May
Sunny greetings to you all!
After a chilly April, I hope May continues bringing you warmer weather! And speaking of warmth, apparently the Royal Oak will be serving Sunday Roasts for £8.95 on alternate Sundays. (Forthcoming dates for these specials are: 19th May and 2nd June.) To book, email cateringmanager@emmaussuffolk.org.uk with your party size and dietary requirements. Moley is rather envious that humans can try out this new addition to the menu, especially of the fact that you get unlimited roast potatoes! He hopes the yummy smells travel all the way to his home so he can pretend he's there with you!
As I've been asked to find out how the Emmaus hubs benefit attendees, this time I've been to one of the Royal Oak's hubs. This one is called “Singing For The Soul” and I got kindly invited along to it by my lovely friend who attends it with her lovely dog Luna. Like Moley, Luna just loves to meet people and cheer them up with cuddles! I asked my friend what she (and cheeky Luna) enjoy most about this hub and how attending it benefits her. She kindly replied:
“I love going to Singing For The Soul on a Friday morning because it's good fun, and helps my mental health by singing and seeing other people. Everyone is really lovely and friendly. There's a real sense of community too, and absolutely everyone including all abilities are welcome and encouraged. Also by singing along to your favourite tunes it gives everyone such a positive boost. Andi plays the piano, and everyone sings along to whatever version of the song they know! We have folders with all the song lyrics in, and everyone is encouraged to choose one off the list. There's something for everyone, and there's no pressure to sing at all. It's not a choir, where you have to sing harmonies or read music. It's just a light hearted sing-a-long with a fun group of people, in a safe and chilled atmosphere.
Luna is also made very welcome, and sometimes we sing “how much is that doggy in the window” whereby she actually woofs along!
I look forward to Friday mornings now because I get to go singing with such a lovely group of people!” Many thanks to her for answering my questions and introducing me to everyone.
I enjoyed attending one of these sessions as well as a delicious meal there afterwards with my friend. The song folder included a great mix of 1960s hits, musical numbers and more. (I picked the song “Hit the Road Jack”.) From the Royal Oak menu's great selection, I chose the stir fried chilli beef + egg noodles with a pot of berry tea, followed by the apple + blueberry tart with custard – all generous portions and really delicious. As my friend said, you can indeed be assured of a warm welcome from Andi, and my friend + Luna and the other people at the singing hub and also from the Royal Oak staff and volunteers, including if you're quiet and serious in person like myself.
This last month at the Emmaus allotment, I've helped to plant seeds. In early April, it was veg seeds – tomatoes, sweetcorn and broad beans, in plastic trays. Gardening expert David taught me to put soil in the bottom of each little section, push the seed in, cover it and add more soil on top, put them in the little greenhouse, then water. David also planted seeds for broccoli and cabbage in the same way, as well as chillies in a pot and runner beans in the ground. Near the end of April, the peas, broccoli and cabbage had already started growing tiny shoots. David told me that some other shoots growing are potatoes and sunflowers from last year. This time, I helped to plant seeds for herbs such as basil in trays and also to fill a pot with dried-up runner beans from last year, to grow new ones from. On the first Wednesday in May, I helped water the growing shoots. A robin watched from one of the trees, singing loudly as if to celebrate that the allotment is once again taking shape with crops. At the latest session, the robin returned – shouting hello and watching me help with the watering, then later also chirping goodbye. Many thanks to David for providing soil and extra seeds for this year.
Moley's seen on the Emmaus Facebook page that the Carr Street shop now also sells eco-refills, plus that the Royal Oak has added more new meals to their menu, and a supportive message for Ipswich Town. Football fan Moley is delighted that Ipswich have now been promoted! (Although I don't understand football like Moley does, it was still nice to go and see the team's parade bus arriving in Christchurch Park and the pride it gave their supporters.) Moley's also seen that apparently an Emmaus supporter ran the London Marathon to raise money for Emmaus. (The current total is £3,303 - Moley is clapping his paws and sending many congratulations!) These great achievements have even inspired flower-sniffing-enthusiast Moley to instead plod a tiny bit further round the Dales shop's car park than he normally would...
Whilst volunteering on the till at the Dales, in April I served some customers who bought items including children's clothes, glassware, a quill-shaped fountain pen, a watch and a silver microphone. Recently on display there's been more suitcases, plus flip-flops, a t-shirt with cartoon seagulls on it, a cheese-serving kit, a fondue set, ships-in-bottles and even a coal scuttle with a shovel! There's also a writing desk and a small empty case with “Harrods” on it – Moley would love to know what it once contained! (He hopes it was gourmet dog treats - he can definitely see himself luxuriating on a posh seat at Harrods next to the King!) Moley can also picture himself sitting on the writing desk, shuffling his bottom onto your paper so you can't finish writing your letters – unfortunately for him, it's locked at the moment...
In the book section, Moley has spotted novels by popular authors such as Maeve Binchy and David Walliams. (You can find more children's books and toys, etc. at Carr Street, which has a children's section.) Non-fiction-wise, there's a “Dictionary of Pub Names”, which Moley thinks is very appropriate considering that the Dales shop and the Royal Oak both used to be pubs.
This last month I've read “A Room with a View” by E.M. Forster, from the Dales' bookshelves. I chose it as my Mum and I like the film version and the book has been on my “to-read” list for many years. When I bought it, it turned out that a fellow volunteer had donated it and they told me it's really good, which I certainly agree with. The first half of this 1908 book is set in Florence, where the main character (Lucy Honeychurch) is on holiday. Lucy (played in the film by a young Helena Bonham-Carter) is there for the first time with her old-fashioned cousin Charlotte. The book's title comes from the fact that they're disappointed that their hotel rooms' windows only overlook a courtyard. Plain-speaking Mr Emerson and his son George overhear their complaints and shock Charlotte by offering to swap rooms, as his and George's rooms have excellent views of the city. Once Charlotte is finally persuaded that this wouldn't be improper, Lucy can now enjoy staying in the kind of “room with a view” she'd looked forward to. The magical sight of Florence all lit up at night is the first of many new experiences there which change Lucy's life in this coming-of-age novel. In the second half, Lucy returns to her family's home in Sussex, where her admirer Cecil proposes to her. After the events of her holiday, however, she now views their attachment very differently. She's been influenced by new opinions and doesn't want to just be his possession. The appearance in Sussex of the Emersons and their modern ideas further complicates matters! The beautiful descriptions in this book of Florence and Sussex were particularly lovely – I could clearly picture what it must be like there. I also enjoyed the witty humour. Some of the characters have attitudes of the time, so I liked how Lucy begins to question their narrow-mindedness, and how this links to the romantic storyline. It's also interesting that her two suitors learn something from her just as much as she learns something from them. I sometimes struggle with classic books but this (fairly short) one was a real page-turner and I'm glad I gave it a try. (I return the books I review once I've read them, for others to enjoy.) And as the Emmaus price for fiction books is 50p, you can save a lot of money buying books like this one second-hand in their shops. (Especially as volunteers get a discount.)
Until next time, Moley's going to dream about joining Lucy's adventures – viewing Florence during her horse + carriage ride and being referee when she plays tennis in her family's garden. (Appreciating the smell of tea + cakes and honey...) Enjoy the rest of the Spring, Heather.