Activities at Springvale Court Care Home

Our homes had a brilliant time with curator Sarah Deters as she took us on a virtual ‘Music Through the Ages’ tour of St Cecilia’s Hall: Concert Room and Music Museum.

Our residents were thrilled to discover weird and wonderful musical instruments, hear their unusual sounds, and find out how instruments have changed over the last 500 years.

The virtual live event explored the world-renown collection of musical instruments on display at St Cecilia’s Hall, Scotland’s oldest concert hall.

We were delighted to play a small part in ensuring our Resident, Sheila was able to get to the church on time to attend the wedding of her granddaughter, Christine to fiancé, Robert.  The happy couple held their wedding breakfast at the Angel View Inn surrounded by family and friends.  

It was a beautiful day! On behalf of everyone here at Springvale Court we’d like to wish the happy couple all the very best for the future.

Our homes had a fabulous time with the talented soprano Astrid Joos from Street Theatre.  Astrid spoke about a selection of famous operas and our residents were treated to performances of wonderful arias from operas well-known to all, such as ‘Giuditta’, ‘Don Giovanni’ and ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’.

It was a lovely experience, truly enjoyed by all.

Residents across our homes had a lovely time joining Dr Tim Howard, 4th generation GP, whose whole life has been about patient care, for an exciting virtual event to discuss his novel ‘Let’s Kill All The Lawyers’.

The novel is a medical fiction thriller that explores the impact of life and death events, mistakes and forgiveness, and the impact of law and justice on the day- to-day lives of ordinary people doing their best in difficult circumstances.

Residents had the chance to ask their own questions once the discussion was over and a great time was had by all.

Residents across our services had a lovely time joining Daniel Snowman, for an exciting virtual event to discuss his book ‘Just Passing Through’.

Author of over a dozen books, Daniel Snowman’s long and active life has led him to interact in countless ways with the wider world and with some of its most famous inhabitants. His memoir evokes these experiences via a series of vivid literary vignettes.

Residents across the homes found the talk very intriguing and informative, and were happy to learn more about Daniel’s experiences around the world.  Book club corner is part of our varied life enrichment programme.  A great time was had by all.

Celebrations have been in full swing at Springvale Court, as one of its residents reaches her centenary in style.  Emily Dawson was joined by staff, relatives, friends, other residents and the Mayor of Gateshead as she received a telegram from the Queen in recognition of her landmark birthday. A champagne reception was held at the home and guests enjoyed a special birthday cake made by the home’s chef Brenda.

Emily has 4 children, 6 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren and 3 great, great grandchildren. During World War 2 Emily worked in a munitions factory. She then went on to work in local bars, her first being Egypt Cottage next door to ITV’s studios. She had a short stint working as a clippie on the busses and then went on to running the tenancy of a pub called Poacher in Swalwell before retiring and moving to Belford, Northumberland. Emily now lives in Springvale Court, where she is enjoying a new chapter of her life.