Salisbury support group organiser Sheelagh reflects on the Salisbury Shakers February meet-up

Well, goodness me, that was a busy meeting!  I received 5 apologies from regular members and a couple of apologies from others so I was expecting it to be quiet.  But we ended up with 20 of us on the top floor of the Playhouse!  That is the largest number we have ever had at a meeting. 

The coffee and cakes were certainly delicious. Our new venue, however, was only a partial success.  Although Dave and David did a valiant job with re-configuring the chairs and tables, because of a pillar in the middle and because of some noise coming up from the foyer, some members found it difficult to hear what everyone was saying.  This was a trial and is obviously not a solution that will work for a large group.

At the end of the meeting, a few of us investigated the lounge area which is to the right if you are facing the bar.  It was empty and there were quite a lot of chairs and we could see that it would be possible to shut the door which might solve the noise problem.

Then we walked along to the United church just a few yards along the road, which Ken had already investigated.  There were two rooms there – one with 16 chairs and one with over 20 chairs.  There is a café in a separate room, although I think it is a much simpler affair than the Playhouse.  It is worth bearing in mind, although it felt quite cold, despite the heating being on, and certainly lacked the warm atmosphere of the Playhouse.  We would have to book our choice of room and pay for it.  We think it might be £10 per hour but if we want to try it we can find out exactly how much they would charge us.

We have provisionally said that we will meet next time in the Playhouse and I will write and ask if we may try the lounge area.  Then we will decide about future meetings.

We were delighted to meet new members, Jill and Sandy, and also, Sandy’s friend, Sandra, all of whom had travelled a long way to find us – one from Marlborough and two from Lymington!

We were pleased to see Amy again today who came along with her dad.  Amy is about to start a new support group in Chepstow which will be the first one in Wales.

Members updated us on their individual shaky journey.  Jillian has at last had a scan and preparation for a Thalamotomy.  This has taken a number of years and an incredible amount of persistence from Jillian. 

Janet reported by email, that Steve is progressing well after his DBS, albeit with some minor problems.  We hope to see them back soon, after their holiday.

Those who had taken Beechbands home to try, reported back.  Most had been conscientious about wearing it daily for as long as possible during the previous 6 weeks.  However, nobody reported any significant improvement and some found it exacerbated symptoms from other conditions.  Some are continuing to try but several were returned.

We talked about the book we are producing and Julie contributed a poem about the Beechband and Martin had produced a limerick.

We have been very fortunate in finding an illustrator who has started drawing some cartoons to go with the pieces already submitted.  She is a professional but wishes to be involved in this project for no fee, in memory of a great friend who had a tremor and who recently died. He was the famous tenor, Andrew Forbes Lane.

We are lucky to have her, so please, if you have not done so already, see if you can produce something we can include.  Or just send me some notes and I will put it together.

Someone mentioned the NTF online support group and I said I would include the link for the next one.  Here is the link.

March is National Tremor Awareness month.  I had sent for some posters which could be displayed in surgeries etc by members, but unfortunately, they did not arrive before the meeting.  They were on my doormat when I got home.  I can email or post one to you if you think you could display it.  Email me separately.

You may like to look at the NTF website which has details of this year’s conference to be held in Newcastle – a long way to travel but we might have some adventurous people!

The dates of our next three meetings are:

  • March 21 – in the Playhouse somewhere
  • April 25 – venue to be confirmed
  • May 30 – vanue to be confirmed

And guess what?  I forgot to take a photo!  And NOBODY reminded me!

Sheelagh

Further reading