Henpower

Last Friday saw the hanging up of Lynne’s pinny for the last time in her role as Sheltered Scheme Officer at Wood Green. She’s retiring after 47 years as chief, cook, carer, bottle washer, chicken keeper, bingo caller, raspberry grower, potato planter, bun maker, conference participant, student teacher, human hugger and all round multi-talented human that she is.

Lynne has been a fundamental ingredient in the success of HenPower over the last fourteen years, not just because of her willingness to try new things and her enthusiasm to engage others but because of her innate belief that HenPower and creativity work to improve the lives of older people.

Always a grafter, always the first to roll her sleeves up and get stuck in, always the first to lead by example and sing the praises of others, encouraging residents to have a go, she will be a massive miss to our work.

Lynne has supported so many older people as part of the HenPower Project. We have had adventures all over the UK, speaking at conferences, and sharing the joys of hen keeping and improving the lives of older people. She’s always been a great advocate of the work we do and has helped on hen road shows in care settings, schools and universities every year, teaching nursing students about the positives of creatively engaging older people in later life.

Lynne’s easy going, try anything, chat to everyone, easy demeanour has made seamless links with people and organisations. It’s easy to sometimes just accept people’s skills and good points as ‘the way they are’, but being organically a warm, inviting, caring, proactive person takes thought and skill. We have benefitted so much at Equal Arts from all Lynne has to share with others over the years and will miss her immensely. Our lives are better for having had Lynne in them.

Thanks Lynne, for all the love, care, encouragement and chocolate cakes over the years. There is no one like you, and your boots are entirely unfillable!

We wish you love and happiness in your retirement and as you always say Lynne, ‘Bye for now”.

We had a lovely first ceramic session with the women's Wednesday group at Scotswood Natural Community Garden...a lovely bunch of people!

The group are involved in a garden show next year and they wanted to explore some creative ceramic ideas to plan and map out their designs.

We experimented with the pinching technique, using our hands and fingers to make some garden pots. Denise said "I'm loving this. The clay is so versatile and there's so many things you can make with it"

Janet had always wanted to try pottery and was happy to have the chance to try something new. She was happy to have her daughter to support her, "I've got the chance to do this here with my daughter as she helps and supports me, which is great." We love it when families get involved and roll up their sleeves too.

During the session the group discussed some designs over a cuppa. It's really important to them that their design plans reflect what the gardens at Scotswood means to them.
Sustainability and wellbeing was at the top of the list.

Next week were looking to make our own impressed patterned pieces from nature and found objects in and around the garden. They'd like to use these pieces to repeat patterned styles on future work. If they have time, they're going to find a way to squeeze in some hens and bees! Yes please...the garden is full of them!

All Bar None!

We're underway with our brilliant Beaky Blinders at Housing Team at Gateshead Council's Pleasant Place and what a team!

When you've got a plan...stick to it and look what happens. Many hands make light work!

The Beaky Blinders discussed what they would like to achieve. Given the time scale available, concentrating on building an outside bar and tidying up around the seating area in the garden were thought to be the priorities.

The planning's been fruitful. They've come up with ideas for the bar and a sketch was produced of what it should look like.
Yesterday they spent time cleaning up the outside seating area and installing the posts for the lighting. Then after, we all had tea and scones provided by wonderful Gemma, the sheltered scheme officer who always rolls her sleeves up and chips in. She's a diamond! A great way to end the session and much needed since digging the holes for the posts proved hard work.

We're all looking forward to seeing how this outside space develops!

Over at Wood Green we've been proving that life's a piece of cake or in fact, a marvellous meat and vegetable pie, or a really ravishing risotto or a canny Kofta Kebab!

Our Wood Green Grafters have been working with their pals, 'The Friendly Felling Foxes' from The Drive Community Primary School under the cookery queen capabilities of our lovely Hannah from The Pickle Palace.

Building on bonds developed in previous creative work together, some of the children sought out familiar faces and clearly enjoyed the close cookery companionship with the residents at Wood Green.

It's been wonderful working with each other, creating meals we can all then sit down, and eat and enjoy together.

