March Update
March Update from The Priory
Good afternoon to you all. Having had such a dry start to the year, the British Spring is upon us. John has been preparing the garden for the new season and has done a great job. The wisteria has had a major haircut which it desperately needed, so maybe not so many flowers this year.
I am sure you all realised that this month is 3 years since the first lockdown – what a lot has happened and changed for us all. Not something we want to repeat. Though we are now fully open for visitors and thank goodness mask free, we are still controlling the number of visitors we have in the home at any one time, so please do keep ringing up to let us know you or your family & friends are coming. One day last week, for the first time we were so busy that we had to ask visitors to move their planned visit from the morning to the afternoon. Thank you to those of you who helped – much appreciated.
We have also been advised of a Spring Booster programme for all adults 75 and over and/or those in care homes – ideally 6 months from the date of the previous dose. This is being organised centrally, so as soon as we hear from our GPs, we will let everyone know. I know these boosters cannot stop us catching the infection, but they really do minimise the effects.
Our very popular Ten Pin Bowling Championship is almost upon us – Tuesday 21st March. We leave the Priory at 12:30/12:45 to arrive at the Hollywood Bowl, Cribbs Causeway for a 14:00 game. Depending upon the numbers, we may have room in the minibus for a few family members/friends, but if not, you are more than welcome to meet us there. Can you let us know if any family or friends are coming along so we can finalise numbers. The bowling can be played by everyone as we use frames and bumpers – so no excuses!
Our April Pub Lunch is booked for Tuesday 18th. Historically we have gone to the Red Lion in Lacock. There has been a suggestion we could try somewhere else, but so far, we haven’t found any suitable alternatives – any ideas? At the same time, the Red Lion do look after us well and they know us, so I am sure we will have a great time if we return to them.
And then finally as in our last update we will hold a Coronation Buffet on Friday 5th May. We will run this at The Priory as residents love the idea of serving mulled wine or probably Pimms, out of teapots. As our plans develop for our celebrations this weekend, we will update you on the details.
One action from the last Residents’ Meeting was to re-start Holy Communion at The Priory. Sadly, this was another victim of the Covid lockdowns and it has taken some time to re-schedule. I am delighted that Simon Dunn from St Pauls’ will be visiting to celebrate communion in the lounge on Thursday 30th March at 11:00am. We hope to make this a monthly service.
We have one warm welcome to make and that is to Kathleen Atwell who joined us at the end of February. Kathleen has moved into one of our apartments so we welcome her and her family. As the weather improves, hopefully we will get to meet many of you on your visits or perhaps at the bowling or the Red Lion. We are sure you will enjoy your time with us.
Finally a reminder from last month. Could all visitors, families or friends, please enter, but most importantly leave via the old main door – not using the lobby door in the glazed hallway. There are 2 main reasons for this; we need to know who is in the building for fire safety – please sign in and out; and secondly, visitors are leaving the lobby door open or ajar. Though we are not a secure home, we do have residents who can wander if there is the opportunity. Whilst walking out is not the main issue, it is walking out without staff knowing and most importantly, not being able to find their way back. Please help us to keep everyone safe.
Thank you.