CUPPA AND A CATCH UP
NEXT ONE SUNDAY 13TH FEBRUARY 2022 @10AM
We ran our first cuppa and catch up on Friday 28th January. It was attended by 5 members and 2 trustees. It was really good to just have a chat and a brew and put faces to names.
Family Weekend – 27th to 30th May 2022
The Trustees would like to invite you to join them at the Sturge Weber UK Family Weekend at the Hilton Hotel, Paradise Way, Walsgrave Triangle, Coventry, CV2 2ST. The weekend will run from Friday 27th May to Monday 30thMay 2022. The weekend will run differently to how this has previously run and will focus on being a more social event. There is now the option to stay an additional night on the Friday should you wish to do this. A Family Weekend application form is available to download from the website and must be completed and returned by 31st March 2022. A 50% deposit for your booking is payable on return of your booking form with the final balance due by 27th April 2022.
How will the Family Weekend run?
FRIDAY
If you chose to join us on the Friday night you will receive bed and breakfast and an evening meal from an agreed menu in the restaurant. There will not be entertainment provided.
SATURDAY
Registration on Saturday will be from 10am on the conference floor of the hotel, followed by a light lunch at 12.30pm and then meet the trustees and workshops from 2.00pm. The workshops will consist of hot spot tables which will run in the Canterbury Suite. They will run on a basis that you chose which table you want to sit at and join in the relevant discussion e.g., EHCP plans or transition. Tables will be signposted with details of what will be discussed on each table.
SOS Care (formerly known as Tinies) will be looking after your children and adults this year, children/adults may be left in the Activity Club from 1.00pm until 5.00pm. The Activity club will run an arts and craft room, cinema room, and soft playroom. They will also escort Activity Club Goers into the entertainment rooms which will be run by Non-Stop entertainment and who will be running an interactive story room, Wizard Workshops and Showman Themed Party.
The evening will start at 6.00pm followed by the evening meal at 7.00pm. The entertainment for the children will run during the event between 6.00pm and 10.30pm. There will be a card table set up for people to play cards and board games table along with giant board games scattered around the room.
We will also be holding a raffle in the evening and would appreciate any donations.
SUNDAY
After a leisurely breakfast we will meet again on the conference floor at 10.30am. If you chose to join in with the speakers, we will meet in the Canterbury Suite where the speakers will either dial in over Zoom or pre-record their talk at 11.00am. We are pleased to announce the speakers this year are Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, who is a professor at Cambridge University and who has previously spoken before, will be speaking on Autism.
Catherine Swales, SWANNS epilepsy nurse from Great Ormond Street will also be speaking on epilepsy types, rescue drugs and plans and transition.
The speakers will finish at 12.30 when a lunch will be served in the restaurant.
The Activity Club will run from 10am to 5pm on Sunday and will run the same way on Sunday as it did on Saturday and Non-stop entertainment will be in attendance also between 10am and 1 pm.
After lunch we hope you and your family will join us in a trip to Coombes Abbey Park. Click here to download a map of the park. As you can see from this there is a Go Ape which you can contact direct should you wish to have a go. There is a play area, duck pond (you are responsible for ensuring your child’s and family member’s safety whilst at the park), woodland walks, bird spotting and a visitor centre. The visitor centre has an interactive discovery centre, ice cream shop, pottery studio and café. The trip out will run between 2pm and 4.30pm.
If you do not want to join us and want to stay at the hotel then Sunday afternoon will be for you to spend at your leisure.
The entertainment and evening meal will start at 6.00pm, with the meal being served at 7.00pm. The entertainer for the children will run during the evening between 6.00pm and 10.30pm, again there will be the card table set up and board games table with giant board games also.
MONDAY
After breakfast please feel free to the hotel swimming pool and other facilities or just simply enjoy relaxing and chatting with other families.
During the weekend, you have access to the LivingWell club. The maximum allowed in the swimming pool at one time is 22 people. The hotel requires 1 adult to look after 2 children under the age of 16. All people using the pool under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The gym is open to people over the age of 16.
ACTIVE IN APRIL
We will be running Active in April again this year. Last year we managed to raised nearly £5,000 which was match funded by the trustees. This has resulted in a pot of money that has been allocated for the grants which are open to members.
Details of how to register will follow. Watch this space.
THANK YOU
Thank you to Beautyzone for the fundraising they have done on behalf of the charity. They recently sold handmade Christmas crackers on our behalf.
Thank you to Peter Steele for your fundraising with the calendar he does on our behalf each year.
Thank you to Yasmin Burns who has fundraised by organizing a cake sale and bike ride.