S. A. S.
Registered Charity No: 1115016
Success after Stroke
Winter Newsletter 2014
A Note from the Chairman
2014 was a very busy and rewarding year
for all those involved with SAS. Our three
main fundraising events, the BrushStroke
Art Exhibition in March, the Sponsored Walk
and Run in September and the Carol
Concert in December were very successful
both in terms of participation and in
exceeding our budgeted income for these
combined events.
be a good resolution for 2015 for those of
you looking for a suggestion!
A belated Happy New Year.
Richard Furlonger
NICK ATHORNE
As you can imagine, a great deal of work
goes into their organisation, and I am very
grateful to all of you who give, with so
much enthusiasm, so much of your time
and for those who took the trouble to
support us in different ways.
All these events had their highlights, but for
me the most memorable was watching
the members at the sponsored walk
reaching the distances set for them by our
Physio Jeanette and Nordic walking coach
Jane. For all of our members, of varying
levels of ability, these were very
courageous efforts.
The next sponsored Walk and Run is being
held on Sunday the 12thJuly at Auberies
and we will be hoping to boost entries for
the 5km and 10km Run. Details are
available on our website and although it is
some time away, improving fitness might
Nick Athorne died on 2nd January and at his
funeral at St. Mary’s Church in Boxford, the
following address was given by Viv Bourne:
SAS - Success-after-Stroke. Somehow Nick
was everything that epitomised our name.
1
I had met Nick a few times with Lisa Eden
before his first stroke and in some
extraordinary way, even though he was left
with many disabilities, he was not
diminished. He spoke, as only Nick would,
very openly about his first stroke. His
memories of actually being in the car when
it happened and how Colchester Hospital
and their Stroke Unit , headed by Moira
Keating, saved his life. This last time the
ambulance tried to take him to the West
Suffolk but, oh no, Nick would have none
of it and managed to get himself back to
Colchester.
Nick spoke so well that he was asked to be
a Governor of Colchester Hospital which
was a huge accolade for him. However,
after some time he decided to give it up as
he was drowning in reams of paper.
I have just said 'Nick spoke so well' and so
you did Nick, and indeed you should be the
one up here now. Firstly, you would have
loved it and secondly you would have done
it so well, with gusto and humour.
It was in 2010 that I went on an outreach to
see Nick in his flat here in Boxford. Trevor
Green, another SAS member, accompanied
me and we were both amazed at what we
found - a totally upbeat Nick raring to go.
His keyboard was sitting looking rather
neglected and dusty in a corner of the flat
but with hours of practice and with thanks
to his Saeboflex, he regained the use of his
left hand and was able to play his beloved
keyboard again. This meant that he was
able to compose again and last year he
played in public. This was all due to true grit
and determination.
In 2011 Nick organised a highly successful
Networking Dinner at Stoke by Nayland and
over 140 people attended. It was Nick's first
time as a host since his recovery. It took a
great deal of courage to compere the event
and he raised over £4000 which was shared
between SAS and Icanho. I know Nick would
tell you that Icanho as well as SAS had
played a large part in his rehabilitation and
Nick's sister Jo had a lovely letter from
Icanho saying that Nick's positive approach
and willingness to help others and give
survivors encouragement and support, was
outstanding.
Nick sang in The Upbeat Contemporary
Choir which meets in Lavenham Church and
Andrea King who runs the choir said that
she was stunned to hear of his death, that
he had been an integral part of her choir
and because of his involvement a concert
that he sang in last year raised a thousand
pounds for SAS.
Nick understood our continual need to raise
funds and was tireless in his efforts on our
behalf. He persuaded publicans to put SAS
collection boxes on their bars and these, of
course,
needed
checking
regularly,
particularly, I gather the one here in the
White Hart.
Nick was a terrific help with our newsletter,
contributing on a regular basis. He played
backgammon with Arthur. He egged us on
to start our own choir, which then
performed in Stowmarket and again raised
some money for us.
I think one of the most amazing things
about Nick was that he was determined to
spread the word about stroke; that it can
happen to anyone in any walk of life, at any
time, anywhere, at any age. But what he
also understood was his recovery, obviously
2
with help, was down to the hard graft and
determination that he put in and wow did
he improve. He was a lesson to all stroke
survivors.
He was a stalwart of SAS. He was a
showman, a flamboyant, larger than life
character. He was the voice of our
members and liaised between them and
our Committees and will be greatly missed
by all. He was a kind man but most of all, he
was a man who encouraged others.
One of the things we do at SAS is sail which
we do with the Woolverstone Project.
Unbeknown to us, Nick had been a terrific
sailor, starting at the age of 10 in a Mirror
in Cornwall, graduating to a Wayfarer and
eventually crewing in large boats for his
friends.
