The lastest from our client, Louise, with her monthly update on how she has enjoyed her time at Headway Plymouth across October!
2nd October – Women’s Group
I didn’t think I’d be able to make it to the group today, but I managed to get up and out in time to get the bus in from Tavistock. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the group, which was suggested by another client, but it was good just to have a general natter and to suggest ideas for other creative activities to do at Headway, as well as outside of it. I thought that it was an uplifting session, all in all.
Friday 3rd October – Storytelling Exchange
Although I didn’t take part in Natasha’s session today, as I had to finish off a letter to my pen pal, I know that other clients have found it very engaging. I too have joined in at other times, and it can get peoples’ imaginations revved up, and turn out some hilarious short stories!
Tuesday 7th October – Brain Games
Clients were given word searches, word wheels and Wordscapes to tackle today, which were taxing for most of us. I have recently got back into doing (or attempting at times) codebreakers.
Friday 10th October – Mindful Art Club
Emma and Kerri joined us today, along with their art supplies. Of course, this session was Halloween – themed and the clients created some spooky designs. I did some scratch – art bookmarks, for my family, and myself. I also played a game of pool with another client until my dad appeared and I worked on another project, whilst he continued pool with the other client. Jo, whose got a milestone birthday coming up had a birthday blondie made for her, so she was a happy bunny.
Tuesday 14th October – Community Police Talk
Leah, a police officer and Simon (a PCSO), came in for an informal chat with us this morning, which I personally found very interesting. We all asked them various questions about their different job roles and what they entailed, and I thought it was good to see them in a more relaxed mode with a cuppa in their hands, rather than on the job and less formal. Some of the situations they are asked to deal with can be traumatic, depending on their job roles of course, and I was interested to learn about the sort of training they each had to do.
Friday 17th October – Neuro Researchers
Sean Fallon and Donnchadh Murphy, who are research fellows at the University of Plymouth, joined us this afternoon. They’re keen to test two methods on ‘guinea pigs’ at the (BRIC) Centre, firstly by using a headset that emits infra-red light. Previous research has shown that this treatment may support recovery, in addition to improvement of clients’ cognitive abilities. The second test involves using medications or supplements, which have shown, in some cases, to improve a person’s attention, motivation and daily functioning, after receiving a head injury. These treatments have shown to be affective for people with conditions like M.E. too.
Tuesday 21st October – Gentle Exercise with Megan
I was looking forward to this session today, as it just involved stretching, which I don’t do often enough these days. Megan always makes the activity fun!
Archie has joined us from City College Plymouth, on the Pathway for Progression, and will be with us until Christmas. It is a pre-supported internship.
Wednesday 22nd October – Plymouth Sound Marine Park session
Jess joined the Headway Plymouth clients to tell us about the benefits of wild water swimming, and the safety aspects involved with it and with swimming in the actual swimming pool, along with events that are offered to attend at the Lido at Tinside pool. Litter picking there is one of the options, which occurs on the first Wednesday of the month, this encourages people to meet on a regular basis with a common goal.
Jess also mentioned about the variety of life in the rockpools on the beach, and how fascinating it can be, so we may well have a trip there in the near future.
I didn’t realise that there’s an app (as I don’t go in the sea, or anywhere that’s likely to be affected, nowadays, though I do like beaches) that shows where there’s a sewage leak outbreak, Surfers Against Sewage, they have a Facebook page. So, if you haven’t already got the app, that’s the most up-to-date information for swimmers.
Unfortunately, the dig at Mount Edgcumbe was cancelled this year, due to supposed bad weather (it turned out to be a lovely day), but hopefully next year we will all be able to attend the dig!
Friday 24th October – Bingo Time!
Clint, from the Masonic Lodge and Friends of Devonport Park, popped into Headway Plymouth this morning, to give a generous donation to the charity, after he met Craig in Devonport Park the other day and they got chatting (once Craig starts, he doesn’t stop!) . It was lovely to meet him in person.
Bingo was a relatively new experience for me, but everyone joined in, and Craig was the lively game show host with the most, along with his glamourous assistant, Jo and later, Pete! Anna won the first round, Jay, the second, and Meghan, the third. All in all, everyone had a fun time interacting with each other!
Tuesday 28th October – The Box Trip
I met up with some Headway staff and other Headway clients at the Box in Plymouth, which used to be the old library and museum. There was so much information to take in on each level of the building, but I found it interesting, and I particularly loved the tapestries depicting the life of Tim, and a general view of society these days. Other parts of the Box featured the fishing and naval industries of Plymouth, local residents’ histories etc. I highly-recommend going to the Box at least once, and for an added bonus, there’s a café on the ground floor.
Wednesday 29th October
Megan, Zeinab, Chloe, Bayaan, Ibe, Bex and Paule, who are dental students from the Peninsula Dental School, which is part of the University of Plymouth, did a presentation for Headway clients today. Clients were separated into groups to test their knowledge of oral care and, which foods are best for our teeth. It was surprising to learn that full-fat milk has such a high sugar content, for example.
I didn’t realise that you’re supposed to brush your teeth for two minutes in one session, and we were each given a dental goodie bag with information about dental hygiene, along with a timer, toothpaste etc, to use to measure the amount of time we’re supposed to brush our teeth.
Fun Facts:
- Fluoride, which is a mineral, was first added to drinking water in America in the 1960s, and to parts of the UK later.
- The recommended amount of fluoride in toothpaste is 1450 ppm.
- Use dental brushes to get in-between your teeth, I tend to do this at night, before I go to bed.
- The recommended number of times to use a dental brush between each tooth is eight times.
- If you think that you’ll be too tired to brush your teeth at the end of the day, do them when you’re not tired, which is just as good.
- If you don’t remove plaque from the teeth, the plaque matures, which affects neighbouring teeth, which can then lead to cavities and fillings.
- Also try to remember to brush the roof of your mouth, your tongue
- Don’t rinse your mouth out when you spit.
We were also given a leaflet about mouth cancer and how to detect it, the symptoms may include:
- an ulcer or white patch anywhere in the mouth that doesn’t heal within three weeks.
- A lump or swelling anywhere in the mouth, jaw or neck that persists for more than three weeks.
- Difficulty in swallowing, chewing or moving the jaw or tongue.
- Numbness of the tongue or other area of the mouth.
- A feeling that something is caught in the throat.
- A chronic sore throat or hoarseness that persists for more than 6 weeks.
- Unexplained loosening of teeth.
More information can be found on www.mouthcancerfoundation.orgor contact your doctor or dentist.
31st October – Halloween Carving Fun
Clients got involved with carving pumpkins today. Jo thought that two in particular were star-worthy, Anna’s was the best, followed by Reece’s pumpkin. Mine looked like it had had a stroke (my opinion).
Ways to make use of the pumpkin innards include:
- Make pumpkin wedges
- Roast the seeds
- Use the flesh for dishes like pumpkin soup, pumpkin pies, or even bread, cakes or muffins
- Add chunks of pumpkin to the compost
- Bury the pumpkin(s) in the soil to enrich other plants
- Make a temporary bird feeder with the cleaned – out shell, and fill it with bird seed
- Pumpkins are also nutritious for Hedgehogs
Leave a Reply