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Victoria Wood + me: a fan's tribute

Starring Mo Shapiro, Victoria Wood + me is one woman's tribute to a comic genius, a hilarious celebration of the country.s favourite comedienne - guaranteed to make you laugh out loud! Victoria Wood has generously given her permission to include her songs and some famous monologues delivered by characters we all took to our hearts like Kitty, the Sacharel sales assistant and Madeleine the hairdresser. Ramsbottom Theatre Royale: 14th April 2012 Tickets Â£12; proceeds to Speakeasy. Email us for booking or further information, or call us 01706 825802.

Calling cricket Fans..!

Paul Walsh is seeking sponsorship for Speakeasy; here is his message...
I am presently President elect of the Rotary Club of Burnley Pendleside, taking over as President in June 2012. I am asking for your help in a sponsored event for a cause which is close to my heart. Speakeasy is a charity in North west England which supports people who are affected by aphasia - a severe and complex communication problem that can happen after stroke or other damage to the brain. Speakeasy provides specialist help for people to rebuild their language skills and improve their quality of life. The help from Speakeasy for my partner Anna has been life changing for her, she has had support to use a specialist computer programme which she has been using for the last 2 years. This has enabled her to regain some of her speech and to have the confidence to engage in conversation again. Her ability to read has improved also. The wide range of Speakeasy activities are designed to give opportunities for communicating and developing skills for joining in with conversations and decisions. These activities have lifted Anna's spirits and raised her self esteem. I want to thank all the Speakeasy Staff & Volunteers, who perform such an invaluable service and I would like to support Speakeasy as they rely totally on money raised from donations. Within Rotary International there is an International Fellowship of Cricketing Rotarians. Every 2 years a Country will organise a Rotary Festival of Cricket, where all the Nations are represented. This year the festival will be hosted in Vapi, in the Gujarat region of India. It will take place in February. The format for the festival is structured so that each country plays 4 games during the week, As a member of the UK Rotary cricket team I will play 3 of these games. The rules of the competition force a player to retire if 30 runs is scored so that everybody gets a fair chance. The potential number of runs I could score in the 3 games is somewhere between 0 - 90. I am asking for you to help me to raise money for Speakeasy. Please would you sponsor me per run scored? You could sponsor me as a club and/ or as individuals. You can set a lower and upper limit if you would like. Thank you so much for your help; it will enable Speakeasy to continue helping Anna and others who need it. To pledge online or to find out more about Speakeasy please contact Speakeasy.

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See us on YouTube

Meet some of our members; view footage of Speakeasy in action!

Encouraging Community Particpation

A pilot study of the Personal Development Programme (PDP) suggests it promotes volunteering and increased activity among people with aphasia, bringing benefits to individuals and their communities. View a copy of the Speech & Language Therapy in Practice magazine cover featuring Speakeasy Chief Executive, Gill Pearl. For more information about the study, the PDP or for a copy of the article, email us.

National Sentinel Stroke Audit

Speakeasy members helped to produce an easy access, short version of two full-length 2010 reports for the Royal College of Physicians, aimed at helping people who have difficulty concentrating, remembering or understanding what they read. View a copy of the RCP Easy Access Version: National Sentinel Stroke Audit report cover. For more information about the report, or to request a copy, email us.

Aphasia Software Finder

Speakeasy is contributing to a Tavistock Trust for Aphasia funded project to produce a website to help people fnd appropriate Speech and Language Therapy software for people with aphasia. Go to the aphasia software finder website or contact us for more information

Research paper.

Involvement in volunteering: an exploration of the personal experience of people with aphasia by Gill Pearl, Karen Sage and Alys Young. Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2011; 33(19-20): 1805-1821. For more information about the paper, or to request a copy of the article, email us.

Bury PCT

Bury PCT has given notice of their intention to withdraw crucial financial support from Speakeasy effective from August 2011. We will lodge an appeal against this decision but in the meantime you can help show your support by:

Donations and fundraising
Signing our petition or email us and we'll print your email and attach it to the petition
Lobby your GP/ MP (please use our fact sheet)

Please email us to request a fact sheet, for further information or if you can help.

Requests invited to host a talk at your College/ University by Henry Holland (House of Holland, H! Collection for Designers at Debenhams)

Described by style.com as the 'Pied Piper of Fashion' Henry has a magnetic appeal in a youthful market, which offers no mercy. He would like to offer fashion students the opportunity to hear about his journey how he went from fashion journalist to heading up a fashion label, which is fast becoming an International brand. If you would like Henry to talk about fashion at your University or College please contact us to arrange.

Giving Voice

A campaign from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

The Giving Voice campaign aims to demonstrate how speech and language therapy makes a difference to people with speech, language and communication needs, their families, and the wider society. See www.givingvoiceuk.org for more details.