www.breatheeasytelford.btik.com

July / August2013

Registered charity in England and Wales (326730) and in Scotland (SCO38415)

Breathe Easy Telford is a self-help group affiliatedto the British Lung Foundation, dedicated to

bringing together all those in our area affected byrespiratory diseases, both patients and carers.

Meetings are monthly, every fourth Thursday atWellington Civic & Leisure Centre

[Swimming Baths], Larkin Way, Tan Bank,Wellington, Telford TF1 1LX at 2.00 p.m.Please contact chairman - Gerald Newton

01952 593561 GSNwtn@aol.comfor further details.

E-mail the editor: dillarstone@blueyonder.co.uk

Prizes of £20 to Win for 2014 Calendar CompetitionBreathe Easy Telford’s 2014 Calendar gives you the chance to submit photographs of your pet(s) or

any animal for that matter. Enter Now!! See page 4 for full details

ASDA LIVING Awareness Day raises £ 37.50for Breathe Easy Telford

On Sunday 7th July, some of us * joinedLynda Wilde, the Community Colleague atAsda Living, on the Wellington Retail Park.She and Asda had kindly offered to hostan Awareness Day to give Breathe Easythe opportunity to talk to their customersabout lung disease and to discuss andpromote the work that our group and BLF(The British Lung Foundation) do.We also held a raffle and managed to raise£37.50. Asda donated a couple of prizesas did some of our members. Thank you toeveryone who stopped and bought a tick-et! And a huge thank you to Asda, Lyndaand her colleagues for looking after us sowell. Lynda has also generously offered tohost another Awareness Day in the future.

Veronica Miller * Veronica, Brian, Elaine, Mark and Lynda not watching the tennis!

Garth Hewish – Vice ChairmanIt is with regret that we have to announce the death of our Vice Chairman, Garth on Wednesdaythe 17 July 2013. The group sends Sheila and family their sincere thoughts and wishes.An obituary will appear in the next newsletter.

Breathe Easy Telford AGMWe have our AGM on July 25th. This meeting is an opportunity for members to be nominated to go onthe committee. Running a group requires a lot of behind the secenes work. This is an opportunity for youto give a little time and support our work in running Breathe Easy Telford. As they say many hands makelight work and support to is needed.Positions are Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary, Finance, Transport, Welfare, Meet & Greet,Speaker/entertainment, Web Design/Editor and Editor/general support. We are in need in particular of asecretary. This role involves communicating with British Lung Foundation, members and other contactsto the group and feeding back to the committee. Email access would be required.In the past we have had a maintained a Welfare presence to members. There are a lot of members of thegroup who do not attend the meetings due to their health. There are times when those members who doattend fall ill and have spells of being housebound. The welfare role is to maintain a telephone contactfrom time to time. A service much appreciated as some one who who lives alone and to hear a friendlyvoice when you not feeling well rather than the annoying phone calls selling the latest Solar Panels etc,you don’t want. Do you like to chat on the phone, help someone when they are not feeling their best. Wewould like to share this role with several people so as would only be a few phone calls to make.

Post Pulmonary Exercise Class UpdateTracey Oliver, the Class Instructor, reports that participants of our post pulmonary rehab exerciseprogramme held at St Georges Cricket Club are enjoying the course and are able to continue withsome of the exercises they have learnt at home. She has received many positive comments fromparticipants who have been really pleased with the positive effect the gentle exercises have hadon their health and general feelings of wellbeing. The Committee are pleased to report that wehave recently purchased £200 worth of equipment to enable Tracey to vary the exercises offered.This includes rehabilitation resistance bands, foam balls and bean bags. Have fun everyone!

Breathe Easy Telford AGMWe have our twelfth AGM on July 25th. This meeting is an opportunity for members to benominated to go on to the committee. Running the group requires a lot of behind the scenes work.This is an opportunity for you to give a little time and support in running Breathe Easy Telford. Asthey say many hands make light work and support is needed.Committee positions are Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Transport, Trip Organiser,Welfare, Meet & Greet, Speaker/Entertainment, Web Design/Editor and Editor/General support.We are particular in need of a Secretary. This role involves receiving and sending communicationsfrom British Lung Foundation, members and other contacts to the group and feeding back this tothe committee. Email access would be required.In the past we have had offered Welfare support to members. There are lots of members of thegroup who do not attend the meetings due their health for example. There are times also whenthese members and those who do attend meetings fall ill and have spells of being housebound,particularly during the winter. The Welfare role maintains telephone contact from time to time withsuch members. A service much appreciated speaking as some one who lives alone. To hear afriendly voice when you not feeling well, lifts your spirits, rather than the usual annoying phone callsselling such latest things as Solar Panels, etc. Do you like to chat on the phone? Help someonewhen they are not feeling their best? We would be happy to hear from a number of members toenable us to share this role with several people, so that there will only be a few phone calls eachto make. Don’t be shy! It is a rewarding role to undertake.If you would like further information before this meeting, you can approach any existing committeemember now.We can note interest before the meeting and can nominate you to the group. Nominations are alsotaken at the meeting. Mark Dillarstone

A Sunny Summer afternoon at SunnycroftThe group visited Sunnycroft on Monday July 15th. This is a Victorian Villa inWellington; it remained in the ownership of the same family from 1880 until1997. The house and its grounds were then bequeathed to The National Trust.The approach to the property is along a driveway bordered by an impressiveavenue of very tall sequoia redwood trees. Sunnycroft was built in two parts.The first part was completed in 1880, the rooms from the original part of thehouse are relatively modest in size. In 1899 the family extended the houseadding the Billiard Room, Dining Room, Staircase Hall and the new entrance.We were welcomed and firstly given a history of the house and the family.Then we split up and wandered the house at our own pace and viewed the

various rooms. Informative guides were on hand in each room. The roomsare as they were the day Joan Lander died in 1997. She had spent timekeeping the house as it was during the years she and the family lived thereas she had become aware of the importance of keeping the house in itscurrent state, for the nation. I was told that in the later years of her life shesearched for items previous sold from the house and went and broughtthem back. We then gathered outside on the terrace, over looking thegrounds for a delightful cream tea in the glorious sunshine. All enjoyed theday and on behalf of the group I thank the National Trust for their helpfulassistance. Mark Dillarstone

Welfare benefit changes in 2013This year the Government are making changes to the welfare benefit system for both means testedand non-means tested benefits. Here’s how those changes might affect you.Personal Independence Payment One big change is the new Personal Independence Payment(PIP), which will replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for new claimants between the ages of 16and 64.The switch over is being carried out in stages. People in the north west of England, Cheshire,Merseyside, Cumbria and north east England were the first to claim PIP in April 2013. It is proposedthat new claimants in all other areas will begin in July 2013. People already receiving DLA willcontinue on this benefit until they are gradually ‘migrated’ over to PIP. The migration is planned tostart in October 2013 and the Government is hoping to have moved all existing DLA claimants by2016. Children under the age of 16 receiving DLA can continue to do so for as long as they areeligible until they are 16, when they will be moved over to PIP. PIP still covers both your care needs(now called the Daily Living Component) and your mobility needs. It will be assessed through a pointssystem. Both the care and mobility components can be paid at either a standard or enhanced rate.Universal Credit Universal Credit is due to start nationally in 2013 and will replace:Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income-related Employment andSupport Allowance (ESA), Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Elements of the Social Fund andWorking Tax Credit.Universal Credit is planned to begin for new claimants in October 2013 and for existing claimantsfrom April 2014, with the aim of all existing claimants having been transferred by 2017.Council Tax Benefit Council Tax Benefit (CTB) is also due to change. Currently local councilsadminister the benefit but the rates and rules are set by central Government. Under the changes localcouncils will hold responsibility for setting council tax rates. Pensioners who receive council taxbenefit as part of their pension credit will not be affected by any reduction in the amounts awardedfor CTB.Pension Credit is changingIf you are in later life, you may be affected if:· your partner is under Pension Credit age, and you are over Pension Credit age. You will no longerbe able to claim Pension Credit – your partner will have to claim Universal Credit instead. But if youare already claiming Pension Credit when the change comes in you won't be affected (unless oruntil there is a break in your Pension Credit claim for some reason).· you have dependent children living with you. Child Tax Credit will be abolished, and financial helpfor children will be provided on Universal Credit or Pension Credit.· you are working in a low-paid job and over Pension Credit age. You will no longer be able to claimWorking Tax Credit.By ‘Pension Credit age’, we mean the age at which you are eligible to claim it. You don’t actuallyhave to be claiming it. This age is gradually increasing at the same pace as women’s State Pensionage.Because Housing Benefit is being abolished, Pension Credit will change. It will include a new hous-ing credit to help towards rent. It is expected that this will come in for new claimants in October2014 while if you are already receiving Housing Benefit you will be transferred to the new PensionCredit system between 2014 and 2017.Because Child Tax Credit is being abolished, Pension Credit will include additional amounts if youhave dependent children. There may be a new savings limit for Pension Credit. There is currentlyno savings limit. If one is introduced, it will be over £16,000. It will be easier for carers to claim theextra amount for carers in Pension Credit.BLF - The specialist team of nurses and advisers on the helpline are dedicated to answering yourquestions. They can help you with anything to do with living with a lung condition.Ringing the helpline never costs more than a local call and is usually free, even from a mobile. Linesare open Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm.Age UK - Call 0800 169 6565 for advice or information.© British Lung Foundation (Pension Credit information from Age UK)

