25 October 2025
Meeting report by Dorothy Stuart
The first Scottish face to face meeting was held in Williamwood High School on the south side of Glasgow on Saturday 25 October. Some of us had met previously on zoom meetings but this was the first time we had actually physically met each other.
We had a fantastic turn out of 22 people which included a wide range of family members, carers and partners. The geography ranged from a couple whose house they could almost see from the school, two from Arbroath – around a three-hour drive and a couple from Edinburgh around 45 minute’s drive. Everyone who said they would come did so. Most attendees were part of the WhatsApp Scotland group, but the wider invitation via the HSP Social Media links opened the meeting up to another five people. There was a wide age range at the meeting and I believe splinter meetings will be held with some of the younger members in future. Those who are not part of the group will be invited to allow easier communication in future.
As it was the first time we had met face to face, the meeting was kept totally fluid. The time was set for 1400 until 1630 – the school closed at 1700. The atmosphere in the room worked out very well with the majority of people moving round the room and I believe everyone managed to speak to each other. I purposefully had no speaker and no agenda for this first meeting to allow us to simply share information on who we were, what issues we had, mobility issues etc. I provided tea and coffee with some biscuits. I had access to hot water which allowed us to get cups made and handed round – thanks to my husband Graeme and other partners for organising this. One member brought lovely cup-cakes with her too. This was the way the day went – sharing! People had to be asked to leave so that the janitors could get the school closed!!
I was able to chat to people as they arrived and to try to link those with shared interests – sports, different HSP types etc. It was made clear that no one needed to stay for the duration which was very much the case as fatigue and domestic arrangements had to be taken into account. At one point we were sitting round the room in a very “old folks’ home” circle. I let people know that this was not the intention and to please feel free to mix and move. The atmosphere in the room was very warm and, I believe, welcoming.
It was felt by all I spoke to, and have subsequently, that this was a long time coming and that it would be a good thing to do again. I believe Mike Cain has got a zoom meeting in the diary for November as a follow up. I will be happy to organise another face to face one, but I will ask for opinions as to the best format of the next meeting – do we get a speaker, what will be the most benefit for us as a group taking into account the age range we had.
The school venue worked very well as it was a newish building with plenty of disabled parking, a level entrance and a classroom which was very near to the entrance. There were disabled toilets easily accessible with all the facilities needed for larger wheelchairs and helpers/carers to use. I arranged for most of the desks and chairs to be moved to the edges of the room which left room for wheelchairs and casual seating round the room. It also meant that there was lots of room to move around within the space.
Some of the participants were unaware of HSP as a charity and the ability to join. There were some who did not know we had a YouTube channel. World HSP Day information was not generally known. The Facebook page information has now been shared. I have circulated The Patient History Survey Report to those in the WhatsApp group and another member has shared the stretches and exercises for HSP from Facebook.
The next meeting will possibly be more challenging as I will have to work out who to get as a speaker, but I am confident that between us, we will identify a “tame” speaker who will be able to add more in the future to the Scotland HSP group.