Page 8

Garden Show Ireland 2015 Head Injury Support had the pleasure of attending the Garden Show Ireland on Friday the 8th May. A great day out was had by all, despite the odd shower we had. There was a great atmosphere around the show which had moved from Hillsborough Castle to Antrim Castle Gardens. We all came back from the show with loads of new ideas for our gardens and were excited to get planting all the new shrubs we had bought'.

Crumlin Road Jail On Thursday 21st May we had a last minute change of plan and ended up going to visit Crumlin Road Jail. A great day out was had by all. The history of the prison was truly amazing, and the members have since said the trip was absolutely brilliant'.

March/April/May 2015

New Name Same People

Office Tel: 028 3083 3728 Office Mobile: 075 2624 1522

Weekend staff Mobile No: 075 4329 2380

Web site: www.headinjurysupport.org.uk email info@headinjurysupport.org.uk

We are delighted to inform you that we have re-branded our organisation; the name Head Injury Support will replace the name Headway Newry. Our Kildare Street based registered charity offers support and services for head injury survivors and their families.

Rostrevor Vintage Club Tractor Run A great turn out was had at the Annual Vintage Tractor Run held in Rostrevor on Sunday 3rd May. We are happy to announce the fantastic sum of £1026 was raised for Head Injury Support. Thanks to everyone who took the time out to organise this event and to all the tractor owners who shined up their machines and to all the marshals which helped out on the day of the event.

Dates for your Dairy

Congratulations to all the organisers, runners and marshals at the Newry Marathon on 27th May. A

great morning was had by all and a special congratulations goes to Don Travers who completed the race in 2hr 44mins 14secs.

Newry Marathon 2015

Page 2

St Patrick's Day Parade

All at the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade in Newry had a great day on Tuesday 17th March 2015. Our float impressed the crowds and we could hear everyone talking about it and how it stood out from all the others. A lot of hard work and late nights went into making the float a success and we would like to take this opportunity to say a massive “Thank you” to everyone who helped out. The float impressed the council so well we won second place and received a £150 donation towards our charity. After all the walking was done we treated ourselves to a lovely meal in The Bank Bar, where we had a little surprise visit from the one and only Carl “The Jackal” Frampton. He was lovely and took the time out to pose for a photograph with all the members of our team. What a great way to end a wonderful day!!

Variety Concert

A great night was had by all in Killeavy Youth Club on Saturday 7th March which raised just over £2700

for Head Injury Support. The show was planned, organised and choreographed by Keara & Dervla

Magennis. A big thank you to the Magennis family for all the long hours and hard work given to put this

excellent show together.

We here at Head Injury Support would also like to thank everyone who took part in and

helped out in the show. The show was a roaring success that demonstrated great

community spirit; we are all thoroughly looking forward to working with Keara & Dervla

again.

A big thank you from all at Head Injury Support.

Exciting News…

We are happy to announce that ABP Meats have taken on Head Injury Support as one of their two chosen charities to benefit from their annual fundraising BBQ in Armagh Hotel on Friday 19th June.

Rose Brennan Night

Keep Saturday 1st August free when Rose Brennan will be playing for us in Head Injury Support. Rose is a local lady from Killowen, Rostrevor and is releasing her 2nd album titled Belle. We are very excited to have Rose take time out of her busy schedule to come and support Head Injury Support, so please support her at this event.

Big Nights Out

Eddie Rockets & Cinema – 4th April

A great evening was had at Eddie Rockets, the food was great and the group even managed to time it well as they didn’t have to wait for seating and just walked on in' score!! After a lovely meal they decided to go and view a movie, “Don’t Lose Focus”, which came with high recommendations and all the members fully agreed with this.

Blue Print Pizza – 2nd May

Blue Print Pizza was calling us once again for another night out. We all had a wonderful evening at Blue Print, and would like to say a massive “Thank you” to all the staff there for the wonderful service we received. The food was beautiful and we would highly recommend it, if you haven’t already, give it a go!! After Blue Print we decided it was time to pull a few moves over in the Canal Court Hotel. A great evening was had by all and we look forward to repeating it soon.

William Caulfield – 21st March

The members decided it was time for another night out in Armagh Theatre. We decided to go and see the very funny William Caulfield on the 21st March. William and the mem-bers had a great nights craic, with the members all saying they had sore sides the next day from all the laughing. What better way to work out than the laughter workout' Some members even got some abuse for being from Lurgan, and also “The Moy”, but we were quick to remind William he was from Lurgan also' a new joke quickly come out. Overall we would highly recommend you going to see William at the next opportunity' we hope to be back soon!!

Get Well Wishes Get well soon to Darren who has been in and out of hospital recently. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in Head Injury Support soon!

Page 7

Just a little reminder to those who have not renewed their membership, Friends of Head Injury Support fees are now overdue. If you have not already paid, please contact the office to make your payment.

Renewal of Friendship & Fees

Ghan House - Careers Day Out

Ghan house was the setting for the carers day out. Based in the beautiful surroundings of Carlingford, the carers truly had a wonderful experience. They all had a go at making a wonderful array of different foods, including breads, mains and desserts. After all the hard work was done, they were able to sit down and enjoy the meal they had prepared, and went home with all the recipes so they could repeat their beautiful meals for their families.

Page 3

Page 6

The members have been busy with Jenny from TCV re-using pallets, which would otherwise be wasted, to make a range of different things for the house and garden. The project finished in March and was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. Thanks to Clear Funding for supporting this project which is led by Jenny from Conservation Volunteers.

