Annual Health Check Hackathon – What a Fantastic Day!

On Friday Caerphilly People First members and volunteers attended the Annual Health Check Hackathon organised by Cwm Taff People First. We met with other People First groups, organisations and day services. It was lovely to see everyone working together. 🀝

πŸ’‘ What is a Hackathon?

A hackathon is when people come together to share ideas and be creative about a topic. Everyone works in groups to create things like poems, songs, videos or drama. Our group wrote a poem about Annual Health Checks. ✍️ ⭐ Gethin did a fantastic job helping to read the poem to everyone. Well done Gethin! πŸ‘ Other groups wrote songs and performed them. 🎢 The songs were fantastic and helped raise awareness about why health checks are so important.

🎭 One group performed a drama showing: βœ”οΈ What a good Annual Health Check appointment looks like ❌ What a bad appointment can look like. It was a brilliant demonstration and helped everyone understand how doctors and nurses should support people with learning disabilities. πŸ‘

🎬 We also watched the video we helped make with the Learning Disability Nurses about Annual Health Checks. It was great to see it being shared.

πŸ₯ What is an Annual Health Check?

An Annual Health Check is a free check-up at the doctor for people with learning disabilities. It helps people stay healthy and talk about any worries. Our poem explained what people need at their appointment, such as:

  • Clear information
  • Time to talk
  • Support if needed
  • Being listened to ❀️

πŸ’¬ A big thank you to the tutors, who are very talented, creative and lovely to work with. πŸ‘ A massive thank you to Dawn and her team for organising such a brilliant event. Days like this are so important to raise awareness about Annual Health Checks. Some people in attendance said they still haven’t had a health check, and some had never even heard about them before. That shows why events like this really matter. πŸ‘ Thank you to everyone involved for such a brilliant and inspiring day.

Reconnect Through Music – Today’s Session

We had a fantastic time at this morning’s Reconnect Through Music session! Our members were in great voice and together sang an amazing 25 songs, matching the beautiful sunshine outside. 🌞🎀 We heard favourites both old and new, and every performance was wonderful. Here are just a few of today’s highlights:

🎡 Sean sang Going Underground by The Jam
🎡 Ellysia performed Can’t Get You Out of My Head by Kylie
🎡 Theresa gave us a lovely version of Eternal Flame by The Bangles
🎡 Anthony sang Against All Odds by Phil Collins
🎡 Christine performed Material Girl by Madonna
🎡 Morgan and Mandy performed a brilliant duet of Seasons in the Sun by Westlife

We truly loved every single performance – thank you to everyone who sang and supported each other. πŸ’™ A big thank you as well to Christy, Cheryl and Zoe for preparing our delicious pizza lunch πŸ• and to Pete for setting up the hall ready for the session. It was also wonderful to welcome two new members to their first session β€” a big welcome to Robbie and Joe! πŸ‘‹ We hope you enjoyed your first Reconnect Through Music experience.

πŸ’¬ Some lovely feedback from today:

Chris said he enjoyed interacting with people
Judith enjoyed meeting new people
Olivia enjoyed the lovely atmosphere

Thank you to everyone who came along and made the session so special. We’re already looking forward to the next one! 🎢✨

A Visit From Gerraint from All Wales People First

Yesterday we had a visit from Gerraint from All Wales People First 😊 He delivered a SATV Roadshow session to our members. We talked about the Manifesto πŸ—£οΈ

πŸ‘‰ What is a manifesto?
A manifesto is a document that says:

  • What we believe in
  • What is important to us
  • What changes we want
    It helps people with a learning disability speak up and be heard πŸ‘‚

We also talked about Adfest 2026 πŸŽ‰

Adfest will be in Cardiff
πŸ“ At the Future Inn Cardiff
Bookings are now open! πŸ“
You can get the booking forms from:

  • The All Wales People First Facebook page
  • The All Wales People First website

Thank you Gerraint for a great session! We enjoyed it 😊

Reconnect Through Cookery

What a lovely Reconnect through Cookery session we had on FridayπŸ’› We enjoyed a delicious chicken curry with rice, prawn crackers and vegetable spring rolls πŸ˜‹πŸ›πŸ₯Ÿ and our members did a fantastic job preparing the peppers, onions and mushrooms β€” great teamwork and confidence in the kitchen! πŸ‘©β€πŸ³πŸ‘¨β€πŸ³

We also had lots of fun with a quiz and bingo πŸŽ‰ Huge well done to all our winners πŸ†πŸ‘ A big heartfelt thank you to our amazing volunteers and everyone who helped out today β€” we truly couldn’t do it without you ❀️ And special thanks to Peter the caretaker for kindly setting up the tables for us πŸ™Œ

These sessions are about more than just food… they’re about friendship, laughter and feeling connected πŸ’ž We are so proud of everyone who comes along and gives it a go. We will see you all Wednesday for music and pizza πŸŽΆπŸ• 🎀

Gardening Report

Today we visited the TARAGGAN Educational Gardens and continued digging and weeding on our plot πŸŒ±πŸ§‘β€πŸŒΎ Everyone worked really hard and the plot is really starting to take shape – we’re so proud of the progress! Huge well done to our amazing volunteers πŸ’šπŸ‘ The beautiful flowers have started to bloom 🌼🌸 and it really feels like spring is almost here!

Just a reminder that we won’t be at the gardens next week as we’ll be welcoming the lovely Gerraint from All Wales People First to talk about their manifesto and Adfest. The meeting starts at 11am – you’re very welcome to join us πŸ—£οΈβœ¨ TARAGGAN is always looking for volunteers who have knowledge and some time to spare. If you think you could help, please get in touch πŸ™ŒπŸŒΏ

Reconnect Through Music – Session Report 🎀✨

We had another fantastic Reconnect Through Music session this morning! The room was full of energy, laughter, and brilliant performances as we sang an amazing 28 songs together. πŸŽ΅πŸ’ƒ Our members brought us a wonderful mix of classics and hidden gems, covering music from the 1950s right through to the 2020s – what a journey through the decades, and what a joy to see everyone dancing, smiling, and socialising πŸ•ΊπŸ“»πŸŽΆ It was also lovely to welcome two new members, Cheryl and Claire, to their very first session with us. We hope you both enjoyed it and felt the warm Reconnect Through Music spirit! We were treated to so many brilliant performances, including:

Hywel and Kelvin – bringing us some fantastic Cliff Richard favourites 🎸
Rebecca – with a toe-tapping rendition of 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton 🀠
Adrian and Andrew – rocking the room with a couple of Elvis classics πŸ•Ίβœ¨
Sean – getting us Eurovision-ready with Making Your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz πŸŽ‰
Christine – bringing the party vibes with We Like to Party by Vengaboys 🚌🎢
Ffion and Amy – delivering two powerful Tina Turner classics πŸ”₯🎀
Anthony – leading us in a triumphant We Are the Champions by Queen πŸ‘‘πŸ™Œ

And of course, there were many more brilliant performances that kept the atmosphere buzzing all morning! 🌈🎼A big thank you to Christy and Cheryl for preparing our delicious lunch of ham and cheese rolls and crisps – it was very much appreciated after all that singing! πŸ˜‹πŸ‘Thank you to everyone who took part and made today’s session so special. We can’t wait to do it all again in two weeks! πŸŽΆπŸ’™

Gardening at TARAGGAN

Today we visited TARAGGAN Educational Gardens 🌱✨ It was lovely and fresh with the sun shining β˜€οΈ but still a little chilly ❄️ We started digging on our plot and over the next few weeks we’ll continue working on it to get everything ready for planting 🌼We’ll be volunteering at TARAGGAN every Tuesday from 10:30am – 12pm ⏰ If you’d like to join us, we’d love to see you πŸ’šπŸ™Œ

Reconnect Through Cookery πŸ‘©β€πŸ³πŸ₯”πŸ§€πŸ’•

On Friday we made a delicious cheese and potato pie πŸ˜‹ Our members worked hard preparing fresh salad with tomatoes πŸ…, cucumber πŸ₯’ and lettuce πŸ₯— to go alongside it. We also served ham with the pie – it was absolutely delicious!

We were pleased to welcome a trainee social worker who visited to see the fantastic work we deliver in the community πŸ’¬πŸ’™ We also had a fun Valentine’s quiz ❀️🧠 which everyone really enjoyed! As always, we had lots of fun with bingo πŸŽ‰ and even a little dance from Sian and Paula πŸ’ƒπŸ•Ί which made everyone smile!

A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers πŸ™Œ Your support makes these sessions so special. The feedback from members was great as always 🌟See you all on Wednesday for music! 🎢🎀

Lewis School & The First Give Programme

Last week Ffion and Christy attended The Lewis School for the First Give Final 🌟 The First Give programme gives Year 7 students the chance to learn about social issues in their community, choose a charity they care about, and take part in fundraising and social action. Each Year 7 group delivered a presentation on their chosen charity to a panel of judges, who asked questions and decided which group had made the biggest impact. The winning group receives Β£1,000 for their chosen charity πŸ‘ All Year 7 groups did an amazing job presenting their charities β€” congratulations to the winners! πŸ†

A very special thank you to Year 7S for choosing Caerphilly People First. We thought your presentation was absolutely fantastic πŸ’™ As well as raising an incredible Β£75 through your scavenger hunt, 7S also wrote us a beautiful poem, which will be framed and proudly displayed in our office β€” a truly thoughtful and meaningful gift 🌈✨

If you know of a secondary school that would like to take part in the First Give programme, please contact info@firstgive.co.uk for more information. Well done everyone!

Reconnect Through Music

Today’s Reconnect Through Music session was packed with talent, energy, and big smiles all round πŸ˜„βœ¨ The room was buzzing from start to finish, with our members singing an incredible 28 songs β€” and even then, the singing carried on while we were packing up! 🎀🎢 We were treated to a fantastic mix of classics and favourites:

🎧 Ellysia kicked things off in style with Saturday Night by Whigfield
πŸš’ Sean took us back to the 60s with Fire Brigade by The Move
🎡 Ffion and Amy delivered a brilliant duet of Valerie by Amy Winehouse
❀️ Anthony sang a heartfelt performance of Amazed by Lonestar
🎸 Kelvin gave us two great songs by Cliff Richard
πŸŒ™ Natalie performed Different Corner by George Michael
πŸ‘―β€β™€οΈ The twins, Christine and Elizabeth, wowed us with Let It Go from Frozen and The Best by Tina Turner
πŸ•Ί Chris stole the show by dressing up as Elvis and singing Hound Dog! πŸŽ€πŸ•ΆοΈ

During lunch, everyone enjoyed delicious hot dogs prepared in the kitchen by Christy πŸŒ­πŸ‘ β€” a much-appreciated treat! A big thank you to Pete for arranging everything at the centre and helping make the session run smoothly πŸ‘ And of course, a huge thank you to our amazing members for attending and making every music session such a joyful occasion πŸ’–πŸŽΆ As always, the session was full of singing, dancing, laughter, and smiles, and it was a pleasure to be part of it πŸ˜ŠπŸ’ƒπŸ•ΊWe’re already looking forward to the next one! 🎼✨