Birmingham Event Saturday 1st Sept Was A Great Success I'm Very Happy To Say

Debandez

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4,030
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Well...what a great event in Birmingham it has been. Building foundations. First of many events, fingers crossed. Massive thanks to Diabetes.co.uk and their PR team for the help and support given to us all. A happy bunch of diabetics getting together to try and help others, travelling from across the UK for the cause. All arranged in less than 6 weeks. Thanks to all forum members who backed the idea and made this happen. Special thanks to @Rachox and @shelley262 for all the help you have given me from the outset.

Friday several of us met at the hotel from 3.30pm. It was a funny kind of feeling, in a nice way. We had never met before but we all knew each other and had so much in common. Following introductions we sat in the bar area chatting. It felt great. It was finally all coming together. We happily chatted for well over 2 hours and didnt give ourselves much time to freshen up before meeting back down in reception to go out for our evening meal. We all walked together through Birmingham, chatting away. The atmosphere in brum was quite electric. There was a buzz in the air all around! 20 minutes later we reached the restaurant. We had a fantastic meal at Jamie's Italian (check out their app...it has a breakdown of nutritional values for each meal i.e. cals, carbs etc). The dessert amazed us. At our request they were happy to do us all strawberries and cream using @Goonergal's chocolate brought all the way back from America! They threw on a few roasted almonds as we instructed! Perfect. It was absolutely delicious. They ran out of double cream but popped next door to borrow from their neighbouring restaurant! Nothing was too much trouble. Even the chef came out after our meal to meet us. He himself had enjoyed serving us. He had never done so many steaks in one go and loved the challenge! Hannah our waitress has to be the best waitress ever and a credit to her employer which will be reported back! I feel a TripAdvisor review coming on. And I will be writing a letter of thanks directly to Jamie himself although I will be hinting that a couple of lc desserts wouldn't go amiss. It was quite a moment when we all got out our monitors/scanners to test before and after I can tell you. We heard from our waitess that there was another diabetic in the building! We nearly invited them to join us! We had a lovely stroll back to the hotel. Some went to the bar to wind down a little and carry on the night and others retired to their rooms.

Saturday morning Wetherspoons (who do a cracking low carb breaky if you don't already know). We did some furniture removals so we could all sit around a big square table. 11 of us. Quick breaky for some, just coffee or soft drinks/water for others. Back to the hotel which was a stone's throw away. Most walked the 30 minutes to the event in the Custard Factory (how ironic), I took luggage in the car and met everyone there at Kanteen eaterie. Very modern, light and airy. They had booked the whole place out for us from 12 til 3 (although we ran over until 4 which wasn't a problem). It was just the right size venue for about 30 people and camera/video equipment (and outfit changes!). As more members arrived and popped on their badges people just mingled and chatted. A delightful low carb lunch was served about 1pm. Buffet style. As you can imagine it suited some but not all but its a learning curve and details noted for next time. They did very well and it looked beautiful. I enjoyed what I had immensely. Faultless presentation too. The refreshments included refill after refill of coffee and double cream (they went the extra mile literally to buy the cream for us, they did have almond milk but no cream to start with), all compliments of DCUK which was a really nice gesture. An intro from Charlotte Summers who launched the LCHF programme in 2015. She had only just flown back from Canada, launching the programme there. Plenty of time to chat and mingle. Most who had been on the LCHF woe for some time and some who wanted to learn more, reverse their diabetes and lose weight at the same time. There was a lot of knowledge in the room and with hindsight I wish I had recorded all my conversations as there was so much info to remember! It was a very relaxed atmosphere. Photo opportunities galore. Individual videos done for those that were happy to sit in front of the camera, sharing our journeys in the hope we might inspire others. The general theme, Diabetes does NOT HAVE to be the progressive disease we are told it is when diagnosed. We can take control of our health and our futures by simple changes in our lifestyle. We can and have put the beast in remission and many have also lost a lot of weight in the process. DCUK will be linking the videos and photos to their social media sites in the near future together with the inspirational stories and low carb recipe booklets and the blood sugar leaflet. I will try to pin them down to a date but I do know they are extremely busy at the moment.

As the event came to a close some had to carry on their journeys as they had a long way to travel home so fond farewells/au revoirs were said. And the 10 remaining popped to the pub next door to wind down from all the excitement. An hour or so later we all went on our merry way.

Couldn't have done this without my hubby Eric he even had a badge with 'gofer' he made himself. He was there to help and very happy to do so. And that's what he intended to do. And because be himself has lost a stone with LCHF as a non diabetic he was asked on video set to join me! Out of his comfort zone but be did it for the cause! Very proud of him.

Thank you everyone for making this event possible. See you at the next one!!!

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I'm at a bbq all day so might not get chance until tomorrow but I will reply asap.
 

