Making Mandalas in March

March Meeting

Thankfully, the move from Hanley Fire Station to the American Clubhouse in Cobridge went smoothly with a good turn out for our March meeting which was almost entirely devoted to a mandala making workshop with Deborah Rogers of the Cultural Sisters.
 
It is always a pleasure to work with Deborah. On this ocassion she was commissioned to evaluate the impact of B-Arts with whom the OLGBT group worked closely in our recent Wellbeing Project funded by the People’s Health Trust. Some members were involved with bread making, others in lantern making or photograpy workshops…many took part in all three.

Some of us had already worked with Deborah at Art Stop Stoke to design and make a total of 21 rubber stamps. Each stamp represented one of 21 statements from which individuals selected the ones they considered applicable to them. The impact statements ranged from (B-Arts) ‘made no difference to me’ to ‘increased sense of belonging to local communities’ and ‘doing something to improve heath and wellbeing’. No one used the ‘made no difference to me’ stamp…but some amazing designs were created using most, if not all of the rest.
 
A couple of new members who missed out on the Wellbeing Project, created mandalas using the stamps to indicate the impact the OLGBT group itself had on them. A big thank you to everyone who cooperated to make this hands-on session work so well.

Regretfully, our trip to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert at Stoke Rep theatre had to be called off because of the coronavirus outbreak. We hope that it might be possible to see a rescheduled performance sometime in the future.

COVID-19

In response to the Government Guidelines to the global pandemic, all of the OLGBT group’s communal activities are suspended until further notice. However our Facebook Page has never been so active…

We also hope to hold a virtual meeting 6.30 pm on Monday 20 April…more details in a separate email closer to the time.

Meanwhile here are some links that might be useful in the current situation

Staffordshire Buddies in the current crisis, have kindly extended their telephone support for clients to OLGBT Group members. If you would like to receive a weekly call from them, please ring 01782 613429

Street Angels Facebook page was set up to help indiviuduals who are self isolating. Help offered – help needed

Stoke on Trent COVID-19 Support Network – Local organisations and individuals willing to offer support or require help.

Look up NHS 111 online to check and follow their advice if you think you may have symptoms of COVID-19

Esri UK Portal for Public Health England, World Health Organisation (WHO) and John Hopkins University & Medicine – real time data on total cases, patients recovered and deaths