Community Lives Consortium

Tenant's Information & Stories

Every 3 months I put together some articles from tenants showing where they have been on holiday, who has celebrated birthdays etc.

Here are some stories from the S.T.A.R.T. (Staff Tenants and Relatives Together)

Winter 2009 Newsletter:

Hi everyone, Well winter is truly here! We have had some horrid weather but to cheer you up we have some summer holiday stories for you.  -  Julie Davies

Enjoying the Summer

A holiday to Lydstep Beach, Tenby
Angela Morgan

What a fantastic holiday we had in June this year. We left home all packed and very excited. When we arrived at Lydstep Beach it was a really nice place and the weather was hot and sunny.

When we arrived outside our caravan we couldn’t believe our eyes at how big it was.

We went to the club house. There was a band playing there and Angela was up dancing all night. She was very happy and excited and her face was beaming.

The following day we went to Tenby town and looked around the shops. The weather was fantastic again and we went for a nice meal and a walk along the beach.

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That evening we went back down in the club house. There was a male singer who was very good and had us up dancing again.

• The following day it was time to go home. It was sad because we were having such a good time. Before we left we had a lovely meal on our balcony and put some music on. We clapped hands and sang songs. The photos we have are fabulous and we have really good memories of our nice break away.
  

My holiday in Minehead!
Geoffrey Scott

I stayed at the Esplanade Hotel on the seafront which caters for disabled visitors and carers. It has a pretty garden which is accessible through the conservatory using a ramp. The other guests and I ate our meals in the conservatory. It was nice and cool and had a beautiful sea view.

The hotel staff were always friendly and really helpful. The meals were very tasty and we had lots of choice. My bedroom was very spacious, with lots of light from a large bay window.
Minehead caters for disabled visitors really well. Access to shops wasn’t a problem and the pavements are really wide making it easy to get around and enjoy the nice walks and the pubs!

The prom was really enjoyable in the evenings, and in the daytime I was very lucky with the weather. It was hot and not a drop of rain. Looking forward to next year’s holiday already!

Blaenau Ffestiniog

I went for a short break away to Blaenau Ffestiniog in Snowdonia to go on the mountain railway as I love steam engines.

• The drive to North Wales was quite long but very beautiful. We stopped at a pub for lunch and a drink on the way so it was a pleasant journey.

I stayed in an eco-friendly guest house. As we arrived a steam train pulled into the station that was situated 50 metres down the road from the guest house so I got to have a good look at it and I was really excited!

The eco-friendly guest house, although energy efficient turned out not to be so friendly to wheelchair uses – the path was formed with loose gravel. There were too many steps and uneven surfaces to contend with to call it ‘wheelchair friendly’. I didn’t mind too much because the local steam train passed every 2 hours and that was enough to compensate!

After a long day travelling up to Snowdonia we all had a restful nights sleep ready for the big event that was to come…travelling to the summit of Mount Snowdon on the mountain railway.

When I woke up it was pouring with rain but luck was on my side because the sun came out for 3 hours that day and it happened to be exactly when we were due to go up the mountain.

I had a good view out of the window from where I sat in my carriage and the scenery was breathtaking. I was so happy I didn’t want the day to end. I bought a hat as a lasting memory of my trip which I wore with pride for the rest of the holiday.

Everybody was very friendly. I laughed a lot and drank and ate well the whole time. It was a lovely holiday despite the weather.

I took lots of photos and put them into an album so that I can look at them and reminisce to my hearts content …. which I do every day and seeing the pictures of the steam trains still makes me smile with delight now!!

Burnham-on-sea

Florida

David Hemingway from Morriston went on holiday for 2 weeks in May to Florida. Staff Laurence and Peter went with him. They visited Universal Studios where David went on lots of rides.

One marvellous experience for David was when they went to Discovery Cove and he and Laurence went swimming with the dolphins!

They had a fantastic two weeks even though it rained the second week.

Fun things people do

Robert from Loughor also enjoys going to bikeability which is in Dunvant every week. Here is a photo of Robert on the bike.

If you want more information about bikeability log on to www.bikeabilitywales.org.uk.

Blankets for the PDSA

My name is Olwen, I am knitting blankets for the NSPCA and various charities. I thought I would give to the animal shop first, because they can be used for their beds.

The staff help me with my Knitting, this is a new hobby that I am enjoying doing. I do plain stitch to make squares and the staff help me to sew them together. Here is a photo of me holding up a blanket is the first blanket that I’ve completed, the first of many!.

I used to do a lot of jigsaws, but haven’t done one for about 3 months now.

I am really happy making blankets for others, because I like to help and give to charities.
If anyone has any spare wool, please could I have it?  So watch this space…… I will keep you updated. Thanks very much Olwen Crawford from Gorseinon.

Well done Olwen.

Meet Robin Savours…

Robin was born in Aberystwyth in 1956 where he lived until he was three. Robin moved to Bedford and went to a boarding school in the Cotswolds before going to a school called the Grange in Kempston.

Robin then moved to Yorkshire where worked on a honey bee nest farm. There were 3 people who helped the farmer with the morning and evening milking. He was there for 5 years then moved back to Wales.

Robin lived in a few different places before moving into his home in Gorseinon. Robin now works in a factory that makes picture frames and loves this job.

Annual General Meeting celebrating 20 Years

It was a special AGM this year as Consortium is 20 years old.

There was a lovely sit down meal and everyone dressed up. This made it all the more special. Here are just a few photos.

Doesn’t everyone look smart!

Some news from Karin

Hello everyone,
We had planned on having a meeting of the Save Our Planet group this month but because you are all busy going out to Christmas parties we couldn’t find a date that suited everyone.
We were going to talk about how to have a more environmentally friendly Christmas. As we aren’t meeting I will give you some tips:

• Use gift bags that are sparkly but don’t have Santa on them. They can be reused for birthday presents
  
• Try not to use foil bows and foil wrapping paper. Use brown paper that you can decorate yourself with some ribbon.
  
• Use old children’s magazines to wrap children’s presents.
  
• Don’t forget to recycle your Christmas cards, cardboard boxes and even your Christmas tree!
  
• We will be arranging a meeting in January/February. It will be good to see you all and hear how you celebrated Christmas.
  

Helpful Information

Leanne Richards has passed us some useful information which might help some people –

The Bank Statement (Wine St), The West Cross Inn (closed Mondays) and The Commercial Inn (Killay) will all puree meals for service users on request.

And some news from Sarah

Hi! My name is Sarah Bonell, you might recognise me from the last news letter. I am the Swansea People Support Officer and my job is to help anyone who would like to use the website.

Swansea People is a safe and fun way for people to meet on-line, share photos and videos, meet new friends and stay in touch with old ones.

It is a great way to see what is going on in your area with lots to do, all in the activity planner. Most of the social and sports clubs are on there but if you know of any clubs that you go to and enjoy, let me know!

• To start using the site go to www.swansea-people.co.uk and type in your username and password below and away you go!
• If you have not got an account, register at www.swansea-people.co.uk or drop an email to sarah.bonell@communitylives.co.uk

Thank you for sharing your stories. If you would like more information on the events you have read about please contact me on 01792 460252 or email me

Don’t forget we want to see your Christmas photos in the next newsletter so start clicking away!

Julie Davies - Tenant Participation Officer