Lake Farm Centre

For the past three years in mid-March Lou and I have participated in the Lake Farm Centre 5K Fun Run which is part of the centre's biggest annual fund raiser.  After the run we stop in the centre's coffee shop for coffee and by far the best scones in PE.  The Lake Farm Centre Coffee Shop is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10-12:30 serving coffee, tea, scones, selected cakes and baked goods.  With advance notice, Coffee Shop Manager, Sonia Walsh, will open the shop's doors to groups or organizations that wish to visit at other times during the week.  The Crawlers were very much wanting to visit the centre so we made arrangements with Sonia to open for us on Thursday, April 25.

The non-profit Lake Farm Centre, located on Lakeside Rd. in Theescombe, is a "residential facility caring for intellectually disabled adults who all live in home units and work in protective workshops." (-Lake Farm Centre info card)  The facility is situated in a serene farm setting just on the outskirts of PE.  Thursday's Crawlers, Beth Vieira, Margaret Zoetmulder, Margaret Marshall, Gail Darne, Stella and Beryl Dawson, June Nash, Fran and Keith de Beer, Leanne Waller and her sons, Daniel and Luke, Nomusa Nkomo, Les Baldwin, were looking forward to a relaxing morning enjoying Masterton's coffee and Lake Farm's famous scones followed by a tour of the centre's workshops.




This Week's Crawlers
Margaret M., Beryl, June, Nomusa, Stella, Beth,
Daniel, Luke, Keith, Fran, Les, Leanne, Margaret Z.
not pictured - Gail



We all arrived around 10:00 and were warmly welcomed by Sonia and the kitchen staff, residents Kyle, Derek, and Bobby, with Crawler Keith de Beer assisting.  A long table was set and ready for us in a sunny enclosed veranda area.  We were served our hot beverages and scones with hospitality unsurpassed in all of our Crawls to date.

Meet the Lake Farm Coffee Shop Staff
Kyle, Derek (also the tour guide), Sonia, Bobby

After our refreshments the Crawlers all moved on to the gift shop where pottery, jewelry, various craft items, knitted wear, preserves and goodies are sold.  Most everything for sale in the shop is made by Lake Farm residents and all proceeds go toward the residents' expenses.  Once everyone made their selections for purchase we went on a tour of the workshops with Derek as our guide.  As we moved from one workshop to the next (pottery, beading, woodworking, crafts) the Crawlers became ever more impressed with the Lake Farm Centre facility, its residents, staff and volunteers.  A positive, genuinely caring and nurturing energy pervades the centre, and we ended our tour feeling fortunate to have experienced it. 

Margaret and Margaret admire the pottery in the gift shop



My pottery purchases



The pottery workshop



The craft workshop



Busy at the loom



Love the scarf!







Lake Farm Centre depends on community support to continue their good work, so to PE residents...make it a point to get out to the centre for coffee some weekend morning....it's well worth the short trip.  Monetary and material doantions are also gratefully accepted and volunteers are encouraged to donate their time and skills as well.  PE residents can  make Lake Farm their "My School" beneficiary at local grocery stores.  Plus, you can always join Lou and me next March for the 5K Fun Run!

The Lake Farm venue is available for teas, meetings, and social functions.  For more info check out Lake Farm Centre PE on Facebook or at: www.lakefarm.org.za or call 041-379-1555.

~Thank you to Sonia and all the residents of Lake Farm for your hospitality

~A special thank you to Kyle, Derek the tour guide, and Bobby

~To Liz- break a leg.... wish we could see you dance in "Once Wild: Isadora in Russia"

~Happy Cinco de Mayo to all!!!

~Congrats to Faye Zoetmulder who is now representing SA on the international surfing circuit!!!

Until next week,

Ellen