician. So watch this space.
Copy
of the Presentation Supplement
List
Next month’s speaker is Dawn Gear. She is a jewellery designer
and maker based in the New Forest. She has had to alter the way
she works due to health issue and I thought this would be of interest
to the group.
December
2022 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A successful Christmas party by all accounts! (I
was under house arrest due to COVID) I gather that many rediscovered
their lost youth during a rousing game of pass the parcel - thanks
to Christine.
Our speaker on January 19th is Michelle Sutcliffe, a nutritionist
from Southampton General. I’m sure she will have lots of
useful information to share especially as many like to start a
new year with healthy eating plans.
November
2022 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A return visit from Anne Jackson and what an interesting
talk. She told us all about some research she had done for a family
which turned out to be above and beyond their expectations. It
transpired that one of their relatives was a lady called Jane Burford
who was the tallest woman in British Medical History. Her highest
recorded height was 7 feet and 11 inches. This extraordinary stature
resulted in a complicated but short life. She died at age 27 and
the events that surrounded her death and subsequent burial were
even more eventful. There is far too much detail to go into this
here but if I have whetted your appetite you can read the full
story at The
Free Library
Next month is our Christmas party on December 15th at the Pavilion
1.30 to 3 pm. Please remember to bring a small food contribution
and a wrapped Christmas present to the value of £1 for the
Secret Santa. Do label it if it is only suitable for a man or woman.
The craft session falls in the same week this month. This is also
held in the Pavilion and is on Tuesday December 13th 1-3pm. We
are making a simple decoration for the tree or a pair of paper
earrings.
All welcome.
October
2022 ramblings
from the "Doc"
How lovely to meet up with Vicki Rowell once more.
She works in the Medicines Management Team and has a particular
interest in Chronic Pain. She gave a very useful question and answer
session focusing particularly on opiate medication. She explained
the limited use these medications have in the treatment of chronic
pain especially in the light of their long term side effects. Such
a huge topic and she has agreed to return for more discussion next
year.
I am pleased to announce that we are going to try to reintroduce
the monthly craft sessions. They will be at the Portswood Pavilion
and I have booked two sessions to gauge popularity. They will be
on the second Tuesday of the month 1-3 and dates so far are November
8th and December 13th. It’ll be lovely to see some of you
there.
Next month we see the return of Anne Jackson to our Thursday meeting
on 17th. Last time she talked about genealogy and skeletons in
the cupboard. So come and see what she will entertain us with this
time.
September 2022 ramblings
from the "Doc" Pam Campbell came and talked to the group this
month. She has worked with the homeless in Southampton for many
years. She told us all about her job, the type of clients and all
the other services that she interacts with. It was very informative
and certainly gave us a better understanding of the plight of the
homeless in our city.
Next month Vicki Rowell, who is a pharmacist working alongside
the Pain Clinic and in the community, has agreed to come and
do an informal question and answer session for us. All welcome.
August 2022 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We welcomed a contact of Pauline’s to this
month’s meeting. Anne Jackson who was described to me as
a story teller. I was unable to attend the meeting but was told
all about the talk at the Mercentile Flea coffee morning. Anne
described her work as a genealogist and Debbie and Tomasa were
full of enthusiasm as they recounted some of the talk. Sounds like
we need to invite her back. She has a wealth of subjects that she
is willing to share.
Next month we welcome Pam Campbell who works with the homeless
in Southampton
July 2022 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A lovely, sunny afternoon at the Pavilion and mercifully
not too hot! We welcomed Debbie Hendry from Carers in Southampton,
a charity which supports the army of unpaid carers in the city.
They provide support which can include some financial help. They
can provide information so that carers can make informed decisions.
They provide Carers’ Cards which can be used around Southampton
to facilitate access and can include discounts. In order to qualify
for the majority of these services, Carers do need to pass an assessment.
Even if you don’t qualify for all that can be provided, Carers
in Southampton are still there to help with signposting and a listening
ear. So if you are a carer it is worth contacting them to find
out more. 02380 582387 or enquiries@carersinsouthampton.co.uk
June 2022 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Notes from the team
We welcomed back Janet Bache who gave an entertaining talk about
her dog care company which provides a home from home for dogs
when their owners go on holiday. Always a pleasure to see her
and always entertaining to hear about the antics of dogs and
owners!
Next months speaker is Debbie Hendry from Carers in Southampton.
May 2022 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Notes from the team
Two sets of visitors today.
Sarah Yarman from Youth Options - youthoptions.org.uk -
who told us about this local charity who believe that every child
and young
adult deserve the chance to realise their potential. She also shared
her personal experience with pain which the group found inspirational.
Adrian Jones and Cara Steven from Solent University told us about
a 12-week, 1-2-1 exercise-based intervention for patients with
long-term medical conditions. The scheme is free of charge, and
aims to improve quality of life, and address the challenges of
their condition. It will also provide ‘real world’ learning
experience to the students studying MSc Clinical Exercise Science,
contributing to their work-placement module. For more information
email: exercise.referral@solent.ac.uk
April 2022 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A fascinating talk from Sue Bachelor who is a nurse
specialist in Respiratory Medicine. So much of what she said was
relevant to so many members of the group. She specialises in COPD
and pulmonary rehab. We were all struck by the similarities of
living with a chronic condition whether it be respiratory or pain.
It was particularly interesting to hear how important it was to
encourage people to exercise until breathless, to push them out
of their comfort zone, in order to teach them how to manage their
symptoms and decrease their anxiety. She also taught us the useful
technique of purse lip breathing and the mantra ‘if in doubt,
breathe out’. For people struggling with breath it is useful
to encourage them to lean forward to support their arms, to remind
them of the pursed lip breathing and to have a hand-held fan handy
because letting one blow on the side of the face has been proven
to improve breathing. She also ran through the various types of
inhalers, how important it was to match the type of inhaler as
well as the type of medication to each individual and the merits
of spacers. So much really useful information and advice.
We had a very successful 17th birthday party this month. It’s
so nice to feel that things are returning to normal for the group
despite COVID.
Next month we have Sarah Yarham coming to speak. She works for
a local charity called Youth Options and want to tell us all about
that and her own experience of living with pain.
March
2022 ramblings
from the "Doc" We were delighted to welcome Beth Rogers, her colleagues
Laura, Nicky and Lauren, and one of their clients Harry to this
afternoon's meeting. We were especially lucky as Harry brought
us a fabulous chocolate cake he had just made, still warm and fresh
from the oven. They gave us a fascinating presentation about the
origins of the Rose Road Association and the invaluable work they
do for children and young adults with various disabilities. This
includes direct care alongside respite breaks, holiday activities
and outings, community outreach, advice and a help line. More information
can be found at https://www.roseroad.org.uk
Next month we have our 17th Birthday Party 2-4pm Saturday 2nd Portswood
Resident’s Garden Pavilion SO17 1QT
We also have Sue Bachelor, a nurse specialist in Respiratory
Medicine coming to talk at our Thursday Meeting.
February
2022 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had a lovely afternoon listening to a talk and
music from Charlotte de Rothschild with sun poring through the
windows, luckily the day before storm Eunice arrived. She took
us right back to where her love of singing started to stories of
her frequent performances in her beloved Japan. She is a world
renowned Lyric Soprano and so we are so grateful that Joan met
her whilst Charlotte was volunteering at one of our local vaccination
centres and persuaded her to come and speak to us. You can read
more about her and hear samples of her music at Charlotte
de Rothschild
November
2021 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Another first for 2021! Our first meeting with
a speaker. A fascinating talk from Chris Swann about the history
of Southampton with particular reference to the Residents' Garden
where we are now holding our meetings. He started as far back as
520 million years ago! And rapidly brought us up to date via ice
ages, bronze ages and 2 world wars. There was so much to take in
that I’m sure we can persuade him to come back and focus
even more on various aspects of particular interest to members.
Next month our meeting on 16th December is our last before Christmas.
The members present wanted to go ahead with our usual finger food
buffet and so food contributions on the day will be welcomed. We
will also do our traditional £1 Secret Santa so please bring
a wrapped present to the value of £1 (noting if it is suited
for a male, female or either).
October
2021 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Our first in person meeting for nearly 2 years. The sun was shining
on us and everyone fell in love with the new venue - Portswood
Residents’ Garden Pavilion, SO17 1QT. Some aspects are
easier, some trickier but nothing that can’t be worked
around and the goodwill and calm was palpable.
The consensus was that we continue to meet here on the third Thursday
of the month. In November we hope to have a speaker who will tell
us all about the history of the Residents Garden. We will provide
refreshments as usual.
The various activities throughout the month will continue:
1st Monday of the month Coffee No.1 Shirley 11am; 2nd Tuesday
of the month Make and Brew St James’ Methodist Church 10
am - bring your knitting and crochet; 3rd Thursday of the month
main
meeting Portswood Residents Pavilion 1.30 - 3 pm; 4th Monday of
the month Red Lion Bitterne 11am; Zoom meeting every Tuesday 2
pm. A big thank you to Kevin Bowers who continues to coordinate
these
activities.
We spent a bit of time catching up on everyone's news and how they
had all managed to cope with the last 23 months. I was so impressed
by everyones resilience and positivity. What a fantastic group.
Letter
sent to all members in September 2020 Dear Members We do hope you are all
keeping well. I’m sure, like us,
you are really missing the company and support that Keeping Pace
meetings provide. With that in mind, Joan,
Kevin C and I had a close look at the COVID arrangements at Avenue
St Andrews United Reformed Church
and carried out a risk assessment (that you’re all welcome
to look at). We came to the conclusion that it was not possible to run safe
meetings at this time and were particularly mindful of the complex
health needs of most of our members. We therefore looked for alternative ways to keep in touch. As
you know we have endeavoured to contact you all by phone and post,
Whats App and Zoom (thanks Kevin B), and we thought the time had
come to add in something new. We therefore propose to organise some flexible, Rule of Six Mini
Groups to meet in various tea/coffee venues around the city.
RULE OF SIX MINI GROUPS
1. They will be ‘hosted’ by Joan, Kevin B, Carol and
Norma.
2. They can have no more than 6 attendees (the host plus 5).
3. They will be flexible so different people can go to different
groups at different times in the hope that we will all eventually
interact with as many different members as possible.
4. They need to be booked with the host to keep numbers strictly
to 6.
A calendar will be posted
on our website and Facebook with the dates and venues. You will
then need to contact the host and book
in. You must wait for your place to be confirmed.
Sadly, it’s illegal
to be involved in groups larger than 6 so you will be turned
away.
We hope you are as excited as we are by this opportunity and we
look forward to meeting with you soon.Take care, keep safe
Norma, Joan and Kevin C
November
2020 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Well the good news is that we managed to host
5 mini groups between Joan, Kevin and I during October.
I think they were really worth doing and everyone enjoyed the chance
to meet up with old friends. Sadly these are going to have to be
put on hold once more. We will continue to keep in touch by phone,
WhatsApp, zoom and post.
Take care and keep safe.
February
2020 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Today we were treated by the lovely Sandra from
Waitrose, Portswood to another cheeses tasting. This time she offered
us 8 varieties from 8 European countries. We learnt all sorts of
facts about the cheeses’ characteristics and the cheese production
history of the countries of origin. We are also grateful to Waitrose,
Portswood as we have received a cheque for our proportion of
the green disc collection in January. It will go a long way towards
our costs for running the group this year. Next month is our
15th
birthday so do come along and help us celebrate with a slice
of cake.
January
2020 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A very helpful talk from Vicki Rowell, community
pain pharmacist, discussing how to get the most from an appointment
with your GP if you want to have a medication review. The importance
of remembering that it is a 2 way discussion and that preplanning
what you want to say and get out of the consultation is key. A
buzz phrase to bear in mind, and to use if required, is “Patient
Centred Care”. A vital approach that all health professionals
are aware of and are endeavouring to provide.
December
2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Another splendid Christmas Party which was well
attended despite the awful rain! Great company and food. A triumph
of a quiz thanks to Mike’s compilation and Kevin’s
artistic flair.
Happy New Year to all.
November 2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
You could have heard a pin drop as we sat and listened
to Lt Col (ret’d) Jeremy Prescott telling us about the fascinating
story of the poppy and its association with remembrance. From its
beginnings with John McCrae, an army doctor who took comfort in
the sight of poppies when he was burying his best friend on the
battle fields near Ypres in the First World War, to the amazing
sight of the 890,000 ceramic poppies which made up the moving display “Blood
Swept Lands and Seas of Red" at The Tower of London in 2014.
It was a balanced view as he also discussed those who don’t
agree with the use of the poppy and our traditions of remembrance.
He ended with a sentiment that he holds dear that was written on
a war memorial and which I think can resonate with us all, “We
were young, We have died, Remember us.” He has promised to
return as he has many other talks that he gives as part of his
project to raise awareness of the sacrifice made by those killed
in conflict and to raise money for the charity Combat Stress by
collecting donations. For more information https://sacrificeandremembrance.com
Next month is our Christmas party. Don’t forget your contributions
to the food buffet and your wrapped £1 present for the Secret
Santa.
October 2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A fascinating talk today about being a magistrate.
Cynthia Swamn, who has just retired from the bench after over 20
years of service, told usl about her previous role as a volunteer
Justice of the Peace. We heard all about the sorts of people who
appear before them, the type of cases they deal with and the factors
to take into account when sentencing. She gave us some examples
of crimes and encouraged us to decide what sorts of punishments
we would choose - I think we were pretty strict! There were requests
for her to return and set up a mock trial for us to have a go at.
Next month we are having a talk about The Poppy
and the part it plays in remembering the various wars we have been
involved in.
There will also be a cake sale so please bring contributions
or spare change (or both!) as it will be raising funds for the
group.
September 2019 ramblings
from from the Nurse's kardex....
Much laughter and popcorn filled the afternoon
as the group enjoyed the film “Swimming with Men”.
The dvd sale generated £40 for the group funds. A big thank
you to Kevin, Kevin and Christine for organising the afternoon
activities.
Plans are afoot for this year’s Christmas lunch at The Humble
Plumbe, on December 5th. Menus will be available at the next meeting.
A deposit of £5 will secure your place at the table. See
Norma for further information.
Order! Order! Best behaviour will be required for our October meeting
when Cynthia Swann talks about being a magistrate.
August 2019 ramblings
from the the Nurse's kardex....
The August meeting brought our annual Scone competition
and Cream Tea event. This year’s competition had 8 entries,
giving the judges a lot to think about. The 2019 Scone Off victor
was Sue - well done Sue! Many thanks to all the entrants and contributors
of the homemade jam and clotted cream.
Emily returned to the meeting to give the group feedback on her
final year dissertation on the value of support groups. Emily has
now graduated from university and the group wished her well in
her new career working with children who have special needs.
Congratulations to Anne, Tracey and Kevin B who have their articles
published in the Pain Concern quarterly magazine “Pain Matters” Issue
72 - “Keeping Pace with Pain - How external support networks
are a vital tool in pain management”. This can be viewed
online - www.painconcern.org.uk . Some hard copies will be available
at the September meeting.
A wee reminder that the next meeting is the DVD and popcorn session
with a DVD sale. Don’t forget your loose change! Unsold DVDs
will be taken to a charity shop.
And FINALLY..... a very big thank you to Waitrose Portswood for
their generous cheque for £331 from their Community Matters
green token collection for the month of July.
New..a Pain Toolkit Online Cafe starting on Thursday
26th September from 3pm-4pm UK time. Open to everyone https://www.paintoolkit.org/news/article/new..a-pain-toolkit-online-cafe-starting-on-thursday-26th-september-from-3pm-4pm-uk-time.-open-to-everyone
July 2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
A very novel meeting this month. Bread making!
Martin Benning and Liz Palmer fascinated us with demonstrations
and explanations of various breads. We saw the making of sour dough
bread - no added yeast; soda bread - again no yeast but bicarb
as its raising agent; Nigella Lawson’s lazy loaf - yeast
and muesli; and gluten free bread - yeast but no gluten. And the
best thing was that we got to taste all this freshly baked bread
with butter and homemade jam (thanks Sue) !
I bravely acquired and fed some live sour dough bread starter
and had a go. Quite pleased with my first attempt, what do you
think?
June 2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Jess Hulbert from Saints Foundation, the charity
arm of Southampton Football Club, came to tell us about the various
programmes being run throughout City designed to encourage health
through fitness. She also stressed the importance of strength and
balance in falls prevention, something we should all prioritise.
The various courses teach simple life style practices that can
increase health and wellbeing. You can email soccg.pathways2health@nhs.net for a self referral form. They will arrange an initial free wellbeing
review to identify the health changes that you would like to make
and signpost you to an appropriate instructor near to where you
live. Most classes do require a small contribution towards costs.
You can also phone Jess on 02380718605 / 07741552068 for more information.
May 2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We were very fortunate to welcome Dr Amanda C de
C Williams, an academic and clinical psychologist at University
College London, to our meeting today. Her talk resonated with members
as she explained in detail the normal psychology and altered physiology
of chronic pain. She outlined some of the treatment approaches
and their evidence base. She emphasised the importance of good
communication with health care professionals as well as admitting
their need for a lot more understanding and training in chronic
pain.
We also had the privilege to celebrate the Diamond Anniversary
of two of our loyal members Ken and Maureen Bell. They had been
married 60 years to the day! We toasted them with bubbles and cake.
It was a packed meeting as there was also a plant sale and we raised
over £60 for our funds. Thanks to everyone who brought and
bought plants.

