Winter Workshops at the Mansion
On Friday 3 December, 15 local residents were treated to a morning of Winter Workshops at the Mansion. It was an invitation only event with residents being invited via community organisations who work to tackle social isolation or provide specific support for more vulnerable residents and/or those experiencing challenging circumstances. These included The Diamond Club, which aims to tackle isolation for older people in Catford, Bellingham Community Project, a charity helping to build healthy, happy lives in Bellingham, and Downs Friendship & Creativity Group, a community group offering support to families who have a member living with Down Syndrome.
The attendees were welcomed to the mansion by a team of 4 fantastic regular park volunteers, and the workshops were led by professionals who donated their time and expertise. Marina Beard, one the resident artists at the Mansion, ran a workshop to make collage Christmas cards that were then decorated with beautiful gold paint. Michelle Brandon, a local horticultural therapist, ran a kokedama workshop. Kokedama is a Japanese technique for planting which literally translates as "moss ball". The idea is to plant an ornamental plant in a ball of soil and cover the soil with moss. It can then be hung up or displayed on a saucer.
Both workshops gave participants a chance to relax whilst doing something creative in a friendly, happy environment. The tea and coffee flowed, as did the conversation, and mince pies and satsumas were welcome snacks between the workshops.
Everyone went home feeling happy, and with at least one kokedama plant and at least one handmade Christmas card. There was a real heart-warming atmosphere in the mansion throughout the event, and feedback from participants has been that “the hospitality was lovely and the volunteers helping very pleasant and helpful” and that the event was ‘great for well-being’. A hot topic of conversation at the Diamond Club meet ups is now whose kodekama plant is surviving best!
The Winter Workshops were run in lieu of the large, public Festival of Lights event which has run in the Mansion since 2017. The Festival couldn’t take place in 2020 owing to Covid-19, and with uncertainty over what restrictions would be in December 2021, the team at the Mansion and the Lewisham Council team at Beckenham Place Park decided it would be safer to plan a small, invitation only event this year. It was a huge success and everyone involved, from organisers to attendees, felt uplifted by being part of such a lovely community event. Thank you to everyone who made the Winter Workshops possible and so lovely!