Our Christmas FestiviTEA

I'm sure you all remember what a fantastic time we had at our Christmas Fayre and Branch Re-Launch last year ...





Well, not wanting to miss out on all the fun again this year, we are very pleased to announce that we will be holding our Christmas FestiviTEA on 3rd December!



The FestiviTEA will take place at the same location as last time, the United Reformed Church on London Road North (opposite Poundstretchers) and will run from 11 am to 2 pm.

We have got lots of fun things planned for the day, including:

*Singers and musicians outside the church at various times during the event
*A great raffle with lots of prizes
*Games, Christmas quizzes, competitions and activities for children
*A cake stall piled high with delicious cakes
*Tea & Coffee
*A bric-a-brac stall selling lots of items such as handmade soaps, Santa keys, reindeer food and NAS Christmas cards
*A handmade jewellery stall
*A handmade crafts stall
*A well-stocked tombola

And ... from 12:00 midday to 1:00 pm, Roary the tiger from Waveney Football Club will be giving out presents to all the good girls and boys, ably assisted by his Christmas Elf!

So why not come along and do some Christmas shopping, have some fun, and get into the Christmas spirit!

Hope to see you there!

Our Picnic In The Park (aka Our August Drop In Support Group)

For the first time ever, we decided this year to have a drop in support group session in August! Parents need support during the holidays too!

But as we'd all have our children with us, we decided to meet up at Sparrows Nest Park, where the kids could make friends and play, while we parents curled up on our picnic rugs and chatted.

The weather was beautiful, and we all had a great time together ...






Louise from Activities Unlimited joined us for the afternoon















We shared a lovely afternoon together at the park in the sun!

Next month, we'll be back to our standard drop in location in North Lowestoft, The Ark Childrens Centre, on 13th September; and we'll be opening up our new support group in South Lowestoft at the Whitton Life Centre on 20th September. Hope to see you there!

Train Walk 2011

On 6th July, we gathered at the Little Stars Pre-School, at Kirkley & Pakefield Football Club Social Club, for our annual Train Walk.

Except this year, it was a train walk with a twist!

No, we didn't all boogie around the course doing the twist (or any other form of dance!); the twist was that this time, our Train Walk was held in partnership with a pre-school! In previous years, we have had sponsored walks in the park, and at local fun days, but this year, we decided to do things a little differently, and it went great!


Here's our Train Walk Team: Juliet, Rebecca, Rachel, Amber, Jayne and Bev, with the lovely ladies of the Little Stars Pre-School

While the Train Walkers had a picnic lunch, we got busy setting up the lucky dips ...



The tombola ...



The 'Guess the Name of the Bear' competition ...



... and the raffle and Autism awareness tables.

And then, once the picknicking was done, it was time for the Train Walkers to get walking! ...


Our first Train Walkers getting their instructions for the walk

En route to the first stop, walkers got to try their hands at some Thomas jigsaw puzzles, and got a lollipop for completing their puzzle ...





Then they had a chance to practise their football skills ...





Before making it to the first stop, where our Librarian, Juliet, stamped their tickets ...



Before the willing walkers carried on ...



To play more games ...



Before reaching Stop Number Two, where a member of staff from Little Stars gave the walkers their second stamp ...



Once stamped, they carried on to work on their football skills again ...



Before reaching their third stop, and getting their third stamp ...



On the home stretch, the walkers got to be train drivers ...



Before finally making their way to the finish, and getting their final stamp from Jayne, our Branch Officer, and collecting their prize!


This was our first finalist!



Once the Train Walkers had completed their walk, it was time to head inside for more fun!


Our PR Officer, Rachel and Media Secretary, Rebecca worked the tombola and lucky dip tables


A customer who was feeling lucky!




A beautiful lucky dipper with her prize!


Lots of tired walkers working on their entries for our colouring competition!





And then it was time to draw the raffle ...




