On 6th October Ffion held her third relationship course, this time at Neuadd St Catwg Community hall in Gelligaer. The group spoke about the differences between men’s and women’s bodies, and what people call their private parts. We did an exercise called “you can touch me here” where we used pictures of men’s and women’s bodies and highlighted different areas in three colours: green for areas you are happy for anyone to touch, yellow for areas only those closet to you can touch, and red for areas that are private and just for you to touch. Ffion stated: ‘this was one of my favourite sessions so far; everyone enjoyed the session, and people weren’t too shy to ask questions’.
On Wednesday 5th October Ffion and Christy attended the shortlisting session for the All Wales People First ‘Through our Eyes’ photography project, at the Marriott Hotel in Cardiff. Through Our Eyes shares the stories of people with learning disabilities in Wales through photographs and videos, and they will be staging an exhibition at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, on November 24th, which will be attended by Mark Drakeford MS and Jane Hutt MS. The group at the shortlisting session decided which pictures they liked best, and which pictures best represent the project, which challenges perceptions and stereotypes by highlighting the valued roles and activities of people with learning disabilities in our communities.
We had another great craft session last week, which involved designing our own mugs and glasses. Members had a great time, while learning a new skill. Thanks to Cheryl from the Parent Network for helping out, and thanks to Caerphilly Cwtsh for funding the activity.
Last week we enjoyed our fourth session with Groundwork Wales at the allotments in Pontllanfraith. We planted and watered daffodils, sweet peas, and hyacinths. The group really enjoyed this session – it was educational and fun.
This week we held our third workshop with Groundwork Wales at Taraggan Educational Gardens & Nursery. The group planted herbs, purple mustard, oregano, coriander, parsley, rocket, and broad beans. Many thanks to Rachel and the team from Groundwork for another enjoyable session.
It was great to see everyone at our crafts session yesterday, where we took part in a scrabble art workshop. We used scrabble letters and glitter to make name frames. Thanks to Cheryl from The Parent Network for running the session; she will be joining us again next week when members will personalise their own mug. Thank you to Caerphilly Cwtsh Community & Localgiving (Magic Little Grant) for funding this activity.
This week the focus group had a meeting with Mandy from the Welsh Ambulance Service. At the workshop we learnt about the 7 important checks ambulance staff will do to find out what is wrong. The 7 checks are:
1. Temperature (how hot or cold you are)
2. Blood Pressure (how hard your heart is beating)
3. Oxygen Levels (how much oxygen is in your blood)
4. Pulse (how fast your heart is beating)
5. Breathing- Ambulance staff will watch your chest to see if you are breathing ok.
6. Blood sugar levels (how much sugar you have in your blood)
7. Pain score (how much does it hurt?)
We also talked about what happens when you call 999.
This week we attended our second workshop with Groundwork Wales. We planted onions and lettuce, and learnt about different types of mint and tiger nuts. We planted the onions and lettuce into small pots, and we will transfer them into the ground when they begin to grow. We also took some cuttings from two types of mint plants (mint and strawberry & mint and pineapple) and planted the cuttings into hanging baskets, so they will have plenty of room to grow. Rachel showed us the grapes they are growing in the polytunnel, and they tasted delicious.
On Friday 16th September, Ffion Poole and Christy Taylor attended the Student Learning Disability Conference at the University of South Wales, the theme of which was ‘It’s Good To Be Back’. The conference began with Professor Ruth Northway’s presentation on ‘How Learning Disability Nurses Can Contribute to the Welsh Government Learning Disability Strategic Action Plan (Including COVID Recovery)’.
This was followed by Ffion and Lynne from TRAC, along with two student nurses – Marie and Lisa – talking about what the TRAC (Teaching & Research Advisory Committee) team does. TRAC is a group of people with a learning disability which meets monthly to share their knowledge, thoughts and feelings about key issues that affect them daily. Ffion said that she was very nervous before giving her presentation, but was proud of herself once it was completed.
After the break, six student nurses talked about their experiences of their nursing course, and the challenges of studying during COVID. We also heard presentations from the University of South Wales Nursing Society, the Hiraeth Team from the Aneurin Bevan Health Board, and Dr Ruth Wyn Williams, a nursing officer for the Welsh Government.
The morning finished with Professor Ruth Northway presenting The Paul Wheeler Award to learning disability nurse Clair Gabbidon. This is an annual award given to a third year learning disability student, in honour of Paul Wheeler, a senior lecturer who passed away in 2008.
This week we met with Groundwork Wales to begin our eight week gardening course at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens & Nursery. During the first week of the course we learned how to sow seeds, and planted garlic, spinach, spring onions and radish. We finished the session by digging up the remainder of our potatoes we planted many weeks ago. We look forward to meeting with Rachel and the team again next week.
During the afternoon we attended our first yoga session with Michelle from Sweetpea Yoga, Reiki & Guided Meditation. We’d like to thank everyone who attended – it was lovely to see some new faces from our community. We all enjoyed a lovely relaxed yoga session with gentle exercise, followed by tea, coffee and cake. This event was kindly funded by Caerphilly Cwtsh Community.
