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! 🌱👩🌾👨🌾
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!
What an amazing session yesterday – we had over 30 songs sung by our talented members! 🎤💫
🌟 Matilda wowed us with “Kiss Me” by Olly Murs
🌟 Ffion and Amy gave us a blast from the past with “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League
🌟 Rebecca sang beautifully with “Flower” by Miley Cyrus 💖
🌟 Anthony gave us a few tunes – our favourite was “Love Me Tender” by Elvis 💕
🌟 Hywel touched our hearts with “How Great Thou Art” 🙌
…And so many more incredible performances! 🥳
We also tucked into a lovely buffet – thank you to all our amazing volunteers and a big shoutout to Peter for setting up! 🙏💐
It was also lovely to welcome a new member into the group – we can’t wait to see you again!
Our members have been having loads of fun playing darts, snooker, and ping pong, thanks to a very generous donation! There have been plenty of smiles, laughter, and a few friendly competitions – our members love taking part, especially when they’re winning! 😄💪🏆
A huge THANK YOU to the very kind person who donated the kit – it means so much and has already brought so much joy. 💛🙌
Last week we met with Tracey Drew from All Wales People First and our friends from Swansea Self Advocacy Groups 💬🧑🤝🧑
We talked about the big 10-year plan to make life fairer for disabled people in Wales 💪🌍
✅ We shared our thoughts on what’s good
➕ We said what could be better
💡 We gave ideas to help improve the plan
The plan includes: 🏠 Independent living
🧑🏫 More training & jobs
🏥 Better healthcare
🚌 Easier transport
📄 Info in Easy Read
🎤 And making sure our voices are heard!
We were proud to speak up and be included! 🙌🧡
We hope you all had a WONDERFUL day at our Summer Fiesta! 🎉🌞
The sun was shining ☀️, the disco was buzzing 🎶🕺, and the games were packed with fun – from limbo, basketball 🏀, to hula hoops! 🔥 Everyone got involved, and even Peter the caretaker dressed up for the occasion! 🎭👏
The decorations looked amazing 🌺🌈, the food and ice cream were delicious 🍔🌭🍦, and the dancing was fantastic 💃🕺 – you all brought the vibes!
💛 Massive THANK YOU to our incredible volunteers who helped make today such a special one. You’re the best!
Here is our latest newsletter. We hope you enjoy reading about our activities!
What a brilliant session we had last week with an amazing crowd of 30 music lovers! 💃🕺
We had 28 fantastic songs performed by our talented members 🎵🎤 —
🌟 Jade wowed us with Holiday by Madonna
🌟 Nat sang Love Me Do by The Beatles and Daniel by Elton John
🌟 Jamie, our newest member, impressed everyone with 7 Years by Lukas Graham
🌟 Libby sang Ordinary by Alex Warren so beautifully
🌟 Ffion did a fab job running the session and even blasted out a few bangers herself! 🎶
Big thanks to:
✅ Sharon for doing the register and raffle
✅ Helen, Zoe & Cheryl for cooking up delicious pizza 🍕
✅ Peter the caretaker for helping set up the hall 👏
What a fun afternoon full of music, laughter, and good vibes! 🎤🎶❤️
We had an amazing time at the All Wales People First conference in North Wales! 🏔️✨
The hotel was lush 🛏️, the food was delicious 🍽️, and the company was just perfect 💬💖. A massive congratulations to everyone who won a Mirror Award 🪞🏆 — so well deserved for your outstanding work and contributions across Wales 👏👏👏.
The workshops were so much fun! 🎨🎤
🎵 We learned to sing using Makaton and other signs – and totally nailed it!
💃🏽🕺 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 🛍️📚— packed with great resources and freebies to take home 🎁.
And the silent disco? Absolutely EPIC! 🔇🎧
The dance moves were on fire 🔥 and the laughter was non-stop 😂💃.
Huge thanks to all the organisers who made it such a fab two days 🙌💐. We’re already counting down to the next one!
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 were… 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 – you absolutely smashed it!
