The residents of Hunters Down Care Home paid their respects this week as they remembered the life of Des O’Connor after it was announced that passed away peacefully in hospital.
Des O’Connor was a much-loved TV presenter, singer and all-round entertainer who appeared on popular TV shows including, the Des O’Connor show, Take your pick and later in life, the game show Countdown.
Four of the ladies who live at Hunters Down Care home were particularly fond of Des and recently Lifestyle and Wellbeing Lead Pearl, hosted a reminiscence session to think back to when they attended one of his shows in 2017.
On the day of the show, the four ladies were very excited to see him perform and on the way to the show, they played some of his greatest hits to get them in the mood!
The first of many photo moments came when they arrived at Burgess Hall in St Ives, when they saw a poster advertising the show outside.
They took their seats inside the theatre and with a drink in hand, Daphne said how wonderful it was to have the opportunity to see ‘Des, the great man himself’.
They were all very excited to see Des when he came on stage and enjoyed singing along to some of their favourite songs including, ‘Dick-a-dum-dum’ and ‘when you’re smiling’.
During the show, Des also spoke about his wonderful career and some of the opportunities he’s had. He talked about his dear friend, Morecombe and Wise, laughing about how they would make insulting remarks about his singing and jokes. He did not mind this though as they were great friends!
After the show, Pearl arranged for the ladies to meet him as he left from the back door. They chanted his name as they waited and were ever so excited to talk to him. They each received a kiss on the cheek, some photos with Des and Eileen even managed to get his autograph.
The journey home was filled with conversation about the show and the amazing opportunity they had to meet Des.
Thinking back to the night brought back many happy memories. Des remains an icon to many of the people who live at Hunters Down and his music can still be heard playing around the home!