On Friday our members made a classic sausage & mash with fresh vegetables and onion gravy. Everyone worked together to prepare cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots — it smelled amazing!
A big thank you to Theresa and Judith for running the quiz and to Sian for hosting bingo – you all made the session full of fun, laughter, and teamwork. The dinner was delicious, and all the feedback from our members was positive — everyone LOVES our Friday Cookery sessions!
Last week Christy and Ffion joined Jackie Hughes from Person to Person Advocacy and Citizen Advocates from across the Caerphilly Borough to take part in Safeguarding Level 3 training with our trainer Gareth. Gareth was very kind and detailed, listened to everyone’s stories and experiences, and made sure we all understood. There were lots of good conversations, lots learned, and new friendships made.
What is Safeguarding Level 3? Safeguarding means keeping people safe from harm, abuse, or neglect. Level 3 training helps you:
Spot signs of abuse or neglect
Know what to do and who to tell
Work with others to keep people safe
Understand your role and responsibilities
This training is for people who may need to report concerns or support others when something doesn’t feel right.
Last week, we were honoured to attend the GAVO Caerphilly Volunteering Awards 2025, held at Blackwood Rugby Club. We’re thrilled to share that Caerphilly People First was nominated in the Community Advocate category — and we were absolutely delighted to be awarded the Runners-Up Prize! This recognition celebrates our contribution to volunteering and the positive difference our members continue to make across the community. The award was presented to us by Jane Mudd, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent — thank you, Jane!
The evening celebrated so many inspiring individuals and groups across Caerphilly, with categories including:
Sport and Leisure
Health and Wellbeing
Environmental
Food Sustainability
It was amazing and uplifting to hear about the many great projects happening throughout our county — run by people of all ages and backgrounds, all making a real difference. A huge well done to everyone who was nominated — your hard work and passion shine bright! And a big thank you to GAVO for hosting such a wonderful and inspiring evening. We’re so proud to be part of this amazing community.
Last week marked the second get-together of our Breakfast and Belonging group, and what a lovely morning it was! We were delighted to see so many regular faces, along with friends we haven’t seen for a long time. A wonderful group of twelve members came together to share good food, laughter, and conversation. The room was filled with smiles, stories, and the warm feeling of reconnecting with one another.
We tucked into a delicious spread of breakfast treats — including bagels, croissants, waffles, pancakes, crepes, and fresh strawberries, helping everyone start the day off in the best possible way! The morning was all about belonging, catching up, and sharing our lives. Members chatted about what they’ve been up to, made new connections, and rekindled old ones. It was a perfect reminder of why this group exists — to bring people together and start the day with positivity and friendship.
A big thank you to Cheryl for leading today’s session, and to Amy for being such a brilliant help throughout the morning. We’re already looking forward to our next Breakfast and Belonging meet-up on Tuesday, 4th November. We can’t wait to see you all again for another morning of food, friendship, and fun!
Today’s Reconnect Through Music group was full of energy, laughter, and incredible talent. In total, our members performed an amazing 28 songs 🎤✨, and each performance brought its own magic to the room. 🌟
Matilda shone with her powerful rendition of Believe by Cher 🌈, while Ffion and Amy teamed up for a lively performance of Rehab by Amy Winehouse 🍷. Sean had everyone smiling and moving along to My Boy Lollipop by Bad Manners 🍭, and Ellysia wowed us with her version of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley 🤯. Natalie brought a touch of pop sunshine with Flowers by Miley Cyrus 🌸, and Jackie gave a heartfelt performance of Back for Good by Take That 🎶.
As the performances flowed, everyone gathered together to enjoy a delicious hot dog lunch 🌭 lovingly prepared by Christy, Cheryl, and Helen 👩🍳👩🍳👩🍳. This provided a lovely opportunity to relax and chat with friends. We’re grateful to Sharon and Libby 📝 for helping with the paperwork, and to Pete the caretaker 🛠️ who made sure everything was set up and ready before we even arrived.
The feedback we received today really shows how much the group means to people. One member shared, “I made more friends” 🤝, while another said, “I love singing and seeing friends” 🎵. We also heard, “I wish it was every week” 📅, and perhaps the best compliment of all: “You can’t improve this session – I love it” 💖.
