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Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Raphaelite_Brotherhood

English painters, poets and art critics.  Detail and intense colours.

Links/wellbeing: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/birmingham-west-midlands/wightwick-manor-and-gardens

17 acres Victoria and Edwardian garden in an arts and crafts style with formal beds, herbaceous borders and terrace

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Wightwick Manor and Gardens | West Midlands

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Explore Wightwick Manor and Gardens, a Victorian manor housing an impressive Pre-Raphaelite art collection, located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

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Thank you for enrolling, I hope that you enjoy learning some new creative art skills inspired by your journeys outdoors. We hope that you will continue to develop and enjoy your new skills once the course finishes.

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Course Info Leaflet More Journeys outdoors August 2025

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https://careers.staffordshire.gov.uk/jobs/latest

WeRecruit is the new Staffordshire County Council's career hub which will improve the recruitment experience for you! It is accessible on both mobile and desktop devices, and will include all candidate communications and show your application progress.  You can now easily: apply for jobs, manage your profile, find information to support your job search. It will also allow you to set up job alerts, so you can quickly access jobs matching your chosen criteria.

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This website is using cookies to improve your browsing experience and to enable social media functionality. By clicking "Turn cookies on", you agree to such purposes. Read more about cookies.

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Jobs and careers with Staffordshire County Council

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This website is using cookies to improve your browsing experience and to enable social media functionality. By clicking "Turn cookies on", you agree to such purposes. Read more about cookies.

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Estimated time required: 10-30 mins

Looking for inspiration on which job roles might be a good match for your current skills? Interested in different jobs but unsure what skills are required or how you could develop these skills?

Over 42,000 people visited our Wheel of Strengths in 2020.
What is the Wheel of Strengths?
The Wheel of Strengths tool helps you find out how your skills, interests and personality traits match up with a range of job roles. You may discover job roles you hadn't thought of and be surprised at where your skills could take you. You could use the worksheet to record and reflect on what you find out and even create an action plan to help you to reach your ambitions.

Use the Wheel of Strengths when you are thinking about possible job roles and deciding how suitable they may be for you. This could be when you're thinking about choosing a work experience placement, courses you might want to study, or it could simply be when you're looking for a bit of inspiration on the world of careers.

Examples of what you can discover with the Wheel of Strengths:

Examples of job roles that match your current skills

How your personality traits and interests complement your skills

What other potential jobs are available if you improve particular skills further

How you can develop your existing skills and learn new ones

How do you use it?
We'll ask you to select between two and seven skills, interests, and personality traits from a pre-populated list. You then spin the wheel and it generate roles that match your selections. We'll also show you other roles you could open by developing additional skills.

There are two ways you can use the Wheel of Strengths tool.

Option 1 - complete the tool and explore the job role results that might suit you based on your current skills, interests, and personality traits. Research these roles further if any of them sound appealing.

Option 2 - complete the tool twice, the second time adding in the skills you would want to develop to reveal examples of other jobs that might also be a great match. The LifeSkills website is full of information on how you can improve these skills starting today.

You can revisit the tool as many times as you like - why not bookmark it as a favourite page so it's always easy to find?
What do I need to use it?
All you need to get going with this tool is a free LifeSkills account.
What key things do I need to think about?

Your key skills

Your interests

Your personality traits

If you're struggling to choose, try and think about how your family or friends might describe you. You can choose between two to seven of each and always change your mind or come back to use the tool again.
How long will it take?
The tool should take no more than 10 minutes to do however take the time to read up on the roles that are recommended for you, and look at the recommended resources that can support your ongoing skill development. Perhaps you'll learn about job roles you'd never considered before.

Once you've used the Wheel of Strengths, check out the Advice Map to find advice on your future employment or education options. Read this article on how to decide what to do after leaving school for an overview of different options.

And explore a variety of different jobs and sectors by visiting BBC BiteSize: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zmdc382

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What job should I do - Wheel of Strengths | Barclays LifeSkills

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Estimated time required: 10-30 mins Looking for inspiration on which job roles might be a good match for your current skills? Interested in different jobs but unsure what skills are required or how you could develop these skills? Over 42,000 people visited our Wheel of Strengths in 2020.

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Explore your creativity with classes in illustration, photography, design, and more.

No Commitments. Cancel Anytime.

You're in the driver's seat. Join millions of students crafting a unique learning experience to help them get where they want to go.

Learn with Emily Henderson, Kelis, Marques Brownlee, Jessica Kobeissi, and thousands of acclaimed creators eager to share their knowledge with you.

Unlock a passion, side hustle, or new professional skill with thousands of classes in design, business, and more.

© Skillshare, Inc. 2020. All rights reserved.

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Explore your creativity with classes in illustration, photography, design, and more. No Commitments. Cancel Anytime. You're in the driver's seat. Join millions of students crafting a unique learning experience to help them get where they want to go. Learn with Emily Henderson, Kelis, Marques Brownlee, Jessica Kobeissi, and thousands of acclaimed creators eager to share their knowledge with you.

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The Skills Toolkit from Department for Education  provides access to free, high-quality courses to help build up your skills in digital and numeracy. Find out more: gov.uk/theskillstoolkit #TheSkillsToolkit

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Tell us whether you accept cookies

We use cookies to collect information about how you use this website. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve this website. We also share some of this information with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.

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We use cookies to collect information about how you use this website. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve this website. We also share some of this information with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.

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Staffordshire County Council are providing 'entitled to' - an online benefits checker on their website - simply input your detils and find out what benefits you are entitled to.

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Sorry, but you need to have JavaScript enabled to use all the features on this website. Please change your web browser settings using the Tools or Preferences menu.

Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display

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Sorry, but you need to have JavaScript enabled to use all the features on this website. Please change your web browser settings using the Tools or Preferences menu. Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display

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Download the new Cannock Chase Can App for Free

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Cannock Can | Your FREE health and wellbeing App is here

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The Cannock Chase Can App hosts a variety of wellness challenges which have been developed by the community and local organisations.

The App provides our community with the tools to improve their own health and wellbeing, by making it fun, focused and easily accessible.

So, whether you are a parent, run a local business, a healthy food fanatic, or a child with a great idea, you can support others by getting involved and submitting a challenge. These will be showcased within the App for users to complete and progress up their wellness wheel.

Users of the App will begin their individual wellness journeys by responding to a set of questions relating to each of the wellness themes. These themes have an impact on our overall health and weight management. Answers are evaluated to create individual Wellness Wheels and weight goals.

Relevant information and community challenges are offered to help everyone to progress on their wellness journey.

This is where you come in! If you have an idea for a challenge, read the 'Getting Involved' pack to find out more.

When you are ready to create and submit a challenge, select the relevant challenge format guidance below.

Or to download all click here

There are several ways your business can support Cannock Chase Can. Send challenges, rewards and/or offers which we can promote on our new health and wellbeing App.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences.

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Cannock Can | Your FREE health and wellbeing App is here

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The Cannock Chase Can App hosts a variety of wellness challenges which have been developed by the community and local organisations. The App provides our community with the tools to improve their own health and wellbeing, by making it fun, focused and easily accessible.

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Feeling lonely is something that we can all experience at any point and it can have a huge impact on our wellbeing.  It's important to remember that these feelings can pass and that there are lots of ways we can help each other too.

Fancy a cuppa, a walk - sometimes reaching out can make a big difference.  Find out how you can help lift someone out of loneliness.  https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/lifes-challenges/loneliness/

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Feeling lonely

Loneliness has no common cause. Sometimes it can be triggered by a life event or change in situation, or it may not be triggered by anything at all.

We all experience feeling lonely in different ways. This means there are a range of ways we can try to overcome loneliness, and we need to identify the help and support that works for us. It's really important to remember that loneliness and difficult feelings can pass.

While loneliness is a feeling we can all relate to, sometimes admitting we feel lonely is much harder. We want people to talk more openly about feeling lonely and the impact that loneliness can have.

Sometimes it can feel easier to reach out to someone else who may be feeling lonely. There are plenty of simple actions you can take to help lift someone out of loneliness and in doing so, it might help you to feel less lonely too.

Find out more about the steps you can take to help yourself and those around you and where you can find further support.

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Loneliness has no common cause. Sometimes it can be triggered by a life event or change in situation, or it may not be triggered by anything at all. We all experience feeling lonely in different ways. This means there are a range of ways we can try to overcome loneliness, and we need to identify the help and support that works for us.

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Don't let childcare costs be a barrier to learning

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Don't let childcare costs be a barrier to learning

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New Health App offers great support with your health and wellbeing

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New Health App offers great support with your health and wellbeing

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You are one click away from hundreds of apps that can help you with your health and wellbeing.

All the apps in your Health App Library have been tested (assessed) by the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA).

Start browsing your Health App Library now by using the search bar at the top. Or click on a category such as sleep, women's health, men's health or mental health.

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You are one click away from hundreds of apps that can help you with your health and wellbeing. All the apps in your Health App Library have been tested (assessed) by the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA). Start browsing your Health App Library now by using the search bar at the top.

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This link by Staffordshire Community Learning provide some good ways of staying safe On-line.

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Online gaming

You may be spending your free time playing online games as a way to relax, socialise with your friends and have fun.

But remember, you can be at risk of abuse and fraud through gaming just as much as you can through social media usage.
The risk of online gaming include:
* Being Bullied

* Trolling, griefing and scams

* In-game purchases

* Talking to people you don't know

Extremism & Radicalisation

During this time, please remain extra vigilant. Extremists use social media sites to identify, target and contact people, this may be about political, religious views or relevant conspiracy theories.
Advice/signs to look out for:
* Be aware of what content you are actively searching for, this may bring up content considered as Radical.

* Not all content you read is true. Inaccurate content can sometimes have a hidden agenda. Ensure you seek factually correct information from reputable websites such as BBC News, Gov.uk.

* Conversations you have on mainstream social media may be moved to platforms such as Kik Messenger or Omegle. Moving to a less mainstream platform makes the conversation less easy to monitor and increases anonymity for Extremists.

* Know who you are talking to online, consider re-visiting your privacy settings.

* Are your beliefs/views being challenged or influenced, consider why this is?

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Staying Safe Online | Staffordshire Community Learning

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You may be spending your free time playing online games as a way to relax, socialise with your friends and have fun. But remember, you can be at risk of abuse and fraud through gaming just as much as you can through social media usage.

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You may also be interested in Friends against Scams an organisation which

works to raise awareness of scams and shares some practical tips about how to avoid scams.

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Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative, which aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering people to take a stand against scams. Learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones from scams by completing the Friends Against Scams awareness session and help to raise awareness throughout your community. Anybody can join Friends Against Scams and make a difference in their own way.

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Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team initiative, which aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams.

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Please read through our course aims and outcomes. We will cover all of these by the end of the course and will help you to identify and achieve your own personal goals too. Please leave us a comment if you have any queries below.  Thank you.

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Aim and Outcomes, More Journeys Outdoors with Art August 2025

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Please take a look at our group agreement, we want everyone to feel safe, supported and included.  We want everyone to achieve as much as possible by taking part.

To approve and to leave any suggestions please use the space below.  It is important that all course members submit their approval of the Group Agreement

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This handbook contains lots of really helpful information and advice, about what you can expect, how to stay safe on your course and contacts for other learning.   Our CARE designated safeguarding lead is Carol Parkes, Tel: 07772 273033 and our deputy safeguarding lead is Brad Parkes.  You can contact us both on info@chaseaquaruralenterprise.com with any questions or for support whilst you are on your course.

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Congratulations on enrolling on a Staffordshire Community Learning or Everyday Maths course!

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QR Code Padlet - Art For Wellbeing  More Journeys Outdoors With Art  August 2025

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Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone,_Staffordshire

https://www.kenhurd.com/

Artist who draws first then uses washes

Wellbeing Links:

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk

Wellbeing by water.  Unloved spaces turned into beautiful places with art – canal trail.

Podcast – national trust

Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETdAlFuJ9PE

5 minutes to relax:  calming stream.  Relaxing water sounds

Flowing water short video

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Morning everyone, welcome to this weeks video!

This week we move onto Thors Cave, a spectacular cave in the peak district! The lighting inside the cave wasn't the best as you can imagine but we still managed to get some footage and walked to the top to take in the amazing views too.

Any questions please ask

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Thors Cave

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Journey With Art Outdoors  - Thors Cave Studio

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Back to the studio where we take a look at what we saw and explore the techniques we can practice this week

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Thors Cave Studio

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Journey With Art Outdoors  - Further Techniques

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Hi everyone, we have another techniques video to share with you this week! They are techniques you may like to try straight away or experiment with in following sessions.

It's a great video full of information that will help you to progress all of your skills further - but please take your time, pause for reflection and rewatching parts as you need to. Any questions please ask

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Further Techniques

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Morning everyone, welcome to this week's video where we travel to just outside Stoke at the lovely Trentham Gardens. I'm sure many of you have been at some point whether its for the garden centre, christmas events or shopping and it's a beautiful place for inspiration. They have the lake, gardens and old buildings within the site so it offers a little bit of something for everyone. We went on a pretty rainy day! But still managed to see a lot and took some nice footage from the gardens. We have a studio video to go alongside the tour in part 2. Any questions please do ask.

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Journey With Art Outdoors - Trentham Gardens

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Journey With Art Outdoors - Three Shires Head

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Welcome to week 6 where this week we take a look at water and in particular the lovely waterfall at Three Shires Head.

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Three Shires Head

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Journey With Art Outdoors  - Three Shires Head Studio

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Back to the studio for Part 2

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Three Shires Head Studio

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 2023 - Conclusion

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Welcome to part 2 where we move to the studio to look at the artwork we started in the gardens and develop some art from the photo's in the garden. There is so much to see there and even some great cafe's!

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Journey With Art Outdoors - Trentham Gardens - Studio

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View from inside Thor's Cave

Thor's Cave (also known as Thor's House Cavern and Thyrsis's Cave) is a natural cavern located at SK09865496 in the Manifold Valley of the White Peak in Staffordshire, England. It is classified as a karst cave. Located in a steep limestone crag, the cave entrance, a symmetrical arch 7.5 metres wide and 10 metres high, is prominently visible from the valley bottom, around 80 metres (260 feet) below. Reached by an easy stepped path from the Manifold Way, the cave is a popular tourist spot, with views over the Manifold Valley. The second entrance is known as the "West Window", below which is a second cave, Thor's Fissure Cavern.

Thor's Cave was served by a railway station on the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway from 1904 to 1934; the disused line now forms the Manifold Way.

The origin of the name is uncertain, possibly from the word " tor". Links with the Norse god Thor and the Germanic paganism of the early Anglo-Saxons in general have been suggested, but evidence is lacking. Other hypotheses have included lost ancient dialectal terms, and obscure English saints.

Excavations in 1864-65 and 1927-35 found human and animal remains, stone tools, pottery, amber beads, and bronze items within Thor's Cave and the adjacent Thor's Fissure Cavern. The caves are estimated to have contained the burial sites of at least seven people. The finds suggest the cavern was occupied from the end of the Palaeolithic period, with more intensive use during the Iron Age and Roman periods.

Thor's Cave has been used by rock climbers since explorations in the early 1950s by Joe Brown and others. Eleven limestone routes are listed by the BMC, ranging in grade from Very Severe to E7, and several more have been added since the publication of the BMC's rock climbing guidebook; a few routes are bolted sport climbing routes, such as Thormen's Moth 8a (5.13b) by Andy Pollitt in 1988.

The cave was used to represent the entrance to the Dark Wizard's lair in the 1980 film Hawk the Slayer, directed by Terry Marcel,[citation needed ] and was a location in The Lair of the White Worm (1988), directed by Ken Russell and starring Hugh Grant.

It was used in the filming of The Verve's 1993 video for their single " Blue",[citation needed ] and is also pictured on the front cover of the band's first album, A Storm in Heaven. The cave also acts as the backdrop for Winterfylleth's band photo for their 2020 album The Reckoning Dawn.[citation needed ]

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Thor's Cave (also known as Thor's House Cavern and Thyrsis's Cave) is a natural cavern located at SK09865496 in the Manifold Valley of the White Peak in Staffordshire, England. It is classified as a karst cave.

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Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor%27s_Cave

- natural cavern located in Manifold Valley of White Peak in Staffordshire.

