Exeter Gateway Centre

The centre has been busy both inside and out. Daily numbers average 23 members and there are over eighty members on the books-there are still spaces available on certain days.

Several members have celebrated birthdays, with cakes being baked and decorated by the members and staff. Singing and football sessions continue to be popular, and members enjoyed a week of home-made pizzas. From making the dough to preparing and choosing toppings, over 100 pizzas were successfully cooked.

The raised beds and greenhouse have given us a bumper crop of various fruit and veg, including strawberries and tomatoes.

Sharyn, one of our support workers, has been busy supervising members in choosing designs and printing them for t-shirts.

Within the last month, the members have been out on three trips and had a week of BBQs.

The first outing was to the South Devon Railway, with over 30 members having a great day with their friends.

On the 16th June, the Monday members went on a visit to Killerton House and on the following Saturday, 35 members, support and staff attended the annual Millfield School Community Day. We would like to thank the staff and students at the school for an amazing day. Everyone was well looked after-the weather was very warm but everyone coped..

On the 17th May, the centre hosted a celebration to mark 20 years of Exeter Gateway. The event was well attended, and guests had the chance to play games, enter the raffle and eat cake!

Tuesday members have been taking part in singing sessions, and they performed chosen songs from their repertoire and then invited guests to join in.

Thank you to everyone that made the event a success, especially Maria, one of the Gateway staff, for organising a fantastic cake. Thanks also to Exeter City Council for the Ward Grant that was used for catering.

April and May were busy months in and out of the centre.

The centre was very fortunate to receive the retiring collection from a concert in Exmouth, by HM Royal Marines Band CTCRM. Daryl, the centre manager, plus a couple of the centre’s trustees attended the concert and few days later, we received over £600, thanks to the generosity of the audience. Many thanks go to Colour Sergeant Matt Green and the band for a fantastic concert.

The next day, a group of Thursday attendees visited Exeter’s RAM Museum. A great time was had by all exploring the exhibits.

This was followed by a pizza week, where members made the dough and prepared their toppings. The creations were then cooked on our outdoor pizza oven, bought a few years ago with a grant from Exeter City Council.

During May, we had a block week of students from Exeter College, where they had a chance to meet all the members over the course of the five days. As usual, the members thoroughly enjoyed having the extra help and we hope the students enjoyed the experience.

So much has happened since January-we have enjoyed Chinese New Year meals, a week of pancakes, a trip to IKEA, a visit to Killerton House, singing and walking football sessions, several birthdays plus the usual in house and outdoor activities.

The extension is now complete, with an array of arts and craft equipment, and also sensory items to allow for a quiet space for those members that feel the need for a calmer environment. The space is proving so popular, that several members would rather be in the room than play bingo!

The new decked area and remaining garden have been used on the days of warm weather-we hope to get the raised beds and greenhouse ready for a season of fruit and vegetable growing.

The build up to Christmas was its usual busy time. Over forty members baked and decorated Christmas Cakes and some made gifts for family and friends. Due to the increase in numbers, we hired St James’ Church hall, where over sixty members plus support, trustees and staff enjoyed an afternoon of food, drink and general enjoyment. A big thank you to all that helped in making the event a success.

Our longest serving member of staff, Debbie, retired from the centre-we thank her for all her hard work over the years, helping to ensure that members past and present received a quality experience. In her place, we welcomed Maria to the team and wish her well in her role.

Thanks to an amazing effort by Ros, one of our trustees, and a company called SWIFT, we have been fortunate to have a new extension added to the rear of the building.

Our decked area has been replaced by a wooden clad enclosed room, complete with kitchen units and worksurfaces. It will be used for both arts and crafts and as a quiet space too. New decking has been added making the whole space, very user friendly

After slightly longer than anticipated, we finally completed our virtual bike ride to Blackpool. Phil and Robbie started the journey and were the pair to finish it! We nearly achieved our target of £500, coming in at £462. This has been shared between the centre and FORCE Cancer Charity (in memory of Christina Lee).

For the first time in a few years, we held a Halloween Party for the members. We capped the numbers at forty which turned out to be the perfect number. Members played games, danced and tucked into a buffet. Most members dressed up and there were plenty of scary costumes!

On October 17th, a large group of the centre’s members visited the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. A great day was had by all and members are still talking about the trip!