Oh snow you don't!

Above: Graham Bostock gauges the feeling amongst Companions to a suggestion that the shop opens over the Christmas period!  Note everyone laughing.

Kipper recovers after her visit to the vet

Kipper the Community cat has made a full recovery after her recent visit to the vet where she was spayed and innoculated. Now sporting a shaved patch on her left side she is back to her mischevious self, ambushing innocent passers by in the warehouse and shop, after having to suffer the inconvenience of spending ten days convalescing in Steve Lloyd's room and her temporary loss of liberty, She refused to wear her bucket-like collar which was designed to stop her chewing on her stitches, but in the end she was fine and the collar turned out to be unnecessary.

Companions and staff gain certification after passing training courses

Companions and staff at Emmaus Sheffield proudly display their certificates gained after successfully completing courses in Emergency First Aid and Portable Appliance Testing.

Graham Bostock has left Probation!

...and joined Emmaus Sheffield

Above: Graham gets down to the business of 'working the phones' in his new role as Deputy Community Manager.

the idea of a team of Staff and Companions cycling the whole length of the trail in April 2010 from Liverpool to Hull and to introduce still further fitness training opportunities.


 Above: Sheffield bound!


Above: Taking a well earned break.

There's Companions in them there hills!

Above: Companions (from L-R) Steve R, Steve L, Dariusz, Neill, Lloyd and Nick from Emmaus Sheffield on a walk recently in the Peak District National Park

Getting out and about and keeping fit is high on the agenda at Emmaus Sheffield.  "That the old saying, 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' was never more true than it is today, so making sure that a full range of recreational experiences are available to Companions is an increasingly important element of what we do here in this Community." said Community Manager Lawrence Buckley.  "Getting out of the Community and doing stuff together as a team is important to do outside of our normal work schedules."

Lawrence went on to say, "As the smallest Community in the Emmaus UK federation, we've always punched well above our weight in terms of the work we do and the income we generate as a result of that work.  Living in our Community has never been an easy ride for Companions who choose to join us and a strong work ethic underpins everything we do.  But in all honesty we've often got so overrun with work that we've neglected to address the work - life balance and the recreational side of life has suffered at times.  But as we move into a new year and look forward to 2010 I plan to increase Companion's opportunities in this area of their lives by introducing more regular activities outside of the Community."

Welcome aboard to Dave Brailsford 

Housing Services Team Leader 

Dave Brailsford (above) is the latest member of staff to join Emmaus Sheffield and has taken up the role of Team Leader for our Housing Services enterprise.

"Since leaving school i did a six year stint in the Royal Marines followed by a few years travelling/working mostly within the building trade and landscaping. I then became a qualified rope access technician and through this work discovered tree work and have never looked back. "  

Commenting on Dave's appointment, Community Manager, Lawrence Buckley said, "Dave's arboriculture and leadership skills will be a great asset to the Community as we aim to expand the role of the gardening team and bring in new business through tree pruning and dismantling operations and we hope that he can pass on some of his many skills to our Companions and better prepare them for the world of work and a brighter future."

Up on the roof - A Kipper Update

Kipper the kitten (Pictured above) is doing well at Emmaus.  With an intricate series of catwalks now in place, she has full access to the courtyard and the wider world from the safety of her home in Steve L's room.  Now fully house trained and as cheeky and mischievous as kittens are, she has won a place in the hearts of Companions, staff and volunteers alike and Steve Lloyd's call of "C'mon ya liccle bugger" is now a familiar sound to all in the Community.

ABOVE: Terry Waite with Companion (L-R) Adam, Steve and Adrian

A recent open day was hailed a great success by Companions as they "meeted and greeted" workers from a wide range of homeless agencies and organisations from across Sheffield.  And they were supported by former hostage negotiator and President of Emmaus Terry Waite.

Terry, a long time supporter of Emmaus was amazed at the change that has taken place at the former cutlery works on Blast Lane.  Terry commented, "It's fantastic what you have achieved here and everyone involved with Emmaus in Sheffield should be very proud of what you have done for local homeless people."

Workers from agencies across the city were invited to a guided tour of the grade II listed site and given a chance to ask questions about the work Companions do and the international links Emmaus has through its solidarity work in South America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

BELOW: Volunteer Hellen Wright serves Terry Waite as he buys a book from the Emmaus Community shop for the train journey home

A BIG thanks to Virginie and Aurore our French student Volunteers

Above: Virginie and Aurore, our French student volunteers.

Sadly we have now said goodbye to Aurore and Virginie who have been with us as volunteers for the last four weeks.  In that time we have enjoyed their company and appreciated the hard work they have put in and if they ever see another black plastic bag full of clothes again, I suspect it will be too soon. 

Their outstanding contribution to our Community involved, picking rags, stocking the shop, going out with the gardening team on some of the hottest days of the year so far, making lunch and cleaning the Community kitchen and dining room. And whatever we asked them to do, they did with a smile and a certain joi de vivre (...I just made that bit up).

