Tag Archives: Learning Disability

Cookery Class

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Spaghetti Bolognaise was on the menu at Friday’s cookery class. Well done everyone – you did a great a job prepping and cooking as always. Thank you to all our volunteers who always work so hard in the kitchen, especially those working on the pots.

During the second half of the session some people took part in our weekly quiz, and others joined Sangeet from Wise Kids to take part in a focus group. This is in preparation for our Digital Wellbeing advice and mindfulness course that will run for the next six Fridays after cookery. We ended the day with a mindfulness meditation.

We will see you all next week for sausage mash and onion gravy chosen by our member Sian.

Halloween Crafts

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At yesterday’s craft session our members and volunteers created wall art and had some spooky Halloween photos taken. Thanks to Cheryl from the Parent Network Community Forum for running the session. Crafts sessions usually occur every other Tuesday but we have an extra session next week, so if you would like to join us from 12:30pm onwards, please get in touch.

Trunk or Treat

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Our volunteers Ffion Poole and Gethin Chamberlain did a great job yesterday at the Parent Network Community Forum ‘Trunk or Treat’ event at Morrisons underground car park in Bargoed. Gethin, Ffion and Christy covered Christy’s car with Halloween decorations and handed out sweets and stickers to the children walking around the witch trail. We’ve never seen so many happy little faces in scary outfits, and we’d like to thank Amanda Jones and the team for inviting us to this fantastic event.

Digital Wellbeing with Wise Kids

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The group was recently joined by Sangeet from Wise Kids, an organisation whose aim is to promote digital literacy and wellbeing. Sangeet talked to the group about their use of social media, including what websites and apps they visit, and the good and bad things about using social media. The group also discussed the ways they relax if they feel stressed. This focus group was in preparation for a course of six sessions which will offer members mindfulness and digital wellbeing advice, such as recognising how the internet and technology can make us feel, and the impact being online can have.

Cookery Halloween Party

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On Friday 27th October we held our Reconnect Through Cookery Halloween Party. It was great to see so many people dressed up – everyone looked scary and fantastic. We played a game of spooky bingo and then handed out certificates for Best Carved Pumpkin, awarded to Sian, Best Spooky Dancer, which went to Briani, and Best Costume, awarded to Gethin. This was followed by some lovely buffet food. Thank you to everyone who volunteered – we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you to Jamie Pritchard, Deputy Leader for Caerphilly County Borough Council, and Councillor Carol Andrews for paying us a visit and judging our competitions.

Gardening

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This report was written by our head gardener, Morgan Jones:

When I arrived at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens and Nursery, I told everyone what their job was. Usually it’s me Gethin, Rees, Chris, Anthony and Connor who work on the plots, but because there was a meeting in the office, it was just me, Chris, Anthony and Connor at the allotments this week. We planted garlic cloves and covered them with soil, and the garlic will be ready for us to pick next August.

Reconnect Through Cookery

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Our members did a fantastic job making tuna pasta bake at the most recent cookery session. Not everyone is a lover of tuna, so some added sausage or ham and cheese to theirs. After making the pasta bakes everyone prepared a healthy salad of broccoli and peppers that we pan fried in olive oil, and carrots which we glazed with honey and air-fried. I think everyone hit their target of 5 portions of fruit and veg!

Thank you to Cheryl and Rickell for all your hard work in the kitchen, and to and Ffion for being an amazing quizmaster and calling the bingo.

Next week is our Halloween party when we will have prizes for the best carved pumpkin, best fancy dress, and best spooky dancer. There will also be raffles, quizzes, bingo, and lots of spooky tunes to dance to. On the menu will be jack-o-lantern pizza, spooky Halloween sausage, and graveyard cake. See you all next week.

Healthy Eating

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This week we were visited by Patrick and Kane from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board who talked to the group about the Mediterranean Diet and the importance of healthy eating. It has long been known that people living in Mediterranean countries (Italy, Greece, France and Spain) enjoy long life and good health, and the boys talked about which foods make up a Mediterranean Diet, and also what foods are bad for you.

Members received a booklet to take home containing this information in more detail, plus recipes to try, and a chart to write which foods you have eaten throughout the week. Thanks to Patrick and Kane for the visit, and for the very important information which we hope our members will use in their daily lives.

Gardening

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Yesterday at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens & Nursery our volunteers continued working hard on the plots, weeding and preparing them to plant garlic next week. The group also harvested our raspberries and shared them out in the office when we returned.


Thank you Kyle Richards for helping to prepare the plot for planting the garlic, and for showing our new volunteer Connor how to use the tools correctly. If you would like to volunteer with us we are at TARAGGAN every Tuesday morning from 10.30am.