Category: Friends Group

Christmas is getting closer and it seemed like the right time to talk about Christmas traditions.

This week Emma returned for a Christmas sing-a-long in the second hour. But first…

The group likes their Christmases shared with family and friends. They are not keen on partying and eating and drinking too much. We managed to squeeze-in lots to talk about – and we all said we are looking forward to joining the Reflections Christmas pantomime next week!

Gyda showed us how to make a Father Christmas in her craft session.

Emma made a welcome return. She got us to limber-up, then it was straight into the singing. Emma, always one to engage the group, asked Janet to sing a few lines of the chorus. Unfortunately, then I was asked for a contribution – Emma described my voice a “as work in progress”. Luckily, Emma took it from there and raced through a wide selection of our Christmas favourites.

Everyone was getting into the Christmas spirit.

Time ws rushing along. We just had time for a Reflection piece from Gyda.

Suddenly it was 3pm and time to return to home.

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This week – our first cars – and there was a lot to choose from. Two had been missing part of their floors (!) and one had the handbrake welded into the wrong place (and therefore unusable!).

Judith shared us some interesting vehicles. Then we moved on to discus his and hers experiences with their first cars…

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Gyda’s craft session was all about making a reindeer – and very springy it was too.

Lynne had more difficult quiz questions. I went for a cuppa as, this week, they were beyond me.

Members popped in and out as usual as the session progressed. One popped out more than most, as his dishwasher had a leak!

Pearl had us singing and dancing along to a medley of popular tunes.

David was pleased to show his completed homework from Gyda’s craft sessions.

We kept chatting until it was time for tea and a break.

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A group member had suggested this week’s theme and everyone was very keen to tell us about their youthful experiences.

The discussions were in full flow, so Janet prompted some more reminiscence.

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We moved onto Gyda’s craft session. Today we joined-in making a Christmas fairy.

Our quiz host, Lynne, had some tricky questions today. The group were up to the challenge!

David also showed us some more of his paintings and lino-cuts. Look out for photos in later blogs.

Pearl had us singing and dancing as usual, with some top tunes.

Gyda put us through our paces again with a Chi-ball (or toilet roll) exercise session.

Our volunteers were fully engaged in the fun. Sharon, from The Carers Centre, was particularly thoughtful.

The session just overran a bit, not much, this week.

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Janet asked the group members if they had any sayings they remembered from their parents, friends and others. They did indeed. Here are a few of them.

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Many of these will be familiar, some odd, but all sparked memories in those who said them.

Our quiz host, Lynne was on top form again with two sessions of brain teasers.

Pearl’s sing-a-long went well. When we reach the mid post of the session, we all enjoy an excuse to sing and, for some, to dance.

Gyda put us through our paces with another Chi-ball exercise session. Those who could’t put their hands on a ball were invited to use a toilet roll as a substitute – it worked.

Another of David’s paintings of the group – a work in progress. David has promised to bring in a selection of his paintings, when we all get back together again.

We overran, as we always do. There is just so much to try and fit in.

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Food glorious food turned out to be a very popular subject this week.

Our polls showed that the most popular Christmas snack was “Anything with chocolate” and for Christmas lunch, sprouts were more popular than turkey. We all joined in the discussion, which perked-up as soon a someone mentioned Christmas pudding made with fruit soaked in alcohol. The magic word was alcohol, which raised even more smiles than chocolate.

Gyda has started Christmas early with a simple paper decoration. As usual, group members were keen to refine their creations after the meeting.

Livia gave us a presentation on healthy eating and engaged us in a short discussion on our eating and drinking habits (we all appear to know what we should be doing). You may find out more about the GCDA and their training events here. Livia is the Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency Healthy (GCDA) Programmes Development Lead.

Pearl’s sing-a-long went well. Sharon, from the Carers Centre, managed a boogie before she had to go.

At this point I popped out of the meeting for a snack. Many of the group entered into the spirit of the session with a few nibbles and a drink.

Lynne, the quiz hostess, baffled some of us (me) with her tricky questions. Others did well – one even managed to get 23 correct answers to 22 questions!

As usual we ended with Tony’s version of “3 little birds”.

I managed to pop in to today’s meeting and thoroughly enjoyed it.

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We were asked to come us with our Happy Surprises and nearly all of us did.

Group members took us through their surprises, both this year and in the recent past. These ranged from the surprise arrival of a sister from Canada, to arrival of new grandchildren. We were very pleased to hear people’s plans for the immediate future. This also prompted some of the group to think what they might do.

We also discussed November 5th – bonfire night. Group members recalled having fireworks at home or going to the display on Blackheath. Nobody will be going to Blackheath for fireworks this year – as we will be in another lockdown from Thursday.

David showed us some of the very many paintings on his walls. This was a new one – he said his efforts were becoming more abstract as time went on. He plans to do a Reflections Friendship Group Zoomers painting – it should be fabulous.

Gyda’s paper craft this time was all about making our own fireworks.

David is now a regular Reflections poet, with a self-penned reading most weeks.

One happy surprise today was the return of Danny. He needed to leave before Pearl introduced her latest batch of songs. There followed both singing and dancing – including Janet’s favourite: ‘Ring of Fire’ as sung by Tony:

Lynne was our quiz hostess. I’m sure her quizzes are getting harder. Here is one question: ‘How long did it take to conceal the gunpowder in the Parliament cellars’. Answer: ‘One Year’!

Gyda introduced us to some Chi Yoga – using a toilet roll!

We had more singing later with Tony’s version of “3 little birds”.

I shall be taking a break from the Friendship Group sessions for a while. But, I will be popping in occasionally and keeping this blog up to date. See you soon.

