This report was written by our head gardener Morgan Jones.
It was nice to be back up the allotments in TARAGGAN this week after missing out last week because of the bad weather. The first thing Gethin, Rees, Conor, Christopher, Anthony and myself did was pick up the tools we needed from the shed, then we planted Allium bulbs. I thought everyone contributed really well and did their bit this week, and each of them deserve a pat on the back.
Chicken curry, chosen by our Volunteer Nick, was on the menu at Friday’s cookery session. We served the curry with rice spring rolls and prawn crackers. The group enjoyed prepping the ingredients, as well as taking part in the quiz, raffle, and colouring competition. Thanks to everyone who bought a raffle ticket we managed to raise £38 for Children in Need.
Massive thanks to our kitchen volunteers – Cheryl Smith, Zoe Dummett, Amy Jones, and Rees Powell – you did an amazing job as always. Thanks also to Ffion Poole for being quiz master and organising the raffle. Next week our new member Ryan has chosen pizza.
After cookery the group took part in the third session of digital awareness and mindfulness delivered by Sangeet from WISE KIDS. We watched a video about two people talking online and then meeting up, and it turned out they were very different in real life compared to how they’d represented themselves online. If anyone would like to join us for these sessions they are every Friday at our Cookery session, from 1:30 – 2:30, but please email us first at: enquiries@caerphillypeoplefirst.org
At Friday’s cookery session members prepared broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage and potatoes to cook and serve with sausage, Yorkshire puddings and onion gravy. Everyone did a fantastic job and the food tasted delicious.
Thanks to everyone who volunteered in the kitchen, and also to Sangeet for delivering the second part of the digital awareness and mindfulness course. Next week we will be making Chinese chicken curry chosen by our member Nick.
This week at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens & Nursery, Kyle Richards and Sam showed our volunteers how to plant bulbs. We all had a go at planting daffodils, snowdrops and mixed crocus. Snowdrops and daffodils are amongst the first plants to flower in late winter and early spring, and the plants will look great decorating the borders of the plots when they bloom. If you would like to volunteer with us we are at TARAGGAN every Tuesday morning from 10.30am.
Tuesday afternoon marked the beginning of our Christmas Craft sessions, and Caerphilly People First members and volunteers made a start on making their own advent calendars. We used toilet roll holders and stapled them together to make a Christmas tree shape and covered them in tissue paper. At the next craft session we will continue decorating the trees and filling them with goodies ready for December.
Thanks to Cheryl Smith and Zoe Dummett from the Parent Network Community Forum for facilitating the group.
On the evening of Tuesday 7th November Caerphilly People First were at Blackwood Miners’ Institute to celebrate the tenth anniversary of RecRock. RecRock is a social enterprise based in Caerphilly which works with people to improve their skills and confidence through music and other creative activities. Caerphilly People First has been working with Dan from RecRock since Summer 2022, with our members attending music sessions where they have been given the opportunity to sing, play musical instruments, write songs, and make music videos.
As part of the evening, two Caerphilly People First members performed onstage – Mathew, who sang That’s All Right by Elvis, and Natalie who sang Torn by Natalie Imbruglia. They gave brilliant performances, and it was great to witness the musical performances by other groups who work with RecRock, many of whom performed songs they have written themselves. Everyone who was there witnessed so much talent onstage, and the crowd loved every single performance.
We will be restarting our music sessions with Dan in the new year, and our members can’t wait.
Spaghetti Bolognaise was on the menu at Friday’s cookery class. Well done everyone – you did a great a job prepping and cooking as always. Thank you to all our volunteers who always work so hard in the kitchen, especially those working on the pots.
During the second half of the session some people took part in our weekly quiz, and others joined Sangeet from Wise Kids to take part in a focus group. This is in preparation for our Digital Wellbeing advice and mindfulness course that will run for the next six Fridays after cookery. We ended the day with a mindfulness meditation.
We will see you all next week for sausage mash and onion gravy chosen by our member Sian.
At yesterday’s craft session our members and volunteers created wall art and had some spooky Halloween photos taken. Thanks to Cheryl from the Parent Network Community Forum for running the session. Crafts sessions usually occur every other Tuesday but we have an extra session next week, so if you would like to join us from 12:30pm onwards, please get in touch.
Our volunteers Ffion Poole and Gethin Chamberlain did a great job yesterday at the Parent Network Community Forum ‘Trunk or Treat’ event at Morrisons underground car park in Bargoed. Gethin, Ffion and Christy covered Christy’s car with Halloween decorations and handed out sweets and stickers to the children walking around the witch trail. We’ve never seen so many happy little faces in scary outfits, and we’d like to thank Amanda Jones and the team for inviting us to this fantastic event.
At last week’s crafts session our members had a go at making spooky lanterns with our volunteer Cheryl Smith from The Parent Network Community Forum. Check out their spooktacular work in the pics below.
