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Jenna Cox will be presenting a talk about nutritional therapy at 1.30pm on 22 February 2024, please come along to find out more.

The Brightwell is always looking for ways in which to support their community of Members as well as the local community. As a registered charity that has supported people affected by neurological conditions for over 30 years The Brightwell understands first hand that there are many invisible barriers to inclusion that can affect so many in society. A hugely important part of the work that the Brightwell does is enabling independence and fostering confidence. Particularly so that people affected by neurological conditions can continue to live a fulfilling and enjoyable life. A large part of this is helping people remain in paid or voluntary employment, for as long as possible. A career can be a huge part of person’s identity, and is something that many able bodied, or neurotypical people can take for granted. Being able to remain in work, is of huge benefit, economically, socially, and of course financially. Being able to achieve success in a profession can really help people affected by illness, or disability feel in control of their lives. With this in mind The Brightwell is excited to welcome an amazing organisation to their Centre in Bradley Stoke! Inclusive Change works with organisations to promote awareness and a better understanding of neurodiversity (ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia and more), alongside supporting individuals to achieve greater success in the workplace. Inclusive Change have a range of free resources available on their website and offer courses, coaching and access to work services for individuals, businesses, leaders and families. They also champion digital safety for young people. They are at The Centre Monday-Friday and can be contacted via their website inclusivechange.co.uk. Inclusive Change are also digital safety champions and will be hosting The Castle Conference: Digital Safety and Wellbeing for Young People on 24th April at leigh Court Bristol for further details click here: digital wellbeing for young people 25 April 2024 (icaw-cic.com) .

It's back for 2024! So many missed out on our #corporate packages in 2023 so don't delay in signing your team up today, drop me a message or email at: libby.jordan@thebrightwell.org.uk Dress up is not mandatory but strongly encouraged - who's you're favourite super hero?? Friday 10 May 2024 Slots allocated between 10am - 5pm Village Hotels, Filton, Bristol Raise vital funds to ensure therapy at The Brightwell is available to support people affected by #neurological conditions such as #multiplesclerosis #parkinsons #strokerecovery #oxygentherapy #neurophysio #teambuilding #charityday #bristol #charityabseil

We are delighted to welcome Helen Green to the Brightwell! Helen joins us in a new role as Centre Administrator. Helen will primarily be working with Doro Pasantes, our CEO, and across all departments ensuring the smooth running of the Charity’s administrative and operational requirements. Helen has a varied background in psychology, research and project management and she is also a qualified Solution Focused Clinical Hypnotherapist & Psychotherapist. Helen is delighted to be joining the charity sector and thinks this new role will be both challenging and exciting. She's passionate about helping others and likes to keep busy! Welcome to the Brightwell team Helen!

We would very much like to thank Mark Colfer, Managing Director of Alteriors Design & Build Ltd for his recent donation of some designer carpet tiles for one of our treatment rooms. Treatment Room 3 was in need of a refurbishment, which was carried out by our Premises and Facilities Manager, Steve Fitt. We had not originally planned on doing the flooring. The carpet tiles provided by Mark have given the room a new lease of life as can be seen in the photos below. This room is available to be  used by our Specialist Clinics providers or by our own Physio  team for consultations and assessments or is used by visiting Health Care Providers. Mark was introduced to The Brightwell via Bristol Breakfast Rotary Club, as our Chair Geoff Mayell and Paul Spaven  Chair of the Neuro Therapy Network, are also Rotarians. If you would like to find out more about Alteriors Design & Build Ltd please visit www.alteriors.co.uk Click on the links below to find out more about our Conference and Room Hire Facilities  or join The Brightwell 100

Here is our Oxygen Therapy Timetable with effect from January 2024. If you would like to find out more information please visit our Oxygen Therapy page. For more specific details regarding your personal condition or requirements, please call Angela Ball on 01454 201686. We look forward to seeing you at The Brightwell.

It is always positive to be able to welcome new members of staff to join The Brightwell Team. Two of the roles are in the Fundraising Department and one is a completely new role – Brightwell Café Coordinator. Paula Gregory -Café Coordinator Paula’s focus will be to run and develop the Brightwell Café.  Paula joins us with a wealth of hospitality experience and is full of ideas to increase the offer to members and visitors. Everyone is very excited about making the most of our wonderful new Café and Lounge. Paula became interested in the work we do after meeting Libby Jordan at the West Country Water Park for a cold-water swim. Welcome Paula! Lara Carnell – Events & Communications Support Officer Lara joins the Fundraising Team and will be supporting Victoria and Libby to ensure that we maximize on all our events in terms of fundraising and participant enjoyment for all our stakeholders. Lara has a Master’s Degree in Marketing and has a great deal of knowledge in the effective use of Social Media. Lara has been aware of The Brightwell since childhood as her aunt has been coming to the Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen for many years. Lara has taken part in several fundraising events herself, so it is great to now welcome her to the team. Clare Marshall - Member Engagement & Community Fundraising Officer We have known Clare for a while as she has been a valued member of our Volunteering Team helping at events and supporting staff in the office with administration, so many of you will recognize her at the Centre. She will be working closely with our members to ensure that thay can participate and fully enjoy all the amazing events we run. Welcome Clare! When you are next in the Centre, please say hello to these new staff members and we hope they are happy and successful in their new roles. Click here to visit our Meet the Team page.

