Last Friday was the perfect day to hold our summer fiesta! Everyone looked great in their bright, colourful costumes. We had a cowboy, Elvis, a policewoman, a crayon, a cowgirl, a lollipop shirt, a hippie, and many more great outfits. Thank you to Darren for the fantastic disco! Everyone loved dancing to the music and singing along to their favourite tunes.

Thank you to our volunteers for decorating the hall; it looked amazing with our summer-themed props. Our members didn’t prepare any food. Instead, everyone enjoyed burgers, hot dogs, and salad served up by our volunteers, followed by ice cream cones. A big thank you to everyone who helped out in the kitchen and helped clean up! And thank you, Hayley, for doing the raffle.

This project has made a huge difference to so many people. New friendships and relationships have been made, confidence has grown, and people feel less isolated and lonely. We will be taking a break in August for everyone to enjoy their summer holidays. We will see you all on Friday, September 6th.

A big thank you to Team Multiply Caerphilly for running Friday’s cookery session! Our members had a fantastic time preparing peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, spring onions, and tomatoes to go with cheeseburgers on brioche buns. The food was delicious! Everyone also had a go at making fruit sponge to cook in the air fryers.

We are grateful to all our wonderful volunteers for working so hard. Special thanks to Ffion and Amy for hosting the bingo, and to Rebecca for hosting the quiz. We will be off next week, but we’ll be back on Friday, July 26th, for our summer party. Fancy dress is optional for the party.

Last week we had our second cooking with numbers session with Multiply Caerphilly. Our members made yummy salads and burritos with different fillings in air fryers. Big thanks to our volunteers – the food looked amazing! We’re taking a break next week, but we’ll be back on July 12th.

Friday’s cookery session was run by Multiply Caerphilly. Our members learned about whole numbers and tried their hand at making quesadillas in the air fryer. A big thank you to Rebecca and the team! Everyone enjoyed the session, and we look forward to seeing you all next week.

At Friday’s cookery session lasagna was on the menu, chosen by Richard. This seems to be a favourite dish for many of our members. Everyone prepared tomatoes, onions, lettuce, spring onions, celery, cucumber, and peppers. Members had a turn at learning how to layer the lasagna and cook it on the hob. Well done, everyone! Lunch was delicious.

Special thanks to all our volunteers – to those who help set up the hall, wash the dishes, serve lunch, clean up, and do the quiz and bingo; you’re all amazing! We’ll see you all next week for pizza.

On Friday’s menu at our weekly cookery session was Mayflower Chinese chicken curry, served with egg-fried rice, chicken balls, spring rolls, and prawn crackers, chosen by our lovely member, Celine.

Our members and volunteers chopped onions, peppers, and mushrooms, which we added to the curry, and it tasted amazing! Ffion hosted a quiz and bingo to keep everyone entertained while lunch was cooking. Well done to all the winners, and a massive thank you to everyone who worked very hard in the kitchen. On the menu next week is lasagna, chosen by our member, Richard.

Reconnect through Cookery brings together over forty adults with a range of learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and autism. Some of our members also struggle with mental health on top of everything else. On the menu last Friday was beef chilli tacos, and they tasted amazing. Some of us had never seen or tasted a taco, but they went down a storm, along with the fresh salad our members prepared.

We chatted about what makes you feel healthy and captured some of our thoughts. Georgia said walking, swimming, and salad makes her feel healthy. Richard said he enjoys singing in a music group, chicken, and rice. Our lovely members Richard and Mandy, who are a couple, said their relationship makes them happy, as they go on walks and feel good being together. Gethin said he likes meeting friends, walking, and going to activities.

Thank you so much to Sarah Ballett for hosting the quiz, and Hayley Fishbourne for seeing to the bingo and raffle; your help is most appreciated. Thanks also to Zoe Dummett, Cheryl Smith, and Lauren Price for being hands-on, and to Rees, Mark, Natalie, and Connor for helping in the kitchen (and not forgetting our long-time volunteer Chris who was awesome on the kitchen clean). Our sessions couldn’t go ahead without your support and help.

This project is funded through the National Lottery Community Fund, thank you.

Volunteers and members did a great job on Friday making tuna pasta salad. For those who don’t like tuna, there was a sausage or ham option. Everyone prepared tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, cabbage, and carrots for the homemade coleslaw to serve on the side. Well done everyone, lunch looked amazing!

Thank you to our volunteer Rees Powell and our lovely member Connor for working so hard on washing up, to Alex for hosting the quiz, and to our amazing volunteers Cheryl Smith and Zoe Dummett for running the group and serving up forty-six beautiful meals.