100 club winners for January as follows:
1st prize Martin Gulliver
2nd prize Janice Dew
3rd prize Jodie Tolmie
sharing a prize fund of £87.50
Newly Diagnosed Information MS Society webinar – 6 February
Who is this event for?
- People who are newly diagnosed with MS.
- Family or friends of those who have been newly diagnosed with MS
The programme
In the webinar and the following week’s conversational group, they’ll help you to start making sense of your diagnosis. They will provide you with the information and signposting to further support and guidance that you may need. The MS society hope through these sessions that they will empower you to live well with MS. These sessions are for you if:
- You’re looking for ways to make sense of your diagnosis
- You don’t know what information and support is available to you
Date: Monday 6 February
Time: 6.30pm to 7.30pm
Staying Active with MS: Swimming and Wild Swimming, MS Society online webinar – 6 February
These online sessions discuss different ways you can try to get and keep moving or active. They are lead by MS Society volunteers, who will be joined by guest speakers who can share hints and tips on ways to keep active and also perhaps give you ideas of new activities.
This month they will be discussing swimming and wild swimming, joined by representatives from Swim England and Swim Scotland who will chat around open water swimming as well as what support is available for pool swimming. It will also be joined by volunteer with lived experience who will talk about her experience of living with MS and wild swimming.
Date: Monday 6 February
Time: 6pm to 7pm
This session is organised by the national MS charity, the MS Society. You can find out more about them by visiting their website at www.mssociety.org.uk
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who has a home small change tin, as you can see from the graph, it really does make a difference. If you do not have a home tin and would like one please let me know. Every penny counts.
Raffle prizes needed for my quiz night
Bottles of wine needed for my quiz night winners table. I need up to 8 bottles to give to the winning team, so if you have a bottle you could donate it would be much appreciated. Any other unwanted Christmas gifts would be great to use as raffle prizes. Thank you in advance.
Have you got a team together? It’s Friday 17th March at The Barn, Didcot. Up to 8 people in a team, £8 per person. Ask Sue for a team application form. Posters available.
Raffle tickets are now available to purchase, £1 a ticket or £5 a strip.
Please help to support my event and ask your friends too. 
Functional Exercise, MS-UK webinar – 23 January
To help kick start new year exercise plans, this online seminar will be discussing what ‘functional exercise’ is and how to use this type of exercise to improve mobility and function.
Dr Gretchen Hawley will explain the difference between ‘regular’ and ‘functional’ exercise and how functional exercise can help improve function and mobility for people with MS.
Date: Monday 23 January
Time: 2pm to 3pm
This session is organised by national MS charity, MS-UK. You can find out more about them by visiting their website at www.ms-uk.org
Life Admin: PIP, Blue Badges and Travel, MS Society Webinar – 26 January
Have you thought about the weekly tasks you do that would be considered as Life Admin? Sorting out bills, insurances and pensions. Sometimes they can be time consuming or overwhelming.
Join this Life Admin Webinar where they will be discussing Personal Independence Payment and looking at why and how you should apply. It can be a lengthy process but support is available to help you explore money that would help you with living with MS.
The session will be joined by an MS Welfare Benefits Advisor from the Disability Law Centre who work in partnership with the MS Society as well as a volunteer with lived experience. The speakers will also be sharing how to apply for blue badge and discounted rail travel.
Date: Thursday 26 January 2023
Time: 6.30pm to 7.30pm
This session is organised by the national MS charity, the MS Society. You can find out more about them by visiting their website at www.mssociety.org.uk
Enable January-February
| Presenting Enable Magazine January-February issue The UK’s leading disability and lifestyle title |
| Read the magazineI’m so excited to share the first issue of Enable Magazine in 2023 with you! This issue, we’re putting the spotlight on the changes necessary to improve the quality of life for disabled people in the UK, whilst also celebrating positive movements and achievements. Inside, we catch up with Team GB wheelchair basketball athletes Robyn Love and Laurie Williams as they discuss their experience of the IVF process and their hope to share more through social media when they welcome their first child this spring. Then people from the disability community and disabled people’s organisations share their hopes for the year ahead. Also inside, we highlight the current crisis facing social care before discussing the true price of the cost of living crisis with Sense. Plus, Enable columnist Tim Rushby-Smith talks about the power of integrated sport; we meet an entrepreneur modernising mobility aids and a physiotherapist talks us through the importance of accessible fitness spaces. Enjoy all of this and much more inside the January-February issue.  Emma Storr Editor |
January-February Editor’s picks  MS and menopauseFor people living with multiple sclerosis, going through the menopause can be a confusing and overwhelming time as many of the symptoms of the two conditions are similar. Here, one woman shares her experience.  2023 New Year goalsAs we look towards the year ahead, friends of Enable, previous interviewees and prominent figures from the disability community share their hopes and goals for 2023.ShareTweetForwardIf you would like to share your story, email editor@dcpublishing.co.ukEnable voices  Enable columnist Tim Rushby-Smith highlights the importance of integrated sport in changing perceptions and powering inclusion. Win a weekend break at Brickhouse Farm CottagesThis issue, we’ve teamed up with Brickhouse Farm Cottages to give readers the chance to win a weekend break.**Full terms and conditions apply. To view full terms and conditions visit www.enablemagazine.co.uk/brickhousebreak/ Connect with EnableEnable Voices sport image from Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games © David P McCarthy Competition images © Brickhouse Farm CottagesCopyright © 2023 DC Publishing, All rights reserved. |
Cost of living payments – further information released
Eight million people receiving benefits and on low incomes will receive their £900 cost-of-living payments in three instalments, the government has said.
The first payment of £301 will be made in the spring, with a second of £300 in the autumn and a final £299 instalment in the spring of 2024.
Exact dates are yet to be finalised, but ministers said the money would help households with high energy bills.
A £400 discount for all energy billpayers looks set to end by April.
Charities have called on the government to do more to protect vulnerable households from soaring costs, claiming that support had not improved for those already struggling.
The government also confirmed that a £150 cost-of-living payment would automatically go to those with disabilities during the summer, and a further £300 payment would be paid to pensioners during the winter of 2023-24.
Read full details on the BBC website
Advice for vulnerable customers regarding planned power cuts
While a planned power cut event is unlikely this winter, we would like to make you aware of the Energy Networks Association’s (ENA) advice for vulnerable customers.
Is anyone protected from emergency power cuts?
Some sites are protected from emergency planned power cuts such as major hospitals and air traffic control.
Residential customers, including those on the Priority Services Register, would be part of a planned power cut rota.
What to do if you believe you are a vulnerable customer
If you depend on medical equipment that requires power, and don’t already have a power cut plan, you should speak to your healthcare provider now.
You can also check your eligibility and apply to join the local network operators’ Priority Services Register, a free service that makes sure extra help is available to people in vulnerable situations. To find out who your local network operator is and how to contact them, simply enter your postcode on powercut105.com.
Power cuts can happen all-year-round so it’s important that you are prepared, make a plan and know what to do.
For more information, please visit the Energy Networks Association website
