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L I S T O F C O N TA C T S

National confidential helpline

Janette Olive

(Free from UK landlines & most mobile networks)

Parkinsons Local Advisor for North & South

Kesteven, Boston & South Holland districts

Email: hello@parkinsons.org.uk

jolive@parkinsons.org.uk

0808 800 0303

National website: parkinsons.org.uk

Local page: www.parkinsons.org.uk/lincoln

Lincoln Branch
email: lincolnparkinsons@gmail.com
for local general enquiries

Linda Flintham

0344 225 3606

Aimee Silvey

Parkinsons Local Advisor for East & West

Lindsey districts and the city of Lincoln

0344 225 3627

asilvey@parkinsons.org.uk
Carers Team, Lincolnshire County Council

Vice Chairperson & Treasurer

01522 782224

01522 872414

Email: carers_team@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Paula Justham. Branch Secretary

Everyone (formerly Lincolnshire Carers

and Young Carers Partnership)

01427 788725
Working Age Parkinsons Group
Karen Missenden & Martin Newton

07498 412539
Brenda Mighell. Exercise Classes

01526 321157

January 2017

01522 811582
Email: hello@every-one.org.uk

Dial-a-Ride. Lincoln Area

01522 544983
Follow us on Facebook
ParkinsonsUK.LincolnBranch

If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, or would prefer a copy by email,
please contact Paula Justham or email: lincolnparkinsons@gmail.com
Charity registered in England and Wales No.258197 and in Scotland No. SCO37554. A company limited
by guarantee. Registered No. 948776. (London) Registered office: 215 Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ
DISCLAIMER: Parkinsons UK (Lincoln Branch) accepts no responsibility for the content of any advertisement
published in or enclosed with the Newsletter. Readers should note that the inclusion of any advertisement in no way
implies approval or recommendation of either the terms of any offer contained in it or of the advertiser by the Branch.

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New Year Newsletter 2017

Upcoming Events & Activities

The Chairmans message

DATES FOR THE DIARY

I trust you all had a very good Christmas;

that the man in red was kind to you and
responded to your wish list of presents,
and you had a great time with your
nearest and dearest, now we look
forward to 2017. I would like to wish
everyone a very happy new year.

Monday 9 January 2017

We have plans in place, and hope

you enjoy, the coming twelve
months programme, Myself, and
the whole committee look forward
to seeing you every month, and new
faces always a joy and remember our
aim is to help.

Branch Meeting

No branch meeting at Bracebridge

Heath, this month.

Branch lunch, meet at the Elite Fish and

Chip restaurant for 12.30pm

Branch Treasurer, Linda writes

Hello everyone, I hope you had an
enjoyable Christmas and I would
like to wish you all a happy and
prosperous new year.
We have had a very good year financially,
with many generous donations and fund raising events being held by those that are
able to participate.
The annual accounts and the budget for
2017 are in the process of being finalised.
We are in the fortunate position of being able
to send more funds than usual for research
whilst still continuing to support the work
of the Parkinsons Local Advisors as we
normally do.

Our spending plan for next year

is able to offer a varied range of
activities for everyone, from social,
health & well being, informative &
therapeutic sessions available for
those who wish to get involved.
Obviously, we need to continue to
raise both awareness and funds
for the future and we start with the
lunch at the Elite on the second
Monday (the normal meeting date)
in January, then on the 28th January
we are holding a collection and
awareness day at Tesco on Canwick
Road in Lincoln.
My number, as always is
01522 872414.

Thursday 19 January. 2 - 4pm

Thursday 16 February. 7.30pm

Thursday 20th April. 7.30pm

Ring Margaret Martin on 01427 788639
or Val Barber on 01522 691102

Exercise classes
2pm to 3pm
January 9th, 16th,23rd, 30th

Monday 10 April

February 6th, 20th, 27th

March

6th, 20th, 27th

2pm at Bracebridge Heath Village Hall

Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance.
A talk by Roland Johns.

April

3rd, 24th

Branch Meeting

Everyone is welcome to meet at 12.30pm

for lunch beforehand at The Bull pub
next to the village hall.
Contact telephone numbers can
be found on the back page.

Working Age Parkinsons Group

Meet at the Pride of Lincoln on the last
Wednesday evening each month.
Working Age Parkinsons Group
Ring Martin or Karen on 07498 412539

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Most Carers Meetings are held at The

Woodcocks, Burton Waters LN1 2BE

2pm at Bracebridge Heath Village Hall.

Neville, our Chairmans Ramblings.

2pm at Bracebridge Heath Village Hall.

Branch Annual General Meeting.
With an update on local research
opportunities and progress.

U K

Carers Network

Thursday 23 March. 2 - 4pm

Venue to be arranged

Branch Meeting
Neville Wright

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Monday 13 February

Monday 13 March

Good luck to you all.

U K

Most Branch Meetings and all exercise

classes are held at Bracebridge Heath
Village Hall, Red Hall Lane. Bracebridge
Heath, Lincoln LN4 2LB.

Short mat bowling

Most Tuesdays between 2pm and 4pm.
Refreshments and fun.
The Grandstand,
Carholme Road,
Lincoln LN1 1SE
Contact Paula Justham. 01427 788725.

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Are you good at

talking to people

about Parkinsons?
If you enjoy speaking to groups of people,
are able to follow a scripted presentation and
would like to help make a difference to
the care given to people with Parkinsons,
the Parkinsons UK Volunteer Educator
role may be of interest to you.
Volunteer Educators are trained to deliver
free one hour courses to staff working in
nursing and care homes and home care
agencies. The course provides a solid
introduction to Parkinsons and enables the
staff to learn more about symptoms and how
they may affect people, how the condition
can be managed, including the role of
Parkinsons medication and its side effects,
and how staff can best care for someone
living with the condition.
You may have Parkinsons, care (or have
cared) for someone with Parkinsons
or perhaps have a special interest in
the condition and would like to support
Parkinsons UK in educating the care
workforce. On going training and support is
provided with this volunteering role.

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AGM

Cat Therapy

Branch Annual General Meeting

At this meeting the Officers and
Committee for the year will be
decided by election.

This is my cat MrDude he has

the power to make me smile
everyday no matter how bad I
am feeling.

Only active members of National

Parkinsons UK are eligible to vote
and those people who are nominated
for Committee positions must also
be members of Parkinsons UK.

Even at 2.30 in the morning when he wakes

me up by nudging my hand to fuss him as I
then fall back to sleep he uses my hand like
it is a pillow and where I go he goes even if I
am sat on the loo he is by my side. So I am

Monday 13 March 2017. 2pm.

Please notify me, in writing, by the

13th February should you wish to
make a nomination or wish to ask to
add an item to the Agenda.
Paula Justham, Interim Branch
Secretary, 3 Church Lodge, Stow,
Lincoln LN1 2DF 01427 788725.

Fund raising news

We would just like to say a big
thank you to everyone who has
made it possible for us to send this
incredible amount to PUK this year.

Our volunteer educators regularly receive

excellent feedback for their presentations
and gain a great deal of satisfaction from
this role, knowing that they are helping to
make a positive change to the care given to
people living with Parkinsons.
If youd like to learn more about becoming
a volunteer educator or about how the
Volunteer Education Service supports
those working in care in your area, please
contact Debbie Chinman, Parkinsons UK
Education Adviser, tel: 0344 225 3611 or
email dchinman@parkinsons.org.uk

U K

5,000 for research and a further

6,500 for the East Midlands area
to support the work of the
Parkinsons local advisors.

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saying to everyone who is feeling

down or has a medical condition
such as I do. If you need to relieve
the stress in your life and you are
an animal lover and have suitable
accommodation go and get one.
MrDude came to me via one of
my closest friends who runs her
pedigree cat business called
Alfielcatz I cannot thank Becky
enough he makes me
laugh every single day
and I could not imagine
my life without him now.
He wakes me in the
morning with his paws
by gently padding my
face, he then watches
me take my meds and
will curl up into a ball in
the crook of my arm for
an hour knowing I would
have difficulty getting up
before my meds kick in.
I absolutely love him to
bits; even my husband
has developed a soft
spot for him. There
are so many cats and
dogs out there who are
in need of a safe and
permanent home. There
is evidence to suggest
that pets do help relieve
stress and can ease
medical conditions and
in return pets can have
a loving home.
Karen Missenden

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My speech therapy experience.

