Sheffield Hallamshire Circle have the Snuff Box. It may be claimed at their November Meeting
During his year as President of Hull Circle from 2017-2018, John Fleming helped to raise £955 for his chosen charity, the Alzheimer's Society.
A number of people who are close to John have faced Alzheimers, so the charity ha a strong personal connection
Preferring to hand over the cheque to a representative from the charity, rather than sending it by post, John finally got his chance this year, when Sally Backhouse from the Alzheimer's Society attended a Circle meeting.
Sally thanked the Catenians profusely and said the money would be used to give support, help and advice to those with dementia and to help fund research on the disease. In the next decade it is thought that there will be 150 million suffering from dementia and 40% of those will be under the age of 65 years.
One approach taken in research is to focus on drug repurposing. Drugs which are already being used to treat other conditions are now being tested as a potential treatment for dementia and it is hoped that a new treatment may be available within 5-10 years. Thankfully a new blood test has been developed, which is 94% accurate in detecting dementia 20 years before memory loss and confusion develops.
John commented: "I was delighted to be able to hand over the cheque in person and extremely happy knowing that it would be spent helping sufferers of the disease and funding research. It was good to show those who had contributed, how their very generous donation will be used".
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Past Hull President, Peter Wright, showed his support for Guide Dogs for the Blind, by presenting a cheque for £1,370 to the national charity's engagement officer, Paul Bush.
Paul who is blind, gave a presentation to the Circle at the beginning of Peter's year in office in which told members how much he depended on his dog and how it had transformed his life.
The charity, which was founded in 1931, has changed the lives of thousands of people living with sight loss. Every hour another person in the UK goes blind and Guide Dogs enable many of these to lead full independent lives.
Paul thanked Hull Catenians for their generous donation and explained that it would make a real difference to many people in the UK who are living with sight loss. The money will be used to train the dogs, to support the chaity's breeding programme and interview and counsel blind people so that each individual can be matched with the right dog.
"Guide Dogs for the Blind was an easy choice for me," explained Peter. "One of my cousins has worked for the charity as a fundraiser for more than 10 years and I felt it would be a popular choice with Brothers and their families."
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Bro Provincial President 3(South) Tony Brookes recently visited Bedfordshire to present a 40 Year scroll to Bill Greenhalgh who is a life member of Doncaster Circle. He served as PP of 3 South two or three times and held officer posts at Doncaster and Barnsley.
A Further cheque for the same amount was presented to St Edwards Clifford parish SVP
Brothers and wives met at The Istanbul Restaurant for a night of Turkish Delight where they dined on traditional cuisine and drank authentic Turkish wines. Entertainment was also laid on with a Belly Dancer performing between courses, when she asked for volunteers for a crash course lesson, she saw many bellies but few volunteers! The Group photograph shows the party in full swing with everyone getting in to the role wearing the appropriate Fez.
Justin Park