Everyone learned new skills and chattered on together, sharing experiences of dishes we’d tried, things that made our toes curl, and we weren’t keen on, and generally talking about and enjoying a fantastic food experience.

Making a main course and dessert each week, and focussing on what the residents would like to try, we really challenged ourselves to try new things and think about food differently.

Angie said that the project had changed her view of food and how she managed her own meals; "I tried new and different foods and was more conscious of thinking about how I used food and not just throwing stuff out."

It really was a truly valuable experience for residents, staff and the children and their parents. Sheltered scheme officer Lynne Walker said "Well I had never made a risotto. Hannah made it so easily. It's one of my usual dishes at home now. And we love having the kids from school. They are like little sponges with what they learn and remember."

The children benefited from being supported by the residents both in developing their practical skills and in giving new things a go, while the residents could enjoy passing on their own experience and giving confidence.

George said "I enjoyed it all. Hannah was amazing with the kids and had them cutting and chopping and cooking things they hadn’t eaten before and actually trying them"

It's been so lovely to watch.

We've been having the time of our lives with Johnnie Johnson Housing residents at Blenheim Court and children from Windy Nook Primary School working on the fantastically bubbly 'Bubble Trouble' story by Margaret Mahy as part of our 'Learning In The Lounge' Project.

Fridays have never been so much fun; learning to move and groove to the themes and characters of the book.

When little Mabel's bubble gets away from her, it's her baby brother who gets into trouble. Soon he's floating out of the house, above the fence, and all over town! It's up to Mabel, Mother, and the rest of the townspeople to get him safely back down. Who knew that so much trouble could come from one little bubble?

Surrounded in a cloud of bubbles, children and older people have been pairing together to bounce and bobble all over the lounge.
Everyone's feeling fitter and more floaty after our weekly workouts and dance sessions.

Thanks to Sport England for this lovely opportunity for Equal Arts to help rescue the baby in the bubble with the residents and children in tow!

This week we drop the pop-hole one last time as we say goodbye to our old friend and head Hensioner, Owen Turnbull.

Owen was a friend to many and my poultry partner in crime for the last thirteen years. Many people will recognise his cheery chops and his cheeky banter from our many henny jaunts and journeys over the last decade.

I met Owen as a youngan of 81. He’d kept budgies and banties as a lad in a shed and was happy to be asked to roll up his sleeves and lend a hand on the land at Gateshead Council's Wood Green. What Owen didn’t know wasn’t worth knowing. He kept his years old chicken checklist on a scrap of A4 folded many times in his back pocket.

Owen was known far and wide as The Head Hen Man. He was like the pied piper with the bairns and if you ever dared to say kids, he gave you a sharp glance and reminded us that “Kids is baby goats”!

You can’t say Owen without Bell…Bell and Owen were like a dippy egg and soldiers; just meant to go together. Better for being together.

Owen met Bell before he joined the army. She would pop her head over the drystone wall at the farm where Owen’s brother worked and would proposition him for a jug of fresh milk. The pints led to a proposal, and in 1955 they got married. In Bell’s parents’ crowded house and with no home of their own, Owen spent their wedding night sleeping with the dog and then year in and year out they loved and cherished each other for the longest time…a whole lifetime of loving the same person.

And then when Bell developed dementia and deteriorated, with love and strength and the pride of peers, everyone cuddled her up and lent arms to lean on.

Owen said “I want to keep her at home as long as I can. As long as I’m here I’ll look after her.” And he did just that with courage and careful conviction.

We danced to Tina Turner to celebrate sixty years of them loving each other, and we felt proud of them both and cherished their happy hearts ‘til last orders when no one wanted to leave!

I’ve a gladness in having known Owen. His dry wit and glinty eyes filled with a bit of badness, but his mischief-making always underlying a warm and well-meaning heart. He was up with the larks and often wrestled Lynne to be the first to lift the pop hole. And woe betide if you didn’t meet his chicken caring standards. You wouldn't be asked twice!

Owen showed no signs of slowing down and was as adamant as ever in his nineties to care for his hens. Scooping various headlines in national newspapers, and sharing his story on TV, Owen was the best advocate for keeping healthy and engaged in later life. He won Gateshead Council’s Carer of the Year and was part of a team of Hensioners who won a Pride of the North East Award as part of The Pride of Britain.