- classified as a Karst Cave: disoolution of soluble carbonate rock – Limestone

-  located in steep limestone crag, entrance is 7.5m wide, 10 m high

- 2nd entrance known as West Window

- excavations found human and animal remains, stone tools, pottery, amber beads and bronze items

-  used by rock climbers – wellbeing link/friendship/sport

Wellbeing Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6st44l348M

How to explore the countyside for mental wellbeing.  Hampshire countryside service, posted 13.1.23

https://www.wondersofthepeak.org.uk

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How to explore the countryside for mental wellbeing

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Its so lovely to see how everyone is progressing and the paintings that are being posted each week - I can't believe that we are already on Session 4! Well done everyone, and a quick reminder from me that all of our starting points and goals are individual, we each progress differently and at our own pace, and we should be proud of each step that we take and how much we have achieved.

Wellbeing is such an important aspect of our course and our day to day lives, I thought that the links below might be of interest:

https://www.we-heart.com/.../art-and-mental-health-why.../

https://www.mind.org.uk/.../taking.../five-ways-to-wellbeing

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Dispatches * Lifestyle

Art and Mental Health

Art is a fantastic hobby that can have many positive effects on your mental health. There are a handful of benefits of including art of some sort into your life. Be that drawing, painting, playing music, and many more creative disciplines, the links between art and mental health are many.

Are you looking for a boost to your mental wellbeing? This article will share some specific reasons why art is good for your mind.

Creativity

Out of all of the mental health benefits of art, creative expression is a given. However, sometimes creativity is something that you take for granted when looking for a fun activity.

Being allowed to be creative means that you have an outlet to use your imagination. Also to express your feelings and emotions. This freedom alone lays the foundation for other benefits that art provides. Let's look at those benefits throughout this article.

Stress Relief

One of the main purposes of having a creative outlet is to express yourself as a way to cope with distress. Especially when it comes from general stress or other mental health issues like depression and anxiety disorders.

Although art can be beneficial on its own, there is also art therapy where you work with a professional to find relief by interpreting the art you create and finding solutions for you.

It's a formalised evidence-based psychotherapy technique. Much like cognitive behavioural therapy, interpersonal therapy, and biofeedback therapy. You can learn more about those here: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/therapy/what-is-biofeedback-therapy-and-how-does-it-work/

The main difference between it and these other approaches to therapy is that it uses art as a tool for understanding your feelings and emotions. Therefore, professionals train in both art and psychotherapy to help you do this.

Cognitive Abilities

Being able to be creative through art stimulates parts of the brain that are responsible for cognition. Particularly when it comes to learning, problem-solving, focus, and memory. Even art has obstacles and challenges, and when you're given the opportunity to think, you look for ways of approaching them.

You can develop problem-solving over time, and you will be able to find creative solutions for ordinary problems in your day-to-day life through what you've learned.

A Sense of Purpose and Achievement

Art can boost a person's self-esteem. That's because it gives them a sense of accomplishment that they may not be able to achieve elsewhere. Namely, if they don't have interests in other activities like sports.

While validation might not be important or a motivator for a lot of people, these feelings can be amplified if others appreciate the art you create and have good things to say about it.

Social Connection

Piggy-backing on the notion of others showing appreciation for your work, the social aspects of art can become much broader than that. Art has the ability to connect people who have the same interests. For example, people might enjoy the same kind of art, the same era or genre of it, or respect the same artists. It gets people talking to each other, especially those who share the same passions.

It's Just Fun

Last but not least, art is just a fun and wholesome hobby to do that can make time fly. It can be easy to get absorbed into what you're creating, and this can help relieve boredom and the negative effects of it.

Having fun and enjoying yourself is good for your mental health. Simply due to the fact it can uplift your mood. Also that it can give you a sense of satisfaction that you did something positive and productive with your day
Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.
Conclusion

For a lot of people, art has become a staple in their lives. It then becomes something that they look forward to doing and will actively make time for it. Hopefully, this article has shown you how art can be valuable to your mental health and perhaps, it can also become something that gives you fulfilment and you can appreciate for the rest of your life.

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Sometimes your hobbies can have a massive boost for your mental wellbeing. Discover the links between art and mental health...

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Sometimes your hobbies can have a massive boost for your mental wellbeing. Discover the links between art and mental health...

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Morning everyone, welcome to week 3 where we have a look at the very traditional Staffordshire town of Stone!

Thanks

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Journey Outdoors With Art Summer 23 - Stone

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Journey With Art Outdoors - Studio Stone

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Second part of this week's session, and we will take a look in the studio at what we have discovered in Stone to work with in our art this week.

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Studio Stone

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Hi everyone, welcome to week 2 and the next session. It's great to see everyone being really inspired and so much varied work being produced! This week we move onto something a little different and have a walk around Wightwick Manor, an old house with stunning grounds! A different challenge completely. Any questions please ask, don't forget there is a part 2 in the studio too :-)

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Session 2

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Journey With Art Outdoors  - Studio Wightwick Manor

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Part 2 of Week 2, we head back to the studio to complete some of the work started and also have a look at this weeks challenge.

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Studio Wightwick Manor

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Check out your knowledge and see how important it is to feel confident about our British Values.

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Manage your own mental wellbeing with new wellbeing hub

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Manage your own mental wellbeing with new wellbeing hub

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Get Energy Help is a resource hub offering helpful tips and advice on different ways you can save energy, stay warm and reduce energy bills.

Filter the guidance to find out how to you can heat your home more cheaply, reduce damp mould and condensation, or save money on your energy bills.

There are many small changes we can make to our everyday activities in the home such as cooking, washing and heating, as well as cost effective ways we can keep cold and moisture out. These 'interventions' may be small, but can add up to make large savings long term.

