A care home has celebrated its 15th birthday with a summer fete for its residents and their relatives.
Royal Star & Garter in Solihull hosted a day filled with fun and entertainment – and a visit from ponies – on Friday, 18 August.
The Home provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia, and is rated among the best nursing homes in the country according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The rainy weather was not enough to spoil the fun, with planned outdoor activities moving into the Home instead.
Among special guests invited to enjoy the summer fete with residents were members of local Royal British Legion branches and people from nearby Park View Day Centre. Ponies Lollipop and Moomin also attended, and spent time being stroked and fussed over by residents.
Royal Star & Garter is a charity which was established in 1916 to help severely injured young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. Its Solihull Home opened in August 2008, and in 2020, it was rated ‘Outstanding’ in all five areas of a CQC report. At the time only 10 other nursing homes in England achieved this exceptional standard.
The Home’s birthday celebrations began with live music from 1940s & vintage vocal harmony trio The Bluebird Belles, followed by a barbecue lunch.
The fete also included stalls, barbecue food, a WWII memorabilia stand, book sale, ice cream van, tombola and raffles.
Elsie, 99, served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during WWII, and has lived at Royal Star & Garter since 2015. She said:
“It was so nice to celebrate the Home’s 15th birthday with our family and friends. I particularly enjoyed The Bluebird Belles concert and the visit from the ponies. I’m very lucky to be at Royal Star & Garter, I’m well cared for, I’m kept busy, I take part in activities and I go on outings. I couldn’t wish for anything better – there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be happy.”
Teresa Cund was visiting her mother Josie with her daughter and granddaughter. She said:
“We came back a day early from our holiday so that we could be here. I’m glad we did, it’s been a fantastic day.”
Christian Green is the Hospitality Services Manager at Royal Star & Garter in Solihull. He thanked all those for attending the summer fete, and added:
“It was a special day and we were delighted to share it with residents and their relatives. The weather didn’t bother us at all, we’re British and we can handle a little bit of rain!”
Royal Star & Garter in Solihull is welcoming new residents. For more information on this, or to work at the Home, go to www.starandgarter.org/solihull