April 2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had
a very interesting and informative talk from Vicki Rowling a specialist
in pain medication working in our local pain clinic. She told us
about her role in educating both patients and health professionals
in the benefits and consequences of pain medication. She stressed,
particularly in relation to opioids, that they have a rightful
place in pain management but should be used appropriately and cautiously.
The benefits have to outweigh the risks and they should be reviewed
regularly. Next month there is a plant sale to raise some funds
for the group so please bring cuttings and seedlings if you have
any
to
sell and cash if you wish to buy.
March
2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
It’s hard to believe that the group had been
going for 14 years! I hope that everyone else feels as I do; that
the group has grown in strength and that it really does serve as
a source of support and friendship.
We had a lovely afternoon hearing about the work of Police Community
Support Officers Louise and John who work in the Bevois Valley
and Northam areas of our city. They see their role as one of helping
people who get into difficulties, filling the gap between police
and social services. They were lovely, friendly, approachable people
who obviously loved their jobs, It’s so good to know that
there are such people out there looking out for us and our safety.

Our 14th Birthday Cake made by the lovely "Doc"
(Unfortunately, I had to work, so didn’t
get a piece)
February
2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
It was lovely to meet Alison Pearce who has recently
started working for the Connecting Communities Project. This is
an initiative run by The Red Cross and sponsored by COOP and targets
loneliness in England. This is an issues recognised at government
level - a recent survey identified that 9 million people in the
UK would describe themselves as lonely. It is an enabling service;
it tries to identify what people wish that they could do to relieve
their loneliness and supports them for 12 weeks while they try
to achieve it. Some examples were taking the bus to a support group,
going fishing, finding a computer club, attending a coffee morning
etc. People can self refer or be referred by a health worker such
as their GP. More information can be found at https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/get-help-with-loneliness or
Alison can be contacted on 07523 504158 or connectsouthampton@redcross.org.uk
January
2019 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had an open, sharing meeting. We discussed many
things including suggestions for this year's activities. These
were wide ranging and included psychology, benefits, police, fibromyalgia,
carers and laughing yoga! Joan has made a start on many of these
topics and we want to thank her for all her hard work in producing
yet another varied programme.
December
2018 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Another great Christmas party with generous donations
of food to share. We raffled a lovely Christmas cake made by Sue
E and raised over £30 pounds for our funds. Thanks to Mike
for our annual quiz and well done to our worthy winners. (I somehow
found myself on that team but spent the whole time marvelling at
my ignorance and contributing nothing!).

November
2018 ramblings
from the "Doc" We welcomed Karen Tillier to the group today. She
told us all about Get Active. They are part of Solent NHS Trust
and their wide range of Southampton Healthy Living's specialist
services. The Get Active programme has been designed to offer a
structured health and well being programme for adults. You can
get more information and self refer using this link https://www.activecommunity.org.uk/get-active
Next month is our Christmas party and annual quiz. Please bring
a wrapped Secret Santa present to the value of £1 (specify
on the label if it is gender specific) and donations to the food
table will be gratefully received.
October 2018 ramblings
from the "Doc" Dr Gina Ingalls visited today and talked about
the role of a psychologist in a pain team. She told us of the importance
of understanding our pain cycles and how small changes in behaviour
can have a large impact on our pain experience. Self care is important
and we should do our best to eat well, get adequate rest and sleep,
and exercise gently. Activities that you enjoy, feed your soul.
She also suggested we all make ourselves a self soothing box. Fill
a box with items to which your senses respond positively. Aim to
stimulate all the senses pleasantly: touch, taste, smell, sound
and sight. Keep the box handy and get it out and enjoy its contents
at times of difficulty. For example when your pain is so bad you
don't know what to do with yourself and your emotions are really
kicking in.
Next month we are having a cake sale to raise money for our funds.
Please bring cakes and/or money to buy.
See Dr Ingalls presentation HERE
September 2018 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We were treated once more to a calming yet educational
session by our friend, and yogi, Fran Hodgson. She gave a really
clear explanation about the role of the 7 major chakras and how
important it is to our wellbeing for them to be balanced. She explained
their individual association to our various senses including sight,
touch and sound and also their role in the pain response. The excellent
handout she wrote can be downloaded using this link. She encouraged
us all to fill our houses with vibrant colour and beautiful smells! August 2018 ramblings
from the "Doc" A fun afternoon with good company and a cream tea.
Eight excellent entries to our scone competition ably judged by
David and Pamela. Joan was the delighted winner. I've got a horrible
feeling that she currently holds the trophies for both sweet and
savoury. Something has to be done about that!
.jpg)
July 2018 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Probably the hottest I've known the church hall!
And we gave an equally warm welcome to Dr Adam Geraghty who is
a senior research fellow in primary care and population studies.
He discussed person-based approach to research; the importance
of involving users right at the start of planning research into
interventions. He was particularly interested in hearing about
our experiences with GPs, issues perceived as barriers, how we
manage our condition after pain management programmes and what
do we generally find most helpful.
We also met Omer Kuroglu an MSc student who is developing an app
using aspects of the work done by Dr Sally Curtis and members of
this group on Chronic Pain and Loss. We will be hearing more from
him as he is looking for volunteers for a focus group to help him
design the look of the app.
I hope you are all practising scone baking for the next meeting
and "scone off"
June 2018 (in the
word of Joan!)
A very big thank you to Tracey for an excellent session today.
As ever, so creative. Never before have I experienced an art session
soooo peaceful with everyone concentrating so hard!
A few pics from today’s art session. So colourful and almost
3D, especially that ??! Stories within each piece of Aboriginal
dot art. Also below is a photograph of Sue reading Kevin’s
article in this month’s British Pain Society publication.


