Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Chloe and I would like to wish all our groups and blog readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i chi gyd!
We'd also like to draw eveybody's attention to the new blog that St. Anne's Parent and Toddler group have set up with our help - you can reach it by following the link from this blog site.
See you all in the New Year!

Happy Day!

Yes folks it's a Happy Day today - we've got our first film blogged! Please visit the Out of School Club's blogsite to view this epic production. Sadly Chloe and I have been having major technical difficulties, but we hope these are behind us now. Keep checking the various blogs for other films that are currently in production.

New group making Connections!

Chloe and I have just returned from our first session with a new group joining the Connections project. We'd both like to welcome the Parent & Toddler group who meet at St. Anne's Church Hall every Monday. It was a lively session, but we were able to show some of the adults and children how to use digital cameras and then how to transfer those photos onto a computer. One lady who'd never touched a computer before, managed successfully to transfer the pictures she'd taken and was able to view them on the computer. She was very excited by the whole process and wants now to get her own laptop. We hoping after a few more sessions with us they'll be able to set a blog for their group and link it with the others that have been set up.
Again we wish the Parent & Toddler group a very warm welcome to the project.

IT at Bodlondeb Residential Home, Penparcau

Since about June time, Chloe and I have been visiting Bodlondeb Residential Home here in Penparcau. We haven't spoken on this blog before about our visits there because we were unsure if our offer of IT lessons would be picked up. Thankfully one lady did take us up on the offer - Mrs. Jeremiah. She's been coming faithfully to our lessons every Wednesday, because she wanted to learn how to email. Mrs. Jeremiah had never sat in front of a keyboard/typewriter before, so we had to start with the basics. We are very proud to say that she has progressed wonderfully. So much so Mrs. Jeremiah's son has installed a computer in her room! What makes it even more wonderfully is that a few week ago Mrs. Jeremiah celebrated her birthday - she is now 91 years young! She can email her family with confidence and under our guidance has been able surf the Internet for knitting patterns and newspaper web sites.
But the good new doesn't end there - Mrs. Jeremiah is now working towards creating a digital story/film - a virtual tour of Bodlondeb Residential Home. Once finished we hope that it can be shown to prospective residents of the Home, so that they have a feel of the place before settling in.
We are also pleased to say that other residents are starting to show interest in learning about IT, with two new residents starting the course.

Jam making at the Out of School Club

Yesterday the children at the Penparcau Out of School Club had a special visitor. The chef and cookery writer Elisabeth Luard came to the club to demonstrate how to make blackberry jam. The first thing we all had to do was collect more blackberries. Armed with collecting bowls we went to the edges of the school playing area, where hundreds of blackberries were ripening. The children really enjoyed themselves seeing how many blackberries they could collect - it turned into quite a competitive sport.
Back indoors Elisabeth explained the process of making the jam. Each child had a jar for their jam and this was filled with blackberries. Then an equal amount of sugar was added to the jar so the berries were covered. The children were then encouraged to shake their jars to mix the berries and sugar. The contents were then put into two saucepans and set to boil. While the jam was bubbling away, Elisabeth took the children out to the field to show them wild plants that could be used in cooking - like dandelion leaves, wild sorrel etc. She explained that these could be used in salads or in omelettes.
The jam continuously stirred to ensure that it didn't burn - a knob of butter was added to each pan to get rid of the foam. The mixture was tested every few minutes to see if it was ready to set - this was done by dribbling a few drops onto a cold china plate and also by checking the back of a spoon. Once the jam was ready it was put into the children's jam jars and when it had cooled, a disk of greased proof paper placed onto the jam before the lid was put back on.
The children really enjoyed the whole process and some couldn't wait to taste their jam. Another session has been arrange for the children to do some more cooking with Elisabeth next month.

Third film made -"The Mystery of the Stolen Biscuits"

Well done to the children and staff of the Summer Playscheme at the Out of School Club, Penparcau. This time we had a gripping "whodunit" about some stolen biscuits. Everyone involved had a fun time making the film and they should be proud with the result. We aim to get all three films onto the web as soon as possible, once we've received permissions from parents/guardians.
The 50+ Club are collecting information and resources for their first film and Chloe and I will be going to Tregaron to film some of the Country Market, which will be included in the resulting film.

Second film - Bug Hunting!!

Yesterday Chloe and I had another fantastic morning at the Out of School Club. This time we worked with Carys, Chris, Phoebe, Sophie and Adam and were able to produce another film - this time about Bug Hunting.The children made a story board for their film and then scripted it. While I was with that part of the group, Chloe took Carys and Chris to show them how to use the camera. Carys became quite the expert by the end of the film. Everyone had a great time making the film and in the afternoon Chloe and I edited it into a 2 minute film.