We were blessed with sunshine for our Summer Fayre, even if the wind tried to carry away a couple of our gazebos!
Fusion of Dance kicked us off with dance performances on the field near our St Catherine’s Bungalows. Jayde, who runs Fusion of Dance, a real dance superstar, who helped Coleshill Day Services put their Christmas Nutcracker performance together and comes in on a Wednesday for a dance session with their clients.
St Joseph’s Care Home was a hive of activity with entertainment from Merlin the magician, Roger the singer and an energetic performance from Nouveau Theatre School. Merlin brought in a rabbit and tortoise for residents which proved very popular. The garden was the perfect setting for residents to catch up with their family and friends, while enjoying food from Dejan and Erica, drinks and cakes. They also had the opportunity to try their luck on the tombola, win a teddy or sweets, with facepainting and glitter tattoos for children. Manager Shelley Perryman said, ‘St Joseph’s is a truly unique and special place and that’s all thanks to its amazing residents, relatives and staff. Thank you to everyone involved in making today such a special day for the residents.’
The dog show returned, with a range of dogs, young and old, big and small signing up to take part. Max, who won the ‘Golden Oldie’ category was crowned ‘Best in Show’. He’s a rescue dog, who captured the hearts of our judges with his friendly, calm nature.
Our staff and local groups all had stalls. Twin Rivers Women’s Institute were one of the groups who joined us, and we were able to give them a tour of the sensory garden at Coleshill Day Services. They fundraised for the sensory garden by choosing us as their Charity of the Year, with their chosen charity for this year being Coleshill in Bloom. Twin Rivers contribute hugely to the Coleshill community and we were grateful they could join us and see the result of their fantastic fundraising efforts.
Little Book Fairy joined us to sell Usborne books, and on Sundays over the summer holidays you may be able to find her book tokens on Sundays at Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens. One of the sponsors is our fostering agency, New Routes Fostering, and we’re delighted to be supporting local children to find a book and encourage a love of reading.
Andy Penny, Manager of Domiciliary Care and Supported Living, faced penalty shootouts, Maria, PA to our CEO, ran hook-a-duck, with Martin, Diane, Parveen and Costacia coming across from Brushstrokes Community Project to bring delicious samosas and curries to the Fayre.
Our staff ran a range of stalls, from bric a brac, second hand books, clothes and toys to our recruitment stand and tombola. After Alan and Dave set up the event, Alan moved into being the manager of Alz bar. Karen and Helen’s ice cream stand was so popular it ran out of ice-cream by the end of the day! We were also joined by Sweetie Box, Robin and Moon crafts and many others, including our former employee Rose who was fundraising in memory of her granddaughter Milly-Rose Stirrup. Thank you to everyone who supported us by having a stall, and everyone who came along on Saturday, we couldn’t do it without you!
