Author: Peter

A busy afternoon at the Friendship Group. Fortunately, at least one member of the group was keen to keep us focused on the essentials.

Janet asked the group about whether they enjoyed their school sports. There was mixed feedback – Danny said he liked them because they got him our of boring lessons! We also had a poll about members fitness activities in adult life. Two people picked belly dancing, the others brought up cycling, dancing, running, Nordic stick walking and more.

Everyone went into their rooms for a chat and Roxana had the first of her one-to-one information discussions. Our late arrivals, who are Irish, took the opportunity to discus “Irish things” (whatever they are).

Pearl had lined-up some more great songs for us to sing: “Football Crazy” and “Walk Tall”

I didn’t finish – so – more homework for me.

Janet had created her own quiz about sport. It was a bit easier than some of our recent quizzes and I managed to do well – but not as good as a couple of members who managed to get 19/20 right!

We were pleased Lynne returned this week. We look forward to another one of her quizzes soon.

Janet started the countdown to Reflection’s 4th Birthday Party next week. It should be fun, with special guests, new activities and Emma leading a singing session.

See you next time.

We had a record turn-out for one of our Zoom meetings. We were very pleased that 21 people popped-in for a chat. There were also 7 volunteers, plus Sharon from the Carers Centre and Roxana from BLG Mind. A packed afternoon. Janet started us off with a question about shops we remember.

Not everyone voted, but Woolworth was popular, as were a few department stores from the local area such as Hinds of Eltham and Chiesmans of Lewisham. The Independent local shop remembered was in Liverpool – a “Pound Shop“, that in those days sold items for pennies.

We split into rooms for more discussions. As we chatted, we were pleasantly surprised to be joined by some new Zoomers who managed to sign-in for the first time. Roxana had a one-to-one with a member who wanted some advice.

Pearl had another couple of songs for us – I did like the Beatles tune “Penny Lane”.

I got a bit lost with all the folds, so it looks like more homework for me.

Janet had compiled her own quiz based on well known TV adverts from years ago. We did remember most of the adverts, but not all the details about the products and makes. The “Shake and vac” advert led to some singing – and I believe Sharon said she still uses it. 17/20 was the best score for the quiz.

Lynne was almost back – we are very sure she will probably resurface next time.

We were overrunning as usual, but Janet managed to squeeze in “Three Little Birds” by Tony.

It was time for tea, so most of us went home. It was great to see some members who hadn’t seen each other since the beginning of lock-down stay on for a bit more of a chat after the session had ended.

See you next time.

Pets were very popular today. There were 2 dogs, 1 cat and 3 animatronic cats (Eric, Ernie and the newly arrived Mr Preview). Unfortunately, most were camera shy.

Here is Janet with one that didn’t get away. You might spot a likeness to Janet – see Gyda’s craft session below.

Our chats in small groups focused mainly on animals. Pearl told us about her pet cat who (to his surprise) came on a delivery van from Liverpool. Ron had a tale about a camel being shot, but I missed the full story, so it might have been shot with a camera or a gun.

Pearl had searched out a substantial list of animal sing-a-long tunes. A highlight of her audience participation session was the golden oldie: “Nellie the Elephant“

Does anyone remember ‘Uncle Mac”? Pearl does, but she might be on her own.

For nostalgia buffs: Uncle Mac appeared on the BBC’s Home Service in ‘Children’s hour”. He had a strict philosophy: “Our established policy is that nothing but the best is good enough for children … our wish is to stimulate their imagination, direct their reading, encourage their various interests, widen their outlook, and inculcate the Christian principles of love of God and their neighbour.” [BBC Quarterly, Jan 1948].

Still no Lynne – she hopes to be back next week – the excitement is building.

By this time we had enough cats for a catalogue.

The stretching proved very popular

Janet led us through: “Tony Chestnut” and Tony Martin‘s “Three Little Birds”

Roxana stayed on at the end of the session to provide some advice and guidance to a group member. We are very pleased to continue our links with BLG Mind. You may see more information about their services on their website here.

Janet finished the session with some notices. Readers will be interested to see the Alzheimer’s Show 2020 will be online and you can register for free information webinars here. Our report on last year’s show is here.

For those interested in further reading The Recovery College magazine provides interesting and thought provoking articles as well as things to do. You can sample the latest edition here.

We were very pleased to see our regulars today – and some returners. Dot and Jen managed to squeeze in a sandwich and cup of tea before we got busy…

Holidays were the theme of the day.

We asked everyone where and when they had their favourite holiday – they came up with a wide variety of answers – Egypt was popular, even though for one person it was during their military service.

We spent some time in discussions in small groups. One group of carers took the opportunity to discuss some serious matters. Others came up with schooldays pranks. A few even talked about holidays.

Pearl entertained us with three songs, including a karaoke version of “Summer Holiday”. Cliff (aka The King of Rock & Roll) would be proud.

No quiz from Lynne. In fact, no Lynne. She was off doing something important elsewhere. Danny was awol too, he had work to do. Both will be back with us next week.

David had been practicing some of Gyda’s craft ideas. I managed to come-up with my version of a day-in-the-life booklet, as demonstrated last week.

We had a couple of people who asked for a chat with Sharon, from the Carers Centre. She couldn’t be with us today, but had arranged to follow-up with people after the meeting.