He’s the last of the original Hensioners. His leaving us is the end of an era. He’ll be a big miss but he’s been such a big part of our HenPower journey.

We once went hen shopping in a minibus on a dreich wet Northumberland day. I intentionally drove through the puddles to make a splash, and Owen’s little voice chirped up from the back seat “Ye naaaa what it is? It’s throwing it doon oot there, but in this bus, it’s filled wi sunshine”. Happy days to be remembered with our head Hensioner Owen…a ripe 94 years of hen keeping and high jinx!

Scroll through to the end to see Owen's Sunny Side Up film 💕

Christmas wishes from us all at Equal Arts and the residents of Grange Lea Care Home who we've loved delivering weekly sessions to this year...especially over the last few weeks writing this original Christmas song together.

We talked about all the things we do in preparation for Christmas to ensure it is the perfect time for family and friends. Funny stories of drunken carolling and doll’s houses that didn’t open.
Joan talked of the charms that were added to the Christmas Pudding…angel, bell and star. This became a repeated phrase at the end of each verse reminding us of our earthly angels of friends and family, the music and bells we share and the shining star of Bethlehem that denotes the real meaning of Christmas.

Working alongside our Equal Arts musician Caroline, the tune was composed by Sylvia who is a fantastic piano player, and its jaunty melody was perfect for the song which had a real party feel to it ‘Stir in a wish for everyone, for hope, for joy for times of fun!’

Click on the link and listen to the song. Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas Wishes from the residents of Grange Lea We talked about all the things we do in preparation of Christmas to ensure it is the perfect time for family and friends. Funny stories of drunken carolling and…

Merry Christmas everyone!

We've had great fun the last few weeks working with tenants from South Tyneside Homes Birch Grove...or Birch Groove as they're now known!

Thinking of Upbeat and rocking, The Birch Groovers worked with Equal Arts musician, Caroline, to explore people’s Christmas beliefs.

We began developing lyrics by writing postcards to an imaginary person far away on a distant planet who we’d not seen for a long time.

The song is an extra-terrestrial take on ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ with a dusting of an environmental message scattered between the lines. We are leaving future Earth to go back to a planet that has looked after itself and still has snow at Christmas…

Ali at Coostie Design Studio took the tenant's ideas and swirled them into this magical Christmas image complete with the Northern Lights.

Recording the song was great fun with David going big on the bells, and a reminder that being together with a bit of music, movement and imagination is a great way to spend an afternoon...anytime!

Wishing all the groups we work with and all our a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year. We're looking forward to seeing you all in January with another year of creativity and connection with us all at Equal Arts.

Have a really lovely Christmas.

ps...make sure you watch our singing Christmas card in full screen to see everyone's lovely smiley faces!

Christmas Wishes from the tenants at Birch Grove Upbeat and rocking, The Birch Groovers worked with Equal Arts musician Caroline to explore people’s Christmas beliefs. We began developing lyrics by writing…

Butterfly is a piece of music and dance developed, devised and performed by residents of Johnnie Johnson Housing's Boulmer Court in Chester-le-Street.

In coming together, the group’s expectations were of not being able to creatively achieve; certainly not being able to write lyrics and compose music; and dance…not a chance!

Working with Equal Arts artists Caroline and Megan over a six-week period, the group chatted about their feelings of living in supported housing, meeting new friends in later life and how getting creative has been a very enriching next stage in the metamorphosis of getting older.

Such a lovely group of people to work with. To see their confidence grow and the joy in their achievement was beautiful.

Thanks to Jason and Amy for always being amiable and helpful

Butterfly Butterfly is a piece of music and dance developed, devised and performed by residents of Johnnie Johnson Housing’s Boulmer Court in Chester-le-Street. In…

What a fun day of tearing, rolling, shaping, cutting, pressing and impressing our visitors from Northumbria University, Professor Glenda Cook and Dr Phil Hodgson.

Lovely Equal Arts artist Meg, supported the Harton Hinnies from Harton Grange Care Home - Barchester Healthcare to make hen themed brooches.

