Maurice's The 34th Penkhull Festival was a great success with capacity audiences on the first and last nights. I sang tenor with the Stoke on Trent Bedford Singers this year and particularly enjoyed Handel’s oratorio Solomon. It was a thrilling experience to perform alongside international artists like James Bowman and Anne Liebeck. It is hard to believe our that May (our conductor) will be 91 in November. Health Over the past year I have put optimum nutrition towards the top of my list of priorities. Adding vitamins and food supplements like L-Glutamine and Coensyme Q10 have had remarkable beneficial results upon my gastrointestinal system and have given a boost to my overall energy levels. Durban Conference I attended the Durban feedback session at Granada Studios in August run by NAM in conjunction with Body Positive North West and heard first hand accounts from two of the delegates Henry Grahame Smith and Dr Ed Wilkins. It was interesting to find that despite the fears of some about the advisability of holding the conference in South Africa, both Henry and Ed Wilkins confirmed the overall conviction that Durban it was the right place. I was especially moved by Henry’s observation that there appeared to be two diseases: the manageable disease that he and other UK positive people lived with and the other deadly one that affected people on the streets of South Africa. He reflected that he had a five-year plan. But many of the black South African HIV+ delegates couldn’t be sure of being around for the next AIDS conference in 2002. Dr Ed Wilkins and Henry both pointed out that it is not just the students who are dying from AIDS but their parents, doctors and teachers as well. For the first time ever at an International conference, politics was a key HIV/AIDS issue. Many people found the opening speech by president Mbeki disappointing. Nevertheless it highlighted poverty and lack of resources as being undeniable problems that need to be addressed to halt the devastation that AIDS was causing in his country. Although there was little about new treatments presented at the conference, there were good reports about ABT 378 Lopinavir that has now been given the trade name”Kaletra” It was also heartening to note the all round increased concern about toxicity drugs especially with regard to the licensing of new drugs. Winning streak Good fortune came my way when I won the £50 first prize in Holy Trinity Church’s Summer Fete raffle followed by two prizes at Staffordshire Buddies Pastiche’s Restaurant Charity Dinner raffle. Thank you to the generous people who donated raffle prizes and an extra thanks to whoever pulled out my winning tickets. New Horizons By the end of November I will know if my application for a MIND (The Mental Health Charity) “Real Lives, Real People” award has been successful. My plan is to undertake two Open University course that will give me the necessary training and skills to build a GLB (gay, lesbian & bisexual) mental health web site. After sounding out a number of support groups, I believe that there is a real need for such a site that will aim be informative, entertaining and user friendly. In order to move forward and achieve my aspirations, I will have to cut back on the scale of my current commitments. Members of BP Staffs were informed in July that I would be stepping down from being secretary at the next meeting on 17th October. I have also stated my intention of not standing for re-election as service user representative on the executive committee of Staffordshire Buddies. I agree with Bob when he says that it is healthy for an organisation to have a turnover of officers and I hope that by stepping aside I will be giving new faces with fresh enthusiasm the chance to take part in the running of the charity. Essential Reading Amongst the books I have read recently, “The Promise of Sleep” by William C Dement had a great impact. This world authority on sleep disorders has produced a book that is startling in its revelations and compelling to read. Pulling together I can’t end without remarking on the impressive increase of input from volunteers (including many service users) over the past few months. It is truly heartening to see folk pulling together and showing a real interest in tackling jobs that need to be done. It has certainly helped alleviate some of the problems caused by staff shortages due to sickness. Whether you have given up time to attend meetings, helped with drop- ins, watered garden plants, provided phone cover, stuffed envelopes, given a hand in the office, sold raffle tickets, made a contribution to “Positive Lives” however you have helped, you deserve a big part on the back. Well done too, to the staff for responding so well to the extra demands recently placed on them. Take care, Maurice