Pearl had some more rib-tickling jokes, which we managed to squeeze in before…

Janet introduced the singing.

We were still chatting at 3:20 – but then everyone agreed it was time for tea.

We had a team briefing before the group started, as it was Eric and Ernie’s first session on Zoom. Everyone seemed pleased to see them and they were very well behaved.

Today we were talking about childhood. We all took the opportunity to sort out some pictures of when we were children, and some people were willing to show the group what they found.

The polls this week were about being in school. Most people had not enjoyed their time at school and even more disliked school dinners (one agreed with me that the dinners were ok, except for the lumpy custard).

We all joined-in the discussions in small groups. I think David came up with another dubious story about his youth, but I only managed to catch his mischievous smile at the end.

The small group who didn’t join the yoga had the benefit of rather a long chat – Geny’s signal (from her seaside location) had a bit of a pause, so we restarted and had the full session. Thanks Geny.

Set up the book by writing the following: Front cover “Tell me about your day” and “Name” at the bottom – Page 1 “WHO” at the top and “WHAT” at the bottom – Page 2  “WHERE”  at the top and “WHEN”  at the bottom – Page 3 “AND HOW” at the top – Page 4  blank – Page  5 “THE  WHOLE DAY” at the top  – Page 6 “TURNED OUT” at the bottom. Then you can fill it in with drawings of your day.

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Pearl entertained us with some songs. She sang the single bed version of “There were 10 in the bed” – this time there were only 6 in the bed.

Danny told us how daylight affects our circadian rhythm and helps with metabolising food. He advised spending time in the rooms with good light, maybe changing rooms throughout the day if necessary. He also advised of the importance of going outside, to get the maximum daylight and make a connection with the outdoors.

There was so much to do this week that Lynne’s quiz has needed to be pushed back to next week.

Roxana joined us on behalf of BLG Mind again. She had the chance to help a couple of people – and produce the best book in Gyda’s craft window.

The group over ran a bit. We had rather a lot of people popping in and out – including another first for us – a Korean carer in PPE gear!

At the beginning we thought it might prove challenging to fill 2 hours with our virtual Friendship Group. Instead, we are finding there is more than we can fit in each week, which is wonderful.

This week the theme was cooking. We were impressed to see people had been baking – unfortunately we couldn’t sample each other’s efforts (and David had eaten most of his).

We were very pleased to welcome back two long-standing members of the group, who had moved to Exeter. Running our group online means we can welcome visitors from anywhere in the world.

Following Janet’s introductions, we moved into our conversation rooms for 30 minutes. The small groups seem much more chatty now people are more relaxed with Zooming. Sharon, from the Carers Centre, gave some professional advice and guidance to two people at either end of the meeting (in private rooms).

Lynne’s quiz stretched our brains. If only I could have found a pen, I would have got 10/10.

Danny introduced his window with this: “Visual clutter becomes a problem when the eye can see too many things which causes a distraction in what you are doing. Even if you are not aware of these distractions, it can happen subconsciously. When there is too much visual clutter, it can make it harder to concentrate on carrying out a task or to find something in a room.

Our weekly polls confirmed that the group were keen on cooking and eating. Not everyone seemed to have the best approach to regular meals (Sharon’s snacks) – but perhaps we need to find out more, there could be some interesting dietary planning at work.

The singing was of its regular high standard. I always enjoy the slight delay between the music and each person’s singing. We are all on “mute”, so this isn’t a problem, but the collective movement from each person’s is delightful.

We are so pleased that our group members continue to pop into these Friendship Group sessions. We know not everyone will be able to come every week, or for the whole meeting. It is wonderful that people come when they can. I have trial runs on Mondays for those wishing to join-in and new to Zoom. This week another couple set up Zoom on their smart-phone and should be joining us next week. If you want you know more about our groups please contact us.

It is Volunteers Week from 1-7 June. A big thank you to all our wonderful team, without whom we couldn’t do what we do. There are no paid staff in Reflections everyone volunteers their time. We are very grateful for all they do to make our groups a success.

Today’s theme was Hobbies. Most of us have enjoyed the chance to immerse ourselves in something we want to do, be it stamp collecting, knitting, belly dancing, sewing, singing in a choir etc. It’s never too late to start a new hobby.

The group chatted about their hobbies in the Zoom rooms. There were some interesting examples and some group members had even made money from their hobby. Joyce showed us one of her many scrap-books from over 40 years ago.

Janet is always keen on a quiz and today was no exception. Everyone wracked their brains to find answers to questions about May. The exception was Mary, who had done the quiz before and got all the questions right.

I was very pleased to see that some members of the group managed to join us live and direct from their gardens. Fortunately, the sun was shinning. Gyda’s craft window was a bit tricky today – drawing a word with outlined letters, then cutting them out, cutting each letter in half, then trying to reassemble the original word – an instant jigsaw! Gyda gave us the suggestion for homework of repeating the craft, by writing our name on a piece of card and colouring it in, before cutting it up and bringing it along next week to share with the group.

Every session has singing and, for once, we managed to have a reasonable sound quality. Everyone was particularly pleased when they could make out all the words to Tony Chestnut.

Every week we find out more interesting snippets about our group. Danny was very chatty about his architecture studies in one of our chat rooms. Next week he has promised to start a short weekly window about how we can improve our homes to improve our lives – particularly for those affected by dementia.