Cllr. Hopkins serves up sausage rolls to St. Helena's finest.
On Thursday 28 August sunny skies welcomed about 100 elderly and disabled persons and their carers to the third tea party at Plantation House. The event was hosted by the Acting Governor John Styles and his partner, Lynnette Bloomfield, who have hosted several tea parties previously. This was the 4th such event, although last year’s venue had been Prince Andrew School.
While the House is normally able to accommodate up to 200 guests, some guests are wheel chair users, and the tables took up a fair amount of space but by about 3.15pm the Dining Room and the Drawing Room were filled with clients from The Haven, Barnview and Sundale as well as some other, normally house-bound, senior citizens or people with disabilities. Other invited guests included members of the Clergy, Acting Chief Secretary Ethel Yon MBE, Councillor Cathy Hopkins, Chairman of the Public Health and Social Services Department and Ivy Ellick, Chief Administrative Health and Social Services Officer. A number of musicians had volunteered their services for the occasion, including members of the Ladies Orchestra, with guest singer, Councillor William Drabble, Aubrey Evans on his steel guitar, Jenny Vanguard on the keyboard, and performers Maglan & John Noden.
While everyone was settling in, musicians were playing their instruments in the Library, which had been transformed into a spacious dance hall with chairs bordering the walls.
A delicious tea had been prepared and was served by Plantation House staff while amusing entertainment was being provided by Councillor Bill Drabble who told a number of jokes, and by Princess Dinuzulu and Prof John who staged a humorous sketch.
After tea, a warm fire and live music welcomed the guests into the Library where they enjoyed well known tunes including ‘Oh when the Saints go marching in’, ‘Daisy Daisy’, ‘When I’m 64’and ‘Roll out the barrel’, while Councillor Drabble’s rendition of ‘Smoke gets in your eyes’ brought a tear to many eyes. With much foot-tapping and clapping, smiles and laughter, there was a lively atmosphere and plenty of fun as more and more people crowded into the Library.
When asked why the party had been organised, Lynnette said: "We’ve always supported events for the elderly and the disabled and it is a privilege to have the opportunity to host such an event at Plantation House." She felt that the tea party provided guests with "the opportunity to connect with other people and at the same time, enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Plantation House. We all know that lots of effort goes into fundraising for the elderly and disadvantaged groups in our community, but sometimes it’s more important to spend time being with them and that’s what we’re doing here." She added that "it was also nice to hear music being made in the House."
Councillor Cathy Hopkins, said: "I thought it was a great afternoon. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves, and it was down to the Acting Governor and Lynnette, the Plantation House Staff, all the carers and all who came to provide the music and entertainment." She felt that it was good to give the guests an opportunity to meet up with old friends, to enjoy each other’s company and to be able to have a relaxing afternoon.
The party ended at about 5.30pm.The Acting Governor thanked Lynnette for organising such a pleasant afternoon, the Staff at Plantation House, and also those who had provided entertainment as well as the guests for attending.
Some of the guests described the event as "lovely" and said that they had really enjoyed the afternoon at the Governor’s residence.
(c) SHG
What a lovely afternoon! St. Helena's finest enjoyed the tea party.
