April 100 club winners:
1st: Joel Baldwin
2nd: Jodie Evans
3rd: Shirley Ray
Prize fund: £87.50
Ask for details to join the club, you got to be in it to win it!!
Dates for your Diaries
MAY:
Thursday 23rd May – Cakes needed for MEPC Cake sale, the more variety the better, home-made and bought.
JUNE:
Sunday 2nd – Volunteers needed to shake collection tins at Tesco Extra Abingdon between 10-4pm
Thursday 13th – AGM, 12 at the Centre
Saturday 29th – Volunteers needed to shake collection tins at Millets Farm, Frilford between 9-5.
The Sad News Continues
Bob Nex who received oxygen at the Centre in 2018, died on Tuesday 16th at Sobell House. There is a card at the centre for anyone wishing to sign it for his wife Yvonne.
News from Ellwood Cottages
| Early booking is recommended to grab the remaining school holiday dates…View this email in your browser |
| Summer 2019 availabilityPhoto – Bournemouth Air Festival (Image by dimitrisvetsikas1969 from Pixabay) We have availability at Ellwood Cottages for this summer. Bournemouth Beach is approximately an hour’s driveaway and one of the attractions, the Bournemouth Air Show is spectacular and well worth seeing (29th August – 1st September 2019). The land train is wheelchair friendly and there are cliff lifts available to get from the cliff top to the beach. The Wheelyboats WarehamCongratulations to The Wheelyboats in Wareham for their mention on BBC Countryfile on the episode aired on 17th March 2019. Their boat has a bow door enabling easy access for wheelchair users and for people with disability. Visit their website: https://www.wheelyboats.org/gallery. To view the episode on BBC iPlayer click here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0003f4w/countryfile-north-west-wales. Our feature starts at 25:57.Weymouth chippy wins awardFish ‘n’ Fritz in Weymouth has been voted one of the UK’s 10 Best Fish & Chip Restaurants – the only chippy in Dorset to make this prestigious list. Read the article here https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/leisure/foodanddrink/features/17541143.chippie-among-the-10-best-in-the-uk/ UFO sighted in AbbotsburyAn unidentified floating object led to a coastguard investigation. To find out more click here: https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/17539371.ufo-sparks-major-alert-in-abbotsbury/ Beautiful BournemouthBournemouth Pier Photo – Bournemouth Air Festival (Image by Csiziistvan from Pixabay) Barnes Cottage – 2 bedrooms – sleeps 4Telephone: 01258 818196Hardy Cottage – 2 bedrooms – sleeps 3 |
Hanging Basket Event
| On Friday 10th May don’t miss out on Milton Park’s Make your own Hanging Basket event in partnership with the Nurture Landscape team. Taking place on Friday 10th May at Park Drive Central (The Wandering Feast site), click on the link below to sign up to an hours slot. To take part in this event, we require a donation to our onsite charities: MS Therapy & DAMASCUS. Click for further information. |
Motability offers manual wheelchair lease to customers
Source Independent Living: An interesting new supplementary service has just been launched by Motability.
An interesting new supplementary service has just been launched by Motability.
People who lease an adapted vehicle, including WAVs (wheelchair accessible vehicles) through the scheme can now lease a lightweight manual wheelchair at the same time.
The wheelchair option is available to anyone making a new application to the scheme, for any type of adapted vehicle.
It has been designed to ensure that customers have mobility support when they arrive at their destination. Read on.
Scrap the PIP 20-metre rule
Source MS Society: Scrap the PIP 20-metre rule.
The PIP 20-metre rule is failing people with MS. And people are losing their independence as a result.
New research shows this is predicted to cost the UK Government £92 million over three years – more than it will have saved by cutting PIP payments.
Now, the UK Government are reviewing their spending for the next few years. This is your chance to tell them the 20-metre rule simply doesn’t make sense – for the UK Government or people with MS. Join the MS Society campaign here!
Mitochondria and progressive MS
Source MS Society: Small but mighty, mitochondria provide the energy that busy nerve cells need to survive.
We spoke with mitochondria expert Dr Don Mahad, from the University of Edinburgh, about what makes them so special – and what goes wrong in MS.
Mitochondria and progressive MS
‘I’m interested in energy production and demand in the brain and spinal cord, and especially how this changes in progressive MS.’ It’s the mitochondria that generate the bulk of this energy.
‘Mitochondria are smaller than the size of a pinhead, yet play a critical role in keeping us healthy’ says Don. ‘The healthy brain makes up just 2% of your body but takes 20% of the energy. To meet this demand, mitochondria station themselves all along the nerve fibres.’ Read on.
Gabapentin and pregabalin – new rules for prescriptions
Source MS Trust: From 1 April 2019, gabapentin and pregabalin have been reclassified as controlled drugs, leading to changes in how they are prescribed.
Gabapentin and pregabalin are drugs used to treat a range of symptoms caused by MS, such as nerve pain, spasticity and spasms.
Following concerns about misuse of these drugs, on 1 April the law changed so that it is now illegal to possess gabapentin or pregabalin without a prescription and to supply or to sell them to others. Read on.
Access improvements at 73 railway stations
Source BBC: Lifts and adjustable ticket counters will be among the new measures brought in over the next five years.
The changes, part of an “inclusive transport strategy”, will help disabled passengers as well as those travelling with children or luggage. Liverpool Central and Luton in England, Barry Town in Wales, and Dumfries in Scotland are among the stations chosen.
The Department for Transport says the sites were selected based on criteria which included their usage, level of local disability and value for money of the work.
- Train stations are a nightmare for people like me
- Disabled rail users ‘an afterthought’
- MP hopes for station lift ‘within a year’
Transport accessibility minister Nusrat Ghani said: “Transport is vital for connecting people with work, friends and family, but also to enable them to enjoy visiting some of the wonderful cultural, historical and natural sites across the UK.” Read on.
