31/12/2022
Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year! Here's what happened at Toddington Village Sensory Trails over the past 12 months...
We started on New Year's Day by sending out 20 handmade clay diya candle lanterns into the community for people to pass on to each other over the months with wishes of hope, warmth, and connection
We ran several Bubble Picnics and by the time we got to the end of the summer around 100 people were coming along for lunch, bubbles, and play each time
We ran three twilight story yoga and bat-spotting sessions in the summer
We ran a Sense & Create walk on the Glebe, making clay faces on trees and decorating them with found objects from nature
We created three sensory trails as part of the village's Jubilee celebrations honouring the life and service of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth
We ran a Toddington Pumpkin Trail for Halloween with over 50 households participating
In the company of over 25 adult volunteers, we co-created over 100 hand-painted wooden angels for a Christmas Eve Find & Keep event, including 35 forget-me-not angels for families who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or child death; we had to paint more forget-me-not angels due to demand
And, in November, we became national award winners in recognition of our free, inclusive, sensory, microprojects through the Fantastic For Families Awards. We won the Audience Impact and Innovation Award alongside the internationally renowned Whitworth Gallery in Manchester.
In 2023, we will continue to develop new ideas and projects, as well as maintain the Bubble Picnics so there will always be accessible, inclusive, and affordable fun for people of all ages without the need to leave the village.
This has been an incredibly hard year for my family, and I am grateful for your patience when I've needed to change plans at the last minute or haven't been as quick to respond as needed. Thank you all for your continuing support, participation, and positivity - you all make our village a lovely place to live.
Sending all my love to you and yours for a kind, gentle, and wonderful new journey around the sun.