Age of Love cafes for women's health and wellbeing
We are delighted to share the news that our Age of Love cafes are part of a project led by Heeley Trust and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, and the UK Health Security Agency.
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The grant supports the Trust to deliver health and wellbeing advice and support to women around their reproductive health. It is an innovative model that gives women access to GPs, pharmacists, pelvic health physio, and occupational health. ​
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The Age of Love cafes take place monthly and offer a safe space for women to talk about all aspects of sexual and reproductive health. So far, we have reached many women who have not had the chance to be involved in conversations about this topic.
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Find out more about the women's wellbeing project on the Heeley Trust website.
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Age of Love cafes abound!
We have been busy over the past couple of years while we established the Age of Love cafes.
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Two recent examples include the cafes hosted by Dr Audrey Tang in Northampton. One cafe focused on women's sexual wellbeing, followed by a second cafe that focused on men's sexual wellbeing.
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Dr Audrey is a Chartered Psychologist and award-winning author whose work focuses on practical self improvement. It was an honour to work with Audrey on the Age of Love.
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Both cafes were well attended and the discussion was flowing. The sensitive topic did not deter attendees from having the conversation! Follow the links to read more about the women's cafe, and the men's cafe.
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The Age of Love audio-play
In September 2020 we released the Age of Love audio play. Set as a fictional podcast, the play tells the story of an older couple who are trying to overcome a sexual difficulty.
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The play is a light-hearted take on a sensitive topic. Designed to inform, educate, and entertain. But don't blush: the podcast includes mature content and sensitive themes.
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You can listen to the Podcast here.
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The main characters, Frank and Joy, featured in our original Age of Love project, and were created by Pete McKee. Pete is an artist from Sheffield, and is recognised for his signature style and work that explores various themes including working-class culture and humour.
If you'd like to learn more about our first project, why not watch our short video.
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The UK's first Age of Love Cafe is about to launch
We are very excited to announce that the UK's first Age of Love Cafe will take place on Saturday 15th June 2019 in Millennium Gallery Sheffield.
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Relationships are a central part of life, and one of the most important is the one we have with our intimate other. However intimacy and ageing are rarely talked about.
The Age of Love exhibition, with artwork by Pete McKee, is a story about love and intimacy. Join us as we display all 12 of these intimate, funny and engaging artworks over the course of the weekend.
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Alongside The Age of Love exhibition, we will be hosting The Age of Love Cafés developed by Dr Sharron Hinchliff, an academic based at The University of Sheffield. The cafes are an opportunity to chat about issues related to intimacy and relationships in older adulthood.
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Pete said, “If I am totally honest I wasn’t aware this is something that is an issue, however I was shocked to hear some of the stories Sharron had found while doing her research. I would hate to think that anyone would feel discriminated against for a health problem and that this might affect people’s relationships, so I was delighted to be asked to take part in this project. Hopefully the work we have created will get people talking more and maybe with a sense of humour about it too.”
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To find out more about the event and to book yourself into a cafe please visit:
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