Victory in Europe Day Celebration
The coronavirus pandemic did not stop our residents and staff from having the biggest celebration Barley View has ever seen!
Friday 8th May marked 75 years since the end of World War II in Europe. A date that we had originally planned a big joyous celebration with all our family, friends and local community. Instead we found other ways of marking the day and sharing with loved ones far and wide.
The day started with our beauty and hair salon opening up for 1940s roll/pin up hair styles and stunning make-up. The home became festooned with flags, banners, photos and posters, as well as a life-size Winston Churchill figure. Finally, our staff completed the makeover to the wartime by donning head scarves and handing out ration books to the residents to use for the day.
At 11am we spent time in quiet reflection for the one minute silence, remembering those who so valiantly and courageously lost their lives.
Lunchtime, was a triumphant celebration including for the first time – Homity Pie (a surprisingly delicious pie filled with potatoes, onion and leek mixture, which is then covered with cheese) and Lemon Chicken, followed by good old Bread and Butter pudding.
The afternoon was filled with singing, dancing and toasts! We beamed part of our celebrations live to family, friends and public using Facebook video, with Gemma performing an impressive rendition of Vera Lynn songs and duo of Hollie and Skye putting on a dance show to a classic ‘Boogie Woogie Bugler Boy’ song. There was lots of time for our residents and staff to enjoy the dancing and 1940s music.
The whole Barley View community came together in the garden to raise a toast to our Queen. We enjoyed a very British afternoon Tea including Pimms, Scones and the British favourite of a good old Quiz! Our neighbours enjoyed our music and joined in clapping from over the fence too.
Finally, the memories of the wartime and the joy of VE day were shared in abundance. We’re delighted to capture just some of these on camera to share with our loved ones.
More Celebrations to Come
We are looking forward to celebrating VJ Day, on 15th August, when the war in Japan finally ended. One of our residents was fighting until this point, so this day will be particularly significant for us.
As we return to our ‘new normal’ our team have been developing a new pattern of activities using skills within our team. Tia, Lauren, Hollie and Skye are all stepping up and creating a varied activity plan for the month, including a pamper night, dance class and family card creating session. Where benefiting from their creativity and hidden skills!
Communicating with families continues to be vital. This Thursday at 16:00 we will be hosting our first Virtual Residents Meeting. We hope lots of families will be able to join us, from far and near. To find out how to log on and join our video meeting, call us on 01706 659917
