Events

Carnival time

Monday, November 21, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

November 2011 – A spectacular and “smashing” carnival                                                            

The Somerset Carnivals are highly regarded as the largest illuminated procession in the world, so it was no surprise to see the girls of Street Farm totally delighted with the spectacular show.

The Street Farm girls have been fortunate to enjoy a few carnivals this year, including a day of good weather at Glastonbury, and said they had a “smashing” time at the Somerset Carnival where they watched about a hundred carts go by, stopping only to enjoy a burger to replenish their energy.

The carnival clubs put a lot of effort into building their carts, working on them throughout the year. Some carts use up to 30,000 light bulbs. The carnival has a new theme each year, which is kept secret until the carnival makes its first appearance at Bridgwater. The procession itself stretches to distances of around two miles, taking a good two hours to pass at any point.

The carnival takes place each November, in towns such as Bridgwater (home of the carnival), Weston and Glastonbury, among others. And has done for centuries – the carnival forms part of the Guy Fawkes celebrations, which date back some 400 years.

Hallows’ eve treats

Monday, November 21, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

31st October 2011 – A frightfully good time

On a dark, dark night, on a dark, dark street, in a dark (but brand new) activity centre, Bradbury House and Cypress Lodge gathered to celebrate Halloween and have themselves a frightfully good time.

Thanks to the help of Stacey and Jane, the party was very spooky indeed. It was arranged at the new activity centre at Cypress Lodge and decorated with Halloween flair. The newly built activity centre can be used by any of the Bradbury homes for functions, parties and social gatherings. Bradbury House and Cypress Lodge were the first to host a function here, for the scariest night of the year.

The frightful events of the night included a decadently delicious buffet, a spooky car ride game, lots of tricks and treats, and much fun and laughter. The highlight of the night was Steven’s breakdancing demonstration where he showed off his fantastic dancing skills and out-danced everyone on the dance floor!

Everyone did indeed have a good time, going home with great ghoulish grins and frightfully full tummies.

Street farm vacaciones en España

Monday, November 21, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

October 2011 – Street Farm girls escape the cold for warm España

With the weather across England turning colder and the nights setting in earlier, a trip to Spain seemed the sensible thing to do! The girls of Street Farm, along with three staff members, packed their bags and headed for a lovely week-long sunny holiday in the beautiful Benidorm, a coastal town on the Costa Blance (White Coast).

The Spanish weather was glorious and the girls spent most of their afternoons on the beach – alternating between sunbathing and refreshing swims in the ocean. The trip also included a fair share of cultural experiences, with a coach trip to a toy museum and a much enjoyed wine and chocolate tasting evening.

Helen also celebrated her birthday during the trip, which called for a special night out. Donning her wig and birthday glasses, Helen headed out with the girls for a night of dancing and karaoke – with Kelly and Sara enthusiastically joining in on the chorus!

The girls also got in a show – the Michael Jackson Tribute – which they all thoroughly enjoyed. Helen, Tiffany and Kelly even managed to join in on stage! It was a memorable night and trip. The girls say they had a great time, and thanks to all the wonderful food and drink, may have brought home a few extra pounds along with all the great memories.

The adventures of TOR

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

September 2011 – Bikes, birthdays and a bunch of gorillas!

Spills and thrills on the Somerset levels

The Rectory’s recent Somerset levels cycling trip was not unlike the Tour de France! There were thrills, spills, agony and ecstasy… The cyclists set off on schedule on a sunny Tuesday morning and, stewarded by Miranda, Laura and Agnes, soon fell into a steady pace. After a few miles the group began to thin with David B falling toward the back of the group. After some wheelies of encouragement from Laura, David soon found himself back with the pack.

Dan and Annick pushed themselves to the limits and set a new pace for the group, giving way to some explosive and aggressive riding. Unfortunately for Annick this resulted in her crashing into a ditch. A few dock leaves soothed the pain of the stinging nettles and she bravely mounted her steed once more to finish the ride.

The group arrived back at Fenny castle elated and much in need of the delicious refreshments and cake to replenish their energy.

Happy Birthday Kevin!

Kevin celebrated his birthday in September and was treated to a special cake baked by Chef Angie. Chef Angie also provided some delicious party food for everyone to enjoy at the celebration held for Kevin at the Rectory. After a very enjoyable day Kevin went out for dinner with his mum and dad and received many lovely presents. A very full day of wonderful birthday treats for Kevin.

