Morning guys.
I'm going to take you a different way.
Running late because we've had to deal with some issues again this morning.
Pontypool is open.
Risca is closed now till Friday.
There will be pumpkins down Risca on Friday.
No pumpkins anywhere else as far as I'm aware unless anybody's dropped any smaller quantities off to the shops.
So again now I've had to address another verbal and physical attack that the staff have had to endure.
I was happy to leave it just banning them from the shop and then it just escalated and escalated because of the other people involved, not us.
We were just getting on with pumpkins.
Giving out pumpkins to people and the rest of the food bank activities.
I have spoken to the staff on many occasions and I'm sure they will back me up on this that... I'm taking you a different way today guys.
Taking you to the pretty road.
I have addressed this on several occasions with the staff that it would all kick off again when we start giving out the food because the food is their cash cow.
The food is their ticket to looking legitimate.
Okay?
So this is why they're going to kick off.
Okay?
So I did... I warned the staff and I warned you on several occasions.
I'm quite showing videos that they are going to kick off now because we're giving out the food for free.
Because it's their cash cow.
It's how they get their money.
It's how they get their donations by saying they're giving out the food.
Okay?
So don't come down here if it's frosty.
If it's raining bad because they do get floods.
And if you're not very good on small bridges.
But I do like to come here.
I used to go walking all down here with my grandfather.
This is the mill in Gethly Gross and it received an SOS signal from the Titanic.
It's quite famous.
They were making candles and stuff there.
I don't know if they are now.
They were.
They did have tea rooms there as well.
When it was opened up in the summer.
It was nice and they had little car festivals and what not there.
It was lovely.
But I do like to have a little drive down there because me and my grandfather and my cousins used to go walking down there quite a lot.
We used to walk around everywhere.
You know we know all around the woods.
All around the roads.
Because he used to take us walking.
So we knew our way around as children.
You know we knew how to... He taught us lots of skills.
My grandfather.
He was a lovely man.
To be born a gentleman is a honor.
And I'm sure we said that at his funeral.
He's very very much missed and I think he would have been 100 now if he was still alive.
So I should be at Caerphilly by 11 o'clock.
Anyway, as I said they are going to kick off now because we are now going to start increasing the food donations and giving them out for free.
If you want to put a donation in the box you can.
I am looking into the fair share and I would like to give the fair share out to Mothers for free.
It is usually a suggested donation of up to three pounds.
It's what fair shares suggest.
Well they will say that's what you're supposed to say.
You're not supposed to charge anymore.
But just having a little think as we can go forward here now with funding.
Because I wasn't banking on having the number this soon either.
It was something else came up and we needed to have a number to sort of employ people and we were like right okay but we didn't.
But you know it will help because we'll be able to get grants and stuff for wages and then different funding and different training and you know and things like that and apprenticeships things like that.
So we need the number.
So that's why we got it.
As you know I didn't want it.
But anyway we've got the number now.
So we're going to start picking up the food collections again.
We do need more premises and I'm thinking of taking on fair share and opening a pantry.
Because you can only call yourself a food bank if you're giving it away for free okay.
But I'm thinking of opening up a pantry for everybody to access.
Because primarily we only access mothers and mothers with children under 18 that say neat.
Don't we?
You know that our customers and donators and if they come to us and ask for help we help them anyway.
Even if they're not a customer.
9 out of 10 times they come in the shop pick up food bank or pick up whatever and then they come in and go that's nice.
Oh I'll bring my donations to you next time.
And they become a customer anyway.
So you know because they're like well I might as well come here for my baby clothes now because they're really cheap and they're really nice.
And you help me anyway.
And that's what tends to happen especially with our volunteers.
They tend to receive help, appreciate it and then come in and volunteer for us.
So yes I am considering opening a pantry as well where you come in and you pay the three pound and you can access the food.
Whether you're a single gentleman, a single female, a single person, an elderly person.
Because you'd be surprised how many people actually come to us for help and use our shops and advice.
So you could be a working family with three kids.
You could be a working family for the NHS with no children.
You know it could just be you and your partner or your husband.
But you still need that bit of help because everybody is struggling now.
So I think maybe we'll open a pantry as well but we're not allowed to call it the food bank then if we're charging.
Which is fair enough isn't it?
That's absolutely fair enough isn't it?
But the food banks are charging seven and twelve and eighteen pounds like some of these places do.
One of them was a church who was on about it this morning with somebody else who agreed it should be free you know.
So I think we're gonna start doing that.
We need you.
Now we need more food brought in so if you're gonna donate please check who you're donating to.
Please donate to us because you know we're not charging for it.
But I'm thinking if we open a pantry as well which might be on a separate premises so it doesn't get confused.
And then we can just open it on specific days.
Like open it on a Tuesday you know.
So still get a hub.
Have the pantry within the hub.
And then you know Wednesday Lego club.
Thursday craft club.
Tuesday and Friday pantry in the morning.
You know again a lot of it will depend on when you get the food collections and sometimes you'll get an impromptu food collection because somebody else can't pick up and then you're like oh god I'm stuck now.
I got six million eggs.
I need to get them gone you know.
We've been there.
We've had six million Easter eggs.
That was the best pick up ever.
We got a pint of food here but it's out of date.
Do you want to come and pick it up?
To escourse it was in Risca.
But they are out of date.
This was like June.
I was like oh yeah yeah we'll pick it up whatever it is.
We'll pick it up send somebody down now.
Easter eggs.
It was brilliant.
We were like oh that's the best pick up ever.
Easter eggs in June.
Brilliant.
So anyway guys like I said I've had to address the behaviour again of some people because you know staff were threatened with a brush.
Staff were threatened by a big thug.
Hey I'm a big thug.
Don't threaten me.
You'll be sorry.
And I myself was prodded in the chest.
I myself had a Christmas box prodded into me.
All because we stop people using the shop because of their behaviour.
Not my behaviour.
Not anybody else's behaviour.
Not the volunteers behaviour.
Their behaviour.
Again.
So what I would do is I would advise people if you're thinking of taking us on and challenging us and being horrible to us I wouldn't.
Because have a little themselves into and karma wise the karma that these people get have a little word with yourselves right before you decide to you know throw yourself onto the sacrificial altar because it doesn't end well for people that come up against us and I believe that I believe that God is actually watching down on us right.
I speak to God on a regular basis dear God how many more donations dear God help us right.
I believe somebody somewhere is watching over us and the karma that comes back on these people is tenfold.
It really is.
And it's really entertaining for us to watch.
I'll be honest with you.