![\"Table\"](\"http:\/\/tloishappening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Table.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHad my first meeting at The D<\/a>eck<\/a> today about our Big Lunch<\/a>. If you are unaware of the Big Lunch<\/a>,\u00a0\u00a0have a gander at the site<\/a>. In a nutshell it’s about connecting with the people that live around you and coming together and having a lunch on your street. Everyone brings a dish and you enjoy connecting! This is such a lovely link with TLO<\/a> so I’m very happy to be getting involved.<\/p>\n Getting a\u00a0whole\u00a0street together takes some organising so naturally I need a partner in crime and lucky for me I have a rather wonderful one. Deborah owns\u00a0The Deck<\/a>, an award winning coffee shop which\u00a0is one of my favourite places in the world. Deb and I are going to see if we can get two streets together \u00a0to do lunch in the Cardiff Bay area where we both live, Hunter Street and Harrowby Street. The date for this is 21st June<\/strong> and the time is yet to be decided.<\/p>\n Gwion from the Big Lunch <\/a>joined us today and told us wonderful stories of people connecting in big lunches all over Wales, some places even close all the streets in the village! Getting to know the people around you can make such a difference to the way that you feel – as I say all the time we are better together.<\/p>\n I have been buzzed about the big lunch since I met Gwion at Creative Mornings<\/a> in February and\u00a0I wanted to get the ball rolling but I felt\u00a0a little scared about knocking on people’s doors and asking them to join me! Me…. Mrs Turn Lights On<\/a> that encourages people to do this all the time! I’m not sure why I felt scared as I’m sure the majority of people I will speak to will be interested in a day of making new friends and yes maybe a few\u00a0may not be, however that is their choice. I think it’s the knocking on the door bit that concerns me. I have always said that I could never do a door to door job and hats off to people that do. \u00a0This will be a great TLO experiment for me. A time to leave my ego at the door and be present and passionate about this truly wonderful idea. This is not about me (my ego), it’s about the cause and connection so I need to get knocking those knockers!<\/p>\n We may have the two streets worth of people\u00a0coming to the big lunch or it may be Deb and I sitting outside The Deck enjoying a cuppa with one of her amazing cakes! Regardless I will get to know Deb more and that will be a worthwhile use of my day. We may even attract a crowd as we both love a natter to people so the end result will be the same.<\/p>\n I will update you on how my canvassing goes and what people say. \u00a0The first connection\u00a0is always the tricky one and I may need\u00a0a little bit of a push and a surge of puppy power to do it, but when the connection is made wonderful things happen. In our communities we have to face fear to make things better.<\/p>\n Fear will keep us lonely, fear will keep us not knowing our neighbours, fear is creating this magnolia living where we don’t connect and engage and Turn Lights On<\/a> and The big Lunch<\/a> is about creating colourful connections which\u00a0start with a question and a great intention.<\/p>\n Right I’m going to put my best smile on and get knocking on those doors! Keep you posted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fancy a Big Lunch anyone? Had my first meeting at The Deck today about our Big Lunch. If you are unaware of the Big Lunch,\u00a0\u00a0have a gander at the site….<\/p>\n