Overall, today was a truly joyful session filled with music, friendship, and community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making it such a success! 🎉
✨ A huge thank you to Noah for delivering the online hate crime training today ✨
Our members really enjoyed the session and gave some great feedback on what they learned:
Andrew – learned how to make accounts private and how to report hate crime.
Ffion – learned the same and found it very useful.
Theresa – found it helpful, especially learning not to answer phone scams.
Morgan – enjoyed everything and learned more about staying safe and interacting with people.
Mark – said he liked it all.
Amy – found all the information helpful, learned more about staying safe, and said it was fab!
Gethin – said it was great for information.
Olivia – found it very interesting and learned about safe settings.
Christy – said the training was very detailed, delivered in an easy way to understand, with a fun ice breaker and interesting conversation throughout.
Stu – said the information was easy to put into practice, very friendly and accessible.
💡 Members also learned that hate crime can be reported to Victim Support, as well as through social media platforms if abuse happens online.
👏 Overall, members said the training was informative, enjoyable, and easy to understand. Thank you again Noah for supporting our members to feel safer online.
On Friday our members prepared lots of fresh vegetables 🥦🥕🌽🥬 – we had cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, peas, and carrots to go with our delicious cottage pie 🥧.
We made it using 5% lean mince 🥩 and topped some with cheese 🧀 (and left some plain for those who prefer it that way!). Best of all – zero waste 🙌👏.
Everyone enjoyed the meal ❤️ and feedback is always fantastic! Huge thanks to everyone who helped out in the kitchen 👏, to Nat for sorting bingo & the quiz 🎶🎲, and to Peter the caretaker for setting up the hall 🙏.
💚 Why Healthy Eating Matters 💚
Eating fresh vegetables and balanced meals helps boost energy ⚡, improves mood 😊, supports overall health 🩺, and gives our members the confidence to try new foods 🍴.
These sessions make a huge difference by:
✨ Reducing isolation & loneliness 🤝
✨ Building independence and life skills 🥄
✨ Encouraging teamwork & confidence 💪
✨ Bringing joy and friendship to our members 💛
📌 Our next Cookery session: sausage dinner with vegetables and onion gravy 🌭🥔🧅.
🎵 On Wednesday we’ll be back together for Reconnect through Music 🎤🎶.
Thank you all for another lovely day 💛
Last week we had an online TRAC meeting with Stacey Rees and friends from Cwm Taff People First. It was lovely to see everyone. 💻❤️
What we talked about:
Training and research. 📚🔍Some members will be trained and paid to become researchers. 💷🧑🔬
TRAC members will teach Year 1, 2 and 3 students. 👩⚕️👨⚕️🎓
Teaching will happen in the simulation suite at USW. 🏥➡️🎓
Students will practise real life situations. This gives them hands-on experience. 🤝🩺
Why this matters:
It helps students learn from real lived experience. 🗣️❤️
It makes learning more realistic and safe. ✅
LD nurses are very important. They keep people safe teaching them helps them to learn how to give the right care. 👩⚕️🧑⚕️💙
People with lived experience teach students things you can’t read in a book. 📘❌➡️✅
Big thanks to members who joined the meeting. Well done! 👏🎉
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! 🌱👩🌾👨🌾
Last week’s Reconnect Through Music session was an amazing celebration of talent and community! 🌟 Everyone came together to enjoy a day of music, dancing, and delicious food. 🥪💃🕺
🎶 We were treated to so many incredible performances from our talented members:
🎤 Matilda wowed us with “Lose Yourself” by Justin Bieber
💖 Adrian charmed everyone with “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley
🎵 Elizabeth got everyone moving to “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake
💃 Ellysia delivered a soulful rendition of “Waterfalls” by TLC
🌟 Josh brought energy with “Golden” by K-pop Demon Hunters
🎶 And Rebecca inspired us with “I’m Alive” by Celine Dion
✨ There were also other fantastic performances that showed off the wonderful range of talent in our group. It was heartwarming to see members share their talents with pride. 🌟❤️
A huge thank you 👏 to Cheryl, Zoe, Helen, and Sharon for making sure everything ran smoothly in the hall and the kitchen (preparing a delicious lunch of ham and cheese rolls). 🍳☕ Their hard work helped keep the event relaxed and enjoyable for everyone 🥪.
This session was a beautiful reminder of the power of music to bring people together, boost confidence, and create lasting memories. 💖🎵 We can’t wait for the next Reconnect Through Music event! 🥳🎶
