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On the 28 August, the Branch’s annual MetroCentre collection raised a grand total of £1,235.06, beating last year’s total.

Our gratitude and thanks go to the volunteers who collected for the Branch, and to the shoppers at the MetroCentre who gave so generously.

The next Branch meeting will be held at 6.00pm, Thursday 9 September.

Details and directions

Sunday 19 September is this year’s Great North Run.

We have plenty of people running in support of motor neurone disease and we would love some help manning our tent and meeting & greeting the runners as they come in.

If you are able to give us some support on the day please contact Martin Boyes (0191) 5485847. Pictures and stories from last year’s Run can be viewed in our Gallery.

If you love Indian cuisine how do you fancy a curry charity night at the Manzil Indian Restaurant?

For just £10:00, there will be a 3 course meal on offer. All money raised on the evening will go to the MND Association. If you fancy coming along for the evening please call Susan on 07540871618 or Lynn on (01670) 826192, so they can let the restaurant know numbers.

Time: 7.00pm

Date: Monday 20 September 2010

Address: 2b Oldgate, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 1LX.

If you love Indian cuisine how do you fancy a curry charity night at the Manzil Indian Restaurant?

For just £10:00, there will be a 3 course meal on offer. All money raised on the evening will go to the MND Association. If you fancy coming along for the evening please call Susan on 07540871618 or Lynn on (01670) 826192, so they can let the restaurant know numbers.

Time: 7.00pm

Date: Monday 22 November 2010

Address: 2b Oldgate, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 1LX.

The next Newcastle support group meeting is Friday 1 October.

Details and directions

On the 29 August, Blyth Cricket & Rugby Club are holding a family fun day in aid of Motor Neurone Disease.

The event starts at 12pm. Entry is £1.00 per person.

Download event poster (jpg).

In May and June, pilots were undertaken in giving a short talk at branch and group meetings to help raise awareness of just how vital legacies (gifts left to us in supporters’ wills) are to our work; how easy it is to leave a legacy, and the important role that branches and groups can play in spreading the word.

UPDATE: Details will be posted here when an alternative date has been arranged.

A charity evening with live music from the fantastic “The Twilight ZONE” is taking place at Ashington Rugby Club on Saturday 10 July 2010, from 7pm - midnight.

Lynn Rowley and Susan Lamb have held 2 charity nights over the past few months and would like to thank everyone who came along to support them.

The next Support Group meeting is at 2pm, Wednesday 15 September.

Details and directions

A charity auction in aid of MND is being held at the Poachers Rest, Powburn on Saturday 29th May 2010 at 7pm. The event will feature:

Please donate something for the raffle/auction (you could even donate yourself to do some ironing/gardening for a couple of hours!!)

Tickets are £10 each, available from : The Poachers Rest, Powburn. Cheryl Chisholm ( 01665 574112 / 07789936454 or Yasmin Darling.

Young Martial Arts students in Newcastle have raised the magnificent sum of £1,000 for the fight against MND.

The event was Kickathon 2010 and the ages of those taking part ranged from 4 to 28 years.

The participants comprised Taekwondo students and Kickboxing students together with the Tae Kwon Do Tigers, who are aged 4 to 6 years.

Fancy a challenge?

Why not enter the Great North Walk and get sponsored for MND? The 10 mile walk is taking place at Gisborough Forest & Walkway, on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors, on the 27 June 2010.

Information on how to sign up can be found on the Great North Walk website.

If you’re not up for the challenge but would like to sponsor our branch secretary Marian and her friend Sue in their efforts, please contact Marian on 07977628928.

Branch secretary Marian Dent and her friend Sue are walking the 2010 Great North Walk in aid of MND.

The 10-mile event is taking place at Gisborough Forest & Walkway on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors, on the 27 June. Full details are on the Great North Walk website.

If you would like to sponsor Marian and Sue in their efforts, please contact Marian on
07977 628 928.

The Tyne & Wear Branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association is holding its Annual General Meeting on the 8th April 2010 at 6:00pm.

The meeting will be held in the Multi-Media Room, floor 2, Gateshead Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH. For people who may have difficulties using the stairs there is a lift and easy access to the room.

All are welcome at this meeting and we looking forward to seeing some new faces on the night.

In November 2009 the Northern Society of Chartered Accountants held their annual charity dinner, and in 2009 Motor Neurone Disease was their chosen charity.

Mike Ranson’s (president) father suffered and died from motor neurone disease over 30 years ago and it was his way of saying thank you for the help and support he and his family received at the time.

A charity night in aid of Motor Neurone Disease is being held at the New Rendezvous Cantonese Restaurant at 7pm, Monday 12 April 2010.

All money raised through the sale of these tickets and on the night will go towards the Great Wall of China Challenge being undertaken by Susan Lamb & Lynn Rowley to raise money and awareness of Motor Neurone Disease.

Please view the event flyer for further information and contact details.

A charity disco in aid of Motor Neurone Disease is being held at Netherton Social Club, Bedlington, on Saturday May 8 from 7pm.

There will be a fully licensed bar and raffles will be held throughout the evening.

For further information and contact details, please view the event flyer.

The Tyne & Wear Branch has a new secretary, so please welcome Marian Dent to the role. Marion replaces Vera Coleman, who has stepped down after serving as secretary for many years.

We thank Vera for all of her hard work and dedication to the Branch.

The Sunderland Support Group is holding its annual Christmas Social and Quiz from 2-4pm on Wednesday 16 December, at Age Concern Sunderland, Bradbury Centre, Stockton Road, Sunderland.

With great sadness we record that Liz Shipley died on Thursday 8 October 2009.

An appreciation of this remarkable woman can be read here.

A humanist memorial service, attended by around 150 family and friends, was held at West Road Crematorium, Newcastle, on 15 October. Liz's parting message, written some years earlier, was read to the gathering and is also reproduced here.

It was a great social event - and a great family occasion. This is our review of the Great North Run day, 20 September, 2009.

It was Tyne & Wear Branch's annual outing to the Gateshead Metro Centre shopping mall.

But this was no mass shopping expedition. Saturday 5 September 2009 was our street collection day when Branch members and supporters swoop down on innocent shoppers to deprive them of their loose change - and their not-so-loose change if possible.

Why did a group of 7 Sunderland cyclists take several days to cycle to, er, Sunderland?

Answer: They started from Whitehaven, the west coast end of the celebrated Coast-to-Coast (C2C) cycling route. And on the way had to pass through large chunks of the rather hilly Lake District and battle their way over the Pennines. Admittedly they did not have to navigate their way across any glaciers or use pitons for the ascent of Hartside Height, but it was tough going all the same.