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Christmas Elves Visit Manormead
Two elves visited Manormead on the 21st December 2024 and made themselves at home for the day. They had a tour of the building, joined residents for lunch, used a guest room for an afternoon snooze and then thought they would have a go at running the office - thankfully they didn’t cause too much havoc.
Christmas 2024 Has Begun at Manormead
Residents and staff have been celebrating the start of the festive season with three days of events which have included generous servings of tea, mulled wine and mince pies. On Tuesday the 10th December the local Mothers’ Union held their annual carol service in the Manormead Chapel; there was a healthy turn out of residents and members of the local community to make it a very special afternoon. The following day saw the switching on of the Manormead Christmas tree lights; this year’s honour went to The Archdeacon of Surrey, Revd Canon Catharine Mabuza, who was joined by local Minister Revd Richard Bodle and the Guildford Diocese Retirement Officer, Julian Hubbard. It was Catharine’s first visit to a Manormead festive event since starting in the role of Archdeacon and her first ever invitation to turn on some Christmas lights! Poems and short stories were shared and enjoyed before the ‘big switch on’. On the 12th December Scheme Manager Peter Hilling hosted his annual festive quiz which included questions on seasonal topics and more random subjects. Mulled wine helped those attending to grapple with questions ranging from determining what a ‘Smoking Bishop’ is to when the last Dodo died, and which English leader banned the singing of Christmas songs – educational and fun!
18th November 2024 - Fire Service Training at Stuart Court
A fire training drill was held at Stuart Court with the Kibworth village retained Fire Service attending as well as a crew from Rothwell in the neighbouring County of Northamptonshire. Allowing the Fire & Rescue Service to use Stuart Court for training purposes is invaluable to them and also helps to ensure fire procedures work as they should. All 4 dummies were rescued successfully!
17th October 2024 - Ramsay Hall Autumn Tea Party
To celebrate the changing of the season, residents and staff came together to enjoy an autumn tea party - a good opportunity to enjoy each others company and eat cake. The lovely cakes and scones were made by the scheme catering team.
5th August 2024 - 'Owls about Town' at Ramsay Hall
'Owls about Town' were one of the attractions at the Ramsay Hall open day, where local Church pension beneficiaries are invited to the scheme. Residents, visitors and staff had a chance to hold and learn about a selection of owls. A great day was had by all!
July 2024 - Open Day at Gracey Court
Gracey Court's Open Day saw 20 visitors attend and they, along with residents and staff, were delighted to meet visiting Alpacas and enjoy a 2-course roast dinner with all the trimmings. The day also gave visitors a chance to have a tour around Gracey Court and its facilities where residents took an active role in providing visitors a full insight into what it is like to live at the scheme.
June 2024 - D-Day Celebrations at Gracey Court
The residents at Gracey Court truly entered the spirit of things when Kerry Richardson the Deputy Manager organised a D-Day event to celebrate 80 years since the historic Landing at Normandy.
Residents and staff dressed up in 1940's attire and had a fish and chip lunch whilst listening to war time tunes and hearing residents personal accounts of D-Day.
One resident recreated a table of food rations from the time which was fascinating as well as her original gas mask.
Another resident put together a presentation of his visit to the Bayeux cemetery which was very moving. The event was talked about for weeks after and all who attended thoroughly enjoyed it.
25th May 2024 - Charity Cake Sale at Ramsay Hall
Ramsay Hall hosted a cake sale to raise money for Turning Tides, a local homeless charity. Residents, staff as well as friends and family were asked to either make, or buy, cakes for the sale. There was a brilliant turn out, the sun was shining and £198.45 was raised for the charity.
Residents Thank Those Who Support Them
Manormead residents wanted to show appreciation to those who support them through paid or voluntary services provided; so they organised an afternoon tea party on the 16th September 2024 to say 'thank you'. Those invited included Manormead staff, care agency staff, volunteer drivers, cleaners, the gardeners, the chiropodist, and the hairdresser. A wonderful spread of sandwiches, cakes, trifle and drinks was prepared by residents to the delight of the 20 guests.
Manormead Falconry Open Afternoon
An open afternoon at Manormead on the 10th July 2024 gave residents and visitors a fabulous opportunity to get up close and personal with some beautiful and interesting birds of prey. Jason from Falconry UK gave a hugely informative and engaging talk which included the opportunity for everyone in the audience to hold a bird of prey. The visiting birds included a Pygmy Falcon, Blue Winged Kookaburra and a Verreaux's Eagle-owl.
