The essence of Sue Ryder and her dedication to the relief of suffering is in evidence everywhere at St John’s Hospice near Moggerhanger, Bedford. There is a warmth that the social workers, staff nurses and volunteers embody and it was a complete pleasure to visit this month. We were invited to give a talk on […]
After Umbrage joins the ‘Big Support Small’ Campaign
Today we add our voice to the Big Support Small Campaign because the support we get from big charities is an integral part of our success as a small charity. Why? They make up the referrer network that supports us. This network includes GPs, hospices and charities serving carers. They serve carers in different ways […]
Boost your mood and bring your dog to Kingham Cottage
Science is helping us understand that our relationships with our pets come with some pretty powerful mental and physical health benefits. Dogs and cats in particular can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and even improve your cardiovascular health. With this in mind, we will be welcoming new guests with […]
Kingham Cottage gets an update
Kingham Cottage is an idyllic retreat. We are very proud of it and get great pleasure welcoming carer families and paying guests to come and stay. We also love to give it a Spring clean and spruce it up with some new soft furnishings. This Spring Kingham gets a soft furnishings update. First photo blog […]
Kingham Cottage soothes during bereavement
Lessons about bereavement help us serve our beneficiaries Captured data tells us many things, in particular, that many of our beneficiaries are visiting Kingham Cottage during their first year of bereavement. Our After Umbrage team are in regular contact with our beneficiaries and our growing referral network. These conversations are teaching us many things about […]
Getting to know more Carers – Spring Update
There is a network of organisations in this country that supports carers – in different ways to us. We have been making it our business to get to know them. Why? They know the carers that we can welcome to Kingham Cottage. This way, more carers can learn about After Umbrage and subsequently feel rejuvenated […]
It’s National Walking Day, and Kingham Cottage is the perfect place for a walk!
If you like walking, then today is probably your favourite day of the year as it’s National Walking Day! We thought we would celebrate by sharing a few of our favourite walks in the beautiful Bath countryside surrounding Kingham Cottage. But for those of you who don’t already know, we better introduce Kingham Cottage first! […]
After Umbrage reaches carers by linking with hospices
In the Autumn of 2017, After Umbrage won funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. Subsequently, our focus has been to reach more carers so that they can come and have a free break at Kingham Cottage. One strategy has been simple: we reach carers by linking with hospices to build relationships. The people working there support […]
Grateful for our hospice friends and keen to make more
In 2014, we opened the doors of Kingham Cottage to carers and we started making connections with hospices around the country. We link with Family Support Teams, Nurses and Communications Teams so that we can meet carers and welcome them to our cottage for a free respite break. The people we know at hospices become our […]
“We need to stop taking carers for granted” says The Yorkshire Post. And we agree!
A recent article in The Yorkshire Post reminded us why we do what we do: provide care for carers. In the UK alone there are 1.3 million unpaid carers. And for many of those, caring is a full time job. It absorbs energy, time and money, and causes bucket loads of psychological and physical stress. […]