Tea dance reignites happy memories for Bournemouth care home residents

A care home enabled residents to visit Bournemouth Pavilion for the first time in 20 years as they attended a tea dance.

Norma, Betty, Sally and Bryan, who all live at Talbot View care home on Ensbury Avenue, joined in with one of the monthly tea dances at the Bournemouth Pavilion as part of the care home’s Make a Wish initiative. This encourages residents to speak about their interests and hobbies which they would no longer be able to do without the care home team’s help and support. The team then try and find a way to safely make it happen.

Norma, 96, said: “I used to dance at the Pavilion when I was around 15 with my friends. We did ballroom, ballet and tap dancing. I remember being on stage at the Pavilion as well in a Babes in the Wood pantomime. I haven’t been to the Pavilion for about 20 years. It’s lovely. It brings back so many memories of when I was younger.”

Bryan, 97, said: “I played the organ at the Pavilion when I was about 19, as well as at the town hall. It was brilliant to be back there. It makes such a difference. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of bring at the Pavilion.”

Betty, 101, said: “I last visited the Pavilion a long time ago. I was looking forward to coming here. I enjoyed it.”

Sally, 97, said: “I didn’t start dancing until I was 18 when I paid a gentleman 11 shillings to teach me how to do ballroom dancing. It was nice to be at the Pavilion as I still enjoy dancing. I think with a bit more practice, I’ll get better at it.”

Talbot View, which is part of the Care South family of care homes, provides specialist residential, respite, and dementia care. It features a dedicated activities team who organise a daily programme of events to bring residents together to socialise and build friendships.

The care home features individual rooms for residents which benefit from several communal lounges overlooking a landscaped garden offering peace and tranquillity.

Neil Dominy, Home Manager at Talbot View, said: “It was lovely to see the look of joy on our residents’ faces as they took to the dancefloor at Bournemouth Pavilion. At Care South, we love to get to know the individual wishes, likes and dislikes of our residents, so we were pleased to enable Norma, Betty, Sally and Bryan to take to the dance floor at Bournemouth Pavilion again.”

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