News
Christmas in the "Garden" at The Lodge
On Wednesday 13th December, Eldercare The Lodge held a spectacular event in the dining room to celebrate Christmas with more than 160 guests. It was incredible after three years of not being able to include family members or hold large gatherings, to have an event as fabulous as this.
As everyone was arriving, James Kendall (the Bikie Busker) played some wonderful Christmas songs on the flute. James is a regular feature at Happy Hours at The Lodge, so only the family members were startled by the juxtaposition of a 'Bikie' playing the flute!
Once everyone was seated, MC Tane Curreen delivered an Acknowledgement and Welcome to Country before inviting Site Operations Manager Aman Sohi to officially open the proceedings; with his Christmas message, he was able to show his appreciation for everyone who helped contribute to the evening. He also acknowledged the residents, staff, volunteers, and family members who all play a vital role in making The Lodge, the fantastic place it is.
Aman then introduced the second act, Nic Hutton. Nic has performed for the residents before at a happy hour and sang a great selection of music from the good old days! After Nic's fabulous set, Tane thanked him and advised everyone about the intermission, where they had some beautiful homemade Christmas treats (mince tarts, gingerbread men, cookies, shortbreads, mini trifles, gingerbread mousse, and rocky road) made by Claire (daughter of one of our residents Brian, who happens to be a Chef) and various refreshments of prosecco, sauvignon blanc, shiraz, soft drinks, juices and the odd cuppa tea.
During the intermission, guests were visited by Father Christmas and his loyal elves. Father Christmas made his way around greeting as many people as he could! He brought with him Elf Shreeya and Chief Elf Dave who brought an extremely long naughty list, unfortunate for the residents of The Lodge as most of their names were on it.
Father Christmas and the elves had to get back to the North Pole just in time for the final act to begin.
The final act for the night was the incredible harpist and soprano, Emma Horwood, who blew the crowd away with her phenomenal voice and harp-playing. The chatter after the intermission stopped as soon as she sung, everyone was in complete captivation for 45 minutes. She was fantastic!
Resident representative, Kitty Oerman, got up and thanked everyone for their contributions to a wonderful evening on behalf of all the residents. Operational Services Executive Anne-Marie Gillard then closed the delightful evening and thanked everyone for attending before everyone was able to make their way back to their room.
