Fans of Games Night
Published on 25 May 2023 02:57 PM
Age UK Islington supports adults of all ages, from 16yrs+. In the new year, we introduced a Games & Pizza night as a new social opportunity that would appeal to those in younger age groups.
The marketing agency Hotwire approached us and offered to open up their contemporary office space to our clients out of hours. It was the perfect venue!
Social Prescribing Team Leader, Zlatina Nikolova, says, "Hotwire are incredibly generous and since January, once a month they have been hosting a Games & Pizza Night for Islington residents. There's been plenty of food and delicious snacks. A number of the agency's staff come along. They've been fun company and we've had some great evenings!"
We asked Jasmine and Daniel who had been along to the Games & Pizza Night what their thoughts were about the evening.
Jasmine's experience
I was referred by my GP to Age UK Islington and Social Prescriber, Olivia, invited me to the first Games & Pizza Night.
I didn’t know what to expect when I first went along, but thought I’d give it a try. Whilst there are a lot of things that are organised for older people and young people, there are not many things that are organised for people in between these ages. There’s not much going on in the evening either. So it sounded promising!
I am 36 years old and since I have not been working, I miss work social events and have felt increasingly isolated. The Games & Pizza Night is hosted in a modern office building and going to the event, it’s the first time in ages that I felt 'normal'. It was good to have a normal balanced conversation. At some activities that I have been to organised by other charities, the conversation has often turned heavy. It is refreshing to just be who we are outside of any mental health difficulties.
I used to work as a Mental Health Support Officer and more recently was a careers guidance officer for school leavers coming from a Pupil Referral Unit. I haven’t been working for a while and I found going to the Games Night gave me a confidence boost. I was nervous before going to the first one, but was made to feel so welcome. Everyone was really friendly; it’s comfortable and not at all awkward. Since then, I have started going along to a number of other social events and have started volunteering providing ESOL courses. My life is currently feeling a lot more balanced.
We asked a couple of people who had attended the night what their thoughts were about the event and why they liked going.
Daniel's experience
I currently live with my gran and help with things around the house such as cooking, cleaning, and doing the weekly food shopping. At first I didn’t recognise myself as a carer, it felt more that I was just helping out here and there.
But I ended up taking on responsibility for more and more. When I first started helping my grandmother, I was working and now I am at university. I had been working as a teaching assistant at a local school and becoming a teacher was always the plan, but I had only recently decided to take the plunge and go to university.
It’s been nice to get to know people who have caring responsibilities themselves at the evening and an understanding of my situation. A lot of people can sympathise but not many people can actually empathise. Caring can take its toll after a while.
The event was fun and relaxing. Although it was nice to meet some other people who are also carers for family members, there was no need to talk about caring responsibilities. We discussed what we’re watching on TV, books that we've read. I found that it was a chance to have some “normal” life outside of caring. There was a good atmosphere and I even played Uno.
For anyone considering, I’d say just say come be yourself. Meet people in similar situations. Just have some fun for a couple of hours!
The next Games & Pizza Night
We're pleased to say that after a pause for a month, the next Games & Pizza Night is planned for Tuesday 27 June, 6.30 – 9pm.
If you'd like to give it a try, please see our webpage with more details and how to book.