Branch raises £2,135 at the Vivace Chorus concert, G Live Guildford
The Vivace Chorus kindly invited us to fundraise for the branch at their concert ‘A West End Extravaganza’ at G Live, Guildford on 16 November. The audience enjoyed a night of ‘Songs from the shows’ performed by the Vivace Chorus and the Friary Brass Band and in the interval Valerie Box gave a brief but very impactful talk on her experience of living with Parkinson’s. Before and after the concert members of the Branch’s Committee were in the G live foyer to raise funds for the branch and to chat to members of the audience at our information table.
A huge £2135.26 was raised thanks to the kind generosity of those present.
Our heartfelt thanks to the Vivace Chorus, the Friary Brass band and G Live for allowing us to both fundraise at the event and also to enjoy the concert with complimentary tickets.
Singing App for Parkinson’s is launched
In partnership with Arts Council England, Britten Pears Arts, Trinity Laban and Sing to Beat, MediSing has developed their first prototype singing app – SingApp:Parkinson’s. The app is uniquely co-created with and for people living with Parkinson’s. ww.medising.co.uk/singing-app-for-parkinson-s?
The app is now available and can be purchased for £7.99 from the Apple store at or Google Play depending on your device.
For details about Parkinsong Voice classes click here
Oxygen Therapy
The Samson Centre in Guildford is a charity that has been providing Baric Oxygen Therapy (BOT) for Multiple Sclerosis patients for many years in Guildford. Some people find it helps relieve certain MS symptoms such as bladder problems and fatigue.
The charity has kindly offered members of our branch to come and use their BOT facilities to help treat some Parkinson’s symptoms. For details click here. Some studies suggest improvement in depression and anxiety caused by Parkinson’s. For more details and early user experiences please see an article in the May 2024 edition of The Park.
100 Club Subscription renewals
The majority of individuals who participate in our 100 Club make their subscription payment for the numbers they have on an annual basis, in advance. They either make a bank transfer payment or have set up an annual Standing Order payment for the amount due. Our Treasurer will remind 100 Club members just before their anniversary to ensure they remember their annual subscription is due.
For full details of How to become a member of the 100 Club and participate click here
Medications supply shortage – you can help
If you are experiencing problems with the supply of your Parkinson’s medications then you may be interested to know that Parkinson’s UK is attempting to persuade the Government to take action to resolve the issues. But your help is needed because Members of Parliament only respond to their constituents.
So you can help by writing to your MP to ask them to raise a question in Parliament about the shortage of Parkinson’s Medications. If you would like a quick and easy template of such a letter with sections for you to personalise as appropriate, then please download this document and personalise it as appropriate.
You can either contact your MP by post to:
your MP’s name
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
or via email:
If you aren’t sure who your MP is please see the following link to check. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parliamentary_constituencies_in_Surrey
If you hear back from your MP please would you let us know by email: (comms@guildfordparkinsons.org.uk ) so that we can keep Parkinson’s UK informed.
New activities for you
Dates for your Diary
25 February 2025
The Branch AGM will be held on Tuesday 25 February 2025 at Shalford Village Hall, Kings Road, Shalford, Guildford Surrey GU4 8BQ.
New members please note that we meet at the Upper Hall (by the tennis courts) of Shalford Village Hall, to arrive from 1.45 pm to start the meeting at 2.00 pm.
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A reminder…
27 February 2024
The minutes of the 2024 Branch AGM, held at Shalford Village Hall on 27 February 2024, are available here.