Visit our resource hub to learn how you can make your home more energy efficient, and don't forget to use the action plan to help keep you and your household members on track with the changes too!

Get help in your home

Groundwork's Green Doctors visit people's homes to show them how to save energy, help resolve billing issues and access other community services.

This free and impartial advice is available to those most in need. If you are struggling with your bills, in debt or having to choose between eating and heating, our energy efficiency experts may be able to help if you meet the eligibility criteria. In order to qualify you will need to be a person living with a disability, physical or mental health issues or dementia, living on a low income or with debt, living in either poor housing conditions or emergency accommodation, in receipt of benefits, aged over 65 or a young person or part of a family containing children under the age of five.

Other sources of support

If you still need help with your finances and bills, or are struggling with your mental health and wellbeing, there are many organisations who can provide free support. Take a look at some of the organisations we recommend in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

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Get Energy Help is a resource hub offering helpful tips and advice on different ways you can save energy, stay warm and reduce energy bills.Filter the

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Please complete your end of week 2 reflection and return. It is really helpful to receive your feedback on your learning, and to understanding how we can help to support you with anything specific that you might be finding difficult. Thanks.

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Now that you have successfully completed your course why not take another step and try one of the other learning courses available with Staffordshire Community Learning.  Please follow the link for details.

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Staffordshire Community Learning - Staffordshire Adult and Community Learning

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This is the official website for Staffordshire County Council's Adult Community Learning service.

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Please use this link to provide us with your reflections from week 1, and your learning goals for this course.

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https://www.getsafeonline.org/

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From the Blog

Blog

Who are you really talking to online?

The internet is a fantastic innovation that has, in many ways, made life more convenient, given us more choice, brought enrichment and for many, made...

Our Partners & Supporters

Our Mission

Our Mission

Get Safe Online is the UK's leading source of unbiased, factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety.

Our website is a unique resource providing practical advice on how to protect yourself, your computers and mobile devices and your business against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other problems encountered online. It contains guidance on many other related subjects too - including performing backups and how to avoid theft or loss of your computer, smartphone or tablet.
Read more about who we are

Get Safe Online around the world

Get Safe Online has a presence in 24 countries around the world. Each country benefits from its own Get Safe Online website, customised to deliver the best and most relevant experience for individuals and businesses. Many of the countries also have a community of Get Safe Online Ambassadors and Advocates working on our behalf.
Read more about our International Sites

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Get Safe Online | The UK's leading Online Safety Advice Resource

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The UK's leading online safety advice resource. Providing free, impartial internet safety advice to help keep you and your family safe online.

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Hi everyone, please find below a short video which helps round up your online learning course. Big well done for completing your course. Great achievement and you've all achieved so much. Even though its the end any questions please ask. Thanks.

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Thank you to all learners for their comments and feedback and for our discussions about your next steps.  We look forward to seeing you on future Community Learning courses (link below)  and if you need any further information with the progression pathways we have discussed individually with you please get in touch.

Please be aware that at some stage in the future you may be contacted by Staffordshire County Council for feedback from you about how you have been able to use your new learning.  If you have any queries with this at all please get in touch.

Best wishes  Brad and Carol

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Please complete your reflection for week 4 using the link provided. Any questions at all please let us know.

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Beat the cold - some links you may find useful

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Beat the cold - some links you may find useful

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Beat the Cold provides energy advice and guidance to address fuel poverty (https://www.beatcold.org.uk/).

Support with Cost of Living Resources: https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Community/Cost-of-living-support/Here-to-help.aspx

Hypothermia Advice: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hypothermia/

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Links to English, Maths and IT support here

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Links to English, Maths and IT support here

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Numeracy and Digital Skills - The government have launched The Skills Toolkit, a collection of free online courses for adults to access whilst at home, to help you build new skills and boost growth and productivity.

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One in three people have used online learning to help them get a better job. On average, online learning can boost your annual pay by £3,640 too [ 1]

94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development [ 5].

Help boost team productivity and motivation by upskilling your employees with free, high-quality digital, numeracy and soft skills courses. All courses on The Skills Toolkit are free and available online, so your teams can learn flexibly from home at a time that suits them.
Explore courses

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Learn a new skill at home. Find free, high quality digital courses in The Skills Toolkit.

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More online safety including advice for parents

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More online safety including advice for parents

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Welcome to the UK Safer Internet Centre, where you can find online safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe online.

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Please see the link for information about current local vacancies that might be of interest to you.

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With pride. With purpose. With you.

We are no ordinary county council. We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future. We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

You will work in an empowering environment and be encouraged to bring your creativity and skills to help us continuously improve. You will enjoy the freedom to grow in a team that supports you and your ambitions. A teams that supports you to develop at your pace, in your own way. This is a place where you can thrive. And one we are proud to keep improving.

A message to potential applicants from Chief Executive Officer of Staffordshire County Council, John Henderson.

Read video transcript (52 KB)

View our current vacancies

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Jobs and Careers at Staffordshire Council

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With pride. With purpose. With you. We are no ordinary county council. We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people.

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Certificate More Journeys Outdoors with Art Aug-Sept 2025

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Forestry England

https://www.forestryengland.uk>wellbeing

Forest Bathing; Japanese practice known as Shinrin Yokyu

-  being calm and quiet amongst the trees, observing nature around you whilst breathing deeply.  Can help de-stress and boost health and wellbeing in a natural way

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Forests are places you can seek adventure, make memories or find escape. For 100 years we’ve been looking after the nation’s forests, so that they can take care of you.

