What’s going on…
Most of our groups have resumed including the ramblers and gardening groups in Cardiff and Swansea.
What’s on in Cardiff…
If you fancy keeping in touch with old friends or meeting some new people, why not try joining one of our groups? To have a chat please call Val on 07707 295121 or email her on [email protected]. We love to have your suggestions and feedback. Please get in touch with your ideas for groups and we will see what we can do.
| Day/date | Start Time | Name of Group | Details | Frequency |
| First Monday of the month | 11.00 | Cardiff Macular Group | Starting 05 September 2022 in the Activity Room at Jones Court. | Monthly |
| Second Monday of the month | 12.30 | Book Club |
Meet in person at Sight Life or local café
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Monthly |
| Monday | 10.30 | Elderfit | Telephone session – An hour of standing exercises fully described with Gareth. | Weekly |
| Monday | 1.30 | Bird Chat | Learn all about bird song and bird calls and how to identify them – with Lee next session 26 September 2022 | Monthly |
| Tuesdays | 11.00 | Pedal Power | Cycling session at Pedal Power – volunteers guides, side by side bikes and tandem bikes
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Weekly
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| Tuesdays | 11.00 | Doga | Chair yoga session for those with guide dogs – First session 05 September 2022 | Monthly
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| Tuesdays | 2.00 | Coffee and chat | All welcome for a cuppa and a natter – biscuits also on offer! | Weekly |
| Wednesdays | 11:00 | Chair Yoga | Seated yoga, relaxation and stretching with Roz | Weekly
|
| Wednesdays | 1.30 | Tennis | Visually impaired tennis at David Lloyd Centre, Ipswich Road, Cardiff | Weekly |
| Wednesdays | 2.00 | Singing group | Singing for pleasure – not a choir, all welcome, no experience necessary! First session 21 September 2022 | Fortnightly |
| Thursdays | 10.00 | Photography group | Learn all about taking photographs, bring your own camera! | Fortnightly |
| Thursdays | 2.00 | Elderfit | An hour long telephone session of seated exercises between 2.00 and 3.00. Strength and balance class with Gareth | Weekly |
| Last Thursday of month | 11.00 | Shand Pioneers | The group normally meets in the Croft pub, but is meeting by phone for the moment between 11.00 and 12.00 | Monthly |
| Thursdays | 6.30 | VI Drama Group | All VI thespians (or wannabe thespians) welcome. Held at Llanover Hall, 25 Romilly Road, Canton, Cardiff | Weekly |
| Tues/Wed/Thurs | 9.30 | Ramblers | Meet alternate Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays monthly. Visit interesting parts of South Wales | Monthly |
| Fridays | 10.00 | Gardening club | At Rhydypennau Allotments, lake Road North, Cardiff. | Weekly
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| Fridays | 11:00 | Quiz | Fun quiz on the telephone – repeated at 2pm. Cryptic clues, guess the tune on the kazoo and pot luck general knowledge – you can play as teams | Fortnightly |
| Fridays | 2.00 | Quiz | Fun quiz on the telephone – repeated from 11.00 | Fortnightly |
| Ad hoc | Audio described Theatre trips and touch tours – contact us for more information |
What’s on in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Young at Heart Social Group
Our social group continues to go from strength to strength. We are regularly welcoming old and new members from both RCT and the surrounding areas. The group has formed strong friendships built on trust and provides invaluable peer to peer support.
The group, run over Zoom, has been an excellent way to keep members in touch but after a difficult two years it is fantastic to be able to regularly meet up again face to face. Back in April, we enjoyed a very sunny picnic and afternoon tea in Ynysangharad Park in Pontypridd. Members came together, some of whom were travelling to Pontypridd for the first time.
New Arts & Crafts Group
Our new Arts & Craft group ‘See I can do Craft’ has now started and runs every first and third Wednesday of the month from 10.30am to 12.30pm. The venue is Wattstown Community Centre in Porth.
This group is specifically for Art and Craft enthusiasts who will bring along their own activity to work on each session; whether that be cross stitching, crocheting, knitting, patchworking etc, to enjoy some lively conversation about their craft and meet new friends in a relaxed and friendly environment. There is a £1 donation per session. If you or someone you know would be interested in joining the group, need support to attend or for further information please get in touch.