One of the Margarets went rogue and pulled us all forward a season singing Christmas songs (we think daughter Dawn was leading her astray 😉) so we heckled and sang Cliff Richard's Summer Holiday to celebrate the sun still shining!

Dottie told us tales of going to art school, and Marius and Thomasina had a real production line of brooches under development! Thomasina said is was like making biscuits!

The session was a ceramic sensation, and the group are looking forward to getting back on board with Meg at the next session.

Such a lovely afternoon. Always a warm welcome with the Harton Hinnies.

It might be chucking it down across the UK, but look at the sunshine in the room at Elizabeth Court Rest Home in Bexhill.

Having recently received their hens, the residents are working inside as autumn approaches and as part of the first session of their ‘Flower Power’ project we looked at large and colourful faux flowers.

Giant Gerbera reminded us of our top tunes, and we all sang flower songs - with the backing of a bluetooth speaker. We made colourful pastel marks to the rhythm of the songs and then drawings of flowers using pastels and felt tips.

All this, while having fun remembering our favourite singers, songs, tales of woodcarving, dancing, thinking about gardening, sharing stories of London, Hastings - and lots of laughing, concentrating, and making some brilliant flower drawings!!

Edie, Caz, Tony, Alan and Adele all got involved and at the end of the session Eddie said, “I enjoyed doing the drawing and the ‘flower arranging’ ”

So looking forward to the next session and seeing what next week brings.

We had a special winged delivery to Bedewell Grange Care Home - Barchester Healthcare this week, just in time to celebrate for International Older People's Day on October 1st.

Residents enjoyed the autumn sunshine and sitting on the patio marvelling at their new feathered friends which have been delivered as part of Equal Arts Henpower Project, to encourage creativity and relationship building through hen keeping.

Staff and residents joined them and asked questions about how to care for the hens.

Ruby, having been evacuated to a farm in Cumbria during the war, quickly identified herself as the head henkeeper and was quick to see to their needs.

David had never kept hens before but said he loved his hen's yellow beady eye!

The residents are looking forward to the coming weeks and all of the creative hendeavours that lie ahead, starting with a visit from musicians on Tuesday as part of Equal Arts Care Home Choir.

We're looking forward to watching these Bedewell Birds of a Feather spread their wings!

Happy International Older People's Day!

Tyneside Council Grange Care Home - Barchester Healthcare

We're eggstatic to see the lovely flock of hens who are making the days sunnier at Elizabeth Court Rest Home.

We hope you enjoy them and look forward to seeing all of your creative adventures unfold.

We had a lovely session at McErlane Square today with our aptly named group...The Pelaw Petals...filled with sensory garden design work.

We smelled, touched, tasted and saw some of the plants and produce that we can grow in our upcoming garden space.

Eve said “colour is the most important thing for me in the garden as I find it hard to see things close up” as we all chose our favourites from a summer bouquet of the likes of calendulas, peonies, hydrangeas and echinacea.

Margaret led the charge in diving straight into the freshly picked berries saying that “they just taste better then what you get from the supermarkets, I’d love to grow them and make jams”.

We then tasted and smelled some freshly picked herbs and reminisced ourselves what foods we remember smelling like rosemary, thyme and sage. We chose what we wanted to include in our garden design and everyone made it clear that they wanted plants to not only look beautiful, but that they can use in their cooking and baking too.

Such an amazing day with our keen gardeners.

At Equal Arts we're more than eggcited to announce that...

Tickets are on sale now for the National Creative Ageing Conference this October here in Newcastle.

Together we’re taking at fresh look at - be inspired by those with lived experience as we ask “What Next?” for the sector Book here: http://bit.ly/44K69Wk

For updates follow us at:

Facebook: /equalarts0
LinkedIn: Equal Arts
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National Creative Ageing Conference, Newcastle 2023 An opportunity to share ideas, reflect on the past three years & build a collective sense of "What next?" for the Creative Ageing sector.

Well…it’s been a full-on week of henticipation and eggcitement Equal Arts Henpower Project with the incredible kids from Harlow Green Community Primary School and our older people from Housing Team at Gateshead Council's Angel Court and Pleasant Place. Some might say...truly hentergenerational!

