Our first week in Sonneneck - the work

So - here we are at last.  After all the planning and preparation, we are really enjoying staying in the lovely Sonneneck Centre in Berlin with Kids und Co.  Everyone loved the lovely gardens, and the bedrooms and common areas were really welcoming and the people friendly.  It really was a "sunny corner" with beautiful blue skies shining down on our first week in Germany - we saw all the sights of central Berlin and the great Gardens of the World in nearby village, then got down to the real work we had come for.

Laying a path in the Gardens of Sonneneck - bricklaying skills

Lambeth College tutor, Leslie Brereton is showing Grant how to measure up the blocks before laying the path the construction team were building - working with German tutor, Dieter.

Tyrone works as a team with Nathan and Richard from level 2 construction maintenance to get the path laid.

The German brick laying tutor,  keeping an eye on the quality, and planning where to cut bricks with Grant.

Nathan and Richard really took to the work laying the brick paths, and plan to continue developing their skills in this area - potentially useful for laying driveways when they get back to the UK.  Nathan has been breaking up and taking up the old concrete ones using different equipment.

Leslie shares a moment with Adelaide who is brushing the sand into the brick paths to seal them.  She showed the necessary patience and care needed and although this is the first time she has taken part in construction work, she really enjoyed it.










Carpentry Workshop

Dominic is working on sanding down the side panels of the large planters they are making for the garden, and has followed the tutors instructions carefully using the electric sander.  He is really enjoying learning a new skill and everyone is impressed with the quality of his work.  








Daniel, on the second year of a construction maintenance course, is putting into practice his skills in cutting out a joint for the wooden posts with a chisel.  The whole carpentry team work together to make the finished product, under the guidance of a German tutor and with a Lambeth College staff member to support where necessary. 

Darryl also tried carpentry out for the first time under the careful guidance of Clifton Mclean from Lambeth College.

Sandra was keeping an eye on the work in the carpentry workshop, and filming them on the Flipcam.  We have found these cameras really useful for catching the moment. they are really easy to use and download..

Craft Workshop

 





Card making workshop in progress - it requires great concentration and control.  People were making German Christmas cards to take back to the UK.  Tyrone, Dominic, Darryl, Sandra and Adelaide took part this week.

Tile Panel - after Sandra and Adelaide had make a large tile panel by glueing plain white tiles to a wooden board, Rob was decorating them by painting with acrylic paint.  He likes drawing, but this is the first time he has taken on a large scale project like this - "The World in a College".  He worked with Julia who is a trainee with Kids und Co, and we are looking forward to seeing the finished product.








The first weekend in Berlin

After a final meeting on Wednesday 6th October in the Brixton Centre,  Grant Harbige, Nathan Mason, Daniel Kalarus, Tyrone Thomas, Richard Brown, Darryl Alfonso, Leslie Brereton (staff), Dominic Williams, Adelaide Martins, Roberto Freitas, Sandra Cording, Clifton Mclean (staff) and Jacqui Thomson (staff) were all ready to leave for Berlin.   Rachael Brown, Brian Maskell and Jennifer Evans would be flying out on the 16th October to take over.

Things went really well travelling to Berlin on Saturday 9th - everyone was there at Stockwell ready to make the journey!  After fond farewells from family and friends, we all made the journey on time, and had time to relax at Heathrow Airport before boarding the plane.

We sat with different people in the plane, so had a chance to rest or chat

Daniel amused himself playing with his Haribo sweets, and generously shared them around.

Tyrone got straight down to some rest, after all it had been an early start!

Others just enjoyed the comfortable seats and free drinks and snacks from BMI - they really were a good airline to travel with

Darryl Alfonso

Dominic Williams

Nathan Mason listens to some i-tunes

Richard Brown











 Sandra Cording

Finally, we arrived at Berlin,  Tegel Airport, and were quickly through customs and ready to meet Germany.  

We were met by Freddy, who everyone recognised from the video they had seen on Wednesday, and we took our luggage to the waiting minibus, where Lutz, would drive it to Sonneneck.  Domoinic and Sandra got a ride in the van as well.  Freddy gave the rest of us the bus tickets, which we had to put in the machine to stamp then, and we were ready to go.  A ride through Berlin took us to the underground station, and we then travelled on the U5 to Cottbusser Platz, our local station.  A short walk through the autumnal streets then gave people their first sight of home for the next 2 weeks - Sonneneck Centre!