Activities at Sutton Valence Care Home

Here in Sutton Valence Care Home, near Maidstone, we say Good Morning every day to someone who has lived over 106 years and was born during the First World War in 1915. Samuel is one of our residents that we have the privilege to care for. Over the last few weeks, we have been noting some of his life’s high lights. His life story is so very different to those that we live.  He lived in London when it was nothing like today. He lived in the Kings Cross area not far from Holloway Prison. Samuel remembers the family having a cat that helped to catch the rats, rather than a Pet.

At 14 and 2 days he left school and recalls looking for a job. Not like today, on the internet or a case of who you know. He marched down Fleet Street, London which would have been a hub of activity, as our Newspapers were printed there. He walked into the offices and asked “Do you have any jobs Mate?” Reuters did and he started as a Messenger Boy. So hard to believe that anyone would stay with a company for 50 years. I would imagine security was so important then. There would not have been any Social Services for emergency family support.

Like so many Samuel, went off to war and served his country in the Navy. He became a Wireless Operator on board the HMS Ramillies a Battle Ship.  This is a ship that Prince Philip had served on. Sam at 106 politely spells out the name of ship, so I do not make a mistake. War took him to Madagascar and the Battle of Bardia in the Cape. The ship took a hit by a Japanese Midget Submarine in 1942, luckily they had a huge hole in the boat but it just missed the ammunition lock up. The Battleship had to be towed into docks and go under 6 weeks of repairs. No holiday in those days everyone was put on other duties. Have a feeling this is when Sam started a courtship with his to be Algiers wife and a new chapter of his life which lead to 4 children, 11 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and 1 great great grandchild. The family said it was easy to lose count so everyone was know as “Oscar”

Once up and running the Ramillies Ship was back to war, supporting the DD bombardments.

So here at Sutton Valence the family is very happy to share this story and his great achievements. How proud are we to care for someone so precious to those he loves. In a couple of months Samuel will be 107, one of a kind.

Well done to our residents Peter and Brian who have been working all week together as the dream team to complete a beautiful 500 piece puzzle. Its been an absolute joy to watch them and there friendship blossom.

What a fantastic day our residents and there families have had celebrating our annual sports day at Sutton Valence.

We kicked off the day with residents competing in the Egg and Spoon race, Tin Can Alley and Darts with medals for each of the winners. Residents and families especially enjoyed playing Tin Can Alley and the Egg and Spoon race always goes down a treat.

We had a BBQ for lunch were families joined their loved ones in the garden, the atmosphere was amazing.

In the afternoon we had tug of War and the Sack race between staff members with Manager, Robert Dura-May, winning the Sack race.

Over the last few months a lot of effort and time has been spent on our Secret Garden.

Positioned in our court yard and guided by our very own resident enthusiastic Gardener Adele and with vegetable seeds planted by some of the residents, we are able to have our tea outside and enjoy the tranquil court yard with beautiful flowers and flourishing vegetables all around us.

Those with a keen ear can also hear the birds that take advantage of the area with us.

Residents wanted to thank all the wonderful staff at the home, whose hard work and dedication make a real difference to the lives of those living in their care. Carers Week is an annual event to raise awareness of caring, highlighting the challenges carers face, and recognising the contribution they make to our residents, families and communities throughout the UK. The theme for Carers Week this year is ‘Making caring visible, valued and supported’ - to shine a light on all those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to care for vulnerable people in our communities. Care Staff were treated to a special presentation from our Manager Robert and Deputy Manager Nisha and all carers were given gifts as a small thank you for all there hardwork and dedication. We finished off with cake all round and lots of sweets treats

Today in Sutton Valence Care Home we utilised a range of memorabilia to mark the Victory in Europe during the Second World War. Bertha one of our residents so rightly said “it’s sad to remember because war is painful”, but it is however, a day we must remember in history.Regina, another resident at Sutton Valence supported this by saying "we were just young babies but the memories are very strong and yet war still goes on, as we think of those in the Ukraine now in another war." Very apt words from a generation that had witnessed so much.