Life in the 40s could be fun – as demonstrated by residents, family, friends and the care team at a local St Annes rest home.
Rosewood Lodge, one of the four Lakeview Rest Homes, hosted a Flirty ‘40s Garden Party. They invited people to “Come swing with us and have a real swell time.” And sure enough they did.
There was plenty to do and residents from Lakeview’s other rest homes, namely The Moorings, Lakeview and Newfield Lodge, joined in the fun too.
Erick Gaskill & his Valerie really set the tone when they arrived, suitably attired, in their army jeep. Many of the residents and care team were dressed in 1940’s outfits too. Fiona Fox, the registered care manager, made a wonderful soldier, her colleague and deputy manager Kate Chadwick was dressed as a land girl and Jess Sommerville as a nurse.
The jeep, the 1940’s attire, the 1940’s memorabilia and music were thoroughly appreciated by everyone. For some it brought back both happy and sometimes sad memories – after all this was a time of great hardship, but also wonderful camaraderie. And it is always wonderful to remember special moments from the past.
Resident Ron Humphrey thoroughly enjoyed seeing the army uniforms and said, “It brought a lot of memories back for me. It was so nice of the staff to do something like this for us and we all had such a lovely afternoon.”
A 1940’s entertainer kept everyone amused and soon had people joining in and singing some of the iconic songs from the period. Resident Geoff Marsh commented, “It was such a lovely afternoon; I really enjoyed singing along to the songs with my wife.” Betty Robinson, a fellow resident, shared his views and said, “What a great day, I really enjoyed every bit of it and the singing was lovely.”
There were stalls and even a bouncy castle, which proved an expected delight to some adventurous residents. The sight and sounds of laughter from resident Irene Litherland, who is in her 90’s, enjoying herself on the bouncy castle brought smiles to everyone’s faces. And not a little admiration!
And whilst the Second World War and following years saw rationing and a shortage of food, there was no such problem at Rosewood Lodge. Rosewood’s chef Paul Brett was kept busy at the BBQ for those who preferred a hearty snack, whilst inside the dining room was transformed into a 1940’s tea room with cuppas and delicious home-made cakes. The whole scene in the tea room, with the bunting, photographs and memorabilia, proved fascinating for young Elsie Cray who, with her mum Julie, was enjoying the festivities with her great grandmother.
Resident Edna Elliot summed it up when she said, “The day has been marvellous – it couldn’t have gone any better. It must have taken a lot of hard work to do and it was a credit to each and every member of staff and those that helped out on the day.”
Fiona Fox, the Registered Care Manager, said “What a great day we had at our 1940’s garden party. The event was a huge success! I am so proud of every one of my staff at Rosewood Lodge for all the hard work that has been put in to organising this event – they always go that extra mile for our residents. Thank you too to everyone who came to help us on the day – we have had a lot of fun with the residents and it was lovely to hear their stories.”
Director Peter Wood was delighted to join in the celebrations and said, “It has been a wonderful day with good company, lots of laughter and a great deal of reminiscences. Fiona and all of the staff and relatives pulled together to create a moving little reminder of the war effort – they make a very together A1 team. So congratulations and thanks to all those who made this possible, and in addition have raised over £500. This will be added to our charity grand total raised by Lakeview Rest Home fundraisers over the year. It will be donated to charities selected by residents, families and their care team, namely Brian House and The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.”