The Abbeyfield Kent Society Newsletter - 2011 Issue threethe AKS TimesThat’s the Spirit!

Greensted’s Maggie Town scoops inaugural Spirit of Abbeyfield AwardThe Abbeyfield Kent Society has marked the commitment and dedication of its employees and volunteers with the launch of the Spirit of Abbeyfield Award, which was presented to Maggie Town at the Society’s annual award ceremony. Page 4

Skills swap for Abbeyfield Week

Watling Court welcomes first residentJackie and Ernie Bartleet move into Gravesend’s new extra care scheme. Page 10

Abbeyfield Kent homes held a range of events to celebrate Abbeyfield Week, with generations swapping skills.

Who Cares? team run half marathon16 runners from throughout Kent complete Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, raising money for Abbeyfield Kent’s Who Cares? Initiative. Page 6

www.abbeyfieldkent.org

WelcomeWelcome to the third and final 2011 issue of the AKS Times, The Abbeyfield Kent Society newsletter, which aims to keep you up-to-date on the news from around the Society.

Issue three covers all the news around the Society’s homes over the summer months of 2011. A huge variety of events took place, most notably the opening of Watling Court, our new extra care scheme in Gravesend.

We’ve also completed work on Stangrove Lodge in Edenbridge, which has been transformed over the last 18 months.

So lots of new residents have joined the Society, but the biggest event for our other residents since the last issue was Abbeyfield Week, which this year celebrated the idea of generations swapping skills with each other. All of the homes got involved with a wonderful range of activities, details of which are included in this issue.

The more eagle-eyed reader may notice that since the last issue we have a new look. In 2012, The Abbeyfield Kent Society will be celebrating 45 years of caring for older people in Kent. We have a big year of events and celebrations planned to mark the occasion, starting with a new logo and colour scheme, which is on display throughout the issue. Issue one of 2012 will be an “Abbey-versary” special, look out for it in February.

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The Abbeyfield Kent Society is a registered charity and housing association; providing care and housing to over 500 older people at 16 locations throughout Kent.

The Abbeyfield Kent SocietyThe Old WharfStation RoadCuxtonRochesterKentME2 1AB

Telephone: 01634 723007

Registered in England under the Companies Act No. 908333Registered under the Housing Act 1974 No. H2362Registered Charity No. 254140

You can keep up-to-date on all the news from the Society’s homes and events all year round by visiting the following sites:

We welcome your feedback on the AKS times. Please feel free to contact the media team on 01634 723007 or email media@abbeyfieldkent.org

Enjoy the issue.

Correction: In the previous issue of the AKS Times (2011:2) we incorrectly labelled one of our pictures in the story about Rogers House residents visiting Fairview Primary School. The picture on page 19 labelled Marjorie Ransom is in fact of Rogers House volunteer, Shirley Rose. We apologise for any confusion caused by our error.

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Around the homes

Stangrove Lodge, a residential home in Edenbridge and part of The Abbeyfield Kent Society, has welcomed some important visitors to the recently refurbished home.

Home manager Peter Granstrom and Society Chief Executive Leon Steer welcomed Graham Gibbens, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, Anne Tidmarsh, Director ofCommissioning and Provision East Kent, and Cllr Peter Lake, Sevenoaks South, to view the home, which is in Manor House Gardens, in Edenbridge, after the completion of an extensive redevelopment programme.

The group took a tour of the home, viewing the 13 brand new en-suite rooms, dining room leading to courtyard garden, remodelled corridors and main kitchen, and met some Stangrove Lodge residents.

Peter Granstrom, Stangrove Lodge manager commented: “We are all very proud of Stangrove Lodge after the completion of the development work. It is a credit to Abbeyfield Kent and a real

asset for the local community. I was delighted to be able to welcome our special guests and it was wonderful to have an opportunity to show off the home.”

Stangrove Lodge is now able to provide a safe, comfortable and homely environment, with accommodation for up to 56 older people, and is capable of accommodating for couples, too.

The two new wings will be officially unveiled at an open day once the new residents have settled into the home.

Redeveloped Stangrove Lodge welcomes special guests

Peter Granstrom and Leon Steer, (standing L-R) welcomed their guests Graham Gibbens,

Anne Tidmarsh and Cllr Peter Lake, to Stangrove Lodge

A new bedroom at Stangrove Lodge One of the home’s new wetrooms

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Society news

Maggie Town, a carer at Greensted residential home in Wateringbury, has been rewarded for her commitment to older people in Kent with the inaugural Spirit of Abbeyfield Award.

Maggie was presented with the award at Abbeyfield Kent’s annual award ceremony, which recognises the long service and commitment of its staff force.

This year’s event took place at Hempstead House, in Bapchild, and was attended by 50 members of staff who were being recognised for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of service, in addition to those who have earned professional qualifications during the last year.

Between them, the people on this year’s invite list have served the older people of Kent for a total of 480 years, and the Society was recognising the completion of 21 NVQs and one MBA.

2011 saw the introduction of the Spirit of Abbeyfield Award. The Society is fortunate enough to receive exceptional support and dedication from all of its employees, and the Spirit of Abbeyfield Award was introduced to recognise those members of staff who go the extra mile on their commitment to caring for older people.

Maggie scoops Spirit of Abbeyfield Award

Maggie shows off her Spirit of Abbeyfield trophy

Invited guests outside the Abbeyfield Kent Award Ceremony

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35 nominations were made since the scheme was opened earlier in the year, before the Society’s Chairman Robert Barnes and Chief Executive Leon Steer decided on Maggie. Maggie was chosen as she truly goes above and beyond the call of duty for the residents at Greensted, two of whom accompanied her on the day to receive her award.

