Hi all. Just a quick reminder that we meet at the Saracen’s Head this Wednesday. Look forward to seeing you all there.

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Here’s Gemma (landlady) handing over the cheque…

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We gathered last night at the Saracen’s Head for our first meeting at this new venue. Emma (landlady) and Paul made us feel very welcome, and talking to the members of the group I found everyone liked our new set-up.

Twenty three of us attended, including two new friends, Terry and Louise and also Jacqueline, our Senior Cancer Nurse Specialist. Early on in the meeting we paused for a minute’s silence to remember Les and Anne, who have both passed in recent weeks. Our thoughts are with their families and friends.

We obtained some samples from Oralieve and these were put out for people to try out: toothpaste and dry mouth gel.

Emma and Paul were happy to put one of our shakers behind the bar to collect funds, and Paul is planning to organise a charity event in the near future to help raise further funds for us!

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We were kindly accepted as ‘Charity of the Month’ by Gemma and Lee at the Archer, Wolstanton. This was supposed to be for May, but due to the second Bank Holiday it lasted throughout June too. Last Sunday, 30th June we held a raffle at the pub. Here’s the table showing some of the prizes…

Our thanks to Tesco Longton,  Halfords Hanley, Hopback Brewery, All about Eden Wolstanton, Morrisons Milehouse, Chris Sime, Dave Hollingworth, Gill Garner, Andy Parkin, Marg and Jeff Dunn and others for donating prizes and T-Shirts for the raffle. One of our team members, Chris Sime, made it her business to sell dozens of strips of tickets over the weeks running up to the 30th. Our final figure would have been far smaller without her efforts on our behalf. Thank you Chrissie!

Special thanks to Lee for officiating, and Gemma and Jan for doing the draw. All the other staff at the Archer have also played their part, explaining who Headcases are, and collecting cash in our behind-the-bar shakers.

Half time in the Quiz came up, and here’s Lee on the mic, and Jan helping Gemma with the draw…

16 lucky winners were drawn. Some were present at the Quiz and others will be notified as they visit the pub during this week. To help with the fundraising we sold 4 Headcases mugs and every quiz team member was asked to donate £1.00 to enter the quiz. Our regular team was re-named ‘Headcases’ for the night and we all wore tee shirts. Thanks to Lee for getting a quantity of shirts printed for us. Here’s the team getting ready to start the quiz. Clockwise from the front: Lee, Dave, Jeff, Paul, Jan, Marg, Chrissie and Verena

We had a count-up on Monday prior to banking the cash. The Archer regulars, staff and visitors (to watch England) raised a grand total of £512.72 for Headcases funds!! Our sincere thanks to everyone for giving their cash and time to help our cause.

Part of the mission at the Archer is to make the venue a true community pub. Charity of the month is a great part of this and this month’s charity is Stoke Air Ambulance – an important, local cause. Pop in to the Archer, enjoy some Hopback beers, great hospitality and meet some lovely people.

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Hi all, just a quick reminder that our July meeting is to be held at The Saracen’s Head next Wednesday. The address is: 253 Sandon Road, Meir, Stoke on Trent ST3 7BL

See you all there!

I’ll have news from the Archer fundraising raffle – held this Sunday at the Archer pub, Wolstanton. Draw will be after the Quiz, normally about 10.00pm.

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Good news! We’ve had a meeting with Emma at The Saracen’s Head in Meir today and had a look at their Function Room. The room is separate from the main pub area, yet still has its own bar and toilets. The room is rated for 60 guests max. and Emma has offered it us free of charge for our ongoing meetings. We’ve booked it for each month on the normal day: first Wednesday of the month. Next meeting Wednesday 3rd July at the normal time of 7.30pm.

The pub has a car park out front, and access to the room is via the left hand door (just visible in photo), then up a flight of stairs. On a sunny evening there’s a patio out back with plenty of seating if required. Guest speakers would also have a much easier time of it, as there wouldn’t be any interruptions and noise from pub regulars. Look forward to seeing you all there on 3rd July.

The address is:

The Saracens Head.

253 Sandon Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST3 7BL

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Hi folks, sorry about the late notice but we’ve had to cancel Wednesday’s meeting. I had a phone call today from Bob at the British Legion. It turns out the Legion is having financial difficulties and will be shutting its doors for the forseeable future.

I’d like to thank Bob and his team for their hospitality over the years, and wish the Legion the very best of luck while they try to put together a rescue plan.

We will try to sort out a suitable venue in time to save July’s meeting and hopefully have a permanent new base for our future activities and meetings.

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Hi all. We had a smaller meeting (about 15 of us) than usual last Wednesday, probably due to the Bank Holiday. This gave us a chance to get into a bit more conversation and a couple of the topics arising were where we’re heading on guest speakers and future fundraising?

On the first subject, I’m throwing it open to the group as a whole. We are used to having our Chairman to make the contacts and arrangements to get people to the group. We’ve enjoyed many, varied visits in recent years and it’s time to share this activity out among the group and see what we can achieve. Please have a think about your contacts, be they work, family or social and see if you can see an opportunity to set up a visit to talk to the group on one of our monthly meetings. I’d say budget for about 30 minutes to a maximum of an hour between the hours of 8.00pm and 9.30pm to give the group time to settle in, and not to make too late a finish. I’ve had a bit of a think and offer this list of possible types of visit to think about:

• Musician (short performance)
• Poet or storyteller
• Arts and Crafts
• Hospital staff from relevant departments
• Wellness coaches
• Cooking and Food prep
• Armchair Aerobics

Please drop me a line, or give me a ring if any likely ideas come up.

On the second topic, please don’t forget we’re always on the lookout for raffle prizes to use at regular meetings or special gatherings such as the Christmas Raffle. My local, the Archer in Wolstanton has kindly agreed to have us as their charity of the month for May and towards the end of May we’ll be holding a raffle in the pub. I’d like to take a few decent prizes along so if you can get anything (not booze please!) it would be much appreciated. I’ve approaches Salter in Manchester to see about getting a Soup Maker. Maybe you could talk to your local supermarkets and shops to see if they’d donate anything to us? If you get lucky, get in touch with me and I’ll collect from you.

Happy hunting, stay well, and I’ll see you all in June.

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We have just delivered 1000 of these cards to the CNS team at Royal Stoke to be given out to patients undergoing Head and Neck treatment. Such treatment often impairs patients’ ability to chew, swallow and eat full portions.

Whilst this might not be too much of a problem at home, the thought of eating out with friends or family can fill the patient with dread. These cards are a nice way to request extra consideration from the staff at a restaurant. Just hand over the card to your server, and make a request for smaller (eg child’s) portion, extra gravy or sauce or even blend some food items that present a particular problem.

The presence of the NHS logo, with an explanation of the reason for the request can often result in the restaurant going the extra mile to satisfy the patient’s needs. Going out socialising is an important part of life, so if you’d like a card, ask your CNS or drop me a line with your address and I’ll post one out to you.

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Hi all, just a quick reminder that we meet at the Longton and Meir British Legion at 7.30 pm next Wednesday. Everyone welcome!

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