Gloriously Ordinary Sundays - 11th May 2025

I’m writing this quickly on the Friday before you read this, trying to get everything sorted before I leave for Kefalonia for 10 days - hurrah. I’ll send you a postcard.

Ciaran comes to me for dinner every Sunday evening, which means he gets no paid support from after dinner on a Saturday night to Monday morning - it’s fab. Officially on a Sunday evening, I’m his ‘support’ - I think I might even be his ‘natural support’, which has got a bit messed up as a concept hasn’t it… Is it great that friends and family are part of our web of support, or should the council just be stepping up and providing everything he’s entitled to? Maybe he’s just a young man coming back to his mum for Sunday dinner?

Anyway, the Serviceland solution to my being away is to pop a bit more paid support in. We could’ve had a temporary adjustment of hours via his social worker and adjusted his support plan. I’m being facetious I know as there’s actually a bit of flex on his budget and it wouldn’t have been a problem. His lovely team undoubtedly would have been up for doing a short shift on a Sunday night, but my point is, why is that the starting point?

Instead, we started with a chat that Ciaran instigated - ‘Oh dear Tricia Kefalonia, Sunday different house dinner?' This led to a conversation about who he might like to see and who we could ask for an invite for Sunday dinner. We chatted about where it is easy to get to either walking by bus, he asked some folk and he now has plans. I’ll let him explain.

‘So, Sunday 11th of May walking to Caversham by old Ciaran’s house see Sharon and Dean cooking dinner then walking home. Sunday 18th of May number 21 bus Pete and Carol’s house dinner then bus home. Always remember flowers and wine.’

I would say he’s got that nailed, wouldn’t you?

PS. Have you heard about 'Getting Curious About Creating Gloriously Ordinary Lives' training course? It's a 5-session course where you'll learn how to create Gloriously Ordinary Lives, reflect on current support practices, understand your role, and develop a clear action plan for making a difference. The course is for everyone and starts in June.

PPS. Did you see? The Gloriously Ordinary Sundays Podcast episode 10 is here. I chat with Sam Clark, Chief Executive of ⁠Learning Disability England⁠. We talk about the importance of people opening their own front doors as we share the new campaign - I Open My Own Front Door, Do You? - by Gloriously Ordinary Lives in partnership with Learning Disability England.