Mandela Day Tea

Last year we celebrated Mandela Day with a knit-a-thon.  We had people from the retirement village as well as from the care centre knitting together for 67 minutes.  We tried to knit as many squares as possible in order to make warm blankets to fight off the winter cold.  It was a lovely and enjoyable morning. After that we decided to try and do something every year to celebrate Madiba's wonderful life; especially since he is in the same phase of his life as many of our residents are here at the Ron Smith Care Centre.

Photo from the Knit-a-thon from 2011.

This year, we decided to put the knitting needles away for a bit and invited a few pupils over from St Mary's School in Waverley for a visit.

This turned out to be a wonderful morning.  The school girls came just after 10.  They immediately lit up the hall with their vibrant chatter and laughter.  They found a table to sit at and started interacting with the residents. It was so special to see the joy on the residents' faces when interacting with these young girls.  They iced some cupcakes together and enjoyed a cup of tea while getting to know each other a bit better.

The choir, consisting of grade 6 and grade 7 pupils, then entertained us with some beautiful songs - ranging from a  few classics like 'Somewhere over the rainbow' to some African songs like 'Kwela Kwela'.  Old and young then joined together to wish Mandela a happy birthday.

Here are some of the photos:

The girls from St Mary's getting ready for their visit.

Getting the ingredients ready for the icing of the cupcakes.

Mrs Frieda le Sueur enjoying a bright pink cupcake.

Helen Petrie (Complex Manager) helping to dazzle up Mrs Erica Behla's cupcake.

The choir kept us entertained with their beautiful songs and funky moves.

Listening to the music.

Mrs Noel Tilney was in her element as she shared all her life stories and wisdom with the young girls.

We had a wonderful morning together and the residents spoke about their special visit from the girls for the rest of the week...