Our green building and sustainable living project, Sustain, is still progressing well. The continued help and input of all sorts of volunteers and staff alike have meant that progress on our outdoor classroom in the woods has come on very well and our aim to get the walls and seating done before the end of the year looks very much achievable. This would mean we would be able to make use of this new facility in the new year, ready for the start of our next busy school season in April.
This aim should see a boost in the near future, with St Madoc Staff having attended four different volunteer fairs at Colleges and Comprehensive Schools. We provided information about the various volunteering projects we have to pupils and students in the Welsh Baccalaureate scheme and those undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
For the first time the St Madoc Centre put on a full weekend of activities for a group of men in October. These men were from various different Welsh Churches, and had been brought together by Christian Vision for Men organisation. The weekend was labelled ‘Escape’ and encouraged those staying at the St Madoc Centre to escape the norm and challenge preconceptions. St Madoc Staff created a variety of different activities, based on this premise, from team building games to sporting activities, whilst attempting to ensure that our guests would not have experienced these games before. In the end around 45 men had a fantastic and eye-opening weekend, and CVM have already re-booked for next year!
Production of fruit and vegetables has slowed in our allotment due to the onset of colder weather. We did harvest many different kinds of veg in late summer/early autumn, things like corn, pumpkins and marrows. Some of this was kept to feed our ever-growing staff, but a lot went up to our honesty vegetable stall, which is quickly becoming a favourite place to shop for those staying at the local caravan site.In August Llanmadoc (the local village) hosted its annual Village Show. This was the first show the St Madoc Centre has been able to enter, but we performed much better than we had anticipated, winning a total of 7 different awards, including best Cockerel (he was the only Cockerel entered, but we were pleased...) Planting and preparation for the coming spring is already under way, and wintergreens are being planted ready for harvesting early next year. We have also been busy apple, plum and blackberry picking to make various pickles. jams and sauces ready for adding to our veg stall.
Those readers that have visited the St Madoc centre previously will be glad to know that we have now had our cattle grid reinstated, which means you will no longer have to get out of your cars to open the gate! Work was completed in just over a day, with the minimum of fuss, for which we were very grateful. Hopefully those of you that have recently browsed our website will have noticed an array of changes. Our more technically able staff have been working hard recently to bring the website up to date and improve its ease of use. Please let us know if you think we have - or haven’t succeeded.
Upcoming Events:
The St Madoc Centre Carol Concert and Craft Fair: 4th of December.
Our annual Carol Concert is nearly upon us once again. There will be mulled wine and hot food available, as well as the crafts of local people and businesses to view. For more information please feel free to ring or email us, our details can be found overleaf.
Booking your stay at the St Madoc Centre:If you work in a school or any other youth group that may be interested in booking a stay at the St Madoc Centre, whether for a day or a full week (or anywhere in between) please contact us via email or by phone and we will be happy to provide you with more information. Further information is also available on-line or by post upon request.
The booking process has now been made more simple, just simply visit our website at www.stmadoc.co.uk/booking and follow our 5 easy steps.