Robert Barnes, Abbeyfield Kent Chairman commented: “Everyone who works for the Society should be proud of themselves for what they have done, as I am proud to have them as colleagues. It was humbling to read through all the nominations for the Spirit of Abbeyfield Award, I wish we could have given them all an award, but that would have somewhat defeated the object. I was delighted to be able to recognise Maggie’s commitment to her residents at

Greensted; I’m already looking forward to next year’s award.”

Nominations for the 2012 Spirit of Abbeyfield Award are open now, please visit www.abbeyfieldkent.org/aks/spirit for more details.

Maggie scoops Spirit of Abbeyfield AwardSociety news

Maggie with Greensted resident Daisy Richards

Sarah Osbourne from The Dynes collects her certificate from Society Chairman, Robert Barnes and Chief Executive, Leon Steer

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Who Cares? team complete half marathon

Who Cares?

A group of 16 runners has completed the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon to raise funds for Abbeyfield Kent’s Who Cares? Initiative.

Runners from across the county were part of the team which took part in the event on Sunday 9th October, including runners from two of the Society’s homes in Maidstone and Canterbury, and staff from its head office in Cuxton.

12,500 people took part in the half marathon event, which started and finished in Hyde Park and takes runners through four royal parks, along the bank of the River Thames and past some of London’s most iconic landmarks, including The Houses of Parliament, The London Eye and Buckingham Palace.

Having been fundraising since earlier in the year, the team of runners have now raised almost £3000 for Who Cares? but are not stopping there, and are hoping to push the total a lot higher before the end of the year. Sometimes, the care that Abbeyfield Kent provides can no longer be paid for from diminishing personal funds, and it is a sad fact that the shock of moving home at that stage in life can lead to sickness and premature death. The Who Cares? Initiative was set up to establish a bursary fund for the older people for whom Abbeyfield Kent provide care, meaning they can stay in their home and giving them invaluable peace of mind.

Leon Steer, Chief Executive at The Abbeyfield Kent Society was thrilled with the hard work everyone put in, commenting: “I am delighted that we were able to enter so many people in to this year’s Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, which is a significant step up from our involvement last year. Fundraising endeavours like this are integral to our Who Cares? Initiative, which makes a big difference to our residents’ lives. Everyone at the Society is extremely grateful to all of our runners for their hard work and fundraising efforts; we’re already looking forward to next year’s event.”

Six of the Who Cares? team show off their medals after the race

Alex Phillips and Mike Lovelock before the race

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Around the homes

Greensted residential home celebrated Abbeyfield Week by inviting children from Wateringbury Primary School into the home to enjoy a variety of activities, which allowed the residents of Greensted and the children to share their skills.

The theme of Abbeyfield Week 2011 was generational skills swap, and Abbeyfield Kent were promoting interaction between generations by bringing people of different ages together to share skills and show how the gap between the old and young can be bridged.

Greensted, a residential home in Wateringbury, Maidstone, got involved by making cards, playing games and baking cakes with the children. This was a great chance for an older generation to spend time with a younger generation, whilst swapping stories and skills.

As well as bringing generations together, the most important goal of Abbeyfield Week was for people to have fun. All the

residents and staff at the home enjoyed the children visiting and comparing the variety of activities from different generations. Noreen Vinall, Head Teacher at Wateringbury Primary School commented: “We visit Greensted every year at Christmas with our school choir to sing Christmas carols to all the residents. This was a perfect opportunity for us, and thought the generation skill swap theme was a great choice for celebrating Abbeyfield Week. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves – we will certainly be visiting again soon.”

Sue Imms, Greensted home manager commented: “All our residents were really looking forward to the children visiting, as they love to see them at Christmas to sing carols. You are never too old to learn a new skill, and not only did the residents get to share activities with the young children, but the children also learnt skills from a completely different generation – it was a very successful morning.”

Greensted residents enjoy Abbeyfield Week with local school

Greensted resident Flora with Toby Hill, Ella Winchester, and Ellie Marketing

Greensted resident Mary Morley with Bella Hanley

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Around the homes

Connors House celebrated Abbeyfield Week by inviting local school pupils to learn painting from one of its most talented residents.

Connors House, a residential home in Canterbury, decided to get involved by celebrating the talent and skill of one of its residents.

Marise Edlin has lived at Connors House for two years and is a keen artist, spending a lot of her time at the home painting a wide variety of paintings. Marise’s oeuvre includes everything from landscapes to portraits, with some more unconventional pieces in between.

Marise led a class of six children from St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School in a special art class for the afternoon. The children set up an art studio on the lawn at Connors House, before painting pictures in the sunshine. A huge variety of paintings were created, including depictions of rugby games, pet rabbits and garden landscapes.

All the school pupils enjoyed painting with Marise and she had a lovely afternoon, commenting: “I have been painting all my life, and I just love it. I was amazed that I learnt as much from the children as they did from me. I was surprised to find out that, even at my age, you can continue learning. I thoroughly enjoyed the day.”

Christine Devlin, Connors House home manager commented: “We have an excellent relationship with St Thomas’

and I was very pleased to be able to invite them in to share in Marise’s talent. Since moving to Connors House Marise has once more become a prolific painter, and a lot of creations adorn the walls around the home. Everybody had a wonderful afternoon, and it was great to see the generations interacting and learning from each other.”

Marise shares talent with children

Marise with pupils from St Thomas’ School

Pupils from St Thomas’ School paint on the lawn at Connors House

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Around the homes

St Martins residential home celebrated Abbeyfield Week by getting different generations together to learn a variety of skills from each other.

St Martins, a residential home in Larkfield, is fortunate to receive support from a team of volunteer gardeners. Earlier in the week, Paul Gladdish, whose mother Joyce lives at the home, spent a lot of time creating a new vegetable patch for the home’s residents.

Alf Nicholls, who has lived at the home for three years, got involved in the planning of the new vegetable patch, having input on where the plants should go and what vegetables should be grown. Over 15 different types of veg-etables have been planted, and all of the home’s residents will benefit from the hard work later in the year when harvest begins.

