By Katherine Gale | PIP Service Coordinator
Happy New Year from PIP!
Everyone here at PIP HQ is looking forward to 2014, with staff and students busy planning for what will inevitably be another jam-packed year! In 2013 we got a new building and a new timetable, lots of new faces and a non-stop programme of events and activities- what will 2014 bring?
Our new delivery space is now fully up and running, and our new kitchen is certainly the focus of activities. Our highlight was when the Healthy Cooking Group made us all a delicious Christmas dinner with all the trimmings! We held our official opening for the new space on 13th December, which gave our Dance and Multimedia groups a chance to showcase the fantastic work they have been doing, as well as a chance for PIP staff, students, friends and supporters to reflect on our journey so far.
As promised in our last report, you can see some of our of photos from our working holiday in Somerset below. Our students took part in lots of activities, from working hard on the farm gardening and feeding the animals, to visiting Bath and taking the opportunity to relax in the wonderful Bath Spa. We also embraced the Halloween spirit with a pumpkin carving competition (you can see the results below), and learning how to cook pumpkin soup….in a cauldron!
Back at PIP we really enjoyed our Winter Leisure Programme. PIP students took part in ‘PIP’s Got Talent’ and treated us to songs (in a multitude of different languages), dance and some excellent costumes. We also visited the Southbank Centre where we tried out ballroom dancing along to some excellent music. PIP was of course the first group on the dance floor, but we did mange to persuade lots of members of the public to join us. PIP staff also got into the holiday sprit by taking part in a 5K Santa Dash around London’s Victoria Park- this is harder than it sounds in a full Santa costume!
However among all this fun we have been doing some hard work...honestly! Last week we were visited by a group of volunteers from HMRC, who generously gave up their time to deliver a workshop to our Numeracy group to teach them all about tax. This can be a difficult concept to grasp for those both with and without learning disabilities, so we would like to say a big thank you to the wonderful volunteers who made this session not only informative but also tremendously good fun!
Looking forward we have lots of exciting events on the horizon. 19th February marks the beginning of a month-long showcase of artwork created by PIP students, at Collyer Bristow gallery in Holborn. Shortly after this our students will be taking part in their very own sponsored fundraising event for PIP- the PIP Woodcraft Hiking Challenge. PIP students are teaming up with volunteers from the organisation Camden Woodcraft Folk to take part in a gruelling hike, culminating in an overnight stay in the wilderness (well, in a scout hut), before doing the whole thing again on the return journey. Finally on March 29th we will be holding our showcase event- the PIP Theatre Company’s Annual Performance. Their original production, Darkness Comes To Castle Kingdom, will be performed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and tells a story inspired by the museum’s collections. We hope to see you there!
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