Attendance Allowance is paid if you are over State Pension age and need support in your daily life because of a long-term physical or mental health condition. It is NOT about payment to a carer or helper who comes into your home to support you; you are entitled to it whether or not you have help from an external agency. You can apply for it whatever your income or savings are.
Don’t be put off by the length of the application form – 30 pages! And always remember to record about your bad days when you are filling this in, rather than your best days (though it may need to be one of your better days to embark on this!)
The link below is to a factsheet from an organisation called Independent Age. It explains who can get Attendance Allowance and how to apply.
It would also be helpful to download the Notes document – only 12 pages (!), with a very useful list on page 3 saying what you need to have ready before you start
I know the application process sounds rather gruesome but please don’t be too put off by it. Perhaps working with someone to help would make it seem more manageable.
Paul Mayhew Archer on stage with only about a third of the audience in view!
On June 9th , we were honoured to host Paul Mayhew Archer who presented his “Incurable Optimist” show. Paul is a comedy writer best known as the co-writer of The Vicar of Dibley. Paul was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2011 aged 58 and found that his way of fighting it was to find it funny. He has since perfected his one-man show and has performed it at numerous venues mainy around the South of England. Just in the past few months, he has performed at Preston, Exeter, Salisbury, Cirencester, Hereford and Aylesbury.
He first got in touch with us in January and here is what he wrote:
The way it works is that I bring the show and the local group brings the audience. So the local group finds a venue seating 150 – 200 people and sells tickets. I come and do the show for nothing except basic expenses – my reward is hearing people laugh – and the group keeps the takings.
Sounds simple! We thought we could do it and went ahead. We were hopeful of getting 150 people though with just a few weeks to go, that was looking doubtful. Then ticket sales took off, we stormed past 150 and had to declare the event Sold Out at 220. We had booked The Church On The Heath at Elvetham Heath, a lovely venue for the event large enough for our audience with a separate hall to serve refreshments and a space for the raffle.
It was a great evening with lots of complimentary comments afterwards. Paul said he would find the funny side of Parkinson’s – and he did. People were saying they hadn’t laughed so much for ages.
We took £3250 in ticket sales, £755 on the raffle and about £430 on refreshments. We kept our costs down to £724 mainly by getting donations to the raffle, leaving us with a profit of around £3700, far above our most optimistic expectations!
Special thanks to Annie Theaker for organizing everything about the refreshments and overseeing the hall on the night with help from Jill Thomas, Judith Rowley, Annie McCallum and Annabel Theaker. Serving drinks to such a large audience was a major undertaking and they sportingly gave up the opportunity to see all the show as they were so busy, especially in the clearing-up.
Special thanks to Mavis Pocock also who ran the raffle. Annie had been busy beforehand getting donations from various businesses, including Badshot Lea Garden Centre, Cineworld and Wellington Country Park. Mavis has persuaded nearby Morrisons to donate two prizes.
To mark World Parkinson’s Day in April, we held a Cream Tea at the Key Centre in Elvetham Heath. The idea of having a cream tea came from the Oxford branch. Not sure why it was chosen but it was certainly a good idea. We didn’t run this as a ticketed event so had no idea how many people to expect.
We started with tables and chairs for about 24. They quickly filled up and by the end we had difficulty fitting everyone in! Many thanks to Annie Theaker for organizing it, including baking the scones which were lovely. It is unusual for us to run an afternoon event and it was good to see several people who do not often come to our other social meetings.
The empty plates say it all! Everyone enjoyed their tea.
CareCo mobility shop near M&S has a large range of useful items from major purchases such as mobility scooters, down to simple items to make your life easier such as walking sticks. Click here for their website. The website talks about their Camberley showroom; it is better described as being in Blackwater
We had a great meeting on November 17th which was given over to our members exchanging “top tips”. Lots of useful ideas came out of that and they are summarised below
Everyone Active is offering free membership to people with Parkinson’s. For details, follow this link https://www.everyoneactive.com/promotion/parkinsons/ Your membership will give you access to the gym, swimming pool and group exercise classes.
There is an Everyone active gym in Fleet and Yateley
I make no apology for making another post about exercising. Parkinson’s UK is very clear that exercise is very important, indeed I have heard it called “the new medication”. Active Surrey has made a leaflet giving 6 very simple exercises which help with strength and balance. Enjoy! Click here for leaflet
