Exeter Gateway Centre

Yet again, the kitchen has been a hive of activity, as this year, due to popular demand, we had Valentine’s lunches on two days. Tracy, Paul, Peter S, Emma R and several other members helped to prepare both Cottage and Turkey and Leek Pie, plus Quiche  and indulgent chocolate orange heart cake. Cards were made, hearts decorated and candles lit for a cosy lunchtime banquet! Compliments must go to the chefs for two days of delicious meals for the twenty plus diners each day-as usual nothing went to waste!

As well as the lunch, members took part in Karoake and bingo, where participants were given a raffle ticket for a choice of prizes at the end of the day.

With it being Chinese New Year, the kitchen was a busy place, as members under the direction of Eileen, helped to prepare and then devour a selection of Chinese meals. There was a different dish for each day-Sweet and Sour chicken, pork and spring rolls, with an array of stir fried vegetables, rice, noodles and fruit based puddings to finish with! Members also made Chinese style lanterns to decorate the centre .

As well as all the preparation for the meals, members including Anita and Peter K have been working on their craft projects-Anita finally planted up her flower bowl and Peter has started yet another cardboard and papier-mache vehicle, this time a ‘Herbie’ VW Beetle!

This week saw two members celebrate their birthdays-Emma and Sarah’s are a day apart, so cake was eaten and Happy Birthday sung on Wednesday and Thursday! As well as the celebrations, members were, as usual, keeping the staff busy as they participated in a host of activities. Peter K has finished yet another creation-this time a change from the Dr Who theme making a military hovercraft! He already has plans to make a Herbie VW Beetle next week….

Scott has been honing his PC skills whilst serenading the centre with his guitar and voice-Elvis has been his preferred songs of choice this time. The snooker table has been well used by Brian, Jamie, Roy and Vincent and and usual, Debbie has had a very keen group of ‘Bingoers’ every afternoon.

As next week is Chinese New Year,  members will be helping to prepare and cook a variety of Chinese dishes for lunch. More to follow….

This week, we had a visit from Emma and Sarah’s carer, Mel. She brought in her four month old puppy Teddy. He proved very popular with most of the members and it helped his confidence around humans. He stayed for a while and was good enough to wait until he was back out in the car-park to go to the toilet!

Again, the members have been busy cooking, computing and making-Jamie, Rachael and Scott have all added more word documents to their folders and Peter K has started yet another paper-mache creation, this time a hovercraft!

Under the watchful eye of Daryl, Paul and Tracy baked some delicious leek and cheese scones (using leaks from our planters)-these proved a welcome addition to lunchtime!

With Jonathan’s help, Scott made a game of Noughts and Crosses, only using pictures of The Terminator and other characters instead of the traditional symbols!

This week has again been packed full of activities to keep everyone busy…

Paul and Tracy have spent a lot of time in the kitchen, baking cakes and using fresh ingredients to make both leek and potato and pumpkin soups. Scott, Emma and Caroline have been using the PCs to create word documents about Elvis Presley, Arnold Schwarzenegger and other subjects. Roy has been showing off his cue skills on the pool table and a new supply of bingo prizes had to be bought this week.

The second birthday of the year was celebrated, with Jenny G sharing her freshly made cake with the members. Peter K took home another Doctor Who inspired character for his collection-this time an almost life-size K9!

There will plenty to do to keep everyone happy-hopefully we will be able to get out and about soon and report back on our adventures.

Happy New Year to all from the members and staff at the centre.

The new year has started as the last finished, with baking, making and celebrating! Our first birthday of the year was Rachael’s, and as usual a cake was baked and ‘Happy Birthday’ was sung with its usual enthusiasm! As well as keeping busy in the kitchen, members have already started making (and in some cases finished!) various items. Hand puppets are still popular, with Liam from One Direction being swiftly created plus John Travolta from Grease taking shape.

With the purchase of another printer, some members have been learning how to find and print pictures to accompany typing. Our theme for the new year is health and well-being- Jamie created a word document about ‘What makes me happy?’, which included pictures of Manchester United and snooker and Peter K has been searching for Dr Who!

In the next few weeks we will be celebrating Chinese New Year, with a week of lunches and then looking forward to Valentine’s Day. There will be plenty of bingo, air-hockey and some more energetic activities to link to our theme.

Having taken 26 members to see Jack and the Beanstalk, (a thoroughly enjoyable trip out), it was time to really now time to up the ante and cook dinner for 33! With the help of a team of chefs and table decorators, the members were treated to a festive feast! As usual, there was plenty to go round so seconds was the order of the day!

The dinner was followed by the raffle-the top prizes being a signed football and shirt, courtesy of Exeter City FC. Nearly everyone that had bought tickets won a prize and some several!

On the last Wednesday before Christmas, a group of members visited the Sycamore Centre (next to Gateway) to perform this year’s play. This is a traditional event lead by Debbie-this year saw Roy eloquently reciting Twas the Night Before Christmas with sound effects from the choir. It was interspersed with three songs and some communal singing!  A big thank you to Debbie for organising and rehearsing her volunteers.

This just left the final Thursday  for members to wish each other a very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

There will plenty of activities and events to report on next year, so watch this space!