April 9, 2025:
Are you all enjoying the wall-to-wall sunshine we’ve been enjoying here in Weston Super Mare since that long winter finally ended? It’s certainly put a spring in my step, aptly, and long may it continue.
It would be fantastic to see how the changing of the season – from the cold, grey winter to longer days, brighter skies and new possibilities – brings out the creativity in the people we support, and our Waythrough staff. So, whether it’s in prose, poetry, pictures, crafts, sounds or even food & drink, we’d love to see/hear it and feature it on these pages.
You might even be a keen gardener, or taking part in a gardening project with your service?
We were delighted to hear this month from Tessa Dunkley, a recovery worker at our Holder House service in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, about a ‘plant rehab’ project being run there, pictures of which you can see opposite.
Local people and businesses donate plants that are damaged or dying; 90% of the time they blossom and thrive until they are strong enough to move onto a permanent place in the Holder House garden. Residents find this rewarding and therapeutic and understand that with care attention and time they are also able to heal and feel positive about the future.
Also this week, a musical offering from a resident in our North Somerset service, and some fantastic photos from Together – Devon featuring a visit to a North Devon assisted therapy session with ponies, goats and alpacas as part of Togethers Flourish in Nature project. Fantastic!
– David Mitchell, RF Create.
Thanks to Adam Hart from Together – Devon for these pictures from the North Devon Alpaca-assisted therapy session as part of their Flourish in Nature project. We particularly love the pic on the left – what a shot!
A resident of our Braeside service in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, loves to sing and finds it very therapeutic – listen here:
From the monthly creative writing competitions at Holder House, Abingdon – some wonderful writing here, click on each image to read it in full, and for even more, why not visit Holder House’s tab under Re-Create: Places?
And previously…..
March 17, 2025:
It was great to hear this month from Alison O’Reilly, a full-time visual artist with an architectural design background who runs monthly workshops for the Women’s Space at our Waythrough recovery service in Haringey, London. Around 18 workshops have been run so far covering everything from sculpture and painting to t-shirt and tote bag decorating. Do get in touch with Alison if your service might benefit from similar activities: alison.o’reilly@volunteer.waythrough.org.uk
And check out below and opposite, a selection of work by service users who attended the workshops.
Also this month, some fantastic poems written by people who use our Together-Devon service. These came out of a collaboration with local National Trust site Arlington Court, and a series of monthly activities called ‘9 Months of Wellbeing’, the latest of which was a haiku & writing workshop with a local poet. Two very powerful poems which can be found below.
As we continue to re-build our site, more and more Waythrough services are getting their own service page in our Gallery as they submit creative works done as group projects or submitted on behalf of individuals. You can find them in the Gallery tab under Re Create: Places.
And as our community grows, it’s fantastic to see a number of individual contributors popping up regularly. We welcome these warmly and you can find them under Re Create: People.
– David Mitchell, RF Create.
I’m under attack…
From the smack, from the crack, from the front to the back,
Feral and furtive, ever alert, always hurt, scrambling in the dirt
Desperate dreams of life serene,
Can I get clean? But can I get clean?
Early steps, many regrets, the usual suspects.
Pulled this way and that, so sick of this crap, jostled joints that go clickety clack,
Tentative steps, one toe at a time, electric shocks up my aching spine,
When they say ‘get clean’, is this what they mean?
I persevere, I plod, I turn up, I swallow my pride, and embrace this new ride,
It’s starting to make sense I think but I also don’t know,
Triggers, trauma, tips and tools, just go with the flow
While being constantly called back to the one place I can’t go
Something’s changing, life re-arranging, hitting the mark without even aiming,
The fog is lifting, and the sands have stopped shifting, goodbye to grifting,
Goodbye circumspection and deflection, hello there my new connection,
And just like that, some giant little steps, in an exciting direction!
ANON, DEVON