Later on in to the week, St Martins was visited by pupils from Brookfield Junior School for a different type of skill swap. Jamie and Charlie, pupils at the school, came to the home to spend the afternoon playing games. To enter the spirit of the skills swap, they taught residents how to play modern computer games on the Nintendo Wii, and in return the residents showed them a selection of traditional games.

First up was the Nintendo Wii, and Alf Nicholls once again stepped up, as Jamie and Charlie talked him through a few games of Mario Kart. Alf soon got the hang of it and was giving Jamie and Charlie a run for their money. Before

long, residents were itching to show the visiting boys the games they like to play. Ivy Hitchman, a resident at the home since 2002, took on the role of teacher as she mentored the boys through a few games of dominos. Ivy must have done a good job teaching, as before long Jamie and Charlie were proving worthy adversaries for the home’s established dominos players.

New Nintendo Wii convert Alf Nicholls commented: “We’ve had the Nintendo in the home for a while but this was the first time I have played, it was good to have someone show you what to do, those boys know their stuff. I drove for years and years and playing Mario Kart reminded me of my days driving on the M1! It was lots of fun and I learned a lot, I hope the boys did too.”

Jan Moulton, home manager commented: “When I heard the theme of Abbeyfield Week 2011 I knew I would like to get St Martins involved. The school childrens visit was delightful. It was great to see them enjoying themselves with the residents and the residents enjoyed it too. Their visit really lit up the home!”

St Martins skills swap

Jamie talks Alf through a game of Mario Kart

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The Abbeyfield Kent Society has welcomed the very first residents to Watling Court, its brand new extra care scheme in Gravesend.

Ernie and Jackie Bartleet have become the first people to move into Watling Court, which has been built on the site of Valley Lodge, an old Abbeyfield Kent residential home, in Ifield Way, and were presented with the keys to their new home by Leon Steer, Chief Executive of The Abbeyfield Kent Society.

Jackie and Ernie have lived in nearby Shorne for 17 years, but unfortunately Jackie struggles with Multiple Sclerosis and the couple were no longer able to live in their bungalow.

Jackie commented: “We’re leaving a lot behind, but Watling Court met every need. It’s lovely, the apartments are beautiful and I feel at home already.”

Ernie commented: “The apartment we

have moved into is much safer than the bungalow we have left behind, plus the building looks lovely. No cooking and no worries of leaving Jackie on her own now. I know she is taken care of 24 hours a day, and that is a huge relief to me.”

Watling Court is Abbeyfield Kent’s first extra care scheme, a concept which combines the independence of living behind your own front door with 24/7 support, care and companionship. The 56 apartment building is made up of one and two bedroom accommodation for older people with care and housing needs. The £8.3 million project is the culmination of many years hard work for the Society. In addition to the apartments, residents will benefit from an on-site restaurant, hairdressers, shop and IT hub.

The scheme has already began to embed itself into the local community, after establishing a partnership with

nearby Riverview Junior School. Watling Court was named in conjunction with the school, which ran a competition amongst its pupils to suggest a name relevant to the local area. Watling Court was suggested by Nathan Sizer, who was inspired by the nearby Watling Road.

Watling Court welcomes first residentsAround the homes

Watling Court

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Leon Steer, Abbeyfield Kent Chief Executive commented: “Watling Court is a benchmark development for The Abbeyfield Kent Society and Gravesend, seeing it come together recently has been tremendously exciting for everyone involved. Thanks to their hard work and the support of Gravesham Borough Council, Gravesend now has a

facility capable of assisting older people in the area who have both a care and a housing need. I was delighted to be able to present Ernie and Jackie with the keys to their flat, and I hope they’re very happy in their new home. I look forward to meeting all the other new residents moving into the scheme in the near future.”

Watling Court welcomes first residentsAround the homes

Abbeyfield Kent Chief Executive Leon Steer presents Jackie and Ernie with the keys to their new flat

Lounge in Watling Court flatKitchen in Watling Court flat

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Volunteer copywriter Mathew Holland has been looking at how older people are portrayed in the UK media:

Earlier this year The UK Film Council was dissolved and its key responsibilities were transferred to other organisations.

As one of its final acts, The Council published a report it had concluded on stereotypes and stereotyping in the British Media. The report looked at the authenticity of the portrayal and representation of various social and ethnic groups in British society, including numerous minorities as well as older women.

As part of the report an independent survey of over 4,000 participants was conducted and it found that a significant number, including many older women, felt that they were being marginalised in the media. The common negative stereotypes of older people as physically slow, weak, and fragile, and mentally nostalgic, old fashioned, and even deficient, are an obvious problem.

As are positive stereotypes such as older people as wise and experienced in all matters. Like most stereotypes they are an unfair generalisation, and although there may be an element of truth to some of them, they are lazy perspectives based on some obvious traits of a few. For media producers the use of such stereotyping is indicative of laziness, and resorting to clichés such as an older man suffering from dementia and forgetful of names being used as a comical device is reprehensible.

An issue raised by older women in the Film Council’s report commented on the lack of sexual needs and desires depicted in the media. Older people portrayed as virtually sexless is another common stereotype.

Former head of diversity at The Council, Mary Fitzpatrick, emphasised that the results were important and should be remembered and understood by the industry in the future. Speaking about the issue of sex in the representation of older women, prominent British Actor Gary Oldman commented in a BBC interview at an award ceremony earlier this year, that due to current overt stressing of political correctness it’s difficult to sexualise women without objectifying them.

To some extent there is a social aspect in the cause for the poor representation, but something often unrecognised is the effect media stigmatisation has on the common societal perspective. It’s difficult to understand to what extent our stereotypical representations are based on our own diminutive observations and to what extent our observations are effected by unconscious referrals to those representations. It’s a bit of a ‘chicken or the egg’ debate.

