Reconnect Through Music VIBES!

What an amazing session today โ€“ our members truly reached for the stars! โญโœจ
๐ŸŽค Ffion and Nat kicked things off with a fab duet of S Club 7’s โ€œReach for the Starsโ€ ๐Ÿ’ซ
๐ŸŽถ Ava brought the energy with โ€œFreedomโ€ by Wham! ๐Ÿ•บ
๐ŸŽค Susan wowed us with โ€œMy Girlโ€ by The Temptations ๐Ÿ’•
๐ŸŽถ Elizabeth sang a sweet version of โ€œSweet Carolineโ€ (so good! so good! ๐ŸŽต)
๐ŸŒ Shaun got everyone moving with โ€œDown Underโ€ by Men at Work!
๐ŸŽต With 28 incredible performances, our session was full of joy, laughter, clapping, dancing, and singalongs! ๐Ÿฅณ๐ŸŽ‰๐Ÿชฉ
๐Ÿฅช๐Ÿฐ We also enjoyed a lovely buffet โ€“ big thanks to Cheryl and Helen for keeping us fed and happy, and to Sian for doing the register with a smile! ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿงก
๐ŸŒž We canโ€™t wait to see you all at our Summer Fiesta this Friday โ€“ it’s going to be HOT HOT HOT! ๐ŸŒด๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒญ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‰๐ŸŽ‰
๐Ÿ’ฌ “These sessions are full of friendship, confidence, and feel-good fun. We love seeing everyone shine!” ๐ŸŒŸ๐Ÿ’›

AGM News from Caerphilly People First!

Today we had our AGM โ€“ that means our Annual General Meeting. Itโ€™s a special meeting where we talk about what weโ€™ve done over the year and make important group decisions ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ‘
We also voted for a new Chair and Vice Chair! ๐ŸŽ‰๐Ÿช‘
Sadly, Hannah Thomas couldnโ€™t be with us โ€“ we missed you Hannah ๐Ÿ’œ
A HUGE congratulations toโ€ฆ
๐ŸŒŸ Natalie King โ€“ our new Chair!
๐ŸŒŸ Gethin Chamberlain โ€“ our new Vice Chair!
Well done both of you! We know youโ€™ll do a brilliant job speaking up for our members ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ
Thanks to everyone who took part in the meeting and the vote! ๐ŸŽˆ๐Ÿ’™
Letโ€™s keep working together and making a difference ๐Ÿ’ซ

Reconnect Through Music ๐ŸŽค๐ŸŽธ

What a brilliant session we had last week with an amazing crowd of 30 music lovers! ๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿ•บ
We had 28 fantastic songs performed by our talented members ๐ŸŽต๐ŸŽค โ€”
๐ŸŒŸ Jade wowed us with Holiday by Madonna
๐ŸŒŸ Nat sang Love Me Do by The Beatles and Daniel by Elton John
๐ŸŒŸ Jamie, our newest member, impressed everyone with 7 Years by Lukas Graham
๐ŸŒŸ Libby sang Ordinary by Alex Warren so beautifully
๐ŸŒŸ Ffion did a fab job running the session and even blasted out a few bangers herself! ๐ŸŽถ

Big thanks to:
โœ… Sharon for doing the register and raffle
โœ… Helen, Zoe & Cheryl for cooking up delicious pizza ๐Ÿ•
โœ… Peter the caretaker for helping set up the hall ๐Ÿ‘
What a fun afternoon full of music, laughter, and good vibes! ๐ŸŽค๐ŸŽถโค๏ธ

Travel Confidence Trip with Clare from Transport for Wales

We recently jumped aboard for a fantastic Travel Confidence trip with the lovely Clare from Transport for Wales! ๐Ÿ™Œ
We set off from Pengam Station and travelled to Cardiff Queen Street, before heading down to the beautiful Barry Island ๐Ÿ–๏ธโ˜€๏ธ
On the way back, we enjoyed a direct journey from Barry Island to Pengamโ€”and we were lucky enough to ride on one of the brand new trains! ๐Ÿš„ Theyโ€™re so comfortable, spacious, and much quieter than the old ones ๐Ÿ™‰๐Ÿ‘
We had coffee and cold drinks at Marcoโ€™s โ˜•๐Ÿฅค, took a lovely stroll along the front ๐Ÿšถโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿšถโ€โ™‚๏ธ, and of course, no trip to Barry Island is complete without chips and ice cream ๐ŸŸ๐Ÿฆ
Everyone had a fab day, full of fun, sunshine, and confidence-building travel skills ๐ŸŒŸ๐Ÿ’™
Thanks again to Clare and Transport for Wales for supporting us to travel safely and independently โค๏ธ๐Ÿš‰

Reconnect Through Cookery Fun!

