The Routine: Tuesday

C'mon In Cafe

What could be more interesting than knowing my day to day work routine? NOTHING. THAT'S WHAT. And so the saga continues. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you...Tuesday!

My, my! What fine dining you have!

Every Tuesday morning I walk into Woodvale's hall that hasn't fully heated up yet to some delicious smelling food and some very pleasantly set tables. Oh la la! I start my day off with C'Mon In Cafe! An outreach program for anyone in the Shankill area to come on in to a cheap yet quality meal.

Lesley and I

It was started by Lesley, my favorite "wee" woman other than my mom and my old roommate Cat. She went around pubs, diners, and events in the community, asking the locals what they needed from the church and just in general. What she took away from her conversations, basically, was that the locals wanted a place to be and socialize for a reasonable price. And then C'Mon In Cafe was born!

Carol Ann and the Dish Area

Carol Ann and I do the dishes. She usually washes and I usually dry and put them away. For the record, there are days when I do the dishes! She's just a lot faster than I am so she prefers to do them.

Don't dish it out if you can't take it!

Jim the Chef

Jim was a chef in the army, I believe it was. He and Lesley cook the meals together and he dishes them out to the waitresses to serve to the customers.

The Kitchen

Jim in the Kitchen

Tea, Coffee, and Juice Area

Waitress Mode

Ray Soupin' It Up:
Ray's in charge of serving the soup and stew.

Helen Enjoying Her Meal

The second part of the day is spent at the 174 Trust with the Disability Club (though I refer to it as Special Needs Club due to Greenwood's Special Needs Camp title).

Steady Eddie

Linda, the frontwoman of the Disability Club, and her husband Patrick take one minibus for pick ups, while I go with Eddie in another. We pick up kids from all over North Belfast and either return to the Trust for games, snacks, crafts, and activities, or go somewhere unique for the evening. We've been to the library, we've gotten a behind the scenes tour of a beloved local sweet shop (candy shop), bowling, Funland, and so on and so forth. It's a great program and a highlight of the week. The kids are always funny, genuine, kind, and ready to have fun. There are actually three separate disability clubs on three separate nights. One for kids in Primary School, one for kids in Secondary School (the one I help with), and one for Special Needs Adults out of school.

Linda, Patrick, and Judith

I really enjoy working with the three pictured above. Patrick is a really caring man, and I learn a lot from Linda during these Tuesday sessions. She's lead the disability clubs for a while now, and she's won some kind of award for it, too. Judith, originally from Poland, is a volunteer who is currently taking classes so she can work with youth as a profession. Her name isn't actually Judith. It's a long, super awesome Polish name that is difficult to pronounce and spell. For that very reason, she likes to be called Judith. Haha.

And that's Tuesday.