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Please use the link here for enrolment.  The information that you will need is as follows:

Course Code: WEICARE2504

Course Title:  Art for Wellbeing - More Journeys Outdoors With Art

Date: Starts 13.08.25 - 17.09.25

Chase Aqua Rural Enterprise CIC

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Please can I ask you to complete and submit introductory ' Getting to Know You' form using the link below:

All of this information is really important and helps is to make sure we help you set appropriate course goals so that your journey takes you to where you want to go.  Thank you.

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Staying safe online - tips for older people | Age UK

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Online scams are becoming increasingly common. These include viruses which can damage your computer and online scams. Read our guide to staying safe online.

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A really useful link especially during the run winter months

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A really useful link especially during the run winter months

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Things to do, health, mental health & wellbeing, care homes & supported accomodations, information & advice, keeping safe, transport, help with caring for someone, money/benefits & housing, help at home.

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Cost of Living Support - Live better and love later life

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What support is available to you or a loved one during the cost of living crisis?

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Review of your Goals and reflection on your course achievements

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Review of your Goals and reflection on your course achievements

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Well done for completing your course and achieving your course goals.  Please can I ask you to look again at our starting points and see how confident you feel with these now.  It is a really good indicator of your progress.  Many thanks.

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The Five Ways to Wellbeing has been a very important corner stone for this course and you may remember we started by taking a look at where you felt you were on the WEMWBS scale. It would be really good if you could pause again now and complete WEMWBS again to see what impact taking part in the course has had on your wellbeing.  If there is anything that we can help to support you with on-going as a result please let me know.  Link to the form is here:

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The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS)

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This is a very brief questionnaire that is meant to help you measure your own mental well-being. (c) NHS Health Scotland, University of Warwick and University of Edinburgh, 2006, all rights reserved. Used under licence to Chase Aqua Rural Enterprise CIC. Link to find out more information here: htt…

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Learn My Way | Learn how to use the internet

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Learn how to use the internet. Learn My Way is a website of free online learning for beginners, helping you develop digital skills.

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How can we help?

We know everybody's different, but choose the statement that best describes you or your situation and we'll suggest some relevant topics.

Still not sure where to start?

Don't worry. We're here to help guide you to the information you need. Use the links below and we'll point you in the right direction.

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Positive wellbeing will influence many aspects of our lives, as well as being an  important employability characteristic. Please complete and return the wellbeing survey form below.  We can repeat this again later to see the impact taking part in this course has had on your well-being.  Thank you.

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The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS)

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This is a very brief questionnaire that is meant to help you measure your own mental well-being. (c) NHS Health Scotland, University of Warwick and University of Edinburgh, 2006, all rights reserved. Used under licence to Chase Aqua Rural Enterprise CIC. Link to find out more information here: htt…

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Please share your favourite photos, moments from the course, learning tips, ideas, feedback with us.  Congratulations, its always good to take a moment to reflect and enjoy the fabulous progress you have made.

If you have any difficulty uploading your work please just get in touch with me - Brad Parkes, 07772 273033 or email carolparkes@chaseaquaruralenterprise.com

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Please can you complete the reflection for this week - if you need any support or have questions please do get in touch. Thanks.

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Congratulations on achieving your learning goals and course outcomes!

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Congratulations on achieving your learning goals and course outcomes!

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Congratulations on your progress and achievement of your learning outcomes and personal goals on this course.

We will be forwarding your individual certificates to you as a pdf file over the next couple of days.

Please take a moment to celebrate with us - and with Keiron  - you should feel very proud of your progress and achievements.

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king keraun clap GIF by Fuse - Find & Share on GIPHY

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Discover & share this king keraun clap GIF by Fuse with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

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Two useful careers links worth following on Twitter for the latest info about careers.

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Two useful careers links worth following on Twitter for the latest info about careers.

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@nationalCareers and
@CareersWestMids

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What I have learnt: Photographs and feedback

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What I have learnt: Photographs and feedback

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Please share your photos, top tips, ideas, feedback with us.  If you have any difficulty uploading your work please just get in touch with me - Brad Parkes, 07772 273033 or email carolparkes@chaseaquaruralenterprise.com

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Mental health and wellbeing - How gardening can help / RHS Gardening

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Mental health and wellbeing – How gardening can help / RHS Gardening

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Gardening is being prescribed for people facing some of life’s toughest challenges – read real-life stories of people who have benefitted and the science behind it all

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On-line learning at home - Staying Safe, Tips and Guidance for Safety in the Home

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On-line learning at home - Staying Safe, Tips and Guidance for Safety in the Home

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Did you know faulty electrics such as overloaded sockets and faulty electrical appliances cause around 7,000 house fires across the country every year?

General Advice

When using electronic devices always use the official charger and don't be tempted to use cheap counterfeit replicas instead.

Ensure that you replace all damaged cables and chargers.

Make sure all electrical appliances have a British or European safety mark when you buy them.

Don't overload your sockets - keep one appliance to one plug where possible and use the socket overload calculator to reduce the risk of fire.

Unplug appliances when you are going to bed or not using them.

High powered appliances such as washing machines should have a single plug socket.

Never use square box plug adapters, and if using a strip adapter/extension make sure it's fused and don't overload it.

If using a cable drum extension lead, it should be completely unwound to avoid overheating.

Never put anything metallic in the microwave.

Do not leave your washing machine on overnight or when you go out.

Clean the filter on your tumble dryer regularly and remove fluff.

Clean behind the fridge and freezer in order to avoid the blocking of air vents.

Don't leave electric blankets folded when storing them over summer months as this damages the internal wiring - store them flat or rolled up.

If your electric blanket isn't thermostat controlled, unplug the blanket before you get into bed.

