February 2020 Extra

There’s no denying our visitors to the cafe have plenty of variety to entertain them!

At first sight our theme for the mid-February cafe was a strange one – the letter ‘X’! Guests were greeted with a word-search based around the letter ‘X’ and a quiz challenge to solve written clues identifying more words using the same letter – very mystifying.

All was revealed when David introduced our visiting entertainer Duane Johns, who had been one of the talented contestants on the popular television show ‘The X Factor’.  Duane soon demonstrated why he had been selected by the judges and in between performances of well-known songs he talked about his recollections of the auditions, participation and the direction his career has taken following the experience.

 A talented singer and performer, Duane soon captivated his audience with songs which ranged from well-known numbers made famous by the likes of Peggy Lee and Doris Day, via Cliff Richard and the Carpenters to the Beach Boys and songs from film and theatre. He quickly had everyone joining in and we provided a great rhythm accompaniment with our musical instruments.

As refreshments were served there was time for a chat and a chance to have a look at our display of vintage treasures which was entitled ‘X marks the spot’.

A selection of small boxes could be opened to reveal a range of different items from the past, encouraging reminiscences and memories -  girl guide and brownie badges, a policeman’s whistle, a bicycle bell and clips, a selection of buttons and much more were there to be discovered! 

Duane then entertained us with a finale of songs ending with ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ and received a warm round of applause.

The afternoon concluded with an interesting and informative talk on ‘Energy Saving in the Home’ given by Jane and Jay from the Cornwall Rural Community Charity.  Helpful booklets and information were distributed for everyone to take home which gave us practical advice and much to consider.

As yet another enjoyable afternoon drew to a close we said our goodbyes and looked forward to meeting up again on Monday 2^nd March. New guests are always welcome and should you need more information ring David on 01637 830617, Di on 01637 830544 or visit our website: crantockmemorycafe.org.uk

February 2020

What a great time we had at the Memory Cafe at the beginning of February.

For the first part of the afternoon our theme was ‘Household Items Old and New’. David and Margaret opened the proceedings by reading ‘Grandma’s Kettle’ - a wonderfully evocative poem conjuring up memories of times gone by, and in addition to our usual word puzzles there was a fascinating display of everyday cleaning and cooking memorabilia from around the house and across the years for everyone to explore.

Useful objects from the kitchen and the laundry, and cleaning items such as a vacuum cleaner and carpet beaters, tins of polish and carbolic soap and much more brought back many recollections which were enhanced by displays of photographs and books.

 

 

 Everyone was soon on their feet exploring the display and sharing their own memories. There was plenty to see and to talk about, and it was impossible not to compare housekeeping in the past with the modern conveniences we all take for granted.

As teatime approached there was much discussion about our ‘mystery items’ challenge: twenty of the less familiar objects were numbered and everyone was invited to say what they were used for. There were some interesting suggestions for the use of some of the more unusual objects in the display. However, items such as a bone marrow scoop, rotary biscuit cutter, chestnut roaster and cherry stoner were successfully identified!

Tea was as usual delicious, and we were joined by members of the Padstow Ukulele Band who prepared to entertain us for the rest of the afternoon. Word sheets were passed around and everyone was soon happily joining in with a variety of familiar songs, ably accompanied by our visiting musicians.  There’s something jolly about the sound of ukuleles and as the afternoon drew to a close everyone prepared to leave with smiles on their faces.

Many thanks were given to our musical guests and the uses for our mystery household items were revealed before it was time to close the cafe once more.

We look forward to meeting up again on the 20^th February from 2pm at Crantock Village Hall. New guests are always welcome and should you need more information ring David on 01637 830617, Di on 01637 830544 or visit our website: crantockmemorycafe.org.uk

January 2020 Extra

Fresh flowers on the tables and an art-based wordsearch to tackle gave our visitors to the mid-January cafe a clue about our theme for the afternoon. We welcomed back our guest speaker, local artist Salli Blackford, who had come along to tell us about her interest in botanical art and how her work has evolved over time. Salli brought along examples of her beautiful and detailed work and we were able to see close up the variety of techniques she uses to create them – from coloured pencils and watercolours to oils and acrylics and from detailed paintings of flowers and plants to broad landscapes of the coast and countryside around us. Salli had us all mesmerised by her talent and her varied artwork!

It was a joy to be talking about flowers and colourful works of art in the middle of winter and the presentation was enhanced by a display of botanical pictures from the National Horticultural Society’s collection, books and ceramics which everyone had a chance to look at and talk about during our tea break. We were delighted that Salli was able to join us for refreshments and the other artists amongst our guests were keen to chat with her!

Next we distributed postcards of botanical paintings around the tables with ‘conversation-starter’ questions to stimulate our guests – do you have a favourite garden or wildflower? Have you visited or taken part in a garden show? Do you prefer to see flowers in a vase or growing in the garden?  It didn’t take much to get everyone talking!

After tea we welcomed back musician Beryl Jukes who had called in to entertain us with the aid of her trust piano accordion.  A selection of well-known songs soon had everyone joining in and there was the opportunity to provide an accompanying ‘rhythm section’ with our selection of percussion instruments. It was great to see the smiling faces and laughter, especially when Beryl, already singing and playing her accordion, decided to alternate our accompaniment between drums and tambourines by conducting us with her legs!

As yet another enjoyable and varied afternoon drew to a close we thanked our visiting artists before we pulled down the shutters on the cafe for another week. 
 

We look forward to meeting up again on the 3^rd and 20^th February from 2pm at Crantock Village Hall. New guests are always welcome and should you need more information ring David on 01637 830617, Di on 01637 830544 or visit our website: crantockmemorycafe.org.uk