How We Came to Life

Welcome to Days In Days Out affectionately referred to as the DIDO Club DIDO is a project within REGENERATION PLUS which is an organisation set up to explore practical ways of regenerating our community, mostly through the medium of improved and social interaction. A simple idea in someone's mind has become one of the most successful clubs in the Ferryhill area. Betty Sheppard, the champion of the Dean Bank and Ferryhill Literary Institute, dreamed of helping the more senior of our community, those who are housebound or disabled and even those who just find it difficult to socialise. An Open Day was planned and almost 100 people joined us and signed up to become members. From that time in early April to now, we have had 12 sessions and an average attendance 70+. The club is run by a jolly band of volunteers, all of whom devote alternate Mondays, without exception, to providing an excellent service for our members. We have Joan, Ann, Reita and Nancy for refreshments; Jean and Ena on reception, and they also run our bingo; Kathleen runs organises our raffle; Norman organises the computers plus everything else that needs doing; Marian keeps our books and makes sure we stay within budget. Our 'Days In' are spent in the Institute and we enjoy the benefits of the recent refurbishment as well as the great ambience that has been created. We have a huge and very varied library of over 200 books (all available to borrow), we have three computers available for members each session, with broadband access to the internet available to all members, and we have an extensive range of board games to suit every taste. Each session includes a presentation, and a game of bingo. Add to this the social element of meeting up with old friends, making new friends and even just getting out of the house for a few hours makes these Monday afternoons an exciting prospect. Meetings are held on alternate Mondays and last from 1.30pm to 3.30pm. Membership is £1 for a year (April to March) and then £1 per visit to include refreshments. From the programme that follows, you will see that we have six 'Days Out' planned and all of our trips are subsidised as we were awarded a Lottery Grant. There is also a Christmas Party planned for 18th December which, hopefully, should be an very exciting and enjoyable afternoon. Our first trip to Seahouses proved to be a great success as was the trip to Harrogate on 31st July. Since then we have had a wonderful day in Saltwell Park. We all had a picnic, courtesy of Greggs, who also supplied the picnic for our venture on the River Tees. For more information or membership details, please contact Norma at: regenerationplus@googlemail.com or ring 07717 226596 The following is our Programme (as far as planned) for the rest of our current year.