The guys that meet up weekly on Thursday mornings at the Kensington cafe for the Pets and Pals dog walk continue to provides succor to my worry and panic strewn week. I set off with Betty from our house in Aigburth about 10am and make my way to Kensington, to the dog friendly community cafe that is the Croissant of Inequality which is a bit under three miles distance away. We have about six or seven regulars coming along to the walk come rain or shine. From our meeting point we begin a visit to the nearby park, Wavertree Botanic Gardens, that is a ten minute walk away. Depending on the weather we will spend anything up to an hour and a half in this park which is a piece of Liverpool history that is underused and sadly neglected. Mature trees, a walled garden and the layout and foundations of previously grand and exclusive structures is all that remains of the gardens today – I really love it!
Over the last twelve months some great friendships have been formed and we are known collectively as the dog walkers. We are now very much part of the community of people that collectively are known as Kensington vision CIC, a social enterprise that has been based in the area for ten years now. It celebrated this fact by broadcasting its very own radio station L-C-R, Liverpool Community Radio on the airways for ten days before Christmas. Members of our group both presented and appeared on the show which was both a challenge and an achievement for us us all. We got to promote our own group, with about eight of us Humans and dogs squeezed into a tiny studio to tell about what we liked about the group, the area, the cafe etc. Individually we hosted programs on Liverpool past and present, self employment, nutrition and mental health. We also got a chance to talk about a event we called Kenny Krufts, the Community dog show that we organised last year and our plans to rerun the event this year. It was something that we collectively organised with Kensington Vision, was a great success in fact. Hundred of people attended in a park nearby that had never previously had anything of this scale organised there, a coup if you like. The area is very depressed and people nearby have few resources to take advantage of the opportunities that shared spaces such as the park can offer for community activities. We offered a free event for dog owners; ten classes of entry, free poo bags. For families we had face painting, crafts, subsidised food, bike repairs and an obstacle course that while originally was planned for the dogs instead turned out to be a great favourite with the kids. There were pictures of the day that give a great account of what was happening. There are a few of me looking very stressed but after the dust settled I can take pride in both our collective achievement and my own ability to hang in there and be part of a lovely day.
We are currently waiting to hear about a grant application for a similar event this year, were we will hopefully have a similarly successful event. Being part of a more established community project has made such a big difference to organising community events, whether a big one off event such as the dog show or just the regular meet-ups. Getting the attention of the public is easier if we use an existing advertising platform, having a welcoming indoor venue to meet up takes the pressure off always having a responsible group member to arrive in a timely fashion, not to mention the issue of cold weather being no problem if you are snug indoors with a warm drink, affordable, tasty warm food and friendly service. There is much need of places to go to that welcome people who struggle in the mainstream and the projects that Kensington Vision do make for places where people like me can contribute and share strategies with other on getting through, contribute to something bigger than ourselves and feel that there is a future that is populated with people who understand the value of going at the pace that suits you.
Over the last twelve months some great friendships have been formed and we are known collectively as the dog walkers. We are now very much part of the community of people that collectively are known as Kensington vision CIC, a social enterprise that has been based in the area for ten years now. It celebrated this fact by broadcasting its very own radio station L-C-R, Liverpool Community Radio on the airways for ten days before Christmas. Members of our group both presented and appeared on the show which was both a challenge and an achievement for us us all. We got to promote our own group, with about eight of us Humans and dogs squeezed into a tiny studio to tell about what we liked about the group, the area, the cafe etc. Individually we hosted programs on Liverpool past and present, self employment, nutrition and mental health. We also got a chance to talk about a event we called Kenny Krufts, the Community dog show that we organised last year and our plans to rerun the event this year. It was something that we collectively organised with Kensington Vision, was a great success in fact. Hundred of people attended in a park nearby that had never previously had anything of this scale organised there, a coup if you like. The area is very depressed and people nearby have few resources to take advantage of the opportunities that shared spaces such as the park can offer for community activities. We offered a free event for dog owners; ten classes of entry, free poo bags. For families we had face painting, crafts, subsidised food, bike repairs and an obstacle course that while originally was planned for the dogs instead turned out to be a great favourite with the kids. There were pictures of the day that give a great account of what was happening. There are a few of me looking very stressed but after the dust settled I can take pride in both our collective achievement and my own ability to hang in there and be part of a lovely day.
We are currently waiting to hear about a grant application for a similar event this year, were we will hopefully have a similarly successful event. Being part of a more established community project has made such a big difference to organising community events, whether a big one off event such as the dog show or just the regular meet-ups. Getting the attention of the public is easier if we use an existing advertising platform, having a welcoming indoor venue to meet up takes the pressure off always having a responsible group member to arrive in a timely fashion, not to mention the issue of cold weather being no problem if you are snug indoors with a warm drink, affordable, tasty warm food and friendly service. There is much need of places to go to that welcome people who struggle in the mainstream and the projects that Kensington Vision do make for places where people like me can contribute and share strategies with other on getting through, contribute to something bigger than ourselves and feel that there is a future that is populated with people who understand the value of going at the pace that suits you.