What a busy month September has been! The Andover location has undergone a wonderful transformation as we head into Autumn and the members with Phoebe at the helm have created the most beautiful Autumn display for all to see as they enter into the building.
Mel and her team of budding gardeners have been busy tending to the vegetable patches and have harvested some fresh ingredients that we have been using in our cooking sessions. This year we have grown (and eaten!) tomatoes, potatoes, raspberries and we have pumpkins all ready for our Halloween celebrations later on this month.
At the beginning of the month we joined together with our friends from JP Eastleigh and Basingstoke and attended the Personal Best Event where our amazing members gave it their all showing off not just their sporting skills but their brilliant ‘can do’ attitudes too. From track and field to boxing, squash, football, dance, yoga and cricket, they tried it all with enthusiasm, determination and huge smiles. Every medal was well deserved, and we couldn’t be prouder of them all.
We have been making the most of the late summer sunshine and enjoyed trips to the pub, village walks and some of the members enjoyed a fun filled day out to Riverbourne Farm in Salisbury where they were able to get up close with all the animals. We also had some very special visitors to our Andover branch – the fluffiest alpacas you have ever met! Members and staff alike loved spending time with these gentle animals. There were smiles, cuddles and even a few alpaca selfies! A big thank you to Barefoot Barns and of course our woolly guests for bringing such joy to JP.
We recently hosted a hugely successful Macmillan Cancer Coffee Morning where the members enjoyed sitting and chatting with people from the village over tea and some delicious cakes . A big thank you to our resident chef Wendy for always producing the yummiest of cakes for us to enjoy and thank you to everyone who supported this event.
Back on location all the members have been busy enjoying lots of different themes, we have travelled back in time to the 1950’s, learnt about different cultures and traditions as well as enjoying our Caribbean day where the members baked and enjoyed a traditional To To cake. Our craft room is always a hub of activity and we love seeing the creativity flow, our members have been busy creating gorgeous conker hedgehogs, exploring out gardens to create autumnal collages and we have even been getting organised by starting our handmade Christmas cards which we are going to be hand delivering to care homes across Andover.
Alongside our weekly themed activities we run additional sessions which include, sensory, dance and fitness and cooking, this gives the members the opportunity to explore lots of different sounds, sights and smells as well as learning new skills in a team environment.
So as you can see September has been a fun filled and busy month and we are excited to see what October brings.
