Reconnect Through Music

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Today’s Reconnect Through Music group was full of energy, laughter, and incredible talent. In total, our members performed an amazing 28 songs 🎤✨, and each performance brought its own magic to the room. 🌟

Matilda shone with her powerful rendition of Believe by Cher 🌈, while Ffion and Amy teamed up for a lively performance of Rehab by Amy Winehouse 🍷. Sean had everyone smiling and moving along to My Boy Lollipop by Bad Manners 🍭, and Ellysia wowed us with her version of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley 🤯. Natalie brought a touch of pop sunshine with Flowers by Miley Cyrus 🌸, and Jackie gave a heartfelt performance of Back for Good by Take That 🎶.

As the performances flowed, everyone gathered together to enjoy a delicious hot dog lunch 🌭 lovingly prepared by Christy, Cheryl, and Helen 👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳. This provided a lovely opportunity to relax and chat with friends. We’re grateful to Sharon and Libby 📝 for helping with the paperwork, and to Pete the caretaker 🛠️ who made sure everything was set up and ready before we even arrived.

The feedback we received today really shows how much the group means to people. One member shared, “I made more friends” 🤝, while another said, “I love singing and seeing friends” 🎵. We also heard, “I wish it was every week” 📅, and perhaps the best compliment of all: “You can’t improve this session – I love it” 💖.

Overall, today was a truly joyful session filled with music, friendship, and community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making it such a success! 🎉

Online Hate Crime Training

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✨ A huge thank you to Noah for delivering the online hate crime training today ✨

Our members really enjoyed the session and gave some great feedback on what they learned:

Andrew – learned how to make accounts private and how to report hate crime.
Ffion – learned the same and found it very useful.
Theresa – found it helpful, especially learning not to answer phone scams.
Morgan – enjoyed everything and learned more about staying safe and interacting with people.
Mark – said he liked it all.
Amy – found all the information helpful, learned more about staying safe, and said it was fab!
Gethin – said it was great for information.
Olivia – found it very interesting and learned about safe settings.
Christy – said the training was very detailed, delivered in an easy way to understand, with a fun ice breaker and interesting conversation throughout.
Stu – said the information was easy to put into practice, very friendly and accessible.

💡 Members also learned that hate crime can be reported to Victim Support, as well as through social media platforms if abuse happens online.

👏 Overall, members said the training was informative, enjoyable, and easy to understand. Thank you again Noah for supporting our members to feel safer online.

Reconnect through Cookery ✨👨‍🍳

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On Friday our members prepared lots of fresh vegetables 🥦🥕🌽🥬 – we had cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, peas, and carrots to go with our delicious cottage pie 🥧.
We made it using 5% lean mince 🥩 and topped some with cheese 🧀 (and left some plain for those who prefer it that way!). Best of all – zero waste 🙌👏.
Everyone enjoyed the meal ❤️ and feedback is always fantastic! Huge thanks to everyone who helped out in the kitchen 👏, to Nat for sorting bingo & the quiz 🎶🎲, and to Peter the caretaker for setting up the hall 🙏.

💚 Why Healthy Eating Matters 💚
Eating fresh vegetables and balanced meals helps boost energy ⚡, improves mood 😊, supports overall health 🩺, and gives our members the confidence to try new foods 🍴.
These sessions make a huge difference by:
✨ Reducing isolation & loneliness 🤝
✨ Building independence and life skills 🥄
✨ Encouraging teamwork & confidence 💪
✨ Bringing joy and friendship to our members 💛
📌 Our next Cookery session: sausage dinner with vegetables and onion gravy 🌭🥔🧅.
🎵 On Wednesday we’ll be back together for Reconnect through Music 🎤🎶.
Thank you all for another lovely day 💛

Last week at TRAC — lovely to see you all!

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Last week we had an online TRAC meeting with Stacey Rees and friends from Cwm Taff People First. It was lovely to see everyone. 💻❤️

What we talked about:

Training and research. 📚🔍Some members will be trained and paid to become researchers. 💷🧑‍🔬
TRAC members will teach Year 1, 2 and 3 students. 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️🎓
Teaching will happen in the simulation suite at USW. 🏥➡️🎓
Students will practise real life situations. This gives them hands-on experience. 🤝🩺
Why this matters:
It helps students learn from real lived experience. 🗣️❤️
It makes learning more realistic and safe. ✅
LD nurses are very important. They keep people safe teaching them helps them to learn how to give the right care. 👩‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️💙
People with lived experience teach students things you can’t read in a book. 📘❌➡️✅

Big thanks to members who joined the meeting. Well done! 👏🎉

Gardening at TARAGGAN

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Today at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens we planted garlic 🧄 and onions 🧅! It was lovely to see Kyle and Sam, and a big thank you for teaching us and sharing your knowledge. 💚

Gardening has so many benefits – it helps us learn new skills, enjoy the fresh air, keep active, and connect with nature 🌿☀️. Most of all, it brings people together and makes us feel part of something special. 🌸 Thanks again to Kyle and Sam – we can’t wait to watch everything grow! 🌱👩‍🌾👨‍🌾

Reconnect Through Music Session

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Last week’s Reconnect Through Music session was an amazing celebration of talent and community! 🌟 Everyone came together to enjoy a day of music, dancing, and delicious food. 🥪💃🕺

🎶 We were treated to so many incredible performances from our talented members:
🎤 Matilda wowed us with “Lose Yourself” by Justin Bieber
💖 Adrian charmed everyone with “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley
🎵 Elizabeth got everyone moving to “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake
💃 Ellysia delivered a soulful rendition of “Waterfalls” by TLC
🌟 Josh brought energy with “Golden” by K-pop Demon Hunters
🎶 And Rebecca inspired us with “I’m Alive” by Celine Dion

✨ There were also other fantastic performances that showed off the wonderful range of talent in our group. It was heartwarming to see members share their talents with pride. 🌟❤️

A huge thank you 👏 to Cheryl, Zoe, Helen, and Sharon for making sure everything ran smoothly in the hall and the kitchen (preparing a delicious lunch of ham and cheese rolls). 🍳☕ Their hard work helped keep the event relaxed and enjoyable for everyone 🥪.

This session was a beautiful reminder of the power of music to bring people together, boost confidence, and create lasting memories. 💖🎵 We can’t wait for the next Reconnect Through Music event! 🥳🎶

Reconnect Through Cookery

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On Friday, our members came together to make a delicious pasta bake.

🧅 They carefully prepared the onions
🥗 Added a fresh salad on the side
👨‍🍳 And everyone worked together to create a meal full of flavour and teamwork!

After the cooking, members enjoyed a fun quiz 🏆 which brought lots of laughter and learning.

💖 Thanks to Our volunteers – we couldn’t do it without you! Your support makes these sessions smooth and enjoyable. 🙌

📢 Our next cookery session will be held on 📅 Friday, 26th September, so bring your energy, smiles, and enthusiasm! ✨ We look forward to seeing you all then!

National Council Meeting

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Report written by member Ffion Poole:

Amy Jones – supported by Ffion Poole – recently attended the All Wales People First National Council meeting at The Grand Hotel in Swansea. After introductions, the first agenda item was to go through the minutes of the last meeting. Next came the Chief Executive’s Report during which, in Joe Powell’s absence, Kurtis gave an update on LD Mag.

National Council reps then spoke about national actions, during which Amy provided feedback we have received from our members. Amy said that our members would like longer GP appointments, easy read letters from their doctors, and more annual health checks for people with learning disabilities. She also shared that our members said there needs to be more support in mental health services for adults with mental health issues, as well as people with learning disabilities.

Kelly then gave a communication update and said All Wales People First are in the process of making updates to how Talkback is distributed to members. We also spoke about the WhatsApp group for National Council reps, and came up with some rules the reps had to agree on.

After lunch Tracey shared the draft manifesto that All Wales People First has been putting together, and members shared their experiences with Direct Payments, and answered some questions from a consultation document about Direct Payments. It was a really interesting meeting and it was lovely to see everyone!

Reconnect Through Music 🎶

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What an amazing session yesterday – we had over 25 songs sung by our talented members! 🎤💫

🌟 Ellysia wowed us with “The Final Countdown” by Europe
🌟 Ffion and Amy gave us a blast from the past with “Flying the Flag” by Scooch
🌟 Natalie sang beautifully with “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia
🌟 Adrian sang “Love Me Tender” by Elvis
🌟 Sean took us back to the 1950s with “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley
🌟 And Rebecca touched our hearts with “It’s All Coming Back to me Now” by Celine Dion

We heard so many incredible performances, and also tucked into a lovely buffet – thank you to all our amazing volunteers! We can’t wait to see you all again in two weeks’ time (17th September)! 😊

Reconnect Through Cookery

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On Friday our members made a delicious Chinese Chicken Curry 🍛! They worked hard preparing peppers 🌶, onions 🧅, and mushrooms 🍄 before serving it with fluffy rice 🍚 and crispy prawn crackers 🦐. We enjoyed bingo 🎱 and a fun quiz 🤩📝 – plenty of laughs all round!
A huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers 🙌💙, and also to Peter the caretaker 🛠️👏 for setting up the tables.
A very special Happy 21st Birthday 🎉🎂🎁 to our wonderful volunteer Rees – we celebrated early with cake 🎂🍰!
Our members absolutely love these sessions 🥰💖 – cooking, eating together, and having fun!