This week, we visited the Kindness Cafe. Held every first Wednesday of the month between 10.00 and 11.30 at the Grayshott Sports Pavilion, this dementia friendly cafe serves up free tea, coffee and cake to those attending. Two local businesses - The Counter and the Red Rose Tea Room - take it in turns to provide delicious freshly baked cakes, whilst the Huntington and Langham Care Home provide funding to purchase teas and coffees.

As soon as we walked in, we were given such a warm welcome. Locals sat around tables chatting and enjoying each other's company. Staff from Greenbanks Care Home in Liphook had also brought some of their residents along to enjoy the hospitality of the Kindness Cafe. And it was wonderful to catch up with Elaine from The Hunter Centre, who was there providing support and advice to those with dementia and their carers. 

The atmosphere was caring and inclusive, and everyone was more than happy to let us join in the conversation. But what probably struck us the most were the number of smiles! Everyone was clearly enjoying their time here.

The cafe is run by volunteers along with members of the Grayshott Parish Council. It was great to speak to some of the Parish Councillors - Grayshott really does have such a phenomenal community spirit. As well as the monthly Kindness Cafe, there are a whole host of other groups for people to join and attend and spend time with others. These include the weekly Thursday Lunch club at St Luke's Church, the Tea Party on the first Tuesday of each month at the Grayshott Village Hall and the Local Women's Group on the third Tuesday of the month.

If you'd like more information on any of these groups, please do get in touch with us. In the meantime, we wanted to say a big thank you to everyone at the Kindness Cafe . This truly is a very special place.