We bade them farewell with a 'thank you' card and a big box of Thornton's chocolates each and trust that the next two months at Emmaus Brighton will be an equally enjoyable time for them both. 

Whoever said students were lazy???

It was love at first bite as Kipper the kitten has everyone smitten!

Kipper the kitten is the latest addition to our ever growing Community and at 8 weeks old, what she lacks in age she makes up for in attitude.  But she's in good hands as Steve (pictured above) is taking good care of her while she settles in to her new surroundings.  Steve commented, "She was born on a farm so she's not that used to being handled but we had three cats when I was a kid growing up and they were just like part of the family."  Community Manager, Lawrence Buckley said, "With Chad the dog now living at the Emmaus Community in Oxford I felt the time was right to have another pet for the Community. We shouldn't underestimate the positive and for some, therapeutic effect that pets can bring, and anything that makes our Community more like home has got to be good for everyone."

If you want to see how Kipper is getting on then please return to our website regularly for updates on our newest Companion.

An update on the courtyard...

Below: The decking and new pond, June 2009

The latest addition to the courtyard is a newly constructed pond in the decking area.  With the brickwork done by Steve Stott our Community Support Worker, our Companions doing their NVQ in Amenities Horticulture fitted the liner, pump, filter and all the necessary pipework.  And it has certainly proved to be a popular and attractive feature for both Companions and staff alike.  Steve, a Companion at Emmaus Sheffield for four months commented, "It's my job to look after the fish and make sure they're fed.  I like the extra responsibility, it gives me a great deal of satisfaction."  With 4 Koi Carp, 6 Goldfish and 3 Shibumpkins, the pond is another living element in the Community and Administrator Helen Fox says, "it's a nice touch.  When you think that just 18 months ago we used to park our old furniture delivery van in that spot.  Now we can sit out on the decking and have our lunch and a cup of coffee in a relaxing environment. We also have our Community house meetings out there on a Monday morning, weather permitting!"

Transforming the Courtyard

Below: John Nichols sweeping kiln dried sand into the block paving

The courtyard continues to come on in leaps and bounds with the turf being laid alongside the newly installed block paving. All of this work has been carried out by Companions and staff as part of an NVQ 2 in Amenities Horticulture.

6th March 2009

Below: Adrian, Steve and John levelling off the top soil ready for the turf. 

Above: 27th February 2009 and Companions are preparing the garden for the laying of turf

Below: John and Steve levelling off the top soil ready for the turf being laid.

Below: 28th January 2009 and the edging blocks are laid, now the task of laying the rest of the blocks inbetween has begun and the tedious job of cutting in all the angled blocks.

Below: 23rd January 2009 and John looks suprisingly happy soaking up the good vibes from using the vibrating plate...  Then again it might have been because it was Friday.

Below:A close up of the blockwork looking towards Unit 9 which we hope to convert into a Community training room.

Courtyard Project gets underway with a donation from St Luke's church

Above: Time Team eat your heart out! Companion Steve makes a break through... the concrete in the courtyard.

Companions at Emmaus in Sheffield have begun work on the creation of a garden for the Emmaus Sheffield Community thanks to a kind donation of £1,911 from the congregation of St Luke's church at Lodge Moor in Sheffield.

Above: Cracking up! Andy gets to grips with the electric pick

Terry Waite Auctions Emmaus Clock

Terry Waite turned auctioneer recently at the Emmuas Federation's annual assembly at Swanick in Derbyshire.  At the traditional end of assembly auction.  The clock in question, made locally in Sheffield by the workshops at the St Wilfreds Centre, reached a very generous £105! Emmaus Gloucestershire were the victors and happy recipients of the clock after a vigorously fought bidding war.  The auction as a whole raised a total of £500 for the Emmaus Solidarity Fund.

Emmaus Sheffield Companions win silver in 5-a-side tournament

Companions from the Sheffield Community came a close second to the Glasgow team in the Emmaus Inter-Community five a side competition at the annual assembly at the Hayes Centre in Swanick, Derbyshire.

Emmaus UK's federation office team came a respectable third overall and Bristol, who had some personnel problems on the day took the wooden spoon. Bless...

Although each game was a competitive affair, the spirit in which it was played was a great example of all that's good in the Emmaus movement. 

A great time was had by all who played and the unanimous feeling was that it was a great way to kick off the Annual Assembly.  We certainly hope that next year will herald a larger competition with more Communities fielding teams.

Player of the Tournament: Beverly Bayliss (Emmaus UK)

Top Goalscorer: Rogerio Goncalves (Emmaus Sheffield) with 18 goals

Final league positions for 2008:

                         P       W       D       L       Pts

Glasgow          3        3        0       0       9

Sheffield         3        2         0       1       6

Emmaus UK   3        1         0       2       3

Bristol             3        0         0       3       0