MAYOR'S CHARITY
The Mayor of Great Torrington Councillor Sue Mills has nominated the MEMORY CAFÉ as one of her chosen charities for this year.
All the people involved with the MEMORY CAFÉ would like to thank the Mayor for this generous offer, and also thanks to THE TOWN AND LANDS CHARITY, THE ROTARY CLUB and DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL for the donations made earlier this year.
MUSIC AND DANCING ...
Torrington Senior Council Branch and its Memory Cafe joined forces with the Friendship Club to provide a foot tapping afternoon's entertainment on Thursday 25th November in the Methodist Church Hall. There were about 30 people there and they were soon clapping and singing and then dancing to a wide range of songs, everything from George Formby to Tom Jones and Elvis and the dancers were as light on their feet as teenagers despite many of them being well over 80.
Music was provided (courtesy of SCfD) by Terry Charles who is an accomplished musician with an excellent voice and who is very experienced at visiting care homes and clubs for older people and getting them to enjoy themselves and really join in and have fun. The Senior Council for Devon wants to develop more social entertainment for people who are lonely, and maybe not so lonely but who want to have a good time and make friends. You will be sure of a warm welcome at any of their events and it is an opportunity for people new to the area, or who are caring for a relative or friend or perhaps bereaved and trying to pick up the pieces and make a new life for themselves to come along and be part of something really lovely. Margaret Woodman from the Friendship club had arranged all of the refreshments with her volunteers. We thank them all - a lot goes on behind the scenes and without volunteers it would not happen at all.
The Memory Cafe will move to Abbeyfield in the New Year and we hope to provide many more afternoons of fun and entertainment. We would welcome suggestions and helpers who wish to join us and make a full programme of age-appropriate entertainment available here in Torrington and the surrounding area. The MEMORY CAFÉ meets on the second Thursday of each month between 10.00am and 12.00 midday commencing Thursday January 13th 2011.
What is the purpose of a MEMORY CAFÉ?
Mainly it is for the SOCIAL aspect that it offers to both the individual that suffers from any level of memory problems, and the carer to whom it gives a break from the everyday routine, with the opportunity to meet other likeminded people. The other advantage is that we have professional staff from the Community Heath Team and Carers Link and TORRAGE who can assist with any personal problems that may be worrying individuals.
"DO NOT FORGET TO COME ALONG"
We meet every second Thursday from 10.00 am until 12.00 noon at the GREAT TORRINGTON METHODIST CHURCH MEETING ROOM
GRAHAM BOWEN 01805 625801 Chairman
BRIAN COLESHILL 01805 625383 Secretary
JOHN PORTMAN 01805 625455 Vice Chairman
TORRAGE 01805 622666
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GREAT TORRINGTON MEMORY CAFE
By the time you read this the Memory Café will have held its first session of the year on Thursday 14 January. Future sessions will take place on the second Thursday of each month (apart from that arranged for Thursday 6 May) also at the Methodist Hall. The Memory Café is one of the most significant elements of the Senior Council’s activities in the area and is keen to attract support from those who would find it both congenial and helpful. One thing it needs is items of memorabilia such as old photographs or, e.g., old newspapers commemorating events from years gone by. It is planned to have a cd player available and music in that format from the 30s, 40s or 50s would also be welcome. The idea is to foster a warm and welcoming atmosphere for those attending.
The Plough held a Youth Workshop on Thursday 8th April. They invited older people to talk to them and produced a play from the ideas that came out of the conversations.
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES ....
The generation gap was very effectively bridged on Thursday 8 April when the Youth Theatre Group at The Plough presented a very affecting performance of one of the most dramatic domestic episodes of the Second World War, the evacuation of many thousands of children from the cities to the countryside, away from the apprehended danger of enemy bombing.
The piece was based on the personal story of local resident, Bill Best, 77, of New Street, Torrington. At the beginning of the war Bill, then a six year old living in south London, was evacuated to the West Country with many thousands of others, each with a suitcase, a cardboard label identifying the wearer and equipped with the ubiquitous gas mask. Bill was teased by those travelling with him because of markings on the back of his label and he became lost on the journey, first fetching up at a waifs and strays rescue centre at St Germans, and eventually at his billet in Callington, Cornwall, where he spent a considerable period. During his stay in Cornwall, Bill by chance met a German refugee who was trying to hide from the authorities but found time to show kindness to Bill.
The young people of the Theatre Group under the able guidance of their organiser, Richard, worked very hard and put together a vivid and entertaining portrayal in a remarkably short time. Though the audience was a little sparse, those present greatly appreciated their work. Bill said afterwards, "I cried all the way through," and it was clear that his tears were those of deep and unalloyed nostalgia for those distant days which formed an unforgettable part of his childhood. He spoke of his memories of the sound of air raid warning sirens and also said of the performance, "The music made it and gave it atmosphere," with familiar numbers such as ‘Run, Rabbit, Run'.
There is no doubt that those years left their mark on Bill, because he chose to move to the West Country when the opportunity arose and has now lived in Torrington for 23 years.
The idea for the show came from Brian Coleshill, Secretary of the Torrington Branch of the Senior Council for Devon as a way of highlighting the relevance and important role of the Memory Café which has now been running in Torrington for nine months and it is hoped that other ways of sharing its experience with the town as a whole will be generated in future.
Roy Catley
Senior Council for Devon
Torrington Branch