The classroom and lounge have felt like maternity wards, and we’ve all been pacing the floor wating for our eggs to hatch…and hatch they did, over three nail biting days!

Tuesday brought little chips in the eggs. Wednesday brought little cheeps from the eggs and by the afternoon we had full blown chicks aplenty! Everyone was super excited, and Thursday there was a whole school sharing with the chicks shared by year fives to a procession of passing pupils!

Angel Court had a visit from Pleasant Place residents (the adoptive poultry parents of seven of the chicks!) and we all hugged up round the hatchery while we watched the remaining chicks pip and unzip!

We’ve had such a great success rate from our I Love Poultry and Cockles Cluckers eggs and we're so much looking forward to watching them develop and spread their wings.

Tom said "One of the biggest pleasures is seeing the children here. You could never suffer from depression with this lot round."

Francesca thought it had all been "just perfect!" And said "I feel really impressed by what we've done because we've worked as a team. I love working with the residents because I can see that they love the energy we bring."

Hao Xuan told us "We have learnt how to be helpful to people. I've been quite excited about the eggs hatching. We've learnt about new things together."

Miss Rowe has brought the children for a whole school year, each week and over that time they developed a beautiful sensory garden and have really thought about the different ways that the older people need to access the space. The hens have been the finishing touch. She said "We've established a beautiful community garden to encourage residents and children to come together. For the children it's been about nurturing relationships. It's been so nice to see them in this environment supporting older people and each other."

Resident Flo told us she "loves the bairns and I wish they could come here all the time. They really bring us a lot of happiness."

Manager Alison explained "it's really brought the residents together in a more cohesive way than say, just bingo! They have been engaged in activity which has meant something to them which is ongoing. They always seem so much happier and are less likely to have had negative feelings. As a manager that's a lovely thing to witness"

Thanks so much to Miss Rowe, Alison from Angel Court and Julie from the café for the support, keen eyes and cakes and to lovely Katey at and Tracey from for their text eggspertise!

Thanks so much to our funders and

It’s been a tremhendous week!

We had an eggsceptional time at Harlow Green Community Primary School last week during the first candling of our eggs.

We took to the storage cupboard with our Brinsea Products Inc. egg candler (yes...all 60 of us...in small flocks!) and were thrilled with the results of our Cockles Cluckers eggs. Out of 24, only 3 showed no signs of life. The kids were cockahoop!

It was beautiful to see the investment as teachers, year threes, TA's and year twos all tried to sneak in to the queue for a peek.

Over at Angel Court, we were visited by fellow hen keepers from at Housing Team at Gateshead Council's Pleasant Place. Alongside Angel Court, the Beaky Blinders are planning on growing on some of the chicks to live with the Hensioners! Again, our I Love Poultry eggs did us proud. Out of 31, only 6 hadn't made the grade. Fingers crossed!

We all scrambled for a glimpse of signs of life at week one! Cath, Jed, Toms x 2 and Johns x 2 along with the care staff all popped their head inside the cardboard box, made darker with the improvised use of Gemma's coat.

Little veins and the beginnings of eyes...what an eggsciting surprise.

What will this week hold?

Amy and John have become real henthusiasts at Housing Team at Gateshead Council's Pleasant Place.

Enjoying creative sessions with Equal Arts artists by day, here they are taking a late afternoon sojourn around the garden, looking after their feathered friends.

No one can go anywhere on their own now! Always a flock!

We had an eggciting week last week when children from Harlow Green Community Primary School worked with their friends from Housing Team at Gateshead Council's Angel Court to go into lockdown...

Last time we went into lockdown, it wasn't to hatch eggs, but luckily this time, it was a positive lockdown...the moment when all of the eggs are set and the incubator lid goes on!

We set an incubator going in Year 5's classroom at school and then Hao Xuan, Francesca, Ava and Alexa were all on hand to to help the residents to place their chosen eggs into the incubator at Angel Court. Even the lovely care staff Lauren, Casey, Kyle and Viv came to take their turn.

Cath remembered keeping chicks as a littleun and keeping them cosy in bales of hay. Tom had hatched hens years ago but under a broodie hen. For John, he was new to hatching, but very intrigued by the whole process and said he'd check the temperature and humidity every day!

