Welcome
We are very pleased to tell you that the recent SGM at Waitrose café in Basingstoke was well attended with members joining us in person and online. Thank you to all who were able to come. It meant that we got the required quorum and we are now able to continue as a local group.
As you may remember, since last year’s AGM when we failed to get a quorum we have been limited in the type of events we’ve been able to organise. We did continue with coffee mornings at Waitrose in Basingstoke, the children had a fun day out at Hogmoor Enclosure in the autumn and we ended the year with a Christmas meal at The George, a gluten free pub in Alton. It was lovely to see so many members joining us at these events. (The George has since decided to offer non gluten free food on their menu as well, so it is no longer totally gluten free.)
In 2023 the coffee mornings will continue, we plan another picnic in the summer and the children’s group will be getting together (see dates below). We’re also hoping to organise a group meal at ‘The Restaurant at BCOT,’ which is the restaurant run by the catering department at Basingstoke College of Technology. We’ll let you know when we have confirmed these. If you have other ideas of events you think members would enjoy please let us know.
This year, Coeliac Awareness Week takes place from 15 to 21 May. This is slightly later than usual in order to avoid a clash with any events connected with the King’s Coronation. We have two events taking place during that week, a coffee morning and a family event (dates below). We hope you’ll be able to join us at one of those events. If you’d like to get involved in helping with the local group by joining the committee please contact us. It doesn’t have to involve a lot of time and it is a fun way to help support our local coeliac community.
We are always keen to hear from our group members, new and old, so please get in touch either on email northhampshire@coeliac.org.uk or Facebook (Coeliac UK North Hampshire Local Group). Also, don’t forget to check out our local group page on the Coeliac UK website https://www.coeliac.org.uk/local-groups/north-hampshire/ which has up to date information about the group and any events we have planned.
Tom, Keith, Lesley, Faye, Gemma, Carol, and Margaret
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Coffee mornings at Waitrose in Basingstoke 10.30 – 12.00
Saturday 1 April, Wednesday 17 May, Saturday 1 July, Wednesday 2 August and Saturday 2 September.
We are alternating midweek and weekend coffee mornings in order to give as many people as possible the chance to join us.
15 July – Summer picnic at Eastrop Park, Basingstoke 11.00 - 13.00
Family events
1 April – Easter Family Meet up at Basing House 11.00 – 13.00
20 May – Picnic and play at Eastrop Park, Basingstoke 14.00 - 16.00
More details about both of these family events are on the North Hampshire page of the Coeliac UK website.
Update on Hillier Garden Centre, Aldermaston (previously ...
Rosebourne Garden Centre, which was a popular place with our members because of the gluten free food they had available, has now been taken over by Hillier Garden Centre. They recently contacted us to let us know their plans about serving gluten free food. Although they will still serve food made with gluten free ingredients in the café, they cannot guarantee the food will be free from cross contamination due to their traditional kitchen environment. They are aware this will be disappointing to our local coeliac community, but they say that they are not willing to do anything that might be detrimental to their customers’ health. We will let you know if we hear any further updates on this.
Coeliac Awareness Week, 15-21 May
Look out for campaigning activities closer to the time. Please do whatever you can to spread the message, whether that is via social media or in person. We hope that you can join us at Waitrose Basingstoke on 17 May or in Eastrop Park on 20 May.
Fundraising
Can you combine awareness with fundraising? Why not join with friends or family for a sponsored silence, walk or run? You will be surprised how much support you can generate. Please send us your photos for the next newsletter.
Even without exerting yourself, shopping online via Give as you Live will raise a small percentage of your purchases, at no cost to you, in aid of Coeliac UK. Just start your shopping via the Give as you Live website, or install the donation reminder. Keith has raised over £500 for Coeliac UK this way. The more members to do the same will make a massive difference.
If you sign up using the link below, Give as you Live Online will donate an extra £5 to Coeliac UK when you raise £5.
https://www.giveasyoulive.com/refer/R9Uvags-2FjXxKlO3MYYHyog7ahUa5L9I-3D
Review of Milestones family event & details of future events ...
Our recent family event took place in February, so we opted for an indoor venue so that we didn't have to worry about what the weather had in store for us! We had 7 families join us on the day, with children ranging from around age 4 up to 11 years old. The children took part in a treasure hunt, exploring the museum to find the missing letters to spell a coeliac themed word and earning themselves a tasty sweet treat as their reward. They also took part in the games, including a ride on a merry go round! We had a "lesson" in the school room, where the children put their impressive coeliac knowledge to use by correctly identifying gluten and gluten free food. A couple of moments that stood out for me was the children's delight at being able to sit together at the picnic tables for lunch without any worry about cross contamination and the look of surprise on the faces of children who were joining us for the first time, when they realised that the other children were also coeliac!
There was a lot of enthusiasm (by parents and children) for some more family events, so with their help we have scheduled another couple of events for this side of the summer...
- 11.00 - 13.00 on Saturday 1 April - Easter Egg hunt at Basing House - book your tickets in advance as they are likely to sell out
- 14.00 - 16.00 on Saturday 20 May - play at Eastrop park in central Basingstoke, just a short walk from Festival Place, the bus station and train station
You can find more details on both of these events on our website. Please let us know if you're joining us, so we can send you details closer to the time on where to meet and other useful information.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Gemma
Youth Coordinator
