OUR YEAR AT A GLANCE 2010
January - We started the year in a relaxed mode with some "Welcome Back" sessions which gave everybody the opportunity to catch up after the Christmas holidays. Goal Planning sessions gave everyone the opportunity to set themselves realistic goals and take stoc
k of what has happened over the past year and where they would like to see themselves in the forthcoming year. A visit to the sauna at Perth swimming pool, after a swimming session, also contributed to the feeling of relaxation and rejuvenation during the month. A game of 10-pin Bowling with the Dundee group was also a nice start to the year hearing everyones festive stories and banter. The food theme was "Back to Basics" which for example consisted of a basic tomato pasta sauce receipe which could then be used to make a varity of dishes including lasagne, spaghetti bolognaise, moussakka and pizza sauce (see photo opposite). Manual Handling and Household Finance sessions were delivered aswell as a craft workshop to get the creative juices flowing! Health and Wellbeing sessions included a trip to the Rodney fitness centre and two trips to Bells Sport Centre to take part in games of Table Tennis and Basketball.
February - Workshops in February included a Racial Awareness workshop which was very interesting and thought provoking, and a workshop on Chinese New Year where the group explored which animals were associated with their year of birth and the special traditions and superstitions concernign the 15 day celebration. Two Assertiveness workshops were also delievered. The first focussed on the meaning of assertiveness, the positives for being ass
ertive and the negatives for being aggressive or submissive aswell as body language and they way you say certain things and how it can be interpretted. The second session started with a fun quiz followed by a session on how to actually be assertive and then how to say "no". Tayside Fire and Rescue and Tayside Police delivered workshops on Fire Safety and Personal Safety respectively. A yoga session was a new experience for the Health and Wellbeing group and was particularly well received by all who took part with one mentioning it would be something he would like to take up on his own. Swimming, the gym and Badminton at Bells Sport Centre were some of the other activities for February. The Food theme was Chinese cuisine and included Chicken Chow Mein, Lemon and Sweet and Sour Chicken and Spicy Stir Fired Mushrooms with Egg Fried Rice.
March - March saw the delivery of Handling Conflict and Safety in the Home Workshops aswell as an "out of season" Christmas Card making workshop. The Community Jobs group also had a Tool Safety and Training workshop as well as a Health and Safety Work
shop in preparation for the Community jobs beginning again in April. The Health and Wellbeing group went to the Rodney Fitness Centre where they were encouraged to push themselves a little harder and try and acheive their goals they had set themselves back in January. They also went to Noahs Ark Golf Driving Range and had a much anticipated Football Coaching session with Dave Henderson and David McPhee. The food theme was "Fish" and although some of the group had reservations about this theme they enjoyed their hearty Fish Pie and Haddock in Breadcrumbs. The month culminated in a very wild, wet and windy trip to Anstruther and a refreshing walk along the harbour looking at all the boats. Spirits could not be dampened though especially when there was a good freshly caught fish supper at the end of it all from the Anstruther Fish Bar which has won numerous awards.
April - This month saw the group learn about Scottish History in conjunction with Perth 800 an
d included a trip to the Museum and Art Gallery to see the charter, a trip to the Black Watch Museum and a bus trip out to Scone Palace where the group had a lovely packed lunch in the company of four beautiful peacocks then went on to have a walk round the gardens where they were able to view the Stone of Destiny and the Chapel. The food theme for April was "organic" and the group had to cook using as many organic ingredients as was available to them. April saw the beginning of the Community Projects Programme with four local gardens completed and some very happy customers!
May - May saw t
he beginning of work in our allotment, with the first couple of weeks digging and clearing out the plots. The last 2 weeks the group decided which vegetables they wished to plant and went and purchased them then planted them. The weather held every Tuesday in May which allowed the group to visit the Allotment every week. The food theme was Mexican, with Frajhitas and Chilli con Carne being the popular choices. The Community Projects included two clutter clearances, a garden out in Stanley and one in Bankfoot, and shed and fence painting for a lovely elderly lady who was so greatful for all the work the group acheived that it almost brought a tear to the eye of those who were there. Health and Wellbeing activites included swimming sessions, a riverside walk and a football session at Bells Sports Centre.
June - During June the Independent Living Skills group improved their needlework skills with 3 sewing sessions. The group were asked to bring along any garments of clothing that needed repaired. One service user, fo
r example, brought a pair of trousers that needed taken up and hemmed. Another brought in a badge that he wished sewn onto his jacket. All of the group got the opportunity to make a plastic bag caddy out of some fabric that they could take home or give as a present to someone. The final Tuesday the group went through to Dundee to the Discovery and had a very interesting day learning about the Discovery's journey all over the world. The Community Projects group did a couple of local Gardens, one a particularly back breaking job involving the lifting of turf in preparation for the customer laying slabs. They also had a session where half the group stayed at the Project cleaning the windows and the other half went to the Allotment. The final wednesday the group went through to Auchterarder to do a garden for a Residential Care Home.
July - The main highlight of July was the summer trip which as in previous years was a roaring success. This year the trip was to Ullapool on the westcoast of Scotland. The group stayed in a Youth Hostel on the sea front with beautiful views out on to the bay. The activities fo
r the 3 days included a boat trip to the Summer Isles where the group got to see lots of wildlife and birds and had a quick stop in a smugglers cave. This activity was a particular turning point for one service user who had an anxiety about being out at sea on a boat. He was given lots of support and encouragement and then felt so ecstatic and proud at overcoming his fear that he really enjoyed the rest of the trip.
Evenings were spent walking along the beach, chatting with the locals and having a banter and a game of pool in a local bar. Other activites delivered in July included Household Finances and a talk from Welfare Rights. Strategic meetings were also held with each group to get the service users views and feedback on activites offered and plans for the future. The first of a series of Bike Maintenance workshops were delivered by David Laird from Perth College. The Project already owns a number of bikes and accessories and Davids workshops were designed to teach the group how to maintain and look after their bikes, how to repair basic problems like a flat tyre and broken chain and then to actually go out on some cycle runs. There were 3 bike sessions in July in total with more planned for the following months.
August - August began with a "Discover Australia" workshop including information about Australian history and culture. The workshop generated much discussion particulary about immigration to Australia. One of the service users originates from this part of the world and he came in to talk to the group about life in Australia. The Australia theme carried onto the cooking and the group made beef burgers and bean burgers. The group also had a few visits up to the allotment and managed to harvest some of the potatoes and vegetables. A workshop on food hygiene was delivered and a Manual Handling workshop was also delivered by a staff member of Perth Prison. The group also took a trip to the Edinburgh Fringe festival to soak up some culture and they managed to see a comedy show. The final Tuesday of August saw the group get their creative juices flowing once again with an art and craft workshop where they managed to create a few "markers" for use up at the allotment to highlight which vegetables are which. They had a traditional Australi
an "barbie" with lamb and vegetable kebabs, pita bread and salad and thankfully it was a glorious sunny day so they opted to eat outside. The weather held for the Community Jobs group all through August and they managed to compete local 3 gardens and a shed and fence painting job out at Arbroath for a very good friend of the Project. Health and Wellbeing activites included 3 more Bike Maintenance workshops and 2 new fitness sessions with the PTI's and Sports Leaders out at Castle Huntly. These sessions are designed to be beneficial for both our service users and the Sports Leaders who are inmates at Castle Huntly. Our service users gain the training and experience of being coached by qualified sports leaders in both group situations and on a one-to-one basis and the Sports Leaders gain the experience of leading a group during an activity. There is mutual benefit which is what Six Circle is all about "in meeting the needs of others we meet the needs in ourselves".
September -
October -
November -
December -