Everyone one was interested and immediately invested...

All we have to do now is wait...

Watch this space

We had a real hensational visit from the Hensioners from Housing Team at Gateshead Council's Beaky Blinders from Pleasant Place this week, when they all flocked round the residents of North Star Housing's Aspen Gardens to share their feathered friends.

Residents at Aspen Gardens were delighted to welcome the Beaky Blinders Hensioners who brought their hens for the group to meet as part of a Hen Road Show!

The Hensioners and manager Gemma were able to answer lots of questions and chat about the chicken pros and cons of henkeeping!

Resident Jane, grew up on a farm and shared stories of feeding hens. Joyce loved the feel of the feathers. Richard and Robina fought over who got to hold a hen first and said they'd be happy for a hen as a wedding present (they're getting hitched in August!) Anne, who was a little unsure about handling a hen, plucked up the courage to stroke one with a bit of care and support from Hensioner John and found it surprisingly pleasant!

The hens had an explore of Aspen's henhouse whilst residents and staff asked more practical questions.

It was a lovely afternoon and residents are going to use their new found henformation to add to their creative writing and poetry next week...whilst dreaming of getting their own flock sooooooon.

We're eggscited by the news that our Equal Arts Care Home Choir has been shortlisted for the ITV Tyne Tees award.

We'd be eggstatic if you'd take a minute to vote for us here -

https://www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk/projects/view/care-home-choir

This vital funding will bring the choir back to full voice after Covid-19, rolling it out to more care homes to help improve the lives of older people across Tyne & Wear.
Voting is open now until midday on Friday, May 26.



Please vote and please share. Thanks so much

Residents at Grange Lea Care Home have been enjoying artistic glass activities each Friday afternoon, accompanied by their young apprentices from Ponteland Primary School!

We've been making glass masterpieces...coasters based on the sunrise and sunset.

Rosemary said "I love the look of my coaster"

And the children, as always were very well behaved and an excellent help!

Thanks to The National Lottery for funding this project and helping to build such positive inter generational relationships.

We had a beautiful first session at North Star Housing's Aspen Gardens with our Equal Arts writer and storyteller Elizabeth.

We’re going to produce some creative writing to celebrate the arrival of their hens so we started with exploring early writing in this country.

We looked at how vellum is produced and saw a fragment of a real medieval manuscript, as well as a replica book. Then we all had a try at writing with quill pens.

There was absolute silence in the room as everyone concentrated really hard! Anne said she wouldn’t like to have to write an essay using a quill pen and Joyce joked that she’d start in January and be finished by Christmas.

Poor Robina discovered that being left handed isn’t conducive to writing with a quill, but produced excellent results nonetheless!

We finished by designing an illuminated letter using the initial of first names. These will form part of the finished outcome.

Thanks to The National Lottery for generously funding these well attended sessions.

The aptly named Beaky Blinders of Pleasant Place have taken delivery of their new family members...no, not The Shelby's, but a new brood of hens.

The flighty flock have taken up residence in the driftwood run that residents have been building with our sculptor Neil, over the past couple of months, as part of their 'Learning in the Lounge' project.

The work has been funded by Gateshead Council as part of the Eusocial funding, and residents have really enjoyed learning a new set of skills from woodwork to photography and printing with our sensational snapper Simone!

Dave said "I've found the last few years quite a challenge what with covid and I lost me son. I have a degree in fine art but I'd got out of the habit of being creative. Working with Simone has given me another lease of life and has taught me new skills like cyanotype printing. We've all had cameras to use and I've enjoyed being inspired by other people. It's given me that extra shove I needed to get creative again. I've thoroughly enjoyed it"

The hens have all settled in their new digs and are all going to be named after characters from Peaky Blinders...there's surely going to have to be Thomasina!

Manager Gemma is leading the way with henthusiasm and has done a perfect job working with artists to get the residents out of their flats and working creatively together. She is a huge asset to Housing Team at Gateshead Council and really knows how to henergise her residents. I think we're in for a lot of years of fun with this lot...and this is just the start.