Rita Johns
Park View Care
The Lovely Rita
What lovely photos, and what a lovely lady! Rita Johns is a kind, caring and happy lady who lives at Park View flats. Rita is a loving mother to three girls and one of her favourite memories is of the whole family singing songs from The Sound of Music at the top of their voices. She takes after her Dad, Aaron, who was a loving and happy father. Rita worked a part time job as cleaner with a close team of friends who named her ‘The Lovely Rita’ - a name that has stuck to this day. Rita was a great artist who also loved writing poems and verses. She enjoys all of nature — flowers, birds and trees. © 2017 Daily Sparkle. All rights reserved
Painting Classes
Dear Mary and Jimmy When I was at work there wasn’t much time for hobbies. We were always too busy with keeping the house in good repair, looking after elderly parents, and running round after the family.
When my husband retired, we decided to join a painting class. It was held every week on a Wednesday morning. We both loved it, and found it very relaxing. I liked to paint still life subjects and my husband usually painted landscapes. Some of them weren’t bad but the process was more important than the finished results. Best wishes, from Doreen
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The Sound of Music
Doris Day
This is Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music. I remember when the film came out in 1965. Everyone I knew went to see it, young and old alike. I went with Angie to the Regal cinema in town. It was packed. At the end, people came out singing the songs, ‘Edelweiss’, and ‘Climb Every Mountain’. Some people went to see it time and again. My Aunty Mabel saw it no fewer than twelve times. “Whenever I’m feeling a bit low, I go and see the Sound of Music,” she said. Not sure I’d have gone that often. But Angie and I still listen to the music. It is one of our favourite things.
On 9th June, 1954, the song everyone was singing was Secret Love, by Doris Day. It went to Number One in the UK charts in May. It stayed there for 8 weeks. It was the best selling record for that year. Doris Day had two records that made it to the Number One slot in the 1950s. The other was Que Sera, Sera Whatever will be, will be. That was also very popular, and stayed at Number One for 6 weeks in 1956. Doris Day made 31 albums. Her songs spent a total of 460 weeks in the Top 40 charts. I liked seeing her in films. My favourite was ‘Calamity James’ where she starred with Howard Keel.
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Father of the Bride
Dandelion
The day I gave away our daughter Susan was the proudest day of my life. No kidding! Most fathers will say that. It was an August Saturday, just like today. The sun shone, the bride was on time, everything was perfect.
Do you remember school nature walks? At primary school, in the summer, we had a nature walk every week. The teacher would get us all lined up in pairs. Then we would troop off down the lane. One day, the teacher told us to look for violets in the hedgerows. There weren’t many, and I couldn’t find any. But there were lots of dandelions. ‘Look, there’s a dandelion,’ I said. ‘And there’s another one. And another.’ ‘Jimmy, we’re not interested in dandelions,’ said the teacher. ‘Why not?’ I said, ‘Dandelions are just as much God’s flowers as violets.’ The teacher was not amused!
Now, I’ve got to admit, this picture is not of me and Susan. The bride is played by Elizabeth Taylor. The happy father is Spencer Tracy. He doesn’t half look the part in this 1950 film, doesn’t he? In the film, all sorts of things go wrong. But in the end Spencer Tracey is a very proud Father of the Bride, just as I was all those years ago when I walked our Susan down the aisle. © 2017 Daily Sparkle
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Carers’ Notes Useful Information & Conversation Prompts Page 1 Carers Notes Painting Classes Background: Lots of local authorities run classes during the daytime. Whether it’s painting or ‘silver surfing’ or local history, it can be very rewarding to learn something new after spending busy working lives with little time for leisure pursuits. Questions: Have you ever tried painting? What sort of paints did you use? What did you clean the brushes with? Have you ever been to evening classes or daytime classes? What was the topic? What made you choose that? What did you like about it? Page 2 Carers Notes The Sound of Music Background: The Sound of Music started out as a Broadway musical in 1959. The music and songs were by Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 1965 it became one of the most popular films of all time. The record and CD of the songs from The Sound of Music have sold in their millions. Questions: Did you go to see the film of The Sound of Music? Did you only see it once, or, like Aunty Mabel, did you go several times? Do you remember the song, ‘Edelweiss’? How does it go? How about ‘Climb Every Mountain’? ‘These are a few of my favourite things’ is another song from the film. Which were your favourite things - actors, characters, songs, music - in The Sound of Music? Page 2 Carers Notes Doris Day Background: Doris Day was a popular singer and film star especially in musicals. She had a brilliant smile and a clean wholesome, girl-next -door image. Questions: Do you remember this song - Secret Love? How did it go? Which of Doris Day’s other songs do you know? Did you see any of her films? Which cinema did you usually go to? Page 3 Carers Notes Father of the Bride Background: The Father of the Bride was a big film success. It was one of the best post-war comedies. It was Elizabeth Taylor’s first adult success in a film, following her adolescent blockbuster, National Velvet. August is still the most popular month for weddings in Britain and Ireland. Questions: Have you been the Father or Mother of the Bride? How does it feel? Even if not your own wedding, what are the preparations like for a big wedding? How does the bride feel? What about the groom? What is it like to be a bridesmaid or an usher or groomsman? What is the funniest Best Man’s speech you can recall? And what is the worst? What has been the proudest day of your life? Page 3 Carers Notes Dandelion Background: Many people will remember school nature walks, especially in rural areas and small towns, though even in cities children would be taken round a park. The idea was to get children to observe and take an interest in flowers, birds, butterflies, etc. Often plants were picked and brought back to be written about or put into a display. Questions: Did you go on nature walks when you were at school? Where did you go? Who did you walk with? Who was the teacher? What did you do on a nature walk? What did you see? What did you learn on your nature walks? Did you pick flowers? What is your favourite hedgerow flower? © 2017 Daily Sparkle
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