May 2016

Hi Everyone,

We have had a great month with loads of stuff to keep us occupied. The banners that TOG made were used for the 'Save the Bridge' campaign in Harrow central.

We can now relax for a while because The Bridge has been saved. Some of the people that use the services of the Bridge organised a party to celebrate.

'Don't Fret' ( the Guitar group ) and 'UkCan' ( the Ukulele group ) joined forces with the 'Bridge Music group' to make the party go with a swing.

It was a beautiful day so the party was held in the garden. David Perry and another four people from the council came to join in the fun.

Thank you to all those at 'TOG' who helped in any way.

Now let's see what you lot got up to this month......

These are just a few of the photos taken in May.

JENNIFER'S ART CLASS

Anusha's mum stepped in to take a JEWELLERY CLASS because Marilyn was away.

THE CRAFT TABLE

Well this month we had a go at making a paperback 'Bird Cage'.

In this craft we recycled some old paperback books. We have had a go at this project before because it is soooooo....therapeutic.

Hansa took the class because she loved doing this and stepped in to help out.

Every page ( about 300 ) have to be folded. It takes a long time....but it's worth it if you have the motivation.....and suffice to say these guys kept going.

This one is completed....now comes the fun putting all the bits and pieces on.

MORE CRAFTS........

Find a few sheets of music, a scanning machine with a printer and some good coloured pencils and voila!!! We had some fun using this medium to make some great pieces of artwork. No....we aren't cheating ...we're just having a great time trying other ways of working with the tools we have.

'UkCan'

THE UKULELE GROUP

Some of the group taking a break while Lisa grabs a cuppa!!!!

On top of all this Christianne showed some people how to make some beautiful origami birds.....gave some French lessons and of course did some Tai Chi.

Jennifer also did a walking group with a few people.

It's been a hectic month with plenty of activities to keep us busy.

Hope to see you at Munch and Mingle on Friday 3rd June.

Next TOG June 8th

Patricia x

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Wednesday 13th April 2016

Just to let everyone know we had a great time at 'MUNCH & MINGLE'.

We had booked a table for 12 and were quite surprised to see the group number increasing so quickly. We actually ended up with a big group of 18. Next one is booked for Friday 6th May.

Let's get on with today's activities.

Thanks to Jennifer for another wonderful lunch and to Mary & Ann doing a wonderful job in the kitchen.

ACRYLICS WITH JENNIFER

Jennifer had her group engaged in some of the techniques used with acrylic paint.

Great stuff!!!

THE JEWELLERY GROUP

Marilyn's ladies seem to be enjoying themselves.

CRAFT GROUP

Hansa led the 'Crafts' today. We had been asked to do the flowers again. So out came the beautiful coloured tissue paper. These flowers are so eyecatching!!!!

Just so easy to make, which is always a good thing.

RAFFLE TIME!!!!!!!

LISA'S GROUP

Lisa and Brian with the help of other TOG members made loads of 'Placards' for this coming Saturday.

As most everyone knows we will be in Harrow protesting about the closure of 'The Bridge'.

WOW!!! You lot have done a brilliant job. Let's hope people passing by will understand why we are so angry about losing 'OUR HUB'

Angie as usual rounded of the afternoon with her 'Dance and Exercise' class.

Another great afternoon!!!

Patricia x

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Wednesday 30th March 2016

It's been a hectic month and unfortunately with all the meetings about the Bridge and other stuff taking up so much of my time I have decided to just enter a load of photos showing some of the work that has been done at TOG during this month of March.

Mini Blackboards.....

Michael made an Easter Cake....He did a great job !!!

COLOUR-IN COMPETITION

Peter came to judge the colour-in competition from the Rethink 2016 calender. Peter had won the September entry for a colour-in drawing.

He said that all the paintings were very good and it was hard to pick a winner. There were only 3 prize calendars to give away so in no particular order the winners were Anusha, Michael and Hema. So well done guys!!!! A big thank-you to everyone who took part and also to Peter for coming along and making this the highlight of the day.

