Step 2: All Courses

As part of our 10 year celebrations we are working towards the publication of our ‘Journal of Hope’.  One of the chapters in the book will be ‘Hopeful Images’.  For example some find a swan swimming serenely on the canal ‘hopeful’ as we can envisage his feet paddling fast under the water to keep going despite of the underwater currents.  These images provoke thoughts or ideas that can provide hope to make us consider things in an alternative way.  They can inspire us to make changes, challenge ourselves or simply ‘keep paddling through life’.  So we are running a workshop taking photos/images in and around Newbury town centre to capture them (maybe add a few words or explanation about why you took the photo and what it means to you personally) then we will all choose our favourite for inclusion into the Recovery in Mind ‘Journal of Hope’.  Please come and be part of this unique and shared opportunity.  Working individually but sharing our images in the book as a group  is proof that our collective experiences of Recovery are both meaningful and valid.  Sometimes words are not enough to express the wonder of ‘HOPE’.

Date:  Tuesday 21st April, 1:30pm - 3:30pm

Venue: Broadway House, Newbury

Keeping active is one of the Five Ways to Wellbeing, and there are lots of opportunities within West Berkshire to support you in doing this. The Council run a number of wellbeing walks in different accessible locations which are free to attend. Recovery in Mind are going to join one of their walks on Thursday 23^rd April, and you are welcome to join us!

The walk starts and finishes at the Watermill Theatre, Bagnor, and is approximately one hour’s duration. Please wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. The terrain is a little uphill in places.

The group stop at the Watermill Theatre for teas and coffees after the walk, so please bring money for refreshments if you would like.

We will meet in the overflow car park at the Watermill Theatre at 10.30am and anticipate finishing (following refreshments) by 12.30pm.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Date:  Thursday 23rd April, 10:30am - 12:30pm

Venue: Overflow car park at the Watermill Theatre, Bagnor

We would like to invite you to join us at the allotment session run by Tony at Sport in Mind on Thursday 30th April at 1pm - 3pm.  This will be an ideal opportunity to enjoy some light activities together in a relaxed, peaceful outdoor environment.  The allotment is a particularly beautiful space at this time of year, and has something for everyone, whether or not you have any experience of gardening.

This session links with our ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing” programme, as an opportunity to learn something new, keep active, and connect with one another.

Sleeping well can make a huge difference to how one deals with other mental health challenges. This workshop is designed to help you to audit your sleeping and work out ways to improve  what you’re doing and your bedtime routine. Come prepared for discussions and with pen and paper to write down ideas and make notes for yourself on how to improve your sleeping.

Date:  Wednesday 13th May

Time:  2pm - 4pm

Venue: Broadway House, Newbury

Join Sarah and get 'creative in the wild' at Snelsmore Common and help create a piece of collaborative art work using inspiration from the surrounding nature. Please wear old clothes that you don't mind getting messy.  Bring refreshments with you or there is a cafe should you wish to purchase a drink.  There is free parking and toilets.

Dates:  Wednesday 13th May

Time: 10am - 12:30pm

Location: Snelsmore Common

A standalone workshop providing practical techniques and strategies to learn how to solve everyday problems.

Date:  Thursday 21st May

Time: 10am - 12:30pm

Venue: Broadway House, Newbury

This four week course will include a closer look at the, now established, work around Food and Mood and how it affects our mental health and wellbeing.  We will learn together from our external specialist trainer, Minna, who runs a similar course at other Recovery Colleges.  We will look at food labelling, nutrition & gut health.  We plan to run some follow on workshops next Autumn so that we can put our learning into practice to improve our lives overall. 

Free car parking is available at Shaw House.

Start Date: Tuesday 2nd June

Subsequent Dates: Tuesday's 9th, 16th and 23rd June

Time: 10am - 12:30pm

Venue:  Shaw House, Newbury

Mindful Sewing  encourages sewers to forget about perfection and forget about the finished article. Instead, it encourages the idea of enjoying the process of sewing for sewing's sake. It’s about the journey, not the destination. It isn't about mending or making garments from a pattern. Neither is it about working towards a goal or a timeframe.

Mindful sewing is about using the needle and thread in the same way you'd use a paintbrush. It's about creating art, about enjoying the process rather than worrying about the product.  It does not  matter if your stitching isn't the best. The focus of mindful sewing is on the joy of creating. What the final product looks like isn't relevant. If it's got raw edges, so be it. If a few of the stitches are wonky, it doesn't matter.

Mindful sewing is about letting your creative juices flow and just running with it. There are no hard and fast rules about what you need or what you should do

We are running a 4-session Mindful Sewing course for students who would like to explore this technique.  Each session will last for 2.5 hours during which you will have the opportunity to learn some basic principles and explore your own creativity using fabrics, threads, buttons , lace and other haberdashery items.

We will provide all the fabric etc but if you have scraps or remnants of fabric do bring these along. If you have your own sewing scissors and needles please bring them but we can provide them if you don’t.

Date:  Thursday's 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th June

Time: 10am - 12:30pm

Venue: Broadway House

Some feedback and student comments after our last course...."Meeting like minded people and being introduced to something new which was a challenge to begin with then became a real joy with plans for making more.  It has refreshed my love of stitching and embroidery and given me real confidence.  It has helped enormously with a recent bout of huge anxiety.  Many things, easy company, joyful distraction, rewarding activity.   Informal inspiration.  Relaxation within the group. Being able to let things go, no right or wrong, just being.  Informal, social, laughs & quiet time spent on the sewing".

Here are some examples of Mindful Sewing:-

As part of the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing' programme we are running a 'take notice' walk on Tuesday 30th June at 2pm-4pm at Snelsmore Common.

Enjoy a slow leisurely walk through nature, stopping regularly to be in the moment and take notice.  Please wear suitable footwear and dress for the weather of the day as the walk will take place whatever the weather.  At the end of the session we will reflect on the experience.

Ideally, students will have attended the introductory ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing' workshop, or else will have attended the previous Five Ways to Wellbeing course.

Join Sarah for some outdoor creativity in the grounds at Shaw House.  There is lots of free parking and a cafe should you wish to purchase a drink.

Please bring some protective clothing with you eg apron or old shirt, everything else will be provided.

Dates: Thursday 9th July

Time: 10am - 12:30pm

Venue:  Shaw House, Newbury