June 2017

There’s no better way to relax and lift the spirits than by listening to or singing along with familiar music! With this in mind, our first June cafe welcomed guests with an ‘All kinds of Music’ wordsearch and some musical tongue twisters to have a go at. Despite the wet afternoon, the cafe was bright and cheerful with floral table decorations displayed on old records to suit the musical theme.

When everyone had settled in and caught up with friends and local news, David introduced a ‘Musical Tale’ in which a story was told, with missing words replaced by the titles of well-known songs. Careful listening to the recordings revealed the answers – sounds complicated, but it was good fun and provided a lot of laughs!

As thoughts of tea approached, we used an inflatable musical memory quiz ball to give us a challenge, and then sung a couple of two-part rounds – quite successfully! Finally, ‘conversation boards’ with pictures based on Hollywood musicals, well-known singers through the years and even vintage Eurovision songs were passed around, reviving memories of music and associated events from years gone by.

We were all glad of some tea and cakes, and whilst we were indulging, we were joined once again by the ladies from ‘Cameo’ ready to entertain us all for the second part of the afternoon. Their musical theme was ‘summer holidays’ and beautifully dressed in floral summer outfits they brought a smile to everyone’s face as they sang and danced through a range of well-known songs from past decades, interspersed with amusing recitations.

Crantock Memory Cafe is free and open to all who have some degree of memory loss, with their carers. We aim to provide a friendly and sociable afternoon exploring a range of memorable events and topics and have a variety of activities to promote conversation and laughter! We meet at Crantock Village Hall on the first and third Mondays of each month and should you need further information ring Di on 01637 830544 or Joan on 01637 831347. Our next cafes will be held on Monday 19^th June and Monday 3rd July.

May 2017 Extra

The theme of our second May meeting was local history. Dr Ben Dobson, who grew up in Crantock and is an expert on the village, gave a fascinating talk on “William Johns – Crantock Master Mariner”.  William was born in the early part of the 19th Century and went to sea as a young man. He worked his way up by serving in several sailing ships until he became the master of the Liberty. Ben had identified most of William’s vessels from Maritime Records.

In 1847, whilst living locally, William was instrumental in rescuing most of the crew of the Marchioness of Abercorn which had run aground on Crantock Beach.

William came from a large family, and of particular interest was his sister Jane who had married a Portuguese trader. At some point she seems to have been captured by Barbary pirates and imprisoned in North Africa. Local lore has it that William sailed to rescue her and that she was hidden in a barrel during her escape.

Guests then enjoyed our usual refreshments of tea and home made cakes before the meeting continued with an enjoyable game of Bird Bingo and concluded with a Historical  Events Quiz.

May 2017

Nature was all around us for our first cafe in May!  Upon arrival, there was the usual friendly chatter, and on the tables among the display of natural objects including pine cones, shells and bird nests, there was a ‘Natural World’ word-search to have a go at.  Hannah then took us on a ‘virtual nature walk’ which, with the aid of Liz Burt’s wonderful photographs, took us on a trail from Penpol around to Polly Joke, looking at the beautiful views, flora, fauna and birdlife along the way.

A Penpol Kingfisher

Di then gave us a new challenge: with the aid of a CD everyone listened and tried to identify sounds of familiar animals, birds and insects. Some were more challenging than others but it certainly caused much amusement around the cafe tables!

Before tea there was a cryptic bird quiz for us to solve, with the help of friends, and after our indispensible tea ladies had cleared up we had a display of colourful boards showing photos of flowers, herbs and Cornish gardens for us to identify and chat about.

As always, it was a lively and entertaining afternoon and everyone left feeling that summer was well and truly on the way!  Thanks were given to Di and Hannah, and to be passed on to Liz for letting us share in seeing her impressive range of photographs.

We are always pleased to welcome new members, with their carers, at our Memory Cafe and should you need further information ring Di on 01637 830544 or Joan on 01637 831347. Our next meetings will be held at Crantock Village Hall on Monday 22nd May and Monday 5th June from 2pm – 4pm.