Dear residents, families, friends and staff

Well the early part of the summer has brought drama into our lives – what with the Government shake up and the World Cup there has been plenty to focus on nationally. Meanwhile life ticks on nicely at Hedges House and we have various exciting news items to report.

We are proud to be able to announce that we have a resident who is now 100 years of age! Vere Stoakley celebrated his birthday on 25th July with a visit from the Deputy Mayor at 1.30 pm followed by entertainment by Hugh Dent and then a buffet tea which was served for all to enjoy.

Vere was presented with a bottle of champagne and of course, a telegram from the Queen!

Vere was born in Cambridge where he lived all his life until he moved up to Hedges House two years ago, to be near to his family in Wesham following the death of Grace, his wife of 66 years. He was 15 when he joined the family bookbinding business, started by his grandfather in

1885, and worked until he was 75 years old, cycling to work every day.

A life long member of the ’99 Rowing Club in Cambridge, he was the cox of several “eights” which won “Head of the River”.

During the 2nd World War, he served in the Royal Observer Corps. After completing a night shift with the ROC, he would cycle straight back to work in the business.

Vere was a keen gardener, having had an allotment until he was 97 when ill health forced him to give it up.

Congratulations Vere on your 100th birthday!

As most of you will know, JJ and members of the knitting club have been knitting squares over the winter, and sewing them up into blankets. After various attempts to pass these blankets on to Charity organisations, we
heard about a lady in Macclesfield who was attempting to produce the world’s biggest cardigan for inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records. When we heard about her efforts, we asked if she would like the squares for inclusion in the project, and she was delighted, as she was just putting the finishing touches to the garment when we contacted her.

The cardigan measures 32’ across and our involvement alone used an impressive 38 balls of wool!

The lady is now looking for a sponsor so that she can take the cardigan on tour around the country!

She has promised to bring the finished product into Hedges House – goodness knows where we will find the space to show
it off!

What can we say? The picture speaks for itself, showing a display of flowers in the red and gold colours as specified by “Lytham in Bloom”. Readers may remember that we won the first prize in the “Best Care/Nursing Home” category and we are hopeful that we will retain this prestigious and sought after trophy. The “drive past” by the judges took place on Saturday 10th July and we are eagerly awaiting notification of the results.

Let’s deal with the most important football item first!

There was relief and excitement when our local football club Blackpool successfully beat Cardiff 3 -2 in the play offs at Wembley making a well deserved return to the football premiership after many years. The bar lounge was awash with tangerine scarves and flags and Anne and Brenda are pictured here enthusiastically participating in the celebrations!

Congratulations to Blackpool and long may you stay in the premiership!

No such luck for England in the World Cup of course. Our pictures reflect our support in the England v Slovenia match on 23rd June. England flags were flown and a buffet tea and cocktails were served.

Sadly, the team needed more than our support and the rest, as they say, is history.

On 30th June, in beautiful weather, residents set off in a coach at 10 am to visit Knowsley Safari Park. Carol had prepared a picnic lunch of sandwiches and home-made scones which everyone enjoyed in the sunshine. The driver then drove back through Southport and the residents had a lovely ride along
Southport promenade, returning in time for tea. A great time was had by all!

We are delighted to welcome Deborah back to Hedges House after the birth of her twins, and are all delighted that she has now returned to good health. Keep up the good work Deborah – we’ve all missed you!

In addition to the news items reported above, Hedges House continues to be very busy with day to day activities and JJ’s summer programme is still proving to be very popular. Whilst the weather has been mixed, we have had some lovely long summer days and nights although even at the end of July, we can see the days getting shorter.

We hope that all readers who have been on holiday have enjoyed their summer break and we look forward to keeping you up to date again shortly.

With best wishes to you all

Hilary and Robert