1 | BRACE www.alzheimers-brace.org

Light in the darknessA personal insight from a dementia campaigner, page 12

Silver fundraisersRising to our 25th anniversary fundraising challenge, page 4

Increasing understandingAndrea Tales on research made possible by your funding, page 8

newsletterAutumn 2012www.alzheimers-brace.org

Jo Earlam, a keen marathon runner,

talks about why she is running to raise money for BRACE.

Running For BRACEAs a child I wasn’t good at competitive sport but we were an active family, always walking together, cycling, swimming and occasionally running.

My Dad always took part and was a prime motivator. However hard I pushed myself, Dad would always push me harder. When I complained – as I often did – his

advice was always the same: “It’s only pain, it won’t kill you!”

It’s a mantra I’ve repeated to myself many times on long distance walks, cycles and other physical challenge events.

Running was always the thing I least enjoyed,

Jo Earlham, top, with her father, bottom, with her local MP, Hugo Swire.

continued on page 2

“I’ve set myself a target

to run 50 marathons by the time

I’m 50”

2 | BRACE www.alzheimers-brace.org

SEPTEMBER Sun 23 ‘A Night to Remember’ 25th

Anniversary evening. The Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol, 6.30pm

SaT 29 Collection at Co-op, Portishead

Sun 30 Bristol Half Marathon

OCTOBER SaT 6 Autumn Fair, Newman Hall,

Westbury-on-Trym, 10am – 12.30pm

FRi 19 and SaT 20 Collection at Morrisons,

Fishponds SaT 20 Card Sale – Backwell Parish

Hall 10am-12 noon

nOvEMBER SaT 10 Linda Alvis’s Christmas

Bazaar, Special guest Don Cameron, 94 Worrall Road, Clifton 11am to 4pm

SaT 10 Christmas Card Charity Sale, Somerset Hall, High Street, Portishead 10am to 12 noon

DECEMBER Sun 9 BRACE Carol Service, St Mary

Redcliffe Church, 3pm TuE 11 Collection at Tesco,

Kenn Road, Clevedon WED 12 and ThuRS 13 Collection at Tesco Golden

Hill, Horfield, Bristol

JanuaRy 2013 WED 9 Story of Weston

(BRACE is supported charity, details t.b.a.)

FEBRuaRy Thu 28 “Capsule in a case” at

Elizabeth Hall, Hambrook – 10.30am – watch out for further details

aPRil 2013SaT 28 Spring Concert at St

George’s, Bristol Julia Hwang and The Bristol Male Voice Choir 3pm

May 2013MOn 13 BRACE Annual Meeting at

Mercure Bristol North (The Grange) from 7pm

After thanking her for all her hard work, the Trustees invited Susan to accept the new position of President of the charity. We are delighted to report that Susan has accepted!

Susan said, “I was taken completely by surprise when I was asked to take on this role, and it’s a great honour. I shall still be helping BRACE as a volunteer and speaker, of course, and I hope to encourage more people to join the fight against Alzheimer’s.”

The BRACE Trustees said thank you but not farewell to Susan Marshfield in July. Susan has been a Trustee for ten years and a volunteer for even longer, and has decided to step down from the Board of Trustees later this year.

President Susan!

One of the things that made this Golf Day extra special was that the winners were “Jack’s Lads”, the sons and grandsons of BRACE Trustee and volunteer Susan Marshfield. Tim and Jon Marshfield and their sons Tom (aged 20) and Billy (aged 16), beat 22 other teams to lift the trophy.

Susan’s husband Jack died from dementia in 1993 and she has given BRACE great service ever since, including many years as a Trustee. She said, “It’s wonderful that my time working with BRACE could be

topped off by my lads wining the trophy – Jack would be very proud of them. We’ve had such a fantastic day, the weather was perfect and the atmosphere was so supportive.”

Many thanks to everyone who took part or helped in any way and to Henbury Golf Club for hosting the tournament. Special thanks, as always, go to Roger and Pat Higgins and their team, committed volunteers who make this event happen year on year.

Yet another superb Golf Day – lovely weather, the Henbury course immaculate and over £3,700 raised for BRACE.

