Vintage Day and Happy Hour

Happily enjoying Vintage Day – care staff at Ron Smith Care Centre.

If you were at Rand Aid’s Ron Smith Care Centre on May 23, you would eventually have come across many people dressed up in old-fashioned clothes. It was Vintage Day!  Staff and residents were invited to wear something that was popular or fashionable in the past and then to come along to the Vintage Day Happy Hour on Lakeside, one of the care centre’s six wings.

Earlier in the day, Activity staff helped residents to make cheese straws, savoury biscuits and sweetcorn fritters, which were all on the Happy Hour old-fashioned snack menu, whilst other staff decorated the venue with old record album covers on the walls (think Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Elvis Presley), old records and gold and black balloons. Fashion and music from the good old days were the order of the day, with partygoers dancing, moving and singing along to well-loved show tunes and golden oldies.

The residents were also divided into four teams and participated in a quiz. They were shown pictures of various movie stars and celebrities from the olden days, and asked to identify the people. Pictures of Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, Shirley Temple, Charlie Chaplin and Doris Day were easily identified, but Lucille Ball had them stumped!

It was a close call, but in the end, Team Green and Team Red tied for first place.  Prizes were also given out for the Best Dressed residents and staff. 

Resident Sylvia Lawrence summed up the experience by saying, “Thank you for the party ---you have created such a happy atmosphere for us!”  Many residents were seen leaving the party with a smile on their face and hopefully, a fondly-remembered song or memory in their hearts.

 Winsome Green and Maria Letswalo.

 Lindiwe Mbele and 102-year-old Grace Snook.

 Tondani Mudau, Elaine van Heerden and Phumudzo Nephiphidi.

Adolphina  Magwete and Jack Toker.

Pulane Malatji, Joan Gilbert and Colleen Blowe.

Mariana Duvenage, Hilda Mabaso and Josephine Kew.

Lerato Tsolo and Heather Zipp.

Activities Team: Lee-Ann Ramathibela, Debbie Christen and Bianca Richards.

Best dressed gentleman of the evening, Cedrick Hicks, with two admirers, Pam Martins (left) and Thembi Sibiya (right).

Sylvia Laserow, Irene Raliphada, Sylvia Lawrence and Germinah Baloyi.

Rock n’ rollers Colleen Blowe and Germinah Baloyi. 

Louise Newman is thrilled with her prize – a beautiful vintage tea mug.