#notjusthousing Taff... · 2016-10-25 · TalkAbout New look Maintenance Service ... introduce our new Executive Director of People and Places, Hayley Selway. We also have updates

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New look Maintenance ServiceWelcome to Hayley SelwayAGMTenant trip to Tenby

And much more…

THE NEWSLETTER FOR TAFF’S CUSTOMERS | AUTUMN 2016

Welcome to the Autumn edition of Talkabout! Autumn is a season of change so it seems fitting that change is also afoot at Taff. This

edition will look at how Taff is evolving in order to improve its services for its Tenants and Customers.

In particular, we will focus on our new look Maintenance

Service and introduce you to how these changes will affect

you. In addition to this, we are delighted to be able to

introduce our new Executive Director of People and Places,

Hayley Selway.

We also have updates on the Allotment project, our AGM

and the Tenant trip to Tenby, plus much more!

If you’d like to get involved in future editions, or submit articles, please contact Josh Dowdall or Annette Kerr on 0800 121 6064.

CONTENTS

2 Words from the editors

3 Meet our New Director

4 Taff’s AGM

5 Your Rent Payments

6 Ty^ Seren Update

7 Ty^ Enfys Update

8 Our Maintenance Services are changing

9 Mobile Working

10 Customer Satisfaction

11 Missed Appointments

12 Volunteer Projects

13 Blake Morgan

14 CommUnity Together Events

15 Riverside Festival

16 Tenant Group updates

17 Volunteers at our Allotment

18 TRA Trip to Tenby

19 Recipe corner

20 Taff Building Futures

Words from the editors

Cover photo: Mr Fanwell Tandi with his prize winning cabbage

Created by Carrick - www.carrickcreative.co.uk

Inv Ref 841480914.10.2016

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(From top left to bottom right): This issue’s Editorial Team Mary Hayes; Xena Brunel; Josh Dowdall; Sam Shaw; Sue Stephens; Fanwell Tandi; Sue Carleton; Elio Assuncao; Keith Abdi; Heidi Beverstock; Phil Hissey; Annette Kerr, plus Laurence Hurrell.

TAFF TALKABOUT | 2 | AUTUMN 2016

Welcome to Taff, Hayley! Can you tell me what is your job title?Executive Director of People and Places.

What does your role involve?I am responsible for managing Taff’s homes, for repairs and the people who deliver the repairs. I am also responsible for any new build developments and my team collect the rent. I also oversee Taff’s approach to human resource management and organisational development.

Could you tell me about your previous work history? Before joining the Taff team I was Head of Housing and Building Services for the Vale of Glamorgan Council. I’ve worked in housing for 13 years, which includes working for Tai Calon Community Housing.

What challenges do you face in your role?Housing Associations have some huge challenges ahead of them. Mitigating the effects of Welfare Reform, supporting the Welsh Assembly’s plans to build 20,000 new homes in Wales in the next five years and ensuring we provide homes to fit the needs of the communities.

In your work, what are you passionate about?I am passionate about creating and delivering excellent services for Tenants and residents as well as empowering staff to be innovative and improve. I love to see staff who are passionate about their jobs.

What do you do in your spare time?I have an 11 year old daughter, we like to go shopping for clothes as we love fashion. I love eating out and my favourite break would be a skiing holiday.

What do you dislike?I can’t stand bananas and negativity.

Meet our new Director

Taff Tenant, Sam Shaw meets a new member of staff, Hayley Selway


Taff held their AGM (Annual General Meeting) at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club on Tuesday 13th September.

Following the official business of the day, where Beatrice Mbuko (Tenant Board Member) and Samantha Taylor were elected onto the Board, there was a presentation by Sue Carleton and Keith Abdi (our two current Chairs of the TRA and DAG groups respectively and Tenant Board Members). They delivered a perfectly co-ordinated visual presentation of the Tenant and Resident events of the past year. They appealed for more Tenants to get involved with our current groups and talked about the benefit of earning Timebank credits, which can enable people to get into places for free!

Everyone enjoyed Indian dancing from India Dance Wales and the afternoon concluded with a lovely meal.

Like to know more about getting involved? Contact the Community Investment team: Tel: 029 2025 9154 [email protected]

TAFF AGM 2016


DIRECT DEBIT

SETUP RENT

BANK

Taff depends on rent payments to maintain your home and to provide a 1st class housing service. If you are in arrears, this does not only put your tenancy at risk, but it also prevents us from providing you and other Tenants with the service we would like.

If you would like help paying your rent, please contact our Rents Team on 0800 121 6064. They offer a range of services, including debt reduction and income maximisation and are here to help you.

DID YOU KNOW?If you owe £480 in rent arrears, this could prevent us installing a new front door!

If 12 Taff Tenants owe £250 each, this could pay for a new bathroom!

£700 in rent arrears could pay to replace an old boiler nearing the end of its life.

The vast majority of our Tenants pay their rent on time. This enables Taff to operate effectively and allows us to carry out the repairs and upgrades to your homes when you need them.

You can pay your rent via the following optionsDIRECT DEBIT – Please contact the Rents

team either by phoning us on 0800 121 6064 or call in to the office to see us.

STANDING ORDER - This is an instruction that you give to your bank to pay us on a regular basis. This differs from a direct debit, as you will be responsible for informing your bank of any changes in payments that are required, for example, when your rent increases.

ON-LINE PAYMENTS - Please follow the link to Allpay on our website, www.taffhousing.co.uk. You will receive full instructions on-line. Please keep the authorisation code for your payment safe.

SMART PHONE APP – Pay anytime anywhere using your smartphone. Simply visit www.allpayments.net to register your details and download the app. Please also ensure that you contact Taff to order a rent card to enable you to make payments via your smartphone app.

PHONE PAYMENTS – Out of office hours please call 0870 243 6040 to receive instructions to guide you through the process. During office hours please call 0800 121 6064. At the end of the call, you will be given an authorisation code for your transaction. Please keep this in a safe place.

TEXT PAYMENTS - Please log onto www.allpayments.net/textpay/logon.aspx to register your details. Once you have done this you can simply text ‘pay’, the code you have set up during registration, the amount you want to pay and your password to 81025.

RENT CARD - Please contact your Customer Service Advisor for a list of all outlets in your local area or if you need a new rent card.

Taff’s Office – Call in to our office during opening hours, where you can pay by cash, card or cheque.

YOUR RENT PAYMENTS ARE IMPORTANT


Over the summer, Sally (Senior Project officer) and Matt (Project Support Officer) delivered the Agored Food and Nutrition course. Residents who completed the course will gain an Agored Level 1 Food and Nutrition qualification and certificate – an excellent way to add something to their CVs!

The course is designed to improve residents’ knowledge around healthy eating and help them understand the benefits and importance of good nutrition. It also taught them how to plan meals and adapt recipes to make them healthier.

Keeping Wales TidyOur residents also joined Keep Wales Tidy for a litter pick around Pentwyn Leisure centre and the surrounding green

area. Residents were provided with a bag and litter picker and were asked to pick up as much litter as they could. During the session residents learned about the negative effects of littering on the environment and on society.

Bake OffWe’d like to say a big thank you to all of our supremely talented bakers who took part in the Ty^ Seren ‘Bake Off’—just look at the results!

Each team’s efforts were judged on looks, originality and taste. Unfortunately, there could only be one winner, and the team behind the upside down

pineapple cake were crowned ‘Bake Off’ champions, although all teams were worthy of taking the top spot. Well done everyone!

Ty^ Seren Hold Debate Night

Our residents debated the question ‘are young people in control of their own destiny?’ Residents were then divided into two groups, one arguing for, and one arguing against. The groups were separated and asked to develop their arguments on large pieces of paper.

The team arguing ‘no’ felt that young people are often stereotyped by society, and are

not given a fair chance when it comes to things like gaining employment. They also felt that there are a lot of laws and systems in place that hold young people back. The team arguing ’yes’ felt that if you try hard enough, anyone can find a job. They argued that there are always opportunities available and that responsible adults are free to make their own decisions!

All of this, on top of our usual raft of life skills sessions, has meant this has been a busy summer for Ty^ Seren. But there’s more to come – we’ll soon be delivering the Agored Level 1 Get Cooking course, which will teach our residents to cook healthily and from scratch, as well as earning them the Get Cooking qualification!

TY^ SEREN UPDATETy^ Seren is a hostel for young women.


We have been very busy here at Ty^ Enfys and would like to let everyone know what we have achieved and are planning to undertake with our residents over the coming months.

We hold a brunch with the residents each Wednesday at 11am and combine this with various activities such as colouring, water play, pebble painting, arts and crafts, card making, babies’ hand and foot print posters and lots, lots more.

The Cardiff Credit Union have been to visit and joined us for brunch and now two of our residents are keen to open up savings accounts for their little ones with the Credit Union.

Our dedicated team of Support Officers are also delivering move-on workshops, aimed at helping our residents find permanent accommodation, as well as an accredited 8-week ‘Get Cooking Course’.

We are currently planning our Halloween activities and are holding our Halloween Party on 1st November 2016.

Ty^ Enfys is our mother and baby Hostel.

TY^ ENFYS UPDATE

A number of young people from Construction Youth Trust were recently invited to visit one of our redevelopment sites in Leckwith, Cardiff.

The former Sacred Heart Church on Broad Street, Leckwith, is currently being developed by Taff to provide much needed quality social housing. The development will be a mix of 16 one bed flats and 4 three bed houses. The main contractor is Pendragon Design and Build.

Construction Youth Trust is a charity which supports young people through giving them access to training, education and employment opportunities in the construction industry. After a site induction, the young people were given a tour of the site by Pendragon site managers. They were also given the opportunity to talk to various tradespersons about their experience and to ask questions.

Young people get involved in construction


Back in September 2015 Taff’s Board and the ‘Have your Say’ panel endorsed expansion plans to grow our current in-house Maintenance team to carry out all general repairs and essential maintenance works to our properties.

Our current contract relationship with GKR ended on 1st October 2016, following a very successful five year maintenance contract.

Our new service went live on 3rd October 2016.

Key outcomes for customers• Listen to your call, diagnose

the repair and agree an appointment with you

• Taff colleagues working in your home

• Completing repair jobs right first time

• Consistent and reliable service

• One stop shop

• Supporting local businesses

• Greater control and flexibility

• Savings reinvested back into services

OUR MAINTENANCE SERVICES ARE CHANGING

We would like to welcome Stephen Sheehan to Taff, who joined us in July 2016 as our Direct Labour Team Manager. Stephen will take the lead on developing our new in-house Maintenance team following the end of our maintenance contract with GKR.

He brings to Taff 26 years’ of managerial experience in Housing and related fields, managing large and medium sized in-house teams from both professional and trade backgrounds.

Kevin Hart Electrician & Team Leader

Congratulations to Kevin on his promotion to Team Leader. Kevin has being working for Taff for a while and has gained a reputation for getting things done and going the extra mile for Tenants and work colleagues. Kevin is looking forward to his new position of Team Leader/Electrician.

MEET THE TEAM

MEET STEPHEN’S TEAM


We are in the process of modernising our working practices and have invested in the latest mobile technology to help drive efficiency and improve services. Our Repairs and Maintenance teams are the first to go live and use mobile technology. You will notice a difference when our operative visits your home, as they will look at their mobile device to obtain information about the repair job you have requested before starting work. On completion of the job they will update the device with details of the work and ask you to fill out an electronic customer satisfaction survey. This will update our IT systems in the office automatically, saving us time later.

What maintenance services will the team provide?• Responsive repairs

• Void (empty property) repairs

• Electrical repairs and installations

• Gas servicing

• Heating breakdown service

• Replacing existing heating systems

• Annual maintenance checks

• Fire precaution works to communal areas

• Kitchen refurbishment projects

• Condensation work

• External works including fencing, slabbing and hard standings.

