16 Jan 2017
This morning at Young At Heart ULO we had a very busy session, with 26 people in attendance. We started with hot refreshments and biscuits while participants settled in. Then we completed the orientation exercises, with the group complaining about the terrible, wet, damp, cold weather and sharing the good news that one of our volunteers is in love and that our region had done really well in sports over the weekend, with local residents winning a darts tournament and a golf tournament, so well done to those sportsmen!
Our activity for today was focussing on physical fitness, so I brought along the parachute game with beach balls and bean bags. It always takes some encouraging to get the participants away from the comfort and safety of their tables, but this video speaks volumes about the fun and socialisation that takes place when playing the game.
There was a small number of participants who, for health reasons, could not take part in the parachute game, so they played dominoes and chatted over hot drinks and biscuits.Next week we will be completing paint-by-numbers with a twist!
Join one of our other weekly sessions:
Monday’s 1pm until 2:30pm – The Hub, John Whitehead Park, Billingham
Tuesday’s 2pm – 3:30pm – The LiveWell Dementia Hub, Thorntree Road, Thornaby
Dream On
A Short Story – written by members of Young At Heart, Thornaby
Once upon a time there was a dog, a cat and a mouse who lived in a little cottage in the deep, dark forest.
One day they all went for a walk together in the forest, but the group split up and they each disappeared into the trees. The dog found something interesting under the tree – a treasure map!
And so, the dog went to look for his two friends to show them what he had found. They were all delighted with what the dog had found.
However, while they were busy looking at the map they heard loud footsteps behind them. It was a giant.
Then the giant said, “I am your friendly giant called Paul.” The giant offered a friendly hand because it had started to rain, and the wind was blowing the leaves from the trees. When the rain stopped they all looked at the map together. The dog found the ‘X’ to mark where the treasure was so they all wandered off to where they thought the ‘X’ was.
However, while they were walking, a big gust of wind blew the map away. A magpie picked up the map and took it back to her nest. The cat climbed up the tree into the nest to rescue the map but another gust of wind blew the nest and the map onto the forest floor.
Then the giant picked up the map and put the nest back in the tree. The dog, cat, mouse and giant were all really frustrated because they realised they couldn’t read, and that was why it was taking them so long to find the treasure.
Eventually the giant read the map and got his new friends to follow him to the ‘X’, but when they got to the ‘X’ they were devastated to find the treasure had gone.
In the end, they all got nothing, so they went back to the cottage and had a party; the dog, the cat, the mouse, the giant.
THE END
