I’m told that these meetings are usually well attended, but the response this time was massive with over a hundred people filling the café area - the audience filled the auditorium and stretched onto stairs and stairwells. Dance City staff quickly rigged up extra sound equipment to broadcast Julia’s talk to those outside the main café area and extra seats were found.

In her usual lively and engaging style, Julia reviewed the nature of the condition and outlined her research interests and findings so far. She described the tilt-table tests and her experiences of doing research with chronically fatigued patients. Where I was sat (stairwell, at back), lots of people were writing notes and nodding in agreement at her descriptions of patient experiences.

The question-and-answer session that followed was illuminating too – what we can learn from Lance Armstrong and extreme-sports-cyclists about autonomic dysfunction and fatigue was a new perspective for me. Not easy to explain but something about the best position to be in when cycling for heart/brain alignment to get your system working optimally.

I’m looking forward to continuing the debate and supporting the NHS CFS/ME services now I am back from maternity leave in my capacity as programme manager for the Northern CFS/ME Clinical Network, and to working with Julia on the big questions relating to research.

Louise Wilson – Programme Manager Northern CFS/ME Clinical Network

Comment from Juliet Chenery-Robson on Professor Newton’s talk at Café Scientifique:

“It was also the first time I had attended a Café Scientifique event so I did not know quite what to expect. I was certainly not disappointed by the turnout, with an overflowing room of people of all ages all eager to hear what Julia had to say about ME/CFS.

The last time I heard Julia deliver a talk about ME/CFS was at a Clinical Network conference to an audience consisting mainly of medical professionals, so I was interested to see how she responded to a very different audience of the general public.

Well, the evening flew by and before we knew it Julia was having to take final questions from the floor as the venue was due to close for the night. And I can safely say Julia is able to address any audience with ease as she eloquently proved that she has a strong knowledge of ME/CFS and is not afraid to be counted as an influential figure who has the strength and dedication to ‘Stand up for Fatigue’.”

Julia