It takes a lot of motivation to run the London Marathon andBobath runners are no different. What is surprising anduplifting is how that motivation reaches down the generations.Take the stories of Jonathan Nield and Chris Barke.

When his son, Alex was born in 2007 Jonathan had no ideathat, almost three years to the day, he would be pounding thecapital’s streets in support of the Bobath Centre.

But complications during birth meant that Alex had to spendthe first two weeks of his life in the Special Care Baby Unit atFairfield Hospital, Bury. Tests showed that he had been deprivedof oxygen and, after 13 months and more tests, Jonathan andmum Victoria were told that Alex had cerebral palsy.

In October 2009, Alex was referred to the Bobath Centre fortherapy. “Those two weeks were invaluable to us as a family,”says Jonathan. “Bobath therapy has helped us to understandwhy Alex moves in a particular way, and what he hasparticular difficulty with. We could see a markedimprovement in his ability in just seven days, which is soencouraging! We are determined that Alex’s physicaldisabilities will not hold him back in life and with the help andsupport of the Bobath Centre we believe we can achieve this.”

For Chris, the connection goes back further. In 1954,Christopher Barke’s parents returned to the UK with their fourchildren after an ill-fated post-war emigration to Australia.

Chris’syoungestbrother,Simon hadcerebral palsyand for threeyears hismothertravelled withhim fromtheir home inSurrey toLondonwhere he wastreated by DrKarel andBerta Bobath.“At the timethere waslittle otherhelp availablefor Simon” recalls Chris.

Chris’s father later went on to help build the White LodgeCentre in Chertsey, which is still providing a range of servicesfor children with disabilities today. “It is now fifty years sincethe Bobaths offered support to my parents” says Chris.”Though they have both long since died, I shall always begrateful for the help given.”

Jonathan and Chris were just two of 14 Bobath runnersmotivated for different reasons to support this generation ofchildren. We would like to thank all the Bobath team andeveryone who contributed towards their sponsorship.

See page six for photos.

T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E B O B A T H C E N T R E

Issue Nineteen Spring 2010

BobathNEWS

Invaluable

Jonathan and Alex

The Virgin London Marathon inspiresrunners half a century apart

Win a Mini FirstSupport the Bobath Centre and havethe chance of winning a new Mini Firstworth over £11,000.

Tickets cost just £2.00 each, £1.90 of which will go directly to the Centre. You can request a book of ten tickets by calling us or purchase onlineby following the link on our website.

The draw takes place on 14th October2010. Please make cheques payable to‘Bobath Children’. The winner will benotified immediately. All ticket stubsand unsold tickets must be returned tothe Bobath Centre no later than 10thSeptember.

Want to sell more? If you would like tosell raffle tickets on behalf of the BobathCentre please contact the Fundraisingteam on 020 8442 2275 or go to ourwebsite for further details.

The Great Big Small Charity Car Draw is promoted by theFoundation for Social Improvement, a charity supportingsmall charities like the Bobath Centre.

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Dr Margaret Mayston hasbeen named QantasAustralian Woman of theYear in the UK. This followson from the Order ofAustralia she was awardedin the Australia Dayhonours in 2009.

Margaret is a consultantand Bobath senior tutor atthe Bobath Centre and isworking to set up theAustralian Bobath Neuro-Developmental Associationin her homeland.

The award was presented by peace campaigner, Dr Gill Hicks at a receptionat the Langham Hotel in London attended by 250 guests. The One.400 Challenge is simple. Raise £1,400

however you like. There is no pressure and notime limit and we are here to help. Just find thefundraising that suits you. For furtherinformation call Bobath Fundraising on 020 442 2275.

Andrew Dixon

Jennie Cassidy

Michele Glassup

Stephen Allen

Tracy Swain

Jonathan Nield

Michael Christopherson

Laura Kelly

Peter Jennings

Simon Howe

Richard Ingham

James Stevenson

Daniel Terry

Keith Yeoman

Roll of Honour

Margaretwinsanotheraward

Congratulations to Bobath accountant, Davina Kerstein who has beenrecognised by the Chief Rabbi, Lord Sachs for her twenty-yeartrusteeship of the Friends of Federation of Zionist Youth.

We have three newadditions to the Therapyteam.

Julinie Nasir completedthe Bobath foundationcourse in 2005 andpreviously divided hertime between being a physio in the community and at a schoolfor children with profound & multiple learning disabilities inwest London. “I wanted to be in an environment where I couldutilise the skills & knowledge I had gained on the course anddevelop my skills even further” she said.

Xanthe Hodgson previously worked in the NHS in WalthamForest and Enfield, both in acute hospital and communitypaediatric locations, as well as in an independent integratednursery and special school. Xanthe has long admired the work ofthe centre “I found it very beneficial clinically when I’d attendedcourses or accompanied patients receiving treatment, so I waskeen to work at the centre, to challenge and develop my ownskills and be able to work alongside such gifted clinicians.”

The third addition is Kim Shadbolt who joined as a therapyassistant in September.

... and the Admin team.We welcome Mike Veitch who hasjoined as ICT co-ordinator.

Trustee Away DayThe trustees of the Children’s charity met in November toreview the strategic plan which ends this year. They alsodiscussed plans to increase the number of trustees and thelikely effects of the recession on our ability to treat children andtrain new Bobath therapists.

Charity focus: Contact a familyContact a Family provides support, advice and information forfamilies with disabled children, no matter what their conditionor disability.

They offer a freephone helpline with trained parent advisorswho give information and advice on a range of issuesincluding welfare rights, education and local services. Theyproduce newsletters, parent guides and a directory of over1,000 conditions with where to find support.

Helpline 0808 808 3555 or Textphone 0808 808 3556 (Mon-Fri,10am-4pm; Mon, 5.30-7.30pm). Visit www.cafamily.org.uk tofind out about the support available in your area.

Raymond Nottage: An appreciationFormer chair of trustees, Raymond Nottage has died aged 93.

Raymond Nottage had adistinguished career in publicadministration, becomingDirector General of RoyalInstitute of PublicAdministration in 1949 beforeretiring in 1978. During histenure he was activelyinvolved in the Institute’soverseas work and wasappointed a Companion of theOrder of St Michael & StGeorge by the Queen in 1964.

In the late 1960s, Raymond became a neighbour of Karel andBerta Bobath and was soon asked to become a trustee of thecharity. He went on to serve both the Children and AdultCentres for thirty years, including fifteen as chairman of theChildren’s Council.

His lasting legacy, however, is the relocation of the BobathCentre from the cramped and disability-challenging premisesin Swiss Cottage to the current building East Finchley in1991.The project was a considerable undertaking andRaymond’s ability to persuade others of the needs of thosewith permanent disabilities was crucial to finding the vastresources required. It is to his testimony that before he retiredas chairman he ensured that the bank loan was paid off andthat the building was entirely owned by the charity.

Ida Bromley says: “Raymond led the Council with both skill andhumour. He expected the same dedication in tasks undertaken bymembers of the Council as he gave himself and was unstintingin his support to Council members. His colleagues rememberhim with affection and his contribution with gratitude.”

Raymond Frederick Tritton Nottage CMG, 1916-2010

Tell us what you want (what you really, really want)We only want to send you information that you are happy toreceive, in the format that suits you. So, if you would prefer tobe contacted by email rather than post we will be happy toarrange this.

We hope you are happy with the way things are and, if so, wewill continue to send you news and information unless we hearfrom you. If, however, you no longer wish to receive communi-cations from the Bobath Centre, all you need to do is contact useither by letter or email and we will amend our records.Therapy information will continue to be sent by post.

To contact us by email: fundraising@bobath.org.uk

Bobath Scotland finds a homeBobath Scotland has moved to new permanent premises inGlasgow. Their new details can be found at www.bobathscotland.org.uk

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Xanthe & Julinie

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Scope has published Cerebral Palsy: Information, advice andsupport for parents during the early years. For a copy, pleasecall Scope Response on 0808 800 3333.

Additions to theTherapy team…

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Sleep (Swamp)Turner Prize nomineeCatherine Yass has donateda print of her work Sleep(Swamp) to the BobathCentre. "It's about theplaces you go to in sleep orin daydreaming. To me thisimage suggests going onforever, both across into the distant horizon and down into theswamp" said Catherine.

The print is available from Vital Arts and proceeds will bedonated to Vital Arts and the Bobath Centre. To buy a copy, goto www.vitalarts.org.uk

New vetting scheme to be phased inBobath staff working with children and vulnerable adults willbe subject to new vetting regulations being phased in acrossthe UK.

From April, key staff and volunteers will begin to registerwith the Independent Safeguarding Authority and have anenhanced Criminal Records Bureau check. From July, all staffchanging jobs will be required to register. From next year, allexisting employees and volunteers will be required to register.Staff will then be continually monitored.

The scheme replaces the need to have a CRB check each time aperson changes jobs. It is estimated that eleven million peoplein the UK will be on the register by 2015.

Fees rise signals difficult times aheadChildren’s treatment fees have gone up by £5.00 a session - thefirst rise since 2008. The decision was taken at the Januarymeeting of the trustees who reluctantly agreed a 4.3% increase.

Stephen Latner, the chairman explained “We have been fortunatethat our fundraising activities have enabled us to subsidise ourtreatment fees as well as provide resources for our treatmentfund (which helps children who lack financial support) andsignificant projects. In the current economic climate, we cannotexpect our level of fundraising to reach recent levels and thisexperience may well continue for some time.”

The charity had a planned deficit of £40,000 for 2009/10;however forecasts showed that this could be significantly largerin the coming 12 months unless steps were taken.

“We are re-examining all aspects of our operations to helpensure we maintain our quality of service and ability to restrictour charges as far as possible” he said.

A full statement is on the Bobath website.

Our thanks to Pat Dearing for sending us her sketch of the Bobath Centre. The drawing shows the 1847 schoolhouse that has beenour home for the last 17 years.

New Children’s trusteeThe Bobath Centre welcomes Stuart Soloway as a trustee of thechildren’s charity.

Stuart’s has extensive experience of retail marketing includingthe Food, Fashion, Entertainment and Leisure sectors. He hasheld directorships at the Burton Group and Next before turningto Hollywood where he was the managing director of WarnerBros. Studio Stores Europe. “I actually got to meet some of thesuperstars like Sylvester Stallone and Kevin Costner as well asBugs Bunny!”

Married to Susan for 36 years, theylive in London and have two grownup children and one grandson. “Oursecond son, Benjamin was born withcerebral palsy so our interest inchildren with special needs stems fromthis experience” said Stuart. “When Iwas approached to become a trustee of the Bobath Centre I sawit as the opportunity to give something back to the many peoplewho have helped us and Benjamin along his challengingjourney so that he continues to enjoy his life to the full.”

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Week 1:Course participants are introduced to thebasic principles of the Bobath Concept andobserve therapy sessions. They also beginlectures in child development and work onfacilitation techniques.

Yvonne: On the first day at the Centre Iam pleasantly surprised. Instructorstake it easy on us; encourage us toconnect with class mates by exploringLondon.

Marcia: We concentrated mainly on thephilosophy of Bobath, childdevelopment, and some facilitationtechniques. I was already familiar withsome of the techniques, but we weregetting more in depth with the handling.

Week 2:The week begins with child developmentfocussing on the third trimester ofpregnancy. Course members continue towork on facilitation techniques, and have thefirst of their neuroscience lectures.

Marcia: This week we finished childdevelopment and started learning aboutdifferent movement patterns for childrenwith different types of cerebral palsy.The smiles weren't as big by the end ofthe week as we all know theassignments are going to start coming.

Yvonne: Wednesday is my daughter’sbirthday! Saw her in the evening onSkype.

Laura: Our first tutorial gave us achance to speak in smaller groups andask questions. I found the childdevelopment lectures really valuable as Ihad never had the opportunity to studyit or its relevance to treatment in suchdetail before.

Week 3:For three mornings course participants visitschools for practical sessions. Lectures alsocover the classification of different types ofcerebral palsy.

