Carers Week 2020
Carers Week this year was all about Making Caring Visible but obviously it is something that we had to do slightly differently this year compared previously. We would normally have a lot of special events happening for people to attend and this year they all had to happen online through Zoom instead. It was always going to be a strange adjustment for everyone but ultimately it meant that even more people had access to our Carers Week celebrations than ever before!
To start the week we showed our President, Alistair Burt, and our Chairperson, Emma Wilkinson, having a conversation about how Covid-19 has been affecting how we are working here and what it may mean for us going forward. They also discuss the impact that it has had on carers and what changes have been made that may be here to stay. They also talk about how important volunteering has been for everyone and what we get up to in Carers Week. The link below will take you to three short videos of the interview:
Below is a round up of every day of our Carers Week this year:
Monday - Blast from the Past
Monday - Blast from the Past
We certainly started the week with a blast! The stories and memories you shared were interesting, funny and sentimental in equal measures, from postcards, photographs to badges and awards, with Mrs Beeton making an appearance twice! It was a genuine privilege to hear you all talk.
‘Thank you for a well organised programme a blast from the past. I really enjoyed sharing my memories and listening to the group sharing their memories. It was lovely to see you both and the group. Please organise another blast in the past get everyone talking’.
Tuesday - The Great Carers in Bedfordshire Bake Off
Tuesday - The Great Carers in Bedfordshire Bake Off
Well what a great gathering of brilliant bakers we had. No sign of Paul Hollywood or Mary Berry to help with the judging so we all scored each other's offerings.
There was a mix of highly experienced active bakers to people that never bake but had gone out and purchased a Betty Crocker cake mix all delivered impressive bakes for each other to see.
Jan was so enthusiastic to show us her ‘not a Chelsea bun ring’, as she raised her plate to the camera, the cake fair flew off! Sue impressed us with a swimming pool themed birthday cake. We had Eccles cakes, a beautiful loaf of bread, ginger slice and a raspberry Victoria sponge cake too. One baker was so happy with her baked cheesecake that she had eaten some before she showed us.
Wednesday - Pets at Home
Wednesday - Pets at Home
It was lovely to have Alastair Burt, former MP and President of Carers in Bedfordshire join us, but try as he might there was no way anyone’s dog was going to upstage Jenny’s! He did, however, bring the only guinea pig amongst the other cats and dogs. All pets were perfectly behaved and all demanded an oooh or aaaah. In fear of Jenny’s prized Daschund Cordelia not being voted Best in Show we avoided this being a competition. It was however so lovely to hear the stories of what our closest friends get up to!! It is evident that cat and dog owners have a little friendly rivalry of which are the better pets (obviously it’s dogs – but don’t tell the cat owners)!
Thursday - Photography in Lockdown
Thursday - Photography in Lockdown
We definitely have some amazing photographers amongst our carers and it was wonderful to share the wildlife, factual, beautiful moments and memories with those that came along and to hear the stories behind the photographs.
Friday - Fun Quiz Night
Friday- Fun Quiz Night
To round off the week, we had a brilliant quiz night hosted by Amanda with some musical support from her husband. 28 families joined us for a fun Friday night.
The Bedford Team pulled together a real mix of questions that had everyone on their toes and was a wonderful end to a really busy Carers Week.
