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For information please email kevin@keepingpace.co.ukLatest News
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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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/ 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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 Next months speaker is Debbie Hendry from Carers in Southampton. May 2022 ramblings from the "Doc" Notes from the team 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. 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. October 2021 ramblings from the "Doc"
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 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. 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 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. 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. 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.
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.
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 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. 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!
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. 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!
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. 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!
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. 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. 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! 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. 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"
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. 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. 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.
?? 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
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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! January ramblings from the "Doc" A bumper turn out and an action packed meeting.
What a great start to 2016.
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.
November ramblings from the "Doc" November
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. 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!!)
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. December ramblings from the "Doc"
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.
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.
Cobbled
together Ramblings by proxy of an absent Doc!! 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 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.
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 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
JB Dogcare March ramblings from the "Doc" We celebrated our 9th birthday today with our usual
group photo and cake. 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. 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. 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! 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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.
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
Emily & Toby from Medical Detection Dogs with Steve & Yogi from Hearing Dogs January ramblings from the "Doc"
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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Keeping Pace With PainSouthampton Based Chronic Pain Support GroupMain Meeting is on the 3rd Thursday of the month at Portswood Residents’ Garden Pavilion, SO17 1QT 1.30 to 3.002nd Tuesday of the month Craft Session Portswood Residents’ Garden Pavilion SO17 1QT 2.00 to 4.00 Please Note: If you are new and hoping to come along to any of our meet-ups, please contact us through this web site, thank you.
NOTE 1st Monday
of the month - Coffee No.1 Shirley 11am SO15 3LQ
2nd Friday of the month - Make & Brew St James' Methodist Church 10am, SO15 5HE - Mainly chatting but bring your knitting and crochet 3rd Thursday of the month - Portswood Residents’ Garden Pavilion, SO17 1QT 1.30 to 3.00 4th Monday of the month - Tony’s Cafe in Bitterne 11am Zoom meeting every Tuesday 2pm Please Note: If you are new and hoping to come along to any of our meet-ups, please contact us through this web site, thank you.
Keeping Pace 17th Birthday Pics
Please Note: Keeping Pace With Pain now collects used postage stamps for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.
A Pain Educational Tool has been developed by Professor Sally Curtis and members of this group. see PET tab above.
14th Birthday - March 2019
The group enjoyed an autumnal visit to Furzey Gardens and House. A lovely time was had by all. Many thanks to Furzey Gardens volunteer, Anne who made our visit extra special.
13th Birthday - March 2018
Freemasonry in the Community, Cheque Presentation Evening 2016
See our Christmas Party pics Here Note: As this is a rather large file please wait for it to download to your computer
New Animations for 2015
Animations telling some of our pain stories, made by the very talented students from the Occupational Therapy Department of the University of Southampton along with 3 of our group members.
Drumming movie, starring our very own....................................... you will have to guess
What do you see movie, click the above and find out
Gymnastics, click above
Donate to charity for free. Every day go to The Hunger Site and click the special link on the homepage, its prominently displayed sponsors donate a cup of staple foodstuff to someone starving. Once you have clicked on that site visit the other sites listed at the top of that page and do the same.
The Library is open!! For an idea of some of the books we have and a short review of them click Here
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