When he first came to Woolverstone with
SAS, his love for sailing was rekindled and I
think I will leave you here, with a picture of
Nick, sadly, probably without his trilby as it
will have blown away, but with a large smile
on his face, his hand on the tiller and the
boat running with the wind.
---oo0oo---
Nick with Andrea from The Upbeat Contemporary
Choir, presenting a cheque to SAS represented by
Richard, Marian and Miranda
JAMES AND SCIPIO
Some of you may have realized that
our
‘old’
Chairman,
James
Macmillan, has returned to SAS
under the tutelage of Jeannette in
the physio department.
Apparently he is shaping up really
well and he has now added another
string to our bow in the shape of
Scipio. Scipio is James’ daschund
who has become a ‘pat dog’.
A ‘pat dog’, as some of you may
know, is the name given to dogs
taken
into
homes
where
the
residents benefit greatly from their
company.
Pat Fox, on the other hand, thinks
Scipio is purely for her and that is
why he’s known as ‘Patdog’!
Welcome to both James and Scipio.
Nick presenting Viv with a cheque for SAS from his
Charity Networking Dinner.
Viv Bourne
Volunteer
3
Congratulations to Annabel (daughter
of Liz Greene) and Ian on their
marriage last year and a huge thank
you to them both for asking their
family and friends to make a
donation to SAS instead of
a wedding present.
On Tuesday 2nd December the
wonderful couple came in to see us
all at SAS and were presented with a
card and gifts made by SAS
volunteers and members in
appreciation of their generosity.
The latest figure is an amazing
I have been made aware that your
donations have raised enough to cover the
limited costs for which I claim. The
remainder is ploughed back into club funds
to support general activities.
As a volunteer for SAS it is good to know
that the service provided is not only valued,
but also has a tangible benefit for the club.
I hope to continue seeing my regular clients
and that others who would like to utilise
this service will not be shy in coming
forward.
The SAS fundraising tin is always on my
table and your donations are very greatly
appreciated!
Jan Williamson
Volunteer
STOP PRESS: NAIL DONATIONS
TOTALLED £385 FOR 2014 – THANK
YOU!
£6,463 !!
Thank you so much!
This concert was slightly different as it was
earlier and therefore fell in Advent.
The Ely Cathedral Choir directed by Paul
Trepte had agreed to sing for us but could
not do our usual week as the boys were fully
committed.
Thank you!
To all of you who donate so generously for
the nails and massage service that I
provide, I wanted to say a huge thank you.
As the service was in Advent we did not
have as many of our usual traditional carols
and some people seemed disappointed by
this, others enjoyed having the more obscure
ones.
4
The choir itself was wonderful. We had 16
boys and 6 Lay Clerks and the music was
extremely uplifting. Our only problem was
that the Choir Master was directed to park
his car in a specific place only to find that he
was completely bogged down and there it
remained until after the service when
Geoffrey and Richard and others used brute
force and pushed it out!
Our Readers were brilliant. We had Mark
Murphy from Radio Suffolk who read the
first biblical reading. Tricia Eddington read
about the ‘old’ fairy on top of the Christmas
tree which brought the house down.
Jonathan Tham read a piece about stroke as
did our own amazing Viv Hatfield and her’s
was a particularly difficult passage. Alan
Tapfield finished with our last biblical
reading and he did it brilliantly.
Our members’ readings are, to me the
highlight of the evening and we took nearly
£1,700 on the door so we must have got
something right!
The Church was full - it looked wonderful
and again, I think and hope we will have
raised a goodly amount for SAS.
Viv Bourne
Member
STOP
PRESS:
RAISED:
NET
£13,910
WELL DONE!
AMOUNT
THANK YOU
Many thanks to all who ordered Christmas
cakes - I hope you enjoyed them.
With the orders from SAS and my own, I
made 22 cakes this year – exhausting but
very satisfying.
I am donating half of the price to SAS and
this totals £90. Also John and Barbara
Fielden kindly donated £7.50 (although
they did not have a cake) making a grand
total of £97.50.
I hope everyone had a wonderful
Christmas and wish you all a happy and
healthy 2015.
Diane Bayly
Member
It was the Friday Christmas party
that got the festivities under way
this year with the entertainment
provided by the children from
Wells Hall Primary School who gave
us
a
wonderful
selection
of
Christmas carols.
5
The Tuesday
held on the
David Padwick
return visit to
Christmas party was
16th December and
made a very welcome
entertain us all.
There was the usual ‘Secret Santa’
at both parties and this always
creates fun and laughter.
