New bereavement cafe launched at Caffi Dai

The cafe will help support those living with loss

A Baptist Minister turned author has launched a new bereavement café at Caffi Dai in Conwy.

Richard Littledale, who spent 35 years as a minister in the South East of England before he retired, has launched the initiative in partnership with Caffi Dai, run by Hft.

The bereavement café runs on the first Friday of every month between 10.30am and 11.45am.

It offers a place for people who have been bereaved to meet, chat, share experiences and access support.

Richard, who moved to Abergele in North Wales in the summer of 2022, has his own experience of bereavement, having lost his wife Fiona, aged 53, to cancer in 2017.

Having started writing books in 2007 alongside his church work, the loss of Fiona led him to write a series of blogs charting his experiences of losing a loved one.

The blogs were turned into a book – Postcards from the Land of Grief.

“When I lost Fiona it felt like all the things which were once comforting in life were just not anymore,” said Richard.

“There was a real disconnect.

“I started to write down how I felt in a series of blog posts, essentially charting my feelings during the first year after her death.

“The last blog post I wrote was on the first anniversary of her death.

“A lot of people found what I wrote useful,” said Richard.

“You never get over grief, you just become able to accommodate it.”

The book, which has also been made into an audio book, captured the attention of Radio 4 and was used as part of a Sunday Worship Programme.

Richard has also guest presented a programme on Radio Wales on the topic of loneliness and runs his own Bespoke Words podcast on a range of subjects including friendship.

Richard was spurred to look at setting up a Bereavement Café after visiting a similar initiative at a café in Berkshire at a local pub.

“I was really impressed when I saw for myself what the bereavement session offered people,” said Richard.

“I wanted to set something up similar locally and having visited Caffi Dai thought it would be the perfect space to host something similar due to its relaxed and warm atmosphere.”

Richard now has 20 books to his name on a range of topics including gardening and taking a pilgrimage.

In his spare time Richard is involved with his local church, enjoys walking his Lurcher Ginny and is building a model railway.

Café Dai, based at the redeveloped Byrn Euryn Nursery in Mochdre, opened in August 2024 and is run in partnership between Conwy County Borough Council and Hft.

The bereavement café is open to anyone to attend.

“Caffi Dai offers the perfect venue for people to gather and talk,” said Richard. “And there is also the bonus that it serves very good cake.”

Caffi Dai opens from 9.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday.