SPRING 2016 Polly s Interview 1. I heard you started to run marathons, what got you into running them? It was my mum and 2 sisters idea to run the Venice Marathon. Mum booked it and 4 of us went. Only 2 people ended up doing the Marathon. 1
2. Did you train hard before running them? The first Marathon I did not train at all which was a bad idea because my body went into shock. The second Marathon I did train. 3. How many have you run? I have run 2 marathons. Venice and Vienna. 4. Have you won any medals for them? You get a medal if you finish, so I have 2 medals. I finished my second marathon 40 minutes quicker than the first. 5. What marathon will you plan to run next? Edinburgh on the 29 th May for the Scottish Refugee Council. I have a Just Giving page but this page has now closed. 6. Who is your running partner? My two sisters Harriet and Rachel. 7. What is the hardest part of running a marathon? The 20 mile mark up is hard. Your legs are getting sore and you want to give up but the buzz keeps you going and of course eating as much food as you want post marathon. Since our interview with Polly she had run another Marathon in Edinburgh rising over 800 for her refugees. 2
Pancake days On Tuesday the 9th of February, We had Pancake Day and two young adults cooked the pancakes for us to eat. We added jam, butter or syrup and other Young Adults added chocolate spread because we had some. Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent (like eggs, flower, butter, chocolate, cheese,...). Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent. 3
Belgium visit 2016 Every year we have students from Belgium who come and visit Nansen. They re part of an organisation called Vives. They is a university where they are taught to be social workers. The university is also the one that Bart (our Director) went to and he has kept up the contact. This year, 32 Belgians came to Nansen!! The students were joining in some activities and were split up in different groups. One group played football, another small group went to see Tigh-na-cloich. There was also a group doing first AID, food preparation and archery. Here is some info what some groups did. Tigh-na-cloich A small group came to Tigh-na-cloich to see how it was run and what happens there. Some of the young adults showed them round the house. Some Tea and Coffee was made in case they wanted one. Then we all sat in the living room and they asked us questions about what we do there on a day-to-day basis. 4
The Football group We travelled to Inverness Leisure Centre where we played football. I scored two goals!! While we were at the Leisure Centre, other young adults and Belgian students played Archery, First aid, walking, food preparation and some of them went to visit Tigh Na Cloich one of our residential houses. We returned to Redcastle Station for lunch which was a BBQ which included Tomato & Basil or Mushroom soup, Beef burgers or sausages, homemade shortbread and some of the Belgian Students tried Haggis, neeps and tatties. After lunch we played games including Chinese Football which is a game where you stand in a circle with your feet apart and you use your hands and try to get the ball through other people s legs. When the Belgians left, they gave us the famous Belgian chocolates which were delicious! Everybody enjoyed the day. 5
Easter Disco The Problem Solving group (Sim, Beth, David, Ryan, Liam) decided to do an Easter craft day including a disco. The crafts were Easter cards and decorating them. We had an Easter Egg Hunt at Redcastle Station. There were two different groups for the Easter hunt. The Problem Solving group decided to hide the eggs and to put them in outside places, like the polytunnel and under the portacabin! A plastic egg was put in the ground. The real eggs were all in a big yellow bucket. Everyone got a chocolate egg at the end. The organisers had their lunch first and then they went to the hall to set up the disco. Everyone was dancing to the music we had picked and then we had juices and chocolate provided. WELCOME Welcome to Callum, Anna and Jenny. They are three new staff members at Nansen Highland. Jenny will be doing Housing Support and doing odd shifts in the Station. Anna is volunteering at Redcastle Station on Mondays and Thursdays. Callum will be three days at the station and two days Housing Support. We hope you will enjoy working with us all, both Young Adults and Staff. 6
Duke of Edinburgh: Volunteering I, Mary, volunteer at the Brownies Every Tuesday evening it starts at 6:00 till 8:00pm. We finish with songs from brownies song book. Last week, I went with 11 Brownies to Tesco. This week we are going to Pets at Home for a visit to see how they look after the animals and fish. An assistant showed us different animals like the snakes and two reptiles and two Rabbits. One of the rabbits was adopted and one of the rabbits was sold. I pour the juice for the Brownies and I help Rhonda with this. We go on different trips out in the Mini bus. We have been to a dance class called Dance Studio at KC Inverness. Swimming Gala 2016 On Wednesday 13 th of April, 13 young adults went to the Highland Disability sports swimming Gala in Invergordon. Some of the young adults did front crawl, back crawl and butterfly. Everyone took part in the relay. Lots of bronze, silver and gold medals were won!! So, I would like to say, well done to everyone! This was a fantastic day. We have a great team and hope to take part in the HDS swimming Gala next year and have as much fun as we had this year. 7
Work Days at Redcastle Station From the 8 th - 10 th June, we had 3 work days at Redcastle Station. There was lots to do including painting, gardening, making soup, tidying and sorting out the workshop, putting tents up for the coming Camping trips and putting up a railing and fixing steps. We were divided into four different groups with three or four Young Adults and a member of staff in each group. The Young Adults chose which group they would like to be in for the morning and could change for the afternoon shift! We were very lucky with the weather with good sunshine and it only started to rain at 3pm on Friday! We all worked very hard and are now looking forward to our Weekend! 8