It is interesting that according to a number of studies carried out in the past decade (mainly in America) on people and characters featured in film and television that there is a noticeable lack of those aged over 65, particularly in correspondence to high percentage of

Older people in the mediaSector view

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older people within the population.

This is specifically true for older women, and is also true in other forms of media, such as newspapers and computer games, and also in advertising.

However, this lack of representation is most confusing because studies have also shown that older people watch more television than any other age group. It would, perhaps, be more understandable that in film there would be less representation of older people because it is known that older people in general see less film, at least contemporary titles. But, also strange, is that there does seem to be better representation of older people in film than in other associated media, such as television.

This may be due to a higher average age of creative personnel in the film industry, but I’d point to less commercial enthuses on more independent films. Most media, even if it is artistic, is built around a core of commerciality and as such television is often designed to attract audiences who spend money.

Older people, for several reasons, ranging from lack of funds to fiscal austerity, are difficult to sell to, and for much the same reason most primetime television is targeted at 18-35 age groups who tend to have more expendable income. In fact, desire to sell has also, at least in part, led to marginalising of people the contemporary media culture defines as less desirable and less aspirational, such as the sick or disabled, the poor or the unattractive.

In this I’d argue that stereotyping of older people is no less unfair, and less common, than other groups in society.

There are of course those in the media industries who try to redress the poor representation of older people in the media by using better, fairer, and more honest depictions in their programming.

These are acknowledged in annual awards set up last year by the UK charity ‘Counsel and Care’. The ‘Older People in the Media’ Awards celebrate good work in radio, television, print media, and the internet and give out prizes in a number of different categories. This is a positive step, though it’s not enough.

In an increasingly modernising and commercial existence, there is a real danger that marginalisation, stereotyping, and under representation of older people in the media will not only continue, but grow worse. More needs to be done to counter the problems and larger forces within the industry need to act.

Sector view

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St Martins received a special visitor when Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham & Aylesford, called by the home to catch up with its staff and residents.

Accompanied by home manager Jan Moulton, Tracey had a walk about the home to meet and chat to residents and staff. Tracey had a long chat with St Martins resident Mary Clements and her son Paul. Mary turned 102 in August and was discussing her birthday plans with Tracey. Mary puts her longevity down to a sporty background, being a keen hockey player in the past, which is something she bonded with Tracey over; Tracey is a keen sports lady and particularly enjoys football and hockey.

Tracey is no stranger to St Martins, having visited several times in the past. She took time out of her busy schedule to visit on this occasion after staff from the home invited her to their upcoming Summer Fete. Tracey was unable to make it, but wanted to come in and meet the residents again and see how everyone at the home was doing.

Jan Moulton commented: “I was delighted when Tracey said she’d come and catch up with the residents, it was very nice of her to take time out of her schedule to come and say hello. The residents enjoyed meeting her very much, especially Mary! It has really lifted the atmosphere at the home today, it was a wonderful visit.”

Local MP Tracey Crouch visits St Martins

Tracey Crouch MP with St Martins resident Mary Clements and her son Paul

Around the homes

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Edward Moore House held a special birthday party recently, with an Elvis Presley theme especially chosen by the birthday girl.

Ethel Matton has lived at Edward Moore House, in Gravesend, since November 1996, and with a big birthday coming up she decided there was only one way she wanted to celebrate.

Ethel celebrated her 102nd birthday on 27th April 2011. She is a huge fan of legendary singer Elvis Presley, so Edward Moore House manager Amanda Odd arranged for a visit from Chris Fields, an Elvis impersonator, to come in and provide extra special entertainment.

All the residents gathered to enjoy a buffet tea before Elvis arrived, and got in to the party spirit with a dance and sing-a-long.

Ethel was visited by friends and family throughout the day, and her niece brought along a nice bottle of sherry for all the residents to share. Ethel tucked in to the sherry and her favourite treat of Turkish delight.

Amanda Odd, Edward Moore House manager comments: “Ethel is always talking about Elvis, she is a realfanatic. We always ask residents how they would want to celebrate their birthdays, but Ethel’s request was something a bit more novel. I was delighted to be able to arrange a visit

from Elvis for her, all the residents had a wonderful time but, most importantly, she loved it.”

Edward Moore House also organised a special party for resident Winifred Best’s birthday, including a wonderful strawberry cake made by the home’s chef. Winifred shares her birthday with lead carer Jo Coverdale, who joined in with the celebrations.

Ethel celebrates 102nd birthday with Elvis!

Birthday girls Jo and Winifred

Around the homes

Ethel and Elvis

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Mascalls School swap skills at Margaret Fisher HouseMargaret Fisher Housecelebrated Abbeyfield Week by inviting local school pupils into the home to swap skills with its residents.

Margaret Fisher House, a home with support in Paddock Wood, decided to get involved in Abbeyfield Week 2011 by taking advantage of the excellent relationship they have with a local school.

The home has a good relationship with Mascalls School, which is also in Paddock Wood, after the Margaret Fisher support group contacted them to get involved with life at the home.

A group of students at the school are studying “Care in the Community” at A-level, which requires practical work in the local area to be carried out. Margaret Fisher House has established a working partnership with Mascalls whereby the students visit the home every other week to involve the residents in activities such as arts and crafts, cooking and gardening. As part of the relationship, residents from Margaret Fisher House

have also visited the school for concerts, plays, exhibitions and parties.

For Abbeyfield Week, the pupils visited the home for a skills swap. The residents at Margaret Fisher House taught their visitors about traditional games with a game of bingo, and in return the school pupils showed residents modern manicure techniques; followed by a pampering session for the ladies.

As well as bringing generations together, the most important goal of Abbeyfield Week was for people to have fun. Both the pupils and residents enjoyed the afternoon of skills swapping, and are looking forward to sharing their skills and knowledge in future visits.

