Don't you just love Sharnbrook?

Last Friday, the 11th of December, saw a visit from the massed throngs of Sharnbrook Gospel Choir, and 32 Beavers, Cubs and Scouts!

The Dining room was full to bursting with an enthusiastic array of voices. We are very lucky to have such strong links with the community: we have staff, staff members' children, and residents' family members in the choir.

 Residents welcomed our visitors by singing 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' to them, and then sat back to be entertained by a selection of traditional Christmas music.  The Cubs had brought mince pies and home-made cookies; so we all had a drink and a chat afterwards, with squash and juice for the cubs and mulled wine for the grown-ups.

It is at times like this when you realise what a special place Sharnbrook is. It was a truly joyful evening.

Merry Christmas Everybody.

Sharnbrook Christmas Fair - December 4th.

We opened the garden room for teas on the occasion of the Sharnbrook Christmas Fair. Julie our chef produced some spectacular cupcakes, and we had boxes available for take-away too.

 The weather was not very kind to us, remaining damp and drizzly, which didn't really encourage customers to wander far from the main marquee in the High Street. Nevertheless, the generosity of our visitors made a valuable contribution to funds, Special thanks are due to our lovely volunteers; Wendy, Chris and Teresa, who helped by serving the tea and shifting furniture.

Poppies for Remembrance

In our art sessions last week we completed another flower painting - poppies for remembrance.

The Inevitable Elvis

On November 2nd, we had a return visit from 'Elvis', who performed a lively set. Staff and residents took to the floor to strut their stuff, and it all contributed to a great party atmosphere.

Elvis dazzles in yet another star-spangled suit

                        

                                     Are you lonesome tonight?                                                      Strictly ballroom

More painting

After our sunflower painting, we had a look at a more abstract approach, inspired by a magazine article about the recent Richard Diebenkorn exhibition at the Royal Academy. The colours in these paintings are particularly beautiful, and the paintings range from stylised landscapes to almost complete abstraction. Below is an interpretation of one of these works, painted by a group of residents at Sharnbrook House.  The surface texture is very different compared to the original, but most of the colours are a pretty good match.

One of our residents wanted to try painting a more recognisable landscape, and he decided on Monument Valley as his subject matter. We found a photo on the internet, and started work. Because of his background in the printing trade, our artist had definite ideas about how to approach this, and we spent a long time discussing colour and appropriate techniques. We laid down large areas of colour, using masking to define the edges, and then in subsequent sessions we built up the texture in layers, scraping grooves into the paint, and mixing in sand to achieve a realistic desert effect.

The finished painting is a mixed media work, incorporating charcoal, acrylics, pastel, p.v.a., and sand, strongly evoking the desert in its colour palette.

Fundraising

At the end of September our activities co-ordinator took part in a triathlon to raise funds for Sharnbook House, Well, she finished with a time that would not have worried the Brownlee brothers, but  it was a lovely day at Eton Dorney nonetheless..  Below is a picture from the finishing line.  You will note there are not many other runners in the background,..... so you can decide whether she was too fast for the other competitors or just enjoying the scenery.

Oh good grief, not another camera, better start running again!

In all she raised £405 for the residents' fund. 

60s Fashion Show and Macmillan Coffee Morning

On Friday 25th September, we had a coffee morning for Macmillan.  We have recently been doing a craft based project about 1960s fashion, so we took the opportunity to show off our creations.

We took to the catwalk to the strains of 'Dedicated Follower of Fashion'

 There were two themes to the fashion project, the first was the early sixties theme, typified by the pop art style daisy....

And the late sixties hippie inspired tie dye collection......

You're totally rocking it girls!

With many thanks to all our models.

The John Bunyan

Also known as Bedford Community Boat, the John Bunyan operates along the River Ouse in the summer months. This is its third season, and we have seen it get more and more popular. A small hardy group braved the autumnal breezes last Thursday, and had a lovely afternoon out on the river.

Past the rowing club, and heading for Town Lock

The banks of the river soon become wilder, as we make our way away from the town and out towards Cardington.  In fact, as the afternoon draws on, we seem to have entered exotic territory........

Art Projects

With our art projects we often take inspiration from famous artists.  These paintings are based on the work of William Scott, who painted still life of varying degrees of abstraction.  Scott is an interesting artist to study, because his shapes are bold and stylised, and his source material is very familiar; fish, fruit, kitchen utensils, pots and pans.

Sometimes it is good to work from nature.  Here is a spectacular sunflower from the garden. The varying shades of blue in the background will contrast beautifully with the yellow, adding vibrancy to the finished piece.

Once the background has been completed, we set about painting the flowers themselves. 

The finished painting

Rural Life

Well, we seem to have been engulfed in scaffolding for weeks now, but life goes on, even if we feel slightly cut off from the garden at times.  The vegetables that we planted back in the spring are producing their seasonal bounty.  The kitchen is now swamped with green beans and courgettes!

As part of our activities programme this month, we re-created (or is it re-imagined?) an episode of a famous rural radio play. Residents got into the story of thwarted love, parental disapproval and reconciliation. This will be available to listen to if you are visiting on the fifth of September.

'On Air' reminded non-speaking contributors when we were recording dialogue.

                 A student volunteer supplied sound editing expertise, while the 'director' got thoroughly confused  trying to cue the actors to come in on time.

Sound effects of the terrible storm, and the frightened bull were supplied by our foley artists.

The first take of the storm sounded terrifying!

Screen Icons Photo Shoot

We have been doing some lovely work recently with 'Ladder to the Moon', an organisation promoting activities in residential homes.  We recreated iconic shots from the movies, using a collection of glamorous props. We had a visitor helping with hair and make up, and staff threw themselves into the spirit of the day by channelling James Bond, Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn, and (somewhat less glamorously) Charlie Chaplin.

 It's so difficult to escape the paparazzi these days.........

The name's Bond.

I've been expecting you Mr Bond... Now get me a cup of tea, and be quick about it!

What do you mean I'm not allowed to smoke in here? What sort of night club is this?

Fashion is ephemeral, style is permanent.

Community Links - Pupil Voice Visit 9th of March

Many local residents will be aware of the House's association with the Gibbard family.  The Gibbards were a prominent family in Sharnbrook for two hundred years, and they built the primary school in the village, which is still called the John Gibbard School. It is interesting to remember these historical relationships between the house and the village, we are lucky at Sharnbrook House to have that sense of being part of the heritage of the local community.



On the morning of the 9th of March we had the 'Pupil Voice' choir visit us from the school to sing to the residents. This performance featured some accomplished and very confident solos, but it almost seems unfair to to single them out as the whole choir sounded so beautiful. It was a very effective performance, especially for such young children. (The eldest of them would be nine years old).      We are very much looking forward to a return visit, perhaps in the summer.

Friday 6th March - Some Like It Hot

We had been preparing for this for a while, but the day finally came when the promised drama extravaganza actually happened. In the morning, staff had a short communication workshop with Ben. In the afternoon the 'Ladder to the Moon' team brought out their box of props, and we re-enacted a (very) loose version of 'Some Like it Hot'. There was dancing, singing and over-acting, and at the end of the afternoon an Oscar ceremony to bring proceedings to a close.

All right you lot! Get on with it!                             But we can't start yet, where's the inflatable drums?           

         

Could you get Baileys in a speakeasy?                       I bet that you look good on the dance floor.

Accolades Awards Lunch 3rd of March

The Greensleeves Homes Trust awards day was upon us again, and nominated staff trooped off to the Oval for lunch. After an exciting journey down, involving a 'sliding doors' moment when one of our company found herself still on the platform as the train drew away(!), we arrived at the conference suite, and were quickly ushered in to the waiting photographer. 

The lunch was delicious, and we heard about the projects being undertaken by some homes, which are very inspiring. The ceremony provides a wonderful opportunity to socialise with staff from other Greensleeves homes and compare experiences. 

We were especially proud this year that Emma Owen's achievements have been recognised, as she was awarded 'Carer of the Year'. 

Emma was instrumental in Sharnbrook House achieving a 'Food First' award from Bedford Hospital this year. There is recognition that many of the conditions of advanced old age can be alleviated or avoided entirely by maintaining a nutritious (i.e. in this context calorie rich) diet. The correct balance of proteins fats and vitamins is necessary for the body to repair itself. Emma's vigilance in monitoring residents' weight, dining preferences and changes in appetite enable us to put in place early interventions to support good nutrition. 

February Music

During February we had visits from Mark Walsh, who plays the Ukulele, and Sandra Grant, who is a saxophonist.  Mark plays a variety of music hall songs. Although many of our residents are of course far too young to know the songs at first hand, they enjoyed Mark's playing and an explanation of the context of the pieces.

Connecting with our ongoing film project, one of the most famous songs from 'Some Like It Hot' is 'Sweet Georgia Brown', and Sandra Grant treated us to a rendition of this.

Sandra plays a cheerful jazzy repertoire, and her friendly engaging manner always lifts spirits as she chases the blues away.

Finally, it would be a long, lonely winter without a visit from Elvis, and he duly made an appearance:

Don't be cruel, to a heart that's true.

Film project

During February, we started preparations for a film project. In collaboration with 'Ladder to the Moon' a training company, we engaged with a variety of activities based around Hollywood musicals. The culmination of the project was to be a filmed workshop day at Sharnbrook House with actors from the company. First of all, we studied some of the songs and imagery from a selection of classic films, and made framed collages for the garden room. We decided on 'Some Like it Hot', for the final shoot.

Residents working with our student volunteer from Bedford College.

Costumes had to be considered carefully. This evening bag is just big enough for life's essentials. Now where did I put my pearl handled revolver?

Winter Chills

The winter progresses with bright, clear days. For those who venture outside there is a stark beauty in the pale skies and the crisp cold air. 

Most prefer to find a comfortable spot, and hunker down until the spring appears......

Merlin discovers the post basket, and notices that it seems to have been tailor made for him.

Happy New Year!

We started the New Year with a 'Detox Day', (not that any of our number had partied to excess the night before, of course.) We had a walk in the garden, to blow the cobwebs away, followed by a healthy foods tasting session in the afternoon. We made fruit 'shots' consisting of melon, raspberry, blueberry and pomegranate, which were delicious. We then tried sunflower and pumpkin seeds and the fashionable new 'superfood' chia seeds.  Chia is claimed to be full of protein and vitamins, and even more loaded with anti-oxidants than blueberries. And what did it taste like?  'Crunchy dust', was the general consensus!

We sampled ginger and lemon tea, green tea and Earl Grey, before settling for Tetley after all!
Ginger and lemon are said to be good for the digestion. Green tea is thought to help with meditation and concentration, and in oriental medicine its bitter flavour is considered important in balancing the diet.
 People usually prefer salt, sweet and sour flavours, it is more difficult to persuade them to choose bitter tastes, (consider the widespread aversion to sprouts and broccoli), but green tea drinkers make a habit of making this choice. 

There were no converts this time though, and 'ordinary' tea with milk (and sugar) was welcomed with open arms at the end of the afternoon.