Tag Archives: Self advocacy

Reconnect Through Music

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Yesterday saw the launch of our weekly music group, Reconnect through Music, run by RecRock. The aim of the project is to create a sense of belonging between individuals who are isolated, lonely, stressed or feeling low in mood.

We kicked off the session with introductions from members old and new, and shared our favourite songs, artists and genres. Following this our members almost blew the roof off the little chapel on the hill in Libanus Lifestyle Centre in Blackwood, with their singing, dancing and instrument playing.

We ended the session with lots of conversation, lunch and new friendships made. Well done to everyone who attended and travelled independently – we know it was a massive step for you.

Relationship Course

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On Monday 15th January Ffion Poole delivered her relationship course to the learners at Oxford House Community Education Centre in Risca. We spoke about what makes a good and bad friend, and how to make friends. It was lovely to see faces old and new, and our next session will be held on Monday 22nd January when we will continue to talk about friendships. If you would like Ffion to deliver this relationship course, please contact her on 07488 350518 or email her at ffion@caerphillypeoplefirst.org

Skills for Life with Multiply

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This report was written by Caerphilly People First member Morgan Jones:

Whilst I was in Caerphilly People First yesterday, some people from an organisation called ‘Multiply’ came to talk to me and my CPF buddies about their Skills for Life project and how to calculate our calorie intake and log our daily steps.

To do this we put a watch on our wrist that monitors our steps, and how many calories we’ve burnt whilst walking. When we got back to the office we all recorded how many steps we did on our walk, and the group managed 6,500 steps each.

Christmas Crafts and Party

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Yesterday was our final crafts session of 2023, during which the group made Christmas decorations. Thank you to Cheryl and Zoe from the Parent Network Community Forum for sharing their crafting skills throughout the year – they have assisted the group in crafting some great personalised keepsake. Our sessions have brought individuals out of isolation and loneliness, created new friendships and improved mental health, and we’re looking forward to seeing what everyone crafts next year.

Following the craft session, we held our office Christmas party, when the group enjoyed some delicious food and cake, and were visited by Santa who handed out selection boxes to everyone.

Cookery

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At the latest session our Reconnect through Cookery members made pizza. They used tortilla wraps for the base, and added tomato puree and cheese. Some members added pineapple, peppers, sweetcorn, pepperoni, and chorizo.

Well done to everyone for doing a great job prepping the salad and making your own pizzas – they were delicious. We will be back on December 8th when we will be making jacket potatoes with various fillings, as chosen by our member Richard.

Gardening

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This report was written by our head gardener Morgan Jones.

It was nice to be back up the allotments in TARAGGAN this week after missing out last week because of the bad weather. The first thing Gethin, Rees, Conor, Christopher, Anthony and myself did was pick up the tools we needed from the shed, then we planted Allium bulbs. I thought everyone contributed really well and did their bit this week, and each of them deserve a pat on the back.

Cookery & Digital Wellbeing

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Chicken curry, chosen by our Volunteer Nick, was on the menu at Friday’s cookery session. We served the curry with rice spring rolls and prawn crackers. The group enjoyed prepping the ingredients, as well as taking part in the quiz, raffle, and colouring competition. Thanks to everyone who bought a raffle ticket we managed to raise £38 for Children in Need.

Massive thanks to our kitchen volunteers – Cheryl Smith, Zoe Dummett, Amy Jones, and Rees Powell – you did an amazing job as always. Thanks also to Ffion Poole for being quiz master and organising the raffle. Next week our new member Ryan has chosen pizza.

After cookery the group took part in the third session of digital awareness and mindfulness delivered by Sangeet from WISE KIDS. We watched a video about two people talking online and then meeting up, and it turned out they were very different in real life compared to how they’d represented themselves online. If anyone would like to join us for these sessions they are every Friday at our Cookery session, from 1:30 – 2:30, but please email us first at: enquiries@caerphillypeoplefirst.org