Community News

We stayed cool last night at Saffron Building Society’s Community Link room for our monthly get together: playing an intense game of ‘Uno’ and discussing future trips out. Many great conversations, laughter and giggles! A great way to start the weekend. Supported by Saffron Walden Golf Club, London Stansted Airport #communityfund and Lions Clubs International #FridayFeeling #mencap #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo #ourchoice #abilitynotdisability

Who loves a curry night? We do! Our members love to cook and eat! Tonight, our lovely Julie, planned and cooked (with lots of help) a wonderful, tasty curry with rice and naan bread. GWOFers chopped, peeled and prepared the fabulous feast! This was then followed by some healthy fruit. Thank you so much to Julie! Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and the #lotteryplayers #mencap #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo #FridayFeeling #FridayFeeling #GWOF

Wednesday was a beautiful, lovely dry day at the allotment—but that meant the soil was parched! We all kicked off the session by filling up watering cans and walking around the plot to make sure absolutely everything had a good, deep drink. Once the watering was done, it was back to business with our usual weeding and planting. We also enjoyed a wonderful meeting together around the table on the decking. It was especially lovely to be joined by our fantastic Side by Side volu

This week was film night and our members chose Lilo and Stitch! Stitch, an extraterrestrial entity, heads straight to planet Earth after he escapes his prison, where he tries to impersonate a dog. Things take a turn when Lilo adopts him from an animal shelter. Everyone chose their seats and settled down to watch! During tea break, where everyone comes together for a chat, we celebrated Kitty and Marion’s birthdays - singing ’Happy birthday’ and sharing cake! #makeadifferen

We recently meet at the Community link to plan and decide on forthcoming outings then enjoyed a game of Uno with Patrick and Emma! Our first trip choice, was a trip to Saffron Screen to watch the fantastic Michael Jackson film. Everyone purchased their own tickets and snacks. Supported by Saffron Walden Golf Club and London Stansted Airport #communityfund #mencap #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo #creatingsmiles #lifechoices #fridaynights

We are so excited about our Music Man’s Got Talent Showcase next Monday This evening, everyone practiced their performances, giving each other oodles of encouragement. What a wonderful array of talent we have, from nursery rhymes to opera!! Watch this space next week, to find out who the judges choose as their winner!! Supported by Postcode Lottery UK awarded by the Postcode Trust and London Stansted Airport #standstedairportcommunityfund #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo #music

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

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

Tonight, we invited Andrew Fisher, from Saffron Walden Golf Club to our monthly get-together at Fast Eddy’s Bar, in Fairycroft House , Saffron Walden. The golf club has recently donated £2000 towards the cost of our Glamping Trip this Summer at Finchingfield Camping . We were so excited to share our scrapbooks of photos from last summer’s Glamping stay. It’s such an amazing opportunity for our members to experience. From choosing which bed they sleep in, sharing games and ac

LOOK at us!! So smart, and so proud of our new personalised Music Man Holdalls! Thank you, Thank You, Thank You, to London Stansted Airport #Communityfund for your generosity and for making everyone so happy! Every week, we will be responsible for taking our holdalls, full of instruments home, and looking after them until the next Music Man session. What a fabulous evening we had! Exciting new bag, exciting new music, and a very excited Ollie celebrating his birthday!!! Su

Tonight, some of our members are at Trio Italian in Saffron Walden for dinner. Alicia’s choice of trip, as it will soon be her birthday! Everyone loves the pizza and pasta on offer Lots of options to choose on the menu…what would you choose? Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and #lotteryplayers . #fridaynight #mencap #MakeADifference #lovewhatwedo #gettogetherwithfriends #FridayFeeling

Huge thanks to our callers Richard and Barry for a fantastic job, and well done to all our prize winners! We loved catching up over tea and cupcakes—the perfect way to spend an evening with friends. #SideBySide #BingoNight #Mencap #FunTimes #FullHouse

Our members are so competitive at bowling! Who will win tonight? It’s a very close game Always a popular activity and a fun night for everyone! Celebrating Flo’s birthday tonight . Flo chose the activity and who she would like to go with. Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and #lotteryplayers #MakeADifference #bringingsmiles #mencap #lovewhatwedo #lovelife #FridayFeeling #fridayvibes #fridaynight #tenpinbowling #outincambridge #greatstarttot

Who knew our members were such talented actors? Tonight’s game of charades at Side by Side was such fun! We were all thrilled at the inventive and dramatic performances. Everyone really gave it their all! Between the acting and guessing, we celebrated Jamie and Emma’s birthdays with cupcakes (thanks Jamie! ) and a group singalong. We finished the night with Hangman, where Noah proved to be the master of words. #sidebyside #mencap #lovewhatwedo #friendsareforever #br

A truly magical space, where we flourish, and where miracles happen. Where every individual’s achievements are celebrated, and where we help each other. What a wonderfully eclectic array of music this evening! We absolutely loved it….from the musicals to the dambusters!! Look at the smiles on our faces . We love Music Man Mondays! Supported by People's Postcode Lottery (awarded by the Postcode Trust) and the #stanstedairportcommunityfund ( London Stansted Airport ) #musicis

We were invited to watch the relaxed performance of the Saffron Players ’ Camelot Panto tonight! First our members paid for their own tickets - practicing life skills, then met all the cast of the show. Each cast member explained who they were and what part they play. We loved every bit of the show! The music, singing, laughter and fun! Thank you for inviting us! #goodtimes #laughter #community #mencap #lovewhatwedo #MakeADifference #panto

Today’s Saffron Walden Mencap Society gathering at the fabulous Saffron Building Society ’s Community Link was one for the books. They say “a party without cake is just a meeting,” and thanks to the Saffron Walden Cook Shop, we definitely had a party! The Highlights: • The Food: Incredible quiche and (very fast-disappearing) carrot cake from our local COOK Shop! • The Crafts: Making Valentine’s seed-hearts with Ewelina. • The Feast: Katie’s plethora of salads and home-grown b

Just….Magical Music Man What an incredible few days for all the members, staff, and volunteers of our Music Man Project. Yesterday, our participation at West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge, with the wonderful @Prime Brass and Music Man projects from Bishops Stortford and Cambridge. Today, a showcase performance to family, friends and supporters, at our home at the Salvation Army Hall in Saffron Walden. At the end of the evening a member of the audience was overheard, saying ‘

Late Night Shopping tonight! £319.70 raised, which is amazing! Thank you to everyone for buying a Tombola ticket or two! #mencap #supportlocal #MakeADifference #fundraisingevent #gratefulheart #lovinglife

Full House for Arthur! What an incredible night! Huge thanks to everyone who came out for our Side-by-Side Club Movie Night tonight. It was a full house! We had an absolute blast watching Arthur the Movie! It was lovely seeing so many of our club members gathered together for some laughs and good times. Thanks to Kitty and our lovely volunteers for making our night a massive success. Not a fan of the movie? No problem- there was still crafting fun with friends - don’t they a