Many members will know Jill Brown and we remember, with great fondness, her late husband Gareth who was an active member and supporter of The Brightwell for many years. Jill owns a beautiful cottage in the Forest of Dean, which has been completely adapted. As most of you know it’s so difficult to have a break but still feel safe and be able to relax. The cottage is just a short journey from Bristol. Has wheelchair access through the ground floor. Has a fully equipped accessible wet room. Has a ceiling hoist. All these wonderful features, plus chance to stay in a delightful cottage in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Jill is also offering a 10% discount for a minimum 3-night stay to all Brightwell members. For further information, lots more photos and a full description please visit www.danbycottages.co.uk Check out the location 2 Danby Cottage Yorkley Forest of Dean Gloucestershire GL15 4SL Contact Jill to book! jill.brown6@talktalk.net Phone: 0117 942 2301   Mobile: 07766 450422 Enjoy your break!!

Adapted from a BBC News article by Philippa Roxby, Health reporter 10 January 2024 Why are diseases more common in some parts of Europe than others, and why are northern Europeans taller than their southern counterparts? An international team of scientists say they have unearthed the answer in the DNA of ancient teeth and bones. The genes which protected our ancestors from animal diseases now raise the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). The researchers call their discovery "a quantum leap" in understanding the evolution of the disease. And they say it could change opinions on what causes MS, and have an impact on the way it is treated. Why look at MS? There are about twice as many cases of multiple sclerosis per 100,000 people in north-western Europe, including the UK and Scandinavia, compared with southern Europe. Researchers from the universities of Cambridge, Copenhagen and Oxford spent more than 10 years delving into archaeology to investigate why. MS is a disease where the body's own immune cells attack the brain and spinal cord, leading to symptoms like muscle stiffness and problems walking and talking. They discovered that genes which increase the risk of MS entered north-western Europe about 5,000 years ago via a massive migration of cattle herders called Yamnaya. The Yamnaya came from western Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and moved west into Europe, says one of four Nature journal papers published on the topic. The findings "astounded us all", said Dr William Barrie, paper author and expert in computational analysis of ancient DNA at University of Cambridge. At the time, the gene variants carried by the herding people were an advantage, helping to protect them against diseases in their sheep and cattle. Nowadays, however, with modern lifestyles, diets and better hygiene, these gene variants have taken on a different role. In the present day, these same traits mean a higher risk of developing certain diseases, such as MS. Map tracing the disease MS back in time to movement of cattle herders west into Europe. The research project was a huge undertaking - genetic information was extracted from ancient human remains found in Europe and Western Asia, and compared with the genes of hundreds of thousands of people living in the UK today. In the process, a bank of DNA from 5,000 ancient humans, kept in museum collections across many countries, has now been set up to help future research. Prof Lars Fugger, paper author and MS doctor at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, says the discovery helps "demystify" the disease. "MS is not caused by mutations - it's driven by normal genes to protect us against pathogens," he explains. Vaccinations, antibiotics and higher standards of hygiene have changed the disease landscape completely - many diseases have disappeared, and people are living decades longer. The researchers say modern immune systems may now be more susceptible to autoimmune diseases, like MS, where the immune system attacks the body rather than protecting it. Drugs currently used to treat MS target the body's immune system, but the downside is the risk of suppressing it so much that patients struggle to fight off infections. When treating it, we are up against evolutionary forces, Prof Fugger says. "We need to find the sweet spot where there is a balance with the immune system, rather than wiping it out." The team now plans to look for other diseases and conditions in ancient DNA and follow them back in time. Their research could reveal more about the origins of autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder and depression. Another Nature paper uncovered even more clues about our genetic past - that the Yamnaya herders could also be responsible for north-western Europeans being taller than southern Europeans. And while northern Europeans carry more genetic risk for MS, southern Europeans are more likely to develop bipolar disorder, and eastern Europeans more likely to have Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes. DNA from pre-historic hunter-gatherer people raises the risk of Alzheimer's, but ancient farmers' genes are linked to mood disorders, the research explains. It also discovered that humans' ability to digest milk and other dairy products and survive on a vegetable-heavy diet only emerged about 6,000 years ago. Before that, they were meat-eaters. The research compared DNA from thousands of ancient skeletons found in Eurasia to genetic samples from current-day Europeans. The Brightwell is posting this article as it may be of interest to its followers and has received recent coverage in newspapers and on TV. It will be interesting to see if any new ideas or drugs develop from these findings.

For many years The Brightwell has been committed to its Sustainability Pledge,  as well as fostering and encouraging a “green approach” to all it does. Over the years a number of sustainable projects were undertaken with a major step forward in 2019 when a corporate supporter Solarsense generously installed 114, 250 kWh solar panels, that had been donated to them for Charitable purposes and we were fortunate to be one of the recipients. Thanks to the power generated by these panels, this has saved the Charity thousands of pounds, which has been vital during the period of rapidly increasing energy bills. It has also been a long term aim to raise funds to install our own batteries to store any excess power generated. Other green projects have included the conversion of the outside lighting to LED, again paid for by a corporate donor, and the gradual replacement of internal lighting to low energy use, although this is still work in progress. In the summer of 2023, Woodstock Homes, who are a major donor to The Brightwell, offered us a large amount of solar panels which were on buildings they had purchased for redevelopment. After much investigation, led by Steve Cocks, one of The Brightwell’s Trustees, with an in-depth knowledge of the Charity’s sustainability aims and plans, it was disappointingly realised that due to the age of the panels being offered, plus cost of removing and then installing them, it was not a viable proposition. Steve was supported all the way through his investigations by the expert team at Solarsense who came up with a proposal to supply us with brand new panels, and it made sense to look at the battery situation at the same time. However, The Brightwell did not have allocated  funds to pay for this major  capital expense. Incredibly, Solarsense supported by Total  Access Scaffolding  and CEF Electrical offered to provide their services at cost and supplied the equipment at a heavily discounted price. This generous subsidy represents a substantial contribution to The Brightwell, as part of Solarsence’s Charitable targets. enabling us to have an additional 40 x 400 kWh panels and a new inverter, this now brings the Centre’s potential generation to 46kWh. As well as this incredible support, Solarsense were also able to offer the 3 x 14kWh Tesla batteries as part of this project. Victoria Hocquard, Head of Fundraising,  had already raised some funding through the Quartet Community Foundation, the Albert Hunt Trust and an anonymous Trust,  but we were then faced with a shortfall which Martin Newman, CEO of Woodstock Homes kindly donated. Enabling us to proceed with the batteries to complete the project. As many of you may have seen, when visiting the Centre, the installation of the batteries and solar panels took place before Christmas Doro Pasantes, CEO of The Brightwell, explains the benefits and impact of all this new equipment. “With energy costs rising for commercial properties such as Bradbury House, the costs would have been extremely high without these steps having been taken. This means when the sun is out and even just on a bright day, we will generate enough power to run the centre, even the oxygen generation plant. On days when the sunlight is particularly bright  nothing will go to waste as we have such good storage capacity. We are exceptionally grateful to all the businesses involved for their generosity and commitment to The Brightwell.” Everyone at The Brightwell is so grateful to all those who have been so generous with their time and financial contributions who made this major project possible. Not only does it mean that we have fulfilled so many of our sustainability targets but we will be making significant financial savings  over the years to come.

This is The Brightwell’s first draw for 2024! This wonderful basket of aromatherapy and beauty product is great as a treat for yourself,  or an excellent Valentine’s Day gift for someone special. This basket of luxury products by Belle & Whistle includes Bath set: With this care and beauty set, treat yourself to a pure moment of delicately scented relaxation This bath set will delight your loved ones. It's the perfect gift for Valentine's Day. Contents of the hamper 3 Shower Gels 420 ml / 200 ml / 100 ml + Soap 120 gr +2 Body Exfoliators 180 ml / 110 ml + Foaming Bath 420 ml + Bath Crystals 300 gr +6 Effervescent Bombs 15 gr each + Body Lotion 200 ml +2 Body Creams 200 ml / 110 ml + Mesh Sponge + Oval Glove + Wood Massager + Face Towel Beauty Gift bath set triple fragrance : Lavender, green and rose tea. Recognized for their many virtues, these plants are particularly effective for tone and regeneration of the skin, thé vert et rose. The products benefit from the assistance of qualified international designers. This product is qualified (BSCI) This international certification responds to an approach which tends to improve the social conditions of workers. The products are not tested on animals This draw will take place on Monday 12 February and we will get it to you on time for Valentine’s Day! You can buy your tickets for £2 each online or from reception. Here is the link https://www.thebrightwell.org.uk/product-page/valentine-s-draw-luxury-aromatherapy-pamper-basket Thank you very much for your support.