Flame Launch
All Aboard the Panto Bus
Bits & Pieces…
Flame is the new name for our group
chosen by the members of the Signing
Dance and Puppetry Choir.
The United Theatre Company is a joint
venture for young people with a Learning
Disability between Trinity Skills for Life
and Walton Hall Special School.
The volunteers are made up of staff from
both establishments and friends who give
up their time on Tuesday evenings and at
other times to enable our young people
to fulfil their ambitions to appear on
stage. We have spent the year writing
and rehearsing a pantomime ‘All Aboard
the Panto Bus’ which we performed to
packed audiences on two evenings in
June at Walton Hall School.
The Friends is an organisation whose
aim is to help both parents and carers
and students. We need your ideas;
together anything is possible; so please
get involved in any capacity. You have
the talents so let's use them for the
good of everyone!
Please feel free to come to any of our
committee meetings; the next one is on
Thursday September 30th at 7pm at
Unit 2b followed by the November
meeting on Thursday 25th at 7pm
again. We look forward to seeing you
soon. (Keith Mansell – Chairperson)
On Thursday 12th August we performed at
St John’s Church in Stone doing a selection
of songs based on the theme of dreams,
being strong and overcoming barriers. This
was the first time that we had performed
for a whole evening previously having done
small performances in other events We all
really enjoyed doing the performance and
the reception that we received from the
audience was overwhelming.
As usual our young people worked hard
and the performances were fantastic and
very funny. Both evenings were different
and not at all like the original script and
the audiences were great and the
feedback afterwards was excellent.
The choir gives our young people an
opportunity to express themselves and
their feelings in lots of different ways, very
visual and very moving.
We would like to thank everyone who has
supported us and we are looking forward
to the coming year and the chance to
increase our repertoire.
(Ann Hunt - Flame)
Trinity Work Skills has a new
volunteer; Brian Freeman. He is taking
sessions in Marquetry from September
onwards. Brian has won awards for his
great designs and is happy to pass on
his skills to our students. The students
have, once more, shown their talents
and capability. The local Marquetry
Society is supporting this work with a
small grant for materials.
Club 101 would like to thank Frank
Simpson and Angela Thompson for all
of their hard work helping all of the
students to learn valuable new skills.
Funding
from
the
Staffordshire
Foundation (Grassroots) and the Big
Lottery(Awards for All) made this work
possible but we are grateful to the
crafts workers and staff and volunteers
for the teamwork which made it an
outstanding success.
(Janet Mason – Trinity Skills for life)
A lot of commitment and work goes in to
all of our productions both by the
volunteers and the young people but this
is far outweighed by the reaction from
audiences wherever we perform. We also
have to say a big thank you to all the
parents and friends who support
everything that we do.
Cards are on sale now at the Farmer’s
Market and at Unit 2b (Whitebridge Est.)
£4.00 per pack (8 cards)
A limited selection of jewellery is also
available. Cards for all occasions are
also available
£1.00 per card
Our cards/crafts are hand-made with care.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT
A Trinity Work Skills
Mini-Enterprise Project
Address:
Trinity Skills For Life
Unit 9 & 10 Emerald Way
Stone Business Park
Stone, Staffordshire
ST115 0SR
Telephone: 01785 818877
Facsimile: 01785 818266
Address:
As usual our motto is ‘It will be alright on
the night’ and it was thanks to our young
people and the people who unfailingly
support us.
(Ann Hunt – United Theatre Company)
The Clifford Project
Unit 9 & 10 Emerald Way
Stone Business Park
Stone, Staffordshire
ST115 0SR
Telephone: 01785 818877
Facsimile: 01785 818266
Address:
Trinity Work Skills
Unit 2b Whitebridge Way
Whitebridge Estate
Stone, Staffordshire
ST15 8JS
Telephone: 01785 818877
Facsimile: 01785 818266
Selling a variety of crafts from our
mini-enterprise work including;
Bird Stands
Bird Feeders
Ladybird Houses
Jewellery
Coasters
Chopping Boards
A SKILLS FOR LIFE
MINI-ENTERPRISE PROJECT
AUG 2010
ISSUE #07
Editor/s
Mike West
Bruce Eaglesome
Stop Press!