Jack’s Lads Triumph on Golf Daybut I had a long held fascination with the London Marathon, and thought it a good way to celebrate being 40.

That was back in 2005, the plan being to do it as a one-off – tick that ambition as achieved.

It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but somehow the long hours of training turned into a liking for running, that has since developed into a deep passion.

I built my marathon tally up slowly – 18 months later doing my second, then gradually more including Edinburgh, Belfast, Paris and last November, my 10th, New York.

Around the same time I learnt that Dad, who’s 70, has vascular dementia. I lost my two grandmothers, my mother-in-law, and a dear friend to Alzheimer’s, and two years ago another friend in his 50s was diagnosed with PCA, the same type of dementia as the author Terry Pratchett.

I think it was fate to secure a charity place for BRACE in the 2012 London Marathon, where I was delighted to get a PB of 04:05:07, and know that Dad was proudly watching on the television.

As a long time charity fundraiser, it seems totally relevant now to focus on trying to help overcome dementia. I especially want to support BRACE because it is funding vital work to find a cure for this terrible brain crippling disease.

When I see my Dad suffering – and my mum as his carer too – I feel sorrow for them both.

When I run, yes I do feel pain, but it’s a different kind of pain, a kind that won’t kill you, a kind you can run through and overcome.

That’s why I’ve set myself a target to run 50 marathons by the time I’m 50 in 2015 – currently 37 to go!

And that’s why I’m choosing to raise money for BRACE.

www.justgiving.com/Jo-EarlamBRACE

BRACE Chairman Alan Parsons presents Susan Marshfield with a bouquet after the Trustees’ meeting in July

Please check the events page on our website for updatesPRoGRAmmE oF EvEnTS 2012/2013

continued from page 1

call the BRACE appeal office on 0117 340 4831 Autumn 2012 | 3

As the year has gone on, we have steadily built up the list of businesses and community groups committed to raising at least £500 for BRACE by 31st December.

Those taking part have shown flair and imagination in their fundraising, and we hope they are also having fun doing it!

Students in uWE’s Medical Science Society organised a sponsored “bounce” on a bouncy castle. They kept this going in relays over 24 hours, a dizzying experience. Further activity is planned for the autumn with the new intake of students.

On joining the campaign iOP Publishing immediately increased their target to £5,000 and planned a series of fundraising events. These started with a “pub quiz” held in their office, which raised over £500. IOP’s next event was a staff social based around watching European Championship football on television.

Further events were organised in July and one of their staff, Phil Semple, took part in a 24 hour off road relay race. He covered an astonishing 120 km (75 miles). He finished with blisters and aching limbs, and hobbled over the finishing line with the aid of a borrowed walking stick. We applaud his commitment and endurance.

As we complete this Newsletter, IOP’s fundraising has already reached £4,000 for the year.

Nine members of staff at Fishponds Family Medical Practice entered the Bristol 10k race. They also produced one of the most striking photos we have been sent. Rachel Wring, a phlebotomist, says, “Everyone at the practice knows someone who has been affected by Alzheimer’s, and we work

with Alzheimer’s patients every day, so it’s a cause that is really close to our hearts.”

At time of writing, we do not yet have the final total from their fundraising, but it runs to many hundreds of pounds and is still rising.

Matt harris, a young photographer with his own business in Yate, dedicated a weekend to taking portraits with all proceeds to BRACE. He raised £500. Matt did this in memory of his grandfather, a former professional footballer who died last year after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Matt was supported by local MP and Pensions Minister, Steve Webb.

Matt said “My grandad was such an inspiration to me. After he became ill I realised how important it is to work hard and achieve something with my life. My business is going from strength to strength and I wanted to give something back to support the great work that BRACE does for Alzheimer’s research.”

We can’t do justice to all our Silver Service fundraisers here, but we hope that these selected highlights give an idea of what is happening. In our next Newsletter, we expect to report on some exciting fundraising by schools and churches as well as businesses.

We welcome newcomers to the Silver Service campaign right up to the end of the year, please contact the BRACE appeal office if you are interested.

Among the first to pass their £500 target were the residents of Plowright house, a sheltered housing complex in Hanham, South Gloucestershire.