Mobile working

Recruitment plans are under way to expand and strengthen our existing Maintenance team and we have appointed five multi-trade maintenance colleagues.

These additional resources will ensure that we have the right skills and expertise in place to continue to deliver our excellent repairs and maintenance service to your homes, now that our contractual relationship with GKR has come to an end.

Neil RichardsCarpenter

David Squires Carpenter

Daniel BellApprentice Carpenter

Rhys Carey Gas Servicing &Heating Engineer

Richard BurnsGas Servicing & Heating Engineer

Luke WilliamsGas Servicing & Heating Engineer

Phil BowenElectrician

Michael AlbertelliElectrician

Joseph Feal Carpenter


APPOINTMENT OF NEW COMPLIANCE OFFICERPam Evans, formally a Customer Service Advisor, has been appointed to the role of Compliance Officer.

Pam’s new role within the Maintenance Team is to ensure that Taff carries out regular safety checks on the gas boilers, smoke alarms, lifts and other health and safety duties. She will also be administering the development of service contracts and property condition surveys.

Pam says: “I am looking forward to the changes ahead and excited to be included as part of the restructure of the Maintenance Department. My role as Compliance Officer will be a new chapter in my working life within Taff, and I am thoroughly looking forward to the challenges this will bring.”

We also welcome Sarah Williams, Customer Service Adviser (Maintenance), who is Pam’s replacement.

A NEW WAY OF RECORDING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION From 1st October your Taff Operative will be able to ask you to complete a Customer Satisfaction Survey when the job or repair has finished. You will be able to answer the following 5 simple questions on the handheld device:

• Were you happy with the representative who carried out the work?

• Did the person attending show you their identification badge?

• Would you recommend our repair service to others?

• Has the area where the work was done been left clean & tidy?

• Overall, are you satisfied with the completed job?

This will be a secure site as the operative will not see or be able to amend your responses. The answers will be LOCKED as soon as you have signed the screen on the device. The operative will not be able to go back to see any of the information that you have supplied. We can still send out a paper card in the post or ask the questions over the telephone if you would prefer.

Sarah WilliamsPam Evans


OUT OF HOURS PROCEDURE REMAINS THE SAMEIf your repair is an emergency and it is outside office opening hours please call Freephone 0800 121 6064 or 029 2025 9100. You will be redirected to an Out of Hours service, who are able to deal with emergencies only.

If it turns out that the repair is not an emergency, you will be charged for the call out and possibly the cost of the repair.

Every appointment missed has a profound effect. Last year missed appointments cost Taff £16,900, which could have paid for the installation of 22 new gas boilers or 5 new kitchens

So, if you no longer require your repair appointment, or you cannot make the date or time, please contact the Repairs Line on 0800 121 6064, option 2, to rearrange.

The 2016 figure is standing at £8,900 for missed appointments, so let’s start now and re-arrange or cancel appointments that are no longer required.

Power Cut? ‘Who you gonna call?’Many people don’t know they should contact their local electricity network operator if they have a power cut. They often mistakenly call the electricity supplier they pay their bills to.

That’s why the electricity network operators have introduced a new phone number 105, to give you an easy to remember number to call that will put you through to people who can help.

You can call 105 no matter who you choose to buy electricity from.

MISSED APPOINTMENTS AFFECTS YOU!


We originally set up Taff’s Supported Volunteer Project using a 3 year pot of funding from the Welsh Government and Welsh Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA). The initial three year project has been so successful that we are continuing it long term, embedding it into our core work.

Over 90 volunteers have engaged with the project so far, volunteering across 16 departments within Taff and with 6 local business and community partners. 26 of the volunteers who have progressed onto paid employment have said that their placement has helped them on their jobs journey. As well as the 90+ individual placements, a team of 10 volunteers help run the Taff Community Food Co-op here at Taff every

Friday. Two volunteers have also set up regular community clubs.

Over the past 3 years, we have offered our volunteers in excess of 100 different training courses. The majority of volunteers have gone on to further training, with some even enrolling onto University courses linked to their volunteering.

Several volunteers have said that volunteering has helped them improve a wide range of transferable skills, including confidence, time management, communication and teamwork skills, to name but a few!

If you would like to find out more about our volunteering and training project, please contact the Community Investment Team on 029 2025 9146 or email [email protected]

3 YEAR VOLUNTEER PROJECT IS A SUCCESS AND WILL BE CONTINUED!

GOOD NEWS CASE STUDIES

Hodo: “Earlier this year, I read in the newsletter about the courses Taff offers. I telephoned the Community Investment Team for more information. I signed up to lots of courses, including the Child Development course. It inspired me to think about a career working with children. After six months of volunteering at a local nursery, I have just started a full time Childcare course.”

Katuzka

Morgan: “I would really recommend volunteering at Taff. You have a lot of freedom to tailor your placement to suit your interests and have access to lots of quality training. I learnt a lot about the community, helping to organise activities for children and young people. During a recent interview I was able to use the skills and experiences gained through volunteering and training to impress the panel. I can’t wait to start my new job as a PCSO!“

Katuzka: “I first thought about volunteering when I started Taff’s Counselling course. I have always been interested in helping people, so was very excited to hear that after the course I could volunteer with one of Taff’s support teams. It’s been a great experience, I love it! I have learnt lots and have gained lots of qualifications. I would recommend it to everyone, give it a go, you don’t know, you may like it as much as me!”


THANKS TO BLAKE MORGAN!

“Hi! I’m Caty. I’m from Fitzalan High School. I took part

in the Growing Ambitions Week at Blake Morgan.

If anyone is interested in Law, or even wants to know

more about Law, and has an opportunity like the Growing

Ambitions week at Blake Morgan, then take it. Even if you

are unsure of your career path, the Growing Ambitions

week at Blake Morgan can open doors for you in the future.

During the week, I spent time working in different

departments, such as Commercial, Employment and

Litigation, where I was given department tasks to complete.

Those tasks were the typical tasks that civil lawyers would

do, so it gave me an insight into the daily life of a civil

lawyer. I researched, gathered information and applied my

knowledge to scenarios and issues that were given to me

by the different departments.

It’s not all about Law! Throughout the week, we went on

engaging and interesting trips to different places, such as

Cardiff University Law department, the barristers’ chambers

and the civil court. We also took part in different workshops

which allowed us to develop our skills in presentation,

negotiation interview and CV writing - all of which are

invaluable life skills. On one morning, some of us spent time

working with the Business Development and Marketing,

where it allowed us to broaden our commercial awareness.

It doesn’t stop there! Blake Morgan has a dedicated

email to helping Growing Ambitions students. They also

give extra sessions to develop our CV and help with our

university application.

The Growing Ambitions week at Blake Morgan was an

opportunity of a lifetime. Not only did it give me a true

insight into different aspects of Law, I was able to develop

essential skills for the future and meet new people. It was a

well organised, informative, life-changing week. Everyone at

Blake Morgan was lovely and helpful.

Thank you to everyone at Blake Morgan for the

opportunity to be a part of the Growing Ambitions week.”

Here’s an article written by a student of Fitzalan High School who replied to our request for the summer school at the Law firm, Blake Morgan.

If you would like to take part next summer, let us know. Contact [email protected] Tel: 029 2025 9154

Katuzka

Morgan


CommUnity Together

BIG THANKSBIG THANKS to these two Canton based stores for donating generously to

our community events this Summer. They donated refreshments for the local community and Tesco contributed to our appeal for clothing for the Syrian families settling into Cardiff.

Taff held two events focussing on bringing the local community together to experience different cultures. The events were held in the Riverside and Grangetown areas. We had a variety of entertainment and activities including India Dance Wales, Canton Clogs and Cardiff Red Choir.

Lots of people came along and left messages on our Wish Tree about what they want in their communities:

• More chances to meet our neighbours and build relationships, it’s lonely sometimes.