Those flowers were so impressive...well done Hansa for taking a great craft class.

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Wednesday 24th February 2016

After our ' FAB ' lunch and chit-chat, Jennifer announced that she was going to take a group for a walk and that the Water-colour class was cancelled.

The rest of us went on to enjoy what was on offer.

When the ramblers returned they also joined in with the afternoons activities.

COLOUR-IN COMPETITION

We are still ' colouring-in ' Peter Williams winning drawing from the 2016 Rethink Calendar. He will come and judge the finished ( and not so finished ) pictures when we return on the 9th of March hopefully.

As you can see in the following photos people are still eager to win one of the calendars. We have 3 to give away!!!!

Heads down everyone!!!!

THE CRAFT TABLE

It was ' Stencilling ' time again. We haven't done this for ages. So out came the acrylic paints, sponges, gloves and of course the stencils. Instead of working on paper we did all our work on leather. It's a really nice material to work with.

May decided to prepare some glass jars for a future glass painting project.

She is very good at this. One needs a steady hand and an eye for detail.

UkCan....BEGINNER UKULELE GROUP

I think Lisa had her work cut out today. Lots of contenders waiting to ' try their hand ' at the ' good old Uke '

Unfortunately Miguel one of Lisa's ' Star Pupils ' had an accident breaking three bones in his foot. We all wish you well Miguel and hope you will be back on your feet in no time.......Miguel wrote in an email that he was ' with us in spirit ' ....

And how did the Caretaker manage to get in on the act......Think he secretly wants to join the group...

THE POETRY GROUP

Writing poetry.... Gloria says I should take the plunge !!! So let's have a go !!!!

Here we have two poems written by one of our very own toggers.... Angela.

It's the end of the afternoon.....Now for a nice cup of tea!!!!

And finally a reminder......No TOG next week. We are back on the 9th of March.

If anyone would like to join us on the 4th of March we are meeting for ' Munch and Mingle ' in Hatch End. Look up news page for further details.

Patricia x

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Wednesday 17th February 2016

Half way through February. Was anyone like me.....not one Valentine card !!!! Never mind maybe next year......

Had to take this photo because Jennifer is actually sitting down. It's rare to get a picture like this, she hardly ever has a break. You must try to do this more often Jen....

THE CRAFT TABLE

Mehndi ( Henna )

We had a very enjoyable afternoon with Sheenal showing her skill at Mehndi.

Mehndi is drawn on the skin with a thick paste also know as Henna paste.

She brought pictures of Mehndi designs for us to copy. There was tracing paper for those who felt the drawings were too intricate.

Sheenal first did some Mehndi on herself so that people could actually see some of her work.

And....here is the first stage close-up. The paste is quite thick and will have to dry...... When dry the paste has to be washed off and the process is complete.

Sheenal has a very steady hand. The person having the Mehndi ( Henna ) has to keep very still too.

Sheenal is concentrating hard to do a good drawing.

It's looking good......

Sheenal washed off the dried paste and the finished tattoo ( figuratively speaking ) looked brilliant.

If you would like some temporary ' Skin Art ' I am sure Sheenal would be delighted to do one of her designs for you.

THE WATERCOLOUR CLASS

Try your hand at water colour......Jennifer brought this picture today for us to have a go !!!!

Someone decided to take up the challenge....Looks good to me !!!!

THE JEWELLERY TABLE

It was a busy day at Marilyn's table today.....Lots of creativity going on here !!!!

UkCan....BEGINNER UKULELE GROUP

Lisa is making sure that this lot are making waves....or should I say music !!!!

No one smiling....I guess they are concentrating very hard !!

Well there you go....A little glimpse into an afternoon at TOG....

By the way we had a great afternoon at Munch & Mingle. If you want to join us for the next one on Friday March 4th please do.... love to see you there. More information on the news page.