Looking For Lou  Phil and Jess took Leon, Dan, David and Kevin to Bristol to “look for Lou”. As they turned a corner on the waterfront Dan shouted, “There she is!” With her back to our search party it was easy to sneak up behind her to capture some photographic evidence. A little while later Lou was spotted again – though it appeared she had changed into a new disguise to stay one step ahead of the group.

After even more sightings the group decided that Bristol’s biggest tourist attraction had become rather tame. We’re talking of course of the 61 gorilla statues that were placed around Bristol to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Bristol Zoo Gardens. The stunning life-size Wow! Gorillas were decorated by Bristol’s artists and auctioned for charity.

The Old Rectory search party had great fun “looking for Lou” and there was much banter about the gorillas looking like Louise “Lou” Clark, manager of The Old Rectory.

After a trip to a café for some well-deserved refreshments, the group went for a wonder around M Shed, an innovative museum located on Bristol’s dockside. Leon enjoyed dressing up in old-fashioned clothing and experiencing the WWII air raid shelter. The search party returned to the Rectory with cheerful reports that they had spotted Lou and that she was expected back soon to run the unit.

What Street Farm have been up to.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

September 2011 – Crystal making, train rides and sadly a lack of balloons

No balloons but lots of fun at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta

The Street Farm girls visited the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta in August, Europe’s biggest balloon event, to see some 100 hot air balloons take to the skies. The trip was hosted by Cypress Lodge who also attended on the day, with some of the homes making an appearance as well.

Alas bad weather and high winds grounded the balloons for the day but fortunately the girls still made the most of it – enjoying the rides, arcades and shopping stalls, which are all part of the exciting annual fiesta.

The Draycott/Weymouth Express

It rolls around each year, and with much excitement the Street Farm girls hop on board for the Draycott to Weymouth trip, organised annually by Draycott village. The girls enjoyed the sands and safe water at Weymouth Beach, hailed as “some of the finest in Great Britain”. It was a wonderful day out in nature soaking up this beautiful part of our coastline.

Street Farm goes Crystal

The Street Farm girls continue to attend weekly classes at Silver Tree Crystal, developing their skills and enjoying the joyful creativity of crystal making. The girls have been busy with mould making and glass blowing. Glass blowing involves inflating molten glass into a bubble with the aid of a blowpipe or blow tube. This novel glass forming technique takes careful concentration and a resistance to heat but once mastered produces spectacular results. The Street Farm girls are fast becoming masterful crystal makers.

Summer at Cypress

Friday, October 21, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

August 2011 – Summer in Cypress

Great thrills (if not great results) at Ashton Gate

Cypress Lodge residents Neal and Phil went along with Martin to watch a thrilling match at Ashton Gate. Their team Bristol City made a good attempt, but unfortunately came crashing out of the Carling Cup. The boys of course are somewhat disappointed with the result and like true soccer supporters are not very keen on talking about the outcome. The boys however had a great time at the match despite the disappointing ending.

Raymond at work

Raymond invited Cypress Lodge staff to see what he gets up to on Fridays. He has a work placement packing medical boxes, which he takes much pride in. He demonstrated his skills and dedication, and proved to Cypress staff that he really does get down to some hard work.

Phillip’s favourite event of the year

A Cypress Lodge charter event was held at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, with a great turnout from all the Bradbury House homes. The fiesta is Phillip’s favourite event of the year and it was his idea to host the Cypress event here and invite everyone along. After great fun on the fairground rides, everyone settled down to a wonderful picnic hosted by Cypress for all to enjoy. A big thank you goes to Basia for helping organise the event for Cypress Lodge.

River boat Fishing

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

August 2011 – Bendalls Farm go fishing

Bendalls Farm has a troop of enthusiastic fishermen. Kit, Rich, Jamie, Rob and Lacel all recently headed to Weymouth where they boarded the M.V. Freedom; a fishing boat dedicated towards the benefit and enjoyment of people with learning disabilities. The boat is operated by Charity Friends of the M.V. Freedom who have been running fishing trips since 1984.
 
It appeared to be a bleak and wet day as our Bendalls fishermen boarded the M.V. Freedom. But as the boat made its way out onto the water the sun appeared in all its shining glory and set the scene for a lovely day. (Made even sweeter in the knowledge that it was raining cats and dogs back home at Bendalls Farm!)