Carmel Belshaw, Margaret Fisher House housekeeper commented: “We have an excellent relationship with Mascalls, so I was delighted to be able to invite them to this years Abbeyfield Week skills swap. It was a wonderful occasion, and I think our residents really enjoyed themselves, especially the pampering session!”Margaret Fisher House resident Liz is treated to

a manicure by Mascalls pupil Gemma

Mascalls pupil Vicky with Margaret Fisher House resident Doris

Around the homes

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Around the homes

Residents at Drewery Drive, a home with support in Wigmore, near Gillingham, were visited by their local Brownie group as part of Abbeyfield Week.

Lorna Bailey, housekeeper at Drewery Drive, is involved with the First Wigmore Brownie group, where she helps out as Tawny Owl. A lot of the residents at the home used to be Brownies and Guides, so a discussion debating how things have changed over the years ensued. The girls showed off their badges and talked about the work they have done to get them.

Lorna is passionate about her work with the Brownies, and enjoyed seeing her group of residents meet the girls, commenting: “I was very excited to be

able to get the girls into the home, it was great to see them coming in. They really lit up the place for the evening, I am hoping to get them involved again in different ways in the future.”

For more pictures from Abbeyfield Week, visit our facebook page at

www.facebook.com/abbeyfieldkent

Brownies celebrate Abbeyfield Week at Drewery Drive

Drewery Drive residents with First Wigmore Brownies

The Brownies enjoy refreshments at Drewery Drive

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St Martins residential home have been planning and enjoying a series of fun days out recently, after hosting a wonderful summer fete for residents and the local community.

St Martins, a residential home in Larkfield, holds a summer fete every year, and the events have become well known amongst local people. The 2011 fete was hotly anticipated because of the special guests who came along on the day to lend their support.

There were two special guests in attendance this year: Sangeeta Bhabra, host of Meridian Tonight news show and the Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling Cllr Brian Luker, who was joined by his wife the Mayoress Joy Luker.

The guests got involved with the events at the fete, which included a tombola, fancy dress competitions, a dog show, a dance show and stalls from local suppliers. Sangeeta and the Mayor and Mayoress got involved with the judging

of the competitions, choosing the winner of the dance show and the dog show.

Over £1000 was raised by the event, which is being used to fund days out for St Martins residents, plus a generous donation to Abbeyfield Kent’s Who Cares? Initiative. The Who Cares? Initiative helps give older people peace of mind by offering a bursary fund to help keep older people in their home when they can no longer afford the cost of care.

Residents at the home quickly began planning their days out, with trips to Kent Life Heritage Farm, Eagle Heights and a boat trip all pencilled in before the end of the year.

Jan Moulton, St Martins home manager commented: “It was great to have the support and attendance of the Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling, the Mayoress and Sangeeta; their presence really added to what proved to be a wonderful day. I am pleased that so many members of the local community were able to come along and visit us on the day, but most of

St Martins enjoy days out following summer fete

Mayor of Tonbridge Brian Luker with some fancy dress entrants

Sangeeta Bhabra with guests at St Martins’ summer fete

Around the homes

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all, I am so glad that our residents were able to enjoy the day and join in with the activities. It was a terrific occasion.”

The first of the days out was a trip to Kent Life Museum. Residents were joined by members of staff and volunteers from the home, who all travelled to the Aylesford tourist attraction encouraged by the good weather and enjoyed a lovely, sunny day.

Residents from the home learned all about local life in years gone by; one of the topics of discovery was Kent’s hop picking heritage and several of the residents reminisced about holidays spent hop picking and recalled spending their time in specially prepared “hoppers huts,” which were on display at the museum.

Jan Moulton, St Martins home manager commented: “The residents were very pleased when we raised the money at the summer fete, and they were all

buzzing with excitement about the potential days out that it would fund. It was tremendous to be able to see them starting to enjoy their days out. Everyone had a wonderful time at the Kent Life Museum and we’re all looking forward to a few more outings before the end of the year.”

St Martins enjoy days out following summer fete

St Martins residents at Kent Life Museum

St Martins resident Ivy Hitchman and volunteer Christine meet the goats at Kent Life

Museum

Around the homes

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Residents at Edward Moore House, a residential home in Gravesend, are planning how to spend their increased residents fund after the fundraising efforts of staff at the home gave the finance pot a boost.

Staff at Edward Moore House organised a ten mile sponsored walk through Meopham Woods, and have been busy collecting sponsors and donations over the summer.

In September, the team of staff, consisting of home manager Amanda Odd, senior carer Vikki Somerville and flexi carer Sonje Baxter set off on the arduous challenge accompanied by Sonje’s dog Benny. Setting off at 7am and buoyed by good weather, the route saw the walkers passing through Luddesdown and Harvel, as well as taking in a local pig farm and a wide variety of autumnal wildlife.

The walkers reached their destination at 11am and headed for a well earned lunch at a local pub. Their efforts have boosted the residents’ fund by almost £300, and more funds are still being collected. The residents will decide what to spend the money on at their next residents meeting, with a choice of days out early next year or a new flat screen television for the home.

Amanda Odd, Edward Moore House manager commented: “I decided to organise the sponsored walk earlier in the year when we were discussing ways to boost the residents’ fund. The team at the home were really supportive and I was delighted that we got people along on the day. I am very grateful to everyone who sponsored us, as is everyone at the home. I am looking forward to seeing what the residents decide to spend their money on!”

Edward Moore House staff boost funds with sponsored walk

Edward Moore House staff on their sponsored walk

Around the homes

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Greensted residential home recently held a summer garden party for residents and the local community.

Greensted, a residential home in Wateringbury, holds a special summer event each year, and the events have become anticipated in the local community. The 2011 garden party was a great success as the home enjoyed an afternoon of music, cream teas and sunshine.

