The Coop

The Coop

It’s been nearly 5 years in the making. Ever since my first bleary eyed trips out with baby Kitty, visiting lovely village hall after not so lovely village hall. Sitting, singing, bouncing, dancing, laughing, crying all with other bleary eyed, post natal goddesses in my boat… and that’s the important bit right there. To do it together. The first part of Motherhood/fatherhood/parenthood is hard…bloody hard..but I found getting out and about vital. Vital in getting me through the long days. Vital in understanding my identity now I had a little bubba attached to my hip. Vital in quashing my anxieties and worries after all in the words of the great GaGa (Kitty and Jim’s Grandma not the meat donning pop star) a problem shared is a problem halved. And there is no one better to share these with than those going through the exact same worries as you, especially with a cup of coffee and a bourbon biscuit in hand. So that is where the idea for the Coop stemmed from, my own experience. To build on the brilliant things that are already happening in our beautiful county but with the added support of a flipping good café, free parking, and beautiful grounds. As a Primary School teacher for ten years before having Kitty and Jim, I have always…infact as long as I can remember, wanted to work with children. I have adored and missed creating inspiring environments in which they can flourish. I have used fourteen years of teaching experience to create a space that will help children interact with all stage of the Early Years profile.

Why the Coop? Well, really it stems from my husband. 6 years ago he decided to fork away from the arable side of our beautiful farm and concentrate on producing chicken.. a brave idea and one that I hold him in absolute awe of. With the help of his family, he has created an amazing home for us and we are so lucky to have him striving to succeed. So what better name that lets him know how proud I am of him… The Coop!

Dr. Sarah Whittle Williams

Dr. Sarah Whittle Williams

So Dr Sarah is a great friend of The Coop. She is working with us, as well as popping out her 2nd little baby, to inform us and build our confidence in many family health matters. Already she has run a fantastic Choking and Weaning event during October’s Mothers Meeting.

Hello everybody! I am Sarah a local GP with a particular interest in looking after families, especially mums, babies and children! My passion is in social learning-essentially chatting about health! The more we chat, the more we share the easier it is to care! There will also be some hands on medical simulation to improve our first aid skills.

I’m looking at developing some ‘Prepare and Share’ sessions with local parents. There seems no better place than Hazel’s warm and cosy Coop to natter about all sorts over delicious food. After having my first baby I became fascinated by baby feeding and how equally enjoyable and difficult this can be for mums. I felt if mums and dads were more confident in managing the risks around choking then maybe they would have a better time weaning. Having space and time to discuss this before the rollercoaster begins should hopefully improve all those early first few steps. I will come equipped so you can have hands on experience managing choking in infants.

I’ve had experience working in children’s hospital and A+E. I’ve worked in Africa and Australia, delivering babies and working in perinatal clinics looking after mums and babies. I have a background in medical education, as part of a team running the training programme for all trainee GPs in Bristol, and written a health education module for Wales. I have been a GP for the last 7 years.

Wishing Dr Sarah good luck with her imminent new arrival and looking forward to more Prepare and Share Mother’s Meetings in the New Year!