• More art and craft activities to get involved with

• Housing Associations to work more closely together and share resources

• Information about re-cycling efficiently

• More wonderful events like this one - community cohesion at its best, well done Taff HA

• More football

• More classes for women

• More trips

• Festivals and parties in our community so we don’t have to travel far

• Happiness and Love

If you would like to form part of a new group to look at developing more ‘CommUnity Together’ events, please contact the Community Investment Team on 029 2025 9154 or email [email protected]


Riverside Festival 2016This year’s Riverside Festival proved as

popular as ever, with over 30 different stalls and activities to entertain all ages, backgrounds and interests.

Due to the rain, the event was moved inside to the Riverside Warehouse and Wyndam Street Diner. The Community Investment Team joined forces with Taff’s Family Support Project, ‘Shine’, to provide a range of fun activities. Along with plant potting and games our Olympic-themed colouring competition was extremely popular! 54 children entered for the chance to win sports equipment.

Taff Tenants Sue, Mary and James from the Tenant Advisory Panel were kept busy with their tombola, raising funds for the Taff Tenants and Residents’ Association. Despite the rain, record numbers attended the fantastic community event.


Taff’s Knitters and Natters worked hard to deliver a lovely coffee and cake event in the Boardroom at Alex House on 31st August.

There were lots of home-baked cakes that would

have put the Great British Bake Off to shame. There were also beautiful hand knitted items which the group had produced, as well as a bric-a-brac and tombola stall which helped swell the funds. All donations were given to St David’s Hospice in Newport, as they provided care for Knitters & Natters member Jackie, who sadly passed away last year.

DISABILITY AWARENESS GROUPWe recently welcomed a speaker from the Stroke

Association, who gave us some important advice. They told us what happens to the body when someone has a stroke and also told us how to recognise when a person is having one. In addition they told us where to get help and advice if a relative, friend or someone in the community has suffered from one.

They said the FAST method of identifying whether someone is actually having a stroke is useful to remember:

F = Face - ask them to smile, does the face look uneven?

A = Arms - ask them to lift both arms, does one drift downwards?

S = Speech - does their speech sound strong, ask them to repeat a phrase.

T = Time - act quickly as brain cells die every second.

Knitters & Natters coffee morning

Telephone 999 if any of these signs are present.

• 70% of people who have a stroke survive.

• Strokes cost the NHS an estimated £2.3 billion per year.

• A stroke is a brain attack caused when the blood supply is disrupted.

We were told about “preventable strokes”, which is about changing your lifestyle, for example reducing your fat, salt and sugar intake and consuming less alcohol.

by Keith Abdi

YOUR COMMUNITY… WIN £20!Do you want to improve

your community? Got any ideas we could explore together?

There are already some great initiatives that we could join up with, such as the ‘Love where you live’ and ‘Help beat the litterbug’ campaigns with KCT (Keep Cardiff Tidy), or

perhaps we could come up with some ideas of our own?

Maybe you think a bench is needed in your street or some window boxes full of spring bulbs to brighten up a cold grey day. These are just a few ideas but you probably have lots more.

Let us know, there will be a prize of £20 in Love to Shop vouchers for the best idea! Come on, get those ideas rolling in.

Email [email protected] or Tel 029 2025 9154


Do you fancy volunteering at our Community allotment?We are starting a project to turn a large section of our allotment into a Forest School, which can then be used by local primary schools and our Tenants as a quality space to relax.

If you like gardening or have an interest in garden design, please get in touch and volunteer with us.

Contact Annette Kerr: 029 2025 9154 or [email protected]

We are proud to announce that Mr Fanwell Tandi, valued group member and Taff Tenant, has won a Certificate from the Leckwith & Droves Allotment for growing the largest cabbage! Well done Fanwell!

Prize Winning Cabbage


Are you interested in being green and helping the environment?We’re looking for people with a passion for being green and the drive to reduce our impact on the environment. We are hoping to set up a Tenants’ Green Group to focus on environmental issues and we need people like you.

