RUDDINGTON MUM’S COMMUNITY

I was beginning to wonder if my social skills had been vaporized by the gas and air, the day I became a mum. We had just moved to Ruddington and I didn’t know anyone. My only playmate was 14 months old and she had yet to master the art of conversation. Her social skills also needed some work. Having spent the past 9 months travelling around, ‘baby groups’ remained uncharted. After one particular lonely day I discovered Ruddington Mums on facebook. I wrote, “I’m new, what is there to do?” Within minutes I was overwhelmed by answers (there is a lot to do in Ruddington!) and was promptly invited to a night out.
‘The Ruddington mum’ founder, Laura Vere had already experienced how I was feeling, prompting her to establish the rapidly growing community group. Her aim was to “bring the community together so no one was at home feeling lonely and missing out due to the lack of info”.
Dining with 20 or so ladies/strangers sounded like a scary prospect. Well it turns out I was wrong. Within minutes I was chatting to others, who, just like me, wanted to meet new people who lived in the community. The group is open to anyone and this was certainly reflected around the table. I met new mums, old mums, working mums, stay at home mums, mums who had moved from afar… I even met a man who wasn’t a mum (just new to the village). Some people knew each other and some did not. I arrived knowing no one and left knowing someone. I was asked several times during the night, why did we choose to live in Ruddington?  Well, the answer was sitting around the table. We wanted a good community.     (By Sarah Godfrey)