Everyone enjoyed their encounter with some amazing birds of prey; it was a topic of discussion for a long time afterwards.
Biblical Hebrew at Manormead
During February 2024, an enthusiastic group of residents has embarked on a course to learn and understand more about the basics of Biblical Hebrew under the leadership of resident Revd. Cyril Tennant. Their aim is to meet every couple of weeks over the course of 5 months to gain familiarity of the language while supporting each other through the meetings and with their homework! Alongside this course resident Canon David Holt is running a highly appreciated course on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Both courses have drawn in local community members of the nearby churches of St. John's in Churt, St. Albans in Hindhead and the Beacon Hill United Reformed Church.
January 2024 - Epiphany Party and Panto at Stuart Court
Stuart Court welcomed in 2024 with its annual residents Epiphany Party & Panto. Rehearsals for this interactive afternoon weeks in advance being careful not to give their set away beforehand. The audience was treated to a variety of performances from poetry reading right through to ventriloquist acts, all great fun and very enjoyable - all followed by some delicious refreshments.
Police Dog Training School Event at Manormead
The afternoon of the 10th August 2023 saw an Open day at Manormead where the Surrey & Sussex Police Dog training School were invited to come and give residents and visitors a talk about their work, along with a practical demonstration involving two very enthusiastic Spaniels. Pete and Graham provided a very entertaining and hugely informative insight into the training school and the work of the Police dogs once they go into operational service. The talk was followed by the more experienced Spaniel successfully searching out some fake explosives which had been hidden in the garden. A very positive event which was enjoyed by all - a huge thank you to Pete and Graham for their time.
Christmas Tree Light Switch On at Manormead
It has become customary that the switch on of Christmas tree lights starts the festive season at Manormead and 2022 was no different. Residents and staff gather when the evening light faded to enjoy warmed mulled wine and mince pies while sharing seasonal poems and verses. The Venerable Paul Davies, the Archdeacon of Surrey once again kindly joined proceedings to share seasonal thoughts and perform the light switch on.
Manormead Open Day - 21st November 2022
The staff and residents were delighted to invite local retired Church of England pension beneficiaries to a short song recital from soprano Katharine Fuge and pianist Laetitia Federici; Katharine's father lives at Manormead and has kindly entertained residents before. Thirteen visitors joined residents to enjoy canapes and refreshments while listening to songs by Strauss, Britten, Warlock, Rubbra, Schubert and Handel associated with the period to Christmas. The event was enjoyed by all, with thanks going to Katharine and Laetitia.
The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
All our schemes held celebration events throughout June 2022 in recognition of the late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee; these included cream teas, parties and tree plantings. Manormead invited the Bishop of Guildford The Rt Revd Andrew Watson to join them in their celebrations where he planted a hawthorn tree with the assistance of the newest resident.
Manormead Countryside & Wildlife Event: 19th May 2022
Manormead residents take a keen interest in the wildlife that visits their garden, particularly the birds which make use of the regularly replenished bird feeders. In the early Spring of 2020 work on a new pond began which prompted the idea for a wildlife and countryside event in May 2020 to celebrate its opening and provide an opportunity for pension beneficiaries from the surrounding area to visit Manormead, while also providing an entertaining afternoon for residents. Plans for the event then began but unfortunately Covid arrived which stopped proceedings. The start of 2022 saw Covid restrictions removed which allowed for planning to resume and the year being the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee also gave a good reason for a second open afternoon on the 9th June. The Countryside & Wildlife event date was set as the 19th May and attractions confirmed, which included a talk from the Surrey Wildlife Trust, an interactive farm animal display, charity raffle, gift stalls as well as a display of wildlife images from a local photographer.
The 19th of May proved to be a beautiful sunny and warm Spring day. Contributors started setting up in the early afternoon with the arrival of the farm animals sparking interest from those passing the garden doors, resulting in big smiles and comments about how cute the animals were. The entertainment included people taking miniature sheep and goats for walks around the garden, the cuddling of rabbits, chicks, and a pygmy pig. Visitors joined a tour of Manormead, viewing a flat and learning how the scheme promotes independent living and what support is available. The lounge was filled with those wanting to listen to the talk about the work of the Surrey Wildlife Trust which was kindly presented by a resident’s son. The afternoon was a great success with guests and residents enjoying the proceedings and fine weather, finishing with a raffle draw which raised £50 for the Surrey Wildlife Trust.