Tracey and Gwyn met Alex from The Derbyshire Cricket Foundation and the happy cricketers and families at this heartwarming event. After an early discussion, there was a throwing game (involving us in a lot of running to get the balls back), then catching practice (I was the worst catcher) and batting and bowling. It was so good to see an improvement in everyone's skills even in this brief time. We all got together for tea and biscuits and a chat afterwards. Thank you everyone for a lovely morning.

Tracey and Gwyn went to join the cheerful crowd at Derbyshire Cricket Foundation's Parkinson's Cricket session. It's a cosy and inspiring event, combining crickety activities and a chat over tea and biscuits. We had a great sprint session chasing after the balls, and helped with the fielding and the hot drinks. We then went for the group fitness activity: a 5k walk around nearby Kedleston Hall. It's not on next week, but another heartwarming session is on in a fortnight, on 5th March. We recommend it!

Gwyn and Tracey cycled along to Derbyshire Cricket Foundation to join in the fun with their Monday Mates.

We were welcomed by the new community officer, Alex, and everyone joined in with the spring quiz, puzzles and wordsearches.

There was then a nicely competitive game between three teams, where points were scored for coloured balls landing in the right box, but deducted for landing in the other two boxes.

We finished off with live music from Tim (another volunteer) on guitar and lead vocals, with the entire group as percussionists and backing singers for the choruses, taking us back to the sixties, seventies and even overseas to Dublin!

Gwyn and Tracey cycled along to The Derbyshire Cricket Foundation to join in the fun with their Monday Mates. It was great to see some old friends again, and to meet some new ones.

We had a red-themed quiz, a hunt for Spanish Sam, and a very active game of seated volleyball with a dozen beachballs being launched simultaneously. The two of us were on scoring duty, counting the balls that went over the opponents' heads and throwing them back into the game. Quite a workout with lots of bending and stretching doing this, considering the scores were 46-44 and 50-49 for the final two games after a few warm-up matches with fewer balls. Blowing up the balls required quite a lot of energy, too!

The Community Officer for the Cricket Foundation, Lucy, has done an excellent job of leading these sessions; she has built up the meetings from absolutely nothing to a vibrant community of friends who support each other, and make the first Monday of the month something that we all look forward to. We were sad to learn that Lucy will be leaving Derby later this month, but very pleased to hear that she and her husband are heading south for new and exciting jobs.

However, the monthly sessions will carry on, with a new leader getting involved next month. Why not come along and meet them with us? We help out setting up the room, enjoy tea and activities with the group, and then put everything away again, it's a lovely atmosphere, and much valued by those living with dementia and their carers.

Gwyn and Tracey abandoned their planned fitness session to cycle to Derbyshire Cricket Foundation because of the heavy rain, driving instead, and joined our Monday Mates in the Members Lounge in the Pavilion.

Lucy had arranged a Christmas party for us all. We got involved in setting out the tables with the quiz, puzzles, and a bit of tinsel, then sorting out the food, drinks and raffle prizes.

We had some live music from Griff at the piano, and then an active game of pass the parcel, with a different task to do for each layer of wrapping paper that came off - several involving balls that we ended up chasing around the room.

All good things come to an end, and it was soon back out in the rain again with smiles and full tummies. We'll be back with our Monday Mates next month again. Details about how to join us are here.

Gwyn and Tracey popped along to the Kit out Derbyshire pop-up shop to help Derbyshire Cricket Foundation to distribute used and donated cricket kit to the community. This new initiative is an ideal way to breathe new life into old kit, save it from landfill, and to help people who would otherwise struggle to afford equipment.

We carried boxes of kit from a storeroom across to the classroom where the shop was held, and then took it in turns (along with Mark and Lauren from the Foundation) to stand in the car park and direct people to the shop's location. We kept warm with tea, and were treated to a generous portion of Mark's home-baked banana bread.

Some of our first customers were from a local cricket club who had lost a lot of items in the recent floods, and they were delighted to find some bits and pieces that would come in handy for their team. They plan to come back next month after checking the sizes of their juniors, and will also bring some of their spare equipment to be rehomed.

After closing time, we repacked everything into boxes, ready to be put away for the next time.

This is the first of a series of regular events that will take place on the first Saturday of the month. Why not pop along and join us at a future session?