“A coffee shared is so much more fun than a coffee alone!”
Residents across Buckinghamshire are being encouraged to take the plunge and strike up a conversation with the help of Coffee Companions, thanks to funding from Buckinghamshire County Council Beeches Local Area Forum (LAF).
Launching on Monday (9 October), Coffee Companions is a small business aiming to encourage social interaction through ‘chat mats’ – starting with a cup of coffee.
The chat mats are designed to encourage people to talk to one another at the participating cafes. The ‘chat mats’ have two sides, One side saying ‘Say Hello’ if you fancy a chat, the other saying ‘Not Today’ if a chat isn’t your cup of tea that day.
A total of £150 has been allocated by Beeches LAF to launch the scheme in Burnham with initial purchase of the mats. Venues in Marlow, Aylesbury and Winslow are also launching the scheme.
As well as the mats, Coffee Companions is also encouraging venues that buy into the scheme to run a Companion Hours, a dedicated regular slot when customers are encouraged to meet other Companions.
Eileen, a regular Companion Hour goer, said: “A coffee shared is so much more fun than a coffee alone.”
Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health, Noel Brown, said: “We have been so impressed with the positive feedback about the Coffee Companion scheme across the country that we decided to launch it here. Social isolation is something that affects people all over the county and the Chat Mats and Companion Hours are just one great way to help combat it. ”
To find out more about the scheme visit: https://www.coffeecompanions.co.uk/
Come along and meet with Coffee Companions at the companion hour launches
- Monday 9 October at 10.30am – Marlow – The Perch
- Tuesday 10 October at 10.30am – Buckingham Park Community hall café
- Wednesday 11 October at 10.30am – Winslow – The Rooneys
- Thursday 12 October at 10.30am – Bedgrove (Aylesbury) – Coffee Bean
- Friday 12 October at 10.30am – Burnham – Capelo’s (Burnham Park Hall)