The most recent gardening workshop with Rachel and the team from Groundwork Wales was another great success. We transplanted raspberries and grapes from cuttings. Transplanting raspberries is really easy to do. The best time of year to transplant red raspberry plants is in early spring (before the leaves start to sprout) or late autumn (after the leaves have fallen), when the plants are dormant. We look forward to the remaining two weeks of this eight-week course.
The team at Caerphilly People First recently met with the outreach team from Autistic Minds to discuss the skills courses they have on offer. Our members decided that they would like to learn more about living skills such as: cooking, shopping, cleaning, budgeting money, understanding bills, and many more. The group will be taking part in these skills workshops in the near future, and they are open to all who are interested.
This week we attended our second workshop with Groundwork Wales. We planted onions and lettuce, and learnt about different types of mint and tiger nuts. We planted the onions and lettuce into small pots, and we will transfer them into the ground when they begin to grow. We also took some cuttings from two types of mint plants (mint and strawberry & mint and pineapple) and planted the cuttings into hanging baskets, so they will have plenty of room to grow. Rachel showed us the grapes they are growing in the polytunnel, and they tasted delicious.
Ffion and Christy recently attended the Cwm Taff People First VIVA (Vision Inclusion Voice Advocacy) Festival at the Swallow Barn in Treharris. Ffion ran her relationship course where she talked about LGBTQIA+, what is a good friend, what is a bad friend and how to make friends. Other organisations such as Gig Buddies, All Wales People First, Learning Disability Wales, and the Welsh Ambulance Service were also in attendance, some giving presentations. For the evening entertainment we enjoyed a comedian, live singer and a disco. It was great fun and we did not stop singing or dancing.
On Monday 5th September Ffion Poole and Sam Evans delivered a Safeguarding training session to staff at the Islwyn Park Coffee shop. It was great to be back out in the community delivering our sessions, and we’d like to thank the group for for having us. We can’t wait to do more training in the future, so if anyone would like us to deliver training on Safeguarding, Learning Disability Awareness, or Ambulance Training, please get in touch.
We recently did some filming alongside Cwm Taff People First at the University of South Wales simulation suite. The film will be used to educate medical staff, using the experiences of patients in hospital. Ffion and Natalie dressed up and played the role of Paramedics, and Christy acted out the part of Dr Strange. Although this is a very serious subject we had lots of giggles during the filming.
As usual, the Focus Group spent Tuesday morning at Taraggan Educational Gardens, and this week was spent harvesting beetroot and potatoes. Beetroot can be harvested from early summer through to mid-autumn, depending on time and variety, and are rich in folate which plays a key role in controlling damage to blood vessels, which can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
The afternoon session was spent making chocolate shredded wheat cakes. These are easy to make and taste delicious. We melted the chocolate in the microwave and mixed it into a bowl of shredded wheat. We then spooned the mix into the cupcake cases and popped them into the fridge to set (except some didn’t make it to the fridge). Thanks to Amanda from The Parent Network for helping out and supplying the ingredients.
This week, some of the members of our Tuesday Focus Group attended a Bee workshop run by Lorne East at Libanus Lifestyle in Blackwood. Members found the workshop very interesting and it was great seeing the Bees in action, and learning more about what they do. Thank you to Karen and the team for a warm welcome, as always.
This week the group made their weekly visit to the garden plot at Taraggan Educational Gardens, and although the weather was too hot to do much physical work, the group dug up some of their potatoes and took them home. One of our volunteers, Morgan, sent us a picture of the meal he made that evening using the potatoes.
During the afternoon the group welcomed Geraint, Tracey and Kelly from All Wales People First. Geraint did his SATV (Self Advocacy TV) roadshow with the group, and we covered subjects such as: what we want that we haven’t got now, day centres, and COVID. We then played Family Fortunes and Wheel of Fortune, answering general knowledge questions, which the group really enjoyed. We also sang happy birthday and presented a birthday cake to Chris, Anthony and Morgan who share the same birthday. Happy Birthday, boys!
This week our Focus Group members travelled to Caerphilly town where we met up with staff and members from Cardiff People First. We explored Caerphilly Castle inside and out, learned about its history, and heard some amazing stories. We then headed uptown to Wetherspoons for some lunch, and despite the weather being wet and miserable we had an amazing day. We hope to arrange another trip with Cardiff People First – and other People First groups – very soon.
