“Take Time to Make Your Soul Happy” (Jeremy Mcgilvery)
We finally embark upon the much sort after Summer Holidays. I hope you have been coping well with the balmy weather of late and have planned some much needed rest and relaxation into the summer break!
Following on from the last newsletter, we have received some wonderful sunflower pictures from staff, so thank you to those who have sent them in so far.
Please keep them coming in through the summer break. With the long bright sunny evenings providing the backdrop, it will be a joy to see your flowers busking in full bloom.
This photo was captured by Senior Safeguarding Officer Emma Thomson who visited Writtle Sunflowers recently for a leisurely family stroll amongst the yellow capped fields. A lovely suggestion for a summer walk.
Coffee and Chat
I just want to extend a big thank you to Tracy Row and staff at the Basildon ACL, who organised a Coffee and Cake catch up on the 21st July (and thanks to those of you who brought the yummy cake along too!) The event was well attended by centre staff, tutors, and the safeguarding team, who spent around an hour and a half together within the centre grounds on what turned out to be a mild but pleasantly sunny day. A welcome break from the heat earlier in the week!
The event provided an opportunity for staff to reconnect, meet newer staff members, and explore more about each other’s roles and contributions within ACL, as well as some time outdoors thus providing a much-needed escape from the constriction of home working.
Planning an event? If you have any events planned or coming up at your centre and you would like them promoted within the wellbeing newsletter, please let me know.
Running for your health
For those of you who might be thinking of taking up running over the summer, there is a great website that helps link people up to local Park Run Groups “Parkrun is a positive, welcoming and inclusive experience where there is no time limit, and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along, whether you walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate” (Park Run 2022).
There are groups across the whole of the Essex region and they convene on Saturdays. Some even have Junior Park Run groups so if you have kids who are keen to get into an activity or fitness regime this could be the welcome introduction they need. Click here to find a group near to you across the Essex Region or to find out more about Park Run.
Feel Better live, More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Pressure on our time often means that we miss out on increasing our knowledge base or understanding of topics that might help improve our overall health and wellbeing. However, listening to podcasts is another way of accessing information in those precious moments we do have, helping to immerse ourselves in new subjects while busy with other chores or tasks.
Dr Rangan Chatterjee, GP and Author hosts a great podcast called Feel Better live, More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee. His latest podcast covers the Science on Gut Heath and how to find the right diet for you. You can find it here or you can find it on other streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon or Apple via your phone or home personal assistant device.
Mindfulness
We will continue to run the Mindfulness session throughout the summer! If you have been curious or often wondered how to incorporate mindfulness practice into your weekly routine, why not come along and try it out for yourself. We will be happy to see you there!
If you would like to find out a little more about mindfulness before taking the plunge or prefer to practice in private click here to find out more about Jon Kabat Zin who is often attributed to the origins of using the mindfulness method for stress reduction.
We are still keen to add recipes to the staff Healthy Recipe Bank so if you have any superb summer coolers to share, please send them in. They might be featured in next month’s newsletter too!
On that note, I wish you all a lovely summer however you may be spending it.
To submit, photos, recipes, walking ideas or other suggestions please email emma.crump@essex.gov.uk or emma.thomson@essex.gov.uk who will share these onto the group.
You can view updates, newsletters and helpful information by visiting the Working Well page on the ACL Staff Portal, password: lifelonglearning