On 28 June our Support Group had our first summer outing since the group was formed in September 2016. We were very grateful to Heritage2Health and in particular Theresa Nash, Director of Heritage2health, for their wonderful organisation on the day and for looking after us and the other groups so well throughout the day and not to mention the various activities arranged throughout the day.

Some of the activities included:

• Sensory activity and Garden Tour
• Yoga
• Storying Telling
• Singing for Health
• First Aid Skills
• Arts and Crafts
• Guided Ham House Tour

We were greeted by a lovely sunny day and at 09:30 our minibus arrived outside the Atkinson Morley building at St Georges Hospital where 8 of our group were waiting to be collected. We drove through a relatively quiet Richmond Park and it was lovely to see the Deer in their natural habitat.

On arrival we made our way to the registration area inside the grounds of Ham House and there we met up with Keith, Jean, Ray, Mick and Sue from our support group and who travelled under their own steam (probably didn’t trust my driving of the minibus, and I don’t blame them!)

We were soon introduced to our student volunteers, 3rd year student nurses from Kingston University. We were looked after so well, with our every need catered for. There was plenty of refreshments and we all had our own seating, which seemed to follow us as we moved around the grounds and gardens! It was important that those needing any additional specialist support, such as ambulatory oxygen, were catered for so the support group was able to provide an additional oxygen concentrator.

It was great to hear from the Ham House staff and garden experts, such as Lyn Feldschreiber, who provided us with a deeper understanding of the various plants grown in the gardens, most of which were edible – a useful piece of information if ever you wish to forage!

Select any photo below to view the photo gallery

For some of the members of the group they came prepared for a more ‘active’ day. Ray gave the Yoga a try and observed “not as easy as it looks” I think Ray may now be considering joining a local yoga class sometime soon!

We were all entertained and enthralled by Master Story Teller, Eli Anderson from StoryAid. It also turns out that he is also an accomplished Jenga Drummer! All activities were scheduled at specific times throughout the day. Participants could pick and choose which activities they wished to take part in or if they just wished to sit and enjoy the fine weather while having a nice cup of tea with biscuits or some cake! The day was un-rushed and very relaxing, which was the main idea of the day!

But as they say “All good things come to an end” and although no one wanted to leave we had to pack up and retrace our route back through Richmond Park and home.

We would all like to express our gratitude to every one envolved in making our first summer event so memorable and we are so looking forward to next year.

Thank you Theresa and to the entire team!

From everyone at the St Georges ILD Support Group.