Reconnect Through Cookery

On Friday, our members came together to make a delicious pasta bake.

๐Ÿง… They carefully prepared the onions
๐Ÿฅ— Added a fresh salad on the side
๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿณ And everyone worked together to create a meal full of flavour and teamwork!

After the cooking, members enjoyed a fun quiz ๐Ÿ† which brought lots of laughter and learning.

๐Ÿ’– Thanks to Our volunteers – we couldnโ€™t do it without you! Your support makes these sessions smooth and enjoyable. ๐Ÿ™Œ

๐Ÿ“ข Our next cookery session will be held on ๐Ÿ“… Friday, 26th September, so bring your energy, smiles, and enthusiasm! โœจ We look forward to seeing you all then!

National Council Meeting

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!

Reconnect Through Music ๐ŸŽถ

What an amazing session yesterday โ€“ we had over 25 songs sung by our talented members! ๐ŸŽค๐Ÿ’ซ

๐ŸŒŸ Ellysia wowed us with “The Final Countdown” by Europe
๐ŸŒŸ Ffion and Amy gave us a blast from the past with “Flying the Flag” by Scooch
๐ŸŒŸ Natalie sang beautifully with “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia
๐ŸŒŸ Adrian sang “Love Me Tender” by Elvis
๐ŸŒŸ Sean took us back to the 1950s with “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley
๐ŸŒŸ And Rebecca touched our hearts with “It’s All Coming Back to me Now” by Celine Dion

We heard so many incredible performances, and also tucked into a lovely buffet โ€“ thank you to all our amazing volunteers! We canโ€™t wait to see you all again in two weeks’ time (17th September)! ๐Ÿ˜Š

Reconnect Through Cookery

On Friday our members made a delicious Chinese Chicken Curry ๐Ÿ›! They worked hard preparing peppers ๐ŸŒถ, onions ๐Ÿง…, and mushrooms ๐Ÿ„ before serving it with fluffy rice ๐Ÿš and crispy prawn crackers ๐Ÿฆ. We enjoyed bingo ๐ŸŽฑ and a fun quiz ๐Ÿคฉ๐Ÿ“ โ€“ plenty of laughs all round!
A huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿ’™, and also to Peter the caretaker ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ๐Ÿ‘ for setting up the tables.
A very special Happy 21st Birthday ๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‚๐ŸŽ to our wonderful volunteer Rees โ€“ we celebrated early with cake ๐ŸŽ‚๐Ÿฐ!
Our members absolutely love these sessions ๐Ÿฅฐ๐Ÿ’– โ€“ cooking, eating together, and having fun!

Reconnect Through Music ๐ŸŽถ

What an amazing session yesterday โ€“ we had over 30 songs sung by our talented members! ๐ŸŽค๐Ÿ’ซ
๐ŸŒŸ Matilda wowed us with “Kiss Me” by Olly Murs
๐ŸŒŸ Ffion and Amy gave us a blast from the past with “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League
๐ŸŒŸ Rebecca sang beautifully with “Flower” by Miley Cyrus ๐Ÿ’–
๐ŸŒŸ Anthony gave us a few tunes โ€“ our favourite was “Love Me Tender” by Elvis ๐Ÿ’•
๐ŸŒŸ Hywel touched our hearts with “How Great Thou Art” ๐Ÿ™Œ
โ€ฆAnd so many more incredible performances! ๐Ÿฅณ
We also tucked into a lovely buffet โ€“ thank you to all our amazing volunteers and a big shoutout to Peter for setting up! ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ’
It was also lovely to welcome a new member into the group โ€“ we canโ€™t wait to see you again!

Woodland Walk & Birthday!

Yesterday Caerphilly People First members had a lovely walk around Bargoed Woodland Park โ€“ the views were beautiful, and there are so many different routes to explore! ๐ŸŒณ๐ŸŒž We managed to get in over 6,000 steps โ€“ well done everyone! ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฅ‡

After our walk, we headed back to the office and celebrated Anthony and Christopherโ€™s birthday with some delicious cake ๐ŸŽ‚๐ŸŽˆ๐ŸŽ Happy birthday to the twins! ๐Ÿฅณ๐Ÿ‘ฌ

Pen y Fan Pond Walk

Last week we enjoyed a lovely walk around Pen y Fan Pond and spotted lots of fish and wildlife ๐Ÿฆ†๐Ÿฆ‹.
Afterwards, we visited a gorgeous little hidden gem right opposite โ€“ Fferm Gelli Camping Site ๐Ÿ•โœจ. We got to feed the friendly alpaca ๐Ÿฆ™ (Jack) and Gethin made friends with the horses ๐Ÿดโ€ฆ well, one loved him so much it gave him a little nibble ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ’›.
This beautiful spot is home to ducks ๐Ÿฆ†, chickens ๐Ÿ“, rabbits ๐Ÿ‡, and many other adorable animals ๐Ÿพ.
๐ŸŒŸ Such a lovely day filled with nature, fresh air, and furry friends!

Reconnect Through Cookery Fun!

On Friday we kept it fresh and tasty! Our amazing members prepared a colourful salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, spring onions, radish, and lettuce ๐Ÿฅ’๐Ÿ…๐Ÿง…๐Ÿฅฌโ€” then made their own wraps with cheese, ham, chicken, or a bit of everything! ๐Ÿ˜‹๐ŸŒฏ
๐Ÿ‘ A huge thank you to our fantastic volunteers for all your help, to Ffion for the brilliant quiz ๐Ÿง ๐ŸŽ‰, and to Pete the caretaker for setting everything up โ€” you’re a legend! โญ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ A big welcome to our new member Rachael โ€” it was lovely to have you join us today, and we canโ€™t wait to see you again! ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ’š
๐ŸŽถ Weโ€™ll see everyone on Wednesday for Reconnect Through Music โ€” get ready to sing, dance, and have a great time! ๐ŸŽค๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿ•บ

Viva Fest 2025

Viva Fest 2025 didnโ€™t disappoint! ๐ŸŽ‰ We had an amazing day at the ICC Wales ๐ŸŽถ๐Ÿฅ trying out African drumming, getting creative with crafts ๐ŸŽจ, having a go at archery ๐ŸŽฏ, chatting to all the stall holders ๐Ÿ—ฃ, and enjoying some fantastic singing and live music ๐ŸŽค๐ŸŽต.
๐Ÿคฉ The stilt walkers were incredible ๐Ÿคนโ€โ™‚๏ธ, and the giant bubbles were magical. It was so lovely to see all our wonderful People First friends ๐Ÿ’›. Massive well done to the organisers ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘.

๐Ÿ Gethin loved sitting on the Blood Bank motorbike ๐Ÿ, Rees enjoyed trying out the police gear ๐Ÿ‘ฎโ€โ™‚๏ธ, Judith had a go on the bike ๐Ÿšดโ€โ™€๏ธ, Theresa loved collecting all the free pens โœ’๏ธ, and Libby had fun with the crafts โœ‚๏ธ.We even treated ourselves to some delicious ice cream! Canโ€™t wait for the next one! ๐ŸŽ‰โœจ

Bargoed Woodland Walk

It was the perfect weather for our group walk yesterday through Bargoed Woodland Park! ๐ŸŒณ๐Ÿšถโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿšถโ€โ™‚๏ธ Well done to everyone who joined us โ€” it was a long one, but you all smashed it! ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿ’š Lovely views, fresh air, good company, and lots of laughs along the way! ๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿ˜„