🎶✨ Reconnect Through Music – Great Vibes! ✨🎶

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What an incredible session we had today! 🌟 This morning, our group absolutely smashed our previous record by singing an amazing 31 songs 🎤🎉 — what a milestone! We enjoyed a fantastic mix of music spanning decades and genres 🎵🕺, showing just how diverse and vibrant our group is. Some standout moments included:

🌈 Ffion and Amy bringing fun and energy with The Gummy Bear Song 🐻🎶
🎭 Tilly with two songs by Panic! at the Disco 🎤🔥
💖 Morgan serenading us with Mandy
🌟 Mandy delivering a beautiful rendition of Against All Odds by Phil Collins
💃 Anthony filling the room with joy through Love Is in the Air (and it truly was! ❤️)
🎩 Chris entertaining us with Leave Your Hat On
🎧 Dennis getting everyone moving with Dance Monkey 🕺🎶

The atmosphere was absolutely lush 🌿💫 — full of smiles 😊, laughter 😂, and brilliant dancing 💃🕺. It was wonderful to see everyone so engaged and enjoying themselves! A big thank you goes out to:

👏 Pete for getting everything set up
🍽️ Christy, Zoe, and Cheryl for preparing a delicious lunch
🎶 Amy and Ffion for keeping the music flowing smoothly

We’re already looking forward to the next session… can we beat our record again and hit 32 songs? 🎯🎤 See you all next time! 💛🎶

🌟🧘‍♀️ Stretch, Connect & Belong 🧘‍♂️🌟

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Our brand new Stretch, Connect & Belong project started yesterday at Fleur-de-lis Community Centre and will run for 10 sessions every Tuesday from 1pm–2pm, followed by 30 minutes for a cuppa ☕, a chat 💬 and session feedback 📝 — a lovely chance to connect and build friendships.

Our first session began with calming breathing and stretching exercises 🌬️💚, followed by lots of fun as our members chose a yoga pose from the surprise bag 🎁🧘. There were plenty of smiles and laughter 😊. Some members used mats, while others chose to use a chair — showing these sessions are truly accessible and inclusive for all ♿💙. For our breathing exercises we used beautiful chiffon scarves 🌈, and we finished with a peaceful relaxation session to soothing music 🎶✨ under soft ceiling lights, leaving everyone feeling calm, refreshed and uplifted.

Sessions like this are so important for people with learning disabilities because they help to:

💚 reduce anxiety and stress
💚 improve movement, balance and flexibility
💚 build confidence and independence
💚 encourage social connection and friendships
💚 reduce isolation and loneliness
💚 support emotional wellbeing and mindfulness
💚 create a safe, welcoming space where everyone belongs 🤝

A huge thank you to Lisa Harwood 💐 for such a wonderful start to our project, and thank you to our amazing members and volunteers for bringing such positive energy — everyone absolutely loved it! 🌟💖 Here’s to the next session! 🧘☕💬

Gardening at TARAGGAN

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🌱🍃 We’ve had a great morning at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens! Morgan, Gethin, Christopher and Anthony have all been working hard weeding and clearing the plots, getting everything ready for planting 🌼🌿👏 It was very windy 🌬️ and chilly 🥶 to start, but all that hard work soon warmed us up 💪😊

Being outdoors and gardening has so many benefits — it helps improve wellbeing 💚, reduces stress 🌞, keeps us active 🚶‍♂️, builds confidence 🌟 and gives everyone the chance to connect with nature 🌍🦋. Most importantly, it brings people together, creating friendships, laughter and a real sense of achievement 🤝💐 A brilliant morning all round — well done everyone! 🌱🙌✨

🍽️✨ Reconnect through Cookery ✨🍽️

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What a lovely session we had on Friday! 💛 We made a delicious tuna pasta bake 🐟🍝 and a tasty sausage pasta bake 🌭🍝, served with warm garlic bread 🧄🍞😋 Our members got hands-on preparing a fresh, healthy salad 🥗 with lettuce 🥬, tomatoes 🍅, onions 🧅, and peppers 🫑 — it looked as good as it tasted! 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳

The room was filled with a relaxed, happy vibe 😊✨ Everyone was in great spirits, enjoying themselves and each other’s company 💛🤗 It really was a warm, friendly atmosphere all around 🥰🌟 A big thank you to all our amazing volunteers 🙌💙 for your support — we couldn’t do it without you 👏✨

🌱✨ A lovely day at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens! ✨🌱

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Yesterday our members enjoyed another fantastic session at the gardens 🌼 The sunshine was out and so were the smiles! ☀️😊 Gethin and Morgan got stuck in—working hard, getting their hands in the soil, digging and turning over the plot 🪴🧤 It was a great way to boost wellbeing and connect with nature 🌸💚

Gardening is not just about growing plants—it’s about growing confidence, friendships, and happiness 🌻🤝 It was also lovely catching up, having a laugh, and seeing everyone enjoy their time outdoors 🌞 A big thank you to everyone involved for making it such a positive and uplifting session 🙌💚 We’re already looking forward to the next visit! 🌿✨

📢 Caerphilly People First at the Caerphilly Hustings 🗳️

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Monday was an exciting and important day for Caerphilly People First! 🎉 We were delighted to be invited to take part in the Caerphilly hustings as part of Learning Disability Wales’s Ready to Vote project. 🙌 The event took place at Y Banc in Caerphilly town centre 🏛️ and brought together politicians from four political parties: Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives, the Green Party, and the Liberal Democrats. It was expertly chaired by our very own Ffion Poole, who did a fantastic job guiding the discussion 👏✨

Our members played a key role in the hustings by asking thoughtful and important questions to the candidates hoping to be elected to the Senedd on Thursday 7th May 🗳️. The topics raised included:

🦷 Access to NHS dentists
🚌 Free bus passes for people with learning disabilities
🎓 Support for people with learning disabilities in schools and colleges

Other attendees also asked questions about housing 🏠 and jobs 💼, making sure a wide range of important issues were discussed. It was great to hear directly from each candidate and learn their views on the issues that matter most to our members 💬. Events like this help make sure that people with learning disabilities have a voice and can make informed choices. We encourage everyone to take part in the election on Thursday 7th May 🗳️ — your voice matters, so make sure it’s heard! 💪🗣️

Reconnect Through Music

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What a brilliant session today! 🌟 With over 20 magical performances, the room was full of smiles, laughter, and people enjoying each other’s company 🤗💬. It was fantastic to see everyone socialising and connecting through music 🎤❤️.

We were treated to many wonderful performances throughout the day. Sean gave us the full 8-minute version of American Pie 🎸, while Ellysia and Chris delighted everyone with two beautiful duet performances 🎶👫. Matilda brought great energy with “Summer Nights” from Grease 🌞🎭, Claire delivered a powerful rendition of “Purple Rain” 💜☔, and Anthony performed “Wonderful Tonight” 🎼✨.

A huge thank you goes to Christy, Cheryl, Helen, and Zoe for preparing our delicious hot dog lunch 🌭 and doing all the paperwork – your hard work helped the day run so smoothly, and is much appreciated 🙌💛.

Days like today show the power of music in bringing people together, and the feedback we received really captured the spirit of the session. Mark shared that he enjoys making new friends 😊, Anthony described it as an amazing day 🌟, and Matilda said it’s a happy atmosphere where everyone is made to feel welcome 💖.

Reconnect through Cookery 🍝❤️

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What a lovely session we had on Friday!! We made a delicious spaghetti Bolognese served with warm garlic bread, topped off with a sprinkle of cheddar 🧀✨ Our members got hands-on preparing fresh ingredients like celery, carrots, mushrooms, and onions 🥕🍄🧅—and it tasted amazing! We also sang Happy Birthday to our wonderful volunteer Anthony 🎂🥳 who recently celebrated his birthday—enjoy your cake, lovely man! 💛

A huge thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for your support today 💛 Special thanks to Sian for helping out and bringing the fun with bingo 🎉 and to Sarah for being our brilliant quiz master 🧠👏 It was so lovely seeing everyone enjoying themselves, sharing laughs, and sitting down together for lunch 😊🍽️ We’ll see you Wednesday for music! 🎶💃🕺

Democracy & Voting Workshop

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A big THANK YOU to Gerraint and Simon from Learning Disability Wales for delivering a fantastic workshop yesterday! 🙌 With the Senedd elections coming up on May 7th 2026, it was the perfect time to learn all about democracy and voting. We had great fun using the pop-up voting station 🗳

👉 Different ways to vote:
In person at a polling station 🏫
By post 📮
By proxy (someone you trust votes for you) 👥

👉 How to register to vote:
You can register online 🌐
You need your details (like National Insurance number)
Make sure you register before the deadline ⏰

👉 How to find your constituency in Caerphilly borough:
Visit the UK Government website 🔍
Enter your postcode 📍
It tells you where you vote and who represents you

We also got creative making our democracy paper chain ⛓️💡We shared ideas about what we want to see changed and improved in our communities! Why voting is important:

It gives you a voice 🗣️
It helps shape your future 🌍
Everyone’s vote matters ❤️

Our members really enjoyed this fun and informative session 😄 We learned so much and had a great time together! 👏 Thanks again to Gerraint and Simon for making it so engaging!

Reconnect Through Music – What a Day!

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We had an absolutely brilliant session yesterday, with an incredible 27 songs performed! 🎤💫 The energy was amazing from start to finish

It was so lovely to see Matilda again, who wowed us with songs from The Little Mermaid 🧜‍♀️ and K-Pop Demon Hunters 🎶🔥. Sean brought the vibes with Tears for Fears 🎹, while Susan had everyone singing along to Living Next Door to Alice 🚪🎵.

We loved the duet from Ffion & Amy singing Olly Murs 💕🎤, and Chris gave us a fantastic It’s Not Unusual 🕺. Anthony performed Hopelessly Devoted to You ❤️, and Christine got the whole room moving with Shut Up and Dance 💃🕺 (and yes… many people DID dance!).

A huge thank you to everyone who shared their amazing talents 🌟👏 — you made the session so special. The hall was packed (big thanks to Pete for setting everything up 🙌), and the delicious pizza 🍕 prepared by Christy & Zoe was a big hit!

💬 Feedback from the group:
Cheryl enjoyed meeting friends 🤝😊
Paula loved singing and chatting 🎶💬
Anthony said he loves everyone and that he’s a karaoke legend! 🎤👑

Thank you all for making it such a joyful and memorable day! 🎉🎶💖