Everyone enjoyed the beautiful sunshine yesterday, got stuck in, and worked hard as usual 💪🌼 There’s something special about being outdoors — fresh air, teamwork, and getting hands in the soil does wonders for wellbeing 🌿😊 A big thank you to all involved for your energy and effort. Another great morning in the garden! 🌻🍃☀️
What an incredible session we had today! 🌟 This morning, our group absolutely smashed our previous record by singing an amazing 31 songs 🎤🎉 — what a milestone! We enjoyed a fantastic mix of music spanning decades and genres 🎵🕺, showing just how diverse and vibrant our group is. Some standout moments included:
🌈 Ffion and Amy bringing fun and energy with The Gummy Bear Song 🐻🎶
🎭 Tilly with two songs by Panic! at the Disco 🎤🔥
💖 Morgan serenading us with Mandy
🌟 Mandy delivering a beautiful rendition of Against All Odds by Phil Collins
💃 Anthony filling the room with joy through Love Is in the Air (and it truly was! ❤️)
🎩 Chris entertaining us with Leave Your Hat On
🎧 Dennis getting everyone moving with Dance Monkey 🕺🎶
The atmosphere was absolutely lush 🌿💫 — full of smiles 😊, laughter 😂, and brilliant dancing 💃🕺. It was wonderful to see everyone so engaged and enjoying themselves! A big thank you goes out to:
👏 Pete for getting everything set up
🍽️ Christy, Zoe, and Cheryl for preparing a delicious lunch
🎶 Amy and Ffion for keeping the music flowing smoothly
We’re already looking forward to the next session… can we beat our record again and hit 32 songs? 🎯🎤 See you all next time! 💛🎶
What a lovely session we had at Reconnect Through Cookery on Friday! Our members made a delicious cheese and potato pie, topped with fresh tomatoes 🍅 and served with ham and beans 😋🥔🧀 After enjoying our meal, we had lots of fun playing bingo 🎉🎲 and a big well done to Rhys for doing his fantastic quiz, which everyone really enjoyed 🏆👏😊
A huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers and everyone who helped out — your support means so much and helps make these sessions warm, welcoming, and full of friendship 💕🙌
Our brand new Stretch, Connect & Belong project started yesterday at Fleur-de-lis Community Centre and will run for 10 sessions every Tuesday from 1pm–2pm, followed by 30 minutes for a cuppa ☕, a chat 💬 and session feedback 📝 — a lovely chance to connect and build friendships.
Our first session began with calming breathing and stretching exercises 🌬️💚, followed by lots of fun as our members chose a yoga pose from the surprise bag 🎁🧘. There were plenty of smiles and laughter 😊. Some members used mats, while others chose to use a chair — showing these sessions are truly accessible and inclusive for all ♿💙. For our breathing exercises we used beautiful chiffon scarves 🌈, and we finished with a peaceful relaxation session to soothing music 🎶✨ under soft ceiling lights, leaving everyone feeling calm, refreshed and uplifted.
Sessions like this are so important for people with learning disabilities because they help to:
💚 reduce anxiety and stress
💚 improve movement, balance and flexibility
💚 build confidence and independence
💚 encourage social connection and friendships
💚 reduce isolation and loneliness
💚 support emotional wellbeing and mindfulness
💚 create a safe, welcoming space where everyone belongs 🤝
A huge thank you to Lisa Harwood 💐 for such a wonderful start to our project, and thank you to our amazing members and volunteers for bringing such positive energy — everyone absolutely loved it! 🌟💖 Here’s to the next session! 🧘☕💬
🌱☀️ Another fantastic session at TARAGGAN Educational gardens this week! We planted courgettes, lettuce, and carrots 🥕🥬 Everyone also worked really hard doing more weeding and helping to keep the garden looking beautiful 🌼👏
It was lovely to be outdoors enjoying the fresh air and sunshine while working together 🌞💚 Our members absolutely love these sessions and always enjoy getting involved, learning new skills, and spending time with friends 😊🌿 A big well done to everyone for all their hard work! 💪🌱
What better way to finish off a Tuesday than with a relaxing yoga session at our Stretch, Connect and Belong group with Lisa 🧘♀️💙✨ Our members love getting stuck in and having fun together! At our most recent session we played yoga dice and chose lots of different poses including the tree 🌳, superman 🦸, dancing pose 💃, baby pose 👶 and many more. We enjoyed some gentle stretches, lots of giggles 😂, mindfulness and relaxation time with soothing music 🎶 We also made beautiful calming sounds by gently tapping the singing bowl 🥣✨ which everyone really enjoyed and found relaxing.
