NCS Last Day

Hiya! 

I've finished NCS! Yesterday we had our last social action day, on which we did our campaign. 

It was in the middle of a not so busy park, so nothing really happened...

But, I got to hang out with friends :)

The wonder of filters ;)

Since I've completed The Challenge, there'll be a graduation ceremony coming up soon...

I've really enjoyed The Challenge. I've made some great friends and been through loads of exciting experiences, which I would never have done without it.

It's been awesome!

❤️

I love you

ttyl

xxx

Dragon's Den Pitch!!

Hiya!

I've finally finished the third week of the NCS programme! This past week was all about social action and making a difference in our community.

We first visited our partner, in my team's case it was the Sutton Mental Health Foundation, and we stayed there for a couple of hours to talk to (and play pool with) the people who came. It was tragic, seeing all these people who either needed help and didn't receive any or didn't have a place to stay in the daytime.

One man's living room had flooded, and all the waste from two neighbouring flats ran into his room. He came to the SMHF because he couldn't stay in his home and the government wouldn't help him because he didn't actually have any mental problems.

Another man was drawing out times and dates nonstop on pieces of paper, colouring them in with felt tips. When talking to him, he seemed normal, albeit a little distracted since he wouldn't put his pens down.

After the visit, we planned a campaign to raise awareness for mental health which will be carried out in September. We wrote a survey and went to the local high street the next day for some answers from the public. My friends and I asked 14 people in less than an hour, so I'm pretty pleased with that ;)

We also started work on our pitch, splitting into groups (I'm in 'events and logistics', meaning I need to focus on the timetable...and money!) and practising speaking skills. A member of the Chamber of Commerce came in to talk to us about being 'professional' and listened to our pitch.

Funny story here, another team went to Morrisons for their practise pitch, and they all came out with job offers! Lucky ones...

Anyway, finally the real pitch came, Dragon's Den style, and in front of all the other teams (50 pairs of judging teenage eyes). But that didn't bother me, it was the Dragons that did, in all their fire-breathing, cunning-gazed glory. All three important men, one the MP of the county, scrutinising and picking apart our pitch, pointing things out that we wouldn't ever think about.

It was terrifying!

But thankfully, all ran smoothly, and it was one of the best pitches we did. Even though I lost my cue card just before doing it, so I had to do a mixture of improvisation and short-term memory strenuous workout. We received £50 funding for our campaign, the full amount that we asked for :)

And to finish off the week, there was a party i.e. food which quickly ran out, terrible music and everyone just taking selfies.

All in all, it was a good week, one that was a bit more challenging than the other two, and we had to do a lot more work. But the hard work paid off, and we can now campaign for something which I think we are all passionate about.

♥

I love y'all

ttyl

xxx

Drama Performance and Visiting the Elderly

Hiya!

It's been too long...but I've been away with a dying amount of mobile data, and anyway the Android Blogger app has issues which I hate.

I've spent the past week in a university, in wonderful uni accommodation and all the lovely responsibilities that come with it, such as cooking my own food and cleaning up. And the apparently £17,000 set of keys which, if you didn't keep on you at all times, you would most likely end up locked out of your room until you find the ever absent mentors to unlock your door for you.

And so, the main lessons I learned from living uni style is 1) The beds are uncomfortable, and the showers are small, 2) I mustn't burn rice, it's horrible cleaning that up, and 3) boilers are demonic and will make annoying horrendous noises, and possess you to stuff your ears with toilet paper in order to sleep :(

Anyway, enough on that. Last week I spent most of my time at various places, learning drama skills one minute and then at an elderly care home the next. On the first day, we had a public speaking workshop, which was a terrifying (but pleasing) experience, and a talk about voting.

The second and third days we met up with a practitioner who helped us to produce drama pieces for a showcase, and in the afternoon we visited an elderly nursing home and talked to the residents there. I honestly loved it, especially seeing how happy we made them feel just because we were talking to them <3

And finally the last day arrived, the day we had to perform in Stanley Halls. Thankfully, everything ran smoothly, and for once I didn't elbow someone in the face.

Kinda hard controlling your limbs when you fall backwards from a chair (standing up!) into someone's arms, someone who you only met two weeks ago and hardly talk to...

But it all went well, and all was good.

Surprisingly, despite being back in a school for the talks and having to put together a performance in only roughly 8 hours, I had loads of fun.

♥

I love y'all

Goodbye!

xxx

Outdoor Fun!

Hiya!

I've been away recently, I spent the last week in Devon, doing all sorts of outdoorsy activities with the NCS The Challenge programme. There are three parts to this programme, the first of which I've completed.

I was pretty excited, to begin with, and it didn't disappoint. We did rock climbing and scrambling (climbing uphill over rocks and boulders) in Dartmoor on the first day. And by 'rock climbing' I'm not talking about a vertical wall with colourful lumps sticking out, I'm talking about actual rock and actual dips and grooves for hand and footholds. I reached the top on both climbs, and one was really hard, so I'm pretty chuffed with that ;)

On the second day, we hiked roughly 18 km, which sounds bad but it wasn't actually. We stayed along the same flat path with loads of shade, and even had ice-cream!

When we arrived at the camp-site we all helped cook pasta with tomato sauce and fresh veggies. It turned out surprisingly nice, considering we were cooking it over a small hob in a horse van. Later at night though, we slept five to a tent, which was really small and we were all squished together with no space to move. I guess you can't have everything, but it was alright. The stars were amazing, too.

The next day, we did water activities in a nearby lake. There was raft building in the morning, where a pretty impressive raft was made from just four barrels, logs, and rope. We then went canoeing, which turned into an afternoon of everyone trying to capsize each other and general messing about. After, we took our raft into the lake, and all thirteen of us sat on it together. It was kinda a fail, and I ended up literally sitting in the water up to my waist. But, it held together well, which I'm proud of.

Anyway, though it was all fun and exciting, I'm really tired now from all that. This week, I'm off again for the second part of The Challenge so you won't be hearing from me until next weekend.

♥

I love y'all

Goodbye!

xxx