A GROUP of disabled people and staff at Hyndburn Resource Centre, Accrington, have cooked up a special treat as part of the festive
celebrations this year by running their own Christmas cake group.

The group of thirteen physically disabled service users with the help of staff from Lancashire County Council Adult Social Services have been
learning how to bake their own Christmas cakes.

The group led by fellow service user, Arthur Bateman, have been using the specially adapted rehabilitation kitchen’ at the centre, designed in such
a way that it is accessible to people with physical disabilities and has a range of adaptive equipment. Service users are able to gain independent
living skills and confidence in this supported environment.

Arthur has been interested in cooking and particularly in baking and cake decoration for fourteen years. After Arthur had a heart attack and was
unable to return to work he decided to take a college course in cake decoration and since then has become something of an expert.

Arthur oversees every stage of the process from the buying of ingredients to the weighing out and adding copious amounts of sherry - through to
baking and cake decoration.

Arthur says: “I enjoy passing on my knowledge and seeing how much the group enjoy themselves and how proud they are of the finished results.”

The Christmas cake group is an excellent way of introducing service users to the rehab kitchen in a friendly group atmosphere. Some service users have lost confidence in their kitchen skills and get a big boost from getting back into the kitchen.

Resource Centre Support Worker, Evelyn Wood, added: "This is a very valuable project and benefits our service users here in
many ways. Over the eight weeks that the project has been running it is clear to see an increase in confidence and cohesion within the group, a
pride in the new skills that are learnt and a great sense of achievement on the completion of a complex task.”