Staff at the home extended an invitation to the Mayor of Maidstone, Brian Mortimer, who kindly took time out of his schedule to visit the home’s garden party. The Mayor was joined by his wife, and the couple spent the afternoon chatting with the home’s residents and staff and joining in with the activities.

In addition to the local community and the Mayor, family and friends of staff and residents were invited to the garden party, where entertainment was provided by local musician James Wyld, who performed a mixture of contemporary and classic songs in his set, which was enjoyed by everyone in attendance. Greensted resident Daisy Richards was so inspired by James’s singing that she joined in and ended up performing a solo!

In addition to summer garden games and a BBQ, the home

held a raffle, tombola and a bric-a-brac stall to raise funds for the home.

A total of £275 was raised on the day; residents at the home will decide how they would like the money to be spent at the next resident’s meeting.

Greensted residents enjoy garden party

Greensted residents Gillian Birchwood and John Williams

Around the homes

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Around the homes

The Dynes recently held a summer fete for the home’s residents and members of the local community.

The Dynes, a residential home in Kemsing, near Sevenoaks, holds a similar event each year in August. This year they decided to hold a summer fete combined with a car-boot sale. A wide range of stalls were there on the day, including games for children, tombola, cake stall, bouncy castle and football game, plus many more.

As in previous years, friends and family were extremely supportive, contributing with donations and help on the day. Visitors were even treated to live music, provided by Jonathan Pursell, whose mother used to live at the home.

Residents got involved in the planning and running of the day by distributing leaflets to promote the event, preparing cards and raffle tickets ahead of the day and helping out by running some stalls.

Members of the local community got involved with the day, as well as supporting through attendance of the event, the local allotment growers

provided the home with fresh local produce for the fruit and vegetable stall.

All the help and effort was worthwhile as everyone had a wonderful time and lots of money was raised for the home. The Dynes resident Dorothy Holroyd was involved with the planning of the summer fete and was very pleased that her work paid off: “It was a fabulous day and it was great to see the children enjoying themselves at The Dynes, it couldn’t have been any better.”

A total of £717.55 was raised on the day, which the home will put towards days out for the residents later in the year.

Nicky Pett, home manager at The Dynes, commented: “Lots of members of staff from the home get involved in the planning and running of the event, and I am very grateful that they give up their time to help out. We do events like this every year and it seems to get more and more popular. I was delighted with how it turned out.”

The Dynes hosts summer fete

Visiting children help out with the vegetable stall

The Dynes resident Pat Willmott with friend Pauline and daughter Ann

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Around the homes

Northwood Road supported home held a strawberry tea this summer to raise funds for the home.

Residents from the home invited their friends and family for an evening at the home, where staff had organised a special and delicious banquet. The event was very well attended, and everyone was very complimentary about the catering which had been put on.

Money raised on the day will go towards days out and events for residents at the home later in the year, and residents are already busy planning what they would like to do next.

Northwood Road is in Whitstable, and is located about half a mile away from the sea, so seaside activities and days out are sure to be a key fixture of the residents’ plans.

Kath Haines, housekeeper at Northwood Road was instrumental in organising the event, commenting: “Although it was a lot of hard work, it was so much fun planning the strawberry tea and I am delighted it went so well. Residents at the home decided they wanted a fun way to raise funds for future events and came up with the idea of a strawberry tea. We’re all looking forward to planning events and days out.”

Northwood Road hold strawberry tea party

Northwood Road resident Jean Rowley and her family enjoy the strawberry tea.

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Who Cares?

Michelle Wooster is the home administrator at Connors House, and recently completed the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon as part of the Abbeyfield Kent team raising money for Who Cares? Here, she talks us through her training routine and how she prepared for the big day:

It’s all Laurence’s fault really. He asked if anyone was running the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon in a home administrators meeting; nobody was. I went home and could not get the event from my mind; I even started dreaming about it! So, after some shall I, shan’t I moments I put my name down and the training began in March 2011!

Exercise has always formed part of my life, so had smoking, I sort of balanced the two! To run 13.1 miles though, the smoking had to stop, and the hard core training had to start…

My gym regime was massively overhauled; gone were the classes for a while and on came the treadmill work to build stamina and the ability to actually run and breathe…the ciggies were still calling to me so my weekly gym regime included a weekly trip to Boots to stock up on NRT!

I go to Virgin Active in Strood so joined their weekly run club. This seemed like a good idea. My first outside run was from the gym, across the M2 bridge, through Borstal into Rochester, over the Rochester bridge, through Strood and back to the gym; a total of 6 miles. Well,

it almost had me beat I can tell you. Red faced, puffing and panting I arrive back at the gym. “Well done” I was told by my trainer, I almost floored him. Was running really this hard? Yep!

I carried on with my weekly run club noticing that the breathing was starting to ease and the red face became just a tad pink…result I thought, 13.1 miles here I come! The gym sessions were building into cross training; yoga to make sure I kept supple and stretched, circuit to make sure I built my muscle mass, speed training on the treadmill to make sure my outside pace picked up…I may as well have rented a room at Virgin as I was now there every day bar the weekend.

Michelle’s Training Blog

Michelle with her medal after completing the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon

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My first long distance run was indeed a nerve racking event. I decided to enter the Bluewater 10k in June so I got some sort of feel to how a race day was. Run club started going off road; through farmer’s fields, up very steep hills and along small country roads. I think at one point during a run I almost landed on Jill Redman’s bonnet, I must say she was quite shocked to see me!

By the time the Bluewater race came around I’d racked up runs of 7 miles, so was chuffed with my progress. Believe me when I say I was eating, sleeping and talking running; I was probably most annoying!

