The café began as an idea to befriend those who find going out of the village difficult and are lonely. It’s held in the village hall which is the ideal venue.
We launched it two years ago with support from the village hall in as much as they give us free use of the hall and facilities. We particularly targeted men, who often don’t like to sit and chat but may enjoy a game of chess. From time to time we are visited by people like the CAB etc and this month the Care Line people are coming. The first week we had about three people, other people saw the opportunity and joined us as organisers and the numbers quickly grew to the present 50 + .
We provide tea and coffee with homemade cake and charge no entry fee. We have collection points for donations and hold a raffle which is always popular. Every so often we provide a meal, either fish and chips from the village chip shop, or a ploughman’s lunch which we put together ourselves. At Christmas we hired a caterer who did us a hog roast; next month we are planning a meal of pasty or quiche from another local supplier.
Our latest enterprise was to hire a coach with a lift and take all our willing clients to Weston Super Mare. 46 eventually made it and the feedback was excellent. Even the sun came out!
It is heartwarming to hear the chatter and laughter and to see people grow from awkwardly creeping around the door to strolling in comfortably and helping lay the tables etc. At the end of the session there is always a mass movement of people to put everything away.
Afterwards we half a dozen organisers hold a meeting, count up the money and plan our next session. We choose not to charge for anything but three local organisations did give us money towards the coach hire, which has enabled us to plan a Christmas dinner at the village pub in December.
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