Our Treasurer, Amber, with one of the lucky winners

A couple of weeks later, it was time to go back and give out the certificates to our Train Walk participants ...


Jayne & Amber giving out the prize for raising the most sponsorship money!


A happy Train Walker with his certificate


Lots of happy Train Walkers!

And what a great team effort it was! These pre-schoolers really were Little Stars, because between them, they managed to raise a whopping £955.15!!!

Dividing it equally between the pre-school and our branch, meant that we both received a fantastic £477.58!!! Needless to say, it's our most successful Train Walk ever!

An Autism-Friendly Cinema Screening!

Odeon Cinema is hosting an autism-friendly screenings of 'Mr Popper's Penguins' (starring Jim Carrey) at the Odeon Cinema in Norwich.

Odeon Cinema
Riverside Leisure Park
Wherry Road
Norwich
NR1 1XA

The screening will take place at 11am on Thursday 11th August.

During the screening, the lights will be turned on, on a low setting; the volume will be lower than usual; families are able to take their own food and drinks into the cinema with them; and people are free to move around the cinema if needed during the film.

Tickets will be going on sale on the 2nd August, and can be bought as normal from the cinema itself or online through the Odeon website.

Support workers/carers can attend for free with a CEA card. To find out more about the CEA card and how to get one, click here.

If enough people attend on 11th August, Odeon Cinemas hope to continue to provide this service each month.

So why not take your kids along!

Picnic in the Park

For the first time ever, we will be holding a drop in session during the summer holidays!

However, it's a drop in session with a difference!

We'll be meeting at Sparrows Nest park, on Tuesday 2nd August, from midday onwards, to spend time together, make friends and support each other.

It'll be very informal, so feel free to turn up on the day with a picnic, and maybe some games, and chill out with us, letting the kids burn off some of their summer holiday energy!

Also, Louise from Activities Unlimited will be joining us, so if you have any questions for her, or would like to know more about Activities Unlimited, then come along for a chat!

We hope to see you there!

Great 'Games Workshop' Opportunity!

Those of you who have received copies of the latest edition of our branch newsletter will already know all about this great opportunity, but for those of you who aren't registered with our branch, take a look!

We have kindly been offered the chance to use the Games Workshop Store in Norwich on Monday evenings throughout August for all things Warhammer!

The dates are as follows: August 1st, 8th, 15th & 22nd, from 6.30 to 8.30 pm

Participants will have the chance to paint some figures, either fantasy figures such as elves, dwarfs, etc, or sci-fi figures such as space marines and also learn the basics of the game through playing a few short battles.

This opportunity is for children with an ASD and their siblings, aged 12+ and is completely free of charge.

Transport is not provided but we may be able to sort out a lift with other people that are attending.

To confirm your place or for further information please contact us on the branch mobile 07798882583 or email us at lowestoftnorthsuffolk@nas.org.uk

And hurry! We have to have final numbers by 25th July!!!

Our Summer Coffee Morning

This past Saturday was our Summer-themed Coffee Morning at the United Reformed Church!

We had a great time!

Here's our Branch Officer, Jayne, with our Autism information display:



Here we are, ready to open the coffee morning:



One of our volunteers, helping to run the tombola:



A beautiful cake baked and decorated by Joshua, one of our branch members' son, who has ASD:



Our incredibly yummy cake stall, including a delicious-looking coffee and walnut cake donated by Heils Bakery:



Our Summer-themed raffle prize table, including a beautiful hanging basket donated by Lound Garden Centre:



Our bric-a-brac stall:



Fundraising Officer Rachel was all ready to serve the refreshments:



And we're open!



Selling cakes ...



Guests having a cuppa and a chat:



We had a very enjoyable day, raising awareness of ASDs with our visitors, and we raised over £90 for our branch!

We had some cakes left over when the coffee morning closed at 2 pm, and so we packed up all the leftover cakes and cupcakes and donated them to the Fyffe Centre. They were very pleased with their treats!