saxophone recital

Jacqui came today to perform a saxophone recital to our residents - she played for two hours to a packed lounge and it was certainly well received.

she has agreed to come back in 6 weeks.

patty in the garden

patty asked for some garden scissors today to chop some of the over-hanging plants which needed a trim. she was assisted by phyll who collected the cuttings in a black sack! still havent got a hoe for patty - next on the list...

book club in the garden

making the most of the fine weather, anne held the monthly book club meeting in the garden today, all under sun shades of course! again, i noticed a distinct lack of books but plenty of chatting and laughing!

happy birthday margaret

lovely day for margaret's birthday - balloons and bubbles in the garden!

just found this photo...

...taken when we went for a stroll out at eridge rocks looking for bluebells.

our first egg!

lesley and seth meet the chickens

we had a visit today from Lesley (far left) who follows our blog in new zealand where she been living for the past few years. she met the new chickens, admired the veg garden and met some of the residents. little seth (who was off school due to the teachers strike) came too.

meet the chickens!

the mount ephraim chickens arrived yesterday and were introduced to their new home in the garden.

we now have to give them all names and so from a list that residents and staff have suggested we are going to take a vote on the most popular and then have a naming ceremony next week!

so far suggestions are:
sybil, gertrude, henrietta, gladys, mildred, karen,florence,ruby,violet and wilamena. we will announce the winning names at a ceremony in the garden next friday!

Life's a Beach...

annual trip to the seaside today - this year it was st leonards on sea and we visited AZUR on the seafont.   http://azurmarinapavilion.com/index.html  highly recommended!

trip to st leonards on sea...

john. doreen, robert, susan, sheila, jean, marise, lucille and hester assisted by hollie, olivia and volunteer ivy, enjoyed a day at the seaside today. although quite breezy out on the front it was a beautiful sunny afternoon and everyone got some sea air. our destination was AZUR a lovely restaurant/bistro on marine parade. the staff looked after us so well.

john went for an impromtu paddle, hester collected some pebbles from the beach and robert enjoyed a walk along the prom courtesy of hollie. we had a fish 'n' chip lunch and the minibus driver took everyone for a drive along the seafront to take in the sights of hastings old town before heading back up the A21 and home to mount ephraim house.

iris at the computer

val was teaching computers today - iris was doing very well - we helped her to send an email to her son. marie was interested in google and susan howard smith looked up some interesting sites on russia - a country she visited some years ago and loved. the theme today was again involving food and val did some reminiscing with residents on what sweets they used to like and researching their origins on the internet. we had bought some old fashioned sweets to prompt the memory (and taste buds) and we had flying saucers, sherbet dabs and cough candy to name a few.

making Ice Lollies

 just the thing for a summer's day - julie came to do an art and craft class and this week the theme was food. we decided to make some ice lollies which residents could enjoy. patty got stuck into squeezing the lemons, marian pulped the raspberries and someone else was responsible for taste testing before the lollies made it into the moulds for freezing. lucille, marie, pat, marian, patty - all had a great time.

keep fit outside today!

it was too hot for keep fit indoors today, so sue took the residents out for a walk around the grounds and then they enjoyed a rest in the shade - fresh air and sunshine just as good as physical jerks!

sandwich

variety hour with a food theme..

 how many words can you make
from the word sandwich
was one of the questions posed to our residents today by sue during variety hour. she was expecting about ten - but ended up with over 25 - in spite of the humid atmosphere today our residents were on top form!

reception at The Hilton...

Sarah - Carer of the Year Awards 2011

here is Sarah - at the Reed Carer of the Year Awards at the Hilton Hotel in Maidstone. All nominees were honoured at an evening Gala; bucks fizz and a super buffet and gifts on the table.
It was amazing to hear of the fantastic work carers from all over kent do and get some positive stories about the Care Industry. We are very proud of Sarah and think that she deserves recognition for what she has achieved.

ready steady cook!

the residents waited in anticipation to see what delights the 3 chefs could create with the ingredients supplied by karen in our 'ready steady cook' challenge.

sharon made a 'shipwreck' pudding comprising of mixed fruit, she also coated fruits in chocolate and a flan.

adam produced a mixed fruit flan, & a chocolate orange delight

sheila devised a mixed fruit flan, a mixed fruit tart and fruit meringues - she finished off with a chocolate trifle!!

and the winner was.................................ALL OF THEM!!

the new dining room furniture has arrived...

new tables and chairs arrived today (right in the middle of keep fit!!) but the room was ready in time for lunch at 1pm.

in celebration of wimbledon fortnight..

sharon put on a 'strawberries and pimms' desert today as its the start of the tennis at wimbledon - always popular with residents.

happy birthday to nick!

one of the builders (replacing the windows for the past few months) celebrated his birthday today - sharon made him a special cake and the residents all joined to sing and wish him a happy birthday. he was suitably embarassed by the fuss...

scrabble club

this afternoon following a lively reminsence session with sue (about cooking and food) a few residents who joined the new book and scrabble club met Anne in the games room for a game - marie is very good at this but eric was winning the last time i looked!

start the week right...

...with a chat over coffee putting the world to rights. the ladies discussed everything from pam ayres to the U.S. Open golf last night!

the blogging committee

i had some help today while putting today's photo's on the blog - pat, dorothy and jean came to keep me company in the lobby so of course they have been included in todays blog stories!

caroline makes herself at home!

caroline and derek came to visit peggy today, bringing the customary g&t and bag of crisps from marks and spencer - they enjoy a weekly get together in the library. caroline agreed to pose with her mum and she will send details of our blog to julie and james!!

full house today at bingo

everyone wanted to play today - we managed to fit in as many as possible with an extra table brought in for the latecomers!! lots of chocolate prizes today - that must be the reason for a good turnout.

margaret's new hairdo...

This is margaret this afternoon having just had a restyle at the salon! She was so pleased with her new look she was happy to have her photo taken - hope the family are watching!!