The Norfolk Lupus Group is a regional support group for people who are living with and learning to live with Lupus, and is part of LUPUS UK

Well the new year is well under way now and here is hoping that everyone who has been feeling poorly are now on the up and feeling a lot better. Firstly many thanks to everyone who helped out at the Forum and the Assembly House who sold Christmas Cards, and not forgetting the Rheumatology Department also not forgetting one of our members who had the intiative to book a table at her local village hall and sell Christmas cards there. Again another successful day.
If anyone has any ideas as to what they would like the Norfolk Lupus Group to do, or if you would like to do something for the group and help raise awareness but don’t know how to go about it, please do not hesitate to contact any of the committee who are only to willing to help and advise you, even if it is just a coffee morning with friends and family.
Hopefully this year the group are going to hold our now annual cream tea at Rollesby and hopefully later on in the year a Golfing day is being organised which looks to be a very good day with many things happening. Another event for later on in the year is our now famous balloon race. Watch this space for more details.

Thanks to everyone who helped out and attended the Grand Balloon Race at the Forum on Saturday 15th Sep. Thanks to your efforts, we raised an amazing £763.38 for the group. Special thanks also go out to our sponsors for the event, Clays of Bungay, The Fitzmaurice Trust and Smith & Pinching. We'd also like to thank the Forum for providing a location to stage the event, without which we wouldn't have raised anywhere near as much. THE WINNING TICKET WAS FOUND IN LAMPERTHEIM IN GERMANY BY KARSTEN NOLTING AND WAS OWNED BY EMILY READ. CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH YOUR CHEQUES ARE ON THE WAY TO YOU. Many thanks to all who purchased tickets and made the day the great success that it was.

HOUSE OF COMMONS RECEPTION. Representatives from the Norfolk Lupus Group attended a reception at The House of Commons hosted by Janet Dean MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Lupus. The reception was well attended by Members of both Houses who were all keen to learn more about Lupus. Following the welcome by Janet Dean, Jane Dunnage, Chair of Lupus UK, spoke about the effect Lupus can have on sufferer's lives. She highlighted the impact that the proposed legislation banning the sale of incaandescent light bulbs could have. She asked the MPs present to support the Alliance for Light Sensitivity campaign DON'T LEAVE US IN THE DARK. Ann Keen MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health, pledged to learn more about Lupus, with the help of the All Party Parliamentary Group and to look at the issue of light sensitivity. We were delighted that our Patron, Dr Ian Gibson was there and that he pledged his support for the "Don't Leave us in the Dark" campaign.

If you'd like to help the Norfolk Lupus Group by spreading the good word, you can download a printer friendly version of our publicity poster, which would look great on any work, college, school, or club notice-board. We'd greatly appreciate it if you could print out as many as you can and post them wherever you feel they're required. The printer friendly version can be found here