& District Branch

Over 41 years supporting those affected by Parkinson’s in the Swindon Area.

Editor: Ruth Panting. Email: [email protected]

HM Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service th Presentation Ceremony 17 July

The Presentation Ceremony for HM Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) held at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Swindon, was a great success, and Swindon Parkinson's was greatly honoured to receive such an accolade, the highest honour a charity can receive, equivalent to an MBE.

The Queen’s Lord Lieutenant General of , Mrs Sarah Rose Troughton, presented our Chair, Dave Logan, with the Crystal Award, and yes, it is heavy. The certificate signed by HM The Queen was presented to our Vice Chair, Tony Falkingham, by Vice LTG of Wilts, Mr William Wyldbore-Smith.

Speeches were made by Mrs Troughton, Dave Logan our Chair, Gary Shaughnessy a Parkinson's UK Trustee, Jane Asher President of Parkinson's UK, Cllr. Kevin Parry the Mayor of Swindon, and a message was read out by Dave Logan from Dr Debesh Mukherjee, the Swindon Branch President.

Parkinson’s UK - Swindon & District Branch. Contact: Branch Chair, Dave Logan. E: [email protected] T: 07887 354641. It is a local Branch of Parkinson’s UK (PUK), and responsible for raising all funds to support those affected by Parkinson’s in the Swindon area. The Branch carries the same charity number as PUK which is the operating name of the Parkinson’s Disease Society of the . A company limited1 by guarantee. Registered in and Wales (258197) and in Scotland (SC037554)

A few words from Debesh Mukherjee, President of the Swindon Branch of Parkinson’s UK.

Good Morning to all. Firstly, my sincere apologies that I am not here with you today. My wife and I are in Southampton as my younger son, Nick, is being awarded his University degree at exactly the same time and you will all understand that as a proud father I will be with him on his special day.

I have been involved with people with Parkinson’s disease since 1985, a consultant physician and a member of the Swindon branch of Parkinson’s UK since 1995. Today is not about me. I am honoured to be President of this branch but all the work of the branch is done by the committee. They are ably led by Dave Logan and his better half Daphne, and excellently supported by committed committee members.

It is really important to understand that people who have Parkinson’s disease are people first and have, as an additional issue, Parkinson’s disease. In Swindon, our branch makes this important distinction clear. Problems that people with PD have are allowed for, issues supported and everyone who wishes to participate is included. There is a wonderful, engaging and diverse social programme. Fund raising is active and effective. Carers are not forgotten and events include them.

As a hospital specialist I am quite certain that without the active support and backing from both the national and local branch of Parkinson’s UK we would still be waiting to appoint our much- appreciated Parkinson’s Nurse Specialists.

Once again I am sorry that I am unable to be with you all today. I am very proud to be the president of this branch and my congratulations to the hard working committee for receiving this accolade of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. Debesh Mukherjee. President

The event was completed with the cutting of a beautifully decorated cake, made by Branch member Sharon Fulcher, jointly by the Lord Lt of Wilts and Jane Asher. It was then time for the delicious Traditional Afternoon Tea prepared by the Hotel caterers who did themselves and the hotel proud. Dave Logan. Chair

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A letter of congratulation from Steve Ford, PUK Chief Executive.

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Parkies Pals Fundraising

Thank you to Kerry Hartman and Parkies Pals for raising £625 from the Afternoon Tea Party, Evening Choirs Concert and the Sale of Parkies Pinnies. This money will be put towards our exercise programme and a new gazebo.

nd Parkies Pals Afternoon Tea 22 June

Raising awareness and funds for Parkinson’s Tea Party with Parkies Pals – Saturday June 22nd 2019

Kerry Hartman of Parkies Pals, Shrivenham, along with a stalwart band of volunteers, held a very successful Tea Party in her neighbour’s back garden. As can be seen from the photos, the weather was good, the company convivial and the cakes were delicious. Money raised from this event is being donated to Swindon and District Branch to support exercise programmes.

th PUK sParks Festival 5 July

To encourage people with Parkinson’s to take up an activity, for example: singing, art, writing, crafts, etc., a celebratory festival was held at the Sports Club in Devizes on 5th July, when the creative achievements of people with Parkinson’s were exhibited and where people were encouraged to participate.