Patricia x

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Wednesday 10th February 2016

With all the going on concerning ' THE BRIDGE ' it's a wonder anyone turned up at all this week. But.... as it happened we did have a pretty good turn out. Hopefully everyone went home feeling a little more cheerful than when they first arrived.

Sitting down to our lunch ' The Bridge ' was of course the main talking point.

As usual our main aim is to get people enjoying the afternoon. Let's see what went on........

BEGINNER UKULELE GROUP...' UkCan '

Lisa our tutor was there to guide people through their first steps.

Nice to see a few people taking the plunge.....

THE POETRY GROUP

And take a look at this bunch.....Stop all that chatter....Thought you were supposed to be doing some poetry!!!!!

THE JEWELLERY TABLE

Marilyn where are you??? These two are trying to figure out how to do this bit!!!!

THE CRAFT TABLE

Today we decided to have a competition.

Peter Williams a one time Togger was one of the winners in a ' Drawing Competition '. His drawing was chosen for the September entry in the 2016 Rethink Mental Illness Colour-in Calendar.

Peter is coming to TOG to judge the pictures. We have three calendars to give away to the lucky winners.

Looks as though Marie is very happy with her work. Think she's got her eye on one of those calendars. Good luck Marie!!!

And here are some of the entries today......

No Dance and Exercise with Angie today. But at the end of the afternoon our dear Christianne was on hand to offer some TAI-CHI.

Thanks to Elaine who very kindly stepped in to be the washer-upper.

Have a lovely week, get as many people to sign our petition to keep ' The Bridge ' open and ' Take Care '

Patricia x

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Wednesday 27th January 2016

It was Jennifer's birthday during the week so Marilyn did the honours and brought in a cake. Jennifer had taken a well deserved break in Israel to celebrate.

A couple of years ago the Craft Group got together to decoupage a huge canvas frame approximately 48'' x 30''. It took a number of weeks to complete ( actually there is a small section that was never finished if you look close enough ).

I thought it would be a good idea to put it up here as it was done Pre Website days and a lot of new members would not have seen it.

It's been in my attic for some time. If anybody would like to have it please get in touch with me.

A couple of pics of it below.

THE CRAFT TABLE

Well it was back to some glass painting today. Out came a number of coffee jars that we had been saving. These ones have flat sides, much easier to work with.

Everyone learned how to use the lead outliner cone ( Before anyone gets worried it's not real lead and very safe ). It's quite a difficult procedure but most everyone seemed to get the hang of it. The more you practice the better the outcome.

And this is the result of today's work.

THE POETRY GROUP

I had to sit a listen for a while before I took these photographs. It was a beautiful poem........

I have been promised some poetry written by members of the group so hopefully we will have a couple of brand new poems on the POETRY & PROSE page.

THE JEWELLERY GROUP

Good old Marilyn.....she does keep this group on their toes.

So this is what they have been up to....I want those earrings please!!!!

THE WATERCOLOUR TABLE

These guys are getting good...... Week after week Jennifer passes on her skills as a watercolour artist and the results speak for themselves.

UkCan...The ' Brand New ' UKULELE GROUP.

A brand new Ukulele Class started at TOG this week led by Lisa.

Lots of people wanted to have a go at playing this lovely little stringed instrument.

Let's hope we find some budding musicians.

And of course at the end the day it wouldn't be complete without Angie's Dance and Exercise.

Hope everyone enjoyed the afternoon. We certainly had plenty to keep us busy.

Hope to see you folks in Watford next Friday 5th Febuary for ' Munch & Mingle. '.

Look at the NEWS page for more details.

Patricia x

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Wednesday 13th January 2016

Firstly let me thank Miguel for running this Website. Without him working in the background we would not have a window into the work that TOG does week after week. Thanks Miguel from all of us.

Thanks to Jennifer for feeding us so well and both Jennifer and Ann to let us have the freedom to run this group in a very open and relaxed way.

Hope it's not too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We had a great time in 2015. Jennifer's Watercolour Classes have been well attended. The Gallery is filling up with some amazing pieces of art.

