Care centre’s Rainbow Colours Day and Happy Hour

Dolly Luke and Peggy Roberts. Peggy was awarded the prize for Best Dressed/Most Colourful Female Resident.

On Wednesday, July 26, the Rand Aid’s Ron Smith Care Centre was a hive of activity. In preparation for the rainbow-themed Happy Hour to be held later that evening, residents and staff baked delicious cake pops and glazed them in all seven colours of the rainbow. 

Then the main dining room was magically transformed into a kaleidoscope of brilliant rainbow colours, as staff worked to decorate the venue with rainbow-coloured chains and beautiful crepe paper flowers that the residents and staff had learnt how to make in the previous weeks leading up to the event. 

Residents were offered wine, sherry and fruit punch as well as variety of tasty snacks, but the hit of the evening was the brightly coloured and cheerful-looking cake pops-on-a-stick, which were very decorative as well as edible!

The winners of the most colourfully/best dressed female and male resident, as well as the best dressed staff member were announced. The awarding of prizes was followed by a Rainbow-themed Team Challenge which involved remembering the seven colours of the rainbow in the correct order. The first team to complete the activity, with the colours in the correct order, won the challenge.

When ordered to start, team members excitedly urged each other to “hurry up” and to “go quick-quick!” After a fierce contest and amidst much cheering, the 22-members of the Blue Team were declared the winners. 

The Happy Hour finished off with the care centre’s tradition of dancing to lively, happy music. The residents and staff thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The evening was full of colour, fun, warmth and good cheer and was a bright spot on this winter’s day. 

All the flower pots had little sayings about rainbows, two of which reminded us that:  “When you look at the world, it isn’t just one palette – it’s a beautiful rainbow” and to “Try and be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”

Pam Martins with rainbow-coloured cake pops made by care centre residents and staff.

Tshepo Peta, Pam Martins and Lindiwe Matsimela.

Rainbow-coloured flowers made by the care centre’s residents and staff.

 Ellen Prinsloo, Rebecca Moilakgomo, Ria Standing and Patricia Graham.

Dancing Queens.

Joan Patton carefully glazing the cake pops a rainbow blue.

 Happy Rainbow Day! Shirley Makawara, Ros Benjamin, Joe Rosen, Joan Gilbert, Rita Harvey, Colleen Blowe and Joyce Mabowa.

Made with love!

Jill Jones and Pam Martins.

Maria Roberts looking pretty as a picture amongst the rainbow-coloured flowers.

Dolly Luke, Mariana Duvenhage and Peggy Roberts.

Louise Newman, Sylvia Lasarow and Irene Jarman enjoying themselves!

 Magdeline Motloutsi and Yvonne Engledow.

Vivian Maphoso and Brenda Ratema.

The gaily-decorated venue.

Lindiwe Matsimela presents Joyce Mabowa with the Most Colourfully Dressed Staff prize.

Getting happy: Ethelwynne van Eyk, Emily Thabang and Sara Richards.

Josephine Kew, Emily Thabang and Joan Patton.

Rebecca Moilakgomo and Ellen Prinsloo enjoy a dance together.

Ronald Merton smiles contentedly.

One of the flower-making teams: Kedibone Shongoane, Patricia Graham, Shirley Makawara, Grace Snook and Ria van der Westhuizen.

Sharon Lesufi, Kedibone Shongoane and Hilda Mabaso.

Elphin Lodge Complex squares up for Mandela Day

Top three winners of the Knit-a-thon (knitting), left to right : Jean Johnson (3rd), Marlene Gordon (2nd) and Barbara Malan (1st).

On July 18, Madiba’s birthday, residents from Rand Aid’s Elphin Lodge and Ron Smith Care Centre, staff and volunteers gathered together in the Hall to knit or crochet for 67 minutes. 

The challenge was to knit or crochet a square in the allotted time and the people who completed the most squares would win the competition.  At a later stage, the completed squares, along with squares that had been knitted previously, would be sewn together to make blankets to donate to the national Mandela Day initiative. 

The time clock was set, and at precisely 10am, complex manager Helen Petrie announced the start of the competition. Participants formed friendly circles around tables. Some chatted away happily, whilst others concentrated wholeheartedly on the task before them and knitted furiously! To sustain their energy, coffee, tea and snacks were offered around halfway through the proceedings. Time was called at 11:07am and the results checked.  

The winners are as follows:

Knitting:

• 1st Prize:  Barbara Malan (Elphin Lodge)
• 2nd Prize: Marlene Gordon (Elphin Lodge)
• 3rd Prize:  Jean Johnson (Elphin Lodge)

Crochet:

• 1st Prize:  Sarah Richards (Ron Smith Care Centre)
• 2nd Prize:  Jennifer Sigida  (Careworker – Ron Smith Care Centre)
• 3rd Prize:  Aletha de Klerk (Ron Smith Care Centre

 The Crochet/Knit-a-thon was a big success, not only in terms of the squares completed, but also in terms of the sense of purpose, fun and camaraderie that folks had with each other. It was a lovely morning and the carrot cake and scones with cream also went down well!

  

Top three winners (crochet): Jennifer Sigida (2nd), Sara Richards (1st) and Aletha de Klerk (3rd). 

Zabeth Zühlsdorff and Avril Maltman.

Maserame Moilwa, Kedibone Shongoane and Julia Mali.

Eleanor Motsepe.

Louise Newman and Nomsa Shabangu.

Patricia Graham and Nikiwe Thengwayo.

Denise Stewart and Felicite Horn.

Elizabeth Petersen and Ros Benjamin.

Sara Richards and Hilda Mabaso.

The only male knitter in our community, David Hughes (Elphin Lodge resident). hands over 65 knitted squares for the Mandela Day blanket initiative

Scouts bring Mandela Day smiles

Resident Sara Richards accepts a delicious cupcake from scout Caitlynn Switala.  

On Mandela Day, Rand Aid’s Ron Smith Care Centre residents welcomed a lovely visit from the First Edenvale Scout troop. 

The boys and girls entertained residents with singing, dancing and poetry and then served tea and the delicious cup cakes which they brought with them. 

They then went to visit  those residents who were in their rooms, bringing along a cupcake treat for each of them. The afternoon was thoroughly enjoyed by the cubs and the residents, who always light up when they are visited by children.

 Arielle-Milan and Elle-Renée Tchalieu. 

 Angelina Letcher strikes the right note for her captive audience.

Residents Enzo Merolla and Christine Kincaid-Smith and cub pack leader Desiree Hogan with some of the visiting cubs from the First Edenvale Scout troop.

Keagan Kendrick (on the left) with Bradley Kriel (right).

Kirstynn Switala gives us a song.

Keagan Kendrick has a chat with residents Peggy Roberts and Joan Patton.