Rachox

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It was a great event! Thank you @Debandez for spearheading it, and all the DCUK team too. Having never been in the company of other type 2s (except when I was nursing, but I wasn’t type 2 then so that doesn’t count!), it was so refreshing to be with other people that ‘get it’, and to share our experiences whilst spreading understanding of low carb eating and it’s benefits :)
 

shelley262

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Well done @Debandez and all the DCUK team too.Here I am modelling my new small fingerprints of steel t shirt courtesy of DCUK
Loved the whole two days as you say @Rachox so good to talk to so many people who get it. Let’s hope resulting PR and press gets the message out there to all those many many diabetics and pre diabetics who don’t yet know there is a way to take control and not allow it to progress.
 

Rachox

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Well done @Debandez and all the DCUK team too.Here I am modelling my new small fingerprints of steel t shirt courtesy of DCUK
Loved the whole two days as you say @Rachox so good to talk to so many people who get it. Let’s hope resulting PR and press gets the message out there to all those many many diabetics and pre diabetics who don’t yet know there is a way to take control and not allow it to progress.

Love the new Avatar! :)
 
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Guzzler

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A very well done to all of you, the first but by no means last I'm sure, successful conference. Massive congratulations!
 
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Goonergal

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@Debandez thanks so much for organising and thanks also to @shelley262 and @Rachox for your roles in getting the event on.

It was a fantastic 2 days. So good to meet so many people from the forum and to have conversations with those who get where you’re coming from. Let’s hope it’s the first of many.

I’m still in Brum and enjoying a pit-stop in my room after a long walk along the canals to Kings Norton this morning followed by a bit of retail therapy. Just summoning up the energy to go back out exploring.

Loving your new avatar @shelley262

Edited to correct typo.
 
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shelley262

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@Debandez thanks so much for organising and thanks also to @shelley262 and @Rachox for your roles in getting the event on.

It was a fantastic 2 days. So good to meet so many people from the forum and to have conversations with those who get where you’re coming from. Let’s hope it’s the first of many.

I’m still in Brum and enjoying a pit-stop in my room after a long walk along the canals to Kings Norton this morning followed by a bit of retail therapy. Just summoning upmthe energy to go back out exploring.

Loving your new avatar @shelley262
Thank you - funny you walked to KN we spend a fair bit of time there it’s where Cooper’s home is you could have popped in!
 

Goonergal

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Thank you - funny you walked to KN we spend a fair bit of time there it’s where Cooper’s home is you could have popped in!

Ha! Considered walking on to Redditch, but decided it was too far so took train back to New Street. Planning a mooch around Digbeth shortly.
 
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bulkbiker

BANNED
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19,569
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Well...what a great event in Birmingham it has been. Building foundations. First of many events, fingers crossed. Massive thanks to Diabetes.co.uk and their PR team for the help and support given to us all. A happy bunch of diabetics getting together to try and help others, travelling from across the UK for the cause. All arranged in less than 6 weeks. Thanks to all forum members who backed the idea and made this happen. Special thanks to @Rachox and @shelley262 for all the help you have given me from the outset.

Friday several of us met at the hotel from 3.30pm. It was a funny kind of feeling, in a nice way. We had never met before but we all knew each other and had so much in common. Following introductions we sat in the bar area chatting. It felt great. It was finally all coming together. We happily chatted for well over 2 hours and didnt give ourselves much time to freshen up before meeting back down in reception to go out for our evening meal. We all walked together through Birmingham, chatting away. The atmosphere in brum was quite electric. There was a buzz in the air all around! 20 minutes later we reached the restaurant. We had a fantastic meal at Jamie's Italian (check out their app...it has a breakdown of nutritional values for each meal i.e. cals, carbs etc). The dessert amazed us. At our request they were happy to do us all strawberries and cream using @Goonergal's chocolate brought all the way back from America! They threw on a few roasted almonds as we instructed! Perfect. It was absolutely delicious. They ran out of double cream but popped next door to borrow from their neighbouring restaurant! Nothing was too much trouble. Even the chef came out after our meal to meet us. He himself had enjoyed serving us. He had never done so many steaks in one go and loved the challenge! Hannah our waitress has to be the best waitress ever and a credit to her employer which will be reported back! I feel a TripAdvisor review coming on. And I will be writing a letter of thanks directly to Jamie himself although I will be hinting that a couple of lc desserts wouldn't go amiss. It was quite a moment when we all got out our monitors/scanners to test before and after I can tell you. We heard from our waitess that there was another diabetic in the building! We nearly invited them to join us! We had a lovely stroll back to the hotel. Some went to the bar to wind down a little and carry on the night and others retired to their rooms.

Saturday morning Wetherspoons (who do a cracking low carb breaky if you don't already know). We did some furniture removals so we could all sit around a big square table. 11 of us. Quick breaky for some, just coffee or soft drinks/water for others. Back to the hotel which was a stone's throw away. Most walked the 30 minutes to the event in the Custard Factory (how ironic), I took luggage in the car and met everyone there at Kanteen eaterie. Very modern, light and airy. They had booked the whole place out for us from 12 til 3 (although we ran over until 4 which wasn't a problem). It was just the right size venue for about 30 people and camera/video equipment (and outfit changes!). As more members arrived and popped on their badges people just mingled and chatted. A delightful low carb lunch was served about 1pm. Buffet style. As you can imagine it suited some but not all but its a learning curve and details noted for next time. They did very well and it looked beautiful. I enjoyed what I had immensely. Faultless presentation too. The refreshments included refill after refill of coffee and double cream (they went the extra mile literally to buy the cream for us, they did have almond milk but no cream to start with), all compliments of DCUK which was a really nice gesture. An intro from Charlotte Summers who launched the LCHF programme in 2015. She had only just flown back from Canada, launching the programme there. Plenty of time to chat and mingle. Most who had been on the LCHF woe for some time and some who wanted to learn more, reverse their diabetes and lose weight at the same time. There was a lot of knowledge in the room and with hindsight I wish I had recorded all my conversations as there was so much info to remember! It was a very relaxed atmosphere. Photo opportunities galore. Individual videos done for those that were happy to sit in front of the camera, sharing our journeys in the hope we might inspire others. The general theme, Diabetes does NOT HAVE to be the progressive disease we are told it is when diagnosed. We can take control of our health and our futures by simple changes in our lifestyle. We can and have put the beast in remission and many have also lost a lot of weight in the process. DCUK will be linking the videos and photos to their social media sites in the near future together with the inspirational stories and low carb recipe booklets and the blood sugar leaflet. I will try to pin them down to a date but I do know they are extremely busy at the moment.

As the event came to a close some had to carry on their journeys as they had a long way to travel home so fond farewells/au revoirs were said. And the 10 remaining popped to the pub next door to wind down from all the excitement. An hour or so later we all went on our merry way.

Couldn't have done this without my hubby Eric he even had a badge with 'gofer' he made himself. He was there to help and very happy to do so. And that's what he intended to do. And because be himself has lost a stone with LCHF as a non diabetic he was asked on video set to join me! Out of his comfort zone but be did it for the cause! Very proud of him.

Thank you everyone for making this event possible. See you at the next one!!!

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I'm at a bbq all day so might not get chance until tomorrow but I will reply asap.
Amazing afternoon and great to put bodies/real names to those forum names and faces. Lovely to catch up with so many virtual friends in real time and space. Thanks to all from DCUK as well but as everyone esle has said Thanks to @Debandez @shelley262 and @Rachox for all your hard work.
 

shelley262

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Amazing afternoon and great to put bodies/real names to those forum names and faces. Lovely to catch up with so many virtual friends in real time and space. Thanks to all from DCUK as well but as everyone esle has said Thanks to @Debandez @shelley262 and @Rachox for all your hard work.
Brilliant to meet you and give you a real rather than a virtual hug you’re an inspiration
 
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Resurgam

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It was great to meet you all. Hopefully it was the first of many more meetings to be arranged. Having arrived all hot and disheveled after having to drive around the center and find parking further away than I had hoped, it was lovely to see you all and be able to sit down and chat to everyone.
After the pub I pottered about and went back to the car with the help of the Yoda voice on the TomTom - that puzzled passers by no end.
On the way back down south I pulled up in a layby just as the sun was approaching the horizon and brought out my flask of Arabica coffee and pot of extra thick double cream to relax for a few minutes and enjoy the view of fields and hedges, then suitably fortified I went on across the New Forest and arrived home to find my husband had been to the fish and chip shop and bought me a large cod, which I peeled of its batter and ate with great enjoyment.
Perhaps in a few years the meetings will be so large it will have to be an outside event - or at least require a tented city, a central marquee for the main speakers, and a catering area with hog roast, fried chicken and beefsteak stalls, lamb roasting, someone cooking eggs, a cheese stall and maybe a bit of salad if there's room. There will naturally be an area serving exquisite coffees and a variety of teas to suit all tastes.
 

KK123

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It all sounds great! I hope you all enjoyed my neck of the woods (I live in Solihull) but work slap bang in the middle of Brum next to the Mailbox.
 
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rhubarb73

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Well done gang. Sounds like everyone had a great time. Sorry I missed it. And man-hug for Eric: must have been daunting for him.
I’ve said this before but Jamie O’s 5 Ingredients book is worth a look. Not all LC but many are and it is easy to switch ingredients for LC choices because all the recipes are so simple.
If you could get him interested in T2 he could do a lot of good. T2 needs a Blue Planet moment to change public attitudes en masse.
 

Goonergal

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Well done gang. Sounds like everyone had a great time. Sorry I missed it. And man-hug for Eric: must have been daunting for him.
I’ve said this before but Jamie O’s 5 Ingredients book is worth a look. Not all LC but many are and it is easy to switch ingredients for LC choices because all the recipes are so simple.
If you could get him interested in T2 he could do a lot of good. T2 needs a Blue Planet moment to change public attitudes en masse.

Eric was a star!
 

Resurgam

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Poor fellow even got to hear of the joys of buying bras in Marks and Sparks rather than special mail order sizes.....