A HEREFORDSHIRE woman's 102nd birthday has been marked by a performance from an armed forces charity.
Residents of Bupa Leominster and West Easton Nursing Home were treated to an uplifting summertime sing-along concert organised by the Not Forgotten on Friday, August 20.
Eleanor Weber, a resident at West Eaton, was treated to a special rendition of Happy Birthday by the Not Forgotten performers for her 102nd birthday.
The Not Forgotten is a British armed forces charity which supports serving and ex-service men and women.
It launched its summertime special series of nationwide outdoor concerts to boost the morale of thousands of care home residents across the nation, who they said had been some of the hardest affected by loneliness and isolation during lockdown.
Abiding by current social distancing regulations in UK care homes, residents and staff gathered for the fun-filled events which saw the Not Forgotten’s professional entertainment team bring music, song, dance and a real party atmosphere to their homes.
Residents enjoyed familiar favourites from the 60’s and 70’s, ranging from ABBA, to Elvis, and the Beatles.
Nicky Cloake, who works at Bupa’s Leominster care home, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to keep our residents entertained, and these sing-alongs certainly did the trick. Many of our residents are veterans, so it was particularly special for them, though it’s fair to say that everyone had a great time, including the staff!”
Clare Lockley, Wellbeing & Lifestyle co-ordinator of West Eaton Nursing Home, said “All our residents loved the show and were totally amazed to see a saw being played, and Eleanor had a brilliant rendition of Happy Birthday sung in honour of her 102nd Birthday”
Commenting on the tour, Brigadier James Stopford CBE, CEO of The Not Forgotten said: “We’re thrilled to have launched this morale boosting tour, building on the enormous success of last year’s events which had such a positive impact on so many care home residents during the pandemic.
According to Age UK there are 1.4m chronically lonely older people in England, and many more across the rest of the UK. Our tour will enable us to connect with many of these people, bringing joy and entertainment into their homes as sadly, extreme loneliness and isolation is set to endure throughout 2021.
One hundred years ago soprano Marta Cunningham founded The Not Forgotten based on the principles of providing entertainment and recreation to those who have worn their nation’s uniform and now suffer and we are delighted that to this day, a big part of our work continues to bring entertainment to those we support across the UK.”
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