The north of England is the venue for the next CdLS Families conference as the Foundation has booked a hotel in York for the weekend of October 21-22.

The hotel is the Holiday Inn and has offered a special rate to CdLS families of £165 for a room to include two nights stay plus breakfast. They are opening up their conference room for the Foundation too.

“This should be a marvellous place to hold our meeting,” said general manager Jacquie Griffin. “York is a fabulous city and we are planning this meeting to allow families more time to chat together as well as meeting the doctors. With the two night stay we can meet together on Friday evening and stay until after breakfast on Sunday and there will still be time to get out on Sunday and see the beautiful city of York as there are park and ride buses running from outside the hotel.”

The meeting will begin with an informal family reception at the hotel where Trustees and meeting regulars will welcome first-time family attendees and share stories.

The UK & Ireland foundation’s Scientific and Clinical Advisory Team is holding its meeting Saturday morning so a good turn out of professionals under the watchful eye of the new CdLS Federation’s Global Scientific Advisory Council professor Chris Oliver, is expected.

There will be presentations by the doctors and an opportunity to have one-to-one meetings with professionals. There will also be an open session in the afternoon with CdLS president Alan Peaford looking at the stresses and problems that we have as families to understand more about what can be changed.

Lunch is provided by the Foundation to all those who have registered.

On Saturday evening we will be holding a Horse Race night where families can enjoy a bar meal and have fun with the racing – and raising some valuable cash for the Foundation.

“We hope that people who live close to York may bring friends and family in the evening to share the fun,” said Trustee Paul Barlow.

On Sunday, Chris Oliver is hoping to conduct some research with families to understand their stress levels – with a quick test before the first cup of coffee in the day. More details on this voluntary project will be given on arrival.

Anybody interested in attending should contact Jacquie Griffin in the CdLS office (Tues-Fri) on 01375 376439 or email info@cdls.org.uk