If you or someone you know wants to join a group in Gateshead, you aren't alone in wondering if it'll be the right fit, or what activities are available.
Our blog helps take away the guess work by giving you a run down of a typical day at the Teams and Bensham Community Care men's group, so you know what to expect from start to finish.
What is a men's group?
Men’s groups take many forms in terms of where they meet, how regularly they take place, and what their main purpose is. Some men’s groups focus on a specific activity or interest, such as sport or games for example. Others might bring men together to receive support with an issue they have in common such as bereavement or a specific men’s health condition.
What type of group is the Teams and Bensham men's group?
Other groups, like the Teams and Bensham Community Care's men's group, are more social in nature and provide the right environment and facilities to bring older men together to chat, relax and enjoy a hot meal.
Here's what they get up to every Monday and Thursday at their centre on Bolam Street in Teams, Gateshead...
9am to Mid-morning
We're getting ready to welcome people to our men's group!
Our Men's Group coordinator and men’s group assistant are setting tables, returning any messages and responding to queries about our charity, and preparing activities.
Meanwhile, our cooks are preparing a freshly cooked, two course meal everyone to enjoy at noon, and they're also getting baked goods ready for the gents to take home.
The drivers set off to start picking people up to bring them to our centre.
Mid-morning
The minibus drivers greet our men's group attendees at their homes, and bring everyone to our centre. Our minibus is wheelchair accessible, and collects anyone living in Teams, Bensham, Dunston, Saltwell, Lobley Hill and Central Gateshead. There's a great atmosphere on the bus, and it's a great way to start the day with us.
For anyone not in our minibus areas, they make their own way to our centre.
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10am to 10:45am
Our men's group attendees start arriving.
Whether you use our minibus, or make your own way to our centre, each men’s group attendee is greeted on arrival by a member of our team. We have a men's group coordinator, men's group assistant and one or two volunteers each day.
Once you are comfortably seated, we get you a nice cup of tea and a biscuit while you catch up with other gents, read the newspaper and settle in for a lovely day.
11am
Everyone has arrived by now, and it's always a great atmosphere in our centre at this point. There's lots of conversation going on and we pop the radio on low. The coordinator and men’s group assistant and our volunteers are at hand to make sure you have everything you need, and they also enjoy catching up with everyone and joining in with the conversation.
Anyone new to our groups are quickly made to feel welcome by our team and by the other gents. It is often on the first visit that connections are quickly made. People who join us often find they have the same acquaintances as another attendee, had similar work experiences, or share something in common which sets off excellent conversations and the beginnings of great friendships.
We have a daily raffle and a daily general knowledge quiz (there's a few tricky questions thrown in, and there’s a prize for the top score of the day.)
We often have funding to have regular activity sessions delivered by Active Families NE CIC who bring along some excellent indoor bowls equipment to either a Monday or Thursday men's group. It’s inclusive for everyone who wants to join in, with the coaches setting everything up so that gents can take part either seated or standing.
We have a serving hatch in our lounge area so people can see directly into our kitchen where your cooks, Allyson and Tracey, are making lunch and freshly baked baked goods.
Some gents pop up to the serving hatch to pick any baked goods they want to take home, or wait for Allyson or Tracey to pop out to see what people might like. Every day, we tend to have fruit and cheese scones, quiches and pies available.
Noon
One of the highlights of the day is lunch!
We serve you a main meal and a pudding every day, with refreshments for just £7.50.
On the menu are hearty mains such as mince and dumplings, steak pie, sausage and mash for example, and pudding might be homemade sponge and custard, rice pudding, or crumble for instance.
If you live in our minibus pick-up area and can’t make it to the men’s group, due to being unwell for example, we deliver your meal to you at home if wanted. It's always delivered hot and ready to eat so you don’t miss out.
12:30pm Onwards
We have a range of activities every afternoon.
Some gents play cards, dominoes, connect four, noughts and crosses or doughts.
Some continue to read the paper or the local history books that we have available.
We also have indoor bowls, quoites, and a Wii U console for a game of golf or bowling if anyone would like do something more active.
We have lots of creative activities too if people like to paint, draw or build things, and there’s always plenty of puzzles, such as wordsearches, crosswords and quizzes available.
Or just sit back and relax and join in with the conversation.
There’s something for everyone.
Mid afternoon
From around 2pm, people tend to start leaving who travel to our centre on their own, and the drivers start getting the bus ready to take people home
The drivers walk everyone to the bus, and everyone is dropped off to their door.
What About Special Occasions?
If there's something to celebrate, such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween etc, we do it in style. There's always a special meal, table and room decorations, and singers/live entertainment. We have themed activities leading up to it too.
If the gents would like us to do so, we also invite speakers to come in to talk about a topic of interest, such as sports or local history for example.
If you or someone you know would like more information about the Teams and Bensham Community Care men’s groups, we're always happy to answer any questions, arrange a home visit or to help in any other way we can. Call our team on 0191 4600297.
Other Useful Resources
Find us on Facebook to see more images and information of our men's group and other activities.