May 2018 ramblings
from the Nurse's kardex....
Lydia Colmer from the Stroke Association gave us
an informative talk on Stroke Awareness. Her main message to lead
a healthy as possible life and to be Stroke aware which includes
the acronym FAST. Seek medical treatment promptly, early intervention
reduces damage and saves lives.
Next month brings the boat trip (morning & afternoon
trips)on local waters.There are still several places free for the
morning session. If interested please contact Kevin B. We look
forward to seeing photographic evidence of their water antics.
Many thanks to Chris & Steve for organising this event.
Coffee session as per usual on June 4th at Coffee #1; Craft session
on June 12th - cards & lanyard making; Group meeting on June
21st which will be an art session with our resident artist Tracey.

April 2018 ramblings
from the "Doc" Finally some spring sunshine! A good turn out rewarded
by a fascinating talk from Dr Becky Peacock about the role of women
on the railways. She talked all about the amazing job that women
did keeping the trains running during both world wars while the
men were away fighting and consequently their significant contribution
to the war effort. It was sad to hear what little recognition they
got for their efforts particularly when the men returned and wanted
their jobs back. Not surprisingly the inequality of the genders
in the work force continues in today’s railways.
March
2018 ramblings
from the "Doc"
Our 13th Birthday and what remarkably well behaved
teenagers we are! Much cake was eaten.
Kevin B gave us a talk on social media for those of us who are
luddites and dinosaurs. I’m not sure he convinced many to
sign up to the delights of Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. However,
we are grateful that he continues to give Keeping Pace a presence
on them if we are to attract new, younger members to the group.
Phil reminded us of his Phd looking into the use of virtual reality
as a distraction for those living with chronic pain. He is recruiting
volunteers to take part in a study. Do contact us if this is of
interest to you.
February
2018 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had a lovely session today- Sandra from Waitrose
returned to give us another cheese and wine tasting experience.
And yes, this time there was wine!
She went with a Valentine’s theme picking cheeses from romantic
Italy: Pecorino, Dolcelatte, Teleggio and Mozzarella. The most
romantic touch was the chance to win a heart shaped Godminster
mature organic cheddar from England. We also got a top tip. Teleggio
is a great cheese for savoury scones! Roll on November.

January
2018 ramblings
from the "Doc"
We were very fortunate to have a session led by
two scientists from the University of Southampton: Dr James Dillon
from the School of Biological Sciences and Dr Chris Franks from
the Faculty of Health Sciences. The first half of the talk explained
why some particular worms are suitable for studying the pain experienced
by humans and the second half how they are used to study pain at
a cellular level. They brought along microscopes and we were able
to see some of these little critters in action. I have been tasked
to summarise the talk in layman’s terms, and so, with some
help from Chris, here we go! You can download it if interested. Pain
Talk
 
December ramblings
from the "Doc"
It was lovely to celebrate Christmas with the group.
A relaxed, warm, friendly atmosphere. We were somewhat challenged
by Mike’s excellent quiz. Brilliant quiz master, somewhat
dim contestants but huge fun! Here’s to 2018!
November ramblings
from the "Doc"
A very useful session for our group today. Jane
Gleeson of www.carersinsouthampton.co.uk told us all about this
service which is available to help anyone giving their time, unpaid,
to look after a family, friend or neighbour. They also provide
Carers Cards which recognise the caring role and can save money
whilst out and about. It is vital that carers are encouraged to
look after their own health and wellbeing.
We also welcomed back Sally Curtis, a long standing friend and
supporter of our group. She, and several of our members, were involved
in a research project about the parallels in living with chronic
pain and the stages of grief. They went on to develop an interactive
tool and booklet. Sally came with the exciting news that the project
had been written up and published in the prestigious British Journal
of Pain. There is no stopping Sally. Her next plan is to try to
develop the tool into an NHS approved app so watch this space!
Next month is our Christmas party. Don’t forget your £1
Secret Santa present and contributions to the festive table.
October ramblings
from the "Doc"
Last minute change in speaker arrangements meant
that we spent a useful hour discussing the results of our recent
survey into evening social events and other stuff. The simplest
conclusion was that an occasional evening event, with plenty of
notice and good parking, would be appreciated maybe once every
couple of months. The day of the week and type of event was less
important than ease of transport. The plan was to discuss in January
a possible date in March. So please put your thinking caps on about
what and where. We also noted that the majority of our members
were aged 35+ and if we wished to attract some younger members
we might need to embrace social media to advertise our existence.
There is some reticence about this in part due to our fear of the
unknown. Kevin has promised a presentation about Facebook,
Twitter and other such things in the New Year.
Next month is our savoury scone competition so get baking and see
of we can knock Joan off her perch!!!
September ramblings
from the "Doc"
Another brilliant session with Fran. It was her 8th visit to us
and she always brings something new and inspiring. We prepared
for the time together with a practice of abdominal breathing
and limbering arm moves to open the chest. We then explored Pranava,
the sound of OM, and how it relates to the 4 states of consciousness.
We continued with sounding OM and singing. I think everyone went
away with something new to contemplate and maybe even practice.
I was struck by the importance of self respect and being kind
to oneself.
August ramblings
from the "Doc"
A
record 14 entries for the scone off! And whatever their success
in the judging, they were all scoffed with lashings
of homemade jam and cream. Are we spoilt or what?! Thank you Liz
and Sue for judging and for your impeccable good taste! (Guess
who won?!) We welcomed Liz James back who is looking for volunteers
for the next stage of her study. She is researching the support
networks developed and used by people with chronic health conditions.
If you missed the meeting and want to get involved you can contact
her directly e.p.james@soton.ac.uk Phil
Brown fulfilled his promise and brought some virtual reality spectacles
for us to try. It gave
us an insight into the research that he is doing as to their potential
use in pain management. This is part of his Phd project in Portsmouth.
Again, he is happy to tell you more and can be reached at phillip.brown@port.ac.uk
July ramblings
from the "Doc"
This month we had an open meeting; topics ranged
from scones to virtual reality!
Steve Beale had useful information about the T switch on hearing
aids and personal loop systems.
Chris and Jan displayed and sold hand crafted cards.
We discussed the pros and cons of the monthly evening meet-up.
Opinions were so varied that I will design a questionnaire and
collate as many ideas as possible to bring back for further discussion.
Phil, the PhD student from Portsmouth who has befriended the group,
told us briefly about the potential of using virtual reality as
a strategy for pain management. He has promised to bring examples
and tell us more next month. His talk has been nicknamed “Introduction
to Phil’s World”!
Kevin Bowers wants to drag us into the 21st century encouraging
us to use a wider variety of social media platforms. He has promised
to set up a demonstration using a lap top and projector screen.
The subject of trips came up: Jan will organise a group to attend
a Christmas concert that she really enjoyed last year, Steve is
hoping to organise some boat trips for next year and Joan is going
to look into a visit to Hillier’s Arboretum. I promised to
think about how to display all this type of information on a calendar
for display at each meeting.
Next month is our scone competition - all entries gratefully received
and eaten! A trophy is up for grabs for the best tasting batch.
So get baking. (I see you can buy a Paul Hollywood scone mix! Is
that cheating?)
June ramblings
from the "Doc"
Annie Clewlow from Communicare told us about the
wonderful work that the charity does for the community of Southampton.
Its aim is to produce a "good neighbours” network to
enrich the quality of life of its clients, offering help for example
with: transport, shopping, gardening, home chores and DIY. It tries
to address both the physical and emotional wellbeing of those it
helps. The service is free and open to everyone. (It does not provide
personal care or other aspects of aid that should be covered by
the social services.) Some of our members are volunteers themselves
and it struck me that involvement in this type of organisation
has benefits for both giver and receiver. They also offer a weekly
lunch club, chair-based exercise and fund raising activities such
as craft fairs and sponsored Christmas lights. For more information
about how to make a referral for someone who needs help or to volunteer
visit https://communicareinsouthampton.org.uk
May ramblings
from the "Doc"
A lovely afternoon spent water colouring under
the excellent tutelage of Tracey Spice. We've never know the group
so calm and contented. They even had to be forced to stop for a
tea break!!

