Message from Lucinda Ellery Ladies, ladies, ladies. Christmas and the New Year is upon us and we have a tendency to forget ourselves at this very important time. We seem to be pulled in every direction looking after family, children, friends,   buying    gifts, wrapping and scrapping, etc. The amount of times over the years that I have got everything else ready, looking after my children, Christmas plans and gifts, and creeping closer to Christmas day, looking wozzzz out and exhausted, because I forgot about me. So may I make a suggestion that you remember to book in all the appointments you need so that you feel absolutely fabulous during this festive time and that you don't become a poor second to everyone else. Every year we have the same frantic calls because we are booked to the gunnels, not an appointment in sight and numbers of girls have forgotten to organise their hair in time. This has a knock-on effect of making January very busy too. I am not complaining; mind... I am thinking of you. So if you need your hair done, book now, book fast so that you too can look fabulous and not frazzled over Christmas and New Year. I know this is like an old record, and part of my LE quarterly letter but I must thank all the girls that continually send me wonderful cards and letters that really reach my heart and affect my tear ducks too. An interesting phenomena,there has been an unprecedented   number of letters and compliments directed to my children - Micky, Chris and Dax. When I first saw that I was not included, (in other words ignored) I thought I am losing my edge and I must up my game and I was a bit miffed. For a split second I felt left out, lost and abandoned (not quite tongue in cheek). My life's work and they were overtaking me...??? I then had my epiphany - at last I have achieved my Laura Ashley Moment. For those of us who don't remember the Laura Ashley story, she was an amazing designer who had set up this fantastic company with wonderful products that she had gathered from all around that were quintessentially British. I grew up with her wall papers in my bedrooms and her towels in my bathroom. They were a treat that had to be saved for. And here she was dead - I was devastated. If I remember correctly, her family worked with her, and there was a lot of concezzzz whether or not her business would survive and to my joy it has and I am still able to buy wonderful tapestries and fabrics from Laura Ashley long after she has gone. I now feel for the first time, after a quarter of a century, that if I peg-off (which I have no intension of doing for some goodly time yet) that I am leaving my created baby in wonderful loving, caring and capable hands.

My children have astonished me with their intelligence and dedication, their empathy and kindness and their total brilliance and I thank everyone who has written to them and noticed their contribution to the company. It has made me feel, that you too will all be in safe hands long after I am no longer. This epiphany has made me want to strike out and make this company even bigger. I feel a new lease of life to work even harder as by Christmas my sixth grandchild would have arrived on planet earth and potentially it could be that not only will my children take over the company, but that my grandchildren could keep up the good work and I can imagine how cool it would be if somebody says to them one day "I knew your grandmother back in the day before you weren't even thought of" I love it. I am still struck by how many people seem to appreciate that we have such a hands-on approach to our work, which seems perfectly natural and normal to me. I would still like to remind everybody that if they want to see me to help them with their hair or life’s stresses, just make an appointment for a cup of tea and come and see me. I would be glad to help. I would like to thank Angela, Anna, Flo, Robina, Becky, Judy, Margaret and Theresa for participating in the filming at the end of October. You were all absolutely fantastic and amazing. Real pro's and veterans. We can have our own "Loose Women" now and we can call it "Very Loose Women". Highlights of my last couple of weeks was an opportunity to meet David Cameron at 10 Downing Street as part of the Chloe Can Campaign set up by Esther McVey, MP for the Wirral, which is about helping young girls fulfil their potential by meeting inspirational women that  have  done  great things in their lives and are not all celebrities or have been bozzzz with a silver spoon. David Cameron knows of course, Sarah Vine – The Times, Beauty Editor (article and story in previous newsletter and also on our website) who is godmother to his new child. So I introduced myself as the woman behind her new hairstyle and he exclaimed with such enthusiasm that it was marvellous and that it was  a  jolly good  show  that  she  has  done   something with her hair. He thought it looked amazing. He doesn't know it yet, but I’m going to see him again one day, and I am going to tell him that the amount of girls that can face work or retuzzzz to work, who have become taxpayers, due to feeling so much better about themselves deserve a fund of their own to manage their hair-loss. I shall be lobbying, watch this space. A big BIG congratulations to Katie Piper who launched her fantastic charity, the Katie Piper foundation, by having a big dinner in the Savoy and raising a £125,000 to help people cope with their disfigurements and to build their confidence and self-esteem. It was a privilege to hear Simon Cowell say that she is the most inspirational woman he has ever met and I would like to reiterate that I feel exactly the same way and that I feel also that she is an angel on earth and I am profoundly lucky to count her as a friend. We are coming to the end of Debbie's anniversary for Pineapple Dance Studio celebrating 30 years of the magnificent company she created. What an astonishing year with all the things she has done and all the efforts she has put in towards the Chloe Can Campaign. Debbie you are amazing – you do so much for women. Press – I’m no longer bald, frumpy and frightened Angela Habeshis is such a courageous woman. An article in My Weekly Magazine tells her story. She was 11 when she started pulling her hair out. Aged 50, she has finally overcome her destructive habit. She took control of her life and now she believes in herself again. Please ask for a copy of the article to read her remarkable story of adversity, strength and hope.

