We're back after lockdown - here's what it's like

Back in July, our manager Helen wrote about how the COVID-19 pandemic changed our small charity forever.

Now, with lockdown restrictions lifting, she tells us what's next...

After spending lots of hours reading government guidance, planning and writing risk assessments, we have just completed our first three weeks back with the "PALS".

Despite our nervousness about everything, it's been brilliant!

To see the children actually in the flesh after nearly five months has been amazing for me and them!

Although our sessions are looking very different at the moment, with only two children at a time and needing to be outside, we have still had lots of fun. 

We have been hunting monsters and Cyril the Squirrel in Thatcham, walked around the lakes at the Nature Discovery Centre, been up onto Greenham Common and we have spent some time at Henwick Manor cafe, enjoying an ice cream and feeding the animals. 

It's great that all these things are on our doorstop and we have certainly made good use of them.

We have also been able to offer two mornings for families at The Five a Day Market Garden in Englefield and we have loved the peace and tranquillity of the gardens, learning all about composting and fruit and vegetables, and nothing can beat eating raspberries straight from the bush!

We will round off our summer with another family activity day at the Andrew Simpson sailing centre and are looking forward to some sailing and speedboat trips.

As we near the end of our summer programme, I can honestly say it has been a fantastic summer for PALS, despite the very difficult situation we are all experiencing at the moment.

We look forward to seeing what we are able to offer our members in the new term. 

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