Category: Current News

Posts appearing on the News page.

A volunteer with blonde hair standing centre of the photo and another volunteer with brown hair stood behind her. They are working at the Drinks and Cakes station, preparing orders for the customers. To the right of the photo is a mentor. They are all wearing The Usual Place uniforms.

Heidi And Ross Work Together At Cakes And Drinks!

04/02/2026

Heidi and Ross were very busy on Monday preparing customer orders behind the counter. They are each working more independently as they make drinks and serve sweet treats and cakes ready for other members of the team to take on...

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A volunteer with brown hair standing to the left of the photo wearing The Usual Place uniform. Standing next to him is a mentor with glasses who is also wearing The Usual Place uniform. They are looking at the welcome station's till screen, concentrated on putting the customer's order into the system.

Aaron Doing Well At The Welcome Station

04/02/2026

Aaron took lots of customer orders and payments at the till earlier this week – as well as making customers feel welcome, this requires clear communication and listening. Aaron ensures each customer request is understood and relayed to our kitchen...

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New group of S3 Students from Dumfries High School start work experience at The Usual Place!

26/01/2026

We have a new group of S3 students who have started on their School Work Experience Placement, in collaboration with Dumfries High School. Here are students Jack, Layla, and Martha on their induction with Lived Experience Mentor, Kat – they are...

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A volunteer is looking down at a clipboard. He is holding a pen and is ticking off items on the clipboard. A mentor stands in front of him. She is watching as the volunteer signs the checklist.

Ross has had a busy day in the Front of House!

26/01/2026

Ross, who is on our Young People’s Hospitality Training Programme, has been working with Mentor, Tina, on the busy Drinks and Cakes station in the café. Here, they are checking the drinks orders, as well as preparing and delivering them...

Current News

A young person volunteer with glasses standing in the centre of the photo. There is 1 volunteer alongside 1 kitchen mentor on his right, and 3 front of house mentors and 1 volunteer on his left, as well as 1 volunteer in a wheelchair in front of him. All of them are wearing The Usual Place uniform. The kitchen mentor on the left is holding a certificate to give to the one with glasses behind the one in the wheelchair. Everyone is looking into the camera and smiling.

Ryan Completes his Food Health & Hygiene Course!

19/01/2026

Huge congratulations to Ryan who completed his Food Health and Hygiene course at The Usual Place. He has been working on this with Mentors Kat, Thomas and Fiona and it was great to see him presented with his certificate as...

Current News

Scam Awareness Drop-In Event Tue 6th January 2026

30/12/2025

Scam Awareness Drop-In Event Tue 6th January 2026 from 10am – 12pm The Usual Place, Dumfries DG1 1BZ with experts from Santander Bank and D&G Community Police This special event is for anyone and everyone who may have been affected...

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Christmas 2025 Message from our Chief Executive

17/12/2025

As 2025, our tenth year, draws to a close, it is a pleasure to wish you a Merry Christmas from everyone here at The Usual Place. At the beginning of this year I was genuinely unsure whether we would reach...

Current News

2 young volunteers centre of the photo wearing The Usual Place uniform. Behind them are 4 mentors and 1 volunteer, wearing The Usual Place uniform. The volunteers centre of the photo are holding a certificate each. All of them are smiling into the camera.

Meishan and Eden Complete Their Work Experience

10/12/2025

Congratulations to Meishan and Eden for completing our S3 Work Experience Programme today. This is open to all schools. They were each presented with a certificate by Alana and Liam, and were congratulated by Mentors and other team members as...

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Leah at the Welcome Station

09/12/2025

Leah has two different roles with us here at The Usual Place. Today she is training in our cafe and learning the different aspects of customer service with Mentor Tina. Leah also works one day a week as an Information...

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Smartly dressed lady in pink hat stands next to a tall middle-aged lady with short blonde hair and glasses. The former is wearing black gloves and is pinning a British empire Medal with red ribbon to the blonde lady's black dress

Usual Place Founder is Presented with British Empire Medal November 2025

01/12/2025

Heather Hall, the woman who fought to set up The Usual Place and set up the charity behind the cafe: Inspired Community Enterprise Trust Ltd in 2011 was presented with a British Empire Medal by Lord Lieutenant Fiona Armstrong on...

Current News