Residents tucked into haggis as part of a traditional Burns Night supper at The Royal Star & Garter Homes.
It was part of a string of events which took place at the Charity’s two Homes in Solihull and Surbiton to celebrate Burns Night, on Friday, 25 January.
Staff and residents also got into the spirit by wearing tartan and taking part in a quiz about Scotland.
Burns Night celebrates the anniversary of the birth of famed Scottish poet Robert Burns.
Residents at both Homes were greeted by bagpipers when they arrived for their supper, which included haggis, neeps, tatties and a healthy supply of whiskey. Poems from Burns – including his famous Address to a Haggis – were read out.
At Surbiton, there was also a Scotland talk and quiz, followed the next day by a visit from the Surbiton & District Caledonian Society. The traditional Scottish country dance group was accompanied with a bagpiper and entertained residents.
One Solihull resident, Pat, who is a guest at the Star & Garter day care club in Solihull, said: “It’s never boring in here! It was wonderful to hear the bagpipes and drums. And the haggis was really tasty, I couldn’t fault the food or the entertainment.”
Pat Bagwell, from Surbiton & District Caledonian Society, said afterwards: “It was wonderful, we love performing at the Home. It represents such a can-do attitude. I know the dancers were inspired by the residents. It was a wonderful uplifting experience for us all.”
The Royal Star & Garter Homes which looks after ex-Servicemen and women and their partners living with dementia or disability.
Editor’s notes:
To contact the Surbiton & District Caledonian Society email: secretary@surbitoncaledonian.co.uk.
For further information please contact:
Goolistan Cooper
Communications Officer
e: goolistan.cooper@starandgarter.org
t: 0208 481 7669 / 07391 868796
Cally Madden
Marketing & Communications Manager
e: cally.madden@starandgarter.org
t: 020 8481 7692 / 07881 017299
About The Royal Star & Garter Homes:
The Charity provides award-winning care for veterans and their partners who live with disability or dementia.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916 to care for the severely injured young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. Today we provide specialist care to the whole military family in our friendly, state-of-the-art Homes. Disabled ex-Servicemen and women, and their spouses, can all benefit from our pioneering approach to nursing, dementia and therapeutic care.
We are in the process of building new Homes around the country to provide specialist nursing care for disabled ex-Service people in the best modern surroundings, including dementia care facilities to address this growing need. The Charity has award-winning Homes in Solihull, West Midlands, and Surbiton, Surrey, which also enables the Charity to offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel. Following the successes of the first two Homes, a third Home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is being built, with a planned opening in 2019.
We are proud to have enjoyed Royal patronage since our foundation, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to the present day.
Twitter: @starandgarter
Facebook: facebook.com/starandgarter
Website: www.starandgarter.org
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a member of the National Care Forum – the leading voice for not-for-profit care providers. A national perspective may be available from info@nationalcareforum.org.uk or by contacting 02476243619. More details on NCF available at www.nationalcareforum.org.uk.
