Welcome to the July edition of your newsletter.

The sun continues to shine and our flowering baskets and plants to the front of the building are soaking up the rays and enjoying the warmth in order to be

at their best when the ‘Brandon in Bloom’ judges visit on Friday 12 July. Many thanks to Andrea and her team of helpers for the wonderful display.

We are delighted to announce another new day care service for Empanda, which we

officially took over this week! The All Hallows Day Centre was formerly run by the All Hallows Healthcare Trust and is located in Ditchingham, near Bungay. It was threatened with closure earlier this year and due to close at the end of June, if a suitable care provider could not be found.

The story is very similar to that of Brandon Day Centre with the service users and their families involving local elected councillors, their MP and the media, to mount a campaign to save the much-needed centre.

Empanda was selected as the preferred provider by Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils to take on the service, based on our track record of delivering excellent care and support.

The day care service will now continue to offer support in the same place and by the same staff team to those currently using the service and will start to accept new referrals too. It has been a time of uncertainty for both staff and service users and their families so it has been great to be able to reassure them all that Empanda is looking forward to building on the good reputation the centre has within the community and ensuring its ongoing viability into the future.

We will be busy working alongside Daycare Manager, Linda Robinson (pictured) and her team to ensure a seamless handover to Empanda.

We are very excited to be involved in a service that is so valued and well established in the community and look forward to working with the team of 17 who are now officially Empanda employees.

We also look forward to welcoming the customers who use the service, as well as the many partners involved to ensure this valuable resource continues to benefit the local community for many years to come.

We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter and the activities and entertainment we have planned for you.

We always welcome stories, quizzes, jokes or anecdotes, so please send us your ideas for next month.

Happy Reading!

The Brandon Day Centre July 2019

As I write this newsletter, we eagerly await the outcome of the Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ project, which ran throughout May and June.

Launched in 2015, ‘Bags of Help’ sees charities and community organisations awarded grants to fund local projects. Originally funded by the sale of 5p carrier bags, it reduced single use bag use by 72%. In August 2017, Tesco replaced single use carrier bags with new Bags for Life made from 94% recyclable plastic. The money raised by the sale of these bags now funds ‘Bags of Help’.

One of the three community projects this time round was the Brandon Community Association’s Minibus Appeal. When visiting Tesco, the number of tokens in our pot looked very healthy indeed, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for the maximum award of £4,000. Even if we don’t achieve this, we are guaranteed £2,000 or £1,000 towards the purchase of a second brand new minibus. As they say at Tesco, ‘Every Little Helps’.

Be in it to win it …

At Brandon Day Centre, we rely on our Amenities Fund to pay for entertainers, activities and trips. We hold regular raffles and bonus ball competitions and have a ‘bring and buy’ area by reception. Your generosity not only keeps the Amenities Fund topped up, but also gives you a chance to win prizes along the way. Many thanks for your continued support.

Sue Ryder ‘Dementia Together’ Drop In Sessions

If you, or someone you know, would like to sit and have a chat with Lisa Donahue, our Dementia Navigator, bookings can now be

made through Andrea Burgess.

If appointments are pre-booked, Lisa can offer 10.00am, 10.45am and 11.30am slots

on the following dates in 2019:

Tuesday 27 August

Tuesday 15 October

Tuesday 26 November

Please note that if she doesn’t hear from Andrea, she will assume that no bookings

have been made and will not visit.

Alternatively, if you would like to see Lisa outside of the above times, please call the

Dementia Together Helpline on:

08081 688 0000

IT’s the way I

tell ‘em

Did you hear about the mathematician who’s afraid of negative numbers?

He’ll stop at nothing to avoid them.

Why do we tell actors to ‘break a leg’?

Because every film or play has a cast.

Did you hear about the actor who fell through the floorboards?

He was just going through a stage.

Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut?

He just needed a little space.

Why don’t scientists trust atoms?

Because they make up everything.

What do you call a pony with a cough?

A little horse.

What did the pirate say when he turned 80?

Aye matey.

June highlights

Another busy month in June and here are some highlights from our activity programme.

Dance and movement

When Jo visits the Day Centre, she likes to link her sessions to a theme, or bases them on movements she feels the group would most benefit from. She always tries to offer a good selection of music and movement influences and takes into consideration member requests.

Leading up to Jo’s visit mid-June, we had been experiencing inclement weather, so the natural theme choice was ‘Rain’. Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head and Singing in the Rain were just a few of the tunes played and Jo shared her favourite quote, “Life isn’t waiting for the storm to pass, it’s learning how to dance in the rain!”

With that in mind, you danced to Let’s Twist Again using the Rhythm Sticks to help shake and tap away the blues, followed by the standing Ceili dance. During the session, Jo also discussed how keeping active can help with our movement, warm us up and lift our mood. The session ended with a modern version of Feelin’ Good.

COMING SOON!

Due to the success of Jo’s first cross-generation event ‘Splish, Splash, Splosh’ at the end of May, we are holding a second event here at the Day Centre.

The ‘Animal Magic’ event will be taking place on Tuesday 30 July at 11.00am

Friends and family are welcome to come and join us for this special event, designed to bring different generations together through movement and dance.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Arts and Crafts

We recently purchased some new arts and crafts activity sets out of the amenities fund.

So far, they are proving really popular amongst our members.

Annie and Ivy thoroughly enjoyed demonstrating their needlework skills on the new stich and sew activity boards.

Now the warmer weather is here, we thought it would be a good idea to bring the outside in. So, with that in mind, a group of members and staff have put together a fantastic seascape depicting the sea shore and sea with the many items you

would see and do when going to the seaside. The picture now takes pride of place in the day room for all to enjoy. It is really vibrant and makes you want to get your buckets and spades out and go for a paddle!

Arts and crafts are hugely popular. Amanda and Eric can be seen here having fun whilst creating some floral masterpieces and Eric showing off the drawing he did later in the day.

The Big Screen

Some of you spent a lovely afternoon watching some of the old favourites, ‘Morecombe & Wise’ on the big screen in the meeting room. To bring more of a cinema atmosphere, ice creams were brought round during the intermission.

Don’t forget we have this facility and if the room is free, then why not take advantage and watch a film – we have a great range to choose from.

Live Entertainment

We were sorry to learn that Ken from Parallel Lives is poorly at the moment so we won’t be seeing them perform for us for a while.

From everyone here at the Day Centre, we wish you a speedy recovery Ken and look forward to seeing you and enjoying your music again very soon.

We were treated to some enjoyable afternoons of entertainment by The Sunshine Boys, Kalamity Kate (pictured), Jacen Bruce and regular visitors, Parallel Lives and Joyce and Mick.

We also had a special performance by Peter P one afternoon, who, accompanied by his guitar, serenaded us with songs through the decades.

What a gem

Towards the end of June, jewellery designer, Dolly came in to demonstrate and sell homemade jewellery and trinkets.

Below are some of her creations.

A very Happy Birthday to everyone celebrating their special day in July.

Here’s June P celebrating her Birthday in June.

Competition time

Thank you to those of you who entered our June animal themed quiz. Congratulations to Gordon H, who won a box of biscuits for his winning entry.

Answers:

1. Tom Jones – What’s new Pussycat 2. Baddiel & Skinner – Three Lions 3. America – A Horse with No Name 4. Culture Club – Karma Chameleon 5. The Beatles – I am the Walrus 6. Elton John – Crocodile Rock 7. Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit 8. Survivor – Eye of the Tiger 9. Mud – Tiger Feet 10. Rolling Stones – Little Red Rooster 11. Elvis Presley – Hound Dog 12. Bob Marley – Buffalo Soldier 13. Johnny Preston – Running Bear 14. Prince – When Doves Cry 15. Susan Boyle – Wild Horses 16. Patti Page – How much is that Doggy in the Window

17. Tommy Steele – Little White Bull 18. Chuck Berry – Too Much Monkey Business 19. Flanagan & Allen – Run Rabbit Run 20. Durran Durran – Hungry Like a Wolf

Our July competition will test your knowledge of sweets. The answer to each clue is a well-known chocolate or sweets from past and present:

1. High class road

2. Clever folk

3. Good children get these

4. Sport for princes

5. Garden flowers

6. Edible fasteners

7. Wobbly infants

8. Talk quietly

9. Big bus

10. Spin around

11. Outside meal

12. Money making royalty

13. Assorted girls toys

14. 100% AU

15. Reward

Once you have entered your answers, write your name in the box below and hand your entry to a member of the care team by Friday 26 July for the chance to win a prize. Good luck!

Name:

Harry 7 July Jim 9 July Paula J 13 July Paula E (staff) 16 July Dawn 21 July Peter P 27 July

Planning ahead

Looking ahead to August

More in our August newsletter, but here is a glimpse of what we have planned so far.

8/14/20/29 August Joyce and Mick 13 August Barn Owls Singers 15 August Jacen Bruce 16 August Dance, Dance, Dance with Jo Nichols 19/28 August (tbc) Parallel Lives 22 August Sunshine Boys 22 August St Nicholas Hospice Drop-in Session (Café 27) 27 August (by prior appointment) Dementia Together Drop-in Session (Café 27) Every Monday Meet up Mondays (Café 27) Every Tuesday Art workshop with Terry Kimpton

Thank you for your continued support

Monday 8 July (11.00 – 12.00) Dance, Dance, Dance with Jo Nichols

Tuesday 30 July (11.00 – 12.00) Animal Magic Inter-generational Event Friends and family welcome

Thursday 11 July (1.30 – 3.00) Live entertainment with Joyce and Mick

Wednesday 17 July (1.30 – 3.00)

Wednesday 24 July (1.30 – 3.00) Friends and family welcome

Monday 15 July (11.00 – 12.00) Darrin sings Friends and family welcome

Tuesday 16 July (1.45 – 3.00) Nik Lowe entertains Friends and family welcome

Thursday 18 July (1.45 – 3.00) Sunshine Boys Friends and family welcome

Monday 22 July (2.00 – 4.00) St Nicholas Hospice Drop-In Session (Café 27) Friends and family welcome

Friday 26 July (1.45 – 3.00) Mandy entertains Friends and family welcome

Every Monday (10.00 – 12.00) Meet up Mondays (Café 27) Open to members of the community who are isolated or lonely and keen to meet new people and form new friendships over a cuppa and a chat.

Tuesdays mornings (as available) Arts and Crafts with Terry Kimpton