Staff at Western Power Distribution found out about Silver Service after holding a cake sale for BRACE. The sale raised £125 and, having joined the fundraising campaign, they quickly took their contribution to £750.

Some supporters have raised funds in the course of their work. Doveton Press, who print this Newsletter, are collecting donations from customers by inviting them to add a voluntary £1 top up when they pay their invoices. avanti hygiene are making a regular monthly donation to BRACE.

Silver fundraisers!

Toni and ashley from TS Staff Training completed a skydive for BRACE in July. Two of their colleagues were prevented by bad weather from joining them but are planning a jump later in the year. This is actually the second successive year that this company has chosen BRACE as its supported charity.

4 | BRACE www.alzheimers-brace.org call the BRACE appeal office on 0117 340 4831 Autumn 2012 | 5

Supporters around the country found events where they could raise funds for BRACE. Jon Hartnoll ran the Forest of Dean Half Marathon, while Daniel Buttress ran in both Brighton and Reading.

Chris Rudall, from Worcestershire, ran the Blakedown Bolt (a 10,000 metre run) in June and, as we go to print, is preparing for a 95 mile slog from Blakedown to Cardiff. Chris, who is in the RAF, showed his versatility by running a cake stall with his mother-in-law to supplement the funds raised in the race itself.

Heidi Simms and Esther McPhee, colleagues in an Exeter salon, took part in the Great West Run and exceeded their fundraising target by a good distance.

The BUPA 10k in May followed part of the route of the Olympic Marathon and we were represented by Vicky Ledbury and Stella Kench.

Many of our participants in sponsored events are caring for someone with dementia or are raising funds in memory of a loved one. We haven’t told their stories here, but we admire the courage and determination they showed in trying to make sure that future generations do not need to suffer in the same way.

More sponsored fundraising is featured in our Silver Service report on pages 4 and 5.

The most high profile of all sponsored events in the UK is the London Marathon. We have five Gold Bond places but, with a place carried forward and five runners securing their own places, no fewer than eleven wore the BRACE logo this year. Nina Barrett, Nicola Greenwood, Ann Gill, John Cowham, Jamie Tippett, Gillian Tayler, Jo Earlam, Clair Morris, Lysander Bryant, Tricia Blackborow and Neil Drew – we are extremely grateful to all of you.

Between them, they raised over £15,000.

Jo Earlam’s fundraising efforts outside the marathon deserve as much of a mention as the run itself. She has contributed greatly to promoting the cause through media coverage in Devon, and you can read something of her story elsewhere in this issue.

Neil Drew was due to run in the 2011 marathon but was injured shortly beforehand in a tragic road accident which cost a friend his life. Neil was determined to complete the challenge he had set himself, feeling that he owed it all those who had sponsored him. His achievement is all the more remarkable considering that he ran a marathon in Bristol three days earlier and then cycled to London for his second marathon!

The outstanding fundraiser this year was Nina Barrett. With her friends Darin Melville, Nicola Greenwood and Ann Gill (the last two wearing BRACE vests in the marathon) she raised an astonishing £6,414. As well as sponsorship, they gathered money through various fundraising events, including a Christmas present wrapping session in which people donated a minimum of £1 to have a present wrapped by an expert!

Jamie Tippett with young supporters

Nina Barrett and Darin Melville were dubbed “Supergran and Superman” by their local newspaper)

This year, more people are coming forward to raise money for us by taking part in sponsored events. We can’t thank all of them properly in the limited space available here, though we have done our best to keep pace with them online! We hope that this selective roundup will serve as a thank you to all of them, who never cease to amaze and inspire us.

Clair Morris looking amazingly energetic after 18 miles!

Gillian Tayler prepares to run the London Marathon

Sponsored events round up

6 | BRACE www.alzheimers-brace.org call the BRACE appeal office on 0117 340 4831 Autumn 2012 | 7

In this context, our BRACE-funded multi-disciplinary research approach (see below) has revealed that the memory and cognitive dysfunction used to define mild cognitive impairment can be accompanied by breakdown in the integrity of many additional elements of brain activity not typically examined during diagnosis. These include various aspects of vision and attention-related brain function. Our longitudinal research has shown that some of these visual and attention problems are worse in people with mild cognitive impairment who develop dementia; the use of such tests may therefore improve its early diagnosis.

