FRANKLY SPEAKING If any of us had been told in March that in late September we would still be BRAINBOX facing Covid 19 with little sign of respite we would not have believed it. The sad reality is that Covid seems to be here to stay and we are going to have to adjust to living with it rather than defeating it, at least until we have NEWSLETTER OF THE BRAIN INJURY FOUNDATION ISSUE 81 SEPTEMBER 2020 a vaccine. It is a scary thought. The arguments rage about the best way to protect us and I am far from an expert but I just wonder what would have happened if all the money being spent on the economy had been spent on SMALL STEPS TO RE-OPENING our NHS instead so that everyone who caught Covid 19 could be These last months have been more than difficult for our members as guaranteed the best possible treatment we might well have been better off. many missed their normal routine of coming to us every week and this It is hard not to feel a degree of sympathy for some of our politicians. With- caused undoubted stress. The committee has been very cautious in out being party political I happen to believe that our own Robin Swann has done his very best. moving towards re-opening and so we decided to contact our members

His straight talking and behaviour gives me a good amount of confidence. I heard on the radio and seek their views on coming back. We also conducted a full risk recently that some countries now have zero levels so there is still hope. assessment and consulted all the relevant guidelines and on the basis Cannot say the same thing about Brexit. The pandemic had almost put it out of our minds but it of that research the committee has decided to move forward for a trial is back with a vengeance and we look increasingly as if we are heading for a no-deal. We will period by offering this programme starting on Monday 28th September. not even talk about international treaties. OUR HOUSE,

Have to refer to the sad loss of John Hume. I know he was not universally liked but thousands Monday 11am -1.00pm Picture framing , maximum 4 people of people are alive because of him and we have enjoyed many years of relative peace because Monday 11am -1.00pm Carers coffee morning maximum 10 people (It of his vision. It was really heart warming to hear so many tributes to him from all sides of our community. We also lost a great Englishman, well, an adopted Irishman, Jack Charlton who was not possible to get a suitable time slot for water aerobics) brought happiness of a different kind to the island. Tuesday 11am—3.00pm Triple T Club for survivors with cookery for 3 To end on a lighter note, one of my bugbears is commercial advertising on TV. I hate the way people; 11.30 - 12.15 chair aerobics maximum 10 people (available al- programmes are continually interrupted by inane adverts but I have to say two ads recently so on ZOOM) 1.30-3.00pm Singles boccia matches maximum 8 peo- have really taken my fancy. Do you know the way to San Jose and is the big green eyed ple; 1.30pm—3.00pm Single pool matches maximum 8 people monster under your bed? Finally, do you think my grandson had an agenda when he said to Wednesday 11am—1.00pm Art therapy maximum 6 people me, before returning to University in England, that he would like to be on the mailing list for Thursday 1.00pm—2.00pm Pilates in large hall, maximum number 10 Brainbox as, wait for it, he loves Frankly Speaking? The boy will go far. (available also on ZOOM) FACILITY HIRE Friday 11am—1.00pm Horticulture with An Tobar, maximum 4 people We welcome enquiries, especially from voluntary and community groups, for the use of our Danielle Digney is offering to arrange flower arranging sessions for facilities including our small meeting room, large activity room and fully fitted kitchen. Our pub Halloween and Christmas so let Olive know if you are interested. with no beer is also available for hire for small functions, rehearsal space, meetings and so on. Ring us on 30839943 or email [email protected] MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES Tuesday 10.30am—1.00pm and 2.00pm—4.30pm , maximum of 5 at each session, horticulture in Milford Membership is open to anyone over 18 with a brain injury and their carers and family members. Trusthouse Charitable Associate membership is also available to anyone with an interest in brain injury. To discuss Thursday 11am—1.00pm , maximum of 4 people, art therapy in Dobbin Foundation Street membership call at Open House any Friday evening between 7.30 and 10.30pm or phone Frank on 07740823713 or Aileen on 07596639487 for an informal chat or to arrange a home visit. Thursday 11am—1.00pm carers coffee morning, maximum 8 people in

OFFICE HOURS Dobbin Street coffee bar We are sorry to be imposing limits on numbers but we must adhere to Monday-Friday 9am to 4.30pm.Tel 30839943, helpline 07596639487; mobile 07740823713; social distancing measures which we all participants must observe. emails: [email protected] ; [email protected] Other safety precautions will apply and participants will be asked to

STAY INFORMED wipe down surfaces they have touched after each session.

