NEWS AND VIEWS
Trip down memory lane A grant of £10,000 has been given to the therapeutic gardens project at Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield by the Masonic Charitable Foundation. The first of the two new outdoor spaces is a dementia care garden, which uses colour, scent and visual stimulation to evoke memories. It will recreate a residential street from the post-war era, complete
with period shop fronts, Victorian street lamps and a genuine 1960s Mini car that will be a familiar sight to many of the patients. The second garden is aimed at patients recovering from a stroke and draws on Japanese design. It will provide a tranquil haven for patients for whom the noise of a busy ward can be overwhelming, as well as a quiet place for family and friends to visit.
A rare condition under the spotlight Four-year-old Isobel Walker has a burning,
Shown (I to r): Trevor Koschalka (London Freemasons), Alison Kira (Royal Free Charity head of project development for Chase Farm), Chris Burghes (Royal Free Charity CEO) and the gardens' landscape architect Chris Valiantis
uncontrollable hunger that will always be with her. It is the most noticeable symptom of a rare condition called Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS).
As a result, her parents have to enforce a strict diet that will never end. Even worse , people with PWS can only consume 60 per cent of the calories that someone without the condition would eat , as their digestion works differently. Isobel is one of 2,000 people in the country with PWS . Other symptoms include low muscle tone, poor temperature regulation, a risk of obesity and moderate learning difficulties. It is 60 years since PWS was discovered , and the Masonic Char itable Foundation is marking the event with a grant of £10,000 to th e Prad erWilli Syndrome Association UK. The donation will help to fund a support worker for families with a PWS child in the south of England.
Connecting with the world A group of Surrey residents who find it challenging to
the Reigate and Banstead areas, the majority of whom do not use words
communicate because of their profound and multiple learning disabilities are being helped thanks to a £15,000 grant from the Masonic Charitable Foundation.
to express themselves and find it very difficult to communicate and connect with the world around them. Victoria Goody, chief executive of Us in a Bus, said : 'I was delighted to welcome Bill Caughie [pictured] and
The grant to the Us in a Bus charity will be used to help fund two interaction practitioners. They will be supporting 86 people, mainly in
his fellow Surrey Freemasons so they could see the impact that our work has on people's lives and the huge importance of their donation.'
freemasonrytoday.com
The Province of Guernsey & Alderney kicked off its Tercentenary celebrations with the opening of an exhibition at the Guernsey Museum at Candie, which attracted wide media coverage. The exhibition featured a range of local masonic memorabilia, mainly from the Province's own museum and library.
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