Hi everyone and a warm welcome to all of our new members.

In the last newsletter I said that we were looking to 2005 with great energy and determination and this has not faltered!

With the arrival of our new Committee Members we are not only spreading the ever increasing workload, but incorporating new ideas and fresh approaches with the valuable experience of our longstanding Trustees - a perfect combination that is already producing results.

The Meeting in Oxford was described as “the best yet” by one of our regular attendees which perhaps reflects the fact that we changed the format to try and meet the needs of a wider age group of members. (More information can be found in Sarah and Bianca’s reports.)

Following on from this, plans for next year’s meeting are well under way with the added bonus of a “holiday” social later in the year as requested by many members. See inside for details.

The Teenagers of the Group can expect some action in the next few months, which we hope they will enjoy and benefit from. The plans are being finalised as we go to press!

On 18 September we will be in Sheffield at the 20th Anniversary Celebration “Family Get- Together Day” being held by The Paediatric Limb Reconstruction Service. We are delighted to have been invited to hold a display of the work of the HMESG and welcome the opportunity to raise awareness.

The Research Register is now established with a good response to our recent mailing. Thank you to everyone who returned his or her form. Please contact us if you have not already done so and would like to be on the Register. You can make a difference!

I hope you will agree that we are taking the Group forward, however, alongside all the activities and events, we continue with our daily work of offering support to those who need it. This is the foundation of the Group’s work. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you or indeed if you have any constructive comments or suggestions.

Finally, thank you for your support – without your side of the partnership, we could not succeed.

Happy holidays!

Helen Small, Chair

Next: Members Forum 2005