Following its appeal in The Journal on 17th December, Beechcroft Residential Home invited elderly people from the area, who would otherwise have spent Christmas Day alone, to come and join them, their staff and residents for a Christmas celebration.

A great day was had, with a five-course banquet, activities and gifts. Guests formed new friendships, exchanging telephone numbers and joining in with activities.

“Everyone had a wonderful time,” said Sue Lewis, Manager at Beechcroft. “Our residents really enjoyed meeting everyone and our guests were so happy to spend the day in friendly, cheerful company and make new friends.

“It’s the way Christmas should be. Some of our guests will even be coming back to us for a few days a week for day care, as they had such a great time. We look forward to doing it again next year!”

Paul Nery, Managing Director of Beechcroft Residential Home, added: Thank you to The Journal for publishing the article about Beechcroft inviting the elderly from the area to join us for Christmas Day. Your support was invaluable and it made for a fantastic day and some of the stories our guests shared about what they would have been doing otherwise, had they not joined us, were really sad to hear. They had a great time.”