Norfolk based charity Action on Pain(AOP) formed in 1998 with the clear objectives of helping people affected by chronic pain. With just a chair and a computer in a bedroom a journey started that now sees the charity established as the leading general pain charity in the UK. During that journey AOP has introduced PainLine- a dedicated telephone helpline which has taken nearly 40000 calls, developed eight informative booklets with over 800000 circulated and has the only Mobile Information Unit dedicated to pain in the world! We now stretch beyond the UK being well known across Europe and further afield with strong links established with similar organisations in other countries. A current project sees AOP at the forefront of developing an European Pain Alliance which will be able to lobby the EU as well as bringing a huge wealth of expertise that we can all share and benefit from. A UK pain alliance has been suggested however the opinion of our Trustees and members is that there is already sufficient representation in place which such an alliance would only replicate. Our view is that as a volunteer run organisation we need to use our resources where they give the best return for people affected by pain. An example of this is that we are working hard to produce our ninth booklet which should be available in 3/4 months. AOP has developed a reputation for being a "down to earth organisation" which promotes the positive side of living with chronic pain. With the majority of our volunteers affected by chronic pain we are able to understand the needs of people who use our services-we tell it as it is! Our simple philosophy is that we aim to reach out to as many people affected by chronic pain as possible through our various routes-in 2010 we had contact with over 13000 people either via our PainLine,e-mail or on our Mobile Information Unit. Some people still write to us as well! Working hard with others we strive to improve pain services in the UK as well as helping people manage their pain through greater awareness of what may be available or what they can do for themselves!