When Teddie Hodkinson from Romiley heard that Reinbek was home to a 100 year old resident, he was desperate to meet him. Teddie’s mum Stacey, who works as the admin at the Borough Care home, arranged for the two to meet over the Platinum Jubilee weekend.
Clifford Elliot, who has been a resident at Reinbek for just a few days, turned 100 back in January and received a card from the Queen to congratulate him on the incredible milestone. Reinbek, along with Borough Care’s eleven other care homes, are celebrating Her Majesty all weekend long with events and parties across Stockport and Staffordshire.
As both Teddie and Clifford enjoyed the Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Reinbek, Clifford spoke highly of Her Majesty, saying ‘She’s worked damn hard. She’s worked harder than me! I’m a royalist from that point of view. I’m going to have a drink later and toast to The Queen.’
Teddie got some life advice from Clifford who told him to ‘work hard and enjoy life the best you can.’ The two also chatted about Cliffords time in the army. Speaking about the special meet up, Teddie said ‘I never thought I would meet someone who is 100. It feels odd in a way because he’s 90 years older than I am. Clifford might be 100 but he looks a lot younger!’
Lots of residents living in Borough Care homes remember the Queen’s Coronation all the way back in 1953 and have celebrated her Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees. For the last few weeks, staff and residents have been decorating their homes and planning events in excited anticipation for this historic event.
The catering team have pulled out all the stops, developing a British-themed picnic menu for our residents, their loved-ones and Borough Care staff to enjoy on Friday June 3rd. The menu features a Queen’s Sunrise Breakfast, Picnic In The Park, Afternoon Tea and a thoughtfully-prepared evening meal of Coronation Chicken.
Clifford said ‘Meeting young Ted here made my day. I never think of it, being 100. I just carry on the same as I always did. The only difference is that when I first started working they used to call me ‘Young Clifford’ but by the time I left I was ‘Old Clifford!’
A family member of Clifford who popped in to enjoy the Jubilee celebrations at the care home today noted a marked difference in Clifford since coming to Reinbek, and was very pleased to see him ‘settling in and making friends’ in the care home.
Borough Care’s whole approach, embraced by its fully-trained staff, is to encourage every resident to live the most fulfilled and valuable lives, focused on quality relationships for the well-being and happiness of all those who choose to live with us, and their families. Today’s wonderful meeting of two very different generations is a perfect example of how we champion older generations and respect the meaningful contribution they continue to make in society.