If you want to keep up with the news and keep people informed you can follow us on Facebook. It is essential that you phone Olive to book your place. We hope this You can also follow us on our website, www.thebraininjuryfoundation.com. Finally, we welcome limited programme will go some way towards re-establishing friend- any contribution you might wish to make to our newsletter. Email Frank at in- ships and routines and the committee will keep it under review and [email protected] Please also make sure Aine has your mobile number so she amend it when possible or necessary. As the Covid situation changes can include you in our texting service. almost daily please note we will have to observe any changes in guide- lines so please make sure Aine has your mobile number. IF YOU HAVE FINISHED WITH THIS NEWSLETTER WHY NOT LEAVE IT SOMEWHERE WHERE IT MIGHT BE READ BY OTHERS OR PASS IT TO A FRIEND? CONTACTS: 30839943 OR 07740823713 OR HELPLINE 07596639487 EMAIL [email protected] WEBSITE: www.thebraininjuryfoundation.com

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS OUR HOUSE,BY SURVIVORS 23 AND CARERS Road, FOR Camlough, SURVIVORS AND Newry CARERS BT35 7JP

FUNDING FUNDING—AND THERE’S MORE! Raising funds is never easy but it is particularly difficult during a pandemic and none of us envies Daryll his job but like a true trouper he has risen to the challenge with the help of some of our members. Daryll also led by example and offered to shave his hair off for BIF raising almost £1,500 in the process

Sinead Heaney presents Daryll with a cheque for BEFORE! AFTER! Proud mum, Noeleen and girl- £150, the proceeds of a fund raiser a team of under friend Ciara 16 girls from Newry Rugby Club organised.

Damien Rooney, proprietor of RiteFitness and son of members Patrick and Bronach Rooney, is fund raising for BIF by attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the number of chin ups in 24 hours and is seen here practising for his attempt, which will be held in his gym on 25th October. The current record stands at 5094 chin ups so what an achievement this will be for Damien who says, “This is my way of giving something back to an amazing charity which does so much to support my parents. My father Patrick had a very serious brain injury a number of years ago and BIF has been a tremendous help to him and my mother. Our whole family is indebted to BIF.” Damien has set himself a target of £2500 and is already at just over £1000. Anyone wishing to contribute to this very challenging event can contact Daryll at our office or log on to gf.me/u/yqau4x Winners of BIF T-Shirts in our recent online competition were great friend Sharon Carragher from Culloville who does our armchair aerobics and pebble art, Hannah Rose Babe from Belleeks and Lucia Morgan from Castlewellan. Congratulations to all three. Proud but exhausted Naomi O’Hare Naomi & committee member Aine Darragh, Naomi’s son gets a small gift for his

support

Naomi O’Hare, one of our volunteers from Mayobridge, ran 5k every day during the month of July and raised just over £2,000 for BIF. Other fund raisers recently included a donation of £600 from the Murphy family who held a family sponsored walk and family coffee morning and Sheila McBride who also held a coffee morning and raised £100. We had some success too with our grant applications and secured £2,000 from the Wesleyan Trust, £4,900 from the Community Foundation for and £4,900 from the Public Health Agency’s CLEAR project. A major success for us was securing over £2000 of sponsorship towards our Golf Challenge which included a really generous donation of £1000 from Seamus Strain and his team at Camlough Community Pharmacy as our main sponsor.

Some pictures from the very successful Golf Day at Mayobridge Golf Club are on the next page.

As we go to press we do not have final results for the amount raised by the day itself but it was a very successful day and golfers praised us for our organisation. We have to thank all our sponsors, Mayobridge Golf Club, Pat Cunningham for all his golfing expertise, John McCullough for acting as a judge at the 15th hole and Noeleen Doran and Orlaith Mackin for their help.

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

SOCIAL AUDIT—WHAT VALUE IS BIF TO OUR SOCIETY? FIRST ANNUAL GOLF CHALLENGE Last year Frank and Olive were trained by RCDN to put a monetary value on our work. It is easy We were delighted to hold our very first annual golf challenge at Mayobridge when 11 teams to say we deliver programmes but if society had to pay for all we do what would it be worth? competed for a range of prizes including a whopping £5000 for a hole in one at the 15th hole. Frank and Olive attended workshops in Cookstown and had visits to BIF by independent experts We were absolutely blessed by the weather and by the catering at the Golf Club which was first who checked their work and in August were presented with a report which shows that, amazingly, class. Daryll even got to ferry Frank and others around in a golf buggy so that is something else our services in BIF generated over £1.4 million of social value (Wish we had this in real money!). he can tick off his bucket list! This means that, for every pound invested in BIF, we returned £7 of value to our community. We are very proud of this and are delighted to be one of a small group of charities in N. Ireland to have been socially audited. This report will be an excellent support for us in our efforts to secure long term funding. We hope members will use it to share our success with their friends and neighbours and show them just how much value for money their fund raising can generate.

Daryll pictured with two teams from Craobh Rua hurling club in . The guys showed they are as skilled with a golf club as a hurl and the team on the right came second overall!

Daryll in his element in the buggy! The overall winning team, Gerard White, Mark Lyndon, Eamonn Coulter and ORLA’S RECIPE OF THE MONTH Raymond Magee This month Orla has selected Maple Bacon Buttermilk scones. Sound fantastic! You will need BIF Member 300g pack of smoked streaky bacon, 430g of self-raising flour, 2tbspmaple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon Aidan Creamer, salt, 1 lightly beaten egg, 4 chopped spring onions, 240 ml buttermilk and 170g of butter. who plays golf Preheat oven to gas 6, 200 C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Fry the bacon over a one handed as a result of a medium heat until golden and crisp. Stir in syrup and fry for 1 minute. Transfer to plate to cool. stroke, with a Sift flour and salt in bowl and stir in spring onions. Add butter and mix until it looks like bread- strong team crumbs. Stir in cooled bacon and mix in buttermilk to for slightly sticky dough. Roll out dough on a lightly flour dusted surface into a rough 22cm square about 2.5cm thick. Cut One of Daryll’s the dough into 9 squares and cut each square into two triangles and place on baking tray. Brush helpers, Orlagh Mackin, tries with egg and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden. her hand at SHELENE’S WISE SAYING golf. You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

CONGRATULATIONS TALENTED BIFFERS We send birthday wishes to the following members : Shelene Rooney (Hilltown), Gabriel McGi- There is no doubt that a brain injury steals a lot from anyone who has survived it but in BIF we vern (Gilford), Lucy Cloughan (), Christine Davidson (Armagh), Ally Wilson look at our survivors as real heroes and heroines and we are inspired daily by the courage and (), John Stewart (), Philip Rafferty (Armagh) and Tony Dolaghan (Newry) who skill many show. Here is a small selection of our achievers and their work. reached the Big 50. And of course, birthday wishes to ourselves in BIF as we celebrated our 8th birthday. Congratulations and best wishes to the following members who recently celebrated wedding anniversaries : Brian and Martina Dickson (Cabra), Charlotte and Willam Haffey, (Loughgall), Pat and Mary Cunningham (Newry), Marita and Mal Havern (Bessbrook) and Frank and Aileen Dolaghan (Newry). Best wishes to one of our partners, Seamus Strain, of Camlough Community Pharmacy, who has moved to beautiful new premises on Hughes Retail Park, Camlough. SYMPATHY The committee, members, staff and volunteers send deepest sympathy to Aileen Dolaghan and Doreen Shaw on the sad loss of their sister, Joan Hayes, who passed away in August. We also extend sympathy to volunteer Katie Smyth and her family on the sad loss of her father Pat from . MILFORD IS BLOOMING Our members in Milford and their horticulture tutor Caroline Lennon deserve a lot of credit for the work they have done. Look at this for a crop of tomatoes. Well done to Arnold, Gerard, Pearse, Margaret, Cal, Alex and Peter for their hard work. Caroline has even installed her own irrigation system which is amazing. Prize winning horse riders Ryan Donaghy and Lucy Coughlan Boccia champ Tony Dolaghan

A fabulous re-creation of Narrow Member Jeanie Wilson from Newry Warrenpoint resident Duana Water Castle by Rostrevor shows off an example of her work Rooney displays some of the member Dr John McCavitt from our art therapy class tasty treats she cooked up un Arnold from Clare, near , Our House Alex from Banbridge and Cal from Armagh show off the fruits of their labours. These are just some of the fantastic members we have. Lots of others have skills in drawing, playing pool, singing, photography, playing musical instruments, playing drafts and Chinese Plenty of green fingers here. checkers, writing, befriending, flower arranging, picture framing, role playing, telling jokes and stories, answering quizzes and above all, listening. Join us and discover skills you might never have seen before in yourself.

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS