Exeter Gateway Centre

Everyone returned after holiday full of stories about their Christmas, and all the food and presents they had eaten, received and given. As usual, certain members were keen to show off their musical talents and the karaoke machine has been put to good use. Mike Cooke can always be relied upon for a rendition of ‘Car Wash’, and Sarah and Emma Roberts for anything by ABBA!

Our members were asked about activities and trips they might like to partake in. A popular idea was woodworking/furniture restoration, so, after several visits to various DIY stores, Gateway now has a selection of tools and other resources to carry out projects.

With help and guidance, members have used a selection of tools to create boxes and also up-cycle a small piece of furniture. Jamie and Mike now have freshly decorated and varnished boxes for pens, pencils and whatever objects they have lying around! Anita and Rachael sanded and cleaned an old sewing box, with Anita using her brushwork skills to great effect, even managing to get some of the paint on the unit! We have a chair awaiting preparation and ideas to make an array of other items for home and garden!

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On the outings front, we are joining up with the Abbey Gateway Centre at Barnstaple, for lunch and activities at the Waie Inn,  near Crediton. We are planning a day trip to the Bristol Science Museum and the members have suggested a  visit to Paignton Zoo and return  to trips Dawlish Warren and the World of Country Life in Exmouth.

newsletter-jan-feb-2017

We have had a very busy month, we have made a total of 18 Christmas cakes, each member having slightly different requests for preferred ingredients. The last iced cake went home today!

We all went to the Barnfield Theatre to see Cinderella, which was great fun, especially the two ugly sisters that wore the most amazing costumes.

For the first time ever we had a full Christmas lunch prepared and cooked by members and staff. We managed to sit down 27 people at a long table complete with table decorations and crackers. I think everyone ate very well!

Last week we went to see a fantastic Royal Marines Christmas Concert held at Exmouth Pavilion and yesterday we had a Christmas Party here! Generally everyone has had a very festive time with lots of music, dancing and eating!

We had a suitably scary and fun time at our party, the short play was a great hit!!

As part of our ‘Out and About’ project, we are organising outings to various places that are chosen by the members. In September 20 members went on the public bus to visit Countrylife in Exmouth.

Cathy Currie’s report:

We had an outing to Country life, we all went on the bus and when we got to Exmouth we missed the connecting bus by one minute so we had to get 7 taxis to get us all to Country life! We saw lots of farm animals and watched a falconry display with a big Bald Eagle. The weather was lovely so all the animals were outside enjoying the sun.

Ready for the long bus journey home!

Again this summer we have been able to go bowling every Wednesday morning at Belmont Bowling Club, an activity we have been doing for several years. The club have kindly provided access to their green and developed some special equipment to help develop our bowling skills. Staff and members from the club kindly gave their time and expertise as well as providing a cold drink on the hot and sunny days. We would really like to thank all the members, especially Gordon, Dave and Mary who made the sessions really competitive and enjoyable.

To thank everyone for the summer season of bowling we made a lemon and poppy seed cake to share!

In September we had a trip to Dawlish, the journey by public bus was epic involving two changes each way but we managed to paddle in the sea, frolic a little bit in the waves and eat lunch with a salty sea breeze – some managed an ice-cream but had to eat it quick as it was so hot, it melted in seconds. This trip was within the attendance hours at Gateway and as members had a bus pass there was no extra cost. We will be organising other trips designed to cater for different requests made by members.

Summer is rushing by so we thought we had better have a BBQ and some sporting activities to celebrate the Olympic Games. Lots of food preparation went on in the kitchen utilising all the vegetables we are growing in the garden and greenhouse. We used lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach and courgettes in the salads and made a fruit salad. Lots of eating outside ensued but not that many sporting activities by the time everyone had eaten and felt very full!

The BBQ food was cooked expertly by our new senior support worker Daryl, who joined us two weeks ago and has integrated very quickly into the daily routines and activities held at the centre and in getting to know all the members.

We had 7 tons of top soil delivered which members helped shovel into wheel barrows. John the gardener gave instructions and emptied the soil from the wheel barrows into the wooden beds. Everyone worked really hard!

The next day we planted some seeds and a week later some are through.

On Saturday 25th June we had our annual day trip to Millfield School, where we were joined by many other members from clubs and centres in the South West. Some were able to catch up with old friends, suddenly recognising them amongst the crowd and excitedly calling out their name and rushing to greet them. There were many exciting indoor and outdoor activities that members could choose to do and all managed to fit in as many as possible, try to spot members in the photos.

Millfield provided an excellent lunch and although members were really tired at the end of the day, it was a great day out. We would all like to thank the staff and pupils   for providing all the activities and making the day so special.

We began with a drumming workshop –

And then some quite adventurous outdoor pursuits!

Ball playing skills were also developed.

Star guests Amy and Scot were selected to help the magician perform his tricks.

More sporting skills.

A Good day out for all!