After School Dinners on Mondays Last Monday saw our third After School Dinners as part of the Welcoming Spaces initiative. What a beautiful evening! Children and caregivers alike took part in a festive drawing lesson with Pauline before tucking into jacket potatoes and Michelle’s special brain jelly. One young person said that the jelly was the ‘nicest wobbly thing they’ve ever eaten’ - a shining review from a young food critic! Another challenged one of our lovely volunteers, Mathilda, to Connect 4 - it was a close call but they tied in the end. We saw more attendees this week as the word is spreading. The smell of fresh pie and the sound of music filled the air as children enjoyed crafting snowmen with the wonderful Gill.
Community Lunch on Tuesdays Last Tuesday we served lunch to 30 and the Canopy was buzzing! With a larger group we found attendees just wanted to chat - the atmosphere was so lovely and many giggles were had! We had a few visitors last week: Kathleen from Knowle West Health Park came to share information about trips and falls for our elderly attendees and to give signposting support. Claudia from Knowle West Alliance also shared information on the Welcoming Spaces she is supporting encouraged attendees to look into other spaces throughout the week. We had some lovely feedback this week from a guest that is having a tough time at the moment. She found the group very welcoming and supportive.
One of the group activities this week involved putting up a regular attendee's artwork in our Community Hub. We are so pleased and proud to have her as a part of our community and so impressed with her work!
This week we served 29 cheery attendees, catering to all dietary needs with vegan and gluten-free options. (NB: Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements when you book and we will do our best to cater for you!) Guests tucked into a hearty festive pie and veggies followed by apple crumble for dessert. A big thank you goes to super Michelle and Jude for their efforts: love goes into every bite!
Fleur and Simon from Rethink attended again this week to have conversations on all things mental wellbeing, giving signposting support to their own and other services in and around South Bristol. We are very grateful for their time and effort! Please click here for more info on the services they offer.
One of the Welcoming Spaces team, George, said this week:
“Everyone was in such high spirits! A real sense of community has been built over these past five weeks. It has been pleasure to watch our Welcoming Spaces sessions grow and adapt week-on-week and I can’t wait to see how they develop even more over time.”
Next week (Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th December) will be our last sessions before Christmas so get your bookings in now! We currently have a few spaces left for Monday ONLY. Text 07858630507 to book or speak to staff in-person at our Roots Café.