Next Pub Meal Monday - 5th August - Noon. Wickets Inn, 240 Holyhead Rd, Wellington, Telford TF1 2EB. All Welcome!

British Lung Foundation Research SuccessesBritish Lung Foundation has funded many groundbreaking research studies over the years.Research is so important in the fight against lung disease. It will help us develop new treat-ments and cures – saving, prolonging and improving lives.Research projects have had many successes. Among many other achievements, the researchthat has been funded has: identified one of the genes involved in lung cancer; pioneered the use of a test to diagnose and monitor lung disease in young children; proved that vitamin C is crucial for healthy lungs; identified which components of air pollution are the most hazardous to our lungs; pioneered effective home treatment for children with pneumonia; proved that viruses like the common cold are the main trigger for exacerbations (flare ups) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); pioneered the use of pulmonary rehabilitation treatment for COPD; led to a 30 per cent reduction in the unnecessary use of antibiotics to treat chest infections; shed light on how lung cancers become resistant to treatment; and showed that appropriate treatment is crucial in helping people with obstructive sleep apnoea to drive safely. © BLFIf you would like to learn more about any of the above success, I can prepare an article forinclusion in the next newsletter, please drop me a line. Editor

Prizes of £20 to Win for 2014 Calendar CompetitionUPDATE:- I have had only a few entries, so lots of chances to win!!

Breathe Easy Telford’s 2014 Calendar gives you the chance to submit photographs of yourpet(s) or any animal for that matter.Please submit entries, preferably by Email to the the editor (see front page) byAugust 17th, so plenty of time. Photos taken by digital cameras give the best resultsin printing.We are going to give two prizes of £20 each, one for the photo picked for the front coverand one for the best judged by the committee of the 13 used within the calendar.As I have an entry from a committee member it is only fair to have entries judged by anindependent body. Local printers MDT Reprographics, who have provided a sterlingservice since 2007 in printing our newsletter have agreed to pick the winning photos.They will be printing the calendar. Profits from the sales will go towards the running of thegroup. Good luck! Editor

Tombola - Tuesday 28 May - PRH raised £150A big thank you to all who contributed gifts for our yearly Tombola at the Princess Royal TelfordHospital. A big special thanks to Mary Evans and Veronica Miller for helping me to get it together.Also my thanks go to Brian Bennett, Veronica Tarr, Patrick and Veronica Wilds for their help onthe day and to all who came to support us. We raised the sum of £150 which in today's climate isa wonderful amount. So again many sincere thanks. Mary Cook

Daisy’s Tea LawnOn Saturday 17th August there is the chance to relive the 1940’s

enjoying tea and cake of the era, out on the lawn.All proceeds from the event going toward raising funds for Breathe Easy Telford.Please ring Kate Johnson - 01952 403590 for further information and invitation.

Next Group Meeting - 25 July // No Group Meeting in August! // Group Meeting - 26 Sep.