Summer seems to have been and gone so quickly and a number of our carers have had their time taken up not only looking after for their own ‘cared for’ but also taking on the grandchildren in the summer break while parents are out at work. As you can imagine, this is exhausting work. For this reason, and of course because of welcomed summer breaks with families, our August meetings are always slightly lower numbered but we welcomed Laura from Age UK, who chatted to us about the work of Age UK Somerset, a small independent charity based on local needs. Their base is in Taunton and is run mostly by part time staff and volunteers.

They offer a Wellbeing Service - walk and talk, chat and map, friendly phone calls, friendship; an Information service; Ageing well - exercise groups and wellbeing; Admin help – filling in forms; and falls prevention as well as opportunities for classes in arts and crafts. Most classes are around £4-£5, so an opportunity perhaps try out a new skill without too much outlay. Laura said that there is a reassuringly swift turnaround from enquiry to next contact as the service is local to Somerset and Age UK just ‘oversee.’

Samantha from Watch also popped in and we have since had another meeting with them at the Community Hub to talk about how we might help one another. They are based in the same building as The Hub so there is already a crossover of ideas and information occurring. On Thursdays Watch offer a whole day at Chard Rugby Club (10am-4pm with lunch), with talks, coffee and crafts. From the beginning of September there will also be a Pathways meeting on line on Tuesdays for participants to find out what’s going on locally.

As a carers’ group, we talked about the upcoming digitisation of telecommunications and the group expressed some concerns and had a number of questions; one of our members will be attending a meeting in Taunton towards the end of September where they will put these to BT. We also had a conversation about companies being, for instance ‘Dementia Friendly’: what this means to the companies, and what it means for the expectations of carers. As ever, these discussions throw up more questions than they answer so more homework for bringing back to future meetings.

Other events during the summer were a cream tea at Hornsbury Mill in July; a purely social event and an opportunity to bring the cared for into the group for a chat and a catch up.

The next meeting of Chard Carers’ Support Group is 10.30-12.30 Monday 9th September in the hall being the English Martyrs Church at the traffic lights in Chard. All unpaid carers are welcome for a cuppa and a chat with people who are in the same situation. We can also answer a lot of questions, or signpost you to people who can.

It’s not been confirmed as this column has been written but we are hoping that someone from the local Police will be attending in September to talk about some of the issues that are affecting Chard at the present time. Contact Pat on 01460 220026 or Kate on 01460 394331 if you would like more information or a chat about being an unpaid carer.