8 members of our Wednesday ‘learning to live with aphasia’ group have stepped up to the challenge of a 4 week singing taster course.  Musician Sue Messenger is leading this younger group through a variety of popular songs from football anthems to Beatles hits.
We hope that this fledgling choir will join with the existing Dyscover singers to perform together later in the year.

Simon Vlok ran the Brighton Marathon in aid of Dyscover. His father Brian is a member of our New Malden group.

Simon raised over £1,000. He suffered a knee injury during training, but still completed the course in 4 hours 17 minutes. Congratulations Simon and many thanks.

Simon says: ‘The atmosphere on the day was amazing, I had lots of supporters cheering me on, which was a massive help, particularly in the last few miles! I’m really delighted I was able to raise some money for Dyscover, which has helped my dad so much over the years. A big thank you to all those who supported me.’

Graduate Engineers from Atkins, the UK’s largest design & engineering company, with offices in nearby Epsom, came to speak to two Dyscover groups this week .

The graduates, who are keen to develop their presentation skills with a different audience, learned about aphasia whilst Dyscover members,which include several who worked in the construction industry before their strokes, enjoyed an interesting talk .

Atkins’ most exciting recent UK project was probably the Olympic Park, which Dyscover had visited during construction and again to view the Paralympic Games .

Some 80 people braved cold weather and slippery pavements [on 24 January] to say thank you to Gill Jackson for the difference she has made to so many lives.

Gill set up Dyscover in 1994 and since then it has helped hundreds of people in Surrey to develop their own communication strategies to combat aphasia. Gill was awarded an MBE in 2008 in recognition  of her achievements.

Dyscover’s own choir sang,  specially composed poems were recited and Gill received many gifts that had been made by members of Dyscover groups.

Our photo illustrates the gifts that included a portrait of Gill in acrylic, a tapestry cushion and pots planted by members who have been encouraged to get back to gardening.

Dyscover will continue to provide a vital service for people with aphasia in Surrey and surrounding areas, under the leadership of Lynne Bainbridge.

David Newnham assists in the Top Draw at Dyscover’s Christmas lunch. Shares are sold at £10 each and there are 5 draws a year.

50% of contributions are retained by Dyscover with the other 50% being returned to members as cash prizes of up to £200.

To join the Top Draw Club click here

 

The Trustees are delighted to announce the appointment of Lynne Bainbridge as Dyscover’s Executive Director.

Lynne, who has successfully lead and developed a local branch of Age Concern over the past ten years will take over the next phase of Dyscover’s development from Gill Jackson, our Founder and Leader on the 4th of February 2013.

Lynne is a local Banstead resident who has worked in the NHS as a medical scientist as well as the voluntary sector.   Since 1991 she has worked for 3 charities:- Victim Support Lambeth, Age Concern Lambeth and most recently as CEO of Age UK Merton.   Lynne has been a volunteer and board member with a youth diversion project and Merton Community Transport.   She is a keen cyclist, recently raising money for Age Concern Merton by cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats.

On her appointment, Lynne said “I have been given the opportunity of leading Dyscover in the next phase of its development.   I look forward to learning about the needs of the people we serve and working with the staff and volunteers at Dyscover to meet them.”
 

Shoppers in Epsom’s Ashley Centre responded well to our profile raising stand on Wednesday 17th October – manned by Dyscover members. This was a joint enterprise with Keith Moss of the Stroke Association, who ran a ‘Know your Blood Pressure’ free testing service alongside our stand.

Guildford Barbershop Harmony Club presented £1200 today – proceeds from the Springtime Harmony concert at Guildford’s Electric Theatre in May . Seen here are Ron Billard and other representatives of the barbershop choir together with some of the Dyscover singers who took part in the concert including ( in red back row) Christine Dearsley our own choir leader!

Members of the Community Apahsia Awareness Project were at the Mole Valley Volunteer Awards on Tuesday 15th May.   The awards, organised by Mid Surrey CVS and sponsored by ExxonMobil, brought together dedicated volunteers from across the borough and celebrated the valuable contributions that they make to people’s lives.

The CAAP team was nominated by Sally Atterton, the wife of one of our members.   Thanks Sally and thanks to the CAAP team whose presentations to clubs and groups continue to go from strength to strength!

Our picture shows Mike Cutler, David Evans, Ron Loynton and Tom Pearson accepting the award.

Dyscover’s Choir gave their first public performance on April 22nd – by invitation.  Don Billard of Surrey Fringe was so impressed when he heard them, that he invited them to sing at a fundraising event at the Electric Theatre in Guildford.

‘Amazing’ was the word on everyone’s lips after their performance and the audience reaction was extraordinary, their applause was so loud and extended that the choir felt unable to leave the stage for a while!

The Choir was formed about six years ago by volunteer Christine Dearsley, who is their conductor, with the help and encouragement of speech therapist Francis Crombie.  They began singing songs from the Sixties and now have a strong core of regular members.