However, as visual and visual attention-related function forms the basis for environmental awareness, interpretation, perception, cognition, memory and behaviour, when these processes go wrong the consequences can be serious. Our research has indicated that people with mild cognitive impairment may also experience significant problems in some of aspects of brain function

(sometimes irrespective of whether they develop dementia or not) and such findings indicate that for some people with mild cognitive impairment may impact upon behaviours such as driving and even walking about (both of which are highly dependent upon vision and attention).

These research findings have been made possible by a long-term BRACE-funded research programme involving the collaboration of many scientists, clinicians, patients and control participants and helpers, and employing a multidisciplinary research methodology approach using techniques such as:

Eye tracking: which involves the measurement of how our eyes move and how our pupils work; both of which are important indicators of attention and information processing.

Computer-based reaction time tests (psychophysics): Variability in a person’s reaction time in response to a given task is related to the integrity of the white matter tracts

of the brain and provides a simple test of such integrity. We have also used such techniques to investigate the brain’s ability to process moving stimuli, objects and shadows.

Electroencephalography (EEG): We have used this technique to show that very early or low level visual and attention-related processing previously thought to be preserved in mild cognitive impairment and dementia can in fact be significantly abnormal. In conjunction with funding from the BBSRC we are now using this technique to examine the integrity of visual and auditory function in Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment and cognitively healthy ageing.

Methodology: It is really important to ensure that our research is valid and we have investigated many factors that can detrimentally affect the outcome research and its clinical applicability.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) & structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): In Cardiff, we (Aline Bompas, Tony Bayer, Krish Singh, myself and

colleagues) are close to completing our study examining the physiological and structural basis of vision and attention-related processing and how their integrity are affected by healthy ageing, Alzheimer’s disease and vascular cognitive impairment.

Our aim now is to continue to apply our research findings to real-life issues such as improving the early diagnosis of dementia, differentiating between the various forms of dementia at an earlier stage of the disease and understanding how abnormalities in visual and attention-related processing can cause real-life problems in behaviours such as driving and walking.

Indeed, how vision and attention affect the ability of older adults to walk safely through their surroundings is being investigated in our new study led by Ute Leonards and Judy Haworth; using state-of–the-art technology and real-life walking situations. The outcome of this study will help us to determine why some older adults and patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia are at an increased risk of falls.

Increasing our understanding of mild cognitive impairment

Many people who attend memory clinics are given a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. This disorder is most associated with an increased risk of developing dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

As yet there is no definitive way to distinguish between those individuals with mild cognitive impairment who will and will not develop dementia. Consequently, research priority tends to be focused upon improving the early diagnosis of dementia in individuals with mild cognitive impairment as drug and other interventions are likely to be of most benefit at the earliest stages of the disease process.

by Andrea Tales

“These research findings have been made possible by a long-term BRACE-funded research programme”

Andrea Tales is a Senior Research Fellow at the

University of Bristol and moves to a new role as

Senior Lecturer at Swansea University later this year.

8 | BRACE www.alzheimers-brace.org call the BRACE appeal office on 0117 340 4831 Autumn 2012 | 9

The web address might not have changed, but the BRACE website has had a makeover and now looks very different!

The Internet has changed a lot in the last few years, particularly in the rise of social media, and people’s expectations of a website are very different as a result. We have tried to make our site welcoming, attractive, informative and interactive.

A great way to help BRACE online is to make use of the opportunities for interaction that we provide. These include:

The memories page – follow the link from the home page to record a treasured memory and help show what we are fighting to save.

Social media – follow the links from the foot of our home page and follow us on Facebook or Twitter. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, you can also use the buttons on any page, including news and events reports, to let your friends and contacts know about the charity and its work.

Our blog – again, there is a link at the foot of our home page for you to follow our blog.

We are now in a position to take some of the research advances that we have made here with them, and translate it into treatments for patients with dementia.”

BRACE currently supports research at the Universities of Bristol, Bath, Cardiff and the West of England (UWE). By focusing its resources on this limited geographical area, the charity has been able to help develop a network of world class research teams.

