This Year Events

Coach Trips

The Branch run subsidised Coach Trips for Members, with Parkinson’s, & their carers.
Tickets for members (with PD) and their carers are £15 this year.
Other members and guests are welcome, if seats are available, but the price is likely to be higher, to reflect the costs.

Wednesday 1st June Coach Trip to Scarborough Fair Collection. The coach leaves Elim Church at 9.45am prompt. We will be calling for an early Fish & Chip lunch in Staxton, and arrive at the Scarborough Fair Collection about 1:30pm.
Step back in time with 1 free ride per person followed at 2:30pm by a Cream Tea and a cuppa.
The coach will depart for Halifax just after 3:30pm, with a comfort break scheduled.

Wednesday 7th September
Coach Trip to Oswaldtwistle Mills. 
The coach leaves 10:30am prompt and should arrive about 11:30am. Lunch is booked for 12:30 in The Courtyard Restaurant.
There is more time, 2pm - 3pm, for more shopping or another cuppa. At 3:15pm we will meet the coach for a direct run through to Halifax. Traffic allowing, we should arrive at Elim Church for 4:30pm

Tuesday 29th November
Coach Trip to Corn Mill Lodge Hotel, Leeds.
Coach depart from Elim Church at 11:15 en route for Leeds.We should arrive at around 12 noon giving time for a trip to the bar before we eat at 12:30
An amazing Opera singer Nicola Mills, from Todmorden is our choice of entertainment after lunch. Nicola will sing for an hour 2pm till 3pm.
We head for home at 3.15pm making it to Elim Church for 4.15pm

Dance Sessions

Sessions are at Elim Church every Thursday at 10:30am for an hour. Followed by tea & biscuits. Izzy Brittain, our tutor, is very enthusiastic and has trained in Parkinson's Dance with Rachel Wesson and now works alongside her on Ascendance's Dance with an award-winning Parkinson's Dance programme.
She is based in Leeds, but Halifax born & bred.
An artist and facilitator working with dance, poetry and yoga, Izzy is a strong believer in the transformative power of these practices for all, she is passionate about empowering individuals and communities through working in diverse, inclusive, intergenerational and community contexts.
Izzy enjoys delivering fun and creative dance sessions for the over 55s. Recent performance projects have included "Beige," a playful flash-mob style dance performance for 60 older dancers, over 60, at a local Shopping Centre. Click here to watch.

Izzy is attending extra training sessions from March till October which will lead to more qualifications. She has arranged that Rachel or Emma, from Ascendance, will step into her shoes. Our thanks go to Rachel and Emma!

A few holiday dates for your diary:
3rd August
10th August
15th September
20th October
and 27th October. 

We ask for a contribution of £5 per member per week towards expenses and refreshments are included. If you want to pay monthly by standing order irrespective of whether you attend the cost is reduced to £13 per month. 

Conductive Education

Conductive Education sessions are now held at Elim Church, usually on the 2nd Monday of the month. There are 18 places available. (3 sessions of 6 people, currently at 10:15, 12:15 & 14:15) The branch continues to subsidise these sessions but asks that you pay £8.35 per month by standing order (equivalent to £10 per session if you attend all ten sessions)

Conductive Education began in 1945 when Dr Andras Peto opened The Peto Institute, located in Budapest, Hungary. Initially to help children who had cerebral palsy, and could not control their bodies properly. It allowed them to lead more independent lives by means of Conductive Education. It has now been adapted to suit people living with Parkinson's and other neurological problems, such as strokes. We are fortunate to have a very good *conductor who understands all things related to PD and due to having a maximum of 6 PwP's (People with Parkinson's) in each group she can adapt the sessions to suit people's individual needs.
Our conductor, Eszter Nagy, graduated from the International Peto Institute in Hungary, in 2013 and is based in the North-East. Please check with Phil Beckett (01484 713035) if you would like to know more about these sessions or whether there are any vacancies at the moment. Regular attendees agree that "Monthly attendance helps you live and cope with Parkinson's more easily."

The next term starts on Monday 12th September. Fancy trying it? We have 3 vacancies. Please Contact Phill Beckett (01484 713035) for further details.

(* conductor: A teacher who teaches Conductive Education)

Singing for Parkinson's

The Singing for Parkinson’s Group are a lovely group of people.

Some are living with Parkinson’s, some are caring for people living with Parkinson’s and some are volunteers and members of Parkinson’s UK Halifax Branch and we all like to sing!! Whether it’s because we are singers or (like me) just like to sing in the shower!!   Elland Golf Club provide us with a venue every Monday morning – 11am-12.30pm and our organisers Eileen Kenny and her husband see that we get refreshments at our break. 
The cost per week is £2.50 per session. 


The leader of our group is Teresa and she makes us feel good about singing! 

We sing A Capella (without music) all kind of songs and poems set to music, (often produced by Teresa and/or by the company Shared Harmonies) and we surprise ourselves sometimes by the very acceptable sounds we make! As part of Shared Harmonies we’ve now been involved in outside concerts (non-profit making) both locally and further afield in Yorkshire During ‘Lock-down’ we sang together with people from other Shared Harmonies groups on Zoom. It was a very productive period and meant a lot to many people who sing for health reasons and needed connection with others. Three songs were produced about various aspects of our life- one about what it meant to us, meeting up and singing during COVID; one about what Christmas meant to us and another about being Yorkshire people. ALL are on YouTube. CLICK HERE  to  watch "This is our Yorkshire."
We are a welcoming group and we really love the camaraderie between us all as we gel together.   Emma Baylin’s company, SHARED HARMONIES came to lead our Singing for Parkinson’s group in 2016 and what an inspiration it has been for us!!
We meet most Mondays 11:00 - 12:30 at Elland Golf Club, HX5 0TA

Why not come and join us?
SHARE the fun!!
Please call Eileen Kenny on 01422 373566 to confirm that we are singing, before you travel a long distance.

Bradley Park Golf Club

Bradley Park Golf Club have welcomed us for the past 3 years, April - November, weather permitting, on a Friday at 10am - 11am and 11am to 12 noon if sufficient numbers book in advance.
We ask all members to pay, £5 towards the cost, at the end of each of session.
Linda Dakers is very passionate about keeping these sessions open.

"Three years ago we started to play golf at Bradley Park on Friday mornings. We can do two sessions, though numbers are dwindling, and we usually manage to fit all into the 10am session, at the moment.

It's a great form of exercise, we meet on the driving range, and are tutored by professional golfers. We then move on to the 9 hole putting course (on occasions we have a couple of prizes) 

We meet in the clubhouse, afterwards, for a drink and a chat. The bacon sarnies in here are as good as the service - always excellent!
Last year we had a lovely Christmas lunch in the clubhouse, courtesy of Tina and her daughters.

Thanks go to Tom, the Head Professional for allowing us in every week, despite not knowing how many are expected. Numbers are limited, so we need you to let me know (before Thursday) if you are thinking of attending.
Please call me, Linda Dakers, on 07738 021834 for further information or to book a session.

We hope to see you soon!"