Don't buy second-hand blankets - check your blanket regularly for wear and tear.

If your blanket is over 10 years old, replace it and dispose of the old one at your nearest recycling centre.

Socket Overload Calculator

Are you overloading your sockets?

Overloaded sockets can easily cause fires, which could be easily prevented. Use the socket overload calculator to plug in some typical household appliances to see the effect on the load, and to get useful tips on how to avoid overloading your sockets.

Register your electrical appliances for a safer home

Only 36% of consumers register all of their large domestic appliances.

The register my appliance website is designed to make it quicker and easier for the public to register all of their appliances. It provides up-to-date, accurate, contact information for owners who have acquired specific models of appliances within the last twelve years, so manufacturers can issue safety updates or repair notifications to the right homes. The website provides access to the registration pages of over 40 leading brands of domestic appliances, including most of the UK's top-selling brands of major white goods.

Other electrical items should be registered with the manufacturer when you purchase them. They can be checked for recalls and registered using the Electrical Safety First website.

The site above also gives advice on what to do if you get a recall notification.

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Did you know faulty electrics such as overloaded sockets and faulty electrical appliances cause around 7,000 house fires across the country every year? When using electronic devices always use the official charger and don't be tempted to use cheap counterfeit replicas instead. Ensure that you replace all damaged cables and chargers.

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Cost of living crisis -  it pays to compare prices before you buy

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Cost of living crisis -  it pays to compare prices before you buy

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Thank you Rhys for sharing this useful App.

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Is the Supermarket Comparison App free?

The Trolley.co.uk app is free to use and always will be to perform UK supermarket comparison. That's right, no monthly subscriptions, no annoying ads, or sudden in app purchase requests. Trolley.co.uk is UK's largest online supermarket comparison app, comparing groceries at over 16 superstores to help people and shoppers across the country save up to 30% on their grocery shopping. We're in this together!

Which supermarkets do you compare?

The Trolley app helps you compare cheap grocery prices at Aldi, Asda, B&M, Boots, Co-op, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Poundland, Sainsbury's, Savers, Superdrug, Tesco, Waitrose, and Wilko. We're working to add Amazon, Lidl, and Farmfoods to Trolley.co.uk. Feel free to give us a hand by requesting them to join via Twitter!

How does it compare as a MySupermarket Alternative?

We're a brand new app which means we're not as complete as MySupermarket once was yet which we know is a real shame - for us too! However, we're a small team out of Birmingham that's working every day to hopefully get our supermarket price comparison app closer to what MySupermarket was for all of us. We're taking it one step at a time and so far, we have Price History, Price Alerts, Barcode Scanning, Daily Deals, and the ability to Group Lists By Store with new features being added almost every week.

Is there anything different to the MySupermarket App?

Trolley.co.uk helps you with more than just grocery shopping price comparison. Using the app, you can create shopping lists of your favourite products and choose which shops you'd like to buy them at, automatically being sorted into lists where your favourite groceries are stocked cheapest at those stores. Using lists, you'll be able to compare prices and create ready-made lists for saving up to 30% on your weekly shop without having to do any planning. Saving you money and time!

Can I compare prices at Asda, Tesco, Aldi, Sainsbury's and other supermarkets?

Absolutely, using the Trolley.co.uk app, you'll be able to easily compare prices on all of the products, items, or groceries a supermarket has available, including find cheap prices on popular brands like Nescafe, Pampers, Hartley's and more.

What's the cheapest Supermarket?

There isn't always a "cheapest supermarket", but supermarkets sometimes do stock items cheaper than other supermarkets for different products, and in other instances, stock different items more expensive than other supermarkets at the same time. Get the Trolley app for free to find out which is which!

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Get the Trolley.co.uk App - Compare supermarket prices on-the-go - Trolley.co.uk

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Get the app and compare over 16 UK supermarkets, create shopping lists, get price alerts, and see which supermarket your shopping list is cheapest at. Saving you up to 30% on every grocery trip! Available on iOS and Android.

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Tell us whether you accept cookies

We use cookies to collect information about how you use this website. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve this website. We also share some of this information with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.

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We use cookies to collect information about how you use this website. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve this website. We also share some of this information with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.

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Hi everyone, welcome to the course and week 1. The sessions will be broken up into several parts each week, as a general rule we do a "Out in the field" video and then a "Back to the Studio" style video. The challenge for each week is set at the end of the studio videos. You can use the images and inspiration from the adventure video for your art or go out in person to the same places if you have time! Some weeks we will have extra little videos and links, such as this week where we have an introduction video which I will post here.

I will number the sessions Part 1,2 etc to help you find them in the right order. Always remember you can go onto the featured section in the group to find the videos easily as once we get going the page soon fills up with everyones art and links etc, making it hard to scroll back to find a session at times.

As always any questions please ask, or even better come along to the zoom and ask them in person this morning at 10am.

Hope you enjoy

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Journey With Art Outdoors - Introduction Video

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Welcome to part 2 of the video where we venture to the lovely Matlock and head up a cable car to Abraham Heights. Great to try art from different perspectives and see the sights from high up.

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Matlock

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Morning Everyone - please complete the week 3 reflection and review using the link provided, thank you.

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Journey With Art Outdoors  - Studio Matlock

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The last part of this week's session is back in the studio where we take a closer look at what we did at Matlock and set a challenge for you all to have a go at this week.

Take your time with the videos and please remember you have plenty of time, don't have to watch them all back to back. Look forward to seeing your artwork.

