In this, our first year, the calendar has been filled with a series of “firsts”! At our last volunteer’s meeting in April, Dr Dan Poulter, MP, came along to talk to us and this time we thought it would be good to invite to lunch, a few of the neighbours we have met. We also invited Gavin Hodge from Age UK Suffolk and Garry Simmonds from the Rural Coffee Caravan Information Project. Gavin gave a round up of some of the help his organisation can provide for our community and signed up all our guests to receive the regular Talkabout magazine as well as signing up one guest as a volunteer for telephone befriending. In fact it was an article in the Talkabout magazine on Food ‘n Friends clubs that inspired us to hold the lunch so that we could help to spread the word.
Garry, pictured above, with some of our volunteers, gave a short introduction to just some of the things the Rural Coffee Caravan Information Project does and told everyone to ask Jane, who has been volunteering with them for a few years, if they needed to know anything more! He then presented Kesgrave Good Neighbour Scheme with a marvellous Soup Tureen that we can use for events when the weather gets a bit cooler. These soup tureens were given to the Rural Coffee Caravan Project by the Warm Homes Healthy People Scheme and put to good use during their winter road shows. We invited representatives of the scheme to come to our January volunteers’ meeting, to tell us all about it, and Kesgrave Market kindly gave them a stand at the monthly market where they were able to help a number of Kesgrave residents.
Many thanks to both Garry and Gavin for sparing the time to come and have lunch with us and for all their help, information and support.
A big thanks too, to all our guests, for so willingly accepting our invitation and for being such delightful company. It was also a great opportunity to get some more feedback on how we were doing and what else we should be doing!
The biggest thanks of all, though, goes to all the volunteers involved for making it such a happy and smooth running event, for providing the components of such a delicious lunch, for putting it all together and clearing up afterwards, and for picking up and returning our guests. It really was a case of many hands making light work and, in the sultry heat of a baking hot day,and given all there was to do, staying calm, cool and collected. Best of all we had lots of fun too!
