Rolling news of smaller articles covering Activities and Cafe Life:
Chat Issue 26 Winter 2009
The Mood Elevators
The band came in to play in the summer and also gave a Christmas rendition. The band usually play in the hall, but decided this time to hold it in the music room and in the staff room for the second gig.
The band emptied everything out first, then set up the equipment; there was just enough room to get everyone in. There was a far better sound and a great atmosphere.
The Mood Elevators played a range of music from Killers, Beatles,Vapours,Spenser Davies,Chilli Peppers and Tom Petty and ended with Rob´s version of Delilah (as he only knows how!!) and then Jungle Bells to end.
Chat Issue 26 Winter 2009
Quiz Night
It was that time again after a long layoff when the Friends of Caswell arranged a quiz night. As usual John was the quiz master and there were five tables.
The winning team for the picture quiz was Dale´s Harem (The women from Newton and Dale, Activity Coordinator) and the wining team for the main quiz were the Famous Five (Friends of Caswell) see photo.
The Hole in the Wall Gang (Cardigan plus Granville) came second in the picture quiz and second in the main quiz.
The Lost Boys (Ogmore and RichardG) won the spot prize answering correctly the date when Italy joined the 5 nations rugby team and the answer was 2000.
There was a tie for the second spot prize with Penry´s Pheasants (Friends of Caswell) and The Hole in the Wall Gang tied for the distance between two Welsh towns with both putting the same distance of 186 miles!! Penry´s Phesants won the tie break.
All in all a very enjoyable evening spent by everyone. Roll on the next quiz!!
Chat Issue 26 Winter 2009
Caswell art Group
The Caswell art Group took off a few weeks ago to work on various arts projects around the clinic. A couple of wards had put forward the idea of having murals in the courtyards to brighten up what can be quite an enclosed space.
Cardigan has been the first challenge for the group and we soon came up with ideas, one of which has been approved and is now under way. To make things easier each mural is to be painted onto a board as weather and access to wards would have made it a slow process.
We hope to produce something for all the wards eventually, designs for Newton are already being worked on which we´ll hopefully start next once approval has been given. Maybe in time other areas can be looked at if the first few are successful.
The initial stages have been quite entertaining and baffling all at the same time. Transferring the drawing onto the board is a slower process than first thought but I have no doubt we´ll work through it however chaotic it might get at times.
Chat Issue 25 May 2009
Adrian´s metal night
What a night! It was Friday the 20th February and I was off to Cardiff to see three bands at the CIA. We left at 6:30 by car and arrived at 7pm to find lots of fans outside. The bands were TESTIMANT, MEGADETH and JUDAS PRIEST. I brought my camera to take lots shots of all the bands, before we went in I bought a Judas Priest t shirt which was a good buy £20. We found our seats and had a good view of the stage. It kicked off with the first band Testiment in which they played a lot of their songs, which was great. Then Megadeth came on what an excellent band. Then finally Judas Priest came on stage with an awesome entrance! He rode his Harley on stage throughout his gig. My favourite band of the night was definitely Judas Priest! The night ended with a tasty Chinese.
It was a totally excellent night!
Chat Issue 22 Spring 2008
Pool Competition
All the wards have played their games of pool and the semi finals came down to the usual suspects, with the odds on favourites PaulS and DarrenB against the new boys VinceE and WayneE.
In the best of five games, PaulS played VinceE on Newton ward, and was knocked out by VinceE. This was a shock as PaulS was the reigning champion. DarrenB played WayneE on Cardigan ward and won. This also was a shock as DarrenB is known to be quite a good pool player. WayneE was the dark horse who went on to beat VinceE in the final, it was all nail biting stuff.
Chat Issue Winter 2007
Rambling Group
The rambling Group still tasks place on a Saturday morning and approximately eight people take part.
Due to the wet weather conditions, the rambling group has been a little bit of a wash out of late. But we still have some all weather walkers prepared to go out in all weather conditions. It′s been cold, wet and damp but we still enjoy every step of the way.
Blackmill still remains the most popular walk being quite flat and with an excellent café ("The Smithy") half way along. However, we have had some great walks at Afon Argoed Park and also through the fields of Margam Park.
Hopefully when the weather gets better we will add some other walks in different areas.
If you are interested in joining our rambling group please get in touch with any of the Activity Coordinators and we will only be too happy to try and get you involved.
Chat Issue Autumn 2007
Leavers Group
This course highlighted things that patients may need to know when leaving the clinic. The course focused on doing simple things from ironing, making a bed, dusting and hoovering, to opening a bank account, budgeting/ paying bills and food shopping.