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 23 - Studio Matlock

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Journey With Art Outdoors  - Techniques Video

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Welcome to part 3 of this week's session where we focus completely on techniques. There's alot in this video so feel free to pause, rewatch and come back to it in coming weeks as its a info packed film

It will show you how to prepare paper with texture paste, use cling film, salt and more!

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Journey With Art Outdoors Summer 2023 - Techniques Video

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Mental health and wellbeing – How gardening can help / RHS Gardening

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Gardening is being prescribed for people facing some of life’s toughest challenges – read real-life stories of people who have benefitted and the science behind it all

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5 Minute Music Meditation | 5 Minutes to Calm | Scenic Waterfall and Nature Sounds

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Links:  https://www.heightsofabraham.com/see-and-do/estate-map

https://www.heightsofabraham.com/

Note: events and exhibitions within park

Links Wellbeing:

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-06/Thriving-With-Nature.pdf

WWF/Mental Health Foundation – why nature is good for our mental wellbeing

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Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trentham_Estate

https://trenham.co.uk

Wellbeing Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfDTp2GogaQ

Every mind matters: Mindful breathing exercise, 6th November 2019

Five ways to wellbeing:

https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/five-ways-to-wellbeing/

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Links:

https://walkpeakdistrict.com/three-shires-head/

Visit the beautiful waterfalls at the point where Cheshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire meet

Important crossing point on the River Dane, rest for horses and water

Thieves could evade capture because they could step into another county!

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Three Shires Head Walk | Short walks in the Peak District

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Give this beautiful circular walk to Three Shires Head a go, with our crystal-clear illustrated directions

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Walking is a simple, free way of getting more physically active. It's ideal for people of all ages and fitness levels. It's also easy to build into your daily routine and doesn't need any special equipment.

Walking has many mental and physical health benefits. It can also help you feel part of your community and reduce loneliness and isolation.

Many people don't think of walking as being exercise. However, you don't need to go to the gym, go swimming or play sports to get the benefits of being active. Walking is a great way of reaching the recommended level of physical activity we need to stay healthy.

How much walking should you do to improve your health?

For walking to count towards your recommended level of physical activity, you should walk at a pace that increases your breathing speed and heart rate.

Taking a brisk walk (as if you're late for an appointment) for just 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days per week, can help you feel good. For example, it can:

improve energy

reduce stress

reduce your blood pressure

manage your weight

improve sleep

Health benefits of walking

Like other forms of moderate activity, regular walking is proven to reduce your risk of some chronic illnesses, including:

Walking can also improve your mood and reduce your risk of depression.

For older people, walking more often is great for increasing general mobility and muscle strength in the lower body. This can reduce the risk of falls.

Walking can also help maintain wellbeing and independence in people with long term conditions like:

Walking could also help you manage the symptoms of your condition and in some cases improve them.

Activity trackers for walking

Pedometers, smartphone apps and activity trackers are useful, motivational tools to help you track your walking progress. You can use them to set yourself goals and measure your success.

There's also social benefits of using activity tracking apps as they allow you to:

join walking communities and groups

share your step scores with friends

compare steps with others as part of competitions

Get started

If you decide to do more walking, think about whether you can walk to:

Having a pet dog is also a great way to encourage you to walk more, you could even walk with a friends dog if you don't have your own!

Start with a little more walking

You can start walking by breaking the time into smaller chunks. For example, you could walk for:

10 minutes 3 times per day, or

15 minutes twice a day

Build this up to walk greater distances at a faster pace.

Even a small increase in the amount of walking can bring significant benefits if you're currently inactive.

Walking equipment

Usually all you need is a pair of comfortable shoes, that allow you to walk comfortably and provide suitable support to your feet.

How to do more walking

Making small changes to increase the number of daily steps you take can lead to big health benefits. You should aim to establish a baseline of how many steps you currently do and aim to increase this gradually until you're walking for at least 2.5 hours per week.

You can increase your steps in simple ways.

Walking groups

For some, walking with other people provides motivation to not only start walking more, but to continue. Look for local walking groups, Health Walk groups or try going with friends or your partner.

Health Walk groups

Health Walk groups are found all across Scotland with over 550 walks taking place each week. The walks are:

volunteer led

free

sociable

open to everyone no matter what your age, fitness level or ability

Some Health Walks are also adapted to provide extra support for individuals with dementia or cancer, enabling them to take part with confidence.

Find out more about walking in your area through:

Active Travel

Active travel means making journeys in active ways like walking or cycling. Active travel aims to improve your quality of life and quality of area. Walking instead of driving to nearby locations will:

improve your physical and mental well being

reduce the risk of obesity

reduce traffic and improve the air quality in your area

allow you to save money on fuel

bring your community together

Further information about active travel
Nordic walking

Nordic walking is a full-body exercise that's also easier on your lower joints than regular walking due to the use of poles. It's a great way to significantly improve the condition of your muscles, heart and lungs.

Nordic walking poles harness the power of your upper body muscles to help push you forward as you walk. It's a recognised way to turn a walk into full body exercise. You move in a similar way to ordinary walking. Holding your poles, you swing your arms with your elbows straight allowing the bottom of the poles to push against the ground propelling you forward as you move.

It's recommended that when you begin Nordic walking, you start with lessons to ensure you master the basic technique and can continue the exercise without causing yourself strain or injury. There are Nordic Walking groups across the country that you can join.

Nordic walking can bring health benefits beyond regular walking as it involves more areas of your body. It is a great way of becoming more active if you have balance issues, are overweight or have a long term condition that affects your mobility.
Further information on Nordic walking

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Information about the health benefits of walking and how to walk more in day-to-day life. This includes advice on walking groups in Scotland and active travel.