On Tuesday 7th February 2012, Sarah Duffy’sdream came true. BBC TV Look North cameto interview both Sarah and Carer Janet Hicksabout the play Swags and TailsContinued on page 12

A visit to a lifeboat station went swimmingly for residents at Garden House. GardenHouse was one of only three short-listed finalists in the category of BestRedevelopment Project in the 2012 Healthcare Design Awards. Although we didnot win we did receive £500 payable to a nominated local charity, which in thiscase was the RNLI. In return residents were invited to have a tour of the Berwick-upon-Tweed Lifeboat Station.

Wellburn prides itself on the food it providesin its homes and on average we spend 20%more on food than the national average.

When it comes to being healthy, what youeat and the activities you do can play asignificant part in your general wellbeing -so the saying ‘you are what you eat’ reallyis true.

We will soon be covering these topics inmore detail when we record new videoswith professionals in their respective fields.These informative videos, which will initiallycover nutrition, exercise and elderly care,will be put on Wellburn’s YouTube page andoffered to people working in the industry.

All at sea

what you eat

Look North Swags and Tails -Eighton Lodge

You are

Grimston Court p 7 Glenholme Day Centre p 15St Georges p 4 St Catherines p 8

Spri

ng N

ewsl

ette

r 20

12

DDiamond Jubilee Welcome to our Jubilee issue of Wellburn’s Newsletter: The illustration on the far leftis by Jay Gilmour from Crookhill Primary School, Crawcrook near Ryton Towers, who won ourrecent competition to design our special edition newsletter. We wanted to kick start the summercelebrations by celebrating this wonderful year of the Queens Jubilee and the Olympics.

D I A M O N D J U B I L E E I S S U E

Hea

d O

ffice

New

sw

ww

.wel

lbur

n-ca

reho

mes

.co.

uk

Tel:

0191

229

353

0

2

T hank You We wanted to share this wonderful thank you letterfrom Give Hope.Thank you for your kind donation givenat the Wheelbirk’s Nativity for GiveHope School in Zambia. Together withthe rest of the funds raised, the moneywill be used to sponsor a number ofchildren at the school this year.

At Wellburn, we are always looking atdifferent ways we can communicatewith our residents, families, staff andpartners – and we are now usingSocial Media Networks to help uswith this.We dipped our toe in the Social Mediawater with our blog, which has nowbeen running for over 12 months andwe have been pleased with the breadthof subjects and issues we have beenable to cover.We have now taken this a step furtherand set up Twitter, Facebook, Google+,LinkedIn and YouTube profiles forWellburn Care Homes.On Twitter, which was one of the firstSocial Media sites we began to takeadvantage of, we now have over 300followers, which demonstrates peopleare interested in the information we areproviding.It is still early days as far as the otherSocial Media sites are concerned, but ifyou can “like us” on Facebook, join ourcircle on Google+ and share Wellburnon your own Social Networks, youwould be helping us to spread theword further.We are also about to produce videosfeaturing experts in the Care Sectortalking about a range of subjects andwe hope, that once these go on ourYouTube channel, they will be widelyviewed and shared as they are allaimed at providing useful informationto those involved in Care.

Social MEDIA

Wellburn Area Manager, SuzanneHughes, experienced life as an elderlyperson at our St George’s Nursing andResidential Home in Washington.

The ‘day in the life of’ visit requiredSuzanne to take on the ‘role’ of anelderly person and in her case shewas recovering from a stroke.

Suzanne said: “It was very interestingto see life in a Care Home throughthe eyes of a resident and how, as anable-bodied person, you take verysimple things, like being able to getup unaided from a chair, for granted.”

A Day

Life StoriesAs always you will find a number oflife stories from our Homes, which wereally treasure and we have now started anew project of recording these life storieson DVD and CD, with the view ofpresenting them to families. This is beingpiloted at Nightingale Hall, in partnershipwith Darlington College of TechnologyJournalism Department. The plan is to rollthese out to the all our other Homes,however for the meantime, we hope youenjoy the ones enclosed.

Suzanne HughesArea Manager - Interview

When did you join Wellburn and why aCare Home Company?I joined Wellburn Care Homes 18 yearsago. I knew at a very young age I wantedto care and look after people, making adifference to people’s quality of life.

If you could go anywhere in theworld where would it be?I would like to visit The Lion ManConservation in New Zealand, also goto New York to shop and ice skate inCentral Park.

What are your aspirations forthe Company?I would like to see the Company to haveHomes that are Centres of Excellence forDementia Care and grow slightly intoCare Villages, offering all levels of Care inwonderful surroundings.

What is your favourite classic movie ofall time?I love all the old musicals (not black andwhite), also Bridget Jones.

If you could time travel, what erawould you go to?Victorian – I love the big crinoline dresses

What do you enjoy doing in yourspare time?Eating out, cinema and drives out into thecountry on nice sunny days.

In the Care Industry, what do you thinkis an important thing to remember?We need to remember all our residentshave had a very full and interesting lifeprior to needing Care and this isn’tsomething that needs to be different andshould co ntinue. We must involve andlook after our residents as we wouldwant any loved ones of our own cared for.

If you could give any advice to ayoung child what would it be? Try your very best at everything you do,as you get out of life what you put in.

in the Life Of

Head O

ffice New

sw

ww

.wellburn-carehom

es.co.uk Tel: 0191 229 3530

3

As part of my three-year Degree inNursing, I am undertaking at theUniversity of York, I am required todo three work placements a year, allof which are chosen for me.When I decided I wanted to be a Nurse,I had only envisaged ever working at aHospital, but that has now all changedfollowing a seven-week placement Irecently completed at Wellburn’s StCatherines Nursing Care Home in York.From the moment I walked in the door,I could tell any stereotypes I hadheard about Nursing Homes, such as“strange odours”, were wrong. On myarrival I was welcomed immediatelyby everybody and was made to feellike a member of staff from themoment I started.

I soon learned that the Nursing Careyou provide in a Home like StCatherines is completely different tothat of a Hospital. When I did myhospital placement, the turnover ofpatients on the wards was normallyaround 24 hours, so I never really gotto know the people I was helping.At St Catherines I was able to build upreal connections with the residents andthis one-to-one time that I was able tospend with them was wonderful. Thequality of Care that is provided at StCatherines is truly astonishing and thebond between staff and residents isthere for everyone to see.In my third year, I am able to choosewhich placement I would like to doand whilst future placements may turnout to be just as rewarding and fulfilling,

they will have to go some way topreventing me from returning to StCatherines.In the meantime, I already plan tocome back as a Care Assistant duringthe holidays, so I can enhance my skillseven further I am certain that any other studentswho come to St Catherines, will feelthe same as I did and I can honestly saythat there is not one thing which Iwould change, if I were to do it again.What I also know for definite, is I amalready re-evaluating the path I maytake in my Nursing career. Uponqualifying, I may work in a Hospital ora Nursing Home. Should I decide towork in a Nursing Home, I would verymuch hope to return full-time to StCatherines.

Making Real ConnectionsBy Rachel Barker, Student Nurse

Since the last newsletter, we havewelcomed Julie Cooke as the newManager of Nightingale Hall.Julie, a mother-of-two with 21 years’experience, has worked her entirecareer in Acute Nursing Care, so is wellqualified to manage Nightingale at atime when the Home is undergoing amajor Expansion and RefurbishmentProgramme.She said: “It is very exciting time to startwork at Nightingale Hall and with theextension close to completion and newstaff being employed to look after theinflux of new residents, I feel this is agreat opportunity for me to make theHome flourish.”The work to refurbish and extendNightingale Hall is set to be completedin July 2012 and this will increase thenumber of bedrooms to 42. A new BarLounge and Cinema Room are alsobeing added.

Nightingale’sNew Beginnings

Phillip BuckleTeaching an old dognew tricks

Life StoriesBeing in charge of 800 pupils and 80teachers is enough to drive anyonegrey, but Phillip Buckle took it all inhis stride.During a teaching career that started in1948 and ran until his retirement in1985, Philip worked in a number ofschools in the Newcastle, Leeds andBradford areas.He taught Classics, which includedLatin, Ancient History and AncientGreek, subjects which may now not bewidely taught in 2012, but with whichformed an important part of learningfor an older generation.

Phillip, who lives with his wife Mary atNightingale, has fond memories ofteaching and even says being Head-Teacher of a school with over 800pupils, was enjoyable.He remembers: “I particularly likedteaching Sixth Form students, becausethis was an age group that made aconscious decision to stay on inEducation and were therefore morelikely to take their studies seriously“It’s nice to think I made a contributionto helping so many young people movetowards their chosen careers and Ihope they enjoyed being taught by me.“It’s sad that subjects like Latin andAncient Greek, are no longer part ofthe mainstream Curriculum, but Iunderstand that times change. Fromwhat I hear, teaching is now verydifferent and I think with all the publicsector cutbacks, it would be a hardenvironment to work in, so in manyaspects I was very lucky.”

St G

eorg

es N

ews

ww

w.s

tgeo

rges

-car

ehom

e.co

.uk

Tel

: 019

1 41

9 18

78

4

Wedding Anniversary Joe and Peggy were celebrating their70th Wedding Anniversary on the 23rdof May and we had a party to celebratewith them.

Step Backin Ti me

Aircraft MuseumFred, Joe and Cora enjoyed a trip to theNorth East Aircraft Museum in February.Fred was telling us all about thedifferent ammo and about the types ofbombs.

Joined by their families, residents wereable to look around the museum, aswell as enjoying a concert performedby a brass band.

WelcomeDon Davis and Nancy MossNew Residents

From 1st of April Kelly Watttook over as Manager

New Staff

Knitting ClubThe residents are joining in with ourweekly Knitting Club, which is open tothe community. We are knittingsquares together to make blankets, thatwe will donate to charity.

Residents from St Georges had anevening to remember, when they weretaken to one of the region’s mostpopular museums.They visited Beamish Museum as partof their monthly Activity Programme.

Life Stories

Elsie on her Wedding Day.

ATS, Elsie had to take part in riflepractice and on one occasion, nearlyshot the Sergeant Major, her claim tofame at the time! However, as manystories, it has a happy ending,because this was where Elsie met Fredand they were then married in 1941.

Elsie Oliver at Fenham Barracks,Newcastle upon Tyne.

Elsie is stood next to herSergeant Major.

Elsie OliverPrior to World War II, Elsie joined theATS (Auxillary Territorial Service) reallyjust for the social side to meet people.Shortly after she joined, the war wasdeclared, and she was worried anddidn't know what the future wouldhold. They decided to keep Elsie atFenham Barracks in the Quartermaster'sStores, giving out equipment to all thenew soldiers. During her time in the

Craghall N

ews

ww

w.craghall-carehom

e.co.uk Tel: 0191 284 6077

5

Unfortunately we have had to say goodbyeto our rabbit Fluffy, who has gone to livewith our aromatherapist after suffering aninjury. It was sad to see her go, but aftertwo years at Craghall we wish her a speedyrecovery, although she is sadly missed byresidents, staff and visitors.

WelcomeJo HardwickRebecca Richardson Jade Jackson

New Staff

A warm welcome to our newresidents and hope they willbe very happy at Craghall:Mary Mason JonesNancy Heckles Sarah Easdown.

New Residents

Sharon Feehan on completionof NVQ 2 Andrijana Bogievic oncompletion of NVQ 3

Well Done to:

To Agnes Przbyl, on the birthof her baby boy Sebastian.

Congratulations

ActivitiesSince our last newsletter, Craghall hashad a varied Activities Programme,which has included many seasonalactivities, such as our ChristmasWonderland and most recently ourEaster display, that the residents puttogether. Our outings have been variedand fun, we have enjoyed days out at themuseums and recently, a great day out atthe racecourse!!!!

Strictly Come DancingIn-house visitors and entertainers haveregularly attended Craghall; the bestentertainers we have had in lately wasCampbell School of Dance who, with agroup of 10 girls performed a wonderfuldance show for our residents and at theend of their show, got all of our residents

up to dance. One of our residents said: “The evening was wonderful, the girls didsuch a good job and the dresses werewonderful, it reminded me of when I usedto visit all the dance halls with my friends.’’The evening was enjoyed be all whoattended.

Craghall residents were taken ona magic carpet ride, courtesy of a localTheatre Group that specialises in takingPantomimes into Residential Homes.We were treated to a performance ofAladdin by Actonepanto, a BishopAuckland-based group that tours Nursingand Residential Homes.

Aladdin was performed by twomembers of the group, who broughttheir own sets and music. The show,which also included songs from popularmusicals such as Beauty and the Beast,lasted one hour and to make it as realas possible, there was an interval -although on this occasion, rather thanpopcorn or ice cream, the residentswere served tea and mince pies.

He’s Behind You

Angel of the North - Gateshead

Nig

htin

gale

Hal

l New

sTe

l: 01

904

489

343

ww

w.n

ight

inga

leha

ll-ca

reho

me.

co.u

k

6

Tales fromthe catwalk

Happy Valentine’s DayMary Buckle andPhillip Buckle –

Janice set up a table in the bar loungeand bought roses for the couple andthey enjoyed a meal for two together.

Residents were told a tall tale or two tomark National Storytelling Week.Nightingale Hall hosted a specialstorytelling event involving staff, residentsand their families. The theme for theafternoon was poems from the Victorianera and staff got into the spirit of things,by dressing up in clothes from that period.Nightingale Hall resident, Peggy Thompson,aged 87, said: “I really enjoyed havingthe poems read to me and it waswonderful to see staff make such an effortwith their fantastic Victorian clothes.”Nightingale Hall Activity Coordinator,Janice Spark, said: “We wanted to dosomething to mark National StorytellingWeek, because life stories and reminiscingform an important part of the ActivityProgramme at Nightingale .

We went ‘flipping’ mad as we markedShrove Tuesday in the traditionalmanner.Five members of staff from Nightingale Hallhad a pancake race, much to theamusement of residents, along with otherpeople living in the Garden Village area ofRichmond.The race was captured on video by thelocal newspaper, The Northern Echo,who put it on its website, as part of around-up of Pancake Day-related activities.

When Bernard Shaw volunteered for theRAF in the second year of the Second

World War, he hadno idea of thehorrors that laybefore him.Bernard enlisted asa Fireman, whichmeant he wasresponsible fortrying to save thelives of airmanwhose planes had

caught fire, whilst engaged in aerial fire-fights with the Germans. At the age of 19,Bernard had the rank of LeadingAircraftman and was flung right into oneof the most historic periods of the war,the Battle of Britain.He remembers: “At that time, the warwas literally being fought over the skies ofBritain and there were a lot of very braveairman who were killed, or wounded,defending the country. Our job was to tryto put out fires in any planes thatmanaged to get back to the airfield andwe were kept very busy, some of thesights I saw have lived with me forever.”After the Battle of Britain was won,Bernard was posted to Sicily to supportMontgomery’s 8th Army, and he remainedthere for the duration of the war.After the War he returned to hisapprenticeship as a Pattern Maker, a jobthat led him to the Ford Motor Plant inDagenham, where he met his wifeRosemary. They lived in the south for mostof their married lives, before moving backto Bernard’s home town of Richmond.Rosemary has now sadly passed away.

StaffCongratulations to Nikki Hagemyer asnew Team Leader.

Announcements

Lisa Macintosh Cath Walker

Charlotte Armstrong andKayleigh Diegan Thank you to Charlotte and Kayleigh,both 6th form students, who havebeen working at Nightingale to gainexperience, before starting theirNursing training in September.

New Staff

Flat as a Pancake

Fighting Fires

Tall tales

It was a case of ‘Kate Moss andNaomi Campbell eat your heartout’ when Nightingale Hall stagedits very own fashion show.Residents and staff took to thecatwalk at a special event held inthe Edinburgh Woollen Mill store inRichmond’s Market Place.Everyone loved trying on andmodelling the clothes and wewould like to thank the store forallowing us to stage the show ontheir premises.

Grim

ston Court N

ews

Tel: 01904 489 343 ww

w.grim

stoncourt-carehome.co.uk

7

Our residents had a sparkling goodtime at our fireworks party to mark GuyFawkes Night. We had a tremendousdisplay of fireworks in the grounds andwhilst it was a cold evening, the sky

was clear, making for an even betterdisplay. Residents enjoyed wavingsparklers and after the excitement ofthe fireworks we all went inside forsome lovely hot food and drink.

StaffEveryone at Grimston would liketo wish Jane Hogg the best of luckfor the Three PeaksBest wishes to Suzanne and Andyon their forthcoming birth

Announcements

Paloma Sanchez BarberoFrancis SimonKim StevensonAshley RoffeVicky HughesLisa GoodrickMei TangJane DurkinFiona MarshallVicky Sharp

New Staff

Display goeswith a Bang

The train left Nairobi station at10:20am in 1954, on our first holidayin Africa, Jenny and our two sons,aged six and three were with us.The train climbed steadily passingthrough Kibera, Dagoretti, KikuyaMuguga Limuru and Uplands, mostlyMau Mau country, before reaching theescarpment and descending to the RiftValley, passing Longonot Lake Naivashaand Gil Gil with a brief stop at Nakurufor lunch. By the time we reachedRongai we were about 6000ft abovesea level, The Highest was Equator (onthe Equator) Station more than 9100ft,where the railway staff were huddled

in great coats, because of the coldduring the night. At Tororo we enteredUganda and our coach was detachedat Mbulamuti, while the rest of thetrain continued on its way to Kampala.We travelled to Namasagali on Lake

Kioha and embarked onthe SW Grant, a sternwheeler with a shallowdraft. On to MasindiHotel for an overnightstay, before arriving atButiaba Port on LakeAlbert to catch the SSRobery Coryndon for a50 mile run to Pakwachon the Albert Nile. Wethen joined the PSLugard, a side paddlestreamer. The shipstopped at small jetties

on the way to Nimule and left bargesto be loaded with cotton to be pickedup on the return journey and taken tothe Rhino Camp Ginnery. The stopswere at Mutir, Rhino Camp, Obongiand Laropi. The trip from Nairobi toNimule took five days. The navigablereach of the Nile ended at Pakwach,beyond which vessels could not gountil the cataracts further downstreamhad been negotiated. Pakwach is on theborder between Uganda and Sudan.We now started our return journey,back along the Nile and into LakeAlbert and returned to Nairobi by thesame route we had taken at the start of

the journey. The boys were probably alittle young to appreciate the journey,but they enjoyed the trip and views ofthe animals.I left Britain in 1953 on secondment toEast African Railways and Harboursand was catapulted into the NairobiRailway Control Office, because of myprevious experience in RailwayControl. It was a difficult job, if only tolearn the names of all the stations. Thiswas my first opportunity to seesomething of the rail system.Derrick Craven

Derrick Far right - Jenny – 3rd from left - Boys – Stuart and Ian

A Safari toKenya,Ugandaand Sudan

In September 2011, Pam Woodworth,Ashley Munt, Lucy Murdoch, LouiseGoodwin, Tracey Todd and Jade Coyle allparticipated in a sponsored walk atFountains Abbey. They managed to raise£270 that went towards the ResidentsSocial Fund. The residents were verypleased when they found out how wellthey had done and also enjoyed looking atthe pictures from the sponsored walk.