Directors News
The Friends of Trinity Skills for Life are
organising a Christmas event on Friday
3rd December at St Dominic’s Social Club
in Stone, so please keep this date free in
your diary so we can all celebrate
together.
We would be grateful if some people
could volunteer to help with food
preparation; so please let us know if you
are willing.
(Angela Hancock)
UNIT 2b
The work seems never ending at Trinity
Work Skills on the Whitebridge estate.
The new features are the new room and
storage facility on the mezzanine floor,
built by Jeff and with a helping hand
from DJ Brady. We have also moved the
DJ equipment out onto the mezzanine
floor for the disco’s arranged by
Trax@2b, which have been a great
success. The next step is to fix the
speakers on to the walls to give them
more room and a better sound, I think
they mean louder!!
Leslie House
Leslie house seems to be running for
short breaks more often nowadays, it
seems nearly every week our students
are filling the available places. If any
parent or carer would like details of the
rates and availability please contact Kelly
Morton on the normal phone number
2b News
Bobotie
It is pronounced ba-boor-tea, this is a
tasty Moussaka-like dish from Africa.
Ingredients
2 slices white bread
2 onions , chopped
25g butter
2 garlic cloves , crushed
1kg packet lean minced beef
2 tbsp madras curry paste
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
3 cloves
5 allspice berries
2 tbsp peach/mango/fruit chutney
3 tbsp sultanas
6 bay leaves
300ml full-cream milk
2 large eggs
Method
1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Pour
cold water over the bread and set aside
to soak.
2. Meanwhile, fry the onions in the butter,
stirring regularly for 10 mins until they
are soft and starting to colour. Add the
garlic and beef (or quorn) and stir well,
crushing the mince into fine grains until it
changes colour. Stir in the curry paste,
herbs, spices, chutney, sultanas and 2 of
the bay leaves with 1 tsp salt and plenty
of ground black pepper.
3. Cover and simmer for 10 mins. Squeeze
the water from the bread, then beat into
the meat mixture until well blended. Tip
into an oval ovenproof dish (23 x 33cm
and about 5-6cm deep). Press the
mixture down well and smooth the top.
You can make this and chill 1 day ahead.
4. For the topping, beat the milk and eggs
with seasoning, then pour over the meat.
Top with the remaining bay leaves and
bake for 35-40 mins until the topping is
set and starting to turn golden.
(Bruce Eaglesome – Enjoy!)
The workshop at Unit 2b has been well
used this term as the students gain more
confidence and add more and more
items onto their list. We had another
session with Bob Neil and Pyrography
and we bought our own machines so
that we can use them regularly. Some of
the students have become real experts
and this skill enhances many of our
home-crafted items. We have full order
books for many of our items but do ask
us if you’d like us to make something for
you. We have made bird tables,
composters, bug houses, candle holders,
garden plaques, bee houses, book
marks, chopping boards, obelisks, trellis,
fences, seasonal items, and beautiful
seats and benches.
We are grateful to local businesses who
have donated their unwanted wood to us
on a regular basis; this means that we
can keep our prices low and help to save
the planet by recycling. Chris and Bob
and their students provide a service for
the local community in helping to
maintain gardens. Let us know if your
community group would like some help
from them.
(Janet Mason – Way to Work)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Address:
Trinity Living
Unit 9 & 10 Emerald Way
Stone Business Park
Stone, Staffordshire
ST115 0SR
Telephone: 01785 818877
Facsimile: 01785 818266
Time to say goodbye
On Tuesday the 17th August we say a
fond farewell to Bruce Eaglesome, who
for nearly 7 years has been a most
valuable member of staff. Bruce was with
us from the start, first as a volunteer and
then working 3 days a week as an IT Coordinator and student support worker.
Over the years he has provided the
company with honest, reliable work. He
was always willing to go the extra mile
and was a caring member of staff to all
our students. I don’t know what we will
do without him on our residentials.
Bruce is going to work at his other job at
Walton Hall Community Special School
full time from September. We will all miss
you very much Bruce, but we wish you
well in your new career.
(Mike West – Financial Director)
HAND MADE CARDS
for sale at
THE ARCADIA CAFÉ ,
LOCK KEEPERS HAIRDRESSERS
ST JOHNS MONTHLY CHURCH STALL
Individually made by
our skilled team
A SKILLS FOR LIFE
MINI-ENTERPRISE PROJECT
I Think I Thought…
1. The early bird might get the worm,
but the 2nd mouse gets the cheese.
2. A clear conscience is usually the sign
of a bad memory.
3. Some people hear voices.. Some see
invisible people.. Others have no
imagination whatsoever
Awards Evening 2010
Special Awards…
Les Greer Award
Club 101
The students at Trinity Skills for Life
celebrated their achievements at their
annual Progress Evening on August 2nd
at Walton Community Hall. What a
fabulous evening! Trinity Skills for Life
support 47 students aged 18 to 30 with
learning disabilities; and parents and
carers joined staff and volunteers to
celebrate yet another successful year. All
students received a certificate but, as
usual, several students were chosen for
special recognition. This means an awful
lot to Trinity students; and you can see,
from the photographs taken on the
evening, how proud they are to have
their efforts acknowledged. The really
delightful thing is that students are not
competing with each other; they are
genuinely pleased to congratulate their
fellow students.
The official ceremony was attended by
the new Town Mayor and Mayoress and
representatives
from
other
local
organisations who are pleased to show
their support. The students in Club 101
(the student fund-raising committee)
thanked the retiring Mayor for her
generous donation of £500 which will be
used for DJ training and equipment for
their new venture TRAX@2b. They also
thanked the Friends of Trinity Skills for
Life for their donation towards the same
project. Club 101 shared their annual
report and accounts with the audience of
150 people; and were thrilled to have
such positive feedback.
This year the following students were
awarded the Student of the Year award
in the following areas;
This year the Les Geer Award for
Performing Arts went to the following
students;
Club 101 are coming to an end of their
Big Lottery Fund grant but the work
continues. During the year students were
able to produce a great exhibition of
some of their photographs, craft items
and glasswork and we have a whole
series of exhibitions booked through
2010 and 2011. We were keen to reach
as many areas as possible so that we can
spread the news about the excellent work
that is going on. We will be showing off
the students’ skills in Congleton,
Newcastle, Eccleshall, Cannock, and
hopefully Lichfield too. We have had
really good feedback from the exhibitions
held at the Hayes in April and the
Burslem School of Art in June. Thank you
to everyone who attended.
We would like to thank all of those
individuals and groups who have given
their support and made donations during
the last few months. Kalandar Warren
donated
£1000.00;
Younger
than
Yesterday DJ Neil, not only donated the
DJ equipment but also gave £80 to the
funds, Andre our plumber donated
£165.00 in memory of his mother; and
the Stone Mayor, Jill Hood donated
£500.00. We have big plans for the
coming year and all of the money will be
well spent. More news later.
On Friday July 23rd Club 101 launched
their latest venture; Trinity Skills’ very
own night club, TRAX@2b. We had been
making plans for a long time. It came
from an idea that James O had.
Why couldn’t a group of Trinity Skills
students visit a night club? The research
started and we made contact with a
number of local venues, and then reality
hit. They were expensive, transport was
a problem, no-one wanted to go to
Hanley on a Friday night and we were let
down by a club manager in Stafford.
So it was back to the drawing board and
we started to plan our own venue here at
Unit 2b. Mike was very helpful; Jeff and
Tim started on the necessary changes to
the building; Keith from the Friends of
Trinity Skills joined in our planning
meetings; Lyn Partridge gave us lots of
practical support.
Tim transformed himself into DJ Brady
and others prepared to be DJs too. Jill
Hood gave us a donation of £500; and
the friends donated £160 towards the
cost of laser lights; Jamie Hunt from E to
E Lighting helped us to choose
equipment and his boss donated a mirror
ball and bubble machine….what more
could we ask for? All this has taken a
very long time and we are very aware
that we have a long way to go. We held
our first TRAX@2b night on Friday 23rd
July and were pleased that many
students joined us and maybe a little
disappointed that numbers were not
high. But we welcomed 7 local young
women who came to support us.
The rest of the evening was taken up
with entertainment provided by the
students
own
DJ
Brady;
and
opportunities
for
parents,
carers,
volunteers and staff to get to know each
other better over excellent refreshments.
