D-Day commemoration at MEH

After decorating the house with red white and blue flowers and pom-poms and bunting we held a special vintage tea this afternoon complete with an alcohol fuelled fruit cake made by Amanda and Derek on the piano for a good old fashioned singalong...Karen said a few words and thanked the residents for their sacrifices during the war years and 

did the honours and cut the cake!

Mystery trip out

Residents took a leap of faith today to go on a trip we advertised only as a mystery tour!  Brave souls Peggy, Mary f , Mary p, Hester, Pru, Jean, lucille, and Eileen arrived at www.pepenbury.info in  bright warm sunshine, took tea outside and then went to visit the rabbits and guinea pigs , chickens and ducks.  Lovely place and so much to see and do...Eileen and Jean even tried out the equipment in the outdoor gym !

Lovely flowers

Again arranged by jean ....

Feeling creative

Here Are some photos taken over last two days - Eileen finishes another puzzle, Jean arranged a few vases of flowers cut from the

new flower bed and yesterday during our creative pursuits afternoon we had iris, Mary and Eileen painting shells , Marie making bunting for the summer fayre and Pru came to watch!  The lovely beach scene in the bird cage was created by jenny our volunteer

GARDEN PARTY JULY 19TH 2014

PLEASE PUT THIS DATE IN YOUR DIARY...................

we are aiming for a record 500 people to attend which will be double on last year's attendance! the theme this year is garden vintage and we will have a visit from some Shetland ponies, maybe a barbershop quartet recital, vintage cars and lots of lovely plants for sale in tubs and pots......

bring a garden chair and make an afternoon of it!

and away she goes!

some of the staff and residents came outside to give Hilary a bit of a send off! she had so many cards, flowers and gifts to carry that Karen offered to drive her home.  it has been a very emotional day and we are all so sorry to let her go - please come back and visit Hilary and don't forget you are on tea duty as usual at the Annual Garden Party!!

a fond farewell to Hilary

Hilary our Deputy Manager is enjoying her last day with us today - a presentation from the Chief Executive of Greensleeves, music by Derek on the piano, flowers, gifts, cards, plants....and lots of tearful goodbyes from residents and staff.

Hilary will be sorely missed as she has looked after everyone so well for over 12 years and is much loved by residents, staff, relatives and the various professionals who deal with MEH ...Karen especially will miss her unwavering support but we all hope that Hilary enjoys 'retirement' in her new cottage by the sea, and that she will pay us regular visits.

Spring fayre raises funds for activity

A big thank you to everyone who helped today especially jenny and Roy and Marie, Di & Sheila, laura,Amanda & Heidi .... And thanks to visitors to our stall which helped to raise over £120.00 The Raffle was called and the large Harrods hamper was won by Marise-Louise !

NCT celebrating more 1sts

Two more of the babies were celebrating their 1st birthdays today with cake and candles 

Happy birthday Karen!

Residents and staff gathered in the lounge this morning to celebrate Karens birthday and Peggy led the singing of 'happy birthday'

Last minute preparations

joining jenny & Roy in the games room for art and craft were patty Marise Mary Pru Iris Marie and Eileen - putting finishing touches to our sale items for Thursdays spring fayre....

After the bank holiday...

A picnic in the lounge today ... The chilly rainy day meant that we couldn't have our planned picnic on the Common  so instead we set up a table in the lounge, katerina made a cake and we filled the picnic basket with drinks and snacks. The residents were bemused but joined in with good spirits and enjoyed their afternoon!

A buzz in the air at MEH

...According to one of the relatives today who came to visit her mum!  heather was entertaining residents in the lounge with her fun programme of activity called 'music for health' this afternoon.  Earlier in the day there was a good turnout for sue's keep fit class and after lunch Lorraine the manicurist arrived...followed by jenny and Roy (complete with cream, strawberries and meringue ) to host a craft class making stuff for the spring fayre.  Eileen added another layer to her side table and Mary played scrabble with one of the lovely school volunteers...

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile...

Back at MEH business as usual - communion , poetry club , morning coffee, walks on the common, art and computers ... And got time to show Peggy how to use my new pompon maker !  Very addictive  - she enjoyed the challenge and we now have a tree of pom-poms in the games room!  Patty did us some more posters and Marise got out her summer wardrobe - modelling her sun hat and glasses today!  Peggy had to get out the sunscreen it was so hot today.  Baby Jude joined us on the  patio, had his lunch and then we took him to the volunteers lunch!  

A big thank you ...

To all of our wonderful volunteers - we held a lunch party in their honour today at  'the smart & simple hotel' in tunbridge wells. beautiful afternoon , sitting in the garden with lots of lovely food and chilled drinks.  Thanks to Marius and his team for the excellent service.  Sadly , Karen couldn't join us as she was called away on urgent business so Hilary stepped in to do the honours and thanked everyone for their contribution to the residents - it means a great deal to them and we are very grateful for the time and effort everyone here today puts in .