We enjoyed hot spicy mulled wine
and a wonderful selection of festive
food including a gorgeous Christmas
cake made by our own Diane Bayly –
thank you!
Our
Therapist,
Anne
Francis
brought in a selection of her
handmade jewellery for sale and
donated £30 to SAS. Thank you!
Thanks to everyone for giving so
generously to both the Christmas
parties – a good time was had by
all!
Admin
Reflections of Nick Athorne
I met Nick when he joined Business Link for
Essex in 1997 where I already worked as
Information Services Manager for the joint
team of Business Link and Essex Training &
Enterprise Council.
In his new role as Finance Counsellor he set
up many useful connections between
Essex businesses and sources of possible
finance, banking contacts, accountants,
lawyers and the like.
His previous
experience in Canada as a banker and his
ability to match contacts for their mutual
benefit meant he became known as the
person to go to at Business Link concerning
business finance.
It was whilst working at BLE that Nick
organised
and
hosted
many very
successful networking events for Essex
businesses and as his reputation grew so
did his own network, many of whom he
continued to be in touch with as they
became his personal friends.
In 2001, I decided to move on from BLE
and become self-employed and so our
paths crossed much less frequently
although I did still attend some of the
networking dinners that he organised.
So in mid-2010 it was quite a shock to hear
through the grapevine that Nick had had
had a stroke the previous November. As I
heard it, he was apparently starting to
make a good recovery and indeed was
preparing to speak publically again for the
first time since the stroke at a breakfast
networking event in Bishops Stortford. I
decided to attend, if only to give him
some moral support and sure enough,
there he was speaking as eloquently as he
always had done but this time to raise
awareness of strokes and the need to seek
urgent medical attention should one
occur.
Then in 2011, with the help of friends from
the world of business, he organised a
highly successful networking dinner at
Stoke by Nayland Hotel at which some 140
people attended. It was Nick’s first time as
a host since his recovery and although it
6
took a great deal of courage and stamina
to compere the event, he did a fine job
and in the process raised more than £4000
which was split between two charities –
ours, Success after Stroke and Icanho.
It was at this event that my involvement
with SAS began, as in true networking style,
I found myself sitting next to Geoffrey
Bourne, who was chairman of SAS at the
time. Within a few days I had had a phone
conversation with Viv and, in short order, so
began my time at SAS as a voluntary stress
management/cognitive behaviour type
therapist, a role which I enjoy immensely.
All down to Nick’s ability to be a Networker
par Excellence!
Nick was many things to many people –
family man, business man, fund raiser,
speaker, singer, musician etc – the list goes
on. But of all the roles, Nick’s role as a
member of SAS was appreciated by so
many of the other members.
He
undertook the role of committee member
and was never shy about speaking up
when he felt the need. Many members
benefitted
by
his
support
and
encouragement and not least, were
inspired by his example and determination
to recover the use of his left hand which he
did. It was a great shock to hear that he
had had another stroke before last
Christmas and then another on 2nd January
2015 from which he didn’t recover.
He will be greatly missed by so many
people, not least myself.
A Poem for Nick
We have to take the good with the
bad.
Smile when you are sad.
Love what you have got
and remember what you had.
Always forgive but never forget.
Learn from our mistakes, but never
regret.
People change.
Things go wrong.
But remember that life goes on.
One small tear
for one so dear
now passed on but always in our
hearts and thoughts.
Rest in peace Nick Athorne.
From your friend
Alan Tapfield
Member
Pam Lawrence
Volunteer
7
S.A.S.
(Success after Stroke)
The Stevenson Centre
Great Cornard
Marian Bagnall/Miranda Cox:
07434 931 962
By Post:
Success After Stroke
PO Box 105
Ipswich
IP7 9BJ
E-mail:
info@successafterstroke.org.uk
Web:
www.successafterstroke.org.uk
Success-after-Stroke is an active and motivated
self help support group where the members are
helped by dedicated volunteers and therapists in
their efforts for rehabilitation, independence and
confidence.
On Monday mornings there is sailing at the
Woolverstone Project.
On Tuesday mornings the group meets at the
Stevenson Centre for:
 Socialising
 Physiotherapy
 Speech & language therapy
 Reading and discussion groups
 Basic nail care & massage therapy
On Wednesday mornings:
 Art, drawing and painting – beginners
welcome
On Thursday mornings:
 Swimming and exercise
 Riding at The Shelley Centre for
Therapeutic Riding (RDA)
On Thursday afternoons:
 Pottery
On Friday mornings:
 Physiotherapy
 Speech and language therapy
 Reading and discussion groups
 Nordic Walking
 Basic nail care & massage therapy – first
Friday of each month.
ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY
8