Date: Sunday 8th August 2010
Time: Duddingston Kirk
Venue: Duddingston Kirk (see directions below)
Cost: Members £5, non-members £6.50

(There may be a small additional charge if you require sunshine!)
The ever popular get-together with buffet and refreshments will be held in the beautiful gardens at Duddingston Kirk.
We will also have the famous edmesh raffle with some wonderful prizes.

For more information, please contact Jeff Begg at jeff@edmesh.org.uk.

To book, please send cheques for the correct amount payable to “Edinburgh MESH” to Jeff Begg (see contact details on the back cover of our Newsletter).
If you have any special dietary requirements for the garden party, we will do our best to cater for you. These must be booked in advance, so please discuss this with Jeff at the time of booking. Lifts to the Garden party can be arranged. Please contact Jeff for details.

As always, we look forward to seeing you and some new faces this year, as it is also a great time to catch up with some old friends.

edmesh can offer a limited number of FREE places to those members who genuinely cannot afford the subsidised prices. These places are limited and the committee’s decision regarding allocation is final. Please contact Jeff to discuss if you would like to request a free place.

How to find the venue
Link to Google Map: the picture shows the gardens with Duddingston Loch at the bottom left. The purple line shows the car entrance and red triangle an alternative pedestrian access.

The bus stop is for the Lothian #42 service.

edmesh has organised a three hour boat trip gently gliding along the Union Canal, a unique wildlife corridor connecting the heart of the Edinburgh with the outlying countryside.

You’ll even get a chance to steer the boat if you wish! This lovely trip which was a big success a few years ago will include a buffet with sandwiches, a selection of teas and coffee, and cold drinks. edmesh have the exclusive use of the boat for the trip. Although there will be a skipper and crew!

The boat is a warm and cosy space with fully fitted kitchen, toilet, and central heating. The Re-Union boat is based on the Union Canal at Edinburgh Quay, Fountainbridge, and all trips start and finish there. Read all about the RE-UNION canal boat trips at www.re-union.org.uk

Edinburgh Quay can is at the junction of Fountainbridge and Gardner’s Crescent through a pedestrian walkway next to the Cargo Bar. Re-Union’s boat is the purple boat - you can’t miss it.

By Bus: Lothian Buses 1, 2, 34, and 35 all stop at Fountainbridge.
By Car: There is a Britiannia car park underneath the office complex at Edinburgh Quay, charges apply. There is limited pay and display parking in the area.

For more information, please contact Jeff Begg at jeff@edmesh.org.uk.

To book, please send cheques for the correct amount payable to “Edinburgh MESH” to Jeff Begg (see contact details on the back cover of our Newsletter).
A limited number of free places are available for edmesh members who genuinely cannot afford the subsidised prices.

The trip is around one and a half hours outward, then turnaround and about the same time for return. Don’t worry if it’s too choppy on the day, edmesh will supply lifejackets with our logo on them; yo,ho,ho and shiver me timbers ye landlubbers.

June 2nd, 2.30pm at Holyrood Palace Café

July 7th, 2.30pm at Debenhams fourth floor café

August 4th, 2.30pm at Holyrood Palace Café

September 1st, 2.30pm at Holyrood Palace Café

Directions to the Holyrood Palace café.

Directions to the Debenhams café.

We look forward to seeing you - all are welcome.

We will be there from 10-5 Saturday and 10-4 Sunday.

How to get to Ocean Terminal.

The conference speakers will cover topics including XMRV, enteroviruses and gene expression in ME/CFS.

This is an exciting time for ME/CFS research; there will be edmesh representation at the event. A report on the conference will follow in our newsletter.

Speaker: Dr Raymond Perrin
Topic: The Perrin Technique
Date: Thursday 25 March 2010
Time: 2pm (doors open 1.30pm)

Venue: Lammermuir Hall, St Cuthbert’s Church,
5 Lothian Road, Edinburgh

Everyone welcome. Free talk. Refreshments.
Wheelchair access. Parking nearby.
Lifts available on request.