If you’re interested in finding ways to help the environment such as recycling, saving energy and helping wildlife please get in touch!

Please contact the Community Investment team on 029 2025 9154 to register your interest.

The annual Taff Summer Trip took place on a sunny Saturday in August. This year we had the choice to spend the day at Folly Farm or visit Tenby, a medieval, walled seaside town.

We chose to go to Tenby, as we have visited Folly Farm before. Tenby is named Dinbych y-Pysgod in Welsh, which means Fort of the Little Fishes. After a few hours on the beach sunbathing and my son exploring the rock pools, we

headed up into the beautiful historic town to explore and grab some fish and chips.

We had enough time to take a short tour around the town on a horse drawn carriage, passing East Rock House where Admiral Nelson and Lady Hamilton stayed in 1827. We also had time to enjoy the 13th century medieval town walls with the famous Five Arches barbican gatehouse and fantastic views of the 5 miles of beaches, St Catherine’s Rock

and Caldey Island.

Then we bumped into a few people from Taff and we all had an ice cream and a lovely cuppa before the journey home.

Many thanks to Taff, the coach driver and to the TRA (Tenants and Residents Association) for organising the trip. Can’t wait to see where we can go next summer?

By Sam & Jakob Shaw

TENANT TRIP TO TENBY & FOLLY FARM 2016


Roasted Pumpkin Soup

INGREDIENTS1.5kg pumpkinOlive oil 1 teaspoon dried chilli1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 large onion3 cloves garlic1 carrot1 stick of celery1 litre hot vegetable stock

METHODPreheat the oven to 170°C/340°F. Halve the pumpkin and remove the seeds (you can keep these for roasting), then chop into wedges. Place the pumpkin on two large baking trays and drizzle over a little olive oil. Combine the chilli and coriander powder with a pinch of salt and sprinkle the spices over the pumpkin with some black pepper. Roast the pumpkin for 1 hour, or until soft and slightly caramelised at the edges.

While the soup is cooking, cut the crusts from 4 slices of wholemeal seed bread, then cut the bread into small croutons. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan, then fry the bread until it starts to become crisp. Add a handful of dried pumpkin seeds to the pan, then cook for a few more minutes until they are toasted. These can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan then add the vegetables and cook for 15 minutes, or until soft and sweet but not coloured.

When the squash is ready, add to the pan with the hot stock. Blend with a stick blender, adding a little more water if you like a thinner consistency.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with the croutons and roasted pumpkin seeds.

RECIPE CORNER


SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOWSara Brock, Development

Officer, explains how Taff is building futures.

We have certainly had a mixed bag of weather recently. Storms and glorious sunshine have made up our weather forecasts for the most part, but it seems Taff’s Development department can make rainbows out of even the most glum looking sites, as the picture below of Clos Parc Morgannwg illustrates.

Clos Parc Morgannwg in Leckwith faces the House of Sport and Cardiff City Stadium. It was once unused scrub land. Taff, with the help of our Design Team and Contractors, is in the process of transforming this once unloved site into 35 new homes, due for completion in June 2017. The House of Sport is already looking forward to working with the future Tenants of our properties. Who knows, maybe Cardiff City will scout a future Gareth Bale living in a Taff Property on Clos Parc Morgannwg?

Our second development is Broad Street, in Leckwith, delivering 20 new homes in early 2017. The contractor and Taff are looking to ignite an interest in Construction and Housing by engaging with the younger members of the community. Taff will be holding a site visit for the local school children and inviting them to come and have a look around the development. They will be able to quiz the

site manager and the Taff Team about the development and construction process. Hopefully, a successful career in construction will await one or two of the younger people who attend on the day.

While Taff are yet to find a pot of gold on one of our sites, we hope that by providing new secure homes and building sustainable and supported communities we can secure bright futures for local residents.

Sara Brock


Documents

#notjusthousing Taff... · 2016-10-25 · TalkAbout New look Maintenance Service ... introduce our new Executive Director of People and Places, Hayley Selway. We also have updates