The people living at Aliwal Manor Care Home in Cambridge were very excited to help Ann celebrate her birthday.
Ann chose the outfit she wanted to wear for her special day in advance, and then had her hair done by the hairdresser, so she looked extra special.
She then came downstairs to the lunch table and was surrounded by her friends, as well as many presents and cards ready for her to open. Ann was very pleased with her gifts of flowers, hand creams and so much more. When she saw the hand cream she smiled at Sarah, the Lifestyle Coordinator, as Sarah often does Ann’s nails and uses hand cream to give her hand massages.
After Ann had opened her presents, the team and residents sang her a lively rendition of Happy Birthday, and Ann thanked everyone for the love and the amazing gifts.
Once lunch was over, Ann then played scrabble with Sarah. Scrabble has been a favourite game of hers since she learnt how to play it over the past year.
After playing scrabble, Sarah asked Ann’s friends if they would like to help decorate Ann’s birthday cake for tea, which they were very eager to help with. They were provided with a small brush and some food colouring and then let their imagination do the rest.
Ann was so impressed when she was presented with the final result, even more so when she learnt that her friends had been doing the decorating! She thought it looked wonderful and thanked them for their effort.
Ann usually loves a piece of fruit cake with her tea, but as it was her birthday, she opted for a piece of birthday cake instead. She said that it tasted exceptionally nice because she knew that her friends had helped make it.
The day went by swimmingly, and Ann said that it was the best birthday that she’d ever had. When she saw Sarah the next day, Ann said that she felt ‘feted’, which she explained means to honour or entertain someone lavishly. Sarah said that she was very glad, and also that she will aim to use the word ‘feted’ next time they play scrabble.