April ramblings
from the "Doc"
We were all captivated by an excellent presentation
from Dr Cathy Linaker from the Centre for Musculoskeletal Health
and Work. http://www.mrc.soton.ac.uk/cmhw She gave us a comprehensive
run down of occupational health from the dangers of chimney sweeping
in Victorian times, through asbestosis in the 1950’s/’60’s
to the current issues of chronic pain in the ageing workforce.
The government has awarded a significant grant to the CMHW to study
all aspects of health in an older workforce in order to find ways
to facilitate people's ability and satisfaction with working to
a greater age despite increasing age and consequent health issues.
Some of our group are already involved in aspects of the studies
and Cathy promises to return with a progress report next year.
March ramblings
from the "Doc" A fascinating and thought provoking meeting hearing
about what it’s like to live in a slum in Africa. Sheena,
assisted by her mother Ann, told us about the Pamoja Charity that
she and her husband founded in Kenya. Among other things it seeks
to educate children in the hope that it will give them the skills
to rise above the poverty line. More information is available at
pamojacharity.org.
It was also our 12th birthday. Amazing
that we have been going for so long! Lovely that our traditional,
yearly,
group
photo
reflected
our growth with an array of faces old and new, both in age and
membership!! Long may it continue.
February ramblings
from the "Doc"
I never come away from our meetings without learning
something but I never expected to be educated about cheese! We
were so fortunate to have Sandra from our local Waitrose come and
give us a cheese tasting experience. How generous of Waitrose and
Sandra and what a lovely afternoon we had.
January ramblings
from the "Doc"
Well what a way to start 2017. A jam packed meeting with several
speakers and numerous members. Wonderful to see so many old and
new faces. A good reminder of the importance of Keeping Pace
not having an annual membership fee so everyone is welcome to
turn up whenever, even if they haven’t been for a while.
We heard first from Liz James who is a researcher into chronic
health conditions. Some members have already helped her through
attending focus groups to inform the design of a questionnaire
to find out more about the support mechanisms people use to manage
their chronic conditions. They have coined the phrase “Collective
Efficacy” to define this phenomenon. The resultant questionnaire
currently contains an unwieldy 62 questions! So the next stage
is to hone this to a core of 15-20. She handed out packs containing
these 62 questions and is asking for our help to score them to
help identify the most pertinent ones. If you weren’t at
the meeting but would like to help, she can be contacted on e.p.james@soton.ac.uk We welcomed Paul Dumper to the group. He wanted to share his personal,
positive experience of a relatively new treatment Physiokey Therapy
which uses a bioregulating neurostimulator to stimulate the body’s
own healing potential. He explained how that, although it hasn’t
cured his ME and Fibromyalgia, is has significantly improved it
to such a level that he has chosen to study this further and become
a therapist himself. More information can be found arcwellbeing.com
Then we were treated to an update from Steve about the wonderful
Yogi and his well deserved retirement from being a hearing dog.
The good news was that they have been given a new hearing dog called
Jemma. She’s a large, bouncy, black labrador. A completely
different personality to Yogi but Steve is confident that she is
going to excel with her training and become a huge help to him.
December ramblings
from the "Doc" Another
splendid party. We even survived without Joan (on a cruise to
the Caribbean don’t you know!!) ’s legendary firm
hand and supervision! Amazing food, thanks to everyone’s
kind donations, and an enjoyable, not too taxing, Christmas quiz
to keep us amused. Not to mention the wonderful company.
See
you all in 2017!
November ramblings
from the "Doc"
We
shared a really useful time with Sally Ann Belward, a physio
who specialises in Falls. She explained at great depth the causes
and consequences of falls. This was followed by lots of constructive
advice on how best to minimise and avoid trip hazards. She spoke
so much common sense. We learnt that we all could, and should,
do many simple things to minimise the risks.
Next month is our Christmas party. Please remember your Secret
Santa present, to the value of £1, labelled suitable for
male, female or either. We would also be grateful for food contributions.
There will be the usual quiz
October ramblings
from the "Doc"
Doctor Dominic Aldington, a consultant who specialises
in pain medicine, gave us a very helpful explanation and review
of the current thinking in pain management. He reminded us of the
physical, social and mental consequences of living with pain. All
of these are familiar to the group and it was good to hear them
verbalised and acknowledged. He talked about treatment options
and how poorly current medication deals with the issues. He emphasised
the importance of self management and how necessary support is
to those who live with pain. I felt this to be a confirmation of
the vital role that Keeping Pace with all its wonderful members
has in coping with this rotten condition.
Don’t forget to get baking those savoury scones for our November
meeting. Will Sylvia maintain her crown?
September ramblings
from the Nurse's kardex....
A beautiful September afternoon heralded this month's
meeting. As the old adage goes "if you want something done,
ask a busy person to do it" and Tracey fits the bill! The
Jelly didn't set ??, so Tracey being Tracey, she quickly improvised.
Jelly printing developed into glass and leaf printing which is
similar to mono printing. This technique followed a similar process
to the using jelly. As you can see from the photos below some lovely
works of art was produced.
Tracey also found the time to produce
a beautiful gluten and dairy free banana cake, which was devoured
quickly.
And she also produced the latest edition of the newsletter. Phew,
it's exhausting just writing about it! Thank you Tracey. Many
thanks also to Kevin our unsung hero, for printing the newsletter.
??
Our first social evening will be held at the Trago Lounge, 192
Portswood Road, Portswood on Friday September 23rd at 7pm. If you
are free, why not come along and enjoy a chat, or even
something to eat or all!
Don't forget to bring your £5 deposit to the October meeting
for the Christmas lunch on Thursday December 1st.
Kevin B was proud to share the news of his wife Karen's forth coming "head
shave" on Friday September 23rd, to raise money for the Piam
Brown ward at the general hospital. If you would like to support
Karen have a look at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Karen-Bowers1
And finally, we missed you Norma, get well soon.
August ramblings
from the "Doc"
Another well attended cream tea; splendid summer weather with an
opportunity to have a general chit chat and, for those who wanted,
a chance to experience some Reki.
The annual scone competition was judged by our visiting, self appointed
experts, Liz Palmer and Cynthia Swan. They took it very seriously.
They had done their research and applied criteria such as colour,
texture, breakability, straightness etc. Each scone batch received
individual comment, praise or otherwise, with no punches spared.
Someone, who will be nameless (although I blame it on her Scottish
heritage!), had her scones described as "claggy." I think
she's still in shock. Whatever their "judged" quality,
the remarkable thing was that they all served as a delicious base
for lashings of clotted cream and jam and ALL got eaten. And the
worthy winner? The one and only, remarkable, Tracey. Her name is
on the trophy so often that we might just have to let her keep
it and challenge everyone to rock cakes next time. Mind you, I'm
suspicious that some people thought that was what they were supposed
to be baking this year so should be well practiced!
July ramblings
from the "Doc"
A really warm (not just the weather) and inspiring
open meeting. It was good to hear from other members of the group
and great that so many people wanted to share the activities that
they use to help manage their everyday lives living with pain.
Tracey ran the meeting and told us how Aloe Vera products had so
helped her pain and stiffness associated with colitis that she
has started a business selling it. Hilary shared her wonderful
art, a talent that she has rediscovered since pain prevented her
working and how therapeutic she finds it. Joan took up singing
to help get her over a difficult stage in her life. Neri advocated
exercise and volunteering in her church. Kevin recommended a loving
pet and amateur dramatics. He has even trained his dog to be a
PAT (Pets as Therapy) dog.
I’m proud to be a member of such a talented and dynamic group!
We heard from Hannah a student from the University of Southampton.
She is completing her Masters Degree into people’s perspectives
of placebos and is keen for volunteers with back pain and/or depression
to fill in a brief online questionnaire. If you are willing to
help she can be contacted on hdb1g15@soton.ac.uk Next month is
our “Scone off” which involves volunteer scone bakers,
whose efforts will be entered into our friendly competition, and
the arduous task of eating the results!
June ramblings
from the "Doc's Standin"
As always it was a pleasure to have Fran attend
one of our sessions. She is one of the most inspiring people I've
ever met and she manages to bring something different each time
she comes.
This time we had some yoga moves, some speaking and of course
the obligatory songs. How she manages to get everyone to join in,
especially
with the singing, is something I've still not worked out. That
she does it is a testament to the magnetism that she projects and
the engagement she has with everyone in the room.
It was also a great opportunity for me to control the meeting,
even if I was in second place to the brief participation of England
in the Euro 2016 football tournament. It was with a sense of trepidation
that I stood in front of everyone ready to do the introductions
but I knew I was among friends which made things easier.
The power the group gives me, the sense of belonging and the
feeling that we share a problem even though we experience it differently,
is a huge thing that I thank you all for.
Chris and I have now showed that we can all play a part in
the meetings, and even lead them. This could lead to a wider range
of speakers with even more diverse topics as we become more involved
in a group we all get so much benefit from.
May ramblings
from the "Doc"
Laura Cane is the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Community
Safety Officer for Southampton. She came and gave us an extremely
interesting, enlightening, practical and helpful talk about the
risks of fire in our homes and what we can do to minimise them.
Simple measures that we could all chose to do like: unplugging
electrical items when not in use, not overloading sockets and using
extension leads rather than block adaptors, not leaving candles
unattended and disposing of cigarettes correctly. She advised us
to have a plan in mind if a fire was to occur thinking about what
route you would take to exit your home and making sure there are
easily accessible keys. She emphasised the importance of staying
put if the way out would put you at risk especially as we have
very effective fire rescue cover in Southampton and that help is
likely to reach you within 3 minutes. The Hampshire Fire and Rescue
Service also offer Safe and Well visits where they will come and
assess your home if you have any concerns. More information is
available at http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk
April ramblings
from the "Doc"
We were very pleased to welcome Mike Layton who came to today’s
meeting to tell us all about Freemasonry especially as it was the
first time that he had given this talk in public. We heard all
about their history and organisation, and the work that they do
in our local community. He gave us some fascinating insights into
how their meetings run, why they have different handshakes and
ways of standing, and how they are trying to become a much more
open and transparent organisation. I hadn’t appreciated that
the reason they had become so secretive in the past was partly
due to their persecution by Hitler during the Second World War
which had led to 1/4 million Masons dying in the Holocaust. It
struck me how easy it is to focus on our preconceived ideas of
secrecy and ritual and miss the fact that this is an amazing organisation
that does so much good with very little acknowledgement. We are
particularly grateful to them for the grant that they have awarded
us to help cover our running costs.
Lise asked the group for help with a fundraising event for her
Capable Creatures Organisation that helps people with mental health
conditions train their dogs to be their 'Guides for the Mind' Assistance
Dogs. www.capablecreatures.org She is holding a cake sale on Saturday
July 23rd at the Third Age Centre, 11 Cranbury Terrace, SO14 0LH.
She is asking if any of our members who are keen bakers could help.
If you are willing to make something for her please let Lise know
so that she has an idea of quantities.
Ros is very keen to start a walking group. She was thinking of
a monthly outing on a Wednesday afternoon. A gentle stroll along
paths accessible to wheelchairs etc. If anyone is interested in
getting involved please let Ros know. If you are a driver and can
help with transport, that would be an added bonus.
March ramblings
from the "Doc"
It was lovely to welcome back Janet, one of our
members. She can no longer make it to most of our meetings because
she’s so busy with her new and successful dog minding business.
Thankfully she found time to come and tell us all about it. She
told us many amusing stories about the dogs, their antics and habits,
and how she entertains them during their stay with her. There is
obviously never a dull moment in her house.
We also celebrated our 11th birthday with cakes; one rather large
chocolate cake and special thanks to our inventive cook Tracey
who also made a fantastic cake suitable for people with various
food allergies to make sure no one missed out. (Apologies to Mary
as we still need to crack the pectin free requirement!)
February ramblings
from the "Doc"
An 'odds and sods' sort of meeting today which
was actually very pleasant. It gave us lots of opportunities to
chat to old friends, welcome new members and eat cake!
We revisited and reinforced our ground rules which can be found
with this link (Pretty, Please Kevin!), started our planning and
arranging car sharing for the group outing to Furzey Garden on
Tuesday April 26th and updated our data base. So all very necessary
and useful stuff.
We are pleased to announce that we are the lucky recipients of
the Waitrose community fund again and picked up the generous cheque
last week.
Next month is our 11th birthday so do come along to help us celebrate
and eat more cake!
January ramblings
from the "Doc"
A bumper turn out and an action packed meeting.
What a great start to 2016.
We welcomed Road Policing Sergeant Rik Grant to our meeting. He
led a very good question and answer session about the new rules
of the use of drugs and driving. He left us feeling reassured that
if we are taking our prescription drugs as prescribed, regardless
of their strength, and feel that our driving is not impaired then
we have nothing to worry about. However, if we have any doubts
about our ability to drive, then we shouldn’t.
We heard from Liz James of the Faculty of Health Science at the
University of Southampton. She is looking for volunteers who have
chronic health conditions to form a focus group to discuss aspects
of any support network that they have developed around them that
helps them cope. If you are interested in helping you are welcome
to email her on e.p.james@soton.ac.uk See
attached leaflet
A further visitor to the group was Charlotte Dore who works in
the Pain Service in Winchester. She told us about a talk on Pain
Management which is being given by a consultant Dr Dominic Aldington
at Fleming Park Leisure Centre, Eastleigh on Tuesday February 2nd
at 6.30-7.30. All are welcome. More information can be found on
http://www.hampshirehospitals.nhs.uk/news-events.aspx
We were very happy to meet and hear from Mike Layton who was instrumental
in getting us the generous donation from Hampshire & Isle of
Wight Masonic Grand Charity. Hopefully we will learn more about
the work of the Masons in February
We briefly visited the Ground Rules of our group as we have many
new members. We will update them at the next meeting
December ramblings
from the "Doc"
A very enjoyable Christmas party once again. A
great quiz from Mike and a bunch of noble winners. We even had
a visit from Father Christmas to hand out our Secret Santa gifts.
Special thanks to our visiting pianist Cynthia who accompanied
us in the singing of a few carols.
What made the occasion even more special was the fact that we were
able to announce a fantastic piece of news. We have been the fortunate
recipients of very generous donations from the Hampshire & Isle
of Wight Masonic Grand Charity, through the help of the Masonic
Lodge in Totton, and also from our local Masonic Lodge, Ye Olde
Bargate Lodge. These funds will enable us to pay the overheads
so that we can continue to run our support group and hold our regular
monthly meetings. The Masons have agreed to come and talk to the
group in the Thursday meeting on February 18th to tell us all about
their organisation and all the amazing help they give to local
causes. Do try and make the meeting as it would be great to have
a good turn out for them.

November ramblings
from the "Doc"
November
We were so fortunate today to have the company of students from
the Occupation Therapy Department of the University of Southampton.
Not only did they generously give us their time but also provided
much of the materials to run 3 separate craft sessions: Christmas
Wreaths, Printing, and Glass and Pebble Painting. They even found
time to bake scones and came second in the savoury scone contest.
What an absolute pleasure to share the afternoon with them.
The scone competition was hotly contested and ably judged by our
guest visitor Sue and in-house expert Maureen. The worthy winner
was our lovely Sylvia who couldn’t quite believe her ears
when her name was called out.
Next month is our Christmas party so please don’t forget
a plate of food to share and a Secret Santa present to the value
of £1.

Just look at this lot, worthy of the WI..............he
he! 
And the winner is..........Sylvia

Xmas Decs with the lovely students from the Occupation
Therapy Department of the University of Southampton
October ramblings
from the "Doc"
Such an interesting talk this month all about REMAP.
A charity set up in 1964 and initially funded by ICI. Its unusual
name stands for Rehabilitation Engineering Movement Advisory Panel
which, lets face it, is pretty incomprehensible! Until a clever
associate pointed out that it should stand for Retired Engineers
Making Anything Possible which sums up exactly the essence of what
they do, as our speaker Richard Bavister went on to explain. They
essentially design and build gizmos for disabled people which are
outside the remit of social services but which enable and enrich
lives. He showed us loads of examples from child car seats attached
to disability scooters so that Mums with mobility issues can still
take their babies out and about to broom sticks bolted to wheel
chair plates to facilitate wheel chair dancing. Plenty more information
about this wonderful charity is available on their website http://www.remap.org.uk
We had the largest turn out yet to
our craft session. These are run 1-3pm on the second Tuesday of
the month. I thought I'd share
a photo or two to encourage you all to come and get involved.

September ramblings
from the "Doc"
Another enchanting session with our friend and
regular visitor Fran Hodgson. She led us through some relaxation
and meditation techniques emphasising the importance of balancing
our right and left sides and the power of positive action. She
recommended a book called Yoga Nigra by Richard Miller.
We have organised our Christmas Meal for November 26th. For more
information and final bookings please see me at the next meeting
on October 15th when I will be collecting your money and confirming
your food choices.
August ramblings
from the "Doc"
Quite a fun meeting today with lots of opportunities
to chat and get to know one another. The highlight was the annual
cream tea and scone competition. A big thank you to Jo and Sue
who nobly replaced the surprisingly absent Mary Berry and Paul
Hollywood as our esteemed judges. A blind tasting and a close fight
but, surprisingly, I won!! (Never let it be said that it was fixed
as both judges are my dear friends!!)
More thanks to Dorothy for supplying lots and lots of clotted cream
and Tracey for making homemade jam.
A further thanks to Martine who not only collected and dried lavender
but also led the Tuesday craft session in making sachets and pockets
to stuff. These were offered to the group in exchange for donations
to help fund another outing to Furzey Gardens. Joan is currently
trying to firm up the date for the trip so watch this space.

Judges Jo and Sue

Yes, the "Doc" won
July ramblings
from the "Doc"
We had a return visit from David Barlow this month.
This time he came with loads of professional photographic gear
to give ideas as to how we can take good picture using even the
most basic pocket camera. We were also grateful that it was his
birthday because we all got to share the fabulous, huge birthday
cake that Joan baked for the occasion.
And on the subject of food - next month is the annual scone baking
competition! Please remember to bring your best efforts to be judged
and enjoyed. The more entrants we have, the more scones we can
all eat. So everyone’s the winner!
June ramblings
from the "Doc"
Tracey Spice, our wonderful, resident artist and magazine writer,
treated us to another silk painting session. It was a lovely
afternoon and even those who didn’t paint enjoyed watching
the various creations that were made.
Next month David Barlow is going to give us a talk about how to
get the best from your cameras. So, if you wish to get the most
from the talk, please bring your cameras along with you. The talk
will be brief to give you plenty of time to ask questions
May ramblings
from the "Doc" We
welcomed Steve Smith to our meeting today. He is passionate about
Mindfulness as a useful strategy to help people
who live with persistent pain. He has found it so effective in
his own life that he gave up his previous career to train in the
technique and now teaches it. He gave us a taster today. For more
information please see attached
information sheet.
April
ramblings from the "Doc" A big thank you to Chris Matcham who came at short
notice to give us a fascinating talk about hedgehogs. Chris dedicates
a large amount of time attracting these amazing little mammals
into his garden. He gave us lots of information about the likes
and loves of these creature and how, with some minor alterations
mainly to do with access, we too could encourage and help these
animals.
He also volunteers at the Hart Wildlife rescue Centre http://www.hartwildlife.org.uk who are happy to give advice and take in, and care for, all kinds
of wildlife in Hampshire.
More information about hedgehogs in particular can be found
here http://www.hartwildlife.org.uk/uploads/documents/Hart%20Wildlife%20%20Hedgehog%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
March
ramblings from the "Doc"
Well we had a splendid 10th Birthday Party. Loads
of cake and conversation. We played pass the parcel which cunningly
included an opportunity to reminisce at each layer of unwrapping.
It was good to take the chance to pause and reflect on the last
10 years and to look forward to many more shared moments in the
future.
February
ramblings from the "Doc"
Lots to do this meeting. We gave Clare Handley
of the Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group feedback on
the GP leaflet about chronic pain. She is still happy to receive
more, so if you missed the meeting we can give you her contact
details.
We were introduced to Sophie, a 4th year medical student, who is taking over
from Emily the student we met last year whilst doing the focus group with some
of our members about persistent pain and the patient journey. The next stage
of the study is to develop a questionnaire based on the themes identified by
the focus group. Sophie is interested in getting our help with developing this
questionnaire and so will be back for more input.
We then heard from Fiona who is another University of Southampton student this
time studying psychology. She is involved in researching an online intervention
for the treatment of persistent pain and will be back with further information
next month. She will be looking for volunteers to give one to one feedback
on the online site. Her contact details are fh6g11@soton.ac.uk
Tracey Spice, one of our members, is part of a group who have called themselves
CAKE. They are all women artists with a mission to celebrate women’s
creativity and achievements across Southampton on International Women’s
Day on March 8th. Do try and catch one of the art exhibitions being held around
the city.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/leisure/news/11736112.Women___have_your_CAKE_and_join_in_with_celebration/
Next month is our celebration too. Keeping Pace's 10th Birthday. We are going
to have a vintage style tea party so do come and join us.
January
ramblings from the "Doc"
We started the New Year by welcoming a new speaker
to our group but one who we hope will befriend us and return. His
name was Justin Strain and he works in the Pain Clinic at Solent
NHS Trust. He gave us a very informative overview of the changes
brought about in the benefit system by the migration of Disability
Living Allowance to the new Personal Independence Payments. It
seems that where the DLA concentrated on how much help a person
required as a result of their disability, the PIP focuses more
on the level of function of the individual. As with all changes,
there seems to be good and bad aspects and some will gain where
others might miss out. The important thing is to seek as much help
as possible with filling in the forms; friends and family can be
quite insightful and there are various guides available on the
internet, for example Disability
Rights UK.
Fill the form in taking account of how you are on your worst days
and appeal if you don’t think the decision justified.
We were handed out some information which is being used by Clare
Handley of the Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group to
compile a fact sheet for patients about the services available
to those living with pain in our area. Your expert knowledge is
valued so please have a look through it and come to the February
meeting with lots of ideas to help with the compilation of this
leaflet.
The 11am meet-up on the first Monday in February at Coffee#1 was
well attended. (And the Hot Chocolate delicious!) It was decided
that we will continue to use this venue for the time being. If
anyone has a problem with this, do have a word with me at the next
meeting.
December
ramblings from the "Doc"
We had a great Christmas Party. Thanks to everyone for coming,
contributing Secret Santa presents and food, and generally being
special!. Mike outdid himself with an excellent quiz and Jim
kindly accompanied us in the singing of a few festive carols.
STOP PRESS: The venue of our monthly coffee morning meet-up on
the first Monday of the month at 11am is changing to a coffee shop
in Shirley. Coffee#1. 4A to 5A Shirley High Street, SO15 3LQ.> http://www.coffee1.co.uk/our-locations/Shirley/
It is thought to be more accessible for those relying on buses.
For the drivers there is parking in Mayflower Road for one hour
but more parking in Marlborough Road and behind Sainsbury’s.
We will give it a 6 month trial and see if it suits. I know some
people are going to use it as an excuse to visit the charity shops
in Shirley!! So see you all there 11am February 2nd.
November ramblings
from the "Doc"
An enjoyable, action packed meeting! A warm welcome
and thank you to students Laura and Hannah of the Occupational
Therapy Department of the University of Southampton who led a craft
session teaching everyone the joys of iris folding. The students
had worked really hard on the preparation and supply of everything
needed for us all to get stuck in! (Double sided sticky tape and
all!) We are also grateful to Anita and Teresa for arranging the
event.
We held the annual savoury scone competition hotly contested by
3 hopeful British Bakers. Thank you to our esteemed judges Marilyn
Monkhouse and Christopher "I’m only here for the food
as my Mother starves me" Barlow. It was no surprise that our
resident super cook Tracey once more took first place. Who will
beat her? This year I can proudly say that I came in the top 3
as opposed to my usual bottom.
Next month’s meeting will be in the form of our Christmas
Party. We intend the usual quiz and American supper. Sweet, savoury
or soft drink contributions to the food table will be gratefully
received. There will be a Secret Santa so please bring a wrapped
present to the value of £1 marked as to whether it is suitable
for a male/female/child or anyone. See you all there!
The judges and the Winner
Nurse's Kardex - October
What a busy meeting! This month's speaker was Pete
Moore, author and pioneer of the Pain Toolkit. Pete's talk was
not only entertaining but highly motivating. If you don't have
a copy of the Pain Toolkit please ask at the next meeting, as we
have several copies in the library or it can be downloaded for
free from www.paintoolkit.org. Have a look at the "Brainman" clips
on the website. Pete is happy to answer questions, contact him
through the website.
Dr Teresa Job and three of her Occupational Therapy students
from the university made a flying visit to ask the group for volunteers
for this year's animation project (examples from last years project
can be seen on this page). If you are interested please let Norma
or Joan know. The students have kindly volunteered to lead a creative
session with the group for our November meeting. Which leads me
to remind you that November is The Savoury Scone competition, if
I can get the trophy off Sue! Why not have a go? I'm sure that
everyone is feeling inspired to bake following the Great British
Bake Off!
Norma will be collecting names and deposits - £5, at the
November meeting, for the annual Christmas lunch at Haskins Garden
Centre on Monday December 1st.
Cobbled
together Ramblings by proxy of an absent Doc!!
September
Today's visit from Tash, The 'cat lady',
was great. Her name was Tasha Ault and she talked about her own
history: of ME, slipped
disc & fractured coccyx & the therapies (cat therapy,
SCENAR and Cycloidal Massage) she uses in her company. These
are an integral
part of her journey to find pain relief from her own chronic
pain which she felt orthodox treatment and drugs didn't touch.
Her cat
Mckay was a hit of course, so sweet seeing him do a high five,
sit, give a paw, kiss etc just like a dog does. After her talk
quite a few people went to speak to her. She said she'd be happy
to bring the couches she uses to any meetings for people to see
a demonstration and possibly have a taster. We will see how the
group feels about this. We also met Clare Handley a manager from
NHS Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group who is pulling
resources together for GP's to give to their patients, self-management
advice to help them to live with their pain. We are very keen
that people are aware of the warm welcome they would have if
they chose
to attend out group and so we were glad to see her at our meeting.
After the tea break people were asked just to talk about anything
they'd been up to etc
Ros told everyone how the council are taking bus passes away
from 1200 disabled people and that she had contact details of
someone
from UNITE who are helping to challenge this.
Chris, Jan and Sue had copies of
instructions for Dorset posies which we are going to attempt at
the craft session in November.
Quilling is planned for October. Jan mentioned she'd met a lady from the last PMP who said a few
of them are thinking of coming to the next meeting.
Lise informed us that her first Dog Owner/Lover Peer Support
Walking Group will be on 23rd Sept 11.45-12.45 meeting at the
Hawthorns & then
every 4th Tuesday
Pauline said she'd told her GP about Keeping Pace, the doc had
never heard of us and so asked for some information. Pauline
took some leaflets in. This sparked a short discussion about
GPs, and
it was useful that Clare was there because she said every GP
now has "target training" & a consultant tells
them about the group. A few more people took leaflets to give
to their surgeries.
"The
Nurse's Kardex"
The August meeting brought our annual Cream Teas event and "Scone
Off" competition which was keenly fought and gave judges Audrey
and Elizabeth a lot to deliberate and chew over. The winner for
the 3rd time was our resident artist Tracey. As for the recipe
to her success? Tracey keeps this a closely guarded secret! We
were also treated to home made bread from Arthur who was testing
out a new recipe. Judging by the rapid disappearance of the loaf
one must assume that Arthur has found a successful formula.
Whilst the scones were being judged, Tracey held a masterclass
in water painting which was enjoyed by all of the group. Many
thanks to Tracey and her assistant Antonia.
The traditional summer "scone-off!" The pictures say
it all!!
 

Pictures from our 2014 Scone Competition - Guess
who won - Yes, yet again the lovely Tracey
The judges Elizabeth & Audrey had a hard time,
they had to try two of each one just to be certain :) (only joking)
]
After eating all the scones, cream and jam, another
art session held by Tracey (The Winner)
]
Furzey House and Gardens outing, April 24th 2014.
Many thanks to Martin Lenaerts and his wonderful team of volunteers
for making it a day to remember.
Visit the Furzey Garden website here
Don't forget our
new Tuesday Craft Sessions, dates on the right, flier
July ramblings
from the "Doc"
Sam
Goold from Healthwatch Southampton came and introduced himself
and the organisation he works for. Their remit is to be the
voice for patients and public in matters concerning health and
social
care services in Southampton. They want to help the general
public to influence local services and hold them to account using
the
strength of the law and the national influence of Healthwatch
England. We were encouraged to get involved and tell them about
our local experience, good or bad, and to give them our ideas
for improvements and changes. They can be contacted in various
ways at their base in the Voluntary Action Centre in St Mary’s:
in person, in writing, by phone or through email. More information
is available on their website www.healthwatch.co.uk . I also
told the group about some work that I am starting to do with
NETSCC ( the National Institute of Health Research Evaluation
Trials and Studies Coordination Centre ). This organisation
is also interested in getting the general public involved but
this
time by them suggesting areas of our health that they feel
require more research to ensure that the medicine offered in
the NHS
is evidence based. They have an extensive website with lots
more details www.nets.nihr.ac.uk . I hope you are all practicing
for
the August scone off! I have a feeling this is my year!!!! June ramblings
from the "Doc"
Today we welcomed Marion Gealer. She and her
colleague Paul Hedges run Active Options, a Community Interest
Company which
they started when the government funding of the original Active
Options dried up. They specialise in bringing ideas for activity
and exercises to community groups with particular health needs.
She gave us a sample by making us do seated exercises with balls
and bands to funky ’70’s music. It was most enjoyable.
More information and details of classes in your area can be found
on www.activeoptions.co.uk.
Sally Curtis came back to visit to update us on the project that
she had been doing with members of the group concerning pain and
bereavement. Sadly she also told us that she is no longer going
to be teaching pain to the medical students at the University of
Southampton. She reassured us that she has handed the baton on
to a worthy successor and introduced us to James Dillon. His area
of research involves the molecules in the nervous system who act
as ‘dimmer switches’ turning pain signals up and down.
He uses worms as the model system and promises to return and tell
us more - especially the bit about worms and alcohol please! Sally
promises to visit us often and seemed particularly keen on maintaining
her role as chief scone judge (or do I mean eater!)
May ramblings
from the "Doc"
It was a pleasure to welcome Fran back amongst
us for more yoga, breathing, chanting and meditation. This time
we attempted nostril breathing and learnt some useful tips - breathing
through the right nostril is good for getting going, for example
in the morning, and the left nostril for calming, helpful if we
are having problems getting to sleep. (We reckoned that the way
to remember this was Right for Ready and Left for sLeep!) We sang
some beautiful uplifting and relaxing chants. This one in particular
reminds us that there are always going to be good and bad days
and yet not to dwell on regret, the synonyms of which include guilt,
shame, self-accusation etc.
and when I fly, let me fly
like a bird, joyfully
and when I fall. let me fall
like a leaf. gracefully
and without regret
We congratulated
Jess on her new job as a class room assistant. She will find it
difficult to attend future meetings and so we
encouraged her to make sure she did what she could to come in
school holidays. We will miss her setting our Christmas quiz
and might
have persuaded her to do us a summer one in August before she
goes.
April ramblings
from the "Doc" A bit of an interactive meeting this time. We revisited
our ground rules as we have a number of new members. They seemed
as relevant and appropriate as ever and the discussion was valuable.
Janet then entertained us with many an anecdote as she described
how and why she set up her dog care company www.jbdogcare.com.
It was inspiring to hear how when one door closed due to her pain
she took stock, moved on, and has a thriving business which is
now 4 years old. www.jbdogcare.com
Emily, the medical student who is doing research into a patient's
pain journey, fed back the result of the focus group which she
held in March. She wanted general agreement from the group to validate
her findings. One of her main conclusions seems to be that on the
whole patients are less concerned about how long they wait to be
seen by specialists so long as when they are seen they are treated
as individuals and listened to.

JB Dogcare
March
ramblings from the "Doc"
We celebrated our 9th birthday today with our usual
group photo and cake.
It was fitting that we also took the opportunity to think of others
and had a collection of food items to donate to the Southampton
Basics Bank. This is run by Southampton City Mission. It hands
out food and clothes to people in need who are referred to the
service by social workers, doctors, community workers, churches
etc. Vouchers need to be obtained from these referral agents to
use the service as there is no direct access. More information
can be found on their website www.southamptoncitymission.co.uk/basics-bank.
It was humbling to hear stories from two of our members who had
had cause to get help from the Basics Bank and what a positive
and uplifting experience it was for them.
We were revisited by Dr Teresa Job and her students
from the
Occupational
Therapy Department of the University of Southampton. They had
been working on animations telling the pain stories of 3 of our
group
members and came back to show us the completed films. The results
are the most amazing and emotionally moving pieces of work. We
hope to upload them to our web site for all to see in the near
future. I think that everyone has found it to be a rewarding collaboration
and the plan is to continue with this valuable exercise.
We are grateful to Pauline and Keith for offering more Reiki
sessions to
those who wanted them.
Some stayed behind to participate in a focus group study about
the pain
journey from diagnosis to treatment with Emily, a medical student
from University of Southampton. She is planning to use the
information to construct a questionnaire for further research
into this topic
and will feed back at the next meeting.
The Tuesday craft session is being led by Jan who is going
to show us how
to make small baskets which would be ideal for little Easter eggs.
February ramblings
from the "Doc" Well
there was a lot to learn and take away from this meeting.
Steve Beale shared his passion for trying to get Southampton “looped”!
In other words encouraging all public buildings such as banks,
post offices and hospitals to comply correctly with the law
and provide functioning hearing loops for the deaf. In his
experience departments who should know better such as those
in hospitals who offer services specifically for the deaf
eg Ear, Nose and Throat and Audiology are amongst the worst
offenders. The charity Hearing Link http://www.hearinglink.org have
done a great job “looping” Eastbourne and
Chris and Steve are joining forces with other volunteers
to “loop” Southampton starting with The General
Hospital. The other interesting point to note is that when
folks go to get their NHS hearing aids they are not routinely
offered ones with the T switch which would enable them to
benefit from a hearing loop system. Apparently this is a
more time consuming and costly option. The T switch will
be added if asked for and Steve was urging us to pass on
the message that this option is worth requesting.
We than had an illuminating talk from a representative of
Options http://www.optionscounselling.co.uk.
Alongside a description of their various counselling roles,
she informed us about
their Optimise Project which is particularly concerned with
educating the over 50’s on the matter of sensible drinking
limits; how our tolerance to alcohol and its health risks
are affected by our age, medical conditions, diet and medication.
Members of the group had no problem in illustrating one of
her points by demonstrating their inability to estimate and
pour a correct unit of alcohol into a glass! Their generous
hands measured out closer to 3 units despite thinking it
was just 1! So good lessons about the need to manage our
alcohol consumption accurately were learnt.
Next month is our 9th birthday and we will be celebrating
with a very big cake! We are also going to hear from the
Southampton Food Bank. We though it would be nice to spread
some birthday
cheer and give a donation to them. So if anyone has some
spare food, preferably tinned or dried, that we can have
to make up a box for the Food Bank it will be gratefully
received. http://www.southamptoncitymission.co.uk/donations.
Finally we have received a letter from a 4th year medical
student attached to the Pain Clinic in Southampton which
I attach. She is wanting volunteers for a focus
group to gain information about the patient journey from
onset of pain to seeking and getting help. She will come
to our March Monday coffee morning, Tuesday craft session
and at the start of the Thursday meeting to explain the project
in more detail to those who are interested and intends to
hold the actual focus group after the main meeting has finished
in the far corner of the room. It is likely to last about
1 hour.
January
ramblings from the "Doc"
We kicked off 2014 with the great news that Joan,
on behalf of Keeping Pace, had collected a cheque for over £500
from the Waitrose Community Matters collection in Romsey. Some
of this money is going to fund our new initiative - a "Make,
share and chat" craft session 1-3.30pm second Tuesday of each
month at Avenue St Andrews United Reformed Church. Please feel
free to turn up and join in. No booking is required. Bring your
own crafts to be getting on with or have a go at the selection
of activities which will be on offer. There is no charge for the
event but occasionally a contribution towards the cost of materials
may be welcomed. Tea and coffee will be provided. There is also
a cafe in the main church hall at lunchtimes on Tuesdays and so
you could always go there for lunch before getting crafty!
We then heard from Lise and Janet. As many of you will know Lise
has been training her dog Dahy to be a helper dog. She has been
amazed at how this dog has not just provided the practical help
she wanted but has also been a great source of physical, mental
and psychological benefit to her. She therefore wishes to share
this experience with others and is in the process of setting up
an organisation called Capable Creatures to this end. She had a
questionnaire that she asked members of the group to fill in to
help her with market research to inform this fledgling enterprise.
For a copy of the questionnaire or further information contact
Lise or Janet on lisemarron@btinternet.com or jsusanb@talktalk.net.
Chris and Steve reinforced the life changing benefits of worker
dogs through their experience with their hearing dog Yogi. We were
saddened to hear that Yogi is nearing retirement but is likely
to be kept as a pet alongside a new hearing dog for Steve. Many
in the group collect stamps for the Hearing Dog charity and it
was good to hear that they raised £12,500. They also gave
some interesting statistics: Hearing Dogs has been going for 31
years, there have been 818 hearing dogs trained in total so far
with 59 new partnerships last year, there are 17 dogs working with
children and 25 dual purpose for hearing combined with other disabilities,
and they replaced 46 dogs due to retirement in 2013.
Joan has put together an exciting programme of speakers for 2014
so watch this space.
December
ramblings from the "Doc"
We had a record turn out for our Christmas party
which was lovely to see. Everyone seemed in good spirits and the
food was abundant. Mike and Jess's combined efforts produced a
varied and entertaining quiz which kept us all amused (or possibly
bemused if you were on my table!).
This year our carol singing
was led not just by our capable Jim but also Ian on the drums.
Thanks to everyone for their contributions and to Kevin and Sue
for their sterling work in the kitchen.
This group could not flourish without its amazing members and
so I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their
attendance
and support throughout 2013 and am looking forward to spending
more quality time with everyone in Keeping Pace in 2014.
November
ramblings from the "Doc"
One of our members Pauline and her colleague Keith
came and told us about their recent training in Reiki. They are
both now Reiki Masters and generously offered some free treatment
sessions to those who wished to try this complementary therapy.
Ian and Ken had spent the morning at the Occupational Therapy Department,
University of Southampton, working on their animation about living
with persistent pain as described in the October Rambling. They
had found it a positive collaboration and had appreciated the opportunity
to emphasise the individual nature of the pain experience. We look
forward to seeing the end result in the New Year.
The Savoury Scone-off was judged by Sue E-S and Kevin who demonstrated
great professionalism and surprised us with detailed constructive
criticism. They have obviously been watching too many TV cooking
programmes. (Not that I'm bitter about my usual placing close to
bottom of the score table and comments such as "tasteless"!)
We congratulate Sue on her worthy win. Two years in a row - can
she be beaten? (Or is that Egg Heads?!) Next month is our traditional
Christmas party. By popular request we will be holding our Secret
Santa. Please bring a wrapped present to the value of £1,
(indicating, if relevant, if it is gender specific - for some reason
men don't seem to appreciate bath salts!!). We will also have an
American supper and so contributions of party food for the event
are gratefully received. Mike and Jessica will be holding a quiz,
and Ian and Jim intend to entertain us with interactive music and
song. See you all there!=

Savoury Scone Winner 2013 - Sue Kelly, again!
October
ramblings from the "Doc"
A busy meeting with 2 speakers. I wish we could
have given both of them more time as they had interesting information
to pass on. Gill Fields told us about a Hampshire based charity
called Carer's Together set up specifically to acknowledge and
support the unsung heroes who are caring for someone in their home.
They organise: support groups for the carers including a carer's
cafe as well as other social events, benefits advice, advocacy,
a memory cafe, help with the preparation of an emergency care plan
for carers (CAPE) and loads more. They can be contacted on 017934
519495 and their website is www.carerstogether.org.uk
Next we heard from Dr Teresa Job from the University
of Southampton who was looking for volunteers to come to the Department
of Occupational
Therapy in the Faculty of Health Science to meet the undergraduates
and get involved in making an animation
about their health experiences. She feels that meeting real
people with stories to tell about their medical conditions is an
invaluable
experience for the students as they will be the health professionals
of the future. Joan is collecting the names of anyone interested
in getting involved in this project.
Next month we have Reiki
with Pauline and our savoury scone-off. So budding bakers beware
- I have been doing my research by
watching The Great British Bake-Off and am confident of not
finishing
bottom this time. I might have to eat my words (or just my
own scones
if no one else does)!
I am still collecting names, menu choices and
deposits for the Haskins Christmas Meal on Monday December 2nd
at 12 midday.
Please
let me know asap as there were already 2 other parties
booking for that day.
September
ramblings from the "Doc"
Sadly Fran was unable to attend the meeting today.
We wish her and her family well at this time. So instead I cobbled
together a quiz for our entertainment which certainly kept us amused
even if some of the subject matter was a bit beyond us! It's just
good to be together and to share each others company.
There was a general agreement to plan a further Christmas Meal
at Haskins Garden Centre on Monday December 2nd and I will circulate
details nearer the time. The new newsletter is out and it's jammed
pack with brilliant stuff. Please all try to do the competition
as entries so far have been few and that feature might be dropped.
The editors have also asked me to mention that they are currently
seeking contributions for the Christmas edition.
August ramblings
from the "Doc"
Another hotly contested "scone-off" which
saw Tracey regain her crown as champion baker. In fact she was
generally the star of the show as she also led an interesting art
session where members experimented with bright colours and collage
using Matisse as their source of inspiration.
Next month we see the return of Fran Hodgson who always shows us
how accessible yoga can be whatever ones health issues. Do come
and join us as we invariably have a rewarding time under her tutorage.
Tracey regains her title

The judges hard at work (best job of the day) 
Ian enjoying his scone and jam.

Matisse Artists group picture
July ramblings
from the "Doc"
Another informal meeting where we discussed aids
and appliances that members found helpful. Janet was very enthusiastic
about the various calendar, tablet boxes that you can buy to sort
your medication into. Some have removable parts so that a day's
worth of tablets can be kept in your bag when you are out and about.
Speaking from personal experience, if you are buying more that
one week's worth of boxes to stock up at a time make sure that
they start on the same day of the week. I discovered that some "weeks" start
on a Sunday and some on a Monday. Guaranteed to confuse if you
are not careful! Sylvia told us all about a ball in an old stocking
contraption that she uses for massage. We felt that a demonstration
would be useful so we think we persuaded her to return next time
with said gizmo and show us! Arthur had a natty device to help
him unlock doors with keys without putting too much strain on his
arms. Its called a Key Turner. Purchased for a reasonable price
in the mobility aid shop in Shirley (around £4). I also found
it online. V shaped pillows were discussed with variable feed back
- some found them helpful and some felt they aggravated their pain.
Francoise had one that she was willing to pass on to others to
try as it hadn't worked for her. Jessica recommended volunteering
as a way to try to manage pain and has recently started work at
a primary school. We wish her success with that new venture.
Next month is art with Tracey and our usual, hotly contested, August
scone-off with a trophy up for grabs! See you all there.
June ramblings
from the "Doc"
An enjoyable, sharing meeting. Members set up tables
and demonstrated their hobbies and talents inviting others to come,
hear and try. There were activities such as card making, wood etching
and paper bead creating, and talks about drumming, photography
and organic farming to name but a few. What a talented bunch!
May ramblings
from the "Doc"
Ali Bowser from the Research Design Service (RDS)
South Central came today determined to make us excited about research!
Certainly her enthusiasm was infectious. They run a free service
to help researchers submitting applications to the National Institute
for Health Research Funding. The part that is relevant to us is
that nowadays the institute won't even look at a proposal unless
it can be clearly demonstrated that patients have been involved
in the planning stages of the project as well as throughout the
process and not just be the subjects of the research. This is obviously
a very positive development for the interests of patients and one
which the group agreed should be encouraged. So Ali was very keen
that members of the group felt free to volunteer if she was involved
in a research proposal which would benefit from their expertise
in living with pain. In fact she already had a research proposal
in mind - a study with the acronym POEM concerning pain relief
in Accident and Emergency departments.
Those who were interested
at the meeting gave their names to be included on the RDS register
so that they would be kept informed of research studies happening
in the region and be able to contact researchers directly if
they wished to be involved. Anyone interested who missed the meeting
can contact
Ali directly at rds-sc@soton.ac.uk
Next month we would like members to bring along
their hobbies for a "show and tell session." If you are
willing it would be lovely if you can bring some bits and pieces
with you to allow
others to have a go and learn from you.
April ramblings
from the "Doc"
An interesting meeting. The members were invited
to say in one sentence what it is that helps them to live with
their persistent pain. The sentences were than typed up and displayed
on a screen. The result of this exercise can be seen in this link Sentence The
group then decided that this was a good reflection of the general
feeling of the members and that others might find it helpful. The
challenge is to review the sentences and decide how best to display
and circulate them. Some time will be spent on this at the next
meeting. If anyone has any ideas that they want to explore before
the meeting then please email me on norma@rosiewaite.com.
We also spent some time discussing and contributing to a document
being prepared for health planning for Southampton, commenting
on aspects such as GPs, specialist pain services, social care,
and other state and non state provided health services with particular
reference to persistent pain. It is good that the group's opinions
are being sought on such important matters.
Next month we are going to hear about how we can get involved in
research. Should be a worthwhile meeting so do come along.
March
ramblings from the "Doc"
Never in a million years would I have believed
that we had so many budding cubists in our midst. Tracey Spice
has a real talent for making art accessible to even the most reticent
and she encouraged us all to have a go at Picasso inspired art
with fantastic results. Thank you so much Tracey for your enthusiasm
and inspiration.
We celebrated our eight birthday with cake and the launch of
our new look quarterly magazine. Thanks to Jess, Janet and
Kevin for
all their work in writing, compiling and producing such an
interesting read. (Did anyone else have to resort to the answers
to complete
the crossword?) If you have not received yours do contact Kevin. The editors want to remind us that the magazine
is only as good as its content and so want everyone to contribute
to it.
The first Monday in April is Easter Monday but as we didn't get
around to rearranging the date, there will still be a meeting
of those who wish at Haskins for coffee at 11am on April1st.
And no,
this is not a joke!

February
ramblings from the "Doc"
A meeting very much run by the members.
Janet reintroduced the Keeping Pace library. Reminding us of the
range of books relating to pain and self help that can be borrowed
for a returnable deposit of £5. Pauline, Janet and Tracy
then reviewed a selection of books that they had found helpful
and would recommend to the group. Pauline's choice was Break
Through Pain by Shinzen Young, Janet introduced The Power of
Now by Eckhart Tolle, and Tracy chose 2 books: Perceptions of
Pain by Deborah Padfield and The Touch of Healing by Jin Shin.
Jess then informed us about the new look newsletter, nearly hot
off the press and ready for distribution in the near future. Jess
and Janet have volunteered to help Kevin with the task of writing
and compiling this for us. There is even to be a regular competition
and the group agreed on a £5 voucher as a prize to encourage
the group members to participate and contribute. Ken talked about
the focus group study exploring patients' trust in their GP's which
some of our members were involved in last month. It sounded like
it had been a very positive experience for all who had been able
to attend. There is a possibility of a further focus group on this
subject as well as other opportunities to liaise with researchers
at the University of Southampton. Do come along to our meetings
to hear more. Joan expressed her pleasure that the group members
and their collective experience of living with pain is so well
recognised and valued.
Jim made a suggestion about the group spending a meeting trying
to sum up in one sentence their approaches to pain that they find
useful. Dorothy immediately supplied us with a brilliant thought
that she has a butterfly approach to hers - when in pain she flits
from one activity to another, and these can be as simple as doing
some colouring in of a picture, for distraction. It immediately
conjured up for me a lovely image of colourful butterflies moving
from one place to another especially, as to my mind, they do seem
to settle down eventually on a beautiful flower. This composing
of sentences is to be part of April's meeting. Have a think about
what yours might contain. There will be no pressure for people
to supply a sentence if they don't want to, sentences can even
be contributed anonymously if that is what members want but do
come along as it is bound to be a fascinating time.
Next month is our 8th
birthday so please join us for cake plus Tracey will lead
another art session
January
ramblings from the "Doc"
Dr Rose Wiles from the University of Southampton
came today to tell us about a fascinating study that is being carried
out into how people decide whether to trust their GPs. She explained
that trust is very important and might make a difference to
health outcomes; if you have trust then you are more likely to
comply
with the treatment and advice given. Previous research has suggested
that patients with long term health conditions show the lowest
levels of trust. This is why they are keen to research the topic
and particularly to recruit members of our group to participate
in a focus group discussion.
We spent the rest of the meeting discussing ideas for speakers
for the new year. If anyone has any ideas please talk to Joan at
the next meeting to let her know.
Next month we are planning to reintroduce the library to the group
and get some of our members to do book reviews. Do come armed with
your favourite book or one that you have found particularly helpful
so that you can share it with us all.
December
ramblings from the "Doc"
This month we celebrated Christmas in our usual
way. We shared festive food, attempted to show our collective intelligence
by doing a quiz and sang christmas carols accompanied on the piano
by Jim. A big thanks to all those who contributed to the event
with food and particularly to Mike for compiling the quiz. Instead
of our secret Santa, many brought in non perishable food for the
homeless to the value of £1. The Southampton City Mission
were very grateful when I took them three full carrier bags of
goodies.

Sue, daughter of Chris and Steve Beal, with the
judges David (Norma’s husband) and our friend Pat. It was
Sue’s first attempt at making savoury scones and the trophy
was all the more special, as Sue is recovering from viral meningitis!
So thank you Sally for your continuing support of the group
November
ramblings from the "Doc"
A fun session this month including food and craft.
I taught anyone willing the skill of iris folding and we managed
to produce a lovely array of Christmas bauble cards.
We held our first savoury scone baking competition and were amazed
at the variety of flavours, colours and shapes. All perfectly legal
according to our judges David and Pat who had researched the subject
on the internet before settling down to the serious business of
tasting. The worthy winner was Sue Kelly despite the fact that
she had never made any type of scone before! The winning recipe
came from a cookery book which is being sold to help fund a replacement
roof on the church that the Beales attend in Thornhill. If anyone
wants a copy then they need to have a word with Steve and Chris.
The next meeting on Thursday December 20th is our Christmas party.
Mike has agreed to set this year's quiz. Please can members bring
contributions of food and drink for the event. We normally hold
a Secret Santa but this year it has been suggested that people
spend their pound instead on an item of food that can collected
together, made into a Christmas box and donated to a charity for
the homeless. Kip has agreed to coordinate this for us.
We will be meeting at Haskins Garden Centre restaurant as usual
on Monday 3rd December but instead of coffee at 11am gathering
at 12pm for our Christmas dinner. So far 15 people have given me
deposits and their meal choices. If there are any members who wish
to be included please contact me via email norma@rosiewaite.com by
Thursday November 29th at the latest, with your meal choices, and
I will make sure that you are included. The Christmas menu
and prices are on the Haskins webpage.
October
ramblings from the "Doc"
We welcomed David Drury to our meeting today who
gave us an informative and helpful talk about the Hampshire Bobby
Scheme which works through the charity The Blue Lamp Trust. The
Bobby Scheme is a practical service whose aim is to make us all
safe in our homes. Their fully trained fitters give advice about,
and provision of, all aspects of home security including: long-life
smoke alarms, appropriate door locks, spy-holes and door chains.
Where appropriate they will even make good damage caused by a forced
entry. The Bobby fitters are all uniformed and carry ID cards.
They will always make an appointment before calling. The service
is free of charge. The Bobby Scheme can be contacted using bobby@bluelamptrust.org.uk or by phoning 0300 777 0157. David Drury is himself one of the
Bobby fitters and certainly would instil confidence in anyone who
asked for his help with their home security.
As Web Master, I reminded the Doc to mention the
savoury scone off competition planned for our next meeting and
the trophy which is up for grabs. However, it seems that she is
determined to win (some hope considering her position of bottom
in the last competition!), and so tried to keep
quiet about it to minimise the number of entrants. She has heard
rumours that
some people are taking it very seriously and have been practicing
for weeks.
Let’s have
a clean fight please Doc.
September
ramblings from the "Doc"
Fran Hodgson returned to treat us to another session
of yoga and relaxation. This time we explored the therapeutic use
of vowel sounds in chanting and once more managed to make a harmonious
noise (most of the time). The reward of joining in and forgetting
self consciousness really is a sense of calm at the end of the
session. I'm sure we all should find time to practice this regularly
in our every day life but how soon that thought vanishes once we
return to our usual routines. Fortunately Fran has promised to
return next year to keep us reminded.
August ramblings
from the "Doc"

The Judges
Another successful "scone off." Wondrous
selections of scones, homemade jam, cakes and fairy cakes decorated
to resemble dog faces. Thanks to all who generously contributed
their delicious wares. The judges took the task of selecting the
best sweet scone very seriously. They seemed to eat a fair amount
between them, all selflessly, in the line of duty (or so they told
us).
Highly commended came Euan for a particularly
light texture, Janet came a close second but the worthy winner
was Michele. Sally
had kindly donated a savoury scone trophy to add to our event but
no one chose to make any this time. The group, as always undeterred
and keen on food in general, has decided to hold a savoury "scone
off" in November. So get practicing. Tracy was unable to do
the art session today and so this is also planned for the November
meeting.
Webmaster note: I'd like to add to the above
and thank Pat for all her help in the kitchen, which in the absence
of Sue (who is on holiday) was really welcome.

"Scone Off" winner Michele

Fairy (dog) cakes
July ramblings
from the "Doc"
Sally Curtis kicked off proceedings this month
giving us an update on where she and members of our group have
got with the "Chronic Pain Loss and the Future" project.
The resulting work has now been printed into a very professional
looking leaflet. Sally hopes to find other support groups in the
area for people with chronic health conditions that also experience
pain and get feedback from them as to how useful the booklet and
the ideas it contains are.
We spent the rest of the time socialising and planning ideas to
fill the forthcoming Keeping Pace schedule. August will be our
usual cream tea and the hotly contested "scone-off." Tracy
will also run an art session. A cunning plan to distract us from
eating too many scones!
June ramblings
from the "Doc"
An excellent turnout for a wonderful talk and demonstration
of Chi Kung and Tai Chi by Glenda Davies. She is an advanced instructor
and showed us how the techniques can be modified to accommodate
people's health needs. She emphasised that regular practice can
actually improve health. Tracy, one of our members, gave a personal
recommendation about the benefits she has experienced since attending
Glenda's sessions. Glenda and her associates have a website that
is worth checking out http://taichi4healthandwellbeing.com. They
run numerous classes throughout our local area. There is a charge
for the classes but Glenda generously, and in addition, offers
to see people on a one to one basis if they have concerns about
their individual health to ensure that they get the most out of
the classes. Watching Glenda performing her Tai Chi form was fascinating
and a palpable calmness filled the room as she was doing it.
May ramblings
from the "Doc"
This month Dr Tony Snell, medical director of Solent NHS Trust
came to tell us about the plans to become an NHS Foundation Trust.
This is part of their public consultation on their application.
There was quite a lively discussion on wide aspects of health
in Solent ranging from the out of hours service to fluoridisation
of the water to prevent dental decay. The conversation then came
back to the subject in hand with some of those present showing
enthusiasm for the chance to become a member of this new foundation
trust and thus being able to influence decision making. For more
information you can visit the website http://www.solent.nhs.uk or phone
023 8060 8937.
April
ramblings from the "Doc"
This month the members of the group showed their amazing and widespread
talents. Several members set up craft tables allowing others
to try out new skills. There was jewellery making, box creating,
glass engraving, embroidery sampling and card crafting. A special
thanks to all those who brought and demonstrated their skills.
I got the impression that there was almost too much choice and
not enough time. I'm sure that popular demand will ensure a return
session.
Now that this year's birthday photo has been uploaded to the
web site for all to see, I must point out and thank the wonderful
Sharon.
She is in the middle of the picture and supplied not one but
two delicious birthday cakes!
March
ramblings from the "Doc"
Unfortunately our scheduled speaker was unable to attend the meeting
today because of work commitments. We made the most of our free
session by catching up on each others news. Lise, having missed
last month when we were talking about 2 special dogs: hearing
dog Yogi and medical protection dog Toby, took the opportunity
to tell us all about her talented King Charles Spaniel called
Dahey. She is training him to assist her in lots of activities
of daily living such as fetching objects and pulling light switches.
It is noticeable to the group how much these canine companions
do to boost the confidence of their owners - truly more than
just special pets. We were pleased to see Kay back amongst us
now fit and well. She shared a few words about displaying and
selling her art through an online artwork store www.squidoo.com/workshop/learning-to-see-again-how-art-saved-my-life.
She reminded us about how important art is to her and what a
vital role it plays in her ability to live with her pain. Janet
then gave us a short talk about a positive experience she had
had when she decided to arrange a medication review through the
Pain Clinic. She had found it to be most informative and beneficial.
Next month is a craft session where any member of the group has
a chance show and share their talents. If any one needs any raw
materials supplied, please contact me via Kevin and I will see
what I can do.
February
ramblings from the "Doc"
We were honoured to have a very brave
lady called Emily (Emmie) to speak to us this month. She has had
fragile type one diabetes since
the age of 4. In recent years her ability to recognise when her
blood sugars are out of control has gone and so she can become
seriously unwell rapidly and without any warning. This has impacts
on her, her family, and her ability to continue to work full
time. She told us how her life and confidence in managing her
condition has improved beyond recognition by her recent partnership
with the wonderful Toby. He is a medical detection dog who is
now her constant companion and who, through his amazing sense
of smell, can detect her blood sugar levels for her. She then
went on to give us an excellent presentation about the work of
the charity who train and supply these dogs. For more information
there is a website: www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk
Steve Beale then reminded us about how Yogi, his hearing dog, was
equally responsible for turning his life around and giving him
back independence and enhancing his enjoyment of lif.

Emily & Toby from Medical Detection Dogs with Steve
& Yogi from Hearing Dogs
January
ramblings from the "Doc"
We were very lucky to grab Richard Beale who, despite being just
back from China with jet lag and mounds of pending paper work,
was still willing to come and talk to the group. This time we
were regaled with stories of North Korea and it was truly fascinating.
What an interesting insight into the life and work of people
in such a closed country. It's even called the "Hermit Country".
I had no idea that you are not allowed to visit this country
if you are from South Korea and if you are from the USA you are
not allowed on their trains. You are also not permitted to take
computers, mobile phones, GPS's in - it's difficult now a days
to imagine a country where these items are not widely available.
Despite these restrictions, Richard was able to describe a country
rich in its own traditions filled with people who are contented
and make the most of what they have. As always, I can't wait
to see where Richard goes next and to hear more tales of his
travels.
Dorothy suggested that we should hold regular bring and buy sales.
To try this out, she suggested bringing any books and bags that
members are willing to sell to the next meeting to raise funds
for our rent.
December
ramblings from the "Doc"
Not a lot to ramble about this month other than
to say that we had 2 very enjoyable events: the Christmas Meal
at Haskins and the Christmas Party at the church hall. Thanks to
everyone who contributed the time, food and company to make these
occasions such fun. I am looking forward to the ongoing support
of this wonderful group of people in 2012.

Photo of endorphin, pictured on the left, kindly
provided by Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc. Image copyright Dennis
Kunkel Microscopy, Inc. (www.denniskunkel.com).
Sally's Loss, Grief and Chronic
Pain Handout - Click
Here
"Wellbeing" loaf
which Mr Cotton sells in his shop. (Click
here for information) It
is full of healthy grains and seeds and is additive free.
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