Dame Fiona Reynolds was declared the new High Sheriff of Gloucestershire at a ceremony at Gloucester Cathedral in March.  Dame Fiona, left, is pictured with GRCC's CEO Barbara Piranty, who was one of the speakers at the event in the Cathedral. 

Dame Fiona succeeds Julie Kent, MBE, in a post which has a new appointee every March, and dates back to 1071.  Dame Fiona is a former civil servant, is the current chair of the National Audit Office, and has also been master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and Director General of the National Trust.  

GRCC CEO Barbara Piranty commented: "I was delighted to be asked to speak at the Annual Legal Service with the declaration of the new High Sheriff on 22nd March at Gloucester Cathedral.  I'm looking forward to working closely with Dame Fiona on rural issues in Gloucestershire."

Dame Fiona is taking "Rural Gloucestershire" as the theme for her year in office, and has a series of monthly rural walks arranged to both enjoy the countryside and discuss rural issues and problems with rural residents.  See below for our separate item about Dame Fiona's rural walks - and an invitation to join her on a walk in Rendcomb on 24th April. 

Our VCSE Adviser Guy Dobson led a lively workshop at our Village Halls Week Community Buildings Network event on the subject of finding new and novel sources of income.  

"There’s a whole range of ways to generate income other than applying for grants or trading, which are the two obvious income streams for voluntary sector and social enterprise organisations," said Guy. 

Ideas from the session included "friends" schemes, website donation buttons, card reader donation points, running a local lottery, renting out overnight campervan spaces via Pitchup, renting out car parking spaces via parking apps, and renting outdoor space to milk vending machines or parcel delivery lockers - but be considerate to your local post office or shop if they offer the same service. 

If your organisation needs some tailored support around income diversification, Guy is available to give advice and can be contacted via cdt@grcc.org.uk

Bo Moon, our Digital Equity Team Lead, recently spent an Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) day providing photography and marketing support to Hungry No More, a food bank based in Cheltenham.  

The food bank is a volunteer-led organisation which supports 150 people every week, providing the equivalent of 7,000 meals a year thanks to the efforts of their 20 volunteers.  

​"I am so pleased to have been able to use my photography skills to help such a wonderful organisation," said Bo. "I relied on foodbanks heavily when I was homeless at 17, and it was super emotional seeing how all the volunteers put so much effort, care, and coordination into feeding local families."

Dominic Manester has joined our Community Autism Support and Advice (CASA) team, running our fortnightly Gloucester Autistic Adults drop-in at St Mary de Crypt church's cafe on Southgate Street.

Dominic started attending our Cinderford drop-in about two years ago.  After a few months, he began to help out at the drop-in as a volunteer, quickly becoming famous for his amazing baking skills for group snacks, and last year took the lead in finding the group a new venue when they needed one. 

"Shortly after that, Emma Royer asked me if I'd like to take over the running of the Gloucester drop-in as a paid facilitator," said Dominic.  "It's going amazingly - it's been a lot of fun getting to know a good group and organising events and activities."

Use the button below to find out about CASA's drop-ins and one-to-one advice for autistic adults across Gloucestershire, or email infocasa@grcc.org.uk

Two Rivers Housing, our partners in the Gloucestershire Rural Housing Partnership, have new shared-ownership affordable homes available in Eastington near Stroud, and Staunton in the Forest of Dean.  Shared-ownership allows you to buy a share of your home, often starting at 10%-40%, and pay a reduced rent on the remaining part.  

All the homes have been built to the EPC A rating standard for energy efficiency, with air source heat pumps and electric car charging points.   The homes at Staunton are two-bedroomed, and are available now, while at Eastington a range of sizes from one-bedroomed upwards will be available from early summer.  

Priority will be given to people with close local connections, or connections to the wider Stroud area for the Eastington homes, or connections to the wider Forest of Dean area for the Staunton homes.

Further details are available from TwoCan Estate Agents, who are the official sales partners for Two Rivers Housing.  

Dame Fiona Reynolds, the new High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, is taking "Rural Gloucestershire" as the theme for her year in office.

"I will use my year to highlight rural Gloucestershire in all its dimensions.  Tell me what you think about rural Gloucestershire!" said Dame Fiona.   "Invite me to your events and to see your experiences at first hand. And please join me on one of my walks – one a month in different parts of the county".

As well as enjoying the countryside, Dame Fiona's aim for the walks is to create an opportunity for residents to discuss the challenges of rural life, such as the lack of affordable housing, transport, and services, and problems with flooding and rural crime. 

The first walk with Dame Fiona is on 24th April at Rendcomb, near Cirencester.  You can join her for a morning walk, an afternoon walk or both, with tea and cake and a talk in the village hall from 4-5.30pm.  Full details and free tickets are available on Eventbrite here.  

Other monthly walks are planned from May to October, at Wickwar, Guiting Power, Snowshill, Tewkesbury, Fairford and Arlingham.  You can see the full programme on Dame Fiona's website here.

The Adult Transformation Team at Gloucestershire County Council is seeking feedback on "what a positive experience of Adult Social Care looks like for the people who access our services — as well as for their family members, friends and carers."

Responses to the online survey are completely anonymous, but the team are also happy to visit groups in person, or arrange a phone call for anyone who would prefer to take part verbally.

If you’d like to book a visit or ask any questions, please contact emily.redford@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Parkinson's UK is looking for anyone in Gloucestershire with an interest in being physically active and supporting people to live well with Parkinson's.  The project is offering to train people for free to become "Love To Move" instructors, and the offer is open to individuals, care homes, or community groups.

"Love To Move" is the UK's biggest age and dementia-friendly seated exercise programme, designed specifically for older
adults, including those living with
dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or cognitive impairments. It focuses on improving physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being while fostering social connection and enjoyment.

To discuss the opportunity for free "Love To Move" training in Gloucestershire, contact Phil Lindley on 07801 183 349 or email plindley@parkinsons.org.uk. 

The Department for Work and Pensions has launched a call for evidence on how Personal Independence Payments (PIP) should be reformed.

The Timms Review is examining whether PIP, which supports nearly four million people in England and Wales with the extra costs of disability, properly reflects how people’s conditions impact them in daily life.

The call for evidence – which runs until 28th May – seeks evidence on topics including

• How effectively PIP is delivering on its intended purpose
• Whether the PIP assessment provides fair access to the right support
• Whether the experience of claiming PIP varies for different groups
• How changes in the workplace and wider society since 2013 have impacted PIP

Views are sought from those with lived or learned experience of PIP, including disabled people, plus the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, benefits advisers, MPs, and councillors. 

GRCC has teamed up with Access Social Care, a charity that specialises in legal advice for people with social care needs, to help you access easy-to-understand health and social care information at the click of a button.

AccessAva is an online tool that helps you to understand the law governing social care in England. With AccessAva, you can find out about your rights or those of a family member, friend, or neighbour, and you can complete template letters developed by expert lawyers.

Use the button below to visit our AccessAva page on our website, then you can either learn more from some short explanatory videos, or start a conversation with the AccessAva chatbot.

If you've had contact with us, or support from us, or just visited our website to try to find information, we'd really love to know how we're doing!  Were we brilliant, just OK, or not very good?  All feedback, good and bad, helps us to shape our services to better fit your needs.