Verity Cowley from BBC Radio Nottingham ran her breakfast show live from the library in Eastwood on 21 January and it was a fantastic opportunity to highlight the amazing groups and work going on in the community to improve the lives of local residents.
A campaign in Sweden was set up to boost moods and tackle loneliness with a ‘hello’. BBC Radio Nottingham thought it would be a great idea to get around the county and say it, like only Notts can.
Simply saying ‘Ey Up’ to each other, can be a way of reaching out and making someone’s day brighter.
Yvonne Gregory, Community Development Officer for Rushcliffe Community Voluntary Service (RCVS) spoke about how the Integrated Neighbourhood project in Eastwood is also working to combat loneliness and isolation. Local councils, health and social care, community groups and voluntary sector organisations are working together with communities to find ways to improve the health and wellbeing of local people.
The library team spoke about how it has become a hub for the community, having regular activities and events that bring everyone together. This includes coffee mornings, rattle and roll sessions for parents and children, plus scrabble and crafting groups. They also use the library as an opportunity to highlight community groups, voluntary groups and societies in Eastwood.
Elaine Cooper, Transformation Manager for NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, spoke about what Eastwood means to her and how she finds it to be a really welcoming community, with a strong sense of community.
They are building on that with the Integrated Neighbourhood project, which has included the set-up and promotion of lots of local groups, with the hope to make residents proud of their town.
One of the groups the show highlighted was the Eastwood People’s Initiative voluntary group. They provide food parcels, household items, toiletries and clothing. They create food, people can come and sit together, and they can raise other issues and then help can be offered. They also have an outreach project and deliver a hot meal to those who can’t get out.
Men in sheds was another group covered on the programme. The group supports men who may have retired and are missing that comradeship and banter. It provides a place to meet friends, do something with their hands, chat and laugh.
Linda from the Tackling Loneliness group spoke about how she introduces people to groups and goes along with them to make sure they feel comfortable.
One group is called Elderberry’s who meet at Greasley every Friday. Linda was speaking to a lady at the group who goes every week and that’s the only conversation she has all week. If someone said hello or ey up to her it could be the only person who has spoken to her all week, so it can mean a lot.
They also spoke about the highly successful dementia café in Eastwood. It was set up in May 2017 as there was no local support for patients with dementia and their carers. They meet once a week in Eastwood and once a month at the pub. They play family fortunes and a sing along, bowling twice a month and each month a trip out somewhere. They are now at 100 members and have to create a waiting list to join.
It was a really successful morning in Eastwood, with a real buzz in the library and a brilliant opportunity to show the fantastic progress of the Integrated Neighbourhood project and the amazing offer of groups and support for the local community.
You can listen to the radio show here (starts at 3:16) Verity Cowley – 21/01/2025 – BBC Sounds