Oakham and Melton-based charity Pepper's A Safe Place are running a whole selection of groups on the run up to Christmas, giving local people the chance to socialise, relax and switch off from seasonal stress. 

On Tuesday 17th December, they will be holding their '5 Ways to Wellbeing' course, run by Leicester Council between 10.30am and noon in the Oakham branch of Pepper's. This group will introduce the basics of wellness and works great as an introduction to those who have never learnt about it before. 

This will be followed by their new walking group between 1pm and 2pm. This group is a great way to get active while socialising, both things that are good for overall well-being. The walking group is run in association with Active Rutland, ensuring those involved are safe and supported. Following the first walk on the 17th, these walks will become a more regular occurrence in January. 

Pepper's Walking Group open to everyone and volunteers will be on hand offer support (Photo: Nub News)

On Wednesday 18th December, there will be a new mindfulness and meditation group. Run by Helen, this session will include breathing exercises, calming techniques and more hands-on activities. This group runs every Wednesday from 10.30 to 11.30am until Christmas. 

They also run weekly mental health drop-in sessions every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday where anyone is welcome to come along and spend time as a group or get one-on-one support. These drop-ins will run until Monday 23rd December and continue 2nd January. 

To keep up to date with everything going on at Oakham and Melton Pepper's, all the relevant information is on their Facebook page.