Sponsored Walk

St C

athe

rines

New

sw

ww

.stc

athe

rine

s-ca

reho

me.

co.u

k T

el: 0

1904

470

644

8

We have had the pleasure of theDrama Students from York Universityvisiting over the past twelve weeks. Aspart of their Degree Course, theyhave been visiting us every Thursdayafternoon. The students have becomecompanions for our residents and theresidents have been reminiscingabout their lives and experiences; thishas enabled the students to gather information on how times have changed.The students created a 40’s themed tea party on the 26th April, using theinformation the residents have provided.

Easter is a peaceful holiday that is celebratedamong family and friends; it is also the timeof year when people are waiting for the firstsigns of Spring. We have been taking a fewideas from Finland, they grow grass in disheson their window sills and on Palm Sunday,they go from door to door reciting a rhymewishing health for the coming year. Theyalso give a decorated willow stick inexchange for candy. Here at St Catherines,we have been making Easter Cards for ourresidents to send to their family and friends.

Staff will be escorting four of ourresidents to the theatre, to watchLillie’s of the Land. The play celebratesan extraordinary episode in Britain’shistory – The Womens’ Land Army ofWorld War II. The play is based onhundreds of letters and interviews fromthe original land girls, along with songsfrom the period.

Snow atSt Catherines’We had a lot of snow at St Catherines thisyear. Some members of staff went outsideand made snowmen. Then the staff broughtthe snowmen inside the Home for theresidents to see. York Theatre Royal

– Lillies of the Land

Easter Card Making

St JohnsUniversityDramaStudents

WelcomeCarol Plummer (Carer)Rachel Barker (Carer)Jacqueline Leckenby (Carer)Kristie Leavy (Carer)Jane Farrow (Domestic)Ben Tilley (Domestic)

For completing NVQ2Borislava TodorovaAndrea Statters

Congratulations

New Staff

Sally works as aCarer and is also theActivities Organiser

at St Catherines.Sally has spent thelast twelve months

preparing andorganising her

daughter Alexandra’sWedding. Any

mother who has gotmarried daughters, will understand

how emotional it can be. Sally can nowbreathe a sigh of relief and a smile thatit all went well. She is so proud of her

daughter and her now son-in-law Tom.Sally would like to share one of the

photographs from the day with you all.

Sally’s Daughter’sWedding Day

St Catherines N

ews

ww

w.stcatherines-carehom

e.co.uk Tel: 01904 470 644

9

We had a ‘silent night’ when agroup of local schoolchildren

popped in to sing Christmas carols.The choir from Forest of Galtres

Primary School entertained residents.The choir, which is in the same village

as St Catherines, sang a number oftraditional carols, including Jingle Bells

and Little Donkey.

St Catherines Manager,Judith Scurr said:

“We have an excellent relationshipwith the school and they regularlysupport the Activity Programme we

run for the residents.”

Silent Night

Olive Bates, who lives at St CatherinesNursing Home, was born in Baildon nearShipley. She worked as a secretary inGuiseley. Olive married her husband Clem in1937; the couple had two children, Joyce andBrian. They moved around Yorkshire, beforefinally settling in Knaresborough. Despitehaving a natural flare for ballet, Olive nevertook it any further, instead she chose to swapit for the love of cars and motorbikes. Olivecelebrated her 100th birthday by having aparty at St Catherines with her family andfriends, including her two Grandchildren andfive Great Grandchildren.

St Sampson’s Church has stood on thesite for at least 800 years and possibly aslong as 1400 years. It is the only one inEngland dedicated to St Sampson (orSamson) of York, who is traditionally saidto have founded the church himself.There are many special features in andaround the church dating from as earlyas 1444. One of the statues is of a wheel,which represents St Catherine. StCatherine died after being tied to aspiked wheel. It opened in 1974 as a

centre for the over 60’s, which hasproved to be one of the most successfulventures in York this century. The centreattracts between 1200-1500 people aday. Refreshments and entertainmentare provided daily, all run by volunteers.Over the last 12 months, our residentshave been visiting weekly and StCatherines’ has become a part of thechurch’s community. Wellburn donated£250 to the church in January to supporttheir work.

Weekly Trips toSt Sampson’s Church York

O live BatesCelebrates her100th Birthday

York Minster

Life

Sto

ries

10

Mary and Cecil had two children, a girland a boy. As normal in these times,Mary was a wonderful homemaker,whilst Cecil often worked long hours toprovide financially for the family. Therewere times of hardship, six moves ineleven years, all in the North East forthe Gas Board. This wasn’t easy, butthere was much fun and laughter andalways an annual holiday – be it in acottage in the middle of nowhere, atent or caravan. In later years Mary andCecil enjoyed many holidays in Europeand even visited the Caribbean. Theymoved to Berwick upon Tweed in1994, close to their daughter, son inlaw and two Grandchildren.The family are an important part ofCecil’s life, as is the Methodist Church,of which he has been a lifelongmember and took on many voluntaryresponsibilities, from local church workto district work and at national level.He was a very keen photographer andwas also interested in classical music,with a particular interest in Organmusic and DIY. Cecil became a resident at GardenHouse in August 2010, where he oftenenjoys visits from his family and on agood day, he can be heard singing loudly.

Wilfred Cecil Claxton was born inHartlepool in May 1921, 2nd son ofEarnest and Ruby (sadly the first sondied as a toddler), who went on tohave another three children; two boysand a girl. Cecil’s Dad was a Carpenterand his mother ran a GreengrocerShop for some years.

When Cecil left school, he joined theHartlepool Gas and Water Company.He completed training ‘on the job’ andat night school. He moved up theladder with the then Northern GasBoard, to become Deputy SalesManager of the Northern Region ofBritish Gas, before retiring in 1982.His work was interrupted during theWar at 18 year old, when he wasenlisted into the army in the BlackWatch Regiment. He was stationed ongunpoints on the south coast and hadto listen for planes passing overhead.British planes would fly over the enemyplanes, which were to be shot down.He says very little about his time in thearmy, but near the end of the war, hewas sent to the Middle East where hesaw the pyramids, swam in the Medand visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem. After the war he returned to Hartlepooland in 1952 and married Mary. Theywere married for 58 years until sadlyand suddenly, Mary died in 2010. Theycelebrated their Golden WeddingAnniversary in 2002 with a family party– though they didn’t need an excusefor family parties, they loved havingfamily ‘do’s’.

Cecil ClaxtonLife Stories

Gwen was born in Grange Town on10th April 1928. Gwen’s father was aPainter and Decorator and Gwen wasbrought up with her three brothers;Eddie, George and Jimmy. WhenGwen left school, she worked for oneof the local shops in Grange Town. Asa young girl Gwen had two bestfriends, Peggy and Cathy. They allused to love dressing up smart to godancing at the rink.

Gwen also used to go to the TerritorialArmy Hall in Seaburn, where she mether husband to be, Noel. Noel hadbeen watching Gwen for a while, whenfinally he plucked up the courage toask her for a dance. Gwen said yes, shewould love to dance, although Noelreplied he wasn’t a very good dancer,so they both decided to have a cup oftea and a chat instead. Gwen datedNoel for a while and they finally gotmarried in March 1955.Their first home was inMonkwearmouth. As the family grewthey moved to Hylton Castle andmoved once again to Hylton RedHouse, where they finally settled.Gwen then had four children;

Mrs Gwen Potts

Life Stories

GARDEN HOUSE Life Story

GLENHOLME Life Story

Margaret, Jan, John and Michael. Theyhave given them six grandchildren andsix great grandchildren. Gwen is veryproud of how she used to love takingher own children and then her grand-children for walks in their prams.Gwen speaks of how she likedspending her time in her garden andhow she loved chatting to friends andneighbours. remembers listening toFrank Sinatra and Dean Martin andhow she would sing along. Gwenspoke of how she loved her holidays,home and abroad with her family.Gwen now lives at Glenholme House,where she enjoys activities and outingsand her regular family visits.

Life Stories

11

We were recently contacted byMichael and Wendy, whose UncleRaymond Beecroft was with us forsome time. Elsie is a good friend oftheirs and we thought you mightenjoy her story about Grimston Court. Evacuated from Hull during WW2.Elsie was evacuated from Hull toGrimston Court aged six, along withher sister. They originally stayed in theLodge at the bottom of the maindriveway with other children, but whenthey were sent home, Elsie stayed andwas moved to Grimston Court, whereshe spent the next two years.

Although she stayed in the mainhouse, she was looked after by thestaff. She ate her meals with thekitchen staff and only ‘’visited’’ themain house and the owners, Sir JohnHunt and his sister. She used to readto the visitors, including a number offamous people.The layout of the Home was muchdifferent than it is today. The loungewas the Autograph Room, which wasfilled with musical instruments. Thesmall lounge was then the dining roomand the main office was the winecellar. Elsie walked to Dunnington

School everyday through a lane, thathas since gone – she remembers thecrocus filled woodland in the groundson the way.

Elsie, right and her Sister, left.

Elsie Setterington

Infirmary in South Shields to completemy State Registered Nurse training. Thiswas during the time of the SecondWorld War. I nursed many soldiers withhead injuries, loss of limb and severeburn injuries.When I was 24, I married my husband(now deceased) William Dowson, mywedding was bitter sweet, in that I washappy in getting married, but I was alsotinged with great sadness. My brotherJames, was an Officer in the MerchantNavy and was coming home for mywedding. My brother’s ship wasattacked by the German Navy, twohundred miles off the coast of Irelandand everyone was killed. I had threechildren; James, Bernadette andJennifer. When my youngest childJennifer was aged three, I went back topart time Nursing. and I worked atHavelock Hospital where I nursedpatients who had suffered fromPoliomyelitis. One such patient, whowas called George, despite his illnesshe always had a smile on his face.George was still being nursed when Ileft the hospital to work elsewhere. Iwent to work at the Maternity Hospital(now Sunderland Royal) and enjoyedlooking after the mothers and babies.There were some joyous times as wellas sad, time when some of the very illbabies died, but most of the times werehappy times. I also enjoyed working atGrind on Hall, where I nursed patientswith Tuberculosis. Grind on Hall wasoriginally the home of a wealthy ShipBuilder (Doxford), prior to it becominga Hospital. It is now a Private School. I enjoyed my experiences as a staffnurse and have happy memories of mywork. I am now 94 years of ages andcan look back on my life as a Nurse, awife a mother and a grandma and feela sense of pride and achievement.

My names is Susannah Dowson (neeMalloy) and I was born on 10th January1917. My place of birth was at 128Salem Street, Jarrow-on-Tyne. Mymother was called Susannah and myfather, whom was Irish, was called JamesPatrick. His parents came to live inEngland after fleeing Belfast, they wereRoman Catholic and lived in an areawhich was non-catholic and mygrandparents did not feel able to livethere, or practice their religion.I was the eldest of four children and Ihad three brothers named, James,Robert and Oswald, all of whom arenow deceased. I had a happy childhooddespite the poverty, which was commonin those days when I was first born. Myfather was a Riveter in the Ship Yards.

There was always plenty of food on thetable and my mother always baked herown bread and teacakes. We were avery close family, I have fond memoriesof my Grandma, who lived in the nextstreet to us and our home was alwaysfull of Aunts and Uncles, who wouldvisit regularly.When I was aged 11, I passed theexamination to go to St Bedes RomanCatholic High School. My father by thistime had become unemployed andthere was very little money. My motherwas extremely upset at the thought thatI might not be able to go to high school– to this day I remember her sittingcrying over this. However, I was mostfortunate, as my Grandma and Auntyprovided the school uniform, to enableme to attend high school.I enjoyed my school days and initiallyhad my heart set on becoming aPharmacist, however I realised it wasimpossible, as my parents were not in aposition to financially to support me. Mysecond choice was to become a Nurse.I began my training at Havelock Hospitalto gain my Nursing qualifications ininfection and disease. I nursed patientsthrough Typhoid and Pneumoniawithout antibiotics, it was the Nursesdedicated to their job that saw theirpatients through. I then went to Ingham

Susannah DowsonLifeStories

GLENHOLME DAY CENTRELife Story

GRIMSTON COURT Life StoryLifeStories

Eigh

ton

Lodg

e N

ews

ww

w.e

ight

onlo

dge-

care

hom

e.co

.uk

Tel

: 019

1 41

0 36

65

12

There may not have been a Knight in Shiningarmour, but there were plenty of Damsels inDistress at a Medieval-Themed Event atEighton Lodge.Staff, residents and families dressed up inmedieval costumes and were treated to aperformance by North East-based The PalmQuartet, who played music from the period,including Greensleeves.After music and dancing, everyone sat down to amedieval-style banquet, now known as a buffet!

As it was Book Week, children from StAnne’s School came to the Home and sharedtheir stories with our residents. In return, ourresidents told their stories to the children.There were happy smiling faces from all thechildren and the residents and it waswonderful to feel the rapport between them.We found this a wonderful afternoon and theresidents talked about it for days afterwards.

Computer CourseEvery Thursday afternoon, at SpringwellVillage, Wrekenton, Christine Green takesOlive Taylor and Sarah Duffy on a ComputerCourse. They said they were getting usedto using the mouse and if you get a chanceto learn about a computer, it is worth doingand something totally different.

Our residents had a very enjoyable afternoonat Brandling Hall, celebrating the ChineseNew Year. We were able to sample Chinesefood, although we have to say, we preferEnglish food!! We also had the opportunityto try to create some Chinese writing,which was fun although very complicated!It was the Year of the Dragon and we madebookmarkers and they were laminated.

Henry Collins and Nancy Emmerson, bothplayed a vital part in this Country’s success inWorld War II.As a Collieries Purchasing Manager, Henry wasresponsible for ensuring that the production ofcoal, crucial to the war effort, was maintainedto a high level. Even without the efforts of theGerman Luftwaffe, this was difficult, becausegoods and supplies were in very short supply.Henry originally had purchasing responsibilitiesfor mines in Durham and Northumberland, butwhen the war broke out, he also had to ensuremines in Scotland had all the supplies theyneeded. This meant, in total, he was responsiblefor 26 mines and each of them were constantlyin need of supplies, which were required toeffectively operate a mine. Whether this wassomething as simple as a shovel, or morespecialised equipment, such as wagons to carrythe coal.Henry remembers: “You can imagine thatCollieries all over the UK were often after thesame equipment, so I would have to literallysearch the Country to get what each mineneeded. We sometimes had to beg andborrow, luckily we never had to steal, to getwhat we wanted, but we always managed todo it.”

WelcomeMrs Nancy RossMrs Mary HoranMrs Eileen Hall

New Residents

Book Week

Still in the Middle Ages

ChineseNew Year Event

To Joy Gray and Jim on theirengagement.

Congratulations

Look North Swags and Tails (Continued from front page)

On Tuesday 7th February 2012, Sarah Duffy’s dreams came true. BBC TV Look North cameto interview both Sarah and Janet Hicks about the play Swags and Tails. They had becomeinvolved with the play, after a series of Workshops, where the residents were able to have avoice, giving them the opportunity to have an opinion and to discuss their lives. Their ideasand decisions helped transform the play, Swags and Tails. After being interviewed at EightonLodge, our residents went to Felling to watch the production of Swags and Tails, where the‘Look North’ team were and again interviewed Sarah Duffy. A few weeks later, this was shownon Look North and Sarah was delighted to see herself on the television.

Henry, who lived and worked in Birtley, oncehad a brush with death, but surprisingly it wasn’tconnected to the mines. He says: “Some friendsand I had been in a Workingmen’s Club andhad just popped outside for some fresh air,when a big bomb landed just yards from them.Luckily the bomb didn’t go off, but it left a bigcrater and its fair to say if it had gone off, then Iwouldn’t be here to tell my story today. Afterthat we went back into the Club and had a fewstiff drinks, as we contemplated our near miss.”When war broke out Nancy, aged only 18,knew she wanted to contribute to the war effort,so she volunteered to become an AmbulanceDriver. Many of the male drivers had gone offto fight in the war, so women played a vital partin ensuring that people could be taken to andfrom hospital.Nancy, who had only recently passed herregular driving test, underwent one month’straining to learn to drive an Ambulance, beforebeing asked to cover the South Shields area. “Iwasn’t allowed to lift patients, so I had somehelp from two men who came in theambulance with me, but apart from that, I wasfully responsible for everyone in the vehicle. Itwas very different to driving a car and the trickwas to ensure you changed gears smoothly,because if you didn’t, the ambulance couldreally jolt and this was no good when you hadill people on board. I really enjoyed driving andmissed it when the war ended and I had to getanother job – it was certainly nowhere near asexciting or enjoyable!”

Vitalservice

Life Stories

Rosevale Court N

ews

Tel: 01904 764 242 ww

w.rosevale-carehom

e.co.uk

13

Residents at Rosevale are keepingfit with the help of the exercisecraze Zumba.Every Friday, residents take to the floor(or sometimes just their chairs), to do theLatin-inspired Dance Class.

