Bits & Pieces!

Where has the time gone? It was only last week that NRAS had attended the EULAR conference in London, and only a few weeks before that we had been to the BSR conference in Brighton! How time flies!

Since joining NRAS, this year was the first time I’d been able to go to EULAR as it was held at the ExCel in London and in previous years it’s been held in Europe, which limits the number of staff able to attend.

EULAR attracts health professionals, patient organisations and many other types of organisations from all over Europe so the number of people attending was huge, something in the region of 16,000! The stands were very impressive with MRI machines, x-ray machines, medical literature, pharmaceutical products, leaflets, pamphlets, booklets, posters, abstracts, free DVDs, free coffee, free sweets, a Wii Fit and even an ice sculpture!
This was also the first year that NRAS had a stand at EULAR, and with our new banner and more space than we’ve ever had at the BSR, the NRAS stand really looked good, I even got snapped with our Chief Medical Advisor, Professor David Scott!

I wont divulge any more about EULAR as I’m sure future blogs will focus on the same topic, as will the next issue of our magazine… more of a sneak preview!

Many of you will be aware that it is NRAS’ 10th birthday this year (lest we ever let you forget?!) and we have been doing all sorts of things to raise money and celebrate. Just the other weekend, a group of us in the office, plus members and volunteers, jumped from a plane and have raised in excess of £7,000!

We are all also looking forward to the NRAS 10th Birthday Lunch at the end of the month. It should be a brilliant day and a rather emotional one for those staff members who have been here from the get go, namely Ailsa! Can you believe all that time ago Ailsa decided to start up a charity to support people with RA? And now 10 years on & 2 offices worth of staff later we’re here - an established, highly esteemed charity with a strong presence in the world of rheumatology! Go Ailsa!

Well there it is, a bit of what’s been happening in the NRAS world!
Look forward to meeting you at the 10th Birthday Lunch, June 30th (talk to fundraising for more info on tickets 01628 501547)