Community News

We had a blast playing Play Your Cards Right—it’s safe to say Richard and James would have made Bruce Forsyth proud! "Higher! Lower!" was the shout of the evening. Beyond the game, the best part was seeing the club flourishing. From the lively chats over tea to the way our regulars made every new member feel right at home, the atmosphere was 10/10. #makingsmiles #lovewhatwedo #communityspirit #playyourcardsright

Oh what a night!! We celebrated the 1st birthday of our wonderful Music Man Project AND the birthday of our lovely Jacquie Lucas. It was Jacquie who put all the hard work into getting our Music Man Project up and running, and what a truly memorable and joyous first year it has been. With 21 members, Nicky New as our Music Leader, Jacquie, Marion, Jo, Marian and Emma as our fabulous and dedicated band of volunteers, our Music Man Project is all set to continue its magic for a

We love our Friday night get togethers! Once a month, we meet as a group, in Fast Eddy’s Bar, at Fairycroft House. We all come together to relax, laugh and reconnect with great conversations. We have lots of trips out planned over the coming weeks. Tonight, we also celebrated Freya’s birthday! Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and the #lotteryplayers #fridayvibes #inclusion #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo #abilitynotdisability #startoftheweekend

A lively music quiz night at club this week. A great variety of tunes and something for everyone. With Isabel as the quiz master and two keen teams who battled to take the champion position! A fantastic night :) #sidebyside #quiznight #CompetitiveSpirit #abilitynotdisability #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo

The Grow Ability team (Matthew, Barry, Esther, Claire, Tristan Julie and Charis) had a busy one today: We welcomed our lovely new (and very first!) operations manager Emma 🌱 it was so nice to welcome her to the group! We planted a variety of pepper and chili seeds. Watered the WHOLE plot. Weeded the raised bed and 🥬 Harvested heaps of “volunteer” lettuce (the flavour is incredible!). 🌯 Built-our-own fresh wraps for a team lunch. And then 🧁 Celebrated Julie’s 61st birthday

Fresh from our Easter break and so happy to be back at our wonderful Music Man sessions, led by the fabulous Nicky New! What a fantastic evening we had….so rich in diversity. New songs, old songs, new rhythms, old rhythms, new friends, old friends, birthdays to celebrate and a very special talent show to prepare for!! Supported by Postcode Lottery UK awarded by the Postcode Trust and London Stansted Airport #stanstedairportcommunityfund #lovewhatwedo #MakeADifference #musicis

We all love our Friday nights out! Friday night bowling has a way of turning an ordinary evening into something lively and memorable. The mix of cheers and playful groans create an atmosphere that feels both competitive and relaxed. Add in some music, snacks, and a bit of friendly rivalry, and Friday night bowling becomes less about the score and more about the shared experience. A great choice for a fabulous night Supported by Saffron Walden Golf Club, Lions Clubs Internatio

A huge thank you to all the bakers, volunteers, customers and donators 🫶. Thank you for supporting our wonderful local charity! #fundraiser #homemadecakesarethebest #supportlocal #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo

Tonight, some of our members have travelled to Cambridge to visit Bella Italia Leisure Park Cambridge to enjoy some pizza or pasta for dinner, to celebrate Freya’s birthday next week! Freya chose what she would like to do and who with some weeks ago! It’s one of her favourite restaurants, as they cater for gluten free. Great choice! Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and #lotteryplayers #fridaynight #lovewhatwedo #gowithourflow #FridayFeeling #MakeAD

Thanks for the photos and little blog from our lovely Dig It Community Allotment leader Lisa Harper and to the generosity of Elsenham Lodge 8973 ( Essex Freemasons ) for supporting our project! We’ve been beaning and sowed different varieties of Dwarf beans, climbing beans and runner beans. Much needed watering everywhere on the plot. Topping up our paths with bark chippings. Finding shady spots to rest and listen to the birds. Harvesting herbs, for our wonderful Jacquie t

Swimming tonight for some of our members. Our group, for 16-25 year olds, is all about giving members a voice to make a choice on a Friday evening! Everyone loves to socialise on a Friday night! Tonight, Willow chose swimming and also chose who she would like to go with her. Great choice! So much fun, laughter and mischief! Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and the #lotteryplayers #inclusionmatters #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo #FridayFeeling #f

In the words of our lovely volunteer Emma, ‘What a night!!!’ This was a really special evening. There were so many memorable moments in our end of half term showcase. Our Music Man members were full of pride and confidence Joel welcomed the audience to the evening in his own beautiful words. Each item on the programme was introduced by a different member, and lovely Sarah closed the evening, with a thank you message. Finally, we all took a very proud bow!! Thank you to everyo

Fishing games and activities tonight with Jack from Angling Trust . Super competition and lots of concentration! Such a great night finding out how to fish Thank you so much Jack for a great evening! Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and the #lotteryplayers #MakeADifference #lovinglife #Fridayfeeling #fridaynight #gettogether #lovewhatwedo #newskills #somuchfun

Side by side club on Wednesday making memories and having fun with our most important people - our members! Here they are fully engaged with their beanbag games night! Photo creds to Marion Grainge - thanks to our lovely staff and volunteers for making this possible. #lovewhatwedo #volunteer #funwithfriends #mencap

A full house, a house full of sheer joy The joy of making music, the joy of being with friends, the joy of seeing the happiness on each other’s faces, the joy of helping each other, the joy of celebrating important events, and the joy of accomplishment. Spot the joy!! Supported by the Postcode Lottery UK awarded by the #postcodetrust and London Stansted Airport awarded by the #stanstedairportcommunityfund #cometogether #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo #MondayMagic

Tonight is Olivia’s choice of trip and she chose to go to the cinema! The smell of popcorn, the experience of the big screen and the suspense! So lovely to support local and visit Saffron Screen Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and #lotteryplayers #FridayFeeling #BigScreen #MakeADifference #fun #MakeAmazingHappen #lovewhatwedo #supportlocal

Friendships that root deeper than our carrots. Mental health blooming in the fresh air. Nutrition that starts with dirt under our fingernails. Nature as the ultimate healer. Wednesday saw our GrowAbility group together in the spring sunshine - members and volunteers working together at the Dig It Community Allotment . Sowing seeds, writing labels (VERY important!) weeding, planting, watering! Look those leek seedlings our group planted only a few weeks ago! New strawberry

It was such a fun night at Side By Side this week playing Boccia! It’s such a fun game that everyone can take part in and they did! It was competitive but everyone was happy and encouraging to each other. Loads of laughter and mutual support it’s what Wednesday nights are all about! Thanks to the club leaders and volunteers for working so hard to make this possible! #friendshipgoals #boccia #competition #lovewhatwedo

We missed Esther, Doriyan and Matthew today - but Barry Julie Tristan and Charis were all up for some fresh air and working on the plot! Lisa kept everyone busy. So this week we used our own homemade compost (we made using a toblerone compost method!) to top up the soil in our strawberry planter & raised beds. It’s really important to top up our existing soil with fresh new compost full of nutrients to feed this years plants and vegetables we plan to grow we love learning to

Another joyful Monday evening. Every week so many beautiful things happen at Music Man Learning new songs and new skills, the smiles, the sense of achievement, the camaraderie and friendship, the support and respect we show each other. Music Man is more than music. Music Man helps us to grow in so many ways. Thank you to our inspirational Music Leader Nicky New, and to all our lovely volunteers, for making this wonderful project happen every week. Supported by the People's Po