I have undertaken a course of
speech therapy provided by North
Lincolnshire and Goole NHS
Foundation Trust at Scunthorpe
Hospital. I was originally referred
there by my GP at the request
of my Parkinsons Nurse who is
based at Hull Royal Infirmary. I
make these points about location
because Im not sure whether this
is available in all of your areas,
so you might have to lobby your
Trust if you want similar.
I was very keen to undertake the training
because I felt I was withdrawing from social
contact because I was embarrassed by
the quality of my voice, people couldnt
understand what I had said. I was using my
voice less and less and had virtually ceased
using the telephone.
After an initial assessment with one of the
therapists I received some one to one
sessions over a period of perhaps 3-6
months during the first half of 2015. It was
during the last of these that I was asked if
I was interested in taking part in their trials
of the Lee Silverman Voice Therapy. I said I
was. I was then told that in view of the fact
that my referral for speech therapy related
to swallowing problems as well as voice
strength before I could go on the trial I had
first to go and see an Ear Nose and Throat
specialist to ensure that I had no underlying
problem that would prevent the success
of the therapy. I did and was given the all
clear to take part in the trial. The course
had originally been scheduled to start in

September 2015 but because of

my knee replacement in December
2015 it did not start until 4th July
2016 and ran until 28th July 2016.
The therapy LSVT/LOUD was
developed in the USA. The course
is comprised of four 1 hour sessions
a week over four consecutive days
and 4 consecutive weeks. So
sixteen sessions in total. This was
supplemented by daily homework
of approximately 15-20 minutes,
(twice that on the 3 days I was not
attending the hospital). With travel
times as well, it was quite a big
commitment and did not leave much
room for anything else.
The aim is to identify and train
a new strong voice that will take
over from the one which has been
damaged by Parkinsons. This is
done by using breathing techniques
and posture to improve voice sound
levels and quality and employ
this in a series of daily tasks and
exercises. The sessions at the
Hospital were led by 2 occupational
therapists (they would take alternate
days) who have specialist speech
and language training who are
additionally accredited to deliver the
LSVT / LOUD program.
At the hospital each session was
divided into three parts: Part one was a discussion about
the homework and handover of the
paper record to the therapist. They
would later in the day feed that into
the laptop.

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to No.10 looking like that. The next

day after a lot of phone calls, Allan
managed to find a dentist who, when
told about our date at No.10, was
willing to fit me in at short notice and
save the day. We were obviously
very grateful to him.
The following day we travelled
to London. When we arrived at
Downing Street we joined a long
queue of people going in. The
security was very high with armed
police officers in attendance. Once
through the big black door we had
to leave our coats, cameras, bags
and mobile phones on coat hangers
and racks and collect them as we
left. Photography is not allowed in

No.10. We were led down a passage

way and emerged into the garden
where we were treated to a buffet
lunch. Gordon Brown who was then
the Prime Minster gave a speech
about the value of volunteers.
Hilary Benn was also there as were
representatives of many other
volunteer groups and societies.
When the time came for us to leave
we were escorted by staff up to the
garden terrace and through into the
cabinet room on our way out. After
collecting our belongings, we made

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our way outside. We were allowed to take

photographs of ourselves near the front door
of No 10 as we left.
Today both Allan and I are still doing volunteer
work although having Parkinsons has slowed
me down a lot. I am currently Lincolnshire
County Recorder for spiders, harvestmen,
pseudo-scorpions and shieldbugs and of
course we still record anything we can identify.

Allan does a lot of computer work and often

goes out to help people with computing
problems. He also somehow manages to
type out all my hand written reports and
papers despite my writing becoming much
smaller and more illegible. We are both still
on committees and although I no longer have
matchboxes in my pockets, I do still carry
sample tubes everywhere I go. You never
know when you may need one!
I told my sister I was writing this article about
my lifetime interest in bugs etc. She asked
me to include the fact that it was my fault that
she cannot stand cabbage or cauliflowers.
Every time she smells them cooking it
reminds her of the smell of the caterpillars
poo coming from the caterpillars in jam jars in
Mums washhouse!
No wonder my parents hoped that I would
grow out of it although there is no sign of that
yet. I am probably the only woman in Britain
who was delighted when she found a spider in
her bananas but that is another story...

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his beetles. Throughout the day Nick was also

filmed eating the sundaes. I think we probably
put him off sundaes for life!

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I met many interesting and famous

people in the course of my work.
Among them was Sir Peter Scott
who came to officially open a
Butterfly Conservation, Lincolnshire
Branchs first nature reserve at
Snakeholme Pit. I was given the job
of escorting him around the reserve.
We chatted about art and illustration
and how butterflies and birds were
the perfect subjects.

