Exchange success!

Here’s a bit of feedback from Catherine who recently asked for an exchange…………..

A big thanks to Sheila who has completed her first exchange

I was having some friends over for dinner and I needed a tablecloth and a set of napkins ironing so I asked Helen if she could put me in touch with someone.

She introduced me to Sheila who lives round the corner from me in Sherwood which was pretty convenient to drop the ironing off!

A few days later, she contacted me to say it was all finished and she had done a really good job. I’m really grateful to Sheila for helping me out – it’s one less thing to do this weekend.

Lovely!

H

2011 another busy year

It’s that time of year again, when we take a step back and look at what’s happened over the last 12 months.

The Skills Exchange is still growing at a steady rate, with 280 individual members and 48 Organisations, 328 in total, we are one of the biggest in the country!

This year 47 individuals have joined and 13 Organisations. This obviously increases the number and variety of skills on offer. As of today, 1766 hours have been exchanged since the beginning of January.

Exchanges have included….. Gok Wan style wardrobe organising, massage therapy, pet care, simple plumbing, tarot reading, singing lessons, washing, ironing, English conversation, photography model and language help including, English,Arabic and British Sign Language. There are too many to list.

Organisations have had the following help …… leafleting, kitchen assistant, receptionist, help with social events, mentoring, craft activities for children, mailouts…amongst others

Apart from the exchange of skills, 2011 has seen members involved in the Get Hooked Crochet Project, Friday Breakfast Mornings, regular trips to Nottingham Playhouse via the hotHouse scheme, free trips out to local parks courtesy of the Walk on the Wildside project, card making and socials (we’ve had 3 this year).

Thankyou to everyone who has taken part in the Skills Exchange this year and here’s to an even more active 2012. Warm wishes to everyone for the festive season.

H

Quiz answers..

10 questions this time, how did you do?

1. Freddie Mercury

2. An Italian bread

3. Evangeline Booth

4. Munich

5. Brookside

6. Bournemouth

7. Herring

8. Rome

9. Robert Robinson

10. Queen of Spades

If you enjoyed having a go at that quiz, why not come along to our FESTIVE BREAKFAST, Wednesday 28th December, 10:30 til 11:30 ish, here at Tennyson. Free hot drinks, teacakes and toast. We will be having a game of Bingo and David may be bringing his quiz book along. All welcome ….

H

It’s Quiz time again!

Thankyou David for providing us with another quiz at Breakfast Morning on Friday. Have a go if you fancy, answers in my next Blog:

1. Who after his death had a number 1 hit with “Living on my own”?

2. What is Focaccia?

3. Who was the first woman General of the Salvation Army?

4. Which German City hosted the 1972 Olympic games?

5. Which soap did Lily Savage appear in?

6. Which town has the car index mark AA?

7. What sort of fish is a kipper?

8. In which city is the largest Christian church in the world?

9. Who asked the questions in “Ask the family”?

10. Which playing card is the Black Lady?

We also had a game of Bingo, with chocolate for prizes, and enjoyed it so much that we are doing it again on Wednesday 28th December, 10:30 – 11:30 am. All welcome for free hot drinks and toasted teacakes

H

The results are in………

.……..and I don’t mean that Little Mix have won the X Factor! Something much more significant than that. I am here to report on the findings of our most recent Skills Exchange Annual Survey.

It seems that 92.7% of those people who replied are either happy or very happy with the Skills Exchange. Some lovely comments to explain this include:

“It’s brilliant. Helpful. Brings out the best in members. It is just a very giving way to behave and that feels inspiring to me”.

“I like meeting new people and supporting others, but have limited time myself some months. The Skills Exchange has enabled me to help when I have time on a day that fits in with my needs and has enabled me also to get some help round the house with jobs like painting”.

96% had met new people and 72.2% had got help that they wouldn’t have been able to pay for.

” I could not have afforded the work that was done for me”.

People generally like the Newsletter and find it usefuland informative .

We also had lots of really interesting suggestions for social events next year, so watch this space for something different!

Smiles all round again methinks.

H