MUSICALS GLORIOUS MUSICALS

Friday May 4^th, 2.45p.m.

The Carousel Players will be entertaining us again with the first of their Summer productions. Join us for the show at 2.45pm , Afternoon tea in the interval and Sing-a-Long to follow.

CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS AND THE QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE

We have no fewer than three of our Residents reaching their 100 years Anniversary this summer (indeed one will celebrate her 103 Birthday) and although we will be marking each special day with an individual party we thought it was an irresistible excuse to get out the Barbeque, pray to the heavens for some fine weather, and hold a splendid tribute to three exceptional people of a very grand age.

The Birthdays Barbeque will be held on Friday, July 6th from 11.30a.m. in the garden.

To add to the fun the theme will be an “American Ho-Down” and Big Chef (Chief !!) Noel will be sizzling away to produce cowboy food to delight us all accompanied by Country music and Buffalo cocktails.

Centenary Ho-Down

11.30a.m. Conservatory and Garden Patio

Selection of drinks to set the mood, Buffalo cocktail (Bourbon with Seven-Up),

Cold Duck(Californian Pink Sparkling Rose Wine),

Millers Lite Beer, Coca Cola, Lemonade, Fruit Squashes.

LUNCH

From the BBQ, 100% Ground Beef Burgers, BBQ Chicken Wings,

Selection of Sausages, Salmon Steaks

Accompanied by American Fries, Sweetcorn

Mild Chilli Beans, Coleslaw, Mixed Salads, Tomato relish

Desserts, Cheesecake, Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and

The Centenary Gateau…….yes with a hundred candles, what else did you expect?

 AND OF COURSE THE TOAST

“To a Hundred Happy years and many more to come, Ted, Doris and Joan,

we raise our glasses to you all”

A PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

“A cause for celebration”

Deaths from heart attacks have halved over the past decade. Last week’s cheerful headline put it all down to better medicine and less smoking. There is no doubt that, for the most part, we in the rich world are living longer and better. In August, a friend of mine will celebrate both the fifth anniversary of his retirement and his 100^th Birthday. A bit slow on his feet, he lives alone, with a cleaner coming into his flat once a week and someone to drive him to the daily events that make up his very full social diary. Of course he’s one of the lucky ones, but his long lifespan is increasingly common. When George V first started to send a telegram to centenarians in 1917, he sent two a month. Ninety years later The Queen was sending two a day to people over 105.

All over Britain, newspaper reporters ask the same question of their local centenarian “what is the secret of so long a life?” The answers will be as contradictory as the health advice in the popular press. For every one who puts his longevity down to a lifetime of abstinence, there will another who will recommend good red wine, hard work, a happy marriage, religious belief, friends, family – the recipe is as elusive and contradictory as the characters who propound it.

Perhaps the most compelling anecdotal change in our lifetime is the population of our Retirement Homes. Forty years ago, they were largely filled by people in their seventies. Today, the nineties reign supreme. There is much comment on the difficulties all this presents for our society. The costs and the social impacts are significant. Yet, the upside is also well worth celebrating in a year that sees The Queen’s 86^th Birthday and her Diamond Jubilee. All being well, it won’t be long before she’ll be sending her husband the equivalent of a telegram, and her capacity for work, her stamina and her acute mind set a right royal example.

THE QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATION

The day will be a celebration of this historic event as we theme our activities and menu around the unfolding pageant. With television coverage throughout the day, live programs, reflective documentaries and historical footage we expect many Residents to be fully engaged with the onscreen presentation but we also hope many of you will join us to share the happy day and join in with some organised fun and entertainment.

Click here to see what we’ve got planned…

Guide Dog Sponsorship

We are all very excited to have the name of the Guide Dog Puppy that The Evergreens has decided to sponsor for the next two years. He is a gorgeous Labrador cross Golden Retriever called Skipper and he is just six weeks old. We shall be following his progress as he learns all the skills he will need to be someone’s eyes…..and their very best friend.

We shall be with Skipper on his journey with regular photographs and updates (pupdates!) and enjoy news of him as he grows and develops.

The Guide Dog service receives no government funding and so our contribution to the training of these dogs directly provides independence and freedom for blind and partially sighted people.

 Apprenticeships

At The Evergreens we have decided for the first time to employ a young person on a Government approved Apprentice scheme to give them the opportunity to train for an NVQ in Social Healthcare in a hands-on environment. With so many school-leavers finding it increasingly difficult to find work, especially if they have no work experience, we hope this scheme will benefit both of us and introduce into the Home an enthusiastic and motivated person ready to engage on all levels with the many challenges and rewards of Care work.

“Tea At the Ritz “ March 15^th 3pm

We would like to welcome you to our take on afternoon tea as served in the grand salons and hotels since the middle of the nineteenth century and when The Duchess of Bedford complaining of “having a sinking feeling” during the late afternoon came up with the idea of a cuppa and light snack! It proved so popular that it was quickly taken up at Woburn Abbey where the Duchess’s friends were invited to join her for “tea and walking in the fields” and continued when they returned to London for the season. Before long all fashionable society was sipping tea and nibbling sandwiches in the middle of the afternoon.

 In the best of that tradition we shall be serving a selection of freshly cut finger sandwiches, scones with preserves and clotted cream and a selection of delicious individual cakes, pastries and fancies, all to the accompaniment of music and songs with Darren Matthews.

Shrove Tuesday is on 21st February this year. We’ll be cooking over 100 pancakes! How many can you eat?!?!

There’s no better way of banishing January blues than with a Burns’ luncheon to celebrate the Ploughman-Poet or do justice to his Tonsil-Testing verse.

What better than a wee dram, Scottish smoked salmon and handmade haggis with all the trimmings?

You don’t need to be Scottish to get into the swing!

Click here to see what we’ve got planned.