Over the years there was a lot of publicity

about the Hazel Pot beetle in the media that
I and the students were involved in. This
generated interest in other invertebrates
and from time to time we were asked to take
part in other media programmes. I once did
an out of season programme in which the
presenter asked me what there was
As part of my
to see on the nature reserve that day.
putting on my
work I attended
Nothing was obvious. Fortunately, we
best David Bellamy a number
were at a woodland reserve so I bent
down and scooped up a big handful of
act lovely stuff conferences.
At an English
the leaf litter and said, putting on my best
Nature Species
David Bellamy act, lovely stuff this leaf
this leaf litter
Recovery
litter, all sorts of creatures live in it and I
Programme conference in Derbyshire
proceeded to show him woodlice, millipedes,
there was a presentation about my
centipedes, snails and springtails.
work with the Hazel Pot beetle and I
On another interview and walk around another
was presented with a bottle of sherry
reserve, this time in the springtime, I had to
to go with all those trifles!
stop talking after they ran out of recording
In July 2009 after 26 years of
tape! Generally, I did not mind doing radio
voluntary work for the National
interviews mainly because I thought that
Trust, Allan and I were given the
no one I knew would be listening, but I was
honour of representing the National
wrong. Sometime later on a visit to our local
Trust at a Celebrating Volunteers
vet he said he had heard my interview on the
Garden Party at No.10 Downing
radio while on holiday in East Anglia.
Street, London. However, my chance
Not all of my work was successful. I was
of visiting No. 10 was nearly over
sent to a little reserve in Suffolk close to
before it began. We had travelled
Lakenheath USAF station. On this occasion I
down to the Isle of Wight so that
did not find the target species but we did get
our daughter could look after our
to hear the American National Anthem every
dog but also because travel to
evening broadcast just before teatime over the
London is much
tannoy system.
easier from the Isle
of Wight. But then
Although the Hazel Pot beetle was my main
disaster struck!
contract I very soon found that one contract
I broke one of
led to another. Almost every sunny day would
my teeth eating
find us out in the field somewhere doing a
pizza which left
base survey at a new reserve or searching
me doing a fair
for a particular rare, species at another. I was
Impression
in my element and we enjoyed every minute
of Dracula! I
of it and I felt very lucky to be paid to do
could not go
something I loved.

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Part two was the daily tasks starting

with prolonged ahs and other
sounds, (like a singer warming up
their vocal cords) and then each
day add a new set of words phrases,
sentences and paragraphs to be
spoken out loud and recorded on
the laptop.
Part three was a short discussion on
any topic, using your new loud voice.
The outputs here were also recorded
on the laptop. The two therapists
would discuss progress every 2 to 3
days and amend targets accordingly.
It is claimed that if you continue
with these exercises that your new
voice could last for up to two years
post treatment. To help ensure this
is the case I have been told I will be
contacted at six monthly intervals

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and re-assessed over phone, or invited to

the clinic for assessment, and if appropriate
given some booster sessions.
For me the overall benefits have been: 1.

A louder clearer voice gives me more

confidence, I answer the phone again,
and I can have a conversation without
constantly being asked to repeat myself.

2. Strengthening of my face muscles so I

can smile again.
3. The tools to use to hold on to my new
LOUD voice
For me the therapy was, I believe, well
worth the time spent on it. If you have any
questions, Ill be happy to try and provide
an answer.
Andrew Hitchcock September 2016

Carers Network
As a carer or supporter, whether
for a spouse, partner, family
member or a friend and regardless
of how far you have travelled
along this path we would be
pleased to see you at any of our
meetings/get togethers.
Thursday 19 January 2017
2 - 4pm at The Woodcocks, Burton
Waters, Lincoln (afternoon meeting)
We meet for a chat coffee, tea, etc
and informal discussion.
Thursday 16 February
7.30pm - at The Woodcocks, Burton
Waters, Lincoln (evening meeting)
Informal get together, we have a

meal at the same time if you wish.

Thursday 23 March
2 - 4pm. St Barnabas Day Centre,
Hawthorne Road. Lincoln.
Thursday 20 April
7.30pm. The Woodcocks, Burton Waters,
Lincoln (evening meeting)
Informal chat and get together and have a
meal at the same time if you wish.
If you are attending for the first time give us
a ring Margaret Martin on 01427 788639 or
Val Barber on 01522 691102 and we will let
you know where we sit at The Woodcocks
and be able to look out for you. Also, we will
be able to give you more details about our
March meeting at St Barnabas.

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(part two)

In the first part of my story I concentrated on the work Allan

and I had done as volunteer photographer and illustrator. The
second part of my story covers my work with invertebrates.
I have always been interested in insects as
a hobby but things were about to change. In
1993 we met Dr Roger Key of English Nature,
a meeting which a few years later was to
lead to some of the most enjoyable work I
have ever had. The launch of the English
Nature Species Recovery Programme meant
that Roger could offer paid contract work to
invertebrate biologists like me.
My bid for a contract was accepted and I
began work. I was to work alongside PhD
students from Leeds University who would
be studying a number of beetle species. My
job was to find the beetles. In this I was to
be accompanied by Allan who, since I do
not drive became my chauffeur. He also
fulfilled the lone working criteria as some of
the places we were to visit over the next ten
years were very isolated.
My first target species was the Hazel Pot
beetle, which is very rare and feeds on silver
birch leaves. Hazel Pot beetles are about
the same size as a seven-spot ladybird. The
females are a glossy brick red whereas the
males have a black head and thorax with
wing cases the same colour as the females.

The females like to sit in the centre

of the upper side of a birch leaf in
the sunshine. You would think that
they would be easy to spot being red
on green but they are not. I began
my search at Kirkby Moor Reserve
where a beetle had been found
in 1987. Helped by Allan, I was
surprised and very pleased to find
two females on our first visit. These
two beetles and a male, found at the
same site a week or so later, were
to form the basis of the breeding
programme. Since each student
would need at least 100 beetles
or larvae for any meaningful study
I had my work cut out. I had one
year to achieve this before the first
student arrived. My work with the
Hazel Pot beetle was to last about
ten years during which I managed
to breed hundreds of them, enabling
the students to do a variety of
experimental work.
Breeding the Hazel Pot beetle meant
that I would need a ready supply
of beetle proof containers plus
somewhere to keep them. I already
had a small number of professional
breeding boxes but these were
expensive and larger so took up
more space. I noticed that although
smaller in size than my breeding
boxes, Ferrero Rocher chocolates
came in similar clear see-through
boxes. We bought all those that our
local shop had! However, we still
needed to find an alternative that

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had to be see through and cheap.

This alternative came in the form of
Tesco sundae pots which when turned
upside down made ideal homes for
the beetles. Needless to say, we ate a
lot of sundaes that year!
There are nineteen species of pot
beetles in the UK including the Hazel
Pot. They are known as pot beetles
because the beetle larvae develop
in pots made from their own dung.
This begins with the female who
climbs up the nearest tree, lays an
egg and then covers it with her own
dung using her back legs. When the
egg is completely covered she drops
it to the ground.
The larva spends its entire life within
its pot, enlarging the pot from time
to time by slitting it down the side
and filling the gap with more dung.
When fully grown the larva seals
the open end of the pot in which it
will spend the winter. At some point
during the winter the larva within the
pot turns into a chrysalis, hatching
into a beetle in the spring. Finally, the
beetle has to gnaw its way out of the
pot before it can fly away in surge
of food and a mate. This unusual
life history caught the imagination
of the media and I was contacted
by the BBC who wanted to film the

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beetles at our home in Lincoln for the Really

Wild Show. Filming took two days. On the
first day this included filming the beetles in
the sundae pots in our cupboard under the
sink where we kept them. On the second day
Nick Baker arrived. Our daughter had also
arrived from West Yorkshire where she was
living at the time, to look after our Yorkshire
Terrier as Nick is allergic to dogs.
The film crew began filming in Tesco Stores
where Nick was shown at the checkout
buying a large box of sundaes and some
clear nail varnish. All would be revealed later.
I was introduced as beetle lady and my
kitchen cupboards were once again opened
to show the beetles in their containers. Many
of the beetles that had hatched out in captivity
across the summer had been released at a
secret site in Lincolnshire chosen by English
Nature and Leeds University.
Before they could be released every beetle
had to have a paper number attached to
the pronotum. This is where the nail varnish
comes into it. It was needed to seal the
minute paper printed numbers onto the
beetles. These numbers would enable us to
monitor the beetles in an attempt to find out
such things as how far they would spread
out and how long they long they survived.
The sites had to be visited every few days
to do this. Nick was filmed doing the fiddly
job of attaching the numbers to the beetles
and later at a secret release site releasing

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