On the first Monday of the month, a new Parkinson’s UK café session is being held at Teatro Hall, Ealing Broadway (opposite Ealing Town Hall).
The café session is open to anyone who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and their families and friends, to come along for a drink and chat from 6-8:30pm.
A second west London café session at the Distiller’s Pub in Hammersmith takes place on the third Monday of the month between 6-6:30pm.
Karina Prithwani, local volunteer officer for London at Parkinson’s UK, said: “Anyone is welcome to come along to our new café sessions here in west London. These sessions provide a sense of community which offers friendship and support in a welcoming and relaxed environment.”
‘Experience, advice and friendship’
Councillor Polly Knewstub, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for healthy equal lives, said: “It was great to meet such a range of people of all ages at the Parkinson’s café at Teatro and hear them share their experiences, advice and friendship. New arrivals were given such a warm and friendly welcome. It was really clear to me how invaluable it is to be able to talk with people who know exactly what you are going through. I urge anyone who has a diagnosis, or is supporting someone who has, to pop in.”
Parkinson’s is a degenerative neurological condition for which there currently is no available treatment that can stop, reverse or prevent it. Although progress has been made in understanding the causes of the condition, a complete picture of how and why people develop Parkinson’s is still unclear.
The main symptoms of the condition are tremor, slowness of movement and rigidity, although there are more than 40 symptoms. Parkinson’s UK offers support to everyone affected by the condition and is the largest charitable funder of Parkinson’s research in Europe. They fight for fair treatment and better services, and fund support services.
More information
For more information about the café sessions, email Karina at kprithwani@parkinsons.org.uk on call 0344 225 3609 or 0789 990 4756.
Details of information and support available can be found on the Parkinson’s UK website or call the helpline on 0808 800 0303.