Carole Goulding gets Dame Barbara Windsor Loneliness Award as part of Good Morning Britain’s annual 1 Million Minutes Awards for Grandma’s Pudding Co Specialist Tearoom CIC, in Friskney
A Lincolnshire woman who founded a tearoom staffed by learning disabled adults has won a national award in recognition of her work in the fight against loneliness.
Carole Goulding, who runs Grandma’s Pudding Co Specialist Tearoom CIC in Friskney, was presented with the Dame Barbara Windsor Loneliness Award as part of Good Morning Britain’s annual 1 Million Minutes Awards.
Hosted by Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins, the awards honour ordinary people doing extraordinary things and Carole was presented with hers by Scott Mitchell, Dame Barbara Windsor’s widower, and her former Eastenders co-star Jake Wood on December 15.
“When I found out I had been shortlisted, I honestly thought that it was all a joke,’ says Carole, who opened the tearoom in spring 2021 to give her daughter Samantha and other learning-disabled adults somewhere they could develop life skills and find the confidence to join the workforce.
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“I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved with the tearoom it’s become a real community hub – we have a lot of people with dementia and their carers come in and support us, along with kidney patients and cancer patients.
“We’re a very inclusive place – everyone who comes here is equal and it’s great to be recognised for all that we’re doing.”
As well as caring for her daughter, Carole also cares for her husband Mark who was diagnosed with early onset dementia at the end of 2021, when he was 53.
“After the ceremony Scott Mitchell came and had a long conversation with me and told me something that was passed on to him – he said, ‘never feel guilty, have a life’.
“It is hard being a carer, it’s not like a normal job where you can just go home – it’s a 24/7 role, you can lose your own identity,’ adds Carole, ‘and I do feel guilty when I go off and do other things, even when I attended the awards ceremony down in London.
“The tearoom is in my garden, but it’s far enough away to give me a break from the situation and it’s become such an amazing place.”
Carole, originally a special needs teacher before she launched her own bakery, saw a similar café during a holiday many years ago, where the owner’s daughter had Down’s Syndrome.
“They said that after she left school, it was like she dropped off the edge. She was able to do certain things and didn’t need lots of support, but was just left, so they came up with their café,” explains Carole. “Samantha has spina bifidia occulta, speech problems, dyspraxia, dyslexia and is on the Autistic spectrum, I always had the idea in the back of my mind that opening a similar café would be a wonderful thing for me to do one day.”
Carole decided to go for it a couple of years ago, following encouragement from her mum, who sadly passed away before she could see her daughter’s dream realised.
Since its launch the tearoom has gone from strength to strength and is bringing great opportunities for its team, who include deaf and blind adults and others with Down’s Syndrome, autism and Cerebral Palsy.
The café sells snacks, cakes, drinks and main meals using traditional, locally grown produce wherever possible and has won other awards including a Making a Difference accolade from BBC Radio Lincolnshire.
“We’re all volunteers. Our purpose is about the assistants being able to understand work; how to run things for themselves, making their own mistakes and coping with stressful situations,” adds Carole.
“The tearoom pays for itself while customer donations help us develop and everything we have is upcycled.”
A second mobile unit and new veranda linking both has been added this year and now Carole wants to build a workshop where her team can learn other life skills like changing a plug.
She also hopes to create a mezzanine to provide more seating space and is keen to host more social events such as film nights, while this year 12 people will be enjoying a festive dinner at the tearoom too.
*Follow GPCspecialisttearoomcic on Facebook for more information about the tearoom and how to volunteer or make donations.
Volunteers have also launched a Go Fund Me page in aid of the tearoom.
What do you think about Carole’s venture? Post your views in the comments below