Laura: This week was a challenge as Ihadn’t treated a child with DystonicAthetosis before, but a really goodexperience and I felt I learned a lot fromthe lecturers who helped us one-to-one.

Marcia: Partnered up to work with achild. Two sessions making assessmentsbefore applying the techniques we havelearned. The end of this week camewith the handing in of our assignmentsand the passing around of assignmentNo 2 - an essay. Oh boy!

Yvonne: A different tune is being playedthis week! By the afternoon everybody isquite tensed and panicked about theassessment. Some of the kids seem to havevery mixed presentations and complexproblems. Classifications only get slowlyclearer as we discuss them in class.

Week 4:Schools visits continue. Lectures includeOccupational Therapy related topicsincluding the development of vision.

Yvonne: Feeling lousy; coughing andhoarse, migraine. Had to go to bed, hopefully the rest will help. The essayand studies are not going well. It is hard

going to the schools for practicals andattending lectures.

Enjoyed our last session with “ourchild” on Friday. Workshops have beenvery beneficial, everyone learnt a lot.The weekend: essay, neuro-physiologystudies, review classifications, trip toSoho for Sunday lunch.

Laura: The learning is really comingtogether and it was great to have achance to practice out treatment ideaswith our school pupil and improve ourhandling and see the effect. The essaysare a real challenge - so muchinformation to include in 1,500 words!

Marcia: We had a workshop to performat our practical session. We were sonervous, but a tutor spent time with usduring our treatment session to trydifferent techniques. It went really welland we saw progress during theworkshop. The workshop is tutor-ledand they guided us with ideas andhelped us with our handling to improveour skills. The session was fine. We wereso relieved!

To be continued in the next issue.

Basic instinct

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The Basic Bobath Foundation course is an intensive eight-week programme that challengesthe most experienced of therapists. We asked three course members Yvonne, Marcia andLaura, to keep a diary of their time at the Bobath Centre.

Marcia, Yvonne and Laura

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Yorkshire has a ballThe Majestic Hotel in Harrogate played host to the YorkshireTrauma & Orthopaedic Charity Committee’s first fundraisingball in March. The ball was held in support of the BobathCentre and 200 tickets sold out well in advance of the evening.

Joanna Van Berckel, a Harrogate resident whose son is treatedat the Centre reminded everyone of the reason for the ball witha moving account of her experience of having a child withcerebral palsy and the impact the Bobath Centre has had on herfamily’s lives.

The event raised £3,000 for the Bobath Centre and we are gratefulto Paula Conroy and her committee for organising the night.

A roof over our headsIf truth be told, the reception roof has never been waterproof.

Dave Hansen, the premises manager recalls having to hand outumbrellas to guests when the Centre was officially opened byour patron, The Duchess of Gloucester back in 1993. Until thelast few years we have been able to patch it up, however thedownpours of the last two winters have left the area lookinglike a water feature at times and unpleasant for families andvisitors to sit in.

Last year, we launched an appeal to raise £50,000 to replace theroof and, thanks to the generosity of several charitable trusts,we will have a new roof over our heads this summer.

Rolls-Royce is a good runnerThank you to the 27 staff atRolls-Royce who took part inthe JP Morgan & Co. Challengein Battersea Park last Julyraising £3,000.

IT: evolution not revolutionWe are slowly improving the ways we communicate withfamilies, students and supporters, but this is always going to bea case of ”evolution not revolution”.

Some of our successes so far have been conducting jobinterviews with overseas candidates by webcam, registeringour first 1,000 fans on Facebook and offering online versions ofour literature. The website is next in line for a revamp.

We would like to hear your views about how the Bobath Centrecan communicate better or what you would like to see us do inthe future.

Please email us on feedback@bobath.org.uk

Virgin London Marathon 2010

Make laugh not warComedy partners, Katrina Thompson and Lou Sanders donatedtheir first night’s takings of £100 from their new comedy night,Make Laugh Not War, which they staged in a north London pub.

Katrina and Lou are both veterans of the Edinburgh Festivaland intend to do further fundraising for the Centre.

