Exciting things afoot in our backyard this Spring! March has been a busy month for the Rural Coffee Caravan. We have been working hard on cultivating the utterly fantastic idea that is #MeetUpMondays, pioneered by the Alexandra pub in Wimbledon, and now propagated by an ever growing network of local Suffolk businesses, who are keen to take part.

Meet Up Mondays is a scheme hosted by local pubs, cafes and tearooms inviting people who might be struggling with loneliness or isolation into a friendly and welcoming environment at least one day a week. These regular meet ups, for people of all ages, create opportunities for those who might otherwise find it difficult to make new friends, to break into a new community (or back into it after time alone), or to just get out of the house and have a bit of chat over tea, coffee and toast provided by the venue.

We have asked Sally Connick, Development Officer of The Suffolk Good Neighbour Network (run by Community Action Suffolk) to join us in our mission to spread the word about Meet Up Mondays and we’re delighted that the Weaver’s Tea Room in Peasenhall, The Norman Warrior in Lowestoft and the White Horse in Sudbury are all now taking part, with a café just across the border in Norfolk looking to come on board as well.

We are currently designing promotional material on the scheme for use within participating venues, encouraging existing customers to sponsor suspended teas and coffees for Meet Up Mondays visitors. More soon on that…

If you are a local business who would like more information on how to take part in the project, please get in touch with us.

If you would like to pop along to one of the Meet Up Mondays the details are below:

Weaver’s Tea Roomfrom February 19th 2018
2 The Knoll, Peasenhall, Saxmundham IP17 2JE
01728 660548

Norman Warriorfrom 30th April 2018
Fir Lane, Lowestoft NR32 2RB
01502 561982
http://www.thenormanwarrior.co.uk

White Horse Sudbury from 7th May 2018
97 North St, Sudbury CO10 1RF
01787 374321
https://whitehorsesudbury.co.uk/

Watch this space for more on #MeetUpMondays!