SINCE the last column a coachload of carers, cared for, families and friends went to Bicton Gardens for the day on September 5.

Despite some terrible rain many of us braved the wet and had an interesting walk around looking at some of the endangered trees and enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

Those less brave took the train, which takes you around the grounds without the need for cagoules and umbrellas.

Bicton also have an excellent museum with farm and home equipment from previous centuries – this included a ‘Hoover’ that I am fairly sure graced our home in the 60s.

Then, on September 9 we welcomed some new members at our monthly meeting with a talk from Chard and Ilminster U3A.

A quick discussion among the group revealed that some of us are already subscribers and there are some interesting courses available – u3asites.org.uk/chardilminster for more information.

We also had a quick ‘round robin’ of who each of us is caring for/have cared for so that we know the right information and support is getting to the right people. 

On September 20 some of the group went to the first tea dance, organised by Inner Wheel, at Jenny’s Café in the High Street.

This went very well and we noted someone’s grandmother up and dancing; something she has not apparently done for some time.

They plan more for the future and cared for are very welcome even if they cannot join in the dancing.

This month has also seen some gathering of information about BT ‘going digital’ in the near future and the implications for those members who do not have broadband and/or have concerns about how this will affect them.

We’ll be presenting this at the next meeting (but in bullet point form!) to help members with any questions they have.

There are positives and negatives but the knotty problem of what happens in a power cut has been our members’ first concern, so form a line to collect your tin cans and pieces of string please.

Also in October we will be having a speaker from the Co-op, getting us up to speed on Tax and Toyboys. Baited breath…

The next meeting of Chard Carers Support Group will be on Monday, October 14, 10.30-12.30 in the hall behind English Martyrs Church at the traffic lights in Chard.

All unpaid carers are welcome to join us – please give Pat (01460 220026) or Kate (01460 394331) a call if you would like more information, or indeed if you think you might be a carer but have never considered that you are.

So many people in the caring role just think they are doing someone a favour, doing something out of a sense of duty or have fallen into being a carer without realising it.

We offer friendship, support from members in the group and signposting to help that’s needed. You can also find us on Facebook or email us at chardcarers@aol.com