Celebrating Silver Sunday
Published on 18 October 2024 08:34 AM
At Age UK Plymouth, we embraced this special day with a clear goal to make our clients feel valued and give them an opportunity to celebrate themselves, and one another.
Silver Sunday is the national day dedicated to celebrating and honouring the lives of older people, creating new memories, making new friends, and enjoying each other's company across the country. This year, Age UK officially took ownership of Silver Sunday, after it was founded 12 years ago, where in 2023, over 2,000 events were organised for older people throughout the UK.
Our Silver Sunday celebrations began at our Mount Gould Centre with a delightful cream tea party. Clients from our Day Centre, Community Cuppa, and Jolly Elders groups gathered to enjoy a delicious cream tea, generously provided by Devon Heaven, while being entertained by singer Karen. At the same time, over at our Dementia Day Centre, clients, staff, and volunteers celebrated with a lively party. With everyone wearing an array of weird and wonderful hats, the dance floor was full, and many joined in singing along with Phil, the entertainer.
In addition to these events, we were thrilled to take a group of clients to the National Marine Aquarium, thanks to the incredibly kind gesture from SD Solutions, who marked Silver Sunday by gifting us the tickets. Our clients enjoyed exploring the underwater exhibits and learning more about marine life. To engage the wider community in the spirit of Silver Sunday, we also ran a competition on our social media platforms, giving our supporters the chance to join us. Congratulations to all the winners—we hope you had a lovely day!
Perhaps the highlight of our Silver Sunday festivities was a scenic train journey for clients from our Community Cuppa group. In partnership with Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, tickets were kindly provided for a trip to Gunnislake and back. On the morning of October 9th, the group gathered at Plymouth Train Station to meet Rebecca from Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and Sally from Art Connexion, excited for the scenic journey ahead through the breathtaking Tamar Valley, offering spectacular views of Devon.
Once the train set off, the first activity invited clients to write down what brought them happiness on lip-shaped cutouts. Their responses were heartwarming and varied—ranging from family and grandchildren to spending time with others and even Elvis Presley! Next, clients got creative, decorating biscuits with edible decorations, though most biscuits didn’t last long after completion!
Finally, as the train turned around at Gunnislake. Sally revealed an omnichord, which had been lingering in the back the whole time! With its role revealed, and the responses gathered from the first task, Sally had composed an incredibly uplifting song called ‘A Day Trip to Remember’ that the entire group sang along to together to mark the special day. This was such a heart warming end to the trip, with the carriage in full spirit! Sally’s musical talents were incredible and having a personalised song was such a creative and special touch.
"We were so delighted to partner with everyone from Age UK Plymouth and from the moment we met the group we knew it was going to be a wonderful trip. Everyone was fun and friendly, even the train guard joined in!
We were amazed at how those on board not only came up with instant ideas for our 'Day Trip to Happiness' theme tune, but then sang it with aplomb! There was even a bit of cheeky dancing.
I do hope we can all join together on another adventure in the future and thank you so much for helping make our 'Day Trip to Happiness such a joy."
Sally Crabtree, Art Connexion.
A Day Trip to Remember
Chorus:
We're on a day trip to happiness,
Gonna give our worries the boot, oh yes
Find ourselves on track
We're gonna get our happiness back
Verse 1:
Oh what d'you need for happiness
Grandchildren, family and friends
Elvis, cats and dogs
And oh, the fun never ends
Oh what d'you need for happiness
Such scenery and sunshine
My lady Caroline
Fills up this heart of mine
Chorus:
We're on day trip to happiness
Gonna give our worries the boot, oh yes
Find ourselves on track
We're gonna get our happiness back
Verse 2:
Oh what d'you need for happiness
Old comedy and freebies
Being with people
And the birds and the bees
Oh what d'you need for happiness
A sunshiny day
A happy life with friends
Here at Age UK
Chorus:
We're on a day trip to happiness
Gonna give our worries the boot, oh yes
Find ourselves on track
We're gonna get our happiness back
"It's been a super, runaway day! I've had such a wonderful day with my friends and it's been great to make new friends also."
Yvonne, Community Cuppa attendee.
We want to say a huge thank you to Rebeca from Great Western Railway and Sally from Art Connexion for creating such a special and heartfelt day for our clients. Their experience wouldn’t have been made possible without their kindness and we are so grateful for their contributions to our Silver Sunday celebrations.
Silver Sunday is now over for another year, but as we reflect on the last week from the cream tea party and singalongs, to the train journey - these days were all well spent celebrating the lives of older people. These events have certainly highlighted the importance of creating spaces where older people feel valued and appreciated.
We hope everyone had a fantastic time celebrating Silver Sunday this year. We look forward to creating even more memories in the years to come.