Summer is here! Albeit a little on the cloudy side but it seems that our lovely customers, children and dogs still enjoy sitting outside and watching the world go by. If you enjoy a stroll in the morning around the park before it gets warm, why not pop in for our delicious English breakfast (veggie too) or enjoy our Early Bird Special which includes a tea or coffee with either a croissant, pain au raisin, pain au chocolat, teacake or toast for £3.95 – just come between 9am and 10am!

Our wonderful staff are all ready for the summer holidays and we are now on summer opening hours, open until 5pm and don’t forget that we are open on Mondays too! As from the start of the school holidays, we will be serving a full menu on Mondays meaning that you can enjoy our full menu 7 days a week.

Join us on Friday July 26^th to hear the talented Nick Capaldi and also The Jammy Band for a lunchtime Music at the Pavilion session from 12-2pm. Bring a picnic, order some lunch or grab a takeaway from the cafe and chill out on the grass whilst our musicians entertain you! This is a free event, no need to book and we would love for you to join us for a lunchtime with a difference! Email kerry@pipspoundbury.com to find out more or if you would like to play at our next one!

Starting this week on Thursday 18^th July, Digital Champions will be offering a drop-in service within the Community Room for anyone who may need help with anything digital. Mike, who is calm and friendly, will be with us every Thursday from 2pm to help with operating a laptop, smartphone or tablet. If you would like to feel more confident using your device or online services / apps or perhaps you would like to start shopping or banking online, just pop in and see Mike and he will be able to answer your questions and talk you through even the smallest of queries. You are not limited to one session as well, you can keep coming back to him and build up your confidence every week!

Art in Poundbury are exhibiting a range of wonderful paintings from the Art in the Square painting day during July and August. Nearly all the paintings are for sale, do come and see what artistic talent we have locally, with the youngest artist only being 16!

Our After School Art Club, which is kindly funded by Art in Poundbury, continues to be very popular with our local schools and families with children aged 5-10 years old. It’s so important to us to give time to families and give them space to be creative together. This week was our last club before the summer holidays and the children were able to try their hand at water colours and try some cross stitch. We are hoping that After School Art Club will be back in September – watch this space!

We continue to welcome new members of our Senior Social which takes place every 2^nd Thursday of the month, this week 17 people came along! Our fantastic volunteer Fiona is busy spreading the word that a warm welcome, some lovely company plus some free tea or coffee (and let’s not forget the cake!! ) is available at PiPs Community Room. Next date: Thursday August 8^th!

Kerry and our amazing team of volunteers are ready for a summer full of activities for local children!

For children this summer we have 3 Kids Summer Clubs available for 5-10 year olds. There are currently only a few places left at each club so if you have a Holiday, Food & Activities (HAF) code please contact kerry@pipspoundbury.com for more information.

If you have slightly older children and teens then why not book a place at the very popular Holiday Hangout which will take place on Wednesday August 7^th. This is a totally free event from 11am – 4pm for children aged 9-14 years old; activities will include clay making, arts & crafts, football training, rounders, inflatables, sumo wrestling fun and much more! Bring some friends, hang out and join in with an activity if you’d like to!

There will be a BBQ on site to buy lunch (free for those who have a Summer in Dorset HAF code when booking ), or you can use the café or bring a packed lunch! Booking is required for this event; activities will be supervised by a team of volunteers and children are expected to remain on site. If you need any more information or would like to book a place, please follow the QR code on the poster or email kerry@pipspounbury.com.

A quick date for your diary! Rosemary, our super Supper Club cook is retiring this Autumn but has promised us one last evening of culinary delights!

Save the date for Friday September 20^th, more details to follow!

We would like to thank Rosemary for all her commitment and the wonderful food that she has produced for us at Supper Clubs – and she is a volunteer Director of PiP Poundbury – as we are a social enterprise donating all our profits to the wonderful talk about trust charity that works tirelessly to keep children safer around alcohol, vaping, cannabis and other substances.

If you have a keen interest in cooking and would be interested in doing a Supper Club here at PiPs from October until March (which would only be one evening per month ), please do contact helena@talkabouttrust.org  for more information about how we can work together.

We were delighted to receive this lovely thank you from Tony Prior of U3A following the art display at PiP during June

"Throughout June the Dorchester and District u3a held an art and weaving exhibition at the PiP Cafe. We were made to feel very welcome by the staff and enjoyed a well attended Coffee and Cake 'do' during the event. Such an exhibition has clearly highlighted the numerous opportunities and activities available to new u3a members."

Members who are interested in joining the art group should contact the group leader: Tony Prior art@dorchesteru3a.org.uk