The class, led by InstructorJulie Christensen, has provedvery popular with morethan half of the Home’s 42residents regularly taking part.Jeni Bone, Activity Organiserat Rosevale, said: “Theresidents really love it andbecause it has been adaptedto help people who are lessmobile, it means everyonecan get involved.

Rosevale residents havebeen given a new ‘leash’for life – thanks toman’s best friend.They regularly spend a

few hours playing with Benson, a LhasaApso owned by Manager, Nikki Durrant.

Edna was born on 6/1/1910 to proudparents Phyllis and George inBradford, West Bowling. She had ayounger brother called George-William, after their father and an oldersister called Phyllis-Elaine, after theirmother. They all lived in Bradford forover a decade, but tragically hermother died when she was just ten.Shortly after she went to live with herAuntie, Mrs Baker in Scarborough andher father, sister and brother moved inwith another Aunt and Uncle.Edna went to a school in Scarborough,in Royal Avenue. She later left, as she

wanted to become a Dress Maker, alifelong dream. She fulfilled this byworking in a shop in South Cliff, makingbridal and evening gowns, until shemarried her first husband and childhoodsweetheart, Douglas William Kirk in1934, when Edna was 24. They hadtheir first and only child Douglas Jr in1935. In 1939 her husband Douglasjoined the Navy in WW2, but his shipstruck a mine and he tragically died.Edna also sadly lost her youngerbrother George in the war. Edna thenstarted to make dresses again, for extraincome for her and her son. She later met her second husband FredBarron, who was a Farmer and shewent on to marry him aged 40. Theytook on their own farm with animals.Shortly after, they sold their farm, afterEdna’s son Douglas marred his wife Pat.They then had 4 children: Sharon,Janice, Julie and Tony. So Edna andFred went to live in Pocklington andkept pigs. Unfortunately pig pricesdropped dramatically, so Edna becamea Gardner until retirement.Tragically, Edna lost her sister and son20 years ago to cancer. She lost herhusband in November 2004 and cameto Rosevale in January 2005. Ednacontinues to live a full and nearlyindependent life here at Rosevale.

Mrs Edna BarronLife Stories

WelcomeMrs Trudie WattMrs Vaughan and Mrs Pearsonhere with us on a respite break.

New Residents

Never too old to Zumba

It’s aDog’s Life

Clifford’s Tower - York

Gle

nhol

me

New

sTe

l: 01

91 5

49 2

594

ww

w.g

lenh

olm

e-ca

reho

me.

co.u

k

14

Happy Birthday to Edna Parkin who was90 years young on the 11/3/12. We hadan entertainer John Kelly and Dorothy theCook, prepared a beautiful buffet for herparty. All residents attended and alsoDorothy, Edna’s Daughter. Everyoneenjoyed their day, with dancing and Singing.

There were plenty of ‘strikes’ and ‘spares’when Glenholme residents visited theirlocal ten-pin Bowling Alley.

Everyone had a great time and for many,this was the first time they had bowledsince they were young.Bowling has excellent health benefits, as itburns calories and helps with flexing andstretching, something which older peoplecan benefit from.

90th Birthday Bash Edna andDaughter Dorothy

StaffWe would like to sayHappy Birthday to:Dorothy Neil who was 50Andrew Ross who was 50And Susan Pilling who was 60all in March

Announcements

Maureen Metcalfe, who isa new Team Leader. Mandy Harminson on becomingour new house keeper.We would like to wish ResidentMuriel Henderson a wonderful80th Birthday.

Congratulations

Amelda Sewell and Angela Hallon achieving there their Level 3in Health and Social Care.Lesley DoddsMargaret DixonAnn Ham on completing theirFire/Health and Safety at M.C.Q.

Last but not least, Congratulationsto Hayley Farrow, on beingpromoted to Manager ofGlenholme House - Good Luckfrom all staff at Glenholme.

Congratulate

WelcomeMr Derek Bald and Gwen Pottsinto our Home.

New Residents

Bowled Over

Pony TherapyPonies were brought into our Home and as you can see, all theresidents enjoyed them.

Penshaw Monument - Sunderland

Glenholm

e Day C

entre New

sTel: 0191 548 6042

ww

w.glenholm

edaycentre.co.uk

15

Our first Community Dog Show,attracted an amazing 30 pooches,competing in categories such as BestLarge and Small Dog, the Dog with theBest Waggly Tail and Cutest Dog.

Whilst the competition wasfierce, with so many wonderfuldogs on display, everyone gotinto the fun of the day, whichhelped to raise money for theDay Centre Users’ Social Fund.Money was also raised througha tombola, for the AnimalCrackers Charity.The award for SupremeChampion of the Show wentto Gypsy, a Patterdale Terrierowned by Rebecca Richardson.

On our Saturday trips, we planned a visitto Butterfly World and Preston Hall inMiddlesborough.The butterflies where stunning in colour andshape and actually landed on us as weventured round their habitat. Also, within thevenue a family of Meerkats are in residence,these are such playful and inquisitive creaturesthat provided excellent entertainment for ourclients. As part of our day out, we also visitedPreston Hall, which had its own museum andas we travelled through it, we found ourselveson an old cobbled street, with Victorian shopsand Shop Keepers.

Kirkley Hall ZooWe visited Kirkley Hall Zoo in Morpeth.It recently re opened as a zoo, with awide range of animals to see. Onarrival, we were greeted by Lamas anda Donkey, they also had numerousanimals from Pigs, Sheep to Owls anda selection of Reptiles.

Butterfly World

Dog Show gets Tails WaggingStaff

To Michelle Reay,as Deputy Manager

Also to Elaine Kennedy

Also congratulations to ShelleyMcDermott for on reaching15 years service at Glenholme

Congratulations

Congratulations

Happy Birthday

Welcome

Deputy Manager Michelle, whom makes avariety of costumes, brought in a collectionof Victorian outfits for staff and clients towear for the day. All the clients really enjoyeddressing up and showing off the outfits. Inkeeping with the theme, we had scones withjam and cream and sandwiches, served bystaff in Servant’s uniforms. An excellent daywas had by all.

VictorianTea Party

To Anthony Topping, forcompleting his NVQ3 and passinghis D1 driving test

To Dianne Wallace,reaching the big 50

Rive

rhea

d H

all N

ews

ww

w.r

iver

head

hall-

care

hom

e.co

.uk

Tel

: 013

77 2

53 8

63

16

BirthdaysResident Ruth Abel was 100 years old on 19thDecember 2011.

Spring Dance Riverhead’s Spring Dance was held onSaturday 21st April at the Old Town Hall. Abig thank you to Ann Bennett and Sue Hyde,whom raised £800 for the Residents SocialFund.

Driffield Lions This year Heidi was photographed in the localpaper presenting a cheque for £250.00 toDriffield Lion’s President, Graham Long.

Leslie was born on the 11th August 1920in Trimdon, a small village in Durham.Leslie was the second child born to Sarahand Charles William Frank. He had anolder sister Elizabeth, a younger sister Evaand two younger brothers Alan and Tom.Leslie’s father was a Miner and as aresult, the family moved around themining villages of Durham. Leslie says,that although his family had no money,he recalls he had a happy childhood. Heremembers being chased by a farmer intoa cornfield, after being caught pinchingapples and the stone fights he and hisfriends had in the pit heap.Leslie attended AJ Dawson GrammarSchool in Wingate, Durham, beforebeing called up to join the RAF, at the ageof 20, to fight for his Country in WorldWar II. Leslie trained in South Wales as aFitter and was then posted to Squadron221. The RAF took Leslie all over the“Real World”, to places he had never hadget a chance to go. He worked inCountries such as, Northern Ireland,Iceland, The Middle East, Africa, SouthAfrica, Egypt, Cyprus and Spain. Oneparticular memory Leslie has, is beingattacked by bombers in Egypt. He raninto the trenches, tripped over a tent pegand split his head open. The lads pulledhim into a trench and patched him up.When the war was over, Leslie left theRAF and moved to Driffield, to residewith his sister and became a Builder. Itwas here that Leslie met his future wife,18 year old Kathleen Fleetham, who wasthe sister of Jim Fleetham, Leslie’s boss.Leslie and Kathleen married in 1948 atAll Saint’s Church, Driffield and livedwith Kathleen’s mother for two years,whilst Leslie rebuilt and extended hisown home. During this time, working forhis brother-in-law, Leslie attended nightschool to become a qualified Builder andClerk of Works. Once qualified, Leslie

Leslie FrankLife Stories

became a self-employed Builder andalongside his wife ran the Downe ArmsPub in Little Driffield. Whilst at the pub, Leslie and his wife hadtwo daughters, Vivienne, now a SchoolTeacher in Essex and Jane, a Secretary inDriffield. Between them they gave Leslieand his wife seven grandchildren andrecently three great grandchildren. Leslie and Kathleen enjoyed campingholidays around the UK with the twogirls, loving Scotland in particular, becauseof the beautiful countryside. Later in life,when the children had grown up, Leslieand Kathleen would holiday further afieldto places such as the Mediterranean andtrips to Australia, a place they had hopedto relocate to, but Kathleen was unableto leave her mother.Leslie had to give up the pub due to illhealth and started working as a GeneralForeman in Hull, before leaving followinga stomach ulcer operation. Leslie thenbegan working for a Cambridge firm inthe Yorkshire area, before having toleave, again due to ill health. In 1975,they moved to Cranswick and Leslie tooka position as Clerk of the Works forDriffield Urban District Council. Hestayed there as a Building Control Officeruntil he retired in 1983, at the age of 63,to do the same position part-time for aYork firm. He supervised the building ofTaylor’s Field, a complex of wardencontrolled private housing apartments forthe over 55’s, not knowing that he wouldlater live there himself.Leslie’s wife, Kathleen, worked as aSecretary at Jackson’s Supermarket inDriffield, until she retired in 1984. Thisgave Leslie and Kathleen more time tospend together, although Leslie donateda lot of his spare time to building theBowling Green at Hutton Cranswick.Both Leslie and Kathleen loved to playbowls, along with dancing in the OldTown Hall, Driffield. Back in 1950, Leslieand his wife took part in a competitionwhere they took first place, winning theirfirst 3 piece suite.Although enjoying activities together,Leslie enjoyed sea fishing, a sport he didalone, whilst his wife would sit andembroider. Leslie would bring home hiscatch for Kathleen to cook, usually cod.In 1990 Kathleen passed away. Thisresulted in Leslie moving to Taylor’s Fieldin Driffield, the very development he hadsupervised being built. Here Leslie wouldwatch cricket and bowls from hiswindow, which overlooked the DriffieldRecreation Ground. In February 2010,Leslie moved to Riverhead Hall. He likesto reflect on his life and enjoys the quietand a glass of whisky. He has moved withthe times and has a Kindle and a mobilephone, which allows him to keep intouch with his family.

StaffCongratulations to Carer Sarah Sims,who attained her NVQ Level 2 inHealth and Social Care Congratulations to Sallie Aitken,who became Deputy on1st March 2012Congratulations to Carer KatryznaKose,k who married MarivszDziegielowski on 5th March 2012

Announcements

Heatherdale N

ews

ww

w.heatherdale-carehom

e.co.uk Tel: 01670 760 796

17

Butlin’s OAPfor the Day

Violet Douglas, Christine Alsop, SharonBlack and Susan Belisle gave the regularsat Butlin’s Skegness something to rememberby dressing as a OAP for the day.

Heatherdale have showngreat support for theLifeboats at Amble. With thehelp of the Quayside Fish and Chip Shopproviding fish and chips at a reduced rate, theresidents, family and friends held a Fish andChip evening. At the evening supper, whichincluded a raffle plus the Village Choir fromWarkworth providing entertainment, they allmanaged to raise the magnificent amount of£200 for Amble RNLI Lifeboats.

Here at Heatherdale we are lucky enoughto be able to entertain and support TomCrozier — our ‘’Local Hero’’. A remarkableman, who started life in Amble, educatedin Stannington in a school that was startingto be built, until the war arrived and haltedits construction, it was completed after thewar was over.

Tom left school at 14 and went to work onthe local farm at Amble, as he loved theland and enjoyed working with animals andfound himself looking after 30 milkingcows. Tom had to get up at 5:30 am eachday to herd the dairy cows into the milkingshed, where it took two hours to milk themall before he could have his breakfast. Allthis was idyllic until Tom decided to join theArmy, the RTR, (first Royal Tank Regiment).Tom remembers vividly being sent to HongKong during the Suez Crises and having totraverse many countries to get there, as theSuez Canal was blockaded at this time.Border control and patrolling was L/CplToms job and he says he loved it. Tomstayed at his post for two years, with nohome leave. The climate was not very easyto be in, let alone work in, as it was quiteinconsistent, very hot and humid one

minute, then a down pouring of rainequivalent to a monsoon the next. This leftthem all slopping around in a quagmire andthe tank park, a river of mud. Thetemperature could also change to freezingconditions, when their faces and toesturned blue.Tom was fond of the Ghurkhas and theirculture change fascinated him so much,that he has kept many old black and whitephotographs of local rituals, (which usuallyinvolved the decapitation of some pooranimal).Upon returning to the UK, Tom demobbedand returned to Amble, where he marriedthe love of his life, Elizabeth from Hexham.They had one son, Trevor, who now has asuccessful career in Australia, working forHitachi.The RNLI came into Tom’s life when he wasasked to become one of their Engineers forthe Life Boats in Amble. Tom put to use allhis training and skill as an Engineer frombeing in the Army. He became aninvaluable asset to RNLI and crew, over thecourse of 23 years they had managed tohelp save many lives. He was always cheerfuland helpful to anyone who needed ahelping hand or advice. This included havinghis famous bushy beard shaved off to raisemore funds for the RNLI, which was wellpublicised in the local papers.I think Tom’s last assessment from hisCommanding Officer in Hong Kong says itbest: “L/Cpl Crozier has proved himself tobe a very hard worker. He is sober, honestand trustworthy. He can use his initiativeand is not afraid of responsibility. His cheerfuldisposition and personality will make himpopular with his fellow workers. He will dowell in whatever civilian job he does’’Today, Tom still has his cheery dispositionand is a pleasure to support. He still has hiswonderful personality and make all aroundhim cheery too.

Welcome

Tom Crozier - Our Local Hero

Pipers

RNLI – Supportfrom Heatherdale

WelcomeDebra Smith, Julie ShepherdDavida Harrold, Graham Belisle.

New Staff

New Residents

Jayne Mashall, who had a baby girlcalled PorciaViolet Douglas on becoming agrandma for the first time to HarrisonAllison Moore on becoming agrandma for the 2nd time to JordonJennifer Purvis on becoming agrandma to Lily DDenise Pringle on becoming agrandma for the 2nd time toDemi LeighClare Barclay on the birth of herdaughter Hannah

Congratulations

Well Done to:Ashley Shepherd and Rita Ternent,on passing their NVQ level 2.

Kathleen HendersonAnn ThompsonLily WafwGeorge WightSelby HumeAnnie HopeMona StonehouseIsobelle WrightMargaret Marker

Gar

den

Hou

se N

ews

ww

w.g

arde

nhou

se-c

areh

ome.

co.u

k T

el: 0

1289

330

942

18

This is the second year Reindeershave visited and they certainly feltvery much at home. The residentsand staff love the visits, apart fromKarl, who spent most of the visitfollowing them around wi th adustpan and brush. Apparently it’svery good for the gardens!!! The very modern Father Christmas wasa great hit and not just with theresidents, as you can see from thephoto. Mandi looks to be enjoying theevent. I remember him asking all theladies what they wanted for Christmas,some of the responses were a littlerisqué. I think he was asked to move in.We all had a fabulous Christmas andNew Year. It was my first one at GardenHouse and one I shall always treasurethe memory.

“Reindeers moving intoGarden House”

WelcomeWelcome to Nicole Blackie and Faye Bell, who began at Garden Houseas Student Placements from Borders College. Both girls are completingHealth and Social Care qualifications.

We also welcome Debbie Spain who joined us in Nov 2011. Debbie waspreviously an experienced Carer, who worked at a local hospital.

Eliane and Rodrigo Bevevino are from Brazil. Eliane, known to us all asEllie, was a qualified Psychologist in her own country, but unfortunatelywould have to return to college to re-qualify to practice in this country.Rodrigo is Ellie’s husband and recently joined the staff of Garden House.Rodrigo is the lead singer in a band called “Avenger”and I must say thatthey both have a much better grasp of English than I do of Portuguese.

Garden House has a new house cat “Onyx”, I think thename says it all. The residents make such a fuss of him.

We would like to welcome Lewis Brown, who movedinto Garden House in March.

We would also like to remember Gladys Brown. Gladyswas almost 106 years old when she passed awaypeacefully at Garden House.

Our new H & S Officer is our wonderful HousekeeperDennis Bowes and I would like to thank Dennis for taking on this role,“Nothing escapes him”.

Garden House Announcements

LifeboatDonationGarden House donated £500 to theBerwick upon Tweed Lifeboat Station,to put towards the cost of buying newlifejackets for the volunteer crew.The money was provided to Wellburn aspart of its short-listing in the 2012Healthcare Design Awards (see page 1).Thank you for showing Garden Houseresidents around the Lifeboat House,they had a wonderful time.

Ryton Towers N

ews

Tel: 0191 413 8518 ww

w.rytontow

ers-carehome.co.uk

19

StaffMandy Coyrie – Kitchen Assistantcelebrated her 50th BirthdayJanet Madine – Bed makercelebrated her 40th Birthday

Announcements

Patricia BullockViolet BuchanNancy HailesMargaret Jopling

New Residents

To Debbie Brookes, who havegiven birth to a beautiful baby girlKimberly Rose and made NormaHolmes a proud grandma again.

To Sharon Foster on becoming aGrandma again.

Also we will soon be welcominganother three babies into RytonTowers. There must be somethingin the water.

Welcome to Pam Simpson fromWhorlton Grange on Nightshift.