The course was run in a light-hearted manner and was enjoyed by all. A certificate was given for completing the course.
Chat Issue Autumn 2007
Activity Coordinators News Update
Just to let you know David is a new activity coordinator starting in September, he was on Penarth ward has been in the clinic since January 2006 as a HCA. David is interested in gardening, most ball games, mountain bikes, reading, and the gym and he can′t wait to get started in his new position. David is hoping to do his nurse training in the future..
Other news there will be another chance to do creative writing, the OT Lara has done the course so we will be starting classes in October, please contact either myself or Lara if you are interested, also as promised there will be a speaker coming in once a month, this will start in November.
There is a quiz with "The Friends of Caswell" for the Cup at the end of September. In the last quiz Caswell Cardigan Crusaders won in a closely fought contest with Alfyn′s team.
That′s all for now from the Activity Coordinators.
Chat Issue Spring 2007
Activity Coordinators News Update
Just an update from the Activity Coordinators since the last Caswell Chat was published, we were able to get the teacher, Suzie, in to do the Creative Writing it was a great success (for more info on Suzie′s creative writing class click here) and everyone that attended the six week session really enjoyed it, so much so that we are hoping to get her back again to do something a bit different next time.
As you are aware we ask the patients what it is that they would like to do and one thing that came back to us was to have some metal detectors and to go and see what we could find, this has been arranged and we have bought and used the metal detectors (see below).
Dale one of our A.Cs (activity coordinator) is photographed discovering an ancient artifact with the clinic′s metal detector. After meticulous analyses we strongly believe the artifact is an iron age boomerang. We are open to other opinions if they are scientifically backed as rigorously as our own opinion. WebEd
There has been interest in having a poetry evening in the Cafe were you can either read your own poem out or if you prefer let someone else read it for you this is being looked at to see when is the best time to have it.
We are also looking into getting somebody to give talks once a month on different subjects this is something the patients want and we are sorting it out and will let you know the dates, also on a Wednesday there is a Chess club just started in the café at 1.30 pm. All are welcome.
We have just completed another questionnaire from all the patients there are some different things mentioned and we will be looking into these in the next couple of weeks.
I think that′s all for now from the Activity Coordinators
Chat Issue Autumn 2006
Rambling Group
Every Saturday morning between the hours of 10.00am and 13.00pm the A.Cs have set up a rambling group to provide a healthy start to the weekend.
There are many different routes and places to visit from coastal walks to mountain walks through forests and along rivers.
If you are interested in any of these rambles please contact Howard, Dale or Craig – your friendly Activity Coordinators.
Chat Issue Autumn 2006
Quiz Night
It was that time of the year again when The Friends of Caswell quiz night came. There were 5 tables with the last winners (Egg Heads) having to bring in a few reserves from last time. John was the quiz master who complied an excellent quiz despite having had an illness. The match was again very close but this time "Elfyns Elpers" came out on top with Friends of Caswell coming second and the Egg Heads third.
A buffet was provided and a good night was had by all. Elfyn did say that members of staff in Caswell Clinic could bring their own teams and join in.
Chat Issue Winter 2004
Friends Of Caswell Social Evening
Thank you for the rousing evening of musical delights is what the Clients have to say!. Session 1 was opened by Mid Life Crisis who kicked off with some well known songs and provided a real "Pub" type atmosphere to the hall of Guests. Nicci followed with some up-market pop songs and there was a break for the food spread provided by Caswell Clinic – everything from pineapple to sausages! This also allowed a break for a chat and discussion between the various groups.
In the second session, Mid life Crisis included some Irish Folk songs – in particular the Clients enjoyed joining in with "Wild Rover" and listening to the mainline Rolling Stones numbers such as "Brown Sugar" – many legs were seen tapping the floor! Nicci also moved up-tempo with her choice of pop songs which included some strong deliveries of some of Kylie´s songs which led to even more toe tapping – had there been a stronger presence from the Women´s Sections, there might have even been some dancing! "Well Done"Friends of Caswell - the social evening was enjoyed by all who attended.
Chat Issue 26 Winter 2009
Coity Castle
I visited Coity castle on a pleasant warm sunny day this summer, I enjoy taking photo´s of old medieval castle ruins like Coity so thought I would share some of them with the readers of Caswell Chat.
As I walked around the grounds I thought about how old the castle was and how long it would have taken to build also what it would have been like to live there during the times it was in use.
The photos give an indication of the scale of the castle so I also wonder how many people would have lived there to keep the castle running.
Chat Issue 26 Winter 2009
Friends of Caswell Christmas Quiz
Once again many thanks to John for compiling the Christmas quiz.
There were five tables and the winning team for the main quiz were The Pheasants.
Spot prizes were won by The Pheasants a after a tie between themselves and Forever More(Caswell Clinic).The Famous Five also won a spot prize.
Clueless Corner(Caswell Clinic) won the picture quiz.
A special mention for the Activity Coordinators who came third in the main quiz despite having only three people competing and they received a special prize.
Chat Issue 26 Winter 2009
Rob's Band
On August 15th, Once again the band came in to play. We usually play in the hall, but I had decided this time to hold it in the music room.
We emptied everything out first, then setting up our equipment, we had just enough room to get everyone in. There was a far better sound and a great atmosphere. Everybody appeared to enjoy themselves.
The band will come in again around Christmas time.
Chat Issue 22 Spring 2008
Creative Writing
Click on the hand to take you to a page telling you about creative writing entitled "Stretch Your Imagination"
Chat Issue Autumn 2007
Rambling
This goes from strength to strength with many trips both near and far on a Saturday morning. One of our favourite walks is to Afon Forest and cycle park (see photo). The best walks have been when we walk to a cafe and then return. As well as Afon another popular walk is to Blackmill where we stop for a cup of tea and a sandwich.
While the weather is fine we also take a trip out on a Friday morning.
Read: Weight Loss Howard´s WayChat Issue Autumn 2007
Plasma Screen
We now have the Plasma screen in the café and I would just like to thank everyone for their contribution towards getting it, especially the kind donation from the OT department, this was very much appreciated.
We had boot sales, raffles, a stall selling bric a brac and how many nuggets in the jar where you had to guess the amount. All the items sold were donated by both patients and staff, and I would just like again to thank everyone for their generosity. Without your help we couldn′t have achieved what we set out to do, so a big part of the Plasma Screen belongs to you.
Chat Issue Spring 2007
Quiz Night
We got together for another quiz night ably assisted by our resident compére,John.
There were 4 tables in the café which worked out better than the sports hall. It was very close for second, third and forth but the outright winner this time was Elfyn′s team (see photo above). This was especially good because Elfyn′s team finished last in a previous competition.
We had a lovely buffet prepared at short notice by LisR.
Many thanks from everyone who attended the quiz. We look forward to the next one.
NB: Robert Minhinnick (above photo far right) is an acclaimed poet and editor of Poetry Wales. He has recently been presented with £10,000 for his book of the year "To Babel and Back". The book is a collection of essays, observations and stories, is reportedly based in part in Robert′s home town and also encompasses the author′s trips to both Iraq and Argentina.
Tia Chi
Tai Chi is a form of exercise that has recently been gaining popularity for both its physical and mental health benefits. Its origin lies in the ancient Chinese martial art called T ai Chi Quan, the routines of which required practitioners to be tranquil and calm, emphasizing slow and soft movements. As a form of exercise, Tai Chi incorporates these ideas as a means to attain healing qualities. It has proved particularly useful in the relief and management of back and neck pain and is thought to help the release of stress and tensions.
The practice of Tai Chi entails three key components; movement, breathing and meditation/state of mind. It is often referred to as "meditation in motion", emphasizing breathing and movement that are both flowing and graceful. Unlike many types of aerobic exercise (such as running) Tai Chi is low-impact, being gentle on he spine, joints and muscles. It is therefore ideal for individuals who find high impact aerobics or other exercise routines painful or uncomfortable.
Tai Chi does not require any expensive equipment and can be practiced anywhere. As it is a fluid movement that requires very deliberate and precise motions, it is however important to learn from an experienced instructor. Many classes are run throughout the country, generally in a group format that lasts approximately an hour. We are hoping to establish Tai Chi sessions within the Clinic, facilitated by external instructors. Look out for posters detailing times etc. in the near future.
Update and more info on Tai Chi at Caswell Clinic (WebEd)Click Here
Chat Issue Winter 2001
Friends of Caswell
Friends of Caswell Clinic are a group of people not associated with the clinic but who have an 
input into its activities and promote communication between the clinic and the community. They consist of approximately 12 people and were responsible for helping arrange the outside band ("Kismet") and quiz night last spring. The group are keen to provide a regular programme and would like to know of any ideas people might have such as sports events, pool tournaments or other things. Rob.C (User Friendly group) is the link man so please give him any ideas or requests.