February 2018

There was a special treat awaiting visitors to our first February meeting of the Crantock Memory Café. Invitations had been distributed at our previous café, inviting one and all to come along to ‘Tea at the Ritz – Crantock style!’ and expectations were high. Our visitors, many of whom had come suitably attired in their best frocks and suits, were shown to their ‘reserved’ tables as Victor Sylvester and his orchestra played in the background on a CD!

The Village Hall was arranged for afternoon tea, with intimate tables set out with vintage linen and floral centrepieces. There were appropriate themed puzzles to tackle, and a colourful display of teapots and caddies, sugar tongs, cups and saucers and more, as well as a display of famous ‘crooners’ from the 1940s and 1950s. The face at the centre of the display was familiar but perhaps less well-known, our brilliant local crooner Andy Marshall who was to provide us with entertainment for the afternoon.

As Andy sang a selection of well-known songs and the buzz of friendly chatter filled the room, the ambience of a relaxed café-style afternoon was created. The music was superb – feet were soon tapping and we were delighted when we were invited to join in some familiar choruses from the songs of Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Matt Monroe, Dean Martin and many more.

Soon it was time for tea, and our ‘waitresses’ suitably dressed with aprons and caps, served Ritz-style refreshments on lofty cake-stands of a variety of filled sandwiches, mini quiches, meringues, tempting cakes and biscuits accompanied by tea served in china cups and saucers to complete the ‘look’. The ‘girls’ really entered into the spirit of the afternoon and in between serving entertained with short bursts of dancing – it was hard to stand still as the music played on!

Whilst Andy took a break and shared in the refreshments, there was a chance to have a closer look at the displays, whilst a jar of teabags was circulated around the room with the chance to guess how many were packed in the jar.

The ‘40s Crooner’ was soon back at the microphone and with his smooth voice still entertaining us, the afternoon passed quickly, and it was time to reveal who had won the teabags! It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for everyone and David thanked Andy Marshall for his wonderful entertainment and all the volunteers and visitors who entered into the spirit of the occasion and made it such a special event.

We look forward to meeting up again from 2pm – 4pm on February 19th at Crantock Village Hall. New members, who have a degree of memory loss, are always welcome to come along with their carers, and should you require more information please contact Di on 01637 830544, David on 01637 830617 or see our website.

January 2018 Extra

We welcomed a good number of friends to our second January Memory Café and there was a happy buzz in the room as everyone settled down to tackle a word-search or quiz, or to have a look at the latest copies of ‘Sparkle’ magazine, which we’re delighted to say has been sponsored for another year by our friends at The Bowgie Inn at West Pentire.

The focus on the far western extremity of our village continued as we welcomed David Eyles and his wife Brenda, the former proprietors of the Crantock Bay Hotel at West Pentire.

David’s family history in this area goes back over sixty years to before the hotel was built in 1936, and he had wonderful stories to tell about the early days of the holiday trade, what happened to the hotel during the war and how it was run in the early days when milk was delivered in churns, fresh meat came from the butcher in Crantock and there were no locks on the bedroom doors! We were fascinated and amused in turn by details of the hotel staff and other local personalities, and by the hotel’s charges – 1/6d a night for car parking, one shilling (5p) for a hot bath and 6d for a cold one and much, much more.  The time went by too quickly and everyone was thrilled when David assured us he would be happy to come back and tell us more at a future date.

Our indispensable ‘tea ladies’ then arrived with a tempting selection of homemade cakes and everyone had a chance to have a chat or to look at the interesting photos which David and Brenda had brought with them. Of particular interest was one of the site at West Pentire when there was a village pond and a horse grazing on the cliffs where the Crantock Bay Hotel now stands.

The afternoon concluded with an entertaining game of ‘Musical Bingo’ which was led by Joan, whilst Richard impressed us by running around the tables distributing chocolates as required!

Finally, as the afternoon drew to a close Richard gave the answers to the quiz before it was time to say goodbye and ‘look forward to seeing you in two weeks!’

We will be meeting up again on February 5th at Crantock Village Hall from 2pm – 4pm. New members, who have a degree of memory loss, are always welcome to come along with their carers, and should you require more information please contact Di on 01637 830544 or David on 01637 830617.

January 2018

January 8^th saw the first Memory Café of 2018 and as usual a merry band of friends, old and new gathered at Crantock Village Hall for a pleasant entertaining and social afternoon. 

There was plenty of news to share about Christmas and New Year celebrations and a tricky word search based around the names of all our regular friends and helpers to get brains into gear!

Once everyone had settled in we welcomed back some of our friends from ‘Dogtastic Dog Obedience Team’ with, of course, their canine partners, who entertained us with a display of dog obedience and agility. This year’s theme was ‘pantomimes’, and dogs and their owners were suitably dressed to represent Cinderella and Prince Charming, Snow White’s wicked stepmother, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell and Red Riding Hood with her granny – they all looked fantastic, and impressed us with their routines so much that they had to give us an encore!

The display was particularly enjoyed by those of us who have had pets of our own, and there was time to pat the dogs and have a chat with their owners afterwards.

Teatime was soon upon us and as usual a delicious selection of home-made cakes was placed around the tables and we all tucked in – so much for New Year’s Resolutions.

As the teacups were cleared away, boxes of mixed memorabilia were distributed around the tables. Everyone was encouraged to delve in and see what treasures they could find, and as the boxes contained a wide range of familiar items from past decades, there was something different to amuse or interest each one of us, stirring memories of childhood, work, holidays, family members and much more!
   

The afternoon flew by, and there was a chance to stretch our legs and peep in other boxes before it was time to close up the café once more, and we look forward to meeting up again on January 22nd at Crantock Village Hall from 2pm.