Congratulations With a childhood passion for readingand writing, Winifred Maugham alwayswanted to be a journalist.When she left school, she started workfor her hometown newspaper, theEvening Chronicle in Newcastle. Despitejournalism being a male dominatedindustry in those days and although herfuture sister-in-law also worked at thepaper, she was not phased and carvedout a very successful career as a Reporter.She first worked as an Assistant with oneof the Editors. Her favourite thing aboutthe job was going around the area talkingto people and she was happy to writeabout a range of topics.“There was no room for women’s pagesback then, so we wrote about anythingand everything,” she remembers. Sheparticularly loved getting stories that tookher north of Newcastle, as she was givena chauffeur to take her to interviews.Journalism is a tricky profession to workin, because the slightest slip, orinaccuracy, in your writing can get youinto hot water, as Winifred discovered forherself. She says: “I once said that no onewears hats anymore and this got me areal carpeting from the Editorial staff, ashat companies complained about thisstatement.” Winifred’s proudest momentcame, not from an article in the Chronicle,but from a feature she sent to GoodHousekeeping magazine, which waspublished. She says, to be a journalist you need tohave feeling for it and to be passionate,so it will not suit everyone, but shecertainly enjoyed her career and wouldn’thave swapped it for anything.Winifred went on to marry PhillipMaugham, who was a doctor specialisingin artificial limbs and appliances and theyhad six 6 children together. Sadly Phillippassed away and Winifred now lives inRyton Towers, where she still follows thenews and enjoys reading and writing inher spare time.

Annie Ellwood celebrated her 100thbirthday on 25th January 2012. Sheenjoyed her day with visits from familyand friends; she was thrilled to receiveher card from the Queen. In theafternoon we enjoyed entertainmentfrom Kevin Royale and a fabulous cakeand buffet prepared by our cooks.

Annie’s100th BirthdayCelebrations

Folk Music forthe Old Folks We had a rocking good time,when a popular North East folkband popped in to entertain us. Northumberland husband andwife duo Jiva played toresidents at Ryton Towers.During the 60 minute-plus set,they performed anumber of their ownself-penned hits, aswell as some popularfolk favourites fromthe likes of JohnnyCash, CrosbyStills and Nash.

Hold theFront Page

Who

rlton

Gra

nge

New

sw

ww

.who

rlto

ngra

nge-

care

hom

e.co

.uk

Tel

: 019

1 21

4 01

20

20

WelcomeZoe BellSuzan YavusJulie PottsLiam JohnsonDanielle HarrisPaulette Gill

Shaun Rossiter- New Senior No 3Julie Elliott- NVQ2Marie Clifford- Officially the Registered Managerof Whorlton GrangeSamantha Carr- New Activities Coordinator

New Starters

Congratulationsand w ell done

Happy Days, Congratulations to LieghanneLockyer who got engaged to Rod onChristmas Day. All staff wish them all thebest for the future.

Billy and Eileen Ridley have just celebratedtheir Platinum Wedding Anniversary – 70years. A remarkable achievement, for aremarkable couple. They met in 1939 in apub in Whitley Bay. This must have been fate,as Billy has not been known to frequent pubs,but with some friends, called in for a lemonadeon a hot day. Eileen was there with some ofher friends and the two groups startedchatting. Billy soon found out that Eileenworked in the evenings as a Cashier, in acinema in Gateshead and discovered a newinterest in films, especially as he got free entry.The couple started courting soon after thisand eventually got engaged. Their relationshipwas long distance, as it was war time and Billy

was stationed in Woolwich in London.Following an injury, he was hospitalised inColchester and Bishop Auckland, beforebeing discharged home. They decided to getmarried soon after this and were married byspecial license in St Nicholas Cathedral,Newcastle on 21st February 1942 and sobegan a long and happy journey together.

New Events

70 Years’ Wedding AnniversaryBilly and Eileen Ridley

Eleanor was born in the RVI Infirmary on28/4/1922 to Jane Tinline Henderson WoodRamage and James Henry Ramage, she wastheir firstborn child and lived in ElswickNewcastle Upon Tyne. She was christenedEleanor White Wood Boyd Ramage.Her father was a business man who ownedtwo shops, a Fruit and Veg Shop and aButchers Shop and had a horse and cart. Itwasn’t long before they moved to WhitleyBay and took over a Hotel business, as thetown was very popular with holiday makers.She attended Rockliffe Primary School inthe Town.Eleanor was the eldest child and had threesisters, Frances (Tancy), Jean, Alison and 1one brother, James (Jimmy).Eleanor travelled the country during the

1939-1945 war. She worked forthe Army in the Naafi and wasbased at several barracks, i.eFolkestone, Ashford, Ruckinge,Shorncliffe, Bridlington andNottingham.Eleanor met Thomas FitzgeraldDrady, who was in the Army andthey married on 29th July 1940 atSt Marys Cathedral in NewcastleUpon Tyne. They had twochildren, Bernadette, born 12thMay 1944 and Trevor James whowas born 25th March 1950. They

then lived in Newcastle. Whilst back inNewcastle, Eleanor was working as aButcher for the co-op, then she became aCatering Supervisor for NewcastlePolytechnic (now the NorthumbriaUniversity) By this time, Eleanor was heavilyinvolved with the Trade Union movement,NUPE and was now promoted to BranchSecretary. She travelled throughout Britain tovarious conferences, taking motions on thefloor on many occasions and fighting for themembers rights. She disliked MargaretThatcher and brought members out onstrike, going on the picket line many timesherself. She still has lots of photos from thistime. The Union was a very big part of herlife, did a lot of good for the workers andwas well respected. She can still advisepeople to this day about their rights.

Eleanor loves children and animals and overthe years, when the children were small, shehad three Alsatians called, Vos, Veda andBeauty and a mongrel called Rebel. Therewere also cats, rabbits, budgies, chickens(who laid lots of eggs), which was handy,because Ration books were in force at thistime and fresh food was in short supply.Eleanor and Tom divorced in April 1971.Eleanor then met George Robert Gregg, whohad been in the RAF and they married on29th July `97`. Georges worked as aPostman and he was also a great cook andmade lovely cakes and savouries. Georgeand Eleanor bought a large luxury caravan atBerwick and she simply loved going there,meeting up with many of her friends. Sheused to love going abroad on holidays aswell, especially Cyprus, where she still hasmany friends. They had a little dog andcalled it NUPE after the Union, which theyhad for many years before it died. She likedall sport, especially snooker, football, darts,racing and she also loves Deal or No Dealon the TV. She was an excellent knitter andmade numerous and complicated patternedwoollens for her children and grandchildren,until failing eyesight put an end to this. Shealso loves all the old songs and movies. Sheloves Brandy with a touch of Lemonade andendless cups of tea. Eleanor was devastatedwhen George died on 7th October 1999, asthey had a very happy and loving marriage.

Eleanor White Wood Boyd Gregg

Residents ofWhorlton Grange,welcomed rabbits Bettyand Thelma who arrivedon Sunday 15th April.They have been a greatsuccess, providing atherapeutic and vocal point amongstthe residents and their families.

Wellburn H

ouse New

sTel: 01661 834 522 w

ww

.wellburnhouse-carehom

e.co.uk

21

It may have been cold outside, buta Hawaiian-inspired party kept usvery warm.Residents enjoyed an afternoon of tropicaltreats, including cocktails (non-alcohol ofcourse) and music. The idea for the themedparty came from Wellburn House’s DeputyManager, Carol Ridgeway, who said: “I

thought it would be good to bring thewarmth of Hawaii into the Home so we hadthe umbrella, real palm trees, inflatable palmtrees and monkeys, cocktails and evengarlands made out of napkins.”

We were transported back to a time ofbig hair, brick-sized mobile phones andshoulder pads – to celebrate WellburnHouse’s 25th Anniversary.To mark our birthday, westaged a 1980s ThemedParty. Staff, residents andtheir families were invitedto dress up in outfits fromthe 1980s and one person,Care Assistant, KellyJackson and even came asa Rubik’s Cube.Entertainment wasprovided by local singerShelly Mack, who beltedout tunes from the 80s,after which everyone satdown to a 1980s tea. Abirthday cake was alsomade for the occasion.

HawaiianSunshine

Magic MomentsResidents at Wellburn House enjoyedsome magic moments at their BonfireNight firework display.After watching the fantastic display, wewere treated to a performance by theMagic Moments Theatre Group. Thegroup performed sketches about thepast and to get in character, they woreclothes from the particular period.