These sessions are very accessible for everyone 💙 Some members choose to use chairs while others prefer using mats, allowing everyone to join in comfortably at their own pace 😊 Everyone did an amazing job taking part and supporting one another. We finished the session with a lovely cuppa, biscuits and a chat ☕🍪💙 Thank you Lisa for another brilliant session!
Another fantastic morning last week down at the University of South Wales simulation suite with the student nurses 👏🏥💙 Gethin played a patient with an injured shoulder, Hannah played a patient whose knee had popped out, both attending minor injuries, and Nat played Geraldine, a patient suffering with constipation. 🩺🦵💊
The student nurses gave amazing care throughout the scenarios and showed great communication skills, kindness and professionalism 🌟 They asked important questions about each person’s health profile and made reasonable adjustments to make sure everyone felt comfortable and supported ❤️
A health profile is a document that gives important information about a person’s health needs, communication, medication, likes, dislikes and the best ways to support them. This helps healthcare staff give the right care and understand the person better 📋😊 Everyone did a really great job and the sessions were not only educational but lots of fun too 😄🎭 We really enjoy taking part in the simulation suite sessions and helping future nurses gain valuable experience 👩⚕️👨⚕️Well done everyone! 👏💙
A huge thank you to everyone who attended another inspiring and joyful Reconnect Through Music session today! 💛 It was wonderful to see so much talent on show, along with plenty of smiles and laughter throughout the afternoon 😊🎤 Here are just a few of the highlights we enjoyed:
🎵 Ellysia kicked us off beautifully with Never Gonna Dance Again by Pink.
🎸 Sean had everyone rocking along as he told us to Walk This Way with the classic from Aerosmith.
💃 Christine got the whole room moving with 5,6,7,8 by Steps.
🌼 Adrian gave a heartfelt performance of Edelweiss from The Sound of Music.
🎶 Dennis closed out the performances with the powerful Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad by Meat Loaf.
It was fantastic to see so many people up dancing and enjoying themselves 🕺💃 — including Paula, who treated us to some of the yoga moves she learned yesterday! 🧘♀️✨ We also loved hearing everyone’s feedback about what makes these sessions so special ❤️
💬 Ellie shared that she loves dancing and meeting friends, and said the sessions are so good for bringing everyone together.
💬 Morgan said he enjoys socialising with friends and singing his favourite songs.
💬 Ellysia said she loves seeing everyone enjoying themselves.
A special thank you to Christy and Cheryl for keeping everyone well fed with delicious pizza 🍕😋, and of course to all our amazing volunteers and everyone who attends and helps make our music sessions so special each week ❤️🎶
We had another lovely afternoon with Lisa doing yoga yesterday 🧘♀️✨ We used yoga blocks for stretching, balance and posture, and everyone chose a block out of the bag that had a yoga pose drawn on it 🟦🧘♂️ It was lots of fun and gave everyone a chance to try something different 😊
We also enjoyed some relaxing time listening to soothing music 🎶💜 Some members like to use chairs for the session while some choose to use the mats, making the sessions very accessible so everyone can take part comfortably 🌟
Everyone did an amazing job joining in and there was lots of laughter as usual 😂💛 These sessions are great for relaxation, movement, confidence and wellbeing, and it’s wonderful to see everyone supporting each other 🤝✨ See you all next week! 🥰👋
Yesterday morning we visited the simulation suite at the University of South Wales to take part in patient role play scenarios 🏥😊 The student nurses did an amazing job and worked so hard throughout the sessions 👏💙 These training situations make a real difference, helping students experience what it can be like working on a busy ward under pressure while supporting patients with care and compassion 🌟
A huge well done to all our TRAC members for taking part and helping with the training today 🙌 You were all fantastic! 💛 This was session 1 of 2, and we’re looking forward to more training and teamwork in session 2! 😊✨
