WAY’s Big Picnic Weekend: A celebration of friendship and support

May 2024

The sun came out for WAY’s Big Picnic weekend, encouraging more than 400 WAY members, friends and family to roll out their picnic blankets at 29 picturesque locations across the country – from Cornwall to Cumbria and from Belfast to Glasgow. Members from Oxford even got on board a bus for a special guided tour of the city!

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WAY’s Big Picnic weekend is a once-a-year opportunity for WAY members, volunteers, friends and family to meet up with friends old and new and to showcase WAY’s peer support.

National Volunteer Manager Veronica Currie said: “The sun shone on nearly every picnic this year, and those who didn't get the sunshine didn’t let it deter them – friendship, support, and understanding were evident in all four nations. A huge thank you goes out to all those members and volunteers who stepped forward to host a picnic in their area.”

Thank you so much to everyone who took part in our Big Picnic photo competition this year, which saw WAY’s banner held aloft from beaches, kayaks, trees, climbing frames and even from Hadrian’s Wall! We’re delighted to announce the winners of this year’s competition came from two of our lovely Edinburgh volunteers, who were inspired by this year’s photographic challenge to climb on board a roundabout!

“Grief can have us going round and round in circles, but we can still have a bit of fun,” said Audrey and Sharon (pictured), who are both volunteers for the Edinburgh and Borders Scottish Area.

As part of the Big Picnic weekend, we run several other member competitions:

- WAY member Sarah won the “Guess the Sweets” competition with her guess of 191 – just one off from the correct answer of 192. She’ll be getting the sweet treats sent in the post.

- Meanwhile, member Cheryl won the “Guess the Swan’s Birthday” contest, with her guess of 2 June being closest to the swan’s actual birthday of 3 June. Her prize of a cuddly swan will be winging its way to her very soon.