As I walked into the hall, I was greeted by the most wonderful sound of people singing. The audience had been divided into two parts and without any music accompaniment were harmonising beautifully together.

The next event was poetry reading of poems created by two talented members with Parkinson’s. Comedy followed next with an ironical take on growing old – for example feet seeming further away – and having Parkinson’s – for example a gentle mocking of ‘diagnostic day’.

Around the room were various stalls exhibiting handicrafts undertaken by people with Parkinson’s;

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for example our member Maureen Cook was showing her finely detailed knitted model village and our chair David Logan was exhibiting his unusual driftwood art, as well as his creative writing. Other exhibits included some wonderful examples of embroidery, tapestry, applique work, card making, patchwork, cross stitch samplers and knitting.

Lunch consisted of a superb buffet with a very varied spread of finger food.

In the afternoon we were invited to take part in movement and dance, drawing or music appreciation.

Altogether the day was extremely interesting, enjoyable and I, for one, came away with a feeling of having achieved something – I had joined the art group and enjoyed creating a abstract pencil ‘doodle’, but I think I was meant to be drawing an apple!

Thank you to Sally Wood, Area Development Manager for Swindon, Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, for arranging the event. Ruth Panting. Committee Member

th Choirs at Watchfield Village Hall 7 July

Raising awareness and funds for Parkinson’s Choir evening with Parkies Pals – Sunday July 7th 2019 Parkies Pals held a fabulous choir evening in Watchfield Village Hall raising £575 with performances from the Shrivenham Ladies Choir and the ‘After Eight’ Male choir. A packed hall of 65 guests were entertained with a variety of songs and styles beautifully produced and performed by these two choirs

All donations from the evening will be shared with the Swindon Branch and the National Parkinson’s UK. Kerry Hartman. Founder of Parkies Pals For more information email [email protected] Website: ParkiesPals.co.uk

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A Report re the Choirs Event from Maureen and Philip Webb Members of the Swindon and District Branch of PUK

Kerry Hartman of Parkies Pals organised a Choir Evening with performances by the Shrivenham Ladies Choir and the After Eight Male Choir led by Grahame Jones. There were more than 60 people in the audience and it was a chaotic start to get everyone seated at the tables. There were nibbles and drinks available.

The men began the show with a rousing version of 'Sixteen Tons', then the Beach Boys with 'In my Room'. A Welsh song 'Calon Lan' was next, followed by a Barber Shop Quartet singing the American song 'Mary Lou'.

The ladies, accompanied by Chris, began with a Paul Simon song 'Last Night I had the Strangest Dream', then a humorous version of 'Old King Cole', followed by the American slavery song 'Amazing Grace' which we joined in. 'Adiemus' was next with a solo by Erica.

Next the men sang 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart', then an American spiritual 'Troubles of the World'. A Sea Shanty Medley was next with audience participation. Mike on guitar played 'I Love Coffee, I Love Tea' to end the first half.

One of the members of After Eight, Gary Robson, told a few jokes during the show and had the audience laughing.

There was a twenty minute Interval during which the raffle was drawn.

The Shrivenham Ladies started the second Half with 'Chiquitita', then 'On My Own' followed by an old-fashioned American song 'I Once Loved a Lad', then we all joined in with 'Tell Him'.

The men sang more Barber Shop with 'If I Fell in Love with You', then 'Stand by Me' and we all joined in with 'Down by the Riverside' and finally 'Me'n'You Happy Together'.

The audience wanted more so the two choirs together sang a very old Scottish song called 'Parting Glass' to end the show.

Money raised during this event will be shared with our local Swindon Branch and National Parkinson's UK.

