It’s Friday morning and time for our regular weekly Coffee Morning slot. This week we opened it up with plenty of board games to play. Families gathered alongside our regular attendees and joined in with the games on offer. As usual, there was plenty of cake, tea and coffee on offer with opportunity for conversation and fun.

Thursday evening came around and we opened up our Youth Mocktail Bar. There was a whole range of ingredients for the young people to build their own mocktails – either following a set recipe or imaginatively creating their own mixes. There was plenty of food on offer and fruit/marshmallows to dip into the chocolate fountain. At the end of the night everyone went home happy and full of sugar (good luck parents).

The weather remained great for Thursday afternoon’s afternoon tea in the peace and quiet of St Peter’s Churchyard. Guests were treated to a generous selection of finger sandwiches, cakes and a freshly baked scone with cream and jam. Like all of our events this week, the afternoon tea was offered free of charge but donations were received in aid of Alex’s Wish – a local charity working to eradicate Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Thursday morning, and we welcomed our youngest members back for two sessions of Under 5’s Soft Play. A huge inflatable obstacle course was accompanied by an equally large inflatable play den with ball pit. This was a great space for the children to play while parents and carers joined in or sat and chatted.

On Wednesday, the seaside came to town as the Churchyard at Christ Church was transformed by giant inflatable Slides, paddling pools, sand-pits, ice-cream van, fish & chip van, mini golf, craft activities and lots more.

Over two hundred people came and enjoyed the fun. The sun shone down upon us. Nick, our first-aider was relived that he didn’t have too much to do.

Tuesday evening came around and a dozen of us met at The Sorrel Fox for a drink before walking along the river to Barrow-Upon-Soar where the Vicar actually bought a round of drinks. After we’d sat and chatted together, we returned to Mountsorrel for a final drink at The Swan Inn. This was definitely a Pub WALK and not a Pub CRAWL. It was a beautiful evening and a great time was had by all.

Tuesday afternoon saw a gathering of youth at the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre for a Youth Nerf event. Party2Party brought the nerf obstacles, guns and ammo. A fantastic afternoon of mayhem ensued and at the end, the grown-ups got their own back.

And as if our week of activities was not busy enough, the lovely Donna from Charnwood Borough Council arrived to carry out our kitchen inspection. All was in order and we achieved a food hygiene rating of 5.

Another quick turn around, and as the children leave, so the elders arrive. Our senior lunch saw twenty people enjoy a roast chicken dinner followed by Apple & Blackberry crumble. After dinner, there was a huge amount of fun and laughter in the sing-a-longs, and chair hockey.

Tuesday morning began with one of our favourite activites – a special event for children with Special Educational Needs and Disablities. These children face many difficulties in life that are not of their own making and it is a joy to offer them their own special place to enjoy with a parent/carer. It is an event that is limited to a maximum of twenty children to avoid it becoming an overwhelming experience.

Meanwhile, in another room, our wonderful team of staff and volunteers host a parallel event for the siblings of the SEND children. There were craft activities, games, tv, snacks and fun.

I think all of our precious children had a great time today. Due to the nature of those attending, we are not publishing any photos of this event.