Broomhill Festival

Ben’s Centre like many charities, is dependant on the generosity of the public to help fund the centre and its activities. Our finances aren’t the healthiest at the moment but we are miraculously managing to get by and we do wish to thank everyone who has donated. This week sees the opening of the Broomhill festival (11th-20th June.) The festival is organised by a committed group of local people who have chosen Ben’s Centre as one of the four charities the festival will raise money for this year. This is a wonderful boost, not only to our finances but also to Ben’s Centres moral. It can feel like an up hill battle trying to survive in the voluntary sector. It is therefore so encouraging to be chosen and our work valued by others in the community.

The Festival opens with something for everyone, a hog roast on St. Mark's Green, followed by events and activities for all ages from concerts, talks and an art exhibition to five-a-side football, a family fun day, a garden party and lots more. (www.broomhillfestival.org.uk)

On Saturday 19th June, 2pm St Marks Broomhill garden party will be held we are planning to have a stall and we have been busy making greeting cards to sell with some of our service users. The girls in particular have loved using our new sparkly gel pens and created some lovely cards. Wendy is on the look out for a service user who is willing to volunteer or possibly she may just commandeer someone to help in the kitchen and make cinder toffee to sell too. Cinder toffee is great fun to make which involves a chemical reaction from the bicarbonate of soda and the glucose which makes a frothy foaming mixture that’s creeps along the tray when all the ingredients are heated and mixed together. Once it is set it forms into a crunchy honey comb mixture that is tasty to eat.

Tomorrow we are off to Castleton with service users to see Derbyshire’s unique Blue John, visiting one of the caverns. I’m sure this adventure will be retold in next week’s blog.