Whatever the geography of the research, of course, the beneficiaries are people anywhere in the world who might one day develop dementia. Charity begins at home, but it knows no boundaries!

A “golden age” for dementia research in BristolDementia research in and around Bristol could be entering a “golden age”, according to Seth Love, Professor of Neuropathology at the University of Bristol and scientific adviser to BRACE.

In an interview in May with Vicki Mathias, health reporter for The Post, Seth talked of the research being carried out by the Bristol Dementia Research Group, including at the SW Dementia Brain Bank at Frenchay Hospital. This includes work on the removal of amyloid from the brain, improving blood flow to the brain and the possibility of a major drug trial.

Looking back at what has been achieved over the past quarter of a century, Seth said, “For quite a while now we have been one of the leading pre-clinical dementia research groups in the UK with a strong international reputation, and to a large extent that is down to BRACE who have been funding and providing core support for many years.

“Without BRACE we would not exist. As a result of the work which has been done with the support of the South West Dementia Brain Bank and BRACE funding, I think we are really entering a golden age in dementia research here in Bristol.

www.alzheimers-brace.org

BRACE has celebrated its silver anniversary with three special events. Two have already taken place and the third is due to happen very shortly after this Newsletter is published.

The “Noel with Cole” concert in March and the Anniversary Coffee Morning in May were both a great success, raising over £3,000 between them. The concert was performed by Three Men’s Company, with a selection of pieces by Noel Coward and Cole Porter. It raised £2,288.

The coffee morning took place at the St Monica Trust’s magnificent premises in Cote Lane, Bristol. With a variety of stalls and a talk about the history of St Monica’s, it raised £1,050.

If you read this article before 23rd September, there might still be time to book a place at “A Night to Remember” at the Tobacco Factory, Southville, Bristol. This starts with a sparkling reception at 6.30pm, followed by a show by The Opera Dudes and The Jimmy the Lip Allstar Band. Tickets at £25 are available from the Tobacco Factory on 0117 902 0344 or www.tobaccofactory.com.

We are very grateful to the members of the Support Committee and the other volunteers who have worked so hard over several months to make these events happen.

A year of celebrationIn our 25th anniversary year we had an extra prize for the Silver Service competition so we had two winners, Mrs Julie McLaren from Yate, South Gloucestershire and Mrs Hilda Long from Cowbridge. Both winners received a £25 gift voucher together with a BRACE Silver Service pen.

The winner of the July competition, Actors, will be announced in our next issue. The prize, two tickets to see Aladdin at the Bristol Hippodrome was generously donated by the Bristol Hippodrome.

Our latest competition is enclosed and the lucky winner will receive two tickets to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Theatre Royal, Bath together with a copy of the 2013 BRACE calendar. Thank you to the theatre for donating the tickets.

Good luck!

Competitions update

10 | BRACE www.alzheimers-brace.org call the BRACE appeal office on 0117 340 4831 Autumn 2012 | 11

“Without BRACE we would not exist.”

My father often said when I was a child that if he was ever ill he would much rather be treated by a vet than a doctor. Back then it was an amusing one liner from a farmer and man of the country, but it turned out to be a poignantly insightful look into his future, because to try and work out what he wanted, needed and felt during much of the 19 years he suffered from vascular dementia required the skills of a vet; someone who tries to understand and treat their patients without any help whatsoever from the patient.

Year by year dementia locked away parts of dad’s brain that no one had the key to. He was no longer in our world in the same way that we were never truly in his, and in attempting to bridge this divide we, as a family, had to become expert interpreters. All the love, care and dedication in the world, however, still leaves you feeling you could always have done more.

I have heard it said that with dementia the mind passes away long before the body ever does, and that is the painful reality both for the person battling the disease and, more acutely, their loved ones watching their decline, powerless to prevent it.

In my father’s case, his lengthy battle with dementia ended in April 2012, less than two weeks after his 85th birthday. That he suffered with this disease for so long is largely down to the fact that his body, in the most part, was extremely strong. He could have had a long and very happy retirement if he hadn’t been let down by his brain, slowly and very cruelly.

Although dad’s battle is over, sadly for so many others, their struggle is just beginning. The work of BRACE is vital in helping to find out what causes dementia, how it can be diagnosed quicker and treated more effectively, and ultimately how it can be prevented.

I effectively began to lose my father when I was just 12 years old; we silently mourned his loss while he was with us, and now we mourn all over again. BRACE can play a massive part in ensuring that other families do not go through what we have been through. Dementia will one day be beaten if everyone recognises the insidiousness of this disease, and backs the work that can end the hold it is taking on so many lives.

You can follow me on Twitter: @bethyb1886

Finding light in the darknessBeth Britton,

a freelance feature writer and dementia

campaigner, gives a personal

insight into her father’s

lengthy battle with vascular

dementia

The BRACE stall at the Portishead Flower Show. A big ‘thank you’ to our hardworking team of volunteers in Portishead, who raise funds and promote the charity throughout the year.

News in brief...

Three members of Chipping Sodbury Rotary Club cycled from John O’Groats to Lands End and raised £3,650. BRACE was very grateful to be chosen to receive a third of this money. Richard Kingscott (left) presented cheques to Mark Poarch (second left) and representatives of BrAMS and local scouts and guides.

BRACE was honoured to be invited to the Bristol premiere of the new Aardman animation, The Pirates, by director Peter Lord. We were given 50 tickets for supporters. It was not a fundraiser, but an unusual and

lovely way to thank some of the people who do so much for the charity. A big surprise was the attendance of Hugh Grant, who voiced the pirate captain in the film.Photo © Evening Post

Community group the Nailsea Lions Club raised £700 for BRACE in the spring. Karen Zold and Club President Chris Cadwgan are seen here presenting the cheque to BRACE Chief Executive Mark Poarch.

As we go to print, Corina Hawkins, originally from North Somerset, is about to run a 12k race in Perth, Western Australia.

How far can you take fundraising for BRACE?

The BRACE stall at the annual Frenchay Flower Show in July

12 | BRACE www.alzheimers-brace.org call the BRACE appeal office on 0117 340 4831 Autumn 2012 | 13

Please find enclosed a donation of £____ to BRACE. Thank you for your donation. If you are a UK taxpayer

please complete the Gift Aid Declaration and BRACE can recover the tax at no extra cost to you.

Please contact me: I’d like to know more about: “Adopting” BRACE at work/school/other Volunteering to help with collections or events Taking part in a sponsored event

Please add me to your newsletter mailing list

FULL NAME

ADDRESS

POST CODE

If you would like us to contact you, please supply:

DAYTIME TEL NO

AND/OR EMAIL

BRACE donation and contact formReturn to BRACE Appeal Office, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol BS16 1LE You can donate by credit or debit card online – www.alzheimers-brace.org

Gift aid declaration – for past, present and future donations to BRACE Please treat as Gift Aid donations all qualifying gifts of money made today in the past 4 years in the future. Please tick all boxes you wish to apply.

I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that charities will reclaim on my gifts for that tax year. I understand the charity will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I give. SIGNATURE DATE

Please notify BRACE if you: • Want to cancel this declaration • Change your name or home address • No longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains.

If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code. We will keep a record of your donation/enquiry but will not contact you unless you have agreed that we can.

Please tick this box if you would like to receive a written acknowledgement:

It was last century when the BRACE Easter chick first flew into our lives.

The first mention of Chicks in our records is in 1999 and they have been flying the nest for BRACE ever since. We know they have gone to Aberystwyth and Southampton, to France and California, as well as taking up residence in Winterbourne and Westbury-on-Trym!

Mary Sansbury started the Chick Campaign off in 1999 and handed over the project in 2004 to Carol Seel and Gill Bonham who still run the Chick Packing Station today.

In this the 25th Anniversary year of BRACE, we are delighted to have raised the highest sum ever – over £2,000! Literally thousands of Chicks have been sold since 1999 and we think you will be as amazed as we were to discover that the total amount raised is £19,252!

Isn’t it amazing what you can do with a ball of wool and a pair of knitting needles? If you are a keen knitter and would like to help out, there is an easy pattern which the BRACE Appeal Office can send to you by post or email and we would be very grateful for some early contributions of Chicks in January or earlier, ready for Easter 2013.