If you would like to know more; have a
look at the company’s website:
www.trinityskillsforlife.co.uk or come
along to the next Friends meeting on
Thursday 30th September at 7p.m. at
Unit 2b Whitebridge Way, Whitebridge
Estate, Stone. It’s not a talking shop; it’s
all about action. What better hobby could
anyone have?
(Janet Mason)
The Mayor of Stone was on hand to
present this year’s special awards
through the evening.
Rob Kenney (Mayor of Stone)
Attendance & Punctuation
Alexander Smyth (S4L)
David Iwasiuk (W2W)
Daniel Alcock (S4L)
David Jowett (W2W)
Work Placement
Luminita Roe (S4L)
Simon Lewis (W2W)
All-round Performance
This year the ‘Mayor’s Cup’ for general all
round performance went to;
Shabena Harrison (S4L)
This Year the ‘Friends Cup’ for general all
round performance went to;
United Theatre Award
This year the United Theatre Company
award was awarded to;
Adam Bicknell (W2W)
Volunteers
James Hughes (W2W)
Transition Award
This year the Transition Award went to;
Helen Bull (S4L)
A presentation of pot plants and a bottle
of wine was presented to all of our
volunteers to acknowledge the continuing
support and help our volunteers offer
throughout the year;
We’d like to thank all of the volunteers
who, once more, gave up their own time
to support us. We made a profit on the
night of £128.80, which will be put to
good use. We were very pleased to make
our first night into a celebration of AnneMarie S and James O 30th birthdays, and
thank them for their contributions. Talk
to us if you would like a club night to
turn into a party for you too….we’ll do
our very best! Remember Trax@2b is
brought to you by Club 101!
We are fired with enthusiasm and have
now booked a DJ to provide us with
training and this will run as a short
course on Thursday afternoons starting
on September 23rd for 6 weeks initially.
We will hopefully raise some more funds
to continue this kind of training as the
partnership with the Stoke-on-Trent
Youth Service could bring us many more
opportunities.
We have had a very successful year and
copies of their Annual report are available
for all to read. Their Annual General
Meeting took place on Thursday 12th
August 1:30pm at Trinity Work Skills and
all were invited. The weekly committee
meetings continue to be held on
Wednesdays at 12:00pm but the
committee are keen to involve as many
students as possible in all decision
making. Please talk to Amy B, James O,
James H, or Tasha if you would like to
know more.
(Club 101 Committee)
Folkestone Residential
This year Skills for Life students went to
Folkestone on their residential.
We
stayed at the Grand Hotel, which is
situated by the harbour.
We made full use of the hotel’s facilities
including the gym and swimming pool.
We also played tennis and pitch and putt
at a local outdoor recreation centre.
We had a wonderful week exploring
Folkestone and the surrounding area,
taking in the beautiful views and enjoying
the good weather (all week)!
Yum Yum!
Every Tuesday lunchtime at Unit 2b we
are treated to a gastronomic delight
when the cookery class provide a
fabulous lunch for us all. The menu is
always a special treat. Especially for the
vegetarians amongst us!
The students learn so many skills during
these cookery sessions, taking part in the
planning, shopping and preparing of food
as well as looking after the customers
and serving, cleaning up and report
writing. Over the term we have been able
to treat several visitors and prospective
volunteers and they have been very
impressed with the students’ skills.
Recently we had a Puff Pastry Tart with
Roasted Vegetables accompanied by
Couscous and Green Salad and this is
how it was prepared. Caramelised slices
red onions with garlic until the whole
building was infused with the aroma,
then roast some vegetables in olive oil
and salt. Roll out the puff pastry, spread
pesto over the pastry (not to the edge)
cover with vegetables etc and bake in a
fairly hot oven at the top for 20 to 25
minutes. Mix the couscous with turmeric,
ginger, lemon zest/juice and chickpeas
(peeled) and finally add a green salad for
the finishing touch.
(Janet ‘I’m on a Diet’ Mason)
We also went on a day trip to Hearne Bay
and Canterbury, stopping off at a Spitfire
Museum and a Cider Farm.
Every evening there was Bingo,
unfortunately nobody was lucky this year.
Later in the evening the Grand Hotel
provided entertainment in the form of
dancing and a cabaret.
It was a great week and it was soon
over, thanks to all the staff for their
support through the week and thanks to
all the students for making the week so
much fun!
(Lisa Lovatt – Skills for Life)