Harvest Gold | A festive celebration for East Cornwall

On October 12th 2022, Age UK Cornwall and its partners celebrated Harvest Gold. A festive event in Saltash - inspiring individuals, groups and local communities to Age Well - celebrating Age UK Cornwall's 50th year.

#GoForGold #inspiringcornwall #agewell

Read about the event and more...by Mandy Thompson, Social Prescribing Link Worker, Age UK Cornwall.

Getting Ready...

The Go for Gold event on 12th October 2022 at Burraton Methodist Church, Saltash, got off to a brilliant start.

The first arrivals were from the support team for the day - including Ian Penhaligon, Community Prescribing Development Lead. Ian brought his interior design skills to the fore, converting the church into a space for over 60 guests - ready to be dined and entertained for the day. We were also incredibly grateful for the support from Age UK Cornwall's head office: Margaret Ford, Chair; Tracey Roose, Chief Executive; and Ellen Brown, all of whom turned their hand to any and every task on the day.

We were ready to go, with tables prepped for the arrival of the first guests at Midday - we stacked them high with useful information, advice and signposting leaflets.

Our catering support was kindly provided via a number of local organisations, including CEPL12, the Saltash community enterprise and represented by Chris Cook, who kindly offered to prepare and cook fresh Harvest Soup and rolls donated from the community larder. They also host the Social Prescriber well-being hub at 8 Fore Street in Saltash - you can find out more about CEPL12 here.

Pasties were supplied, at cost, from the delicious Bakers of Saltash. The scrumptious afternoon tea was provided by Waitrose, and our selection of Cream Tea and Cakes was donated by caterers Florence Fare of Callington.

The Guests arrive...

The first guests started to arrive with residents of the adjacent supported living hub, Janeva Court. The next guests that followed were the Torpoint Team bus (kindly provided by Kernow Cars Millbrook) and our Social Prescriber, Jess Hirons and volunteer Maggie. Other guests came independently or arrived with the support of Mike Finch and his team from Saltash Red Bus.

All transport provided on the day was so helpful and right on time.

The lunch service went smoothly, due to the amazing volunteer helpers, with lunch being followed by the Harvest Gold Quiz. Cara Higginson, our Community and Development Link Worker in South East Cornwall, produced a brilliant brain-teasing two-part quiz with anagrams and conundrums - all centred on the Harvest theme.

After lunch, guests and carers arrived from The Elms Care Home, and everyone was ready for live entertainment.

Glorious entertainment...

Our fantastic entertainment came from Luggers Eukelele, a four-piece band of friendly enthusiasts that love to sing and play the Eukelele together. We all watched as smiles spread across faces of attendees and the people we support. Amongst all the entertainment, the afternoon tea crew were busy preparing a sumptuous cream tea to a backing track of ‘Delilah’ and ‘Leaning on a Lampost’.

Jan Howells, Respiratory Support Facilitator, and local volunteer Roy Perkins even demonstrated some gentle moves in time to the tunes.

Many hands certainly do make light work! You would think that serving tea for over 70 people would be a challenge, but we had it out in no time. The tea was followed by a second set from the Luggers and a grand raffle draw. We had over 40 prizes donated, including a generous Aqua Spa Voucher from The China Fleet Club in Saltash; Gold theme fruit baskets; haircuts; jewellery vouchers; and a lovely ‘Harvest Poppy’ artwork by Pam Pryor (a local artist and a regular well-being hub attendee) - unfortunately, Pam was unable to attend in person due to ill health, but she was still keen to be involved via her generous donation.

MHA communities Sarah Clook and Liz Hewer, Diane Shan from Saltash and District Age Concern, and Mike Finch from Saltash Red Bus all commented about working together to produce another event in the future and making the most of this brilliant venue. Thanks go to them all for supporting the day and contributing to its success.

The spirit of generosity shone brightly. It was a day filled with frenetic behind-the-scenes activity, fun, laughter, a few tears, smiles of joy, and some relief that things are returning to normal, post-pandemic.

Many people were excited to start reconnecting with communities - successfully working together to provide much-needed support for our ageing population. Our aim is to age well, and this day brought together all the necessary parts of the jigsaw. Our guests were certainly pleased!

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