NHS Funding Approved We are absolutely delighted to inform our readers that we have had   two  new  clients being approved for NHS funding for their Intralace system until September 2013. This is such exciting news and proof that if you persist, doors may just open for you. We can help you with the administration side and put the information together you will need to apply. Please call for more information or ask at reception. Client letter OMG I’ve got that………… My story starts when I was 11 (or thereabouts) when I suddenly became aware of pulling my hair out. Not in handfuls mind, just the odd hair, with a kind of thoughtful, conscious precision which once started carried on for years. The odd thing was that the pulling was concentrated to just two sites (also common in Trich) above my ears on either side of my head – the patches were around the size of the palm of my hand so not a good look - so much so that I remember my Ex saying ‘get your hair sorted you look like something from Star Wars’. How right was he? But, like a lot of stuff in life we’re embarrassed about, I managed to hide it very successfully. For me this was by putting my hair up. And up it remained for 3 decades. Still to this day I don’t really know what the trigger for pulling was, and, 30 years on, I can honestly say it doesn’t matter. What does matter though is my crystal clear re-collection of a day in 2003 when at around 6 months pregnant with my first child, Dillon, I was in my doctor’s surgery waiting for a check up. Whilst waiting I read an article in a glossy which featured a picture of a balding Barbie and in those next 10 minutes my life changed me forever. It was a proper OMG moment. I realised I wasn’t alone, I had Trichotillomania – a condition I’d never heard of, and like those odd moments we have in life I remember it vividly…. Bizarrely I felt huge relief; an excitement almost and was also thinking ‘blimey there’s an answer for everything these days’. How relieved was I. Happy days. Can’t remember the baby appointment at all, but what I do remember is reaching for my mobile the minute I left the surgery and speaking to the very coolly named Dax and how lovely was he – Just remember waffling on about  my  hair,  god  what  must  he  have    thought….   Plus this outpouring was major for me as I’d only shared the TTM stuff with my Ex at this point, so a big guilty secret is now out there OMG. However amid the ramblings I did manage to make an appointment to meet Lucinda. Well meeting her has to be without doubt another of those special moments that I’ll never forget. To this day she remains one of the most inspirational people I’ve had the pleasure to meet. She’s so cool, funny, honest and passionate about her work, about people and about HAIR, it just rubs off – just love her. Now for the reality check. Whilst the whole LE experience has been amazing I sit here typing and thinking that Trich is a total nightmare, and it’s a condition/habit that is so hard to kick. However, I have finally accepted that the condition remains with you, but you just find ways of managing/controlling it and I truly believe that this can be for life, just like people can give up smoking, drinking or being overweight. The tuzzzzing point for controlling the pulling came at the beginning of 2011 – I remember coming into the salon and being worried about having the 3rd Intralace removed. I half wanted to keep it - was umming and aaahing (as women do) when the lovely colourist Bruno made a throw away comment – ‘well you can’t keep it forever’ – such a literal man comment (lol) and a blinding glimpse of the obvious…. Yes Bruno (laughing to myself) how very sensible – let’s get shot. So I left the salon with two tiny panels, and 40 extensions. In May the panels were removed. Now I have 45 extensions and the rest is mine…. OMG…. It’s weird because I really do believe that I won’t pull again. I do accept that I have the condition though grrrrrr and that I need to remain focused to keep it that way. And do you know the most amazing thing of all is being able to wear my hair down. Something so simple for so many people is so the biggest deal for me, and I never want to go back to those Star Wars days again ……..keeping those fingers firmly crossed. Love Karen We really do appreciate all the letters we receive from our clients. For every Star Letter we print in our newsletters a £150 credit is awarded.

Intralace System Client Feedback Forms We would like to give our clients the opportunity to give us feedback about our services. We will be emailing you a list of questions relating to your Intralace System and we would be very grateful if you could take the time to reply. Client feedback is very important to us and we would like to hear your views on the services offered at Lucinda Ellery. Please keep an eye on your inbox for the feedback form. Please check with our Reception team that we have a current email address for you as we want to ensure that you receive this form. Christmas and New Year opening times Lucinda Ellery London and Lucinda Ellery Manchester will be closed from 6pm on Friday 23rd December 2011 and will reopen on Wednesday 4th January 2012. Book Recommendations Who moved my cheese ?– Spencer Johnson Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. One thing is for sure, change happens to all of us, but is it good or bad? I guess we resist changing because we are afraid of the unknown. The significance of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives.The story takes place in a maze. Four characters live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice, non-analytical and non-judgmental; they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are little people", mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. Cheese is a metaphor for what we want in life. Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they've found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, money, health, relationships   and even our hair. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out. A simple short but very effective and worthwhile read.           312 King Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 0RR, 0208 741 8224 Old Exchange Building, 29 - 31 King Steet, Manchester, M2 6BE 0844 567 8899