Category: Uncategorized

Afternoon Tea

All our members were invited to an afternoon tea that took place in St Dunstan’s Church hall on Tuesday 15^th August. The afternoon proved to be a great success with about 60 people in attendance. The tea was the idea of Judith Lynn and she was responsible for providing all the food and drinks. She was ably assisted by her granddaughter Emily.

Before tea we were entertained by Lindy Platt, who leads our Music for the Mind sessions. She sang some good old songs supported by Geoff Ditcham on keyboard with the audience joining in on choruses. Then we had the cream tea with lots of lovely scones and cakes. A good afternoon was had by all.

Boccia session

There were 5 Thursdays in August so we normally do something different from singing. On 31^st August we had a boccia session and dominos was an alternative for some. Boccia is similar to bowls but is played indoors and while sitting down so is suitable for all ages and ability. There was an excellent turnout with over 20 people taking part altogether. There was lots of cheering and encouragement for everyone who took part. Thanks to all the volunteers including Judith and Jayne who did the refreshments. As usual the ladies from St Phillips and St James’ care home arrived in numbers so thanks also to Keynsham Dial-a-Ride for their support.

Our group has had a couple of special Music for the Mind sessions recently.

We were invited to do one of our sessions as a part of the Keynsham Music Festival which took place during the last week of June in Keynsham Park. Our slot was from 2 to 4pm on Friday 30th June in the Big Tent. it all went very well with an audience of more than 50 people. As well as the refreshments there was a folk duo and some circus acts before Lindy led one of our sessions for the second hour. 

Our Music for the Mind session on 27th July turned out to be the 100th one since we began in May 2017. To make it a special occasion we had a special cake with candles and the hall was decorated and we sang a hearty rendition of Congratulations. 

Keynsham and Saltford Dementia Action Alliance’s Music for the Mind have just celebrated their 100^th session since starting in 2017, despite being prevented from meeting during the covid pandemic.

In early April, St Monica’s Trust invited the Occasional Brass Band to come and perform a concert for their residents in the Chocolate Quarter. Refreshments, biscuits and cakes were provided and they also organised a raffle with the proceeds going to the Keynsham & Saltford Dementia Action Alliance.

The photograph shows June, the lead of our management team and Lindy, our wonderful singing coordinator, receiving a cheque for £176.90 from Belle and Rosie from St Monica’s. Many thanks to Rosie and Belle for organising the event and to St Monica’s for their generous donation

We recently received a donation of £250 from Joy Matthews in memory of her husband David (Danny) Matthews. He passed away recently after living with dementia for several years. There was a collection at his funeral so our sincere thanks go to Joy and her family for their very generous donation to our organisation. Danny worked at the Fry’s factory for most of his working life and he will be sadly missed by family, friends and colleagues.

Well it has been a very busy year so far. The usual twice monthly Music for the Mind sessions have been taking place and the upcoming one on 27^th April will be the 8^th one this year. Lindy has led all of them brilliantly and the sound created by everyone seems to be improving all the time. We are getting more new faces every week and the hall is really buzzing.

March this year was the first month with 5 Thursdays in it so as usual we held a boccia session on the 5^th Thursday, the 30^th March. This is the 3^rd or 4^th time we have done this and numbers attending and taking part are increasing each time. The photo shows the 2 teams from one of the matches.

As well as the music sessions, there has also been some trips out. In February and March members of our group went on day trips by train from Keynsham Station to firstly Bradford on Avon and then Bath. They were organised by Faye, who works for the Severnside Community Rail Partnership, who also funded the trips. It was for parties of up to ten. The aim was to show how local stations can make travel on trains accessible to everyone. We had a walk along the river at Bradford and then had a light lunch in a riverside restaurant. In Bath we walked up the abbey and saw a visiting exhibition of wonderful tapestries before having lunch in the Cosy Club. Everything went well and everyone enjoyed the day. Thanks to Faye and GWR who funded it and the rail service as all the trains were bang on time. The photos show our friends at Bradford-on-Avon and Bath railway stations waiting for the train.

Our latest trip out was on Wednesday 12^th April when we had a trip on the Avon Valley Railway. The weather forecast was lousy but we got away with it without getting wet. There were 32 of us altogether and we caught the 10.45 steam train and after our trip up and down the line we retired to the beautiful Rose carriage for tea, coffee and cake. We finished off with a sing song that included the Chattanooga Choo-Choo and Morningtown Ride. Everyone seemed the to enjoy the trip and we were well looked after by all the railway staff. 

The St Monica Trust put on a concert in the Chocolate Quarter on Saturday 8^th April for some of their elderly residents in the care home. They hired a brass band to play some good old fashioned music and refreshments and cake and biscuits were supplied. There was also a raffle and the proceeds went to our group, the Keynsham and Saltford Dementia Action Alliance.