BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

BRAINBOX

NEWSLETTER OF THE BRAIN INJURY FOUNDATION ISSUE 72 JUNE 2019

CONTACTS: 30839943 OR 07740823713 OR HELPLINE 07596639487

EMAIL info@thebraininjuryfoundation.com WEBSITE: www.thebraininjuryfoundation.com

OUR HOUSE, 23 Newry Road, Camlough, Newry BT35 7JP

Trustouse Charitable Foundation

WE HAD A BALL IN ENNISCRONE!!

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

PATRICIA CADOGAN REPORTING ON ENNISCRONE

I want to say a big thank you to BIF for yet another wonderful respite break in Enniscrone in Co. Sligo. Boy what a week we had. As you know every year we go somewhere different, where the sun shines all the time. I do not know how it happens but the sun always shines for a BIF holiday. On 24th June 2019, at 10am we all met (nearly 60 Biffers) at Tesco in Newry excited and ready to go. A big lovely Rooney bus arrived along with a wheelchair accessible bus for our wheelchair user friends. There was noisy chat, laughter, hugs and lovely greetings as we boarded the bus-esfor what we knew would be a brilliant 5 days of fun, laughter and fantastic food. Our first stop was in Belcoo for lunch of soup, sandwiches and tea.

Then we continued to the Diamond Coast Hotel in Enniscrone arriving at about 3pm. We were greeted by fantastic friendly staff. This is a beautiful hotel with gorgeous rooms. . After we settled in some people went for walks around this lovely hotel, into the town or down to the beach. Others relaxed in the rooms, in the lounges or outside in the sunshine. At 6pm we boarded the busses again and headed into Ballina to Dillons Restaurant for one of the best meals and fantastic entertainment. The food , service and craic was tops. Along with the wonderful guy playing music and singing for us we had our own homegrown singers and entertainers (too many to mention). A great night was had by all of us.

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

Our final stop "The Courthouse Restaurant" in Markethill for our last dinner of the trip. Then back to Tesco in Newry and onwards to our homes. The end of yet another brilliant BIF outing. I want to thank everyone who helped in any way to organise this trip. Also to all who came and enjoyed the trip, some are old hands and some new, We had members who were with us for the first time, They contributed to the wonderful overall fun and craic too. Hope to see you all again soon. Thanks to Aaron from Rooney Bus Hire, To Colln and Paul the drivers who looked after the wheelchair bus. Everyone did a great job. To the people we met in the hotel, restaurants, shops, exhibitions, everywhere—you were great and contributed to the overall brilliance of this break.

Travelling in style and comfort with Rooneys and Newry Community Transport

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

Day 5 (Friday) Our last wonderful breakfast, packing and preparing for the last leg of our respite. We were promised a "wee surprise" on the way home. None of us guessed it. As the journey progressed and we passed possible places we thought was our surprise we became more and more intrigued. Finally we pulled into the car park of " The Rainbow Ballroom, Glenfarne. The Ballroom of Romance”. We were greeted by wonderful friendly staff, who gave us a lovely lunch and a very interesting trip down memory lane of all the great singers and showbands who had played there. Brilliant surprise en route to our final stop

Siobhan and I want to pay tribute to the Brain Injury Foundation for organising another wonderful respite trip to Sligo/Mayo. This takes months to organise. Great food, company and craic, a chance to lift spirits for so many survivors and carers who have to walk the walk of Brain Injury on a daily basis. As my Mummy would have said, "it was the best of laughs." For us, there are three key dimensions to a great holiday: the anticipation, the experience and the memories to treasure. This trip met these criteria in abundance. Given my own interests I was struck by the links to the Year of the French in 1798 when a small French invasion force led by General Humbert defeated the British at what became known as the Races of Castlebar. As fate would have it, Humbert was also involved in another famous victory over the British that I am reading up on, the Battle of New Orleans. Moved too by a visit to the National Famine Memorial. And what a way to finish the trip, having a twirl on the dance floor of the Ballroom of Romance in Glenfarne, my Granny McCavitt's birth place. Romance must be in my blood. Lol

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

Day 2 (Tuesday) started off with breakfast followed by a morning of leisure. Doreen and I ven-tured off to the seaweed baths. A new experience for both of us. We enjoyed it so much that I went back the following day with 5 other ladies. Others went to play pitch n putt, went to the beach, or relaxed in the hotel. In the afternoon we went to visit Croagh Patrick Visitor Centre and even managed some shopping time in Westport.

In the evening we had a beautiful BBQ in Towers Restaurant in the gorgeous sunshine overlooking the Atlantic. Then we headed to the Westport Town Hall for a great show called Atlantic Notes of music, song and chat. If you get a chance to see this you will love it.

Enjoying the

barbecue and

the show in

Westport. Orla

finds a new

location for

a defibrillator

Enniscrone 2019....just a little note to say a huge thanks to everyone in BIF for making our trip amazing and making Ally feel so welcome and part of the group. A special thanks also to all who worked so hard behind the scenes to pull such a trip off...wonderful guys.. thank u to everyone involved xx Julie Wilson

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

Day 3 ( Wednesday) brought us to Ballina, to the Connacht Whiskey Distillery. The workings of the Distillery were clearly explained. We even got to sample some of the golden liquid! We managed a few songs at least one of which was never heard there before but it has a connection to a famous holiday in Northern Ireland. Then it was shopping time in Ballina.

Prizes for guessing who is hiding under the Wren Boys Hat !

That evening we’d another fantastic meal in the hotel with music and dancing till the wee hours. Some of us are still sore from the dancing but it was well worth the pain for all the fun we had!

I'm only home from a great week away how does BIF top it every year? What a fantastic week away I had. Everything was brilliant. Thanks to everyone involved. I am looking forward to next year's BIF respite trip. Orla Rooney

BY SURVIVORS AND CARERS FOR SURVIVORS AND CARERS

Day 4 (Thursday) took us to Foxford Woollen Mills. The history of the Mill is interesting. The quality of the goods is 100%. Beautifully made Irish goods sold all over the world. We were allowed to see how the mill worked and then had a snack in their fabulous café.

Then we went to Knock. Again the sun was on our side. After looking around some of us enjoyed a "99" before heading back to the hotel for dinner and more entertainment. Everything was just as fantastic as the night before. More dancing and good laughs.

Now that the case is emptied & washing machine flat to the mat, what can I say about our respite trip to Enniscrone? Great craic from we got on Rooneys bus , til we returned home . Each year we don’t know what we're in for AND each year it goes above all our expecta-tions. Great spending time with old friends & especially this year getting to enjoy the com-pany of new members. The location was perfect with ample to see & do, some firsts for many of us, one for me was the seaweed baths. Pitch & putt proved very competitive for some of our male survivors! Food was to die for each evening and it was great to be enter-tained by our own members; each year our group is growing & our respite trip really is a great way to see the love & friendship that has grown among us This would be impossible to take place without the dedication & hard work of a lot of people so I thank each & every one of you & look forward to BIF respite trip 2020 to who knows where. Aine McKevitt