Do the Funky Flamingo

communitycare.co.uk has a great story about a visit to Cambridge's Funky Flamingo club, which is a regular night club held at The Junction venue, organised and run by disabled adults and young people from Cambridgeshire and beyond.

David Fry of United Response (who are a national organisation which supports people with learning disabilities or mental health needs to live in the community) travelled from London for an all-day fundraiser. He says:

There was karaoke and live music, which I love because I am a big music fan. They were raising money so they could throw a Halloween party as well as fund Funky TV, a TV channel for people with learning disabilities.

The best thing about the event was how friendly it was. I like doing lots of different things in my spare time with all sorts of people. But sometimes it's nice to go to a place where people with learning difficulties are very welcome.

One of the first people I spoke to was Amanda Kleherer from the charity Inspire, which organised the event. She says: "Funky Flamingo isn't about being different or exclusive," she says. "It's meant to be just as much fun whether you have a learning disability or not. I've got friends who came to our club night and didn't know anyone who had a learning disability before, but they ended up loving it."

When I was younger I didn't know about anything like this. I think it would have been really fun if I'd been able to go to events like this and meet new people. I talked to a man called Darren Moore, who performs at the events as a Tom Jones impersonator and also helps organise them.

Darren says: "My advice to everyone would be 'get involved'. It takes a lot of organising, but they train you to help and it's all worth it. I've had so much fun."

Much more about the Club, what's on, what's planned for the future and how to get involved on the busy Funky Flamingo website.

Free Internet Training in Cambridge

If you live in Cambridge you can make use of Cambridge Online City's e-Learning Centre. It helps anybody with any kind of disability to use the computer and access the Internet. They can offer one to one support, individual learning plans at the Hester Adrian Centre in Chesterton and also at other venues throughout the City.

Cambridge OnLine is a charity working across the East of England helping disabled people use computers by providing training and advice to individuals and groups. We provide accessibility assessments & advice, one to one training, and we have a full range of adaptive equipment for people to try.

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Interested in Volunteering?

Cambridge OnLine urgently need additional volunteers to help support our learners. You don't have to be a computer expert. You just need to give us 2 hours a week - morning or afternoon - to help guide a learner as they explore computers and the Internet in our relaxed and fun e-Learning Centre. Training, expenses and satisfaction are available. Phone or email Sue now to fix a time to come for an informal visit. 01223 300407 or help@cambridgeonline.org.uk