Exeter Gateway Centre

Recently, several members helped to plant up a number of containers with bedding plants to add to the sunflowers, pansies and sweat peas already in bloom. Along with our rose bushes, the front of the centre is awash with colour. The greenhouse has produced a generous crop of cucumbers and the tomatoes, peppers and chillies won’t be long either.

A few members have celebrated birthdays with the bakers working hard in the kitchen to produce freshly baked and decorated cakes. Members have been using the Wii, breaking their record scores on the bowling. An extra sign to go in the window has been made (to stop our building getting confused with next door despite two signs!) by Tracy and Martin and Levi has been working hard on her aeroplane.

After the success of the pizzas, we are having barbecues in the first week of August-hopefully the weather will be fine but not too hot!

Last year, thanks to a grant from Exeter City Council, we purchased an outdoor pizza oven and accessories for the centre. This week, those members that chose to were able to enjoy freshly baked pizza with a selection of toppings (including red onion from our garden).

With the help of Debbie, several members made the dough and prepped the toppings. Then, those that were dining, were able to choose what they wanted to go on top and then take their creation to one of the ‘chefs’ (Daryl, Carolyn or Jonathan). It was agreed that the finished articles were delicious and nothing went to waste. Members also enjoyed a cooling dessert, much appreciated in the weather conditions (again using fresh produce from the garden, this time strawberries).

Inside the centre, activities were again in full swing, with Donna making a very colourful mask for her friend Jenny and Emma painting beads to make a necklace. Brian and Mike have been putting their papier mache skills to good effect and everyone seems happily occupied.

We’ve said farewell to a couple of longstanding members recently but also welcomed some new ones too. Hopefully, numbers will increase and the centre continue to thrive.

To celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, we held a joint tea party with guests from Age UK in the compound outside the centre. Nearly forty members and carers attended and enjoyed a selection of home made cakes plus some extra nibbles. The queen and a corgi also made an entrance!

We held a raffle with a variety of prizes, including two generous donations from Exeter City FC-signed goalkeeper gloves from this year’s promotion winning squad and a family ticket voucher for next season. Many thanks to Andy Gillard, the club secretary for his assistance. Thanks also to the guests at Age UK for their generosity, as the amount raised far surpassed our expectations!

Members, as usual, have been busy with an array of activities. Outside, Boules is proving popular, with Vincent showing off his deft skills and winning most of his games! The raised beds and greenhouse are bursting with produce that we can soon start to harvest. This week, Suzanne, Martin and Mickie planted on over 35 tomato plants as well as putting in some baby corn and lettuce. Our crop of strawberries is flourishing and several were used to top Cathie’s birthday cake (expertly made by Emma and Martin-with help from Carolyn). Carolyn has also been helping members to make planters using empty milk bottles-a very effective way of upcycling and growing veg too!

Next week is Pizza Week, so plenty of photos to follow…

The last week of April saw the first barbecues of the year. The weather was fine all week and between Daryl, Jonathan and Rob, plenty of burgers, sausages and chicken was cooked over the five days. Members also enjoyed a tasty dessert so everyone was suitably full prior to the afternoon’s bingo!

The greenhouse and beds are looking great-since the last post, the plants have grown considerably and are looking healthy. Members have been outside playing games in the sun and inside, the usual activities have been in full swing. Lisa baked some delicious cheese scones and Robbie and Victoria, amongst others, have been duetting on the Karaoke machine Carolyn has been busy coming up with other ideas to keep members busy, so everyone is being kept occupied.

In June, we are holding a Jubilee Tea Party-there will plenty of baking and making in the build up and hopefully the weather will be kind and we can enjoy an afternoon in the sun!

After a few weeks of hard work, Rachael finally finished her lifeboat model for her RNLI bear, Tedette. She read out a few words and we named it Abi 1. Having taken a few photos, we sent an email to the RNLI and they were thrilled by her hard work and interest in the lifeboats.

Other members have been busy in the garden and greenhouse. Paul, Tracy and Levi planted on some tomatoes and sweat peas which are thriving in the warm weather. Potatoes have gone in this week, so hopefully we have a decent crop of fruit and veg by the the summer.

Inside, the usual activities have been ongoing plus various Easter themed creations. Several birthdays have been celebrated and lots of cake enjoyed!

With the improving weather, we’ve managed to get outside and plant some crops. Under the direction of Jonathan, four members, Suzanne, Vincent, Mickey and Martin prepared the beds and planted shallots, onions and garlic for harvesting later in the year. The other bed will soon have potatoes planted and in the greenhouse, we have decided to have tomatoes, cucumber and chillies. Hopefully, we will be enjoying plenty of fresh produce come the summer.

Inside the centre, we have been busy with various activities. Brian put the finishing touches on his fire engine and Rachael is making a lifeboat for her RNLI bear. There are lots of Easter and Spring art and crafts happening and everyone certainly has plenty of choice as to what they want to do.

We have welcomed new members over the past weeks and numbers are steadily increasing on our added Friday. Looking forward, we are going to have the first barbecues of the year next month so fingers crossed for more good weather.

Since returning in January, members have been keeping themselves well and truly occupied! Activities have been taking place both inside and outside the centre, ranging from bingo, word-searching and colouring to model aeroplane making, baking, cooking and gardening.

Finger painting and other arts and craft based projects are proving popular. Suzanne and Vincent spent time tidying the garden and greenhouse in advance of planting out our crops for the warmer weather. As it has been mild, the marquee is used at lunchtimes by several members to chat over packed lunches and cups of tea!

We celebrated Chinese New Year with a week of meals, cooked by the manager Daryl, with preparation from Paul, Tracy, Emma and Levi on various days. The bakers too have been busy, making tasty biscuits to share.

We have welcomed three new members who seem to be settling in well and also have two pairs of Exeter College students on week long placements. They get to meet all our members and gain a valuable insight into our setting and what we offer.

Our Friday opening numbers are gradually increasing but there is still availability and there is also minimal space on other days-contact the centre if you would like more information.

The staff and members have been busy decorating the centre in the build up to Christmas. Carolyn has kept members well occupied with a range of festive activities and Debbie has worked with several bakers to make and decorate Christmas cakes. As well as helping to make the Gateway Christmas Post Box, Suzanne put the finishing touches on our upcycled chair-we think that at least six members have assisted in its transformation. The mural in the pool room is slowly increasing in size as more of the members’ likes are added!

To keep everyone as safe as possible, we have decided to have nibbles and bingo each day of our last week rather than a big party. There is also the raffle to look forward to-many thanks to Andy at Exeter City FC and Lisa’s dad Alan, from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, for their prize donations.

As we approach the end of 2021, we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year…

Suzanne enjoys attending Gateway and seeing her friends and she looks forward to coming every week. Suzanne has been a member at the centre for many years and particularly likes being outside, especially helping with the planting and growing in the garden beds and greenhouse. She loves going on trips and her favourites are visiting World of Country Life and Millfield.

Over the past few weeks, everyone has been keeping busy at the centre. We have upcycled a small table and Donna has been busy preparing a wooden chair for painting. As well as helping in the garden, Martin had a rummage in the Halloween resource box and found himself a fetching wig!

The chilli plant in the greenhouse is still producing fruit but the remainder has been cleared, mostly by Suzanne and Vincent. The beds need to be tidied and then we can plan our crops for over winter and into the spring.

The wall in the pool table area is being transformed into a mural, depicting the centre logo and members’ interests. Several members have been keen to help Carolyn, and the finished artwork should look very vibrant and stimulating.