….I got all my sisters with me! That is quite literally the case for our residents Betty and Violet. Betty is 97 (left on the photo) and has been part of the Newstead family for some time. We welcomed her big sister Violet, who is 102 (on the right of the photo) last month. We love watching them together and it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still tease your sister!
Family matters at Newstead
We recently spent an afternoon researching our surnames and family crests. We did this for our married and maiden names. It was so interesting to learn all about the origin of the names and the history of people within the families. We have quite a history of gentry!
We found two original newspapers from 1936. These had articles about the death of King George the Fifth and his funeral. And for Burns Night we read some Robert Burns poetry.
We had a big celebration for Chinese New Year, the year of the tiger. We researched our birth years and the Chinese animal associated with that year. And pondered whether we shared any character traits. Our Chinese feast included vegetable and duck spring rolls, prawn crackers, prawn toasts, beansprouts, lychees and satsumas. Plus fortune cookies for each resident.
We celebrated the love of our Newstead family on Valentines Day. Each resident received a red rose and a homemade love bug biscuit, made by Sasha our administrator.
For lunch we set up some special tables for couples who joined us for lunch; the lovely Ann & Peter and Jean & Maldwyn. And in the afternoon we were treated to the talents of Ray Mytton who performed some love songs songs from different eras. All in all a very good day; love was definitely in the air.