Lou Sanders & Katrina Thompson

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If you are a fan of Deal or No Deal orlisten to Classic FM you may have comeacross adverts for Remember a Charity.

Remember a Charity is the biggest everpublic awareness campaign promotingthe idea that we can all leave the world abetter place by including a charity in ourwill. We are pleased to be one of the 140charities involved the campaign which issupported by over 600 professionaladvisors and countless charitysupporters.

We rely on legacies for our work tocontinue; if you are making or revisingyour will and would consider leaving agift to the Bobath Centre we are happy todiscuss this with you.

For a confidential discussion please contactKevin Gillespie at the Bobath Centre 020 8444 3355.

Remembera Charity

Thank you to everyone who supportedus around Christmas/Hanukkah.

We received many individual gifts fromsupporters and a number of businessesmade donations instead of sendingChristmas cards. Our local community

newspaper, The Archer sold over 400calendars featuring photographs of thearea and Jennie Cassidy againentertained the good people of Suffolkwith her carol singing. In total we raised£5,600.

The season of giving

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Ruby and her tharapist,Marie accept a cheque

from The Archer’s Diana Cormack

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Adidas Women’s 5K Challenge 2010

Sunday 5th SeptemberHyde Park, London

Run Liverpool Big Heart 5KSunday 8th August

Walton Hall Park, Liverpoolwww.runliverpool.org.uk/

Big_Heart_5K.php

Urbanathlon 5KSunday 25th July

Sport City, Manchesterwww.urbanathlon.co.uk/

Promenade 5KMonday 7th June

Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouthwww.portsmouthathletic.co.uk

Big Fun Run NorwichSunday 22nd August

Norwich, Whittlingham Estate www.bigfunrun.com

Asics British 10K London Run 2010Sunday 11th JulyCentral London

Bristol 10KSunday 9th May

Bristol Harboursidewww.bristolhalfmarathon.com/

bristol10k

City of Manchester 10KSunday 4th July

Sportscity, Manchesterwww.sportstoursinternational.co.uk

Asics Liverpool 10KSunday 3rd October

Sefton Park, Liverpoolwww.runliverpool.org.uk

Birmingham Black Country Half Marathon

Saturday 3rd JulyBritish Waterways Canal Dock,

Wolverhamptonwww.bbchm.co.uk

BUPA Great North Run 2011September 2011

Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tynewww.greatrun.org

Cotswold Sprint TriathlonSunday 5th September

Keynes Country Park, The CotswoldWater Park, near Cirencester

www.triferris.com/cotswold/index.html

Leeds TriathlonSunday 12th SeptemberRoundhay Park, Leeds

www.xtramileevents.com

Reading TriathlonSunday 12th September

Tri20 Swim Centre, Readingceri@mysportingtimes.com

Round the Island 69Saturday 19th June

Cowes, Isle of WightFollowing the Isle of Wight Coastal

Path, run clockwise around theisland on the same weekend as the

Round the Island Race. Take instunning views of the main land andthe English Channel and see all theboats come around the Island as theafternoon goes on. The event is open

to runners and walkers.www.xnrg.co.uk

Doyen of the DownsSunday 5th December

This run, starting at dawn from thehistoric County Town of Arundel, by

the spectacular castle, takes youacross the River Arun and works

North-East up to the South Downs.From there, you have probably themost spectacular views (weather

permitting) in the South of Englandacross Arundel Castle and Cathedral

to the sea beyond.www.extremerunning.org

Triathlons &Ultra Marathons

10ks & HalfMarathons5ks

Contact usEditor - Kevin Gillespie 020 8442 2276Assistant editor - Sarah TerrazasEditorial and advertising enquiries: 020 8442 2276 or email: kevin@bobath.org.uk250 East End Road, London N2 8AU 020 8444 3355Bobath Centre for Children with Cerebral Palsy, Registered charity 229663Bobath Centre for Adults with Neurological Disability, Registered charity 1039162 © The Bobath Centre 2010

The Bobath Centre for Children with Cerebral Palsy does not directly endorse or recommend products orservices advertised in Bobath News. We advise that you speak to your Bobath therapist before purchasinga therapy-related product or service.

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