ChippyWellFest 2019

The first ChippyWellFest, held in September 2018, was a resounding success.  Thank you if you supported it. 

See here for speaker videos, audio and speaker slides.

1. About ChippyWellFest 2019

This will follow a similar format to the 2018 event: a full day of health insight and health thriver stories, to be held at Chipping Norton Theatre on Saturday 28th September 2019.

Further details, including ticket reservations, will follow.

2. About the ChippyWellFest^TM event

This is one day of inspirational health talks, TED style, and given by experts with insight into the most important aspects of lifestyle medicine: stuff that we can all do today, often at little cost, or no cost, if only we knew about it.

This event is a not-for-profit gift to the community, donated by me, the speakers and the sponsors.  It is free to attend so that there is no barrier for people to advance their thinking on how they can better their health by adopting the latest in lifestyle medicine thinking.

3. Who would benefit by attending ChippyWellFest^TM

The event is designed to appeal to everyone.

The following might benefit most

1. Parents, having teenage to early twenties children (who still frequent, or are reliant on, the area).
2. Living within ½ hour of Chipping Norton.
3. Aged 40 -60, an age where statitics show that people are unforyunately likely to experience an increasing number of lifestyle ailments and conditions of unknown severity, some coming without warning.
4. In addition to personal concern, they are worried for the wellbeing of their younger family members and the next generation.
5. Believe that there is something fundamentaly wrong about the way we are leading our lives
6. Perhaps their lives are touched by a chronic disease:
   1. through seeing a parent, partner or a loved one suffer with cancer or other chronic disease or condition (such as MS, diabetes, dementia, Alzheimer’s, heart attack, stroke ….)
   2. Have experienced a loved one die from such a condition
   3. Maybe are suffering from such a condition themselves
7. Are concerned about hereditary illnesses.
8. Want to know what actions, advice and leading by example they should be undertaking in the best interests of their children, friends and loved ones.
9. Want to know what they should they be doing to lessen their risks of suffering a chronic illness.
10. Or if they get any chronic illness in the future, how to manage it.
11. What activities should they be undertaking to lead a happier, healthier, more fulfilled life.
12. Wanting to know who are the best practitioners to go to in the local area.
13. Feel that there is a lot of confusion/conflicting advice.

4. The Vision behind ChippyWellFest^TM

Most of the evidence suggests that incidences of chronic diseases are increasing at alarming rates.

In 1994, research suggested that 1 in 4 people living at the time would be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. In 2015, just 20 years later, updated statistics from Cancer Research UK showed that 1 in 2 people would be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.

A doubling of incidence; in just one area of chronic disease.

A situation such as this, in a rich, knowledge-led western society seems counter intuitive to me. These statistics are not just due to better detection or increased survival rates. Even if they were, more people now have to find ways to cope with these awful diseases hanging over their daily lives.

There is increasing belief that the increased incidences of chronic disease in western societies are because there is something wrong with the way we are choosing to lead our lives.

Here in the UK we all love the NHS and those who work there. However, our health systems are increasingly unable to cope. Whether due to the lack of resources, increasing demand, or the results of structural issues, the daily news of nurse shortages, cancelled operations, drug induced lifeless lives should spur us to into corrective action.

I so believe that many of the answers to better health are already out there.  We need to change our mind sets. And where we are looking.  We need to take responsibility for ourselves and those we love and care for.  We need to help ourselves.  But journeys of personal change are difficult, all the more so when society and our environments work against the frailties of the human condition.

So my vision for a different path to health is this:

• For there to be a community-based initiative that inspires and supports each individual who seeks to take responsibility in creating a lifelong journey that achieves and maintains their best wellbeing and those of their loved ones;
• Through grass roots activities, provides access to wellbeing solutions that complement formal public healthcare;
• For people to aspire to live in North Oxfordshire and its surrounding areas, not just because this is a place of outstanding natural beauty, but because it is where the healthiest and most fulfilled people in the UK live.

Much of the inspiration behind this imitative is not new thinking. The science and evidence is already out there. And success has been seen in other places:

1. Albert Lea, Iowa, The Beach Cities and other communities in North America inspired by the 5 ‘Blue Zones’ of the world:

• Okinawa, Japan
• Ikaria, Greece
• Sardina, Italy
• Nicoya, Costa Rica
• Loma Linda, California

See https://bluezones.com/

2. The North Karelia Project

See

• http://www.who.int/chp/about/integrated_cd/index2.html
• https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/04/finlands-radical-heart-health-transformation/389766/

3. Brooklyn, New York City

See https://www.onegreenplanet.org/episode-forty-eric-adams/

5. ChippyWellFest^TM in context

Since October 2017 I have staged 9 ‘Conversations with an Audience’, titled how to ‘How to Choose our Best Health. A terminal cancer thriver story.’

ChippyWellFest is scaled up version of these conversations and will cover a broader wellness agenda and be delivered by 8 experts and practitioners.

Many of the speaker practitioners will come from the local area so that the audience can utilise their services after the event.

This event is just one way of continuing the conversation about how we, as a community of individuals, can achieve better wellbeing through ‘self-help healthcare’ and ‘lifestyle medicine’

Other wellness services, products, programmes and initiatives will be made available to the community after  ChippyWellFest.  These might include:

• Nutrition Workshops
• Creating life purpose
• Creation of Wellness ambassadors
• Change programmes in
  • Restaurants, food stores and food outlets
  • Schools
  • Workplaces
  • Farmers and food producers
  • Town facilities
  • Home life
• Self audits and health measurement
• Meet-ups and community meals
• Health tools