This weeks Art below....

Lots of people helped out taking the Craft Classes in 2015. Thank-you so much to Naresh, Elaine, Hema, David, Nicola, Hansa and Lisa. We also had a guest helper Dorethea who helped make some great Christmas decorations..........

Crafts included Glass Painting...Calligraphy...Painting on Porcelain....Book Folding Techniques....Bead Making and Pendants from Premo Clay....Gourmet Bird Cakes...Fabric Printing etc etc... It was great fun every week coming in to try out all these crafts. We hope to do a lot more creative stuff this year. If anybody wants to pass on a skill and would like to take a class please let me ( Patricia ) know, I am sure we can arrange something.

We did a Calligraphy Workshop this week.....

The Poetry Group still get together every week in the Reception area away from any distraction in the Main Social Room. Anyone wanting to join the group please feel free to do so. No charge!!!

Marilyn's Jewellery Class is also well attended every week. Sometimes expert Liz comes to help out. Again please take a look at the Gallery where many pieces are displayed.

Look at these two so engaged in their work.....

And below Marilyn having a well deserved break.

Besides this Rena is always on hand with the sewing machine. I think she has trained our Caretaker to be a fine seamstress. He just can't keep away from our Sewing Machine.... even borrows it now and again.

Nicola also got a knitting Circle together. A number of us joined her to knit squares for a blanket ( we are getting there ).

And 3.30pm every week on the dot Angie comes along with her Dance and Exercise Class. Wow!!!!

And if that's not enough.... this year we will be starting a beginners Ukulele Group. We will be holding workshops at TOG.....and a Munch & Mingle group. Keep a look out for further information about these two new ventures...... I am gonna grab myself a cuppa now.

Patricia x

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Wednesday 9th December 2015

Hey guys,

Merry Christmas to you all! Didn’t we have a great time at the TOG Christmas party?! Thank-you to everyone who prepared all the food and decorations for the tables. Don’t Fret played lots of Christmas classics, as well as some other guitar tunes, and everyone at TOG sang along … cheers guys.

Ann was presented with a badge to thank her for everything she does for TOG, Don’t Fret, and More Than Just A Choir. She really is the woMAN with a plan!

TOG will be back in the New Year on 13th January. Looking forward to catching up with you all. Happy New Year!

Lisa :)

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Wednesday 25th November 2015

Hello Boys and Girls,

Another great afternoon of socializing, sharing food together and learning new skills from one another.

Unfortunately we do not have a great deal of photos. But there was a lot going on today including Jennifer's Art Class. Some very colourful work was created using a beautiful rich orange colour for the background of the paintings. Hopefully we will have a small art display with some of todays work on show at the TOG Christmas party on the 9th December.

The Poetry Group this week included Gloria, Sian, Milton, James and Vernon. They retreated to a quiet corner in Reception. The main hall is far too busy and is not the ideal place to read poetry.

Marilyn's Table always attracts a number of people eager to make a piece of jewellery to take home. She has managed to accumulate a large collection of beads. Every item is unique. We have a few Christmas pieces that will also possibly be on display on the 9th December.

Hema was in charge of the Craft Table today.

We needed some Christmas decorations for the tables. I rummaged in my store of bits and bobs and remembered a lucky find. Primark had a summer clearout a while back and I found ten very uninteresting holders for tea lights ( Only 10 pence each, can you believe it!!!! ).

Well Hema and her team really came up trumps making these bland items into sparkling little table decorations. We will definately be using these at the party.

Another picture of a Christmas craft from two weeks ago.

We have really enjoyed making all these lovely Christmas decorations over the last few weeks. Thank you to all those who took part we couldn't have done them without your help.

Sadly Angie was unable to take 'Dance & Exercise' today but hopefully she will return in the New Year. After far too much Christmas Fayre I guess we will all be joining her to shed a pound or two.

Back on the 9th of December with ' Christmas TOG '

Patricia x

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