Possum's Post Winter 18

P ossum’s POST Possum Bourne Retirement Village • Winter edition on 2018

Rock ‘n’ Roll Our staff dressed to impress for our 1950s party!

Meet Val Sutton

Commemorating Anzac Day

Out and about

Greetings from Philip...

Hello and welcome to the winter edition of Possum’s Post.

I am pleased to announce that construction at the village is now complete. The last townhouses were finished in late May and the construction team remained until the end of June to complete a number of smaller projects. They have now all moved on to other Ryman construction sites.

What a spectacular success! I want to thank them for their hard work.

It is fantastic to now have the village complete.

Residents are settling in well, making new friends and exploring their new home. At the last count, we now have just under 600 residents in the village! A very large family indeed.

In other news, we are privileged to be hosting the Ryman Healthcare 2018 Annual meeting

at the village in late July. This will be a great opportunity to showcase the village and to show the board and investors why our residents love to live here.

With winter well and truly here, why not stop

by CafĂŠ Positano and have a warm drink with your friends.

If you have any queries, please feel free to come and see me.

Kind regards,

Philip Hanson Village Manager

Welcome!

It’s wonderful to see our new residents settling in well to their new homes. The village is buzzing with many great events. We recently held a village quiz night which was very popular. I hope to see you at an upcoming event soon.

Pictured: Noel Manning, Rosita Manning, Norm Busing, Cheryl Pollock, Alison and David Newman.

Michelle

Philip Hanson Village Manager Ph: 09 238 0370 Call Philip for general enquiries, or for any information about resthome, hospital or dementia care.

Possum Post | 2

Michelle Garland Sales Advisor Ph: 09 238 0808 Talk to Michelle for information about independent apartments, townhouses or serviced apartments.

Rock ‘n’ Roll party The village was transformed into a 1950s paradise for our Rock ‘n’ Roll party.

We decorated the village centre in bright red and black balloons with fantastic cut-outs of a classic American car and a tremendous milkshake. The balloon archway was made by our residents Pat and Maureen, and what a fantastic job they did!

Our staff also did their best to dress up in skirts, sneakers and cardigans, so much so that we looked like the cast from Grease! And the residents looked just as fabulous in their outfits.

Of course, we also danced to rock ’n’ roll and the residents showed everyone their dance moves.

What a fantastic event for our village! We can’t wait to start planning our next village event!

Above: Residents Isabella Gray and Brenda Scott rocking their 50s inspired skirts.

Right: Our dance floor was packed with dancers throughout the night.

Possum Post | 3

It’s got to be

good enough for Mum In May 2018 Kevin Hickman announced he was standing down from the board of Ryman, ending 34 years of service at the company.

There is no doubt that Ryman Healthcare would not be the company it is today without Kevin, and everyone at Ryman wishes him all the best with his retirement.

The Ryman story began back in 1983, when Kevin was a former policeman turned private detective.

He was asked to investigate a resthome fire in Christchurch, and he did not like what he saw.

“The fire was in an old villa and there were four people to a room all with shared toilets,’’ Kevin recalls.

“To me it was crazy, the standards were so poor.

But that’s how resthomes were in those days.’’

Kevin would never dream of putting his mother into a place like that if she needed to go into care.

“I thought, what would I want for Mum?” And so, Ryman’s philosophy that care has to be “good enough for Mum” was born.

Kevin teamed up with John Ryder, an accountant, and together they made a dynamic pair.

Ryman – a combination of Ryder and Hickman – Healthcare was registered and they bought their first property to convert into a resthome in 1984.

“I thought, what would I want for Mum?” As well as providing care that was better than anywhere else, the company had to be sustainable, with its systems constantly refined and improved upon.

The size of the villages and the facilities offered may have changed over the past 30 years, but Ryman’s core philosophy remains the same.

Care is still at the heart of what we do. And it’s got to be good enough for Mum. Or Dad!

Possum Post | 4

Italian meatballs Meatballs 500g Mince beef 1 Onion diced 2 tbsp Fresh thyme 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 Egg 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs Salt & Pepper

A note from Ryman chef,

Sugo sauce 1/2 Onion, diced 1tbsp Garlic 1 tbsp Basil, chopped 1/4 cup Red wine

400g Tinned crushed tomatoes 1 Bay leaf 500ml Beef stock

Method • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

• Combine all the meatball ingredients with the beef mince and mix well, then roll them into golf ball size portions.

• Fry all the meat balls in a semi deep fry pan to seal the meat, and place them onto a baking tray.

• Use the same deep fry pan to sauté the onion, garlic, basil and bay leaf, then deglaze with red wine and add the crushed tomatoes and beef stock.

• Once the sauce starts bubbling, pour over the meatball tray.

• Cover with baking paper and foil and cook for 2 hours.

• Serve hot on a bed of mashed potatoes.

• Serves 4-5.

Possum Post | 5

Lawrence Slow cooked Italian meatballs are a resident favourite at our Weary Dunlop Retirement Village. It’s a hearty dish that blends well with our new Harvest menus, and residents love the texture and flavour.

Furthermore, it’s a healthy option and is easy to prepare.

You simply combine the ingredients and let the oven do the cooking – leaving more time to spend with your loved ones.

Weary Dunlop chef Lawrence with resident Enid McCauley

Resident Profile

Meet Val

During my life, I spent many years assisting the elderly and busy mothers with their home duties.

I also cared for my mother until her death at the age of 92. In my spare time I was a volunteer for St John, where we attended sporting events to administer first aid. I volunteered for St John for over 35 years.

Later, I started and managed a small op shop for the local Anglican Church. I have now moved on from this and I am now packing food parcels.

I love living at Possum Bourne, the staff are so kind and caring. I enjoy the lovely meals which I don’t have to cook or clean up after, and there are always things to do. I play Rummikub and bingo, and I enjoy the fantastic Out & About outings. They sometimes take me to places I have never been!

I love helping the residents and cooking healthy food for a healