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tel: 0845 521 1857
We have always said our residents are our best ambassadors. That’s why we’ve dedicated these pages to the residents of Castle Village to fill with news, views and events, in the hope it will give you a genuine insight in village living Retirement Villages’ style.
Preparations are well under way for this year’s Marquee Week to be held in late July. Entertainers have been booked: a talented lady harpist for the Welcome Party, a gifted speaker for the Tuesday Luncheon Club, a Jazz band for the mid-week Supper, and two splendid performers for the Saturday Gala Dinner. Fifteen stalls are already booked for the Village Market, offering attractive bargains in food, clothing, jewellery, greetings cards and more. Rehearsals are also well under way for this year’s show, which takes the form of two one-act comedy plays - one with a cast of two, and the other with a cast of 17. Finding 19 actors was a considerable achievement in itself, and the laughter drifting from the rehearsal room suggests that they are enjoying themselves.
Maintenance team member Beth Scillitoe was sponsored by a number of Castle Village residents for her recent challenge to raise funds for Help for Heroes. Beth, the daughter of former Castle Village Nurse, Val Scillitoe, took on the Three Peaks Challenge, which involves climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in less than 24 hours.
Ben Nevis was the first challenge, then after a doze and food on the minibus it was Scafell Pike in the Lake District before heading to Snowdon for one last huge effort. Beth made it up – and down – with just minutes of the 24 hours to spare.
Her incredible efforts netted £1,161 for the nationally renowned charity.
Contribution from resident Hilary McNair
Our local Hospice of St Francis has a Christmas tradition of inviting people to sponsor the Hospice by dedicating a light on the Hospice Christmas tree to someone who played an important part in their life, and whose memory still means a great deal. For several years now that tradition has been mirrored at Castle Village.
And this Christmas was no exception.
In mid-December, the Chaplain of the Hospice of St Francis Liz Hughes together with other members of staff, led a moving service of dedication in our Mansion, providing a shared moment to remember and commemorate the lives of loved ones, and the happiness they brought to our own lives.
It was an occasion of music, poetry (one poem written by a St Francis patient), and the singing of traditional carols, later transferring to the dimmed hall for the highlight of the evening – the moment when the lights of the Christmas tree were switched on by Joan Butler, our youngest resident. Each light had been dedicated in memory of a chosen individual. Afterwards everyone enjoyed the festive mulled wine and mince pies, kindly prepared and served by Ron and Helen Jeanes and the catering team. Donations to the Hospice accompanying the dedications amounted to the magnificent sum of £708.
Margaret Simmonds has agreed to apply her great calligraphic skills to copy the words of each dedication into the special book kept in the library, a tradition started by Laurie Young when the event was held here in the village in 2006 and 2007.
The annual choir concert once again drew an enthusiastic, participating audience of residents and guests. A comprehensive programme of interesting readings by our team of gifted and skilled readers, interspersed with both popular and less well-known carols was expertly devised, orchestrated and conducted by Ann De Morgan, ably supported on the piano by accompanist Vida Metcalfe. Mulled wine and nibbles rounded off a jolly evening and £60 was raised for the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home.
The Christmas Charity Bazaar was a resounding success, thanks to the hard work and commitment of all those involved. The decision to stage the sale on a Sunday morning through lunchtime proved very shrewd, and led to an increased attendance, which meant that the event raised a total of over £800, plus further donations to the Hospice of St Francis. A very special thank you to the ladies of the Sewing Group, the sale of whose beautiful works raised an amazing total of over £500.
In what has become another Castle Village tradition, the Dacorum Salvation Army Band performed their Christmas Concert in our ballroom. The programme was a well-balanced mixture, containing a number of Christmas-related pieces, which they played with considerable verve and enthusiasm. In addition they performed a selection of carols, in which the audience joined with gusto. It is ideal for those of us whose singing is less than perfect, because the loudness of the music masks the sound of our voices and we can bellow away without a qualm. Two Bible readings and two spoken contributions completed a highly enjoyable programme.
An audience with Pam Ayres
A bus load of residents went on a late afternoon Sunday outing recently to see Pam Ayers at the Swan Theatre in High Wycombe.
She recited some of her best known poems, including ‘They should have asked my husband’, which had the female half of the audience in stitches, and roaring with approval.
