Bristol Childrens Centre & Thought from an Oldie

St Pauls Food Club & Central Bristol Children’s Centre.

St Pauls Food Club was set up in January 2020 in partnership with Family Action & Feeding Bristol with food being sourced from the national charity Fareshare South West along with other local and national suppliers. The club runs on a weekly basis every Wednesday morning from 9.30am until 12 noon in our Family Hub at The Children’s Centre in St Pauls. The aim of the service is to provide regular access to a sustainable supply of food to people at risk of food poverty, to encourage families to access local support services and be signposted to other agencies, to increase disposable income for local families to improve life chances and wellbeing and to reduce the amount of food being sent to landfill in the UK by utilizing surplus food. Families can become members by completing a membership form available from the Children’s Centre. Once someone becomes a member of the Food Club scheme they will be asked to pay £1 for an annual membership, they are then offered a variety of food for £3.50 each week. In return members will receive approximately £10-£15 worth of food per week. Families must have a child under the age of 5years. Here at Central Bristol Children’s Centre we are still very much open and providing services for families in and around Central Bristol. We are running parenting sessions and Stay & Play sessions via the magic of Zoom as well as adult learning courses, advice & guidance, playful activity sessions and songs and games through our Facebook and You Tube pages. Visit our Face book page at “Central Bristol Children’s Centre” https://www.facebook.com/CentralBristolCC

For more information about any of our service you can also contact the Children’s Centre on 01179030337.

Thoughts from an Oldie

Written by Hilary Finch

Well I'm hard pressed to know what to write this time.... Tier 3 Lockdown, Christmas and a new year, 2021 coming up and who knows what's ahead! Coronovirus has taken over the globe, not just us. In my splendid isolation I watch the news, read and listen but have little connection to the community as such. I have great respect for the many who are doing so much to provide food, shelter, help and support. I have to admit to being pretty lazy doing a few sewing repairs for clients and going for walks here and there. I have not taken to zooming into on line learning or shows. I prefer finding stuff on line to have a giggle, quite often at President Trump's expense! Having lived here for a long time (with gaps) I meet people I know on my trips to the shops or on walks and have a socially distanced chat avoiding the ones who try to give me a hug! My bubble consists of my daughter and her family living four doors away – as I write all safe and well. There are four generations of us within two streets and the youngest, my great grandson, now nearly two years old, will never really understand these times we are going through. Whatever reality we end up with as a community and Britain will be normal for him. One thing is certain, we will have to be patient as the country and Bristol Council go broke and services struggle to cope. My sympathy goes out to all those suffering through these times through illness, death, anxiety, stress and loss of homes and jobs. The scale of depravation is awful. The numbers of people suffering at the hands of their partners is despicable. Please be patient and kind. Nothing lasts for ever, but it will be a long time before any kind of normality is regained for many. In the meantime all the best for 2021 and be jolly careful as the Boris said!