What a lovely Reconnect through Cookery session we enjoyed on Friday 💚👩🍳👨🍳 A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers and everyone who helped with the quiz and bingo 🎉🧠🎱 — you always help make the sessions so much fun. Special thanks to Peter our caretaker for getting everything set up for us 🙌👏 Our members did a fantastic job preparing fresh cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower 🥦🥬 to go alongside a delicious cottage pie and gravy, made with 5% fat lean beef mince 🍽️😋As always, we had great feedback and we’re proud to say there was no waste at all ♻️ Everyone absolutely loves our cookery sessions and the difference they make to our community — bringing people together, building skills, and sharing good food and laughter 💬❤️ See you all Wednesday for Reconnect through Music 🎶🎤
We were recently honoured to attend the Annual Caerphilly Parent Network Volunteer Awards Event, and what an inspiring occasion it was 👏💙 It was truly uplifting to hear about the incredible range of voluntary work being carried out by the Caerphilly Parent Network across the borough. The event celebrated the dedication, kindness, and commitment of individuals who selflessly give up their time to support others in their communities 🌈🤝
Several awards were presented throughout the event, including: 🏆 Inspirational Volunteer 🏆 Personal Journey Award 🏆 Most Enthusiastic Award 🏆 Humble Hero Award
The final award of the day was the Sian Northey Award, which holds a very special meaning 💐 This award is named in honour of Sian Northey, a wonderful and much-loved volunteer who contributed so much to the Parent Network before she sadly passed away a few years ago. Each year, the award is presented by Sian’s son, Gethin Chamberlain, a valued member of Caerphilly People First, making the moment especially moving and meaningful ❤️
We would like to say a huge thank you to the Caerphilly Parent Network for inviting us to be part of such a positive and heartfelt event 🙌 And of course, thank you as well for the lovely buffet – it was very much appreciated! 🥪🍰 Overall, the event was a wonderful celebration of community spirit, generosity, and the power of volunteering 💫
Fleur-de-Lys Community Centre was packed yesterday for our fortnightly Reconnect Through Music session, creating a fantastic atmosphere full of smiles, laughter, and socialising 😄💬 Music once again brought everyone together, and our talented members sang an impressive total of 22 songs during the session 🎤🎶
Theresa kicked things off with a heartfelt performance of “Never Forget” by Take That, and Natalie soon had everyone moving and singing along with “One Love” by Bob Marley 🌍🎶 Ellysia followed with an energetic version of “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen, while Kelvin treated us to two songs by Cliff Richard 🎸✨ Wayne kept the energy high with “Who’s That Girl” by Madonna, and Paula and Natalie teamed up for two fantastic duets, performing songs by ABBA and The Righteous Brothers 💃🎼 There were many other great performances, making the session varied and enjoyable for everyone involved 🌟
We would like to say a big thank you to Cheryl and Helen for preparing a lovely lunch 🥪💐, and to Pete the caretaker for getting the centre ready for us and making sure everything ran smoothly 🔑👏
The feedback from members was incredibly positive and really shows how much these sessions mean to people. Theresa said she enjoyed making new friends and feels the sessions cannot be improved 😊❤️ Anthony told us that our music sessions are the best in the world! 🌍🌟 Emily shared that she really enjoyed the loud music 🔊🎵 It was another wonderful session filled with music, friendship, and joy 💕🎤
We look forward to welcoming everyone back at our next Reconnect Through Music session on Wednesday 4th February! 📅🎶
Today we visited TARAGGAN Educational Gardens 🌱✨ It was lovely and fresh with the sun shining ☀️ 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 💚🙌
On Friday we made a delicious cheese and potato pie 😋 Our members worked hard preparing fresh salad with tomatoes 🍅, cucumber 🥒 and lettuce 🥗 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 💬💙 We also had a fun Valentine’s quiz ❤️🧠 which everyone really enjoyed! As always, we had lots of fun with bingo 🎉 and even a little dance from Sian and Paula 💃🕺 which made everyone smile!
A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers 🙌 Your support makes these sessions so special. The feedback from members was great as always 🌟See you all on Wednesday for music! 🎶🎤
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 £1,000 for their chosen charity 👏 All Year 7 groups did an amazing job presenting their charities — congratulations to the winners! 🏆
A very special thank you to Year 7S for choosing Caerphilly People First. We thought your presentation was absolutely fantastic 💙 As well as raising an incredible £75 through your scavenger hunt, 7S also wrote us a beautiful poem, which will be framed and proudly displayed in our office — 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!
Today’s Reconnect Through Music session was packed with talent, energy, and big smiles all round 😄✨ The room was buzzing from start to finish, with our members singing an incredible 28 songs — 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 🚒 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 🌙 Natalie performed Different Corner by George Michael 👯♀️ The twins, Christine and Elizabeth, wowed us with Let It Go from Frozen and The Best by Tina Turner 🕺 Chris stole the show by dressing up as Elvis and singing Hound Dog! 🎤🕶️
During lunch, everyone enjoyed delicious hot dogs prepared in the kitchen by Christy 🌭👏 — a much-appreciated treat! A big thank you to Pete for arranging everything at the centre and helping make the session run smoothly 👍 And of course, a huge thank you to our amazing members for attending and making every music session such a joyful occasion 💖🎶 As always, the session was full of singing, dancing, laughter, and smiles, and it was a pleasure to be part of it 😊💃🕺We’re already looking forward to the next one! 🎼✨
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. 🤝
💡 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! 👏 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: ✔️ 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. 👏
🎬 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.
🏥 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 ❤️
💬 A big thank you to the tutors, who are very talented, creative and lovely to work with. 👏 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. 👏 Thank you to everyone involved for such a brilliant and inspiring day.
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. 💙 A big thank you as well to Christy, Cheryl and Zoe for preparing our delicious pizza lunch 🍕 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 — a big welcome to Robbie and Joe! 👋 We hope you enjoyed your first Reconnect Through Music experience.
💬 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! 🎶✨
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 🗣️
👉 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 👂
We also talked about Adfest 2026 🎉
Adfest will be in Cardiff 📍 At the Future Inn Cardiff Bookings are now open! 📝 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 😊
