Joan gets back into her pearls for Excelcare’s Got Talent audition

Residents across the Excelcare group have had a busy few weeks, preparing and practising for the Excelcare’s got talent auditions. Everyone has had fun picking back up their skills from the past and putting on a show for their friends. With the auditions now over, the residents are sitting tight, waiting for the final shortlist announcement!

One of the residents who reconnected with a passion from her past for the audition, was Goldenley Care Home resident, Joan. Joan was the Pearly Queen of the Isle of Dogs for many years. Her work involved keeping peace in the community and standing up for peoples rights. This tradition has been around for many years, with each London borough having a Pearly King and Queen at one point.

Joan is very proud of her heritage and life’s work, so decided to perform one of the old cockney songs for her audition. Lifestyle coordinator Faith got in touch with Joan’s daughter to update her about the competition and what her mum wanted to do. Joan’s Pearly outfit is a treasured family possession, but her daughter agreed to bring it down to the care home so Joan could wear it during her performance.

Many of the residents living at Goldenley are familiar with the work of the Pearly Kings and Queens, but not all have seen one in real-life. So when Joan came down for her audition, everyone was amazed at how smart and sparkly she looked. ‘Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner’ was the song Joan chose, which she performed well and with confidence! She still knew all the words and got in the spirit of the competition by showing off some dance moves too.

Not only did this give Joan a chance to step back in her pearls and relive moments from the past, but also engaged other residents and taught them about the important life work of their friend, Joan.

As you can see, Joan certainly looked the part, but did she come out on top? Find out next week as our regional winners are announced – good luck!

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