PEOPLE in Chippenham who struggle to cope with loneliness got the chance to make new friends on Saturday, when one of the town's churches used its regular Prayer Cafe session to hold a social day.
"We have found through our Prayer Cafe that this is a major difficulty in our community. We are basing the theme on the Footprints in the sand poem," co-organiser Nigel Grima explained beforehand.
For two hours on Saturday, the Station Hill Baptist Church's doors were open and anyone was welcome to come in and meet new people and try a new activity, with tables featuring things like art, gardening, pet therapy, aromatherapy and hand massage and peer support.
A warm welcome and delicous cakes were on offer.
"Each table provided information of organisations associated with each theme, so for gardening it was conservation organisations, so visitors could gain more from the experience. We hope to encourage person to person social engagement, in contrast to social media which often causes isolation," said Mr Grima, who led the day alongside Sue Richards and Sharon Frost.
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