Yesterday we visited the University of South Wales for another brilliant session with the TRAC team.
🎭 Hannah took on the role of Geraldine, who is non-verbal, has a learning disability and Williams syndrome. 🧡 Christy played the role of Geraldine’s support staff. 💥 Nat played a patient who had a fit and knocked herself out, bruising and cutting her head.
The students were amazing! 👏 They asked thoughtful questions about the best ways to communicate with someone who is non-verbal and explored what medical checks and support Geraldine would need for her constipation. They also worked brilliantly as a team supporting Nat’s scenario. The feedback was fantastic — it’s wonderful that TRAC students get the chance to teach, share real-life experiences, and help future nurses learn in such a meaningful way. 🌟 Well done everyone! 🌟
Today’s Reconnect Through Music session was another brilliant get-together! 🌟 The room was filled with singing and friendship as our talented members performed an amazing 25 songs. Everyone showed confidence, enthusiasm, and joy — it was a day to remember. 🎶💫 Every performer gave it their all, and the support from the audience made it even more special. 👏🎤✨
Our members gave some incredible performances that had everyone smiling and clapping along:
🎙️ Natalie sang Why by Annie Lennox — such emotion and power! 🌈 Matilda brought energy and confidence with Naughty from Matilda the Musical. ❤️ Mandy gave a beautiful version of If You Don’t Know Me by Now by Simply Red. 💰 Adrian had us all moving with Money, Money, Money by ABBA. 🔥 Theresa performed Eternal Flame by The Bangles. 💞 Anthony sang What About Us by Champaign and wowed everyone. ☀️ Ellysia lifted the room with Mr. Blue Sky by ELO.
A big thank you to Christy, Cheryl, and Helen for preparing the delicious sandwiches and sausage rolls. 🥪🌭 We received some lovely feedback from those who attended:
🎧 Jason said he loved the music and singing. 💬 Vicky shared that she enjoyed mixing with people. 🤝 Rebecca said she loved meeting up with everyone again. 🗣️ Rachel enjoyed talking with new friends. 🌟 Anthony said it was an excellent day. 💪 Judith said the session helped build her confidence.
It was wonderful to see how much these sessions mean to everyone — not just for the music, but for the chance to connect, make friends, and feel part of something special. 💞🎶Today reminded us why these sessions matter so much — music brings people together, builds confidence, and fills the room with joy. 💖 A huge well done to everyone who took part, helped out, and made the day unforgettable. 🥰
What a brilliant day at our Meet and Make sessions yesterday! Our members made gorgeous snow globes ❄️⛄ — and they looked absolutely amazing! Our members did a great job learning something new and getting creative. 💙✨
🕙 Session Times:
Morning: 10am – 12pm
Afternoon: 1pm – 3pm
Location: Bargoed YMCA
⭐ How we made our snow globes:
1️⃣ Fill a clean jar with water 2️⃣ Add glitter or fake snow ✨ 3️⃣ Glue a small decoration or figure to the inside of the lid 4️⃣ Screw the lid on tightly 5️⃣ Give it a shake and watch the magic happen! ❄️💙
A huge thank you to Deb and Louise for another fantastic Multiply session 😊 Everyone had fun, learned new skills, and made something special to take home. Can’t wait for next week!
On Friday we cooked up an amazing feast! 😋 Our members made sausage bake, tuna bake, and ham & cheese – all served with warm garlic bread 🥖🧄 and a lovely fresh salad 🥗 prepared by our fantastic team. We had tomatoes 🍅, lettuce 🥬, cucumber 🥒, red onion 🧅 and spring onions – absolutely delicious!
A huge thank you to Mark, Rees, Nat, and everyone who worked hard in the kitchen 👏 Big shoutout to Sarah for doing the quiz and helping to serve lunch 🧠🍽️ and Ffion for sorting the register ✅ We all had a brilliant day eating, chatting, and socialising together 💛 See you all Wednesday for Reconnect Through Music 🎶💃🕺
Yesterday Ffion, Natalie, and Gethin attended the University of South Wales as part of the TRAC (Teaching & Resource Advisory Committee) project. TRAC gives nursing students the chance to learn through real-life scenarios, helping them build confidence, empathy, and the practical skills they’ll need in hospital settings. 👩⚕️👨⚕️🏥
Our members acted out different hospital scenarios brilliantly:
🗣️ Ffion played a non-verbal patient 🍺 Gethin had “fallen after a night on the pop” and sported a black eye 🤕 Natalie presented with a grazed, bleeding head
They were amazing as always, and the student nurses did a fantastic job too. ✅ The feedback was brilliant, and everyone worked together with professionalism, care, and a lot of enthusiasm. Nurses—especially Learning Disability Nurses—play a vital role in ensuring that people with learning disabilities receive safe, dignified, and person-centred care. Their understanding, communication skills, and compassion make a huge difference in every hospital environment. 💙
We are proud to support projects like TRAC, where lived experience helps shape better healthcare for the future. 🌟 Well done everyone — we loved the experience! 🙌😊
✨ What a fantastic day at Caerphilly People First! ✨ We started the morning with our Breakfast and Belonging session 🥐☕ where everyone enjoyed a warm cuppa, fruit, pastries, crumpets, and a good chat.
This was followed by our very first craft session delivered by Deb and Louise from Multiply 🎨✂️ Our Meet and Make with Multiply sessions will run for the next six weeks with two groups:
🕙 10am – 12pm 🕐 1pm – 3pm
Today everyone enrolled and introduced themselves. The theme was to pick someone in the room and draw a portrait of them! 🖼️👀
Both our morning and afternoon members did an amazing job — and there were plenty of giggles with a fun game of “Guess Who?” once we revealed the finished portraits! 😂🎭 📸 Check out our designs below and see if you can guess who’s who! A big thank you to everyone who joined us today — what a brilliant start to the project! 💛🙌
We were recently invited by the Parent Network to attend their famous Trunk or Treat event 🚗🍬 — and what an amazing day it was! The displays were brilliant 🌟 with so much effort put into designing and crafting creative sets. The children absolutely loved it — almost as much as we did! 😄 Everyone looked fantastic in their costumes 🧙♀️🦸♂️🧛♀️ and had loads of fun while also learning about the support networks available in the community 💬🤝
Events like this mean so much to families with children ❤️. They give everyone a chance to come together, make memories, feel part of the community, and learn about help that’s out there for them. It’s all about connection, inclusion, and fun! 🎈 A big well done to Amanda and her team 👏 for another huge success — we loved being part of it! 🥰
On Thursday Ffion and Amy went to the University of South Wales 🎓 to talk to student nurses 👩⚕️👨⚕️. They shared their own stories about using health services 🏥 and what is important to them when seeing doctors or nurses. They said it helps when:
🗣️ People use easy words ⏰ We get longer appointments if we need them 👀 Staff talk to me, not just my carer or support worker 💡 We are told what will happen before our appointment
They also talked about:
✅ Reasonable adjustments – small changes that make things easier ❤️ Person-centred care – treating everyone as an individual and listening to what matters to them
The students asked great questions 🙋♀️🙋♂️ and learned how to make health care fair and friendly for everyone 🌈 👏 A big thank you to Amy and Ffion for doing a brilliant job and representing Caerphilly People First! 🌟💙
Today’s Reconnect Through Music session was a spooktacular success! 👏🕸️ The hall looked incredible — decked out with Halloween decorations that transformed the space into a fun setting. From cobwebs to skeletons, every detail added to the atmosphere. 🎃✨
Our members truly embraced the Halloween spirit — everyone looked amazing in their costumes! From witches to devils, and everything in between, the creativity on display was fantastic. 🧛🧙♀️🧟♂️
We enjoyed an incredible 29 songs today and each performance was filled with energy and enthusiasm. 🎵💫🎶 Here are just a few of the highlights:
🕺 Joshua thrilled us with “Thriller” by Michael Jackson 🌞 Hywel took us on a “Summer Holiday” with Cliff Richard 💃 Anthony impressed with “Help Yourself” by Tom Jones 🔥 Ffion and Amy rocked “Highway to Hell” 🦁 Chris delivered a powerful “Circle of Life” by Elton John 👻 Elizabeth got everyone singing along to the Ghostbusters Theme 🎸 Sean shook the room with “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis Presley 🧙♀️ Nat wowed with “Babooshka” by Kate Bush
In the middle of the session, we got everyone up to dance — and what a sight it was! The floor was full of movement, laughter, and fun. 🕺💃 🎂 We also celebrated Andrew’s 30th birthday 🎉 with a delicious cake and a singalong of “Happy Birthday” 🥳 and everyone joined in to make his day extra special. To top it all off, we enjoyed a lunch of hot dogs, prepared by Christy and Cheryl — thank you both! 🌭💖 A huge thank you to everyone who helped make today’s Halloween-themed session such a memorable, musical, and magical day. 🎶🧡👻
On Friday we enjoyed a yummy homemade lasagna with lots of fresh vegetables prepared by our wonderful members! 🥕🥦🍅 A big thank you to Nat for doing the quiz 🧠🎤 and Sarah for running bingo! 🎉👏 And of course, a huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers who worked so hard today — you’re the best! 💪💚
It was lovely to see some new faces joining us — we welcomed three new members who really enjoyed today’s session! 🥰🙌 We can’t wait to see everyone again on Wednesday for our Halloween-themed Reconnect through Music session! 👻🎶 Don’t forget to dress up and choose a spooktacular song to sing! 🎤🧛♀️🕸️ We’ll be serving hotdogs and cakes too! 🌭🧁
