Happy to Chat at the Community Hub

A rise in people feeling lonely and socially isolated has led to community endeavours to get people talking; schemes such as ‘Happy to Chat’ benches have been rolled out in parts of the country to great acclaim.

At the time of writing this Storm Ciara is blowing a ruthless gale leaving many roof-less so the idea of sitting outside on a bench isn’t exactly the most appealing.

A warmer and more pleasant experience for now then has to be the brilliant Happy to Chat Thursdays at The Grove Farmhouse Cafe and Community Hub.
The cafe recently changed its name to The Grove Farmhouse Café and Community Hub. In the past year they have been working with Action in Rural Sussex (www.ruralsussex.org. uk) to develop a Hub where residents from the community can meet and socialise, helping to break down the isolation that people can feel living in a rural community. The community hub boasts a terrific schedule that engages with a wide range of the community from craft days, to a book club and themed dinner evenings. Thursdays though are the star of this article, and the ‘Happy to Chat Communal Table’. The Hub encourages anyone who fancies a chat to attend for free but naturally you’ll want to purchase one of many delicious things on the menu at an affordable price.

“Thursdays are our Happy to Chat Day. We read about the Senior Citizens Liaison Team (SCLT) Chat Bench initiative which seeks to reduce loneliness and isolation within the community by utilising public benches for community chatting, Happy to Chat Benches. We thought this was a great idea and wondered how we could develop this within the Hub. The Grove now reserves a Happy to Chat Table from 9am to 4pm every Thursday. By sitting at this communal table customers are happy for others to join them to say hello and chat. Our communal table is open to all age groups, not just Senior Citizens,” said Andrew Doherty, Owner/Manager of The Grove.

So why not pop along on a Thursday to have a chat and find out about what else is on offer at your community hub? Or take a look at The Grove’s Community Hub website page, The Grove Black Boys Community Hub, or their Facebook page, TheGroveBlackboys.

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