40 Anniversary Year

The Preston Rooms
The Village Hall
The Christmas Thank you was once
again a great chance to meet up with
everyone and enjoy a mince pie and
glass of mulled wine. It is an
opportunity to thank everyone who
supported the Preston Rooms over the
last twelve months. Your support is very
much needed to keep the hall open and
available for everyone, and we hope to
see more of you in 2017!
The committee are once again putting
their heads together to produce a
programme of events for the coming
year. On the subject of planning for the
year ahead, don’t forget we offer a really
good hire rate for Birthday parties etc.
Information, availability etc can all be
obtained from our Bookings Secretary,
Pam Culley on 01603 782041.
Don’t forget the regular clubs this winter.
Why not come along and join the
Gardening Group on the 4 th Wednesday
of the month 1.30pm to 3.30pm or Close
Knit Knitting Group every Friday, 1pm to
3pm.
Lastly, don’t forget to look out for
posters around the village listing the
events for 2017.
Sue Watts Secretary
POP
UP
CAFÉ
Tuesday 2 nd February
10 - Noon
Tithe Barn, Horstead.
Now a 1 st Tuesday must for
lots of regulars swapping tales
and fellowship, why not come
and give us a look
LOOSE CHANGE RAISES £1538.48 FOR
MENINGITIS RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Through the Marlpit, my Family and I
want to thank Landamore’s Fish & Chip
Shop in Coltishall for collecting the
fantastic amount of £1,538.48 for the
Meningitis Research Foundation in
memory of my two Sons, Ryan and Joe,
by having a collection tin on their shop
counter.
The generosity of their customers is
amazing and when you think it’s only
loose change that is being donated, it
has amounted to such a fantastic total
and is still
ongoing.
Mark Landamore
and Jane Ballard
have been great
supporters of my
family and the
Meningitis
Research
Foundation over
the past 5 years
and we are
always so
grateful for their
support.
26 years ago, I had the joy of
welcoming twins into the
world, Holly and Joe, but sadly,
8 weeks later, Joe became
unwell and within hours we
had lost him to Pneumococcal
Meningitis.
Then just 5 years ago, whilst studying at
University in Sheffield, my 19 year old
Son Ryan went to bed feeling ill with flulike
symptoms and didn’t wake up again.
He had contracted Meningococcal
Meningitis. A deadly strain, if not caught
early.
Through our deep sadness and
devastation that had been ensued on our
Family, we have raised almost £90,000
for the Foundation in Ryan and Joe’s
memory and we will continue our
personal fundraising as a way of fighting
back at the disease that cruelly took my
children.
There was alot of media coverage last
year concerning the MenB vaccine and
you may have seen that there was a
massive petition to get the vaccine
available freely to all children. Just to
clarify, the Meningitis B vaccine has been
introduced into the infant immunisation
programme, meaning that all babies born
since September 2015 will now have this
vaccine alongside the other vaccines
normally given at that age.
Unfortunately, it is still not available
freely for children, students and young
adults, who are the most vulnerable ages
to contract the disease. It is however,
available privately at a cost of
approximately £200/£300 - a fee that my
3 children and 4 grandchildren had to
pay to have some peace of mind and
although no vaccine is 100% effective,
it’s a small price to pay.
Students of the age of 14-16 and
University Freshers have been able to
have a free vaccine to cover strains ACW
& Y, but this vaccine does not cover
strain B, the deadliest strain of all.
However, the MenB vaccine does cover
all of these strains.
By donating this money to the
Foundation, will help to enable them
continue to research the disease and
fight to get the vaccine widely available
for all those who need it and for free.
Please remember - It doesn’t just happen
to other people – it’s a
very real and frightening
disease that can mimic flu
and a general feeling of
unwell and can frequently
go undetected by medics.
I would advise everyone to
make themselves aware of
the symptoms and trust
their instincts.
There are still strains for
which there is no vaccine
available and there will still
Joe
be people who are not
protected by these vaccinations.
I will never come to terms with losing my
boys to this dreadful disease, but by
raising awareness, this will hopefully save
lives in the future.
Thank you once again to Landamore’s
and their customers for your continued
kindness and generosity. It means so
much to everyone affected by Meningitis
and to future generations that will benefit
from the research and support given by
the Foundation.
Coltishall
If you need any further information
on symptoms or vaccinations,
please go the MRF website:
www.meningitis.org
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