Here’s a bit of fun for the adults amongst us to get the old ‘grey matter’ working. There will be a small prize for the first correct answer picked out of the hat. So, get your entries in no later than 30 September 2005 by either e mailing them to w.tollman@btinternet.com or brg5@ontel.com or post them to the HME Support Group address at the bottom of the page. Remember to include your contact details so we can get in touch with the lucky winner. Good luck.
 

Listed below are cryptic clues to well known shops
(e.g. Two forces = Army & Navy)

These were made for walking. Did these marry into Royalty? Reliable method. After you. Backward mate. No. 1 store. Fabulous illegal substance. Value of yarn. Adam had two sons with these initials. Iceland do this.

Old Queen moans. Female parent’s affection. Residential foundation. May find it initially. American state. Seasonal meadow. Small forests. Insects waiting in line. Bill and Hilary. Alphabetical list.

 

Recipe of the Newsletter

Calling all budding Gordon Ramseys or Delia Smiths, adult or children. Why not share your favourite recipe with us all to enjoy. Do you have a particular dish that cheers you up when you’re feeling down or has certain health benefiting ingredients that help with pain? Then, please let us have it.

To start us off, here is a quick and easy favourite of the Tollman and Gibbs families. The children love porridge oats and I am sure that a bowl of this before school helps keep their energy levels up for the day.

Apple Muesli
(quantities are approximate only)

• 4 tablespoons of porridge oats
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 apple, coarsely grated
• 1 large tablespoon Greek yoghurt
• Cinnamon, honey, nuts etc

Soak the oats with the milk whilst you grate the apple, then mix all the ingredients and serve. Top with a drizzle of honey, some nuts or whatever else you fancy. At the moment, a particular favourite of ours is strawberries.

Youth Club

We are planning to dedicate a space within the Newsletter to the Youth Group under the guidance of Bianca. As you will have seen from Bianca’s earlier article, however, the youth section are currently busy concentrating and working on a number of exciting projects and have been far too busy to be distracted by the Newsletter but watch this space next time!

Hey. I'm Shakila! I made my website up which is all about HME because I've been on many other websites about HME and thought they looked good. So, I decided to have a go myself. I'm happy with the way my website looks. I would be grateful if you all have a look at it and get back to me with what you think about it. The address is www.freewebs.com/xxhmexx/. You can contact Shakila through the HMESG at support@hmesg.co.uk.

Children’s Corner

Come all you children please send us in items for the newsletter – poems, jokes, articles, tell us about your day to day life. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to tell you some of my jokes and, believe me, they’re not good!!

Well done...
Here’s a young man who’s an inspiration to us all. Elliot Watson, 11, from Horwich is a keen and talented dancer who recently put this talent to good use by completing a three hour sponsored tap-dance despite suffering from HME.

Not only did he raise hundreds of pounds for a cancer charity and Romanian children’s hospital but was also nominated for Bolton’s Champion Children Awards. What a wonderful achievement – and proof to us all that HME does not have to stop us following our passions or achieving our goals.

Congratulations from everyone at the HMESG, Elliot.

A child’s view of the AGM Meeting, April 2005
It’s annoying having George as a brother. I sometimes wish George wasn’t my brother because he gets all the attention and is mean but not very often.

My favourite thing about the meeting at Oxford was Shark Tales the film. The food was great – I liked the sausage rolls. When the Magician came I liked the rabbits. I liked the white one best. I liked playing outside but having more things on wheel to play with would have made it better. I liked meeting new people and making new friends – especially ones that don’t have HME like me but have brothers or sisters who do. After the conference, I went to the hotel. I really enjoyed sleeping at the hotel. That day was one of the best days in my life.

Bethany Tollman Aged 9

Jokes!!!

Q: What do you call a bear with no ears?
A: B!

Q: How do you get a baby astronaut to sleep?
A: You rocket!

Meet the Committee

In this Newsletter, we are going to introduce and learn more about Bianca Todd – the new Vice Chair and leader of the Youth Section.

Hi, my name is Bianca Todd, and when I read in the last newsletter that the group was looking for a vice-chairperson, I eagerly telephoned Helen and asked how I could be considered for the position.

I have been a member of the group for a few years now, have attended one or two of the conferences, and felt that I could make a positive contribution to the committee and the group. Luckily for me, the committee also thought that I had the skills necessary to take on the role, and at the AGM held at Oxford I was successfully nominated for the position of Vice-Chair.

It is excellent news that the HME Support Group continues to grow, however with that comes an increase in workload, so one of my main roles is to support Helen by carrying out some of the tasks that she used to undertake. This includes dealing with the correspondence from overseas.

My background is that of working with young people and families, for ten years as a youth and community worker, and two years as a social worker with children looked after by the local authority. Currently I run my own business still working with young people and adults involved in their lives. So it is of no surprise that in my role as vice chairperson I am responsible for the youth side of the group.

For the first time this year, young people aged 13+ years were able to participate in a session that was specifically targeted to meet their needs. The success of this session is something I plan to develop with the help of the young people and their families.

Having attended my first committee meeting (via a telephone conference!) I feel very lucky to be a part of such a dedicated, hard working and friendly committee, where the acronym TEAM (Together Everybody Achieves More) is certainly true...

Bianca Todd

Next: Fundraising
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