My training continued, upping the mileage. The gym sessions continued and my diet changed. Carb and protein based foods were increased to help with energy and muscle. By this time I felt like a real live athlete. The support I got during training was unbelievable. The new friends I made were brilliant; and they are the sort of friends you have for life not five minute wonders…

I can honestly say that throughout my running journey my life has totally changed. Rather than going home from work to do home chores I have a life! I don’t smoke which is the best bit and I’m enjoying myself. Anyway enough of that…back to the running!

One minute we are 8 months away from the Half Marathon and the next it is right here.

I decided to stay up in London so I didn’t have to worry about making sure I got the right train and then find my way to Hyde Park so I booked into a hotel in Mayfair. My mum paid for the room as a

birthday treat.

I travelled up on the Saturday and checked in. Once I’d unpacked and had a coffee off I went to find Hyde Park. Luckily for me my hotel was about 20 minutes away which was bonus. I spent a wonderful couple of hours sitting under a tree watching the world go by and lapping up the Autumn day.

Now I knew where I needed to go I made my way back to my hotel room for a relaxing bath, big pasta meal and a good night’s sleep. It’s quite bizarre really, as I had never felt such inner peace as I did that weekend. It was such a strong feeling that it is one that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. (Have made note to self; make sure I book in random hotels to find inner peace again!)

Race day is here and I’m up at 5am. Breakfast is most important before a run so I had my porridge and some fruit. Runners are not supposed to drink coffee before a race but that is one sacrifice I really couldn’t make so I made sure I had a good intake of caffeine followed by a litre of water!

Dressed and ready to go, off I went.

The rest, as they say, is history…whilst running the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon I did actually have to do a reality check and pinch myself as it was such a surreal thing; me running a half marathon in London raising money for charity, who would ever have thought it!

My race time was 2 ½ hours which I am really proud of. I’m not stopping the training as I plan to shave half hour off that time next year. Oh yes, I’ll be back London don’t you worry.

Who Cares?

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Salvation Army Band visit Edward Moore HouseResidents at Edward Moore House were recently treated to a visit from Gravesend’s Salvation Army Band.

Staff at Edward Moore House wanted to organise an extra special event for residents as part of the home’s activity schedule, so contacted the Gravesend Salvation Army Band to arrange a visit.

Led by bandmaster Gary Shelton, the band set up in one of the home’s spacious lounges and played a 45 minute set, comprising a wide range of classic songs, which got a great reception from the residents at the home.

A large group of residents gathered to watch the performance, which was enjoyed by all. Edward Moore House resident Teresa Philpott said “It was such a lovely afternoon, I had a wonderful time.” Keith May, another resident at the home, worked as a professional jazz musician before retiring, was part of the audience and was very impressed by the brass

instruments and enjoyed chatting to the musicians before and after the performance.

Amanda Odd, Edward Moore House manager comments: “I was very excited to see the Salvation Army Band perform at the home and it was great for the residents to enjoy themselves so much. Keith is always entertaining us with stories of his days in a jazz band, he really enjoyed the visit and was very impressed with the jazz instruments. We are very grateful to The Salvation Army Band for coming to visit, and look forward to working with them again.”

The Gravesend Salvation Army Band entertain residents at Edward Moore House

Around the homes

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Around the homes

Connors House, a residential home in Canterbury, has held a special harvest festival with the help of a local primary school.

The home has recently established a community partnership with nearby Parkside Community Primary School, which will lead to increased interaction between residents at the home and the pupils from Parkside Community Primary School.

The first of these occasions was the celebration of a harvest festival, with the harvest kindly donated by the pupils and families from the school.

Connors House spiritual advisor Christine Barker led residents at the home in a service celebrating the harvest and the children’s generosity. Christine was joined by her husband Graham on the piano, who conducted the group through a selection of hymns.

This is just the start of the community partnership, and the school pupils are due to visit the home on several occasions in the build up to the Christmas period.

Like all Abbeyfield Kent homes, Connors House practices the Eden Principles, a concept which helps eradicate loneliness, helplessness and boredom. The Eden Principles encourage creativity and novelty through contact with animals, plants, family and friends. The community partnership with Parkside Community Primary School and harvest festival are an extension of the Society’s commitment to the Eden Principles, with the residents and day centre visitors enjoying and benefiting from the involvement and participation in the harvest festival, and looking forward to further events involving the school children.

Connors House home manager Christine Devlin commented: “As always, it was great to receive such high levels of support from the local community. I am thrilled that we have been able to establish a community partnership with Parkside Community Primary School; I’m looking forward to working with the children in the near future and I know the residents can’t wait to see them.”

Connors House bring in the harvest

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Barnsole Road supported home recently held a summer tea to raise funds for the home.

Residents from Barnsole Road invited friends and family for an afternoon at the home, where cups of tea and coffee were served with special cakes. This was the third year in a row that housekeeper Steph Nicholls has arranged a party, and the best year yet for contributions for the cake table.

The summer tea event was very well attended, with great support from those associated with Barnsole Road. An extra-special contribution for the raffle came from Sandra, daughter of resident James Dent, who made a cake for the raffle featuring the Abbeyfield Kent logo! Everything which was served on the day was made by Steph and residents’ relatives and everyone was very complimentary about the standard of the catering.

Residents were planning on enjoying the afternoon basking in the summer sunshine in the garden at Barnsole

Road, but the rain put paid to that idea. Despite the weather, everyone who attended had a wonderful afternoon.

The event raised £85 raised on the day. Residents at the home have not yet decided what to spend the money on. In previous years the donations have gone to providing fresh flowers throughout the summer in the lounge, but they cannot decide between that or a contribution towards a new television.

Steph Nicholls, housekeeper at Barnsole Road was instrumental in organising the event and was delighted it went so well:

“It was a lot of hard work to arrange but the residents all really enjoyed it and I am so glad that they did. It was wonderful to receive such great support from friends and residents for the cake table and raffle and I was very pleased with how much we raised.”

Barnsole Road host summer tea

Barnsole Road residents at their summer tea

The Abbeyfield Kent cake

Around the homes

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Rogers House recently hosted a garden party at the Wigmore home for its residents.

Staff at Rogers House worked with the home’s residents to plan the event, and the residents ideas were incorporated in to the day. By popular demand, local musical duo Stone Deff were booked to provide the entertainment, and their show went down very well with Rogers House residents, who enjoyed dancing and singing along.

A range of outdoor activities were planned, but unfortunately the weather was not kind. This didn’t dampen the spirits of the Rogers House residents, who simply moved the party indoors to the home’s spacious lounge.

Residents were joined by invited friends and family, and although the afternoon was rainy everyone had a wonderful time.

Rogers House has also celebrated a landmark birthday with a special party. Dolly Dallamore, a resident at Rogers House, celebrated her 100th birthday in July, and staff at the home organised an extraordinary event to celebrate Dolly’s big day, with entertainment, surprise guests and a special menu from the home’s catering staff. Dolly was joined by her granddaughter, great grandchildren and the other residents from Rogers House. Entertainment was provided by Thanet musicians John and

Dave, who led the group in a series of sing-alongs before everyone sang Happy Birthday to the birthday girl.

Dolly is from Portobello Road in London and has lived at Rogers House since February 2008. Dolly enjoys sewing and is famous around the home for her saying “I’m only here for the beer!” At the end of the party, Dolly was presented with a plaque celebrating events that happened on the day she was born.

Rogers residents throw garden party

Birthday girl Dolly Dallamore

Around the homes

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Over the summer, the media team at Abbeyfield Kent HQ in Cuxton were joined by Tom Barnes on an internship. Here, Tom talks about the experience:

Volunteering at Abbeyfield Kent for the first time was a great experience. I finished my first year at university studying for a degree in BA Advertising, PR and Media and wanted to do something productive with the 5 months I had off. Two family members work at Abbeyfield Kent so there was really no other choice on where to spend my time off gaining valuable work experience while at the same time giving something to the Society.

After being introduced to everyone in the office I was shown to my own desk and told about all the different projects and tasks I could get involved with. The tasks were very different from each other so I knew I’d be doing a range of different, interesting things and not just making the tea!

Interning with the media department over the summer has come and gone so quickly. This is probably because everyday I came in, I knew exactly what I needed to do. This made me feel like I was actually doing something worthwhile. Not having to constantly ask Ash and Emma (the media team at head office) what needed to be done, making me feel a lot more confident in what I was doing and allowed me to take pride in my work.

I have undertaken a range of tasks during my time at Abbeyfield Kent. From

compiling databases to researching into costs of items for the new media packs which will be given to children from local schools.

As well as helping the media department with things they needed to get done, I have also learnt a great deal which I can take from this. For example, learning how you can make your website appear at the top of relevant Google searches.

This was originally quite complicated but after being shown each part of the process I soon learnt how Abbeyfield Kent achieves this. I was also able to be a part of the interview process with different designers who where competing for the chance to design a special new logo commemorating 45 years of Abbeyfield Kent, which will be used throughout 2012.

Everyone I’ve met at head office has been really friendly and made settling in and working here very relaxed. The past 6 weeks have flown by and I’ll definitely be taking a lot of useful skills back to university with me. I hope I’ve given as much as I’ve taken from my time at Abbeyfield Kent.

Volunteer profile

Tom Barnes - Media Intern

Tom hard at work in the media office

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Our homes in KentResidential

Connors HouseCraddock Road, Canterbury CT1 1YP01227 769774

Dene HolmDeneholm Road, Northfleet, Gravesend DA11 8JY01474 567532

Edward Moore HouseTrinity Road, Gravesend DA12 1LX01474 321360

Greensted16 The Orpines, Wateringbury, Maidstone ME18 5BP01622 813106

Rogers HouseDrewery Drive, Wigmore, Gillingham ME8 0NX01634 262266

St MartinsMartin Square, Larkfield, Aylesford ME20 6QJ01732 842628

Stangrove LodgeManor House Gardens, Edenbridge TN8 5EG01732 864975

The DynesNightingale Road, Kemsing, Sevenoaks TN15 6RU01959 523834

WoodgateTudeley Lane, Tonbridge TN11 0QJ01732 350952

Housing with support

Barnsole Road159 Barnsole Road, Gillingham ME7 4JH01634 852298

Drewery DriveWigmore, Gillingham ME8 0NX01634 364375

Old Tovil Road105 Old Tovil Road, Maidstone ME15 6QE01622 677793

Margaret Fisher House30 Old Kent Road, Paddock Wood, Tonbridge TN12 6JD01892 834550

Northwood Road59 Northwood Road, Tankerton, Whitstable CT5 2HA01227 771310

St Mary’s15 The Glebefield, Riverhead TN13 3DR01732 460545

Extra Care Scheme

Watling CourtIfield Way, Gravesend, DA12 5BP

Contact details

www.abbeyfieldkent.orgfacebook.com/abbeyfieldkent twitter.com/abbeyfieldkent

Spirit ofAbbeyfield Award

Nominations are now open for the Spirit of Abbeyfield Award 2012. Anybody can be nominated and anybody can nominate. We

welcome nominations for and from residents, staff, family members and visitors.

If you nominated someone who didn’t win this year, please don’t let that put you off nominating them again. We received a high number of great

nominations in 2011, and hope to achieve even more in 2012.

Do you know someone who embodies the Spirit of Abbeyfield? Would you like them to be recognised? Email your

nominations, stating why they embody the Spirit of Abbeyfield, tomedia@abbeyfieldkent.org

or visit www.abbeyfieldkent.org/aks/spirit

for more details.

Deadline for nominations is July 31st 2012

You can keep up to date with Abbeyfield Kent all year round at the following locations: