January 2020 Extra

Fresh flowers on the tables and an art-based wordsearch to tackle gave our visitors to the mid-January cafe a clue about our theme for the afternoon. We welcomed back our guest speaker, local artist Salli Blackford, who had come along to tell us about her interest in botanical art and how her work has evolved over time. Salli brought along examples of her beautiful and detailed work and we were able to see close up the variety of techniques she uses to create them – from coloured pencils and watercolours to oils and acrylics and from detailed paintings of flowers and plants to broad landscapes of the coast and countryside around us. Salli had us all mesmerised by her talent and her varied artwork!

It was a joy to be talking about flowers and colourful works of art in the middle of winter and the presentation was enhanced by a display of botanical pictures from the National Horticultural Society’s collection, books and ceramics which everyone had a chance to look at and talk about during our tea break. We were delighted that Salli was able to join us for refreshments and the other artists amongst our guests were keen to chat with her!

Next we distributed postcards of botanical paintings around the tables with ‘conversation-starter’ questions to stimulate our guests – do you have a favourite garden or wildflower? Have you visited or taken part in a garden show? Do you prefer to see flowers in a vase or growing in the garden?  It didn’t take much to get everyone talking!

After tea we welcomed back musician Beryl Jukes who had called in to entertain us with the aid of her trust piano accordion.  A selection of well-known songs soon had everyone joining in and there was the opportunity to provide an accompanying ‘rhythm section’ with our selection of percussion instruments. It was great to see the smiling faces and laughter, especially when Beryl, already singing and playing her accordion, decided to alternate our accompaniment between drums and tambourines by conducting us with her legs!

As yet another enjoyable and varied afternoon drew to a close we thanked our visiting artists before we pulled down the shutters on the cafe for another week. 
 

We look forward to meeting up again on the 3^rd and 20^th February from 2pm at Crantock Village Hall. New guests are always welcome and should you need more information ring David on 01637 830617, Di on 01637 830544 or visit our website: crantockmemorycafe.org.uk

January 2020

The first cafe of the new decade gave our visitors a chance to have a change of scenery and meet up with friends after Christmas and the New Year celebrations! The room was soon buzzing with chatter, and there was a thought-provoking display focussing on special occasions and festivities that occur through the year. An optional word-search based on ‘Through the Year’ was ready for everyone on the tables, but there was only a short time to glance at it before we welcomed back our visiting entertainers – the Cornish Dancers and the ‘Singing for Fun’ Group from Newquay’s branch of the University of the Third Age (U3A for short!)

Our entertainers led us through a lively and varied programme of song and dance, interspersed with a few humorous readings. We were soon tapping our feet, singing along and having the opportunity to stretch our legs and take part in the Flora Dance! 

After that we were ready for a well-deserved cup of tea plus a chance to relax and have another look at the word-search and display.

During the break in proceedings we were pleased to welcome Graham and Frankie Harris who run the Modern Sequence Dances at Quintrell Downs and Fraddon. They had come along to present the cafe with a cheque for £130 which they had raised at their Christmas Social. Needless to say, we were delighted by their generosity and kind thoughts towards our Cafe.

As cups and plates were cleared away we joined in with a few more familiar songs led by the U3A singers before bringing an entertaining afternoon to a close with a rousing performance of a Cornish version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Finally, David gave us the answers to our quiz – which had proved quite challenging – and a warm round of applause was given to our singers and dancers before it was ‘closing time’ for the cafe once again.

We look forward to meeting up again on 20^th January and 3^rd February from 2pm at Crantock Village Hall. New guests are always welcome and should you need more information ring David on 01637 830617, Di on 01637 830544 or visit our website: crantockmemorycafe.org.uk