The poet also introduced unfamiliar poems, read extracts from her autobiography, and talked engagingly about her ‘poor but happy’ childhood in Stanford-in-the-Vale. She also recalled memories from her career in the WRAF, her time spent working in an office and her rise to fame after her successful appearance on 70s talent show Opportunity Knocks.
She says she’s 64, but she looked no more than 40 from where we sat. She spoke for over two hours without a script, and only an occasional reference to notes, acting out the words in a very entertaining way.
PS As a bonus, our lady coach driver got us home in good time to see Downton Abbey!
Marquee Week
(contribution from resident David Cawley with photographs by John Harding)
This year’s Marquee Week was, as always, a ‘hectic success’. This is how the week shaped up:
- Monday evening’s Welcome Party, our traditional start to the week, had a dual function. Residents Heather and David Walters, sponsored the event and invited the whole village to help celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary. Splendid entertainment was provided by Amersham A Capella, a prize-winning choir.
- The Tuesday Luncheon Club featured a wonderful display of speed painting by the gifted artist Beryl Maile, who accompanied the demonstrations of her artistic skills with a non-stop sequence of anecdotes and jokes. The picture shows Beryl with one of the paintings she did during the event.
Tuesday evening we had another Castle Village Poetry Festival. Residents submitted poems in any of three categories: Childhood, Romance, and Miscellaneous. The first half comprised anonymous readings of all the entries, which had already been judged by the formal panel. During the break the audience voted for their Audience Choice winner – My Polly by Eric Cox. Category winners were: Childhood: Of Little Consequence by John De Morgan
Romance: My Polly by Eric Cox
Miscellaneous: An Old Man’s Lament by John De Morgan
- Wednesday morning we held our Residents’ Association Annual General Meeting, followed by a buffet lunch in the restaurant.
- Wednesday evening an audience of 60 greatly enjoyed an Antiques Marqueeshow, at which a local expert examined, discussed and valued antiques brought in by residents.
- On Thursday morning 115 people or more attended the annual Village Market, organised by Brenda Walker and featuring a wide range of stalls and activities
- On Thursday evening we had a Supper Dance, featuring music by a talented local musician, SaxTracks, plus a tasty supper provided by our Chef, David Prodger.
- Friday saw two performances of two short plays, Table No. 7, a tense drama which is part of Separate Tables by Terence Rattigan, followed by Gosforth’s Féte, a rollicking farce by Alan Ayckbourn, which had the audiences in stitches.
- The week ended on a high note with our annual Saturday Gala Dinner which meant posh frocks and dinner jackets, every available seat filled, a superb meal presented by Chef David Prodger, and magical entertainment both at the table and on-stage by an award-winning member of the Magic Circle. The picture shows us all dressed up.
The success of our Marquee Week has been guaranteed for several years by the skill, energy and hard work of Ron Jeanes, who has chaired the Marquee Week Committee with great results. Ron has now retired and handed over to David Corke with help from Brenda Walker.
A magical day
The wedding of residents Brenda and Ken Walker was a first for Castle Village and a truly magical day. Having first met in 1981, when Brenda went for a job interview to become Ken’s secretary, they have lived together for more than 20 years, and are delighted to be able finally to cement their relationship in a formal way.
Their marriage at the Register Office in Hemel Hempstead on Friday, was followed by a celebration lunch. Then on Saturday they held a blessing ceremony in the pavilion beside the lake in the beautiful Japanese Garden here. The ceremony was conducted by Interfaith Minister Carole Warren, the daughter of Village resident Jill Lewis, and everyone was invited.
Well over a hundred of us donned our glad rags, and flocked down to the Japanese Garden, to jostle for vantage points round the lake from where we watched the happy couple swear their love and allegiance in a happy and moving ceremony. Then it was back to the sun-bathed lawns to shake their newly-wed hands, and enjoy a glass of bubbly, generously dispensed by Norman Goodfellow, and a piece of wedding cake, made by our Village Cake Queen, Pat Sayers. Brenda and Ken are pictured slicing into it.
They also had the excellent idea of asking us all, instead of giving wedding presents, to make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Society, and raised the magnificent total of over £1,000.
Altogether a wonderful day for Brenda and Ken, their families, and for the rest of us, their friends and neighbours. Thanks, B&K, for letting us share it!!
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