#volunteer

Just A Little Life Update…

life

So you might have noticed that I haven’t been blogging as much as I used to or as much as I would like to. This is just a short post telling you what I’m up to and where I have been.

This September I started back at college but instead of doing an adult learning course like I did last year. I am now a full time student doing Performing Arts Level 2. I am loving it! We recently did our first production called First Draft were we performed different short plays, dances and songs. We are now rehearsing for our Immersive Theatre Christmas Production Bah Humbug! I have been on quite a journey to be accepted onto a course I really wanted and love to do and now I’m finally there and doing what I love!

Checkout my resume at https://www.mandy.com/actor/profile/bryony-moss

I am also currently doing workshops with Resource Productions to write, create, shoot and edit our own shot films. The project I am working on with fellow cast and crew members will be shown at Pinewood Studios.

I am now the volunteer blogger for the inclusive theatre company The Theatre Shed. Check out The Theatre Shed Blog here: https://thetheatreshedcompany.wordpress.com

I am still doing hair and makeup modelling but would love to try new things to develop my portfolio. In the future I would love to be an actor and a model with an agent.

I am still going to one of my most favourite places in the world the stables. I have now moved class were I am learning all about the detail. I am so excited to see what the future holds!

I am thinking about writing more content on my blog for example reviews as well as beauty and fashion. I am also thinking about having more themes for my Instagram story for example Mental Health Monday’s.

I can’t wait to see what the future holds and have you all come on this journey with me. I’ve got some exciting things happening soon and can’t wait to share it all with you my Defeating Disability Family

All my love

Bryony 💜

Down On The Farm: My Time At The Farm

life

Today was my last day volunteering at the farm. I have had an amazing time and made friends human and animal along the way. Spending time at the farm has taught me not only how to care for a variety of different animals but also built up my skills on how to work well in a team.

I would definitely recommend doing volunteering work as it not only gives you a chance to see what’s it like to work in a certain industry and the day to day jobs you would be doing and of course you can put your volunteer experience on your CV.

Through doing volunteering work at the farm I have learnt a lot more than I thought I would and I have been able to push myself in a supportive environment achieving things I thought I would never be able to do. For example I can now carry out health checks independently on a range of different animals for example chickens, rats, hamsters and guinea pigs.

I have learnt a lot about introducing new animals into the different groups at the farm and all about the different responses the animals may have. Some may get on straight away others may take a while longer. I have learnt about how to break down the introducing steps to make shy or worried animals feel safe before putting them in with others straight away. For example you may separate the new animal with the others in the group but have it in the field next to them so that the animals get used to each other but from a little distance.

As well as this I have also learnt about if an animal has something like a problem with their fur or skin you may only use one brush just for them only for grooming as you don’t want to pass on any germs to the other animals in their group.

I have learnt a lot about all different the animals diets and what they can and cannot eat as well as what they love. Erik the goat loves eating oranges! Pigs cannot eat onion or anything in the onion family and if you mix alpaca feed and goat feed together it becomes toxic to the animals.

Feeding Erik the goat

On the farm I have learnt about how to care for injuries the small animals such as hamsters or guinea pigs may get from animals such as wild rats that manage to get into their cages.

A big thing at the farm I have learnt about is how to care for a variety of different reptiles such as geckos, snakes, water dragons , bearded dragons, spiders and skinks.

Fat Tailed Gecko

I have loved my time at the farm and would highly recommend volunteering with animals to gain experience for anyone who loves animals!

Down On The Farm Update: Meet George

life

Recently on the farm we have said hello to some a new addition to the family a goat called George.

When George first came to the farm he was very shy and didn’t really like people going near him or being touched. He enjoyed his own company so was put in a separate field for a bit, away from the other goats; but next door to them so he could watch them from a distance.

George was also a bit chubby as his previous owners liked to spoil him. At the beginning he was a very fussy and picky eater and wouldn’t eat anything off the floor. Now though he loves to eat what the other goats eat. I recently gave him some spinach which he loved however we still need to work on getting him to eat off the floor as he loves to be hand fed best of all!

He does have a couple of problems with his coat such as bald patches and lots of dry skin. So he has his own very special grooming brush that not any of the other goats can use. Through working with him one to one he has grown in confidence massively. I enjoy grooming him getting rid of excess dry skin and dust out of his cot. By doing this George is now more trusting around people and likes to have a bit of attention and fuss. Which I love. I also find grooming him very relaxing myself.

He can now live in the same field as the other goats Erik, Molly and Dolly. Erik and George do sometimes have play fights together as they both want to be leader of the group. They can be like school boys fighting in the school playground. But somehow to George’s disappointment Erik is still head goat and likes to keep him in check and tells him off every now and again.

It’s been lovely to get to know George and I enjoy working with him. I can’t wait to work with him more and watch him grow.

My Experience Volunteering In A Charity Shop

life

I’ve been volunteering at a charity shop for a while now and I thought I would share with you my experience. I first started to volunteer at the charity shop as I wanted to find a work experience placement with college. I wanted to learn new skills and gain more experience in the working environment. I am known as a Retail Volunteer as I volunteer in one of the charities shops.

I volunteer at the shop once a week for a couple of hours. At the shop I do lots of different tasks both with customers and in the stock room. To begin with I might help sort through lots of the donations we have been given; I go through each bag making sure we only price items which are in good condition. The donations we get range from clothes to books, accessories and lots more.

I will then go through all of the clothing items we can sell and put each one on a clothing hanger and put the correct sizing cube on each hanger too. I make sure that each item is priced before putting each item out on the shop floor.

Another job I do is stock rotation this is where we bring stock from the shop floor back into the stock room to create more space for more recent items to be put out.

I sometimes may research the donations the shop gets so that we can tell customers more about the product for example old books or cameras.

To begin with I helped to make the shops window displays. I now create some of the window displays by myself. We base each window display design on a theme for example orange and gold or we might do a window display based around a current event like the World Cup or a season like the Christmas season.

When making the window displays I first try and find a main item or piece of clothing that stands out to me I then work with other items to create the feel and look I want the display to have.

Here I am finding clothes for my window display design I am also dressing the mannequin in the clothing I have chosen.

One of the very first window displays I created was based on the colours orange, cream and gold. This was because I had found a lovely orange dress I wanted to put into the window I then found cream and gold items that worked really well with the orange.

When creating window displays I not only have to find clothing for the mannequins but also accessories to go with the items of clothing. For example jewellery,shoes and belts.

I also make bric a brac window displays. This could be making a window display for a upcoming  sport event like Wimbledon. To create a window display based on this theme I may use tennis balls and tennis rackets with tennis shoes. I may also add some books about the sport into the display.

Here is a window display design I am starting to make based around Wimbledon 2018.

I made a window display based around The World Cup 2018.

Here are some photos of my window display based around The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. I steamed a wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses as well as finding bric a brac items for the display too.

Lastly I have just recently started serving customers at the till independently!

I would definitely recommend volunteering at a charity shop if you are interested in working in retail or you want to work in the fashion industry. I also think you would enjoy volunteering in a charity shop enjoy if you like being creative and love fashion.