We joined some amazing local people from the community at the Mary Dermott Hall in Coseley for the last tea dance of 2017. People from the community, who come together every week to enjoy lunch, entertainment, exercise, dancing (including line-dancing!), and, most importantly, to meet friends, enjoy a little social interaction and have a great time!
This month residents made their way through the heavy snow, dressed in their very best festive outfits, ready to get into the Christmas spirit and enjoy an afternoon out. We’ve made a short film featuring these lovely local people who are making this happen in Coseley with the support of East Coseley Big Local. We hope you enjoy it!
The Coseley tea dance was always well attended by local older people in the community. It had been running for about 5 years, before, last year it was in danger of having to stop when the people who ran it moved out of the local area and the venue at the time was no longer able to accommodate it.
East Coseley Big Local, Changemaker Support Officer, worked with three enthusiastic regular attendees to apply to the East Coseley Big Local Community Spirit Fund, not only to help restart the tea dance but change the format of the event slightly in order for it to become self-sustainable.
The Community Spirit Fund awarded a small amount of money to help the residents kick-start the tea dance, covering the hire of the venue and an entertainer.
People were happy to bring their own lunch and pay £3 each week in order to help the tea dance continue. Now, the weekly tea dance pays for itself. Everyone contributes to making the event happen. The tea dance has a regular attendance of 30-40 people.
This event makes a huge difference to the lives of the people who attend. Many of the attendees live alone and do not have regular outings, and they look forward to the tea dance. It is also a way of helping people to keep active through dancing. It runs in the daytime within a safe environment, and occasionally agencies also come along to offer advice on issues ranging from health and wellbeing to safety and security.
A tea dance participant said: “It’s the only time I get together with my friends”.
It’s hard not to feel welcome or join in on the fun when around the people at the tea dance… we even found our film-maker getting involved, singing an excellent version of ‘White Christmas’ to the residents whilst they were enjoying lunch!
East Coseley Big Local are passionate about supporting residents to make things happen in Coseley. If you would like to find out more about joining the tea dance contact Neil Langford neil@eastcoseleybiglocal.net.
Find out more about Community Spirit Funding
Are you a local group or club looking for a little more support in Coseley? Let us know how East Coseley Big Local can support you: http://www.tinyurl.com/ycmrk5f2 or contact neil@eastcoseleybiglocal.net for more info. We will be meeting local groups and clubs on Wed 17 Jan.