Latest
News
Sad News Unfortunately Renee Dyer, one of our longstanding
members, passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning, 18/04/2013,
after
suffering
with
mesothelioma.
Renee will be cremated at Southampton Crematorium on Wednesday
1st. May 2013 at 2.45pm. Anyone wishing to attend is welcome
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).
Ground
Rules
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.
|