Maureen and Philip Webb. Branch Members

th Walking Treasure Hunt 12 July

The first ever treasure hunt for Parkinson’s Swindon took place on 12th July at Coate Water. A total of 20 people walked around the lake solving clues.

We were disappointed to have such a small number of entries. After the event, everyone said it was great fun and would do it again.

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Wroughton Silver Band Charity Concert 13th July

On a warm sunny Saturday evening in July the Wroughton Silver Band gave a concert entitled ‘A Night at the Movies’, in aid of the Prospect Hospice and the Swindon Branch of Parkinson’s UK. The setting in the Parish Church of Wroughton was perfect and, with a sense of happy anticipation, I settled myself on to the hard wooden church pew to enjoy the atmosphere generated by the ancient building, to meditate on the sun shining through the high windows and to listen to people chatting and the Band tuning up.

The Band members filed in, looking smart in their blue jackets. The music we were treated to was inspiring and I was soon able to forget the seating! After the National Anthem was played, a collection of pieces from James Bond films provided a rousing start to the concert. In contrast, this was followed by the smooth and melodic Adagio from ‘Spartacus’.

The Band Master, Neil Webb, then welcomed the audience and explained the purpose of the concert: in memory of two late members of the Band – Peter Jones and Mike Pier – and to raise funds for the Swindon and District Branch of Parkinson’s UK and the Prospect Hospice. Neil told us of the Band’s recent success in winning second place in the West of England’s Regional Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. This means that the Band will be taking part in the National Finals in Cheltenham in September.

On with the concert with three movements from Stantonbury Festival, the third movement including the tune of ‘Buttercups and Daisies’. We were warned not to clap until the end of the third movement! The next piece ‘Ashoken Farewell’, a Scottish lament, commenced with a solo played by Daniel Webb on the flugelhorn emulating the violin (as written in the original score) and was gradually joined by the rest of the band.

Bill Graham played the solo part on the trombone for the Gospel song ‘Just a Closer Walk with Thee’. The music for this included contrasting sections from a slow and soulful introduction to a fast and rhythmic section.

Next, the euphonium solo part for the tragic love song ‘Watching the Wheat’ was played by Paul Collins. Then, ‘I’ll Walk with God’ from the film ‘Student Prince’ was the final piece before the interval and Neil’s introduction to this was amusingly interrupted by a member of the cornet section (Derek) who unexpectedly sang ‘a la Mario Lanza’ (Mario Lanza sang in the film).

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The second half of the concert commenced with four well known tunes from the film ‘The Greatest Showman’ and we were invited to sing along. I saw one or two people joining in, but Derek had been warned not to sing!

Mike Pentelow then played the solo part on the Tenor Horn for ‘Somewhere Out There’. This song, with the theme of hope for reuniting two people separated by great distance, was created for the soundtrack of the animated film ‘An American Tail’. ‘Born Free’, a popular song from the film of the same name, was next. This started with a drum roll, played by Chris Webb in the percussion section, and, because this can be reminiscent of the National Anthem, we were warned not to stand up.

The concert continued with tunes from ‘The Twilight Saga’ from a series of five romance fantasy films and then highlights from the historic epic film ‘Gladiator’, which included contrasting pieces with a strong beat to melodic music.

‘Nearer My God to Thee’ which was next, was played by the string ensemble in the film ‘Titanic’. It is a piece of music often played at laying-of-wreathes ceremonies and is also associated with the sinking of the RMS Titanic; some survivors reported that the ship's musicians played the hymn as the vessel sank.

Thanks were then made to the Vicar of the Church, Revd Phil Harrison, for the free use of the church, to the people providing refreshments, to the Band and to the audience.

The final piece, ‘Highland Cathedral’, a beautiful melodious piece, was originally written for bagpipes, but in this case the euphonium was the solo instrument.

A retiring collection was made for the Church, for Parkinson’s UK Swindon Branch and for the Prospect Hospice. Ruth Panting Thank you to Wroughton Silver Band.

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Broad Town Coffee Morning 24th July

Well, I have to confess that I had no idea where Broad Town was when I agreed to go and represent the Group at the Coffee morning in aid of our Branch. Luckily Gay from our Parkinson’s Dance Class knew and she agreed to come with Brian and me, and also brought her neighbour.

It turned out to be a very picturesque small village about 10 minutes from . They have a church but no pub and no shops and it was for this reason that they began their fortnightly coffee mornings in the village hall – to encourage people to mix and (in the first instance) to raise some money for the church roof. It was a nice modern hall with a stage which they told me is often used by the schools and for other activities such as exercise and painting classes, etc.

We were made extremely welcome by Annie Crocker and her team. She explained that not all their coffee mornings were for charity but they often raised money for the church, or the school, and other charities suggested by their members. They had picked our Branch on this occasion as two of their regulars had recently lost husbands who had been living with Parkinson’s for some time.

There were between 40 and 50 people who attended the event, and it was nice to see some men coming on their own. The morning finished with drawing the raffle. Although we did not win a raffle prize, I did come home with a recipe for a very tasty gluten free cake, made by one of the ladies.

Dave Logan had given me a selection of small booklets to help people and families living with Parkinson’s, and I was asked if they could have one of each booklet for display in the Church. £250.00 was raised for our funds, and we had a very enjoyable morning. Anna Newman Committee Member, Branch Secretary.

Winners for June 1st place No 169 R Kennedy 2nd place No 73 J Robins

Winners for July 1st place No 87 S Francis 2nd place No 119 Tony Falkingham

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Help our fundraising efforts by joining the ‘100Plus Club’

at a monthly cost of £1 per number.

If you are not already a member and would like to join the monthly draw you will find the rules on our website www.SwindonParkinsons.org.uk

Thank you for your interest in the 100 Plus Club Monthly Draw.

Pub lunch 9th/13th August at Village Inn Liddington, Choose one date only! £12 per person. 12.00 for 12.30 sitting.

Coffee morning/Cake sale 14th September at Highworth Methodist Church

Skittles Evening with Buffet 20th September at Grange Leisure Centre. £5 per person payable on the night

Christmas Lunch 15th December at Double Tree by Hilton. 12 for 12.30.

Cricklade Parkinson’s Café. 10.30 – 11.00am on the third Wednesday of the month at The Cricklade Club, High Street, Cricklade, SN6 6AY. Join us for coffee and a chat: 17th July, 21st August, 18th September, 16th October, 20th November, 18th December 2019. Contact Sally Wood on: 03442253670.

Registered Charity in England and Wales (258197) and Scotland (SCO37554)

The Crafty Parkers. ‘The Crafty Parkers’ is a new group of people who like doing crafty (as in sewing, knitting, card making, making things with wood, painting…) things. They meet in the Olive Tree Café at the Cheney Manor Garden Centre and the next two meetings are on Monday 12th August and Monday 9th September.at 10.00am till 12.00.

All are welcome, whether you are interested in crafty things or if you simply want to come for a coffee and chat.

For further information contact Anna Newman Tel: 01793 695698

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Dave and Daphne at Buckingham Palace

Dave and Daphne Logan were invited to the Queen’s Garden Party on 29th May

Holidays, Travel & Parkinson’s

Do you know there is a page on the Parkinson’s UK website dedicated to travel? Lots of people with Parkinson’s travel – the condition shouldn't stop you enjoying trips in the UK or abroad. You may just need to do some extra planning to make sure your holiday runs smoothly. For more information take a look here: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/information-and-support/holidays-and-travel

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Employment and Parkinson’s survey:

On 17th June we launched a survey about employment and Parkinson’s. The survey aims to find out more about how being diagnosed with Parkinson’s affects people who are in work or looking for work. Please share the survey with your networks so we can get as many people as possible to complete it. The survey will close on 15 September. https://surveys.parkinsons.org.uk/s/EMPLOYMENT/

Thank you to all those who have contributed to this newsletter. The deadline for articles for the next newsletter is September 13th Articles not received by this date may be held over for the following Newsletter

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