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Sunday June 5th saw the first Big Lunch event at Melvin Sports Complex hosted by Strabane District Council. Who loved the idea of connecting up people in their local area with people all over the Uk who would at that same time be having lunch and connecting with people local to them in a simple act of community, friendship and fun.
The theme of the day for Melvin hall Strabane, Co Tyrone was an intergenerational approach to traditional children’s games.
Children from the local Surestart group were joined by ladies from U3A and staff members from Melvin Sports Complex. Together they enjoyed lunch and an afternoon of learning Hopscotch, Skipping, and how to use the Hula Hoop.
U3A is the University of the third age. The Third Age Trust is the national representative body for the Universities of Third Age (U3As) in the UK. U3As are self-help, self-managed lifelong learning co-operatives for older people no longer in full time work, providing opportunities for their members to share learning experiences in a wide range of interest groups and to pursue learning not for qualifications, but for fun. http://www.u3a.org.uk/home.html
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One lady from U3A Strabane group said she loved the idea of mixing the generations and the fun of the day was not dampened by the weather. She added that it was great to be able to pass on the “old way to play” to the children.
Sure Start Strabane is about giving children a better start in life so that they will achieve well at school and grow up to be happy. They provide activities that address and meet the social, emotional, physical and educational development of children and their families in the local area. The services are friendly, easily accessible, sensitive to the needs of the local community because it is contributed to by the community itself. The aim is that Sure Start helps parents feel confident and in control of their children’s lives and their own, removing barriers which prevent parents from getting support in caring for and bringing up their children.
Laura Henry one of the Strabane Surestart Mums said that “it’s refreshing to see all the children enjoying themselves without expensive play equipment or computers”.
“We underestimate the fun all generations can have together- we should do this more often”
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Clare Mullen, Melvin Centre Manager, is delighted by the success of the event and hopes that intergenerational programmes will be a feature of Melvin in the future.
Strabane District Council are keen to build on the success of this first event and looks forward to planning the 2012 Big Lunch.
