Care centre residents immerse themselves in Dutch culture

 

Tulips, clogs, stroopwafels and traditional dance characterised the armchair travel visit to the Netherlands by residents of Rand Aid’s Ron Smith Care Centre.

 With COVID-19 restrictions in place, the care centre is finding interesting ways to keep residents engaged and entertained. Last year, it launched its Armchair Travel Series, with separate ‘trips to China’ being held on each wing of the care centre – rather than one joint event – in line with social distancing regulations. 

This month, residents immersed themselves in all things Dutch. Mark Verhoogt from De Backery in Edenvale sponsored some of Dutch bakery treats that were ordered for the two travel sessions, including Dutch raisin bread, speculaas cookies and stroopwafels. He also lent traditional Dutch items to the care centre, including a giant wooden clog, which helped create a more authentic experience. 

Before their ‘trip’, residents and staff made their own Dutch hats, using a very clever paper-folding method. 

The first event was held on the Lakeside wing on February 5 and residents and staff learnt more about the Netherlands – the land of tulip fields, flower gardens, gabled houses, windmills, canals, wooden shoes, bicycles, Van Gogh, Gouda cheese and herring. 

The programme started off with pleasant music and a video: The Second Waltz, from the residents’ favourite musician, Andre Rieu, who was born in Maastricht in the Netherlands. 

“We then took a whirlwind tour through the highlights of Holland, including special sights and places to visit and a learn-to-speak Dutch language session. The staff performed a Dutch folk dance called Hakketoon (heel-toe), much to the residents’ delight! 

“There was lots of fun and laughter as first staff, then residents, did the traditional koekhappen competition, in which participants had to eat a donut which hung from a stick, with their hands behind their backs!” says Debbie Christen, Rand Aid’s Manager: Recreational Programmes.

“Residents Olive Jew, Marge Trinder, Molly Matroos and Ellen Quinn were the good sports who had a go at the donuts, with Olive getting the prize for finishing first! Staff nurse Shaka Mahlangu was the winner of the staff competition.” 

The next instalment, on the Cedar Park wing, took place on February 12, with Phumudzo Nephiphidi winning the donut-eating competition.

100-year-old Anne Brokensha said that the trip to the Netherlands was most enjoyable!

Occupational therapist Corlia Schutte, Salina Mtshali and Debbie Christen, Rand Aid’s Manager: Recreational Programmes.

The Cedar Park tour group that visited the Netherlands.

Debbie Christen, Rand Aid’s Manager: Recreational Programmes, with Mark Verhoogt, owner of De Backery in Edenvale, who kindly sponsored some of the Dutch teatime treats and lent the care centre some traditional Dutch items for display.

Traditional Dutch objects helped transport residents to the Netherlands.

Goedemorgen. Doreen Woodward and Clem Lilley enjoy their tea-time treats.

 

A spot of tea in the Netherlands… Ellen Quinn, Olive Jew and Marge Trinder.

Erzebet Tamasi tucks into her Dutch treats.

Lakeside staff performing the Hakketoon, a traditional Dutch dance.

 

Jo Maxted.

Joan Gelman wears traditional Dutch attire.

A beautiful smile from Lee Morowitz.

Leon Shuker and Bongi Simelane.

Mick Veldman is from the Netherlands and said that the Armchair Travel trip brought back many fond memories.

Sampling the Dutch treats from Edenvale’s De Backery at teatime: Dutch raisin bread, speculaas and stroopwafels.

 

The Lakeside residents and staff members who visited the Netherlands.

Sylvia Lasarow enjoys her tea.

Anne’s amazing 100 years

 

Anne Brokensha at her 100^th birthday celebration.

Centenarian's life-story is a real page turner

The 100 years of Anne Brokensha’s life reads like a book one is loath to put down. Spanning three continents, her life story tells of a challenging childhood that equipped her with numerous skills, wartime intrigue and, above all, a strong, nurturing personality that has been her family’s guiding light.

A resident of Rand Aid’s Ron Smith Care Centre, she celebrated her centenary on January 28, sharing specials moments with loved ones and friends.

Anne was born in India in 1921, to British parents who were based there during World War I. The family soon returned to England, but the post-war depression prompted them to move to South Africa, where they bought a farm in Maclear in the Eastern Cape.

“When mom was seven, she started school as a weekly boarder. She and her dad would ride over the hills every Monday, on their horses, Ginger and Charles, and Gramps would fetch her again on Fridays,” says Anne’s daughter Sue.

“Her happy early life came to an abrupt end when her mother died, trying to save their Angora rabbits from a burning hutch. Our mom was nine, and her sister, Betty, only four.”

Distraught, Anne’s father took a job teaching maths in Malvern, outside Durban.

“Mom’s Aunty Pat came to stay with them; the closest thing mom ever had to a mother for the rest of her life, she says. Gramps then met and married a young schoolteacher, Aileen.

“Deciding to apply for a post overseas, he found one in Egypt, so shipped the girls and Aileen there – a three-week voyage. There was no school in the little town where they were staying, so our grumpy gramps set about home schooling Anne in maths and general knowledge from a big book he had. She did not enjoy this part of her education at all, but tried to teach her little sister what she had learned,” says Sue.

Aileen, of whom the girls had grown very fond, became ill and died with young Anne tearfully holding her hand. Sue says her grandfather had completely unrealistic expectations of 11-year-old Anne, expecting her to do many chores, even cooking for guests.

Anne did her high schooling in Yorkshire in England. She rode the 9km to school and back on her bicycle, in all sorts of Yorkshire weather, and wrote ‘Matric’ at 15. After completing secretarial and French courses at a business college, she stayed with a French family in Paris, learning commercial French and shorthand, before returning to Egypt and her father and his new wife. Betty was at a German school there and Anne joined her for six months, becoming as fluent in German as she was in French.

“During World War II, mom – just 17 – left her first job as private secretary to work for the Land Army in support of the war effort. She had to milk cows and toss hay onto a lorry, and later took on the milk delivery. She had to quickly teach herself to drive and, by herself, load the milk crates onto the truck and deliver them in the foggy blackout – a heavy and terrifying job.

“Next, mom put her name down to serve in the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Because of her knowledge of German and French, she was sent for training and posted to Withernsea, and from there to Ceylon, to keep naval watch.

“Little did she know that the signals from enemy ships and U-boats that she picked up on two monitors simultaneously, were being sent for decoding to Bletchley Park, which was the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the war.

“Mom later received a medal for the part she played at Bletchley Park. As required, she had signed the Secrecy Act, which was only dissolved in 1975, and so she kept her role in the war secret from our father for close on 50 years!” says Sue.

She adds that Anne was determined that her four daughters would have a stable, happy, secure childhood. “We knew we could talk and be heard, and we were confident of our parents’ support and unconditional love. Granny Anne was a hot favourite with all of our children. Her door was always open and she was never short of time for anyone, baking with the little ones, playing with them, reading to them, gardening with them and helping with homework.

“We girls all had a university education, unlike mom, so for her 60^th birthday, we registered her at Unisa. Mom took to her studies with enthusiasm, and she graduated with a degree in English, French and Religious Studies.”

At age 97, Anne wrote a book, Memories of 97 Years, so that her family could know what her life had entailed.

“Mom has lived at Ron Smith Care Centre since 2015. She has been so lovingly looked after by the staff and carers there, even surviving COVID-19 in 2020, thanks to the doctors!

“On the event of mom’s 100^th birthday, we collected messages and photographic contributions from friends and family, eventually ending up with 86 pages of wonderful memories for mom to browse through for months to come!

“This huge response is such a tribute to our mom. One of her granddaughters expressed a sentiment we all share, when she said: ‘I simply cannot imagine what my life would have been without your gentle but strong and consistent unconditional love. Thank you for being you’.” 

Dipuo Ledwaba, Bongi Simelane, Cynthia Ndlovu and Winnie Maringa with centenarian Anne Brokensha (front). 

Anne received many good wishes and some lovely flowers.