16 Apr Wellswood’s Friendship Spaghetti

When I began community building in Wellswood in 2016, I started a weekly Tuesday coffee morning at Me and Mrs Jones Café. Mr Jones wanted a ‘community table’ – where people could come in for a cup of coffee at a table where everyone was happy for others to join them. We started with one person, then three…until it grew to 22 people in the back room! We had to move to the Kents pub to fit everyone in! Over the years that followed, more than 50 people attended, and a core group of twelve now meet up there around a table every week.

Initially, I hoped it would just bring people together for coffee once a week. I made sure that everyone would feel welcome and have fun meeting new people…sharing conversations. What I didn’t anticipate was that these lovely people, who had met as strangers, would become genuine friends! They began to get together outside the group and join in more activities I set up in Wellswood. Some of them joined…a Scrabble group, Music at the Museum, Community Lunches and Community Picnics. They were giving each other lifts, supporting each other as close friends and were proud to receive well-deserved Oscars as Community Champions at the Wellswood musical awards evenings at Kents Cavern. Lesley and Jacky offered to help me at one of the Memory Cafés, and Marion hosted the Writers Group in her home.

During lockdown, hundreds of people from across the Bay called our Torbay Community Helpline for help. No one from the Kents Coffee morning did. They were all helping each other. They care about each other so much that they bring cake to celebrate their birthdays and send cards when they’re unwell…checking in with each other and visiting at home with lunch when they can’t get to the Kents…so they can still spend quality time together as friends.

How wonderful it is to discover this unexpected treasure, and what a joy it is to make such lovely friends…at a coffee morning!