Since our last AGM it has been a year of two halves. A busy sociable beginning to our new year and then Coronavirus and activities came to a juddering halt. The end of 2019 saw us very busy with outings, Social Mornings and fundraising activities. We held a bring and buy sale which raised over £60 and a Coffee morning and Table Top sale which raised a magnificent £340. There was a very enjoyable outing to Waterperry Gardens on a beautiful day in September and a joint outing with Carers to Stratford upon Avon. We also visited the Medical Detection Dogs centre in Great Horwood for a demonstration day. This was very interesting and informative.
Christmas was celebrated in style with a lunch prepared by the volunteers at the centre in Verney Close. There was a great atmosphere, a secret santa and entertainment from the Chilli Pirates and Terry Penny.
We started the new year with a busy January. We started with a social morning to catch up with each other. Some of us visited The Odeon Cinema in Milton Keynes to see Downton Abbey which was very much enjoyed and later on in the month a group visited Buckingham Community Centre to see the local Community Pantomime which was great fun as usual. In February, Debbi from Swan Practice came to update and answer our questions and later on in the month a group visited Brackley Cellar for some retail therapy. At the beginning of March we had a visit and talk by Oli from the Parish Church. And that was that. We were into lockdown. This has been quite difficult for some of our members, particularly as they live alone. We have kept in touch with regular calls and put them in touch with help if needed. We sent everybody a postcard with a cheerful message and are about to deliver a goody bag containing a plant and chocolate.
Our numbers continue to rise and our volunteers remain steady. Funds are looking healthy thanks to fundraising and a generous donation from Age UK.
At this point in time we do not know when we shall be able to recommence our meetings, but hopefully it will not be too long before we can carry on where we left off.