At the beginning of November several of our Golden Oldies went to “Fitness First” in Teddington. They are running a raffle for us during November - top prize a months free membership - so we thought it would be fun to stop by, have a cup of tea and enjoy the atmosphere.

There were nearly sixty of us in festive mood and happy to celebrate Christmas 2017. Clients were collected and delivered back to every corner of Teddington and Hampton Wick by our team of willing volunteers who then stayed to help and join in the festivities.

Such fun was had by all, new friendships made and old friends re-discovered over sandwiches and tea. The “Vocality”choir sang beautiful traditional carols and we all sang along.

We must thank Tesco’s for their generous contribution, we would not have been able to offer such a lavish tea without their support. Father Christmas thanks those volunteers (who want to be nameless) for their generosity ensuring every one went home with a tombola prize, a pretty cyclamen and a box of chocolates.

It is worth mentioning here that we are totally self-funding. We value and are grateful for every penny we receive in our rattle-box, in a legacy, or from a local trader ….. the joy is that it helps us help our neighbours - literally!

Happy Christmas.

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Goodness it was cold, but with plenty of good cheer and a little mulled wine, we really hardly noticed!

We set up our mini marquee opposite M&S and it proved to be a popular spot. It amazes me how many people in Teddington and Hampton Wick are unaware of our existence “Oh if only we’d known last year when my dad had a fall” was one comment, and “would you really take my mum to the surgery and wait with her?” It’s nice to be able to say “Yes, that’s exactly what we are here for”. We attracted several new clients as well as a couple of potential volunteers and handed out masses of leaflets.

Our “Lucky Dip” was a great success and made us just over a hundred pounds in donations which is wonderful news, we rely on people’s generosity and they did not let us down.

Alas we were too busy manning the stall to take any photographs, I only got this one in a quieter moment - gosh is that Tania?

Thanks are due.

Our first thankyou is to Jim Tavendale for taking over a dusty website (exactly 6 years ago) and transforming it completely so it could be brought dancing into the 21st Century. Jim then accomplished the near-impossible, he taught me, Linda, an oldie, to manage the website. With fantastic patience he nursed me through every hiccup; never critical, always clear, always considerate. Thank you so much Jim.

And now it is Mark Buckley (“DOWN-TO-EARTH Websites”) who has taken the helm. He has designed this fresh new site for us and we are thrilled with it. What an amazing amount of work and dedication he has put into this and whenever I thank him he says “….. it’s because I appreciate what your organisation does ……” a kind man as well as a website whizz. Thank you so much Mark.

Mark’s new design has the thumbs-up from Jim Tavendale, I hope everyone agrees.

It certainly lifted the post-Christmas period when twenty-seven of us went to St. Frances de Sales Church to see “The Real Alternative Panto”. It was written and directed by our own Miriam Andrews and performed by the church’s drama group. Miriam had taken several characters from various pantomime stories and mixed them all together very cleverly. There was a lot of laughter, singing and audience participation which made it hugely entertaining and a truly great start to 2018.

Our next outing is to Merits Restaurant on the 8th February.

Wrapped up against the biting cold, we were in merry mood arriving at ‘Merits Restaurant’ on Thursday, thirty of us in all, looking forward to a delicious lunch - and we weren’t disappointed.

‘Merits’ is a remarkable place, a training college for future chefs and service staff. Fresh-faced and eager to help, the students are delightful and produced a delicious three course meal, seamless service - good humoured yet serious - and made us feel most welcome. I hope they all get Distinctions! The good thing is that the students are being trained to deal with numbers of people - as they will experience in restaurants and hotels in the real world - so are not phased by thirty people and their attendant walking frames/toilet requirements/memory loss, etc…..

We were all home by tea-time, some having made new friends and all having had a great day out.

Our next outing is to the Musical Museum on the 27th March, and don’t forget our coffee morning on the 24th February.

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About ten of us jumped (we can dream!) on the bus and set off for the Musical Museum in Brentford. What a gem of a place.

On arrival we were whisked upstairs for a cup of tea and delicious home-made cherry cake whilst David entertained us on the Mighty Wurlitzer. Margaret had a bit of a giggle as she confessed she remembered that same Wurlitzer at the Regal cinema in Kingston - I think she has a story to tell!

For those who don’t know, The Musical Museum is dedicated entirely to self-playing mechanical instruments. David gave a fascinating talk and demonstrated most of the instruments on display - from the first musical boxes to an extraordinary self-playing piano (no, not a pianola though they were there too) and on to the truly modern HMV wind-up gramophone.

We got back on the bus with many-a-song in our hearts ……

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The day dawned bright and glorious, we couldn’t have wished for better.

Our new gazebo looked splendid, SO orange it couldn’t fail to attract attention! We had a steady stream of young and not-so-young enthusiasts eager to have a go on the Hoopla, everyone entering into the spirit of the day, happy and relaxed.

The aim of being at Chestnut Sunday is to draw attention to our charity and explain exactly what we do, hoping to get new volunteers and scoop up anyone who might need help. We have been in Teddington and Hampton Wick for over 40 years but it’s extraordinary how many people are surprised (and pleased) to discover we exist. So here we are, and here we stay, offering a helping hand to the local community.

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We could not have had two more different days for our annual picnics in the Stockyard. On the 10th July the heavens opened, it was such torrential rain we had to have our tea under the barn roof; the outlook was bleak but when the rain turned to drizzle, in true Dunkirk spirit we got on our bikes and pedalled the Olympic route - Serena couldn’t stop laughing as she rang her daughter to tell her she had been cycling round Bushy Park. 

Just two weeks later we had to take shelter again but this time from the intense heat. Again we went companion cycling along Lime Avenue but now in dappled sunlight; companion cycling is a unique opportunity to get the wind (and rain) in your hair. Mary’s delicate sandwiches, cakes and tea are always popular and this year ‘Notch’ one of the the police horses came out to see us, a charming end to a perfect afternoon.

It was a glorious English Summer afternoon. We had tea and cake in a shady spot outside the tea-room, then strolled in the sunshine - or sat in the little pavilion - it could’t have been more perfect.

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