FAN (Friends and Neighbours) is a Cardiff based charity that brings people of all ages and backgrounds together in the spirit of friendship; people who enjoy meeting others or are feeling a little lonely will be sure of finding a warm welcome if they attend FAN. Plus, it’s FREE to attend a FAN group!
FAN groups create a sense of community and are a wonderful network. They offer a good opportunity for newcomers to an area to meet local people. FAN groups are particularly helpful for those wanting to learn English or who already speak it but would like to improve. Anyone is welcome to come to a FAN group and make new friends, whether you are Cardiff born and bred or from the other side of the world.
So, what happens in a FAN group? People sit in a circle and talk about a chosen topic. Everyone gets a turn to speak, but if you are feeling shy, you do not have to speak if you don’t want to. Participants don’t interrupt and listen to the person whose turn it is to speak. When everyone has spoken, the organisers close the meeting and then everyone has an informal chat to get to know each other.
Two FAN groups are currently running near the Splott area. The long-running group meets at the OASIS Centre on Splott Road at 1pm on Wednesday afternoons. In addition to this, an additional FAN Meeting is being launched in the swimming pool cafe at the STAR Hub on Muirton Road at 10.00am on Fridays.
There are FAN groups running every day of the week except Sunday in different areas of Cardiff. There are also weekly groups in Barry, Bridgend, Treforrest, Swansea, St Neots, (Cambridgeshire) and Edinburgh.
Some FAN groups continue to run during school holidays, while others take a break. To find out which are open at these times, or to get further details please check the website
Give the Facebook page a “like” to keep up to date with what’s happening in local groups