Cafe Success

Following last month’s cafe night I received a call from a lady, who after having seen us all having a fun night, wanted to join in yet didn’t want to interrupt just in-case it was a private group.

Christine contacted me the next day to see if she could come to the next night as both her and her partner would love to meet us all. After a great chat she promised to be at the next  ‘Alphabet Soup’ night.
You can imagine my glee at having someone that I've never met wanting to be part of the fun
I never really thought it would be as popular as it has become  and would have been quite content with just a few turning up.  In fact it has far exceeded any expectations I had for this group

Three tables each seating eight or more filled with lovely happy people, some for whom it their first time out in public. And yet all were getting to know their neighbours and make new connections, as each shared a little of their life story

As the night continued I noticed little groups of new friends forming and reforming as they moved around the room. watching as my close friends looked after and made sure the newcomers felt welcomed and cherished 

Later that night I had a chance to sit back with my friend Ina, and just watch from the outside as each and everyone formed these small enclaves, even the partners formed a small group at one end of the table, and discussed the issues affecting them Sharing the burden we as partners place on them.
 It reminds me of the urgency to create an alternate place for the partners  to congregate without us around, a place where they can be truly free to voice their issues. Don’t misread my words I love having the partners come along to these events and show support to us in a public environment. And I cherish their input,  but I would dearly love to see them have a support network of their own, we have so many support groups yet our partners are sometimes left out in the cold, feeling at times betrayed by us and our selfish need to be ourselves. So shortly myself and another very active lady in the community will be establishing a private space for our partners to be able to meet up with each other and express their concerns and fears knowing we are not allowed to be there. We owe it to our partners to make this private space possible.

   

 

As always. A big Thankyou too all of you for making the Alphabet Soup cafe night the success that it is.

I look forward to seeing you at the next event

Cafe Success

& the Smelly Cat   
Its seems that my cafe night is finding its own Rhythm and certainly becoming more popular as we had close to fifteen turn up for this one. A great friend made the 2 1/2 hour journey just to come for cake and 'Coke Spiders' with her lovely son and a gender questioning friend, who I believe it may have been one of her first times out in public. 

Surrounded by friends and the lively atmosphere, that is the Alphabet City Cafe. There is still nothing else I would rather be doing, and wish that I could do it more often.
I found it quite quite amusing as people would come together chat and enjoy each others company, then move into another group and repeat the process again throughout the night. Even I found myself doing the same, which kind of surprised me more. I am usually the shy one that waits to be asked a question, its still something I have to work on and something I've been finding harder to do of late ( but enough of that )

My good friend 'Bree" bought out her guitar later in the evening and sang while her son played rhythm using   the back of the chair and floor.

Even the talented 'Ashley' wowed us all with her amazing guitar skills yay.

And seeing that tonight felt like a scene from my favourite sit-com when I was young. I so wanted to hear 'Bree" sing "Smelly cat"
Yes I used to watch 'Friends' in fact it was the life I had  always wanted a group of close friends to hang out with and share life with.  Something that I felt had eluded me for most of my life. A something so simple that now that I have that in my life I no longer need to watch it and dream  

Cafe night means so much more to me than you might think, and I'm so thankful to have so many wonderful people to share it with.

Love you all.