Our
first cafe in December took place on Monday 4th, and with a theme of
‘Christmas Past’ it was clear that the festive spirit was here with the Village
Hall beautifully decorated which added to the atmosphere!
On
arrival, our visitors were greeted with a display of ‘vintage’ Christmas cards,
books, tree decorations and even cake decorations which certainly evoked some
memories. 
After
a chance to settle in, our visitors faced a ‘Christmas double challenge
word-search’ which got everyone thinking. This was followed by a seasonal
music-based game involving listening to familiar Christmas songs and carols
from past decades and working out who was the singer - was it Bing Crosby or
Dean Martin? Could that be Doris Day or was it Vera Lynn? This certainly required
a bit of thought, but with a few clues and some friendly discussions around the
tables, we soon worked most of them out!
Next,
pictorial conversation boards were distributed encouraging everyone to look
back and share their memories of such topics as tree-decorating, parties,
carol-singing, Christmas presents and a range of other seasonal activities. The
nostalgic hour passed quickly, and soon it was time for tea and the opportunity
to stretch our legs and view the display or go and chat with friends.
Meanwhile,
our friends ‘Cameo’ from St Columb Minor had arrived looking very sparkly and
festive, and as refreshments were cleared away everyone settled down to be
entertained with songs and verses – and a little bit of dancing too! Most of
the songs were familiar with plenty of opportunities to sing along, and the
warm round of applause they received at the end was fully deserved.
