CIRENCESTER ASHCROFT WORK & WIFI CLUB

WEEKLY UPDATE - UPDATED AT 24TH FEBRUARY 2026 (with updated next 4 weeks’ sessions)

(Written as usual from home in Stratton, Cirencester)

**NEWSFLASH**

The work club is now the work & wifi club! This is to emphasise that we not only help people seeking work, but also people wanting to improve their access to the internet. At both Cirencester Ashcroft Church and Centre, Ashcroft Road, and at St Lawrence’s Church, Chesterton, Cirencester we now can offer free internet access during our sessions, which you can use with or without support from the club. We have tablets we can help you use, if you don’t have your own device.

The work & wifi club will continue to operate on most

Mondays - 9.00am to 11.00am at St Lawrence’s Church Centre
and
Tuesdays – 12.00pm to 2.00pm at Cirencester Ashcroft Church & Centre
(but not on Bank Holidays).

We are now usually open for confidential one-to-one face-to-face support at these times. We also provide one-to-one phone and online support at these times too.

We also work in partnership with Cirencester Jobcentre to support referred jobseekers who would like some extra assistance.

You can contact me at the usual work & wifi club times by :-
- Face-to-face;
- Email : workclub@ashcroftchurch.org.uk;
- Phone or text : 07951439302;
- Sending a message through the Cirencester Ashcroft Work & Wifi Club Facebook page.

We can then have a chat face-to-face, by phone, by message, or by video link if we can set one up, and I will do my best to help you.

You can also contact me at other times and we will then agree an appointment time to have a proper conversation.

Specific opening times over the next few weeks are below. Later opening times for the period up to the beginning of JUNE 2026 are in the Events section (which is itself sometimes in the About section) of the Cirencester Ashcroft Work & Wifi Club and Cirencester Ashcroft Church and Centre Facebook pages. To access those later times, you will now need to be signed in to Facebook yourself, as Facebook recently “upgraded” so that Events data cannot be accessed by internet search alone (at least that seems to be what’s happened). Also Facebook only lets us select a maximum of about 50 future dates for an event at the time it is first published, hence why it appears to stop at a random date.

Monday 2nd March 9.00 - 11.00 (AT ST LAWRENCE’S CENTRE)
Tuesday 3rd March 12.00 - 2.00 (AT ASHCROFT CENTRE)

Monday 9th March 9.00 - 11.00 (AT ST LAWRENCE’S CENTRE)
Tuesday 10th March 12.00 - 2.00 (AT ASHCROFT CENTRE)

Monday 16th March 9.00 - 11.00 (AT ST LAWRENCE’S CENTRE)
Tuesday 17th March 12.00 - 2.00 (AT ASHCROFT CENTRE)

Monday 23rd March 9.00 - 11.00 (AT ST LAWRENCE’S CENTRE)
Tuesday 24th March 12.00 - 2.00 (AT ASHCROFT CENTRE)

(For those who are interested, I normally highlight the opening times for the next 4 weeks. However sometimes I increase this when they include a break, in part to make sure that the last week I show is one when we are open. This is to emphasise that any closure is only temporary. The work & wifi club is a key part of Ashcroft’s mission and outreach project until at least June 2028. After that date I intend to continue to run the work & wifi club indefinitely, whether or not part of a larger project.)

Andy Rickell, Cirencester Ashcroft Work & Wifi Club Manager

The major invasion of Ukraine by Russia began 4 years ago today. It has involved a terrible cost - of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers killed and injured, of Ukrainians taken as prisoners or hostages, of Ukrainians displaced as refugees inside their country or to other countries, of Russian soldiers and civilians killed and injured, of billions of pounds of damage to infrastructure, homes and towns, ships and vehicles, of billions of pounds of damage to crops and raw materials, and all the other costs of war, individually and nationally. It is good to be reminded of those who provide material help to Ukraine in its defence of its people and their wish to live their lives as they decide. So we pray for all those people affected by this war, that a just peace will come soon and that God might comfort them in their tribulation. We pray for all those people of goodwill who sacrifice time, money and their safety and comfort to help people affected by the war. And we pray that we all might be supportive of everyone and every effort that mitigates and hopefully ends this awful situation. Every blessing, Andy Rickell, Circuit Social Justice Officer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3edxkdx012o?fbclid=IwZnRzaAQKJwpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xNzM4NDc2NDI2NzAzNzAAAR5sQ4jWCza89Qd4XS1vJxt8vNdla8a3zSoBwVv0qzwuJWotFmfBuPVDDLeRNA_aem_RHLrdj6Aqk86F5yOnAipTQ

A simple video which helpfully explains the story and values of All We Can, the Methodist overseas aid agency. Every blessing, Andy Rickell, Circuit Social Justice Officer

Here is another fascinating career associated in particular with film and TV - being a makeup artist. There are a number of aspects of the role that are important but not obvious, like the need to be able to strike up a conversation with the person you are working on because it will take a long time to complete a big job. If this role inspires you, or if it makes you think about a completely different career, then please talk to us at Cirencester Ashcroft Work & Wifi Club and we’ll help you with your quest. Our contact details are on the Cirencester Ashcroft Work & Wifi Club Facebook page. Andy Rickell, Cirencester Ashcroft Work & Wifi Club Manager

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z49t92p?fbclid=IwZnRzaAQIy-dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xNzM4NDc2NDI2NzAzNzAAAR7srggy8TgIdZ1WT82EW5s-1bm9ejI-sdENPVg0EoAiDkMfKLNtH2xS8LE6CA_aem_UQ7cFnHSTvWVLyljg5X2fg

Thought for the day. Every blessing, Andy Rickell