dinky ponies

Haydon Wick Parish Council’s Memory Café in Haydon Wick, North Swindon had good reason to throw a party on the 12^th October 2022.

After receiving the news that a recent National Lottery Community Funding grant for £10,000.00 was successful, attendees celebrated the Café’s first birthday with a special cake and visit from some Shetland Therapy Ponies. Those present enjoyed grooming and stroking the ponies, and some children from the adjacent nursery school were able to admire the ponies through the fence. The visit sparked some happy memories for those present.

But the celebrations did not end there. The Parish Council was proud to announce that the Memory Café, just one year in its development, had won a Local Council Community award for the ‘Most Innovative New Project’ from Community First – a charity working with service providers for communities across Wiltshire & Swindon.

The award was received at the charity’s Annual Meeting & Award Ceremony on the 12^th October 2022 and collected by the Council’s Chief Officer Georgina Morgan-Denn, Jo Newman Memory Café Co Ordinator, accompanied by two of the café’s regular volunteers – Patsy Brinkley and Keren Price.

Pictured left to right (Patsy Brinkley, Keren Price, Jo Newman and Georgina Morgan-Denn)

Fortunately, the future of the café has been secured by the National Lottery funding which will help to pay for staff costs, refreshments and entertainment. Feedback from all those who attend the café confirms the importance of the service which provides vital support for those living with dementia and their care givers – helping to reduce any feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Councillor Rebecca Ross, Chair of the Community Development Committee said: “Thanks to the National Lottery, this grant means that we can continue with this particularly important project. This will make an enormous impact on people’s lives. The award was the icing on the cake as we are so proud of our café and how it helps the community. It is a well-deserved recognition for all involved in making each session so special – we are incredibly fortunate to amazing volunteers, councillors and staff who such pride in the design and delivery of the service”.

Café attendees had this to say:

“Was lovely today Jo at the Memory Café, you made so much effort to make it special, I’m so glad we found it”.

“Mum was a different person today from being inside to going out and spending time with the ponies.”

“The Memory Café makes such a difference to our lives more than you’ll ever know.”

“The Café is so energetic and interactive, I didn’t know what to expect, but it went well above and beyond what I could have imagined.”