Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. These words from Coleridge’s The Ancient Mariner almost came true for Red Lion member Emma Edwards and family when their water rates rose so high that they nearly had to cancel their annual bill.

Emma’s problems started when her supplier Thames Water fitted a meter to her family’s household supply and they found their water bill rose by £130-a-year. She wrote to Thames Water and pointed out that she had a medical condition that meant she had to go to the loo 10-12 times in 24 hours and thus used more water than most people.

The Red Lion Group Annual General Meeting and Information Day will take place on Saturday 25 April at the Himsworth Hall Education Centre, St. Mark's Hospital, Northwick Park.

The first seminar of the morning will be a presentation by pouch pioneer surgeon Professor John Nicholls who will take a look at future developments. This is followed by a Brains Trust question and answer session with a panel of pouch experts. At the last session before lunch, Dr Parth Paskaran will review that the latest pouch research.

The formal annual general meeting will then take place followed by lunch and a raffle. The first seminar after lunch sees Ellie Bradshaw looking at effective pouch emptying. This is followed by three breakout sessions running in parallel on the Medina catheter, diet and pouch dysfunction. Afterward attendees can choose to attend a further breakout session, either for female pouch owners, male pouch owners or partners.

The full detailed programme can be downloaded from this website.

The cost of the event is £3 per head. If you would like to attend, please download an application form and return it to the address shown by 15 April.

Details of car parking and transport links can be found on the application form.