Welsh Culture visit to Conwy Castle

View from the top!

As part of the accreditation for the Welsh Language and Culture group we visited Conwy Castle. 

The group look happy :)

 The group enjoyed the visit welcoming the opportunity to explore the castle seeped in history.

Built in 1283 by Edward 1 Conwy Castle form part of an ‘iron ring’ of castles which were designed to quell Welsh uprisings. 

Today the castle is one of the best preserved castles in the whole of North Wales.

KIM Together River Boat Trip in Chester

Lady Diana Boat Trip 3rd October 2018

KIM 4 Him and KIM 4 Her Flintshire/Wrexham

Today we had 29 intrepid sailors board the Lady Diana for a 2 tour trip down the River Dee.

The Lady Diana is operated by the Chester Boat Company and something I have always wanted to do. Isn't it funny that we quite often don't do things that are right on our doorstep? We live in a beautiful part of the world and take so much of it for granted - I wonder what you can think of, that is near to you, and that you haven't visited yet. It's a good topic for discussion in the KIM groups and is a wonderful way of pooling our local knowledge and piquing  interest in others.

The vast majority of the groups arrived in good time for 2pm sailing. Some arrived a little later and nearly had to swim to the boat - I'm not naming names but I'm looking at you - MEN!!

Some people were anxious about getting on the boat, but with a combination of determination, team bonding and helpfulness from the Skipper you all come on board. A big thumbs up for overcoming the challenge - you can rightfully take confidence from this and draw on your feelings of overcoming an obstacle next time you are unsure. 

We had perfect conditions for the cruise, lovely sunshine and flat calm water. I knew hearing the Titanic theme on Classic FM on my way to Chester was not an omen!!

Everybody seemed to be chatty during the trip and tucking into packed lunches and on-board refreshments. What did you think of the prices to the riverside properties?? 400k for a shed....wow.

All in all, I felt it was a good trip out and people had some amazing outcomes.

A big thank you to Gail and Dave for organising with the groups. 

Thanks to the staff for attending it make it possible - Sian, Scott and, well, me!

Last of all, thank you to everyone that came along - think about what you got out of the day and let us know about it when we evaluate the group in November.

Photo Gallery on FLICKR

Ready to sail.

4 of the KIM staff ready to escape. Gail seems to have grown!

A view of the Groves from Handbridge.

Wrexham and ready!

Don't jump Dave!!

Captain Alan.

RAF Cosford Air Museum

This trip has been a little while in the planning as we have been waiting for our driver to be available and for him to get a minibus for the group - a big thank you to Andy WG for giving up his time to make it happen.

12 men departed the KIM Hub at 10am armed with packed lunches and a smile. We made it to RAF Cosford just in time for our tour to start at 12.

And what a tour! Our guide as Geoff and he took us through the Cold War, Test Flight and WW2 museums over 3 hours. The history was amazing to see. 

All the men enjoyed the trip, everyone was taking photos and asking questions about the aircraft. 

The men were in good spirits on the way home and discussed how getting out (like this) had helped them with their anxiety and the feeling of being included in society. One even said he didn't think he could have done something like this just a few weeks ago.

More photos from the day here - CLICK

Bill, Dave and Andy WG outside near a Dominie and Nimrod

Lightning or Thunderbird 1?

Geoff talking to us next to the world's oldest remaining example of a Spitfire

An actual piece of the Berlin Wall. Anyone else hear the strains of David Hasselhoff ?

KIM Together @ Loggerheads

Loggerheads Walk

The staff at KIM INSPIRE were asked by the Men’s Service Manager to plan an outing for the all the groups (KIM 4 Him Flintshire and KIM 4 Her Flintshire/Wrexham). We discussed the ideas with the groups and supported them organise it as individual group and the larger consortium. This gave everybody the chance to have a voice without anything feeling too big.

We had to come up with ideas to where people would like to go and to be on a bus route. We looked into Moel Fammau, but there was no bus route close to it. We decided to go to Loggerheads so they could either go for a walk, or they could relax.

The men’s (and other groups) representation for the community day out was extremely positive with ten individuals attending. Everybody who came today really enjoyed getting out and not being stuck in on a lovely day. 

Outcomes: A client completed the three mile walk, this was challenging but was determined to complete with the team.

Bringing all projects together gave opportunities for people to get to know each other and create the feeling of solidarity and team work bringing cross county and cross projects together as one total entity of KIM.

People sharing food with strangers (from other KIM groups) and also people who hadn’t brought food felt comfortable in accepting the gesture of sharing which can sometimes present hurdles.

Getting to know interests and sharing information created conversations about common likes and interests.

The point of doing this was to get all the groups together, so they could meet people who they haven’t met before and getting them out of there comfort zone, which took a lot for some people to do.

At the end of it, they all said that they enjoyed the outing, and are looking forward to the next one.