The boat toured the harbour and then went around Portland Bill. Everyone was given a turn at the helm of the boat while under the watchful eye of the skipper. Finally getting down to some fishing, there were just two catches of the day. Both Rich and staff member Karl had bites that they reeled in onto the boat. Karl’s catch was a little undersized so it was returned to the water.

Of course fishing trips are not always just about fishing. It was a great day out in nature, enjoying time with friends, the good weather and the sheer pleasure of the experience. Everyone is already making plans for another fishing trip next summer.

Birthday Boys

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

September 2011 – Pete & Andrew

Cypress Lodge was fortunate to host and celebrate two special birthdays recently – one a surprise event and the other a carefully planned occasion.

July was Pete’s birthday, he casually sauntered over from Willow Cottage to Cypress Lodge and to his surprise found everyone waiting for him in the colourful, festively decorated dining room.

A birthday feast of sausage rolls, crisps and fizzy pop was rolled out and Pete was piled high with presents. The highlight of the evening was without doubt the look on Pete’s face when he received his most favourite thing – chocolate!

When the time came to celebrate Andrew’s birthday in early September he jumped into all the activities that come with planning and hosting a party. With the help of Philip and Kyle, Andrew planned the menu, shopped for ingredients, cooked up a storm and arranged the room perfectly.

 Andrew made sure the party went off in style and everyone a ball. Even Pete had a great time singing happy birthday to someone else this time.

Street Farm’s Murals

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

July 2011 – Murals with a message

A few of our Bradbury House girls took part in a special project in July, creating a beautiful wall mural at Victoria Park in Frome.

The open day in Frome marked the official opening of the UK mural project with Frome’s Openstorytellers also participating on the day. The colourful event featured art, words, music and drama, all as an expression of the hopes, dreams and challenges of people with disabilities.

Our Bradbury House girls Clare, Helen and Kelly painted on the day and even got up on stage to perform the song True Colours, with much approving applause from the audience.

The mural project is a joint venture run by Community Murals and the UK Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC) who are helping to create murals in areas of England that reflect disabled people’s hopes and aspirations and the barriers that prevent them from realising their dreams.
For more information on the project and upcoming events, go to: http://communitymurals.org.uk/#/ukdpc/4552808505

Bradbury House and Silver Tree Crystal

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

August 2011 – After a series of glass-making workshops with Silver Tree Crystal, a small group of enthusiastic artisans-in-training have produced a range of beautiful pendants, bowls, paperweights and tumblers – now on sale.

A small group from the Bradbury House organisation have been visiting local glassworks Silver Tree Crystal, based at Moorlynch Vineyard, to watch demonstrations and have a go at making some glass creations of their own. The popular weekly sessions have given attendees the chance to master some new skills whilst learning about glass and how sand, limestone and flint can be transformed into beautiful and delicate pieces of glass art.

GLASS FUSION: pendants

The glass pendants have been made using a glass fusion technique. Small pieces of glass are marked, scored and cut to make up a pattern or design. This is a very intricate process requiring not only artistic flair but also plenty of focus and patience. Once glued, the design is sandwiched between two clear pieces of glass and placed into a furnace for melting.

SAND CASTING: glass bowls and paperweights

The glass bowls and paperweights have been made using a sand casting technique. Our Bradbury House artisans first went on a scavenger hunt for small objects such as leaves, shells, sweets and small plastic toys. The objects were then pressed into sand to create a mould and molten glass poured into the imprint. The end product is a beautiful, customised piece of glass art.

GLASSBLOWING: tumblers

After a demonstration and safety briefing, our Bradbury artisans were given the opportunity to try out different glassblowing techniques for themselves. This involves inflating molten glass into different shapes with the aid of a blowpipe or tube. The end result of these spectacular workshops was a range of beautiful and colourful glass tumblers.

The Silver Tree workshops have given the Bradbury House attendees the opportunity to tap into their creative skills. With each workshop, and as the group mastered new skills and saw the results, their creativity and confidence soared.

Today you can choose from a small selection of these magnificent handcrafted items, each a unique reflection of the creativity, skill and effort (not to mention patience) of the aspiring artisan who made it.

All proceeds from sales will be reinvested in the group, giving them the resources they need to pursue new adventures and activities.