At our first July session of Reconnect Through Cookery, our amazing members got hands-on prepping onions ๐Ÿง…, mushrooms ๐Ÿ„, and peppers ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ to add to our delicious Mayflower chicken curry! Some preferred it plain โ€“ all served with plain or vegetable rice ๐Ÿš and crunchy prawn crackers ๐Ÿฆ. YUM!
We had a sweet treat too โ€“ a slice of chocolate cake ๐Ÿฐ to celebrate Reeseโ€™s birthday! ๐ŸŽ‚๐Ÿฅณ
After lunch, we had a brilliant time playing bingo ๐ŸŽฑ and testing our brains with a fun quiz ๐Ÿง  โ€” big shoutout to: ๐Ÿ’› Peter the caretaker for all his support
๐Ÿ’› Sarah for being our bingo boss
๐Ÿ’› Nat for hosting the quiz like a pro!
These sessions arenโ€™t just about food โ€“ theyโ€™re about friendship, laughter, learning new skills, reducing isolation, and having a great time together. ๐Ÿ’ฌ๐Ÿ‘ซ๐Ÿง 
Thank you to our fab volunteers and members for making it all possible โ€“ youโ€™re the heart of Reconnect ๐Ÿ’š

Caerphilly People First Woodland Adventure!

Our focus group went on an amazing adventure through Bargoed Woodland Park, walking all the way to Fleur-de-Lys and back via Pengam Lights! ๐Ÿ’ช The walk took us two hours and our members absolutely smashed it! ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿ‘
We were a tiny bit disappointed there were no picnic benches on route ๐Ÿงบ๐Ÿ˜ข โ€” but that didnโ€™t stop us! We headed back to the YMCA and enjoyed our lunch together at the office ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ๐Ÿ˜Š while a few members made their way home for a well-earned rest. ๐Ÿก
Well done everyone โ€“ what a lovely way to stay active, social, and connected! ๐Ÿ’šโœจ

Adfest 2025 – What an Epic Adventure!

We had an amazing time at the All Wales People First conference in North Wales! ๐Ÿ”๏ธโœจ
The hotel was lush ๐Ÿ›๏ธ, the food was delicious ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ, and the company was just perfect ๐Ÿ’ฌ๐Ÿ’–. A massive congratulations to everyone who won a Mirror Award ๐Ÿชž๐Ÿ† โ€” so well deserved for your outstanding work and contributions across Wales ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘.
The workshops were so much fun! ๐ŸŽจ๐ŸŽค
๐ŸŽต We learned to sing using Makaton and other signs โ€“ and totally nailed it!
๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ•บ The House of Deviants brought the energy with a lunchtime drag performance that had us all smiling and dancing!
We loved browsing the information stalls ๐Ÿ›๏ธ๐Ÿ“šโ€” packed with great resources and freebies to take home ๐ŸŽ.
And the silent disco? Absolutely EPIC! ๐Ÿ”‡๐ŸŽง
The dance moves were on fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ and the laughter was non-stop ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ’ƒ.
Huge thanks to all the organisers who made it such a fab two days ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿ’. Weโ€™re already counting down to the next one!

Reconnect through Cookery Update

What a fabulous (and very warm!) session we had at the end of June! โ˜€๏ธ
Our wonderful group made three amazing pasta bakes:
๐Ÿ Cold tuna pasta with mayo & sweetcorn
๐Ÿ”ฅ Hot tuna bake with mushrooms, peas & sweetcorn
๐ŸŒญ Hot Mattessons reduced-fat sausage bake with mushrooms, peas & sweetcorn
๐Ÿง€ All topped with melty cheddar and served with fresh salad & crusty French loaf โ€“ simply delicious! ๐Ÿ˜‹๐Ÿฅ–
Our members prepared a gorgeous, colourful salad full of:
๐Ÿฅฌ Lettuce ๐Ÿฅ’ Cucumbers ๐ŸŒถ Peppers ๐ŸŒฐ Spring onions ๐ŸŒฐ Red onions ๐Ÿ… Tomatoes ๐Ÿฅฌ Beetroot โ€“ it was fresh, healthy and beautifully presented!
๐Ÿ™ A huge thank you to:
๐ŸŽŸ Sarah for doing the raffle
๐Ÿง  Hayley for the fun quiz
๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿณ Cheryl, Helen, Libby, Connor & Ress for all your help in the kitchen
๐Ÿงน Peter the caretaker for setting up
๐Ÿ‘ And everyone else who supports the smooth running of our sessions
๐Ÿ’š The food was so tasty there was hardly any waste! Even our salad trimmings went to the horses (with the ownerโ€™s permission ๐Ÿด) on the way home โ€“ nothing wasted!
๐Ÿ’ฐ All raffle money goes toward buying prizes and refreshments โ€“ thank you for your support! This project is funded by the Postcode Lottery, helping us make every session special.

Sponsored Walk at Pen Y Fan Pond

A HUGE thank you to everyone who turned up to support Caerphilly People First for our sponsored walk at Pen Y Fan Pond yesterday!

The sun was shining, the spirits were high, and the laps wereโ€ฆ well, many! Some of us did one, some smashed two, others powered through three, and a few even managed four laps!

Every step counted, and every penny raised means so much to us. We’ll let you know the total sponsorship money as soon as it’s all collected. Well done team โ€“ you absolutely smashed it!