Pallets to Planters—The End

HEAD INJURY SUPPORT TAKE ON RECOVERY YOURSELF

H I S T O R

Moya took the name of the organisation and using a play on words, used it to show how Head Injury Support could just be the start of making your own history after a brain injury. She stated that for her, acquiring a brain injury gave her the chance to redefine herself and create her own history. It gives you the opportunity to become a cook, an artist, a wood working person, a gardener or an archer. She said “I personally have found a great connection with yoga and personal development introduced to me through the classes in Head Injury Support. As someone in full time employ-ment in a challenging position in a global company before my head injury I felt that I needed to challenge myself again Head Injury Support provided the stimulus I need to get my life back on track again. By Moya Murphy

• Thurs 4th June - Oral Health Session from 11.15am till 1.00pm

• Fri 5th June - Annual Golf Classic

• Wed 24th June - Annual BBQ

• Sun 6th September - Marshals needed for Slieve Gullion Wheelers Cycle in Silverbridge

Good luck Sheila, Lauren & Kathryn

We would like to extend many thanks to Shelia Quinn who has moved on from Head Injury Support to enjoy more time with her family at home. Sheila held the important role of Development Officer for our charity and we wish her and her family much happiness in the future.

Sympathy

Deepest sympathy to our Administrator, Majella Burns on the sudden and untimely death of her sister Susan O'Rourke. May she rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with Majella and her family.

We would also like extend our best wishes to Lauren Smith & Kathryn Jennings who are leaving. Lauren & Kathryn have worked with us for many years, mainly weekends at the Drop In and on Big Nights Out. We wish you both every success in your future careers.

Page 3

Todd’s Leap Weekend

Off we go again... This time we headed in the direction of Ballygawley and we landed ourselves in Todd’s Leap' unsure of what we had let ourselves in for all weekend we were all in good spirits and looking forward to what challenges lay ahead of us. When we arrived we were greeted by the lovely Janet, who showed us to our accommodation or should I say our containers for the weekend' we were staying in lovely colourful, converted containers which had all we needed, a bathroom, shower and of course a bed. Our first activity was Blind Folded Driving which was very interesting to say the least' we had to guide our team members around a course and well, let’s just say, some people weren’t very good at the driving, like they thought they would be' hehe' After all that excitement we had a break and then did the Bungee Run, where the competitiveness really came out between some of us. That was all our activities for that day, so we returned to our containers and refreshed ourselves and came down for our evening meal, which I must say was beautiful. We then availed of the entertainment for the evening which was Todds Leap’s very own Elvis. The next morning started early, we got down and had our breakfast and then set off on our next adventure.

We began with Off Road Driving, where we all got the chance to drive through some unsightly terrain, testing our driving skills once again. Then we took part in some Rodeo Bull Riding, which again had some surprise winners. Well done to Sorcha Collins and Lizzie Quinn for holding on so long, both remain on for longer than a minute. Our next activity was Hill Rallying; we all got strapped into a big truck and went on a rough ride throughout the Todd’s Leap Forest. Finally we ended our day by doing something that everyone in Head Injury Support loves and that was Archery. Again in the evening we had another beautiful meal prepared by our chef Aidan and his team in the Todd’s Leap kitchen and were entertained by another wonderful musician that evening. But another late night was not to be had, as an early start was required when we set off to do the Zip Line, Irelands longest at 500m long. A few but not all of us took part in the Zip Line, but a great experience was had by all. After this scary event had taken place it was time to get packed up and head off home back to Newry. A great time was had by all, and we would just like to take this opportunity to say to Todds Leap “Thank You” for being so warm and welcoming to us all and we can’t wait to go back again soon.

Page 4

TUESDAY & THURSDAY CLUB We are delighted with the numbers attending both our Tuesday and Thursday Clubs. One visitor commented on the great buzz there was about the centre and how wonderful it was to see everyone enjoying themselves. We have been busy with pottery, getting creative with some tin cans for our patio, and when the weather is good we are doing some in-house exercises lead by our members and staff along with some lovely walks on the tow path.

Tow Path Cycle

With cycle fever as strong as ever Head Injury Support took to the Tow Path once again on our annual Tow Path Challenge Fundraiser. A great turnout was had on Easter Tuesday 7

th April, were over 100 cyclists

turned out to support us and we raised £1173. Thank you to everyone who participated, including our marshals, first aiders and sweepers. It wouldn’t have been possible without you all.

Page 5

HORSE RIDING

Horse riding has now ended and proved to be a very popular activity among our membership. Each week our members enjoying taking to horse-back and riding through the windy pathways of Castlewellan Forest Park. Some were rather nervous but we had a few natural “John Wayne’s” out there' we will have to get a few cowboy hats for the next time'

DROP IN We have been greatly entertained at the Drop In over the last few weeks and it is great to see so many of you turning up to join in the fun. We had great craic playing Family Fortunes one Friday and another night we had a Cinema Night. We also had a Bake Off which proved to be very a tasty evening indeed.

Outreach in Armagh & Craigavon

The outreaches are going great and are well attended. We always have a brilliant evening of banter and nibbles. We welcome some new members to the group, who I must say fitted in very well. Last month we had competitions galore as we played some Catch Phrase, darts, board games and Boccia. The heat was on during the games as we have found out we have some bad losers in the group' maybe next time Davie' Hehe' but everyone went home with a treat at the end' so really everyone was a winner.

Thanks

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big “thank you” to Marks & Spencer's who have supported Head Injury Support again this year. Thank you for your generous cheque of £4098.00, we truly appreciate it.