A group of residents from New Beginnings in Doncaster were lucky enough to take a trip to Cleethorpes over the summer – we thought we’d remind you of some sunnier days, in the words of the lucky staff who went along!
“On Wednesday 27 August, we embarked on our day trip to Cleethorpes. It was sunny and everyone was in good spirits, as we took the train from Doncaster to Cleethorpes. Attending were five scheme residents, two floating support clients and two members of staff.
“On arrival in Cleethorpes we made for the toilets, only to find that a party of school children had beaten us to it! We explored the small local market before getting our lunch of fish, chips and peas and sitting in the open air to eat. We split into small groups to explore, and some of us wasted rather too much time and effort on arcade machines trying to “grab” non-grab-able cuddly toys.
“Several of us decided to get fake tattoos when we saw a tattoo booth. I got an excellent lizard, which stayed intact for six days. Others were not so lucky; their tattoos had no staying power.
“At this point, ice creams were gratefully devoured and then the crowd split up again. My group took to the beach, where an ex-army type was instructing a group of middle-aged men and women in a kind of pop-up gym; we did not feel tempted to join in! Instead, I had my picture taken with a donkey called Paddy.
“We had a sit down before meeting up with the others and going for a hot chocolate, as by this time it was feeling a little cooler.
“I had never been on the infamous seafront Lollipop Train, and my colleague and I invited the clients to jump aboard. None of them would, so we staff enjoyed a leisurely ride, complete with our lollipops! At this point the weather had warmed up again, and everyone waved and smiled at the train as we passed.
“It was time to head for the toilets again but, you guessed it, the schoolchildren were back and had beaten us to it. Our train home was beckoning, and soon we were back in Doncaster. Everyone seemed to have a good time and one of our residents said that it was “an excellent day out”. Indeed it was!”
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