The Canddo Project

27/05/2026

Toasties absolutely flew out in the sunshine at today’s Keeping the Warmth Hub.
Fresh toasties, brews, chats and a bit of community catch-up under the trees at Panteg House. The cheese pull alone deserved its own applause.
We’ve also had a request for a wind phone.

If anyone has an unwanted rotary phone, push-button phone or interesting vintage handset tucked away, please let us know.

We’ve got an idea brewing for the garden space inspired by the idea of a quiet “conversation chair” area.
Meanwhile, our Men’s Craft sessions have been busy working on:
Restoring and rebuilding a chair.
Building a wooden toolbox.
- sanding, painting and experimenting with reclaimed materials

Big thanks to everyone who popped by, volunteered, chatted or simply sat in the sunshine for a while 🌿
Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund & TVA.

26/05/2026

26/05/2026

🛠 Canddo Communi-Build 🛠

Canddo Communi-Build are now looking for interesting new community DIY projects for our Tuesday 2pm till 4pm sessions 🦊

Over recent months we’ve helped create:
🔧 a new store & refreshments area
🍳 a children’s mud kitchen
🤖 a recycled robot build
🐔 chicken-related DIY projects & coop improvements

We love practical, creative, reclaimed-material builds that bring people together, teach skills, and give old materials a second life.

Ideas could include:
🌱 garden projects
🪑 benches or seating
📚 little free libraries
🎨 outdoor art
🛠 repair projects
🐝 wildlife or nature features
☕ quirky community features

If you’ve got an idea, odd materials, or a project needing a small team and some imagination, let us know.

📍 Panteg House Grounds
🕑 Tuesdays 2pm till 4pm

Tea, tools, conversation, and experimental engineering included.

26/05/2026

🍎 Men’s Sheds Apple Press Project 🍎

A few more tweaks this week and the apple press is finally starting to bite properly! 🔧

The grinder now has more “teeth” fitted and is breaking the apples down much better, giving us our first proper test batches of pulp and juice. Still early days, but it’s starting to feel like a real working heritage project rather than a pile of timber and hopeful thinking 😄

We’ve learned a few things already:
• it definitely needs LOTS more apples for a worthwhile juice yield
• a bottle-style jack may work better for pressing pressure
• small adjustments make a huge difference

This is very much an ongoing community build and experiment, and we’ll keep developing it through summer and into the autumn apple season 🍏🍎

🛠 Tuesdays
🕙 10am till 1pm
📍 Panteg House Grounds

Come along if you’d like to help build, test, improve, problem-solve, or simply see how traditional apple pressing works.

Tea, chat, sawdust, experiments, and occasional chaos included ☕🪚

26/05/2026

This Wednesday, why not learn how to darn a sock, fix a seam, or patch a favourite jumper? Maybe you’d like to shorten a pair of trousers or attach a missing button. 🧵

And of course… there’ll be delicious cake and a nice cup of tea waiting too ☕🍰

The Canddo Project She Sheds Repair Café is back!

📍 Panteg House Grounds
📅 Every Wednesday
🕑 2pm till 4pm

Our amazing volunteer repairers will be there to share their skills, help save money, and keep good items out of landfill by giving them a second life.

Everyone welcome.

Come along for repairs, conversation, cake, and community. 🦊

21/05/2026

Today at Canddo we’ve been turning scraps into something with a bit of personality.
Reclaimed wood, fallen branches and leftover offcuts became this woodland character piece, proving that “waste” often just needs imagination and a second chance.

Introducing the Canddo Branch Manager

Community projects don’t always start with perfect materials. Sometimes they start with whatever’s left in the pile.
Canddo are re-using, rebuilding and creating today.

20/05/2026

Busy one at Canddo today 🦊🍕

Today’s pizza pitta experiment went down brilliantly at The Den:

“You surpassed yourself with that pizza.”
“That was lovely.”
“The flavour was really enhanced.”

Not bad for white pittas, tomato sauce, cheddar, a little mozzarella and the air fryer doing overtime 🔥

Alongside plenty of brews and chat, today’s Men’s Craft session was busy finishing touches on the community mud kitchen project, while also helping one of our volunteers build his own personal toolbox to take home 🧰

Simple food. Practical skills. Shared space. Community together.

19/05/2026

MEND IT @ CANDDO – SHE SHEDS 🔧🧵
Got something that needs a little love instead of the bin?
Bring it along and let’s see what we can do together.
🪡 Basic clothing repairs
🧸 Small household fixes
🧶 Creative mending & patching
☕ Tea, chat & a relaxed atmosphere
No pressure. No perfection. Just practical skills, shared ideas and a welcoming space to sit, repair and socialise.
📍 The Den @ Panteg House
🕑 Wednesdays 2PM – 4PM
Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund 💙

19/05/2026

THE CANDDO PROJECT – KEEPING THE WARMTH

Join us every Wednesday from 10am–1pm at Panteg House, NP4 5BE for a warm, welcoming community hub designed to bring people together.

Whether you’re feeling isolated, struggling to keep warm at home, worried about housing, or simply looking for friendly company — our doors are open to everyone.

Come along for:
🍲 Warm meals & refreshments
☕ Friendly chat & companionship
🎨 Arts & crafts activities
💚 Wellbeing support
🏡 A safe, relaxed place to connect

No pressure, no judgement — just a warm space and a warm welcome.

📍 Panteg House,Griffithstown,NP4 5BE
🕙 Every Wednesday | 10am–1pm

PLEASE share with anyone who may benefit

This project is supported by The National Lottery and funded through TVA NHS initiatives.

18/05/2026

🌿 Wellbeing Week @ Canddo 🌿

This week shines a light on something incredibly important... wellbeing, connection and community.

At Canddo, we know wellbeing is not always about big gestures or formal settings. Sometimes people simply need somewhere welcoming to pause for a while and step out of their own head.

A brew and a conversation.
Fresh air in the garden.
Feeding the chickens.
Learning something practical.
Getting creative.
Or just sitting quietly around other people without pressure or expectation.

Many people who visit Canddo have experienced social isolation, poor mental health, loneliness or difficult periods in life. Our aim is to provide a relaxed community space where people can reconnect at their own pace, in a way that feels natural and comfortable.

Sometimes wellbeing starts with something very small:
☕ a familiar face
🌱 a reason to leave the house
🤝 feeling part of something again

Our Social Garden, Warm Hub and community activities are open weekdays from 10am to 4pm at Panteg House, Pontypool.

If you feel like you could use a gentle reset, you’re always welcome to pop in for a chat and a brew 💚🦊

Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund.

17/05/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who came along to the Car Show at Panteg House today 🚗🏍️🌿

The weather held out beautifully and the turnout of cars, bikes, stalls and community visitors was excellent. From vintage classics to custom builds, there was plenty to see and a brilliant atmosphere throughout the grounds.

The Canddo Social Garden was also open to visitors during the event and our chickens proved very popular with guests of all ages 🐓🦊

Canddo is a community project supporting people who have experienced mental health difficulties and social isolation, helping people gently re-enter social settings through community activities, conversation and shared spaces.

If you’d ever like to pop in for a chat and a brew, we’re open weekdays from 10am to 4pm.

We look forward to seeing you here 💚

Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund.