Our Easter Holiday program finished with an awesome trip to Go Ape at Mallards Pike. Zip Lines and Tarzan Swings fuelled by packed lunches provided by Herefordshire Councils “Here for Holidays” fund. And big thanks to the Hereford Times Christmas Appeal for supporting our trips. Cheers!
Our pals at Bao to the Broth showed us how to make Sushi Rolls and Mocktails. Massive thanks to Ben and Ellie! 🍱🍣🍸🍹🤙🏻
Thanks to Lana and the Herefordshire Council’s Winter of Wellbeing programme, we had great pizza from Flip Out, and burned off the calories on the inflatables. Spring is here.
Christmas at Close House. Holiday sessions on the Wed / Thurs, 21 / 22, and 28 / 29 Dec. Food, games, arts, nerf, noise and frickin’ ICE SKATIN’!
Book here: https://eequ.org/experience/2204
Book your High-schooler into the Close House Summer program here: https://closehouse.coordinate.cloud/project/32309
Our Christmas holiday events were a sticky bunch of fun. We avoided the pings and the super-spreaders, and successfully hosted another crop of HAFlings for Lazertag, Flipping out, pizzas, hot-dogs, tape-art and covid-free silliness. Massive thank you’s to Dermot the artman, Tim the Powerhouse, Jon & Beth for helping out, and to all of our supporters whose donations made the food & games possible during a worrying time.
Tim Evans (the guy doing an excellent Listening Pose) is carving an exciting niche for creativity in Hereford. The EPICs and the Youth Council spent an evening there, and very much enjoyed an audience with the Leader of Herefordshire Council, voicing their views on the county and appealing for more youth-focussed, affordable provision.
A lot of what they ask for doesn’t cost money – a greener city, free water to drink, healthier food to eat, a river to swim in, places to enjoy exercise and fresh air, and safe ways to cycle or walk around – and yet so many of the excuses are budget related.
We have to empower young people to inherit a world they can be proud of.
Did you have to double-check that title then?
HAF is the Holidays, Activities & Food programme. Herefordshire Council put us in touch with dozens of young people who needed some care & support over the holidays, and we had a bag of fun. One of our favourite enriching activities was playing with colours and shapes to make art, and the HAFlings got stuck in!
Using carbon paper and water-colour inks, we made it possible for people who ‘can’t draw’ to still make really exciting pictures of their favourite iconic sights from around Hereford City. Whether it’s cars, trees, buildings or burritos, everyone was able to capture an image that was special to them, and now we have this excellent piece to hang in Close House and remind us of one of our favourite parts of Summer 2021.
Drop-in is still closed for all-comers at Close House. Although it is permitted by the government, we are still very aware that fresh air is the safest place for teenagers, especially while infections and hospital admissions are rising for 11-15s, and we don’t want to make people ill. We will be opening in a week or two when regular testing has become routine again, and when we can honestly say that it’s safe to go back in the water…
At our outreach projects we’re handing out LFTs, and playing outside as much as possible while the warm weather lasts! Close House art group and food group will start soon, and music will follow in October! Winter’s coming, but we won’t be hibernating this year. Kettle’s on.
This summer, Close House was given over the Holidays, Activities and Food programme, lead by by Herefordshire Council. Any young person in the county was able to access a free healthy lunch and inspiring activities, and lead to us making a whole bunch of new young friends. From Geo-caching to lazer tag, painting, poetry and photography, we’ve walked most of the City and eaten our way through the rainbow. It’s been a welcome window of good, clean fun that’s introduced a new generation to how fun life can be.
closehouse.org 