Our thanks to Mr Hughes, ENT Consultant at Royal Stoke, who provided us with a cheque for £120 towards our funds. Apparently this relates to a service he provided last year, where the DVLA provided the cash, and he kindly diverted the payment to us.
It sounds a bit mysterious to me, but on behalf of us all, thank you anyway Mr Hughes! The cheque is on it’s way to our bank via the post office, as it appears Lloyds don’t like working on Thursdays…
It should be safe to post this request from Lisa, since John doesn’t visit the internet, much less Headcases web site! In any case, please don’t mention this if you happen to bump into John as it is planned to be a complete surprise.
Lisa asks us all to reserve Sat 29th November 2025 as she’s planning a surprise 70th birthday party for John. It will be held at Werrington Village Hall, 358 Ash Bank Rd, Werrington, Stoke-on-Trent ST9 0JS and it’ll start at 19.00. Proper invitations will be sent out closer to the time, but she hopes as many as possible will attend, to mark this special milestone.
Despite some chilly weather, around 20 of us attended the Saracen’s Head for our first meeting of the year. It was good to welcome a new friend, visiting us for the first time. The first visit is always the hardest move after treatment, but it is rewarded by the discovery that you’re not the only one experiencing weird side effects, or trying to eat odd combinations of food! I received a message prior to the meeting from Alison of Severn Healthcare, saying she couldn’t make it this time due to a road closure. I hope we’ll see her next time.
Our thoughts, as always, are with Headcases friends who are struggling with illness. Let’s hope this year brings them positive outcomes, and much needed relief. In particular all our love and best wishes go out to Jacqui at a very difficult time for her, and Russell, who came to the meeting despite his many troubles.
Thank you to Julie, who came along to the meeting and stayed right through to answer questions and help us out in so many ways.
Lisa brought a fine array of her crafts for sale, and John was reporting on the success of his very personal talks at the Royal Stoke and County hospitals regarding alcoholism and his journey to sobriety. These were well attended, and provided medical staff with a rare and intimate insight into this battle. John was also able to collect some cash in our shaker at these talks, and I was happy to bank £15.00 today from that.
