Friday Friends Café – a community café for people living with Dementia and their Carers
Newsletter Article April – June 2018
Friday Friends café goes from strength to strength with the help and support of a large group of Volunteers who come along each week and turn an empty room into a warm and welcoming cafe.
We had a busy and exciting run up to Christmas with a seasonal activities programme including:
- Christmas card and wrapping paper making
- The Ukeladies Band
- Keep on Rockin – a Community Choir
- Boccia.
Our final session before Christmas saw us having a Party to celebrate!
The Asda Foundation granted the café £250 which paid for a full Christmas lunch including: Roast Turkey and Ham with all the trimmings; Christmas pudding with Clotted Cream; Mince Pies galore. The meat came from a butcher who supplied this at a discount. Every Customer and Volunteer also received a small gift from Santa.
Due to Asda’s generosity, there was no charge to anyone for this session.
Since returning in January, the café has continued with a varied activities programme and included:
- New Age Kurling and Boccia,
- Sporting Memories,
- Ruth Gillian running Reminiscence activities,
- and a favourite of the café – an Accordian Band.
Our customers really enjoy the two course meal made on the premises that Pat, our Head Chef and her Sous Chefs, Barbara, Gloria and Betty make each week. And they are ably assisted by Albert and Bob who cheerfully contend with the mountain of washing up each week. We have added a few new dishes to our old favourites to include a suet topped sausage pie, homemade triffle, self-saucing chocolate pudding, beef stew with plenty of mash and have had a take away from the Fish and Chip shop around the corner in Ulster Avenue
If you, or anyone you know is living with Dementia and would like to come along to the café, please contact the Project Co-ordinator, Louise Bernard at Activlives