Sight Life RCT Zoom Groups
If you are interested in joining in or need any further information, please contact Carys Groves on 07753 305631 or via email [email protected]
Every Thursday 10 – 11am. Fitness group. The session is designed for all ages and abilities and concentrates on building strength and balance and improving mobility which may help in everyday activities. The exercises can be performed seated or standing.
Fortnightly run on Friday 11am – 1pm – Young at Heart Social Group over Zoom and Face to face. Offering peer support and a variety of activities as well as regular guest speakers to the group.
If you would like to attend any of the above groups, please message me with your email address so the Zoom link can be sent to you.
To join our Sight Life RCT Facebook page please go to follow the link www.facebook.com/CIBRhonddaCynonTaff
To join our Young at Heart Social group please follow the link: https://tinyurl.com/3smr4t73
Any questions or queries please get in touch with Carys who can explain in more detail. She can be contacted on 07753 305 631.
What’s on in Swansea…
Swansea and Neath Port Talbot also have a range of telephone groups available to members. All groups last an hour. If you live in the Swansea or Neath Port Talbot areas and would like to find out more about the groups, or how we can help and support anyone experiencing sight loss or receiving a diagnosis of an eye condition, please do not hesitate to contact Anita on 07824 541982 or email [email protected]. For the November newsletter for Swansea click here (opens as a Word file).
| Day/date | Start Time | Name of Group |
| Monday | 10.00 | City Centre group |
| Monday | 11.30 | Laughter Yoga |
| Monday | 1.30 | City Centre group 2 |
| Monday | 3.00 | Pontarddulais group |
| Tuesday | 10.00 | Mumbles and Gorseinon group |
| Tuesday | 1.30 | NEW! Music Entertain Sing Speak (MESS) Group (different professional artists each week who either sing or do a talk about various subjects) |
| First and third Tuesday of the month | 11.30 | Technology support group |
| Second Tuesday of the month | 11.30 | NEW! Coming in March – Tea and Chat with Richard and Trisha (a space to talk about day to day stuff connected to sight loss) |
| Fourth Tuesday of the month | 11.30 | Quiz group Two |
| Tuesday | 1.30 | Make the change workshops |
| Tuesday | 3.00 | Men’s group |
| Wednesday | 10.00 | Chair exercise class |
| Wednesday | 11.30 | Women’s group |
| Wednesday | 1.30 | Wellbeing group |
| Wednesday | 3.00 | Chair yoga group |
| Thursday | 10.00 | Make the change group |
| Thursday | 11.30 | Knitting group |
| Thursday | 12.30 | South Wales Charles Bonnet Group (Esme’s Umbrella) – a group dedicated to people who have Charles Bonnet Syndrome between 12.30 and 1.30. This group is currently weekly. |
| Second Thursday of each month | 1.30 | Quiz group One |
| Third or fourth Thursday of each month | 1.30 | County Steering group |
| First Friday of the month | 2.00 | NEW! Art Group with the Glyn Vivian Art Centre |
Feedback on Sight Life’s groups
Here is a selection of the comments we’ve received from our members about the groups.
“I so enjoy the group calls. All I am doing at the moment is going for a short walk around the block. It is lovely to feel involved with others from the outside world.”
“I am so fortunate to have Sight Life. Although my cataracts are a nuisance, I am just so grateful for having had the opportunity to mix with such amazing people.”
“I just want to thank you for the enormous amount of work you have put into keeping us informed of such a wide range of issues and services. I know this will have been invaluable to many of us VIPs. Thank you.”
“I am so glad you called me today. I’m really happy, you’ve offered me so many different things! I would love to join the telephone groups, it will stop me being on my own and thinking about all the awful things going on in the world with Coronavirus at the moment.”
“I also wanted to say a personal thanks for passing on the info’ a few weeks’ ago on Tesco’s now taking on blind and VI people for their priority deliveries, an absolute life saver for me and I now have my weekly Tesco’s delivery, which is brilliant. I had real problems going into supermarkets with all this going on, but now I don’t need to worry about not being able to practice social distancing in the queue or in the shop and can get the things I need delivered.”
“Without the Sight Life groups I would be sat at home alone and sad. It is a lifeline for so many. It’s more than a place to go and meet other people with sight loss. It’s about the support they give you to live a life, not just when you are there, but when you are not there.”