StaffAnnouncementsHappy 60th BirthdayCarol and Ann

Sonia – Grandma for the 4thtimes – Welcome to baby Adam

Welcome to New StaffTracy, Susan, Yvonne, Julieand Margaret

Good luck Jill – doing the walk forlife in aid of Cancer Research UK

Back to theFuture

Tyne Bridge - Newcastle upon Tyne

Life

Sto

ries

22

Ellen was born on 7th February 1908in the Elmsall area of West Yorkshire.She had five brothers; Frank, Tom,Laurence, Ted and Alma. Tom was aMiner, but the others were in theArmy. Sadly Alma died in the 1stWorld War at age 17. Laurence was ina mounted band in the Army.She also had 2 sisters; Prudenceand Lucy.Ellen worked in service in a ScarboroughGuesthouse at age 14yrs and then in amill in Shipley. She had ballet lessonsat this time. The mill even paid for herto see a ballet in London. Due to thecost of lessons, she settled for going tolocal dances and was so passionateabout it, she cycled to many a venue. She then met the love of her life, Samand endured the poverty of the 1926strikes. There was no work for him ashe was a Miner and they were frugaltimes. Ellen’s make-do philosophieswere legendary, her baking and bottlingmeant they never starved. They vowedtheir sons, Kenneth and Robert, would

Ellen NichollsLife Stories

never go down the pits and they bothfollowed artistic careers - Ken Teachingand Rob a Freelance Painter in Askrigg,Wensledale.Sam sadly passed away in 1976,whereupon Ellen moved near Kennethin the North East and then toBainbridge near Robert, some yearslater. Then another move when wellover 100, to Richmond. Ellendedicated her life to her family andworked hard all her life. Her familynow extends to 7 Grandchildren and4 Great Grandchildren, who all doteon their lovely little Nan.

night, a rather glamorous theatregoerasked her if she would like a Turkish.Agnes assumed she meant a TurkishDelight, but the lady in fact wasreferring to a Turkish cigarette and sobegan a fairly heavy smoking habit, thatAgnes was to carry on for 55 years,giving up only when she had a healthscare at age 70.Agnes got a full time job when she leftschool, working at Croftons, the SouthShields department store and was stillworking there when the Second WorldWar began. Agnes volunteered for part-time work manning the telephones forthe Women’s Auxiliary Fire Service.She directed the fire crews to wherebombs had fallen and fires had brokenout. One night was to have seriousconsequences for her, when she had todirect the crews to Croftons, which hadbeen bombed and practically flattened.The store never re-opened and ofcourse Agnes lost her day job.Shortly before the war began, Agneshad met the love of her life Teddy who,after they married in 1940, was postedto Burma as an RAF Wireless-Operator.They loved each other just as much in

1974, when Teddy died, as they had in1940. In the meantime, Agnes gavebirth to twins, Michael and David in1946. She had such an easy pregnancyand straightforward birth, that hermother quipped that she should havebabies for everyone. Sadly six monthslater, a cot death was to claim poorMichael’s life. In 1969, David marriedCarol and in due course, threegrandsons came along for Agnes,Richard, Phillip and Stephen.A rather botched operation for anenlarged Thyroid left her Agnesagoraphobic and a little nervous, wherepreviously she has been naturallysociable and outgoing. Her conditionmeant that she spent more time thanmost people indoors, although she hasa happy disposition and a tremendoussense of humour, which would oftenleave her in uncontrollable fits of giggles.She is never bored and her hobbiesinclude; reading, knitting, playingpatience and doing crosswords. Forabout 20 years before Teddy’s death,they would save copies of the DailyTelegraph and compete against eachother to see who could complete thecrossword first, which was almost alwaysin less than 15 minutes. They kept arunning total and Agnes held a narrowlead, probably about 3,020 to 2999!

Agnes was born on 20th October 1912in South Shields, a mile or so fromwhere a certain Catherine Cookson,the famous author, was born six yearsearlier. Her mother had christened herAgnes, in order to please her ownmother, but soon decided that shedidn’t like the name, so Agnes becameCis, which was the name of a friend.She attended St Johns School, whereshe played for the netball team andgained a liking for poetry and reading. Agnes had a part-time job at a theatrein South Shields, at age 15. and One

Agnes GilesLife Stories

NIGHTINGALE HALLLife Story

WHORLTON GRANGE Life Story

Life Stories

23

day off work to go and fetch Ron toand bring him home. When hereturned home, Ron took a long timeto settle back in to daily life in theNorth East and he felt no-one hadmissed him enough whilst he was awayand his bike had rusted with being leftin the back yard. His dad took a day offwork to repair it and Ron says fixing hisbike and coming to fetch him homewere two of the only days his fatherever missed work. Ron finally followed in his father’sfootsteps and served an apprenticeshipat Swan Hunter Ship builders andeventually worked his way up toPersonnel Manager.Ron went onto marry Stella and hadtwo sons and a daughter. Although Ronhas had many enjoyable experiences inhis life, he counts his evacuation timeas a dear one. There hasn’t been ayear pass when Ron hasn’t returned tothe Lake District and although he hasmany happy memories, they areslightly tinged with guilt for his poorMother and Father!

Ronald was born to Joseph and LizStephenson on 11th June 1928. Ronhad a happy childhood, one of sixgrowing up in a tough Newcastle, hisdad worked long hours in the shipyardsand in time Ron would eventuallyfollow in his fathers footsteps. War broke out in 1939, when Ron wasabout 11 years old and he wasevacuated to the Lake District. Mostwould find this a very scary prospect,to be separated from their family, butnot Ron, he found this to be a greatadventure for a young boy. Ron wasfortunate enough to be in the care of awell off retired Army Officer, whomhad never married, nor had he every

had children of his own. Ron, hisbrother and a couple of other children,were kitted out in new clothes andboots and given their own bedrooms.Ron said he was treat like a king.During his time in the lakes, hiseducation was very unconventional.Some days were spent climbingmountains, others following pathsaround the great lakes using a basicwritten map. Ron remembers one ofhis greatest memories to be ice-skatingon Lake Windermere by moonlight.Fine memories for a Tyneside boy! When the war was over, it was time toreturn home. Whilst most were happyto go and started packing their bags up,Ron refused to go home back toNewcastle. His mother was heartbrokenand eventually his Father had to take a

Ronald StephensonLife Stories

Margaret was born in Couson Street,Benwell in January 1920. Sheremembers the area quite well. Herparents were Elizabeth and Jim, Jimworked in the Shipyards. Margaret is the last surviving ofseven siblings : George, John, Mary,Margaret, Jimmy, Jean and Billy.Margaret went to school in CannonStreet, although she really did notenjoy school at all. Margaret had a number of jobs,including work in an Electroplatingfactory, as a Barmaid, in Carricks theBakery, and as a Admin Assistant inthe Ministry for Pensions.Margaret married Jim Maule andthey were married for nearly sixtyyears before Jim sadly passed away.They had five children; Rose,Patricia, Jennifer, Georges and Jimmy.Jen unfortunately died in 2005,although her son in law Bill visitsfrequently and was Margaret’s maincarer until recently. He lives inPrudhoe.

Margaret MauleLife StoriesRose was married to Brian, howeverhe sadly passed away in September2011. Rose gave Margaret threegrandchildren, Susan, Christina andBrian. They in turn provided eightgrandchildren Andrew, Lucy, Stacey,Karl, Jason, Sean, Nathan and stepgranddaughter Holly.Pat lives in Hexham and is married toGeorge. They have recently returnedfrom living in Spain, where Margaretenjoyed going for holidays. Patworked in Care Homes and as a HomeHelp. Pat and George have threechildren Colin, Alison and Malcolm.Colin has provided Margaret withthree great grandchildren; Philip, Lisaand James, Malcolm has two children,Aimie and Liam. George and partner Chris live inAberdeen. He works off shore in theShetlands.

Jimmy is married to Maggie and shehas two children and one adoptedchild from a previous relationship;Les, Lisle and Stephen. They live inPerthshire, near Dundee. Margaret enjoyed reading CatherineCookson and watched CoronationStreet, Emmerdale and comedyprogrammes. She still enjoyslistening to music and playing bingo.

CRAGHALL Life Story

WELLBURN HOUSE Life Story

Hea

d O

ffice

New

sw

ww

.wel

lbur

n-ca

reho

mes

.co.

uk

Tel:

0191

229

353

0

Winner Whorlton GrangeAfternoon Tea in the garden

Third St CatherinesTea for two

Residents ArrangingSweet Peas

Winner – Heatherdale

Second – Rosevale

Third – Grimston Court

Sweet PeasGrowing in the Garden

Winner – Heatherdale

Second – Whorlton Grange

Third – Grimston Court

Whorlton Grange

Our AwardWinning Gardeners

24

Amazingly I am writing this during aperiod of very dry weather, long warm

days of sunshine, March 2012!!2011 was another very successful year for garden awards,

these awards are a tribute to our hard working team.Tuesday March 6th 2012 we held out first “GardenersDay” at Azure Garden Centre, Cramlington, a great

success, lots of chat and swopping of ideas.Due to our homes covering a large area this was the firsttime they had the chance to all meet in person. Neil came

down from Berwick, John and Brian up from Driffieldand York.

John Taylor (Azure Consultant) conducted a tour of thegarden centre and plant nurseries.

After lunch we recorded the occasion with a groupphotograph and Karl Beckett gave a short talk.

All agreed that we must ‘do it again’, possibly annually?Our gardens have been a blaze of colour this year with

spring bulbs, but our winter pots and baskets are faringbadly, this bedding is ‘bred’ for cold and wet and cannot

cope with being too warm.We are developing a Sensory Garden within The Mews atSt Catherine’s this summer, paths safe for walking andwheelchairs, raised beds, differents eating areas, plants

with colour and texture providing stimulation for senses.Nightingale Hall’s new extension is finished and thenew patio is a wonderful asset, complete with water

feature and new planters providing views of excellentcolour from all bedrooms and the new lounge.

Glenholme Day Centre clients are growing plants fromseed and will have their own garden area this year

within the grounds.

SHIRLEY WARD - GARDEN MANAGER

Second RosevaleGeorge & Jessie Marritt

71st Wedding Anniversary