Hooray! The weather has cooled down and so we managed to get a full week of classes in.

The new payment option for the Zoom classes has been well received. It gives the option to pay for each month as a block payment of £48, giving the reduced price of £6 or less per class (that is £6 in an 8 class month and even less if there are 9 or 10 classes in any given month). This is great value!

I have also introduced a new class by class payment, for Zoom, of £7 per class. This is ideal for those who know that they aren’t able to do all of the regular Monday and Thursday mornings. This keeps the charges in line with the room classes. All the ‘in person’ classes are £7 for the first class in a week, with a second only being £5 to take it to the same rates as the Zoom twice a week payment. This is great for those people who do 2 classes a week when they can and that is a growing number of folks.

This week saw the introduction of the new Wednesday afternoon class. It is in Halstead, at the same venue as the other Halstead classes (St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Hall, Colchester Road) but is at the slightly later time of 2:30pm. We had 5 people this week, which is a good start. Watch this space to see the class numbers grow.

The Earls Colne class saw a new lady join this week. She thoroughly enjoyed the exercises of course, but was new to the area and is using the class as a way to meet people. This is one of the unexpected benefits of the Seated Exercise classes. My hat is off to anyone who walks into the room not knowing anyone!

However, time and time again, I have been told how welcoming the people in my classes are. Before you know it you are chatting with the people next to you and then, very quickly, you become part of the little community that the classes become. By the time we go out for Christmas or midsummer lunch, you are among friends!

Another unexpected benefit is how much fun it is. We laugh a lot!! We also put the world to rights some days and share in the highs and lows of life, with photos of grandchildren and great grandchildren often being shared, as well as pictures of weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. It is very social and each class very much has its own dynamic, but they are all great fun and a very healthy way to spend an hour or so – for mind, body and soul.