Last sip before lockdown for Coffee Pot group

When St Luke’s Church in Barton Hill was forced to closed due to lockdown restrictions in March, their Parish group struggled at first to find a place where they could regularly meet. After sampling several venues, they have found a new home at Cafe Conscious on Avonvale Road. On the day before the second lockdown came into effect, they met for the last time – new restrictions mean the cafe will have to pause all group meetings until December 2 at least.

It’s a sunny morning and the group of older residents are making plans to keep in contact. Each person is encouraged to find a buddy who they can meet with over the coming period of renewed social distancing. This will allow them to go for walks in pairs and ensure that everyone in the group will have someone to look out for them in the month to come.

David Mowat who runs the group, which they call the Coffee Pot, jokes about it feeling like “the last supper”. David is employed part-time by the church and believes that, other than Covid-19, anxiety and depression are the most important issues for the group. His current concern is making sure that the group can provide mutual support while they are no longer able to meet.

“It is about strengthening the work that St Luke’s Church does with older people in the Parish and creating a ministry of presence,” David says. “You cannot always change stuff, but you can be present with them. I run several other groups locally, including playing music at Lincoln Gardens care home nearby.

“These Coffee Pot meetings on a Wednesday morning provide a space where we can speak freely and socialise. We often talk about politics, but the topic of religion rarely gets mentioned.”

Geraldine cares for her husband Philip and has come to rely on the Coffee Pot group for getting them both out of the house. Photo by Yvonne Deeney

Although it’s a cold morning, the sunlight beams through the glass windows and adds to the warm atmosphere inside. As group members casually drip in, there is a sense of ease and familiarity, despite the social distancing, as jokes are exchanged. The topic of Remembrance Day comes up, with the lockdown meaning they are unable to visit the Cenotaph, as many of the group have done in previous years. One Coffee Pot member, Mary Madden, says she feels the new lockdown rules are contradictory and comments on seeing groups of school pupils huddling together outside. Several people say they feel sad about no longer being able to meet up.

Geraldine Stockholm is a carer for her husband, Philip, who is disabled and suffers from severe mental health problems. Due to her own rheumatoid arthritis, she is unable to get them both out of the house, and has come to rely on David’s help to attend this social lifeline.

“With my arthritis I can’t push his wheelchair out of the house on my own as my hands completely seize up and I can’t move them,” Geraldine says. “Also, there is a slope outside our house which causes an extra difficulty. The only reason we are able to get out of the house is because David comes along and helps push my husband, which can sometimes even be a struggle for him with the slope.”

David Mowat outside Cafe Conscious, which has become a home for the Coffee Pot group since Covid-19 restrictions meant their normal meeting place, St Luke’s Church in Barton Hill, had to close. Photo by Yvonne Deeney

Cafe owner Deniece Dixon, who runs the Jamaican restaurant and community cafe under the banner Cafe on The Hill CIC, will be saying goodbye this week to many groups that have been meeting there since the lockdown rules were eased in the summer.

“We are two organisations under one roof,” Deniece explains. “My husband cooks Jamaican food in the evenings, but we are also a community cafe during the day. The Coffee Pot group is one we have recently welcomed, as well as a group that plays bingo here on a Wednesday afternoon. We have cooking classes, wellbeing sessions for those with mental health issues, and many other activities. Some will be able to continue online.”

The Coffee Pot group say they look forward to meeting again in the future at Cafe Conscious, which David describes as “an ideal location”. Deniece also looks forward to welcoming them back and hopes the cafe will become a permanent home for the group.

While lockdown rules are in place, David will continue one-to-one outdoor meetings with people from the various groups he runs locally. The music sessions will continue but the band will be replaced by David playing the trumpet in the car park or another solo artist singing for the residents.

As the session comes to an end and people begin to leave, they say “see you in December”. The group remain hopeful that they will meet again in a month, but with the possibility that the restrictions could stay in place for longer, it could be a while before they can sip coffee together again.

Main image by Yvonne Deeney

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