Crawley Gluten Free Group
The Right Honourable Mayor of Crawley, Cllr.Brenda Burgess at our 3rd Anniversary meeting
Newsletter Number 36
March 2010
1. So The CGFG have achieved 3 years, and we are still growing, now over 100 members. On the 20th February 2010 we celebrated our third Anniversary. We were honoured by The Right Honourable Mayor of Crawley, as our Guest of Honour. We had a wonderful display of gluten free samples, from Community Foods, Juvela, who gave us 30 boxes of samples and Glutafin. After briefly introducing the Mayor, Clr Brenda Burgess and her husband Clr Bob Burgess, the meeting commenced with a brief presentation, a short resume of our first 3 years.
We commenced in February 2007 with 15 members, we now have over 100, our web site has been opened by 128 different countries, we now have GF Fish & Chips once a month (more needed).
We then moved on, to how we could do with more help from the Council:-
- more awareness of the disease at local fairs, newspapers, Council papers,
- more restaurants participating with gluten free menus,
- more support from the local Voluntary Support Group, with our Group being incorporated into their schedules and our automatic inclusion for local functions.
- better support from the local GP’s and the NHS, with their recognition of the disease, we understand how difficult it may be to diagnose, but a determination to improve their knowledge and improve their skills in diagnosis, and when in Hospital to have staff, who are knowledgeable and understand what it is like to be Gluten-Free.
(Pictures of the 3rd Anniversary will appear by clicking under this Newsletter 36).
The Mayor responded, by saying how the Council might be able to further assist our Group, she actually said “she would ask for a Gluten-Free meal at her next major function and see how they handled it“. She also hoped, as being the Mayor, to be able to influence certain areas, more than we could. It was a really super meeting.
2. A news item from Australia, which sounds more like ‘I am a celebrity, get me out of here’. As a part of a research project, a group of otherwise healthy celiac volunteers, have been infected with Hookworms and another group have been given a placebo. The study is exploring the theory that as intestinal parasites have reduced or even disappeared, the incidence of autoimmune and allergic diseases has increased, do we have any volunteers from our UK Group?.
3. Good news for The Crawley Gluten Free Group, the Crawley Borough Council have given us another grant, so we can now buy some more equipment, display items, leaflets and create a greater awareness in Crawley.
4. We have organised a GF 3 course Luncheon, at the Crawley Technical College, for Friday 23rd April, commencing at 12 noon, with lunch being served at 12.30pm, followed by coffee, so far 21 people have placed a deposit of £5, we are limited to 25.