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Nothing to be spooked by here…

The session had a seasonal theme, so we asked everyone what was best about the autumn.

We chatted about enjoying the outside and coming back to our warm cosy homes.

Gyda returned us to spookier ideas with do-it-yourself bats and witches. As usual, there was a lot of happy crafters.

Pearl was particularly scary in her mask. Fortunately, her grandson (making his second guest appearance) found it very funny.

Pearl insisted we sing some more up-beat songs. There was lots of singing and dancing

Lynne and Laila did the quiz duties today.

We had more singing later with Tony’s version of “3 little birds”.

As usual, we overran a little.

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The group asked for a session about First Jobs, so that is what we chatted about today.

But, before we started on the discussions, Janet shared an optical illusion. You might like to consider this picture for a while. There was some discussion about a mysterious mushroom in the picture, or was it a dubious haircut? You can choose.

We had another guest speaker this week:

Iuliana spoke about the work that the members of the Commissioning Group is doing in the Borough. She intends to keep in touch with Reflections, and increase the information sharing and networking of groups across Greenwich

We then moved onto the group discussions. Our group said they had all started working between the ages of 14 and 18. With some probing, we found that several had been working when younger – unpaid, for their parents or as a paper-round. Once they started paid work, not all of them stuck in one job for long.

The group had a variety of jobs. Hairdressing was popular with the ladies. We found we had quite a few teachers in the group. One of those was Gyda, who had another craft for us.

Gyda’s craft was making a simple Tree on paper. You can then write in the things you are grateful for. You choose what period the tree covers – it could be one each day. After a while you may look back and might be pleasantly surprised how much you had to be grateful for. Gyda explains more here:

Your photographer took a rather urgent phone call at this point, so may have missed some of the highlights (such as round one of Pearl’s jokes). It appeared everyone managed without me for a short while.

David’s reminiscence struck a chord with all of us.

Pearl’s jokes have become a focal point of the sessions. She seems to have an endless supply of rib tickling quips.

Pearl insisted we sing some up-beat songs, including YMCA. We were pleased to see lots of singing and dancing.

Roxana announced she was changing jobs. This would be her last appearance with us. Roxana has been working with Reflections, both on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Society and more recently with BLG Mind. We thank here for her work and support – and for joining in the fun (even while abroad!)

We had more singing later with Tony’s version of “3 little birds”.

The clocks are going back as winter draws on. Halloween is on its way… next time

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Today we returned to those particular tunes which have a special meaning for each of us. When we hear them they spark emotions, memories, and the urge to start singing. They are the Soundtrack to our Lives.

Music is neurologically special in the way that it stimulates many parts of the brain at once. Listening to your Playlist can have a very positive impact on you. Find out more about Playlist for Life on their website here. You may develop your own Playlist by following this simple guide.

And what better way to get into the groove, than by holding a Musical Tea?

Peter recommended we look at the resources on the Playlist site here and specifically their 100 years of tunes. You can download individual decades for free. Putting together a Playlist is fun and playing it can help calm us in stressful times. Peter has offered to help with advice on putting a Playlist together. If you want to contact Peter, please let us know.

We had a series of polls which prompted a lot of discussion and memories of days gone bye. Old TV themes led onto old TV programmes (you can still see many of them on the ‘Talking Pictures TV‘ channel on Freeview). The people who come up with TV adverts would have been pleased that we remembered so many.

Everyone was busy joining in, but some of us managed to spare time for some tea and cake, as befits a Musical Tea.

In a break from the normal quiz format, I introduced a musical picture quiz. We had some very high scores and I managed 17/17 (but then, I had set the questions).

Janet’s quiz gave us the first line of a classic song, we had to come up with the next line. We also attempted to identify the singer/group. A much more testing quiz than mine.

Gyda’s homework is very popular with some of the keener members of the group. David has his Christmas present assembly line running!

This week Gyda’s craft was making a musical shaker.

Pearl insisted we sing some up-beat songs, including YMCA. We were pleased to see lots of singing and dancing.

We had more singing later with Tony’s version of “3 little birds”.

We look forward to the return of some more of our usual features next time – if we can fit them into the packed programme!

You may now nominate Reflections as your charity when you buy items on Amazon. Click here for more information. It does not cost you (or the retailer) anything and Reflections will receive 0.5% of what you spend.

This week we were being positive about 2020 – and we found much to chat about – from the joy of exercise, saying hello to people when out and about, playing on-line games with others, gardening, walking, to Zoom meetings.

Gyda shared information about Nordic Walking. Lynne was keen to find out more and Chrissie provided more background and encouragement. We have a fit group!

Gyda’s craft this week was creating a mandala. The simple steps led us towards more intricate designs and colour. Our homework will be interesting – come back next week for the technicolour mandalas…

Everyone was feeling positive, but it was joke time and Pearl was not with us. Would Janet make the grade?

Lynne’s quiz was especially difficult, with scores mainly under 5/10. To perk us up, we sang along to “Accentuate the positive” and “Happy talk”. There was plenty of dancing and singing.

More singing followed with Tony’s version of “3 little birds”.

With neighbours calling, appointments etc. some group members slipped away slightly early.

For the remaining Zoomers, we still had to end before part two of Lynne’s quiz due to another overrun. Gerry thought we should go for quiz part 2, but the rest of us needed a cup of tea…

Next week is our Playlist for Life Musical Tea. You may see last year’s Reflections event here and the PfL website is here.

You may now nominate Reflections as your charity when you buy items on Amazon. Click here for more information. It does not cost you (or the retailer) anything and Reflections will receive 0.5% of what you spend.