Dr Raymond Perrin is an osteopath who has been treating and conducting research in to M.E. for many years.

For more information on this talk, please see the next edition of our newsletter, which will be sent out at the end of February.

Please note the meeting is on Thursday 25th March 2010 in the Lammermuir Hall at St Cuthbert’s Church (next to St John’s Church) at the bottom of Lothian Road, at the west end of Edinburgh. Please see the map for directions.

There is parking nearby at the multi-storey car park on Castle Terrace. If you have a blue badge, there are a number of spaces nearer the hall. Otherwise you can be dropped off at the door of the church hall. There are bus stops close by at the bottom of Lothian Road. If you find it difficult to arrange transport to the venue, please contact us to arrange a lift.

Our cafe meetings continue at Debenhams fourth floor cafe, Princes Street, Edinburgh, on the first Wednesday of the month.

The next meetings will be held at:

February 3 at 2.30pm
March 3 at 2.30pm
April 7 at 2.30pm

See here for more information on how to find the cafe.

The total cost for these three events would normally be £55.95, but for edmesh members the total is £24.50 (a huge saving).

See our Join page if you wish to become a member.

Please let our social events organiser know if you would like to go to any or all of these events - he will be only too pleased to give you more information. Email him at jeff@edmesh.org.uk.

Edinburgh ME Self Help Group (edmesh)

Therapies for ME Project

Volunteer Opportunity

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN FREE TRAINING IN A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY?

Please note that this training opportunity is exclusive to edmesh members who:

(a)    are current members and have been members for at least 6 months
AND
(b)    have a diagnosis of ME-CFS

If you satisfy the above criteria and want to find out more, please keep reading.

Edmesh is delighted to announce that we have been successful in securing a grant from the Self Management Fund for Scotland, jointly funded by the Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland (LTCAS) and the Scottish Government.  We are one of only 16 successful applicants and we have been awarded £23,330.

The ‘Therapies for ME’ Project was borne from a desire to improve the quality of life for people with ME-CFS. We believe a long term condition should not be endured but managed positively. There is no ready ‘cure’ for those who suffer from ME-CFS - it is a matter of learning how to live with and manage the condition in the most positive way possible.  The ‘Therapies for ME’ Project aims to empower people with ME-CFS to do exactly this.

Complementary therapies are an expensive option for many of us living with ME-CFS, especially for those of us who have suffered job loss and are depending on benefits.

What We Are Doing

Edmesh wants to use this money to improve the lives of our members by offering free training in complementary therapies to a number of edmesh members.  In return for this free training, successful members will be asked to agree to provide free complementary therapy to other edmesh members over a 2 year period.  The philosophy of this project is to provide self-empowerment within the local ME-CFS community, where we are helping and supporting one another.

This opportunity is exclusive to edmesh members who (a) are current members and have been members for at least 6 months; and (b) have a diagnosis of ME-CFS.

If our “Therapies for ME” Project interests you and you would like more information and/or an application form, either:

• see the links in the ‘Further Information’ section below
• or please contact Margaret Dundas by telephone on 07989 307 062 or by email at margaret@edmesh.org.uk.

This is the second in a series of application deadlines and the closing date is Friday 9th April 2010.

Further Information:

Please click on the links and choose ‘Open’ to view the files, or ‘Save’ to save them to your computer.

If you wish to make an application, please print the application form and send to the address given on the form.

Project Background:

Project Background (MS Word document).
Project Background (PDF document).

Volunteer Role Specification:

Volunteer Role Specification (MS Word document).
Volunteer Role Specification (PDF document).

Application form:

Application form (MS Word format).
Application form (PDF format).

Edinburgh M.E. Self-Help Group (edmesh) is delighted to announce that we have been successful in an application to secure funding from the Self Management Fund for Scotland which is jointly funded by the Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland (LTCAS) and the Scottish Government.

edmesh is one of only 16 successful applicants.

The grant will be used to fund our ‘Therapies for ME’ Project.

More details will follow shortly with a mailing to all our members, a press release and further information on our website.

Update: Further information is now online - see the Therapies for ME section.