Well, we're off the mark and properly launched!
I was delighted that the first people to walk through the door were people I do not know. This might seem a strange thing to say but it meant that the people who came did so in response to my publicity rather than people who I'd been talking to. They came as well!
After coffee and chat, we had a useful discussion to decide what we wanted to get out of the group. We all have different kinds of caring responsibilities and care for people with a wide range of disabilities and problems.
One person talked about the situation we all face when we find ourselves in a situation which we don't know how to deal with. How useful it would be to be able to ring another carer with experience of this situation and say "How do you deal with it?" To help with this, we have decided to set up a 'telephone buddy' network so that we can do just this, or perhaps just use it to let off steam.
We also talked about the need for information. The Carers UK booklet, "Looking after someone" was available, along with a booklet of tips and strategies for the welfare of carers, produced by Carewell.
It was decided that we would meet once a month, on the fourth Friday, between 10.30 and 12 noon.  The next meeting will be Friday 25th January - no meeting in December. We hope to have a speaker for this occasion. Keep watching the blog for more information.
Finally, we also looked at the Lifebook, produced by Age UK. If you are interested in this, contact Age UK on 0845 685 1061 and quote the reference ALL721. There is a little more about the book on the Age UK website http://www.ageuk.org/lifebook .
I'll keep you posted on developments. Meanwhile, look after yourselves.