Cheep cheep!by Bee Lang, BRACE volunteer

Counting our Chicks

BRACE Autumn FairSATURDAY 6TH OCTOBER 2012

from 10am to 12.30pm.

Newman Hall, Grange Court Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS9 4DR.

MANY STALLS INCLUDING:

Beauty & Bath, Second-hand Books,

Bric-a-brac, Cakes & Jams, Collectables, Jewellery,

Plants & Shrubs, Toys & Games

The new range of BRACE Christmas cards and 2013 BRACE calendar will be on sale

Refreshments available

We look forward to seeing you!With thanks to CJ Hole Henleaze for their

sponsorship of the Autumn Fair

Don’t miss theReport on legaciesThe biggest single source of income for BRACE is legacies. Every year, we receive money that people have left in their will to continue their support of dementia research after they have died.

In 2010, we received £275,000, but even this figure was dwarfed by the £523,000 we received in 2011.

Sometimes BRACE receives a sum specified by the person who made the will. This could be a small donation but can also run into thousands or even tens of thousands of pounds. The biggest legacies we receive are generally where we have been left the residue (or a share of the residue) of someone’s estate.

Even people who would not be considered well off can make a big difference to dementia research by remembering BRACE in their will. If you would like to help BRACE in this way, you can obtain a copy of our “Guide to Making or Changing a Will” by contacting the office or downloading from this page on our website www.alzheimers-brace.org/legacies.

In memoriamRelatives of people who have died with dementia often want to remember the passing of their loved ones by supporting research that may one day save others from suffering in the same way.

Increasingly, we receive donations collected at funerals or organised among friends and relatives after someone has died. In both

2010 and 2011, BRACE received donations of this sort totalling over £16,000. A similar level of income seems likely this year.

Others remember a loved one, often months or even years after their passing, by raising money through participation in a sponsored event.

It seems fitting that one of the ways people support a dementia research charity is by giving money “in memory”.

Registered Charity 297965

14 | BRACE www.alzheimers-brace.org call the BRACE appeal office on 0117 340 4831 Autumn 2012 | 15

As always, Brian Sanders has come up trumps with a wonderful picture of Royal York Crescent. This is the 18th year Brian has supported BRACE in this way. However, this year, Brian has also very generously donated the original pastel drawing for sale.

The pastel measures approx. 430mm x 310mm, unframed. We are inviting sealed bids by post, marked “picture auction”.

If you are interested in purchasing the drawing or would like to view the original please contact the BRACE Appeal Office. As a guide we are putting a reserve of £300 on the picture. Bids close on 31st October. Brian has also donated four of his earlier pastels and we shall shortly be giving details about their sale on our website.

We are also very pleased that the Packer family have once again allowed us to use some of Geoff Packer’s colour photographs for our 2013 calendar.

Jan Packer said: “When Brace first approached me to use my dad’s photos of Bristol for their 2011 calendar I was thrilled. I was honoured to be asked again in this 25th anniversary year to help create the 2013 calendar.

“Our last calendar received great feedback. One lady recognised herself in one picture. She said she remembered a man taking the photograph! Well, that was my dad: he was probably getting in the way again! Little did he know how much we’d all appreciate his hobby so many years later.

It’s that time of year again! Our Christmas cards are piled high on the shelves ready for the first orders which come flooding in after the newsletter is sent out. You can see this year’s selection on the enclosed Christmas leaflet.

Calendar and Cards

“If you have personal memories of any of the photos in the calendar, please contact us. It brings the photos to life.”

Please support BRACE by buying our cards and calendar and take advantage of this opportunity to own one of Brian Sanders’ original pastels.

a list of events at which cards and calendars will be available is shown on page 2.

Cards and Calendar will also be available from:

haigh & Son, Estate Agents, North View, Westbury Park (from 29th October) Open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm

The BRACE Appeal Office, Frenchay Hospital (next to the restaurant) Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (please ring and check that the office is manned if you are making a special journey)

Melanie’s Kitchen, 2 Downend Road, Downend (calendar only) Monday to Saturday 9am to 5.30pm

Below, Brian Sanders’ latest Christmas card. Above, images from our 2013 calendar.

16 | BRACE Registered Charity 297965 www.alzheimers-brace.org