Marston Court Newsletter May 1 – June 1 2013

From 19 ththth May to 26 ththth May it was ‘Treat Week’! This was a time to give our residents a chance to do things they wouldn’t normally get a chance to do….. Like having a delicious strawberries and cream tea! Who of us doesn’t long for anything as wonderful! This is Mabel, Phyllis, Tim and Eileen being given their portion from the carer on Isis, Aida. Everyone in the home was offered their own bowls of strawberries and cream too….

New Kids on the BBlocklock ! On Wednesday 22 nd May, we took a trip to David Earl’s house in the Old Marston Road to see his goats, chickens and rabbits, at his smallholding, where he also grows his own fruit and vegetables! Here we are all setting off to his house on our scooters!

David, who runs the Marston Neighbourhood Church group, who visit us each month, has a nice large family, and over the last few years he has become almost self-sufficient in feeding them all!

During the summer months they don’t go to the supermarket anything like as much as the rest of us do! If you remember ‘The

Good Life’ with Tom and Barbara Good on the BBC back in the 1980s, then you will get some idea of how the Earl family get on!

All of our thanks go to David for his hospitality, along with nice cups of tea and homemade cakes, as well as his his fascinating stories about how to feed a large family, without breaking the bank! David’s Church Group will be back for their monthly church service on Wednesday June 12 th - along with their coffee and homemade cakes...!

2. Then there was a lovely ‘Pub Lunch’ ! On Thursday 23 rd May we all piled into the Glebe House minibus, and went off to the King’s Arms riverside pub at Sandford-on-Thames for a ‘pub lunch’!

We took Tim, Elsie, Peggy, Eleanor, Lawrence and John. Paul, Jaimie and Diane were the carers…. Sadly the weather wasn’t that great – we watched the rain pouring down in the garden, so we couldn’t sit outside and watch the boats go by as everyone had hoped to do, but sitting indoors enjoying a brilliant meal and a nice drink in a nice pub, was definitely the second best option! Jovan ! On that same morning, we had all enjoyed another show from our old friend who plays our favourites on the accordion - Jovan!

Jovan has been coming to Marston Court for a long time now, and we are always pleased to see him…. He plays just the right mix of old and new music which everyone can sing and have a little dance to…! Here you can see Phyllis and Mabel taking to the

floor, and June meeting up with her old friend G.P. Doctor Tony, who she used to work for as his receptionist!

A Proper Fish and Chips Lunch ! And to round off ‘Treat Week’ everyone was treated to ‘proper’ fish and chips for lunch on the Friday!

Jason, the Chef, made a delicious batter to coat the lovely fresh cod, and then it was served through the cooking hatch with chips cut up from ‘real’ potatoes, and in paper – just like the real thing from the Chip Shop!! Here you can see two happy residents, Joe and Elsie tucking in….! Yummy!

‘Tiger’ the Rabbit! As well as our Cockatiels, we are now the proud owners of two new rabbits to add to our collection! They are called Timmy and Tiger , and are causing much amusement in our garden at the moment! We allow them to roam around the garden and have fun with the residents! On the right you can see Diane with Tiger!

The Gideon Bible. We were approached by Helen Cowan from the Gideon Society to see if our residents would like a copy each of the Gideon Bible to be placed in their rooms. As most people will know, if you have stayed in a hotel or guest house anywhere in this country, you probably will have found a copy of the Gideon Bible in one of the drawers in your room. The group have now decided that it would be nice for every care home in the land to have one for every resident too. The group don’t charge anything for the Bibles, and we gratefully accepted their kind offer, so we are very pleased to have put a copy into each of the resident’s rooms. Thanks very much to Helen and the Gideons for their kind donations.

3. Happy Birthdays in May !

Only two birthdays in May, so it’s ‘Many Happy Returns’ to Phyllis Clarke for the 22 nd May and to Rose Nix on the 26 th …

Our Brian returns! The ‘Big Fella from The Forest of Dean’ with the lovely voice returned to Marston Court on Friday 10 th May! Brian Wynn is a ‘regular’ at Marston Court, and has been for a few years now! As you can see, Gladys Tinnion, who loves her music, is entranced by his presence! Brian sings many of his own songs, which he has written himself, as well as the old favourites we all know and love!

Then on Thursday 30 ththth May Donna Chalcraft came to sing for us ! Donna is always very popular with our residents, and has been coming along to Marston Court for many years now, and everyone always look forward to her visits !

Donna sang some great songs from the Eurovision Song Contest – from the days when they actually managed to produce songs that were worth listening to – including ‘Puppet on a String’ by Sandie Shaw, and ‘Beg, Steal and Borrow’ from The New Seekers… (haven’t heard them for quite a while!) Then there were loads of classic Country and Western songs from John Denver, Patsy Kline, Marie Osmond and Daniel O’Donnell! What a great mixture of music… Donna is a brilliant singer and we will be inviting her back before long… In fact, we’ve just booked her to play for us on Friday 26th July! Please come along!

4. Our New Raised Flower Beds !

Our two Handymen, Trevor and Jim are currently working on a project to build raised flower beds, so that some of our residents who like gardening, can plant their flowers, pot plants or vegetables without having to stoop down…. as well as adding a nice splash of colour to the garden!

With the weather starting to improve at last, everyone is anxious to get out and about – whether it’s on the scooters or to do a bit of gardening! So for Jim and Trevor this was a priority!

We also have a new gardener who has just moved into Marston Court. Welcome, John Radford!

John himself is a very keen gardener, and has even brought tools with him from when he lived in Great Clarendon Street! He has a very useful gardener’s stool with wheels on, plus another clever tool for getting the weeds out from between the paving slabs in the garden! You can see him here carrying out his task, and doing it very efficiently!

It’s good to see our two visiting ducks – who come to see us every year at about this time, checking to see if John is carrying out his tasks properly! John is a wonderful asset to Marston Court, and we are very proud of him!

A Date for your Diary: On Friday 21 st June, Marston Court is holding an ‘Open Day’! This is when all family members and friends, local dignitaries and members of the public are being invited to ‘look round’ the home to see what we get up to! Everyone is welcome….

Marston Court Marston Road, Marston, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX3 0DJ Tel: 01865 241526 Web: www.osjct.co.uk