Category Archives: News

Reconnect through Music

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Why is singing together important? One benefit is that it improves mental health and well-being. Whatever your skill or style of music, singing in a group can help you make new friends and bring you closer to people in a fun and joyful way. It promotes a sense of well-being which can help us all deal with our busy, complicated lives.

Yesterday our group was at Libanus Lifestyle – Wales CIC to sing some favourite songs by artists including S Club 7, Journey, Taylor Swift, the Spice Girls, Gloria Gaynor, and of course the obligatory Sweet Caroline. It’s great to see everyone enjoying themselves and supporting each other to perform in front of a big group, which can be a scary prospect.


We will be back at Libanus Lifestyle – Wales CIC next Wednesday from 10:30am if you’d like to join us.

Relationship Course in Aberystwyth

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Last week Ffion, supported by Christy, travelled to Aberystwyth to deliver her relationship course to Mencap Ceredigion and Our Voice Our Choice. We kicked off by playing the Skittles game, which we use to get to know each other and make everyone feel comfortable. During the course, which Ffion provided for the two groups over two days, she covered friendships, how to make friends, how to deal with arguments, what makes a good boyfriend and girlfriend, online safety, then finished off with a game of relationship Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Thank you to Anita and Carl for the lovely flowers and thank you card, and also for making friendship bracelets for the group.

The Our Voice Our Choice group said this about the training:

Excellent turn out and very informative about safety online when making friends, online dating, what is a good friend, what is a bad friend, how to make friends and so much more. A massive thank you to Ffion and Christy.

Gardening Group

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Head Gardener Morgan Jones:

Yesterday me, Christy, Gethin, Rees, and the twins Chris & Anthony went up to TARAGGAN allotments and started by taking all the plant pots up to the top of the allotments, so they could be planted into the soil later on. When it was about 11:00ish, me… Gethin, Rees & Kyle were in the middle of hoeing the patch we were working on and I asked Samantha what we were going to plant, and she said “onions, my lovely.” By the time all the onions had been planted into the ground, it was time for me and the others to clean any tools we were using and then we headed back down to the YMCA for us all to have our lunch.

Crafts

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At yesterday’s crafts session our members made braided fabric keychains and bracelets. They plaited their favourite colours and attached them to keychains. Some members also made name bracelets out of beads and elastic. Everyone enjoyed the activities and catching up with friends, sharing their bank holiday memories over a cuppa. Thank you to Cheryl & Zoe for volunteering to facilitate the session.


We don’t have craft next Tuesday afternoon, but we will be going out for a local walk. If you would like to join us, we will be leaving Bargoed YMCA at 12:30pm.

Gardening

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Well done to our volunteers who worked on our plots at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens yesterday. It was a cold and windy one, but we were finally able to work on the plots with the helping hands of Kyle Richards, Samantha, Sian Price, and Dillon, who showed us how to hoe the land and plant onions.

CPF is at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens & Nursery every Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. Please feel free to join us!

Reconnect through Cookery

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On Friday our members were busy making lasagne. They prepped mushrooms and onions to add to the ragu and cauliflower, and carrots and broccoli to serve on the side. Members also enjoyed a quiz hosted by Sarah, and took part in a consultation with Liz Sharma and a member of the team from Caerphilly Council about recycling.

Thank you so much to all our lovely, hard-working volunteers. We don’t have a cookery session next week, so we’ll see you all on Friday May 10th for pasta bake.

Reconnect through Music

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Yesterday our members had a blast singing their favorite songs with Daniel Fitzgerald from RecRock. It was awesome to see some new faces join the group and participate in singing songs by the likes of ABBA, Dolly Parton, Bread, and Robbie Williams. These sessions are perfect for meeting new people, making friends, and having fun!

A big shoutout to Jeremy James and Shaun at Libanus Lifestyle Centre for providing us with the delicious hotdogs!

Health and Social Care Changes

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There was no craft session yesterday, so our members gathered to discuss health and social care changes. What is social care? Social care services support people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities/illnesses, and mental illnesses. This support covers practical activities, personal care, and social work, helping recipients live comfortably.

We talked about service changes since the pandemic. Some have experienced positive changes with support staff and daytime opportunities, while others have struggled to get health appointments and face-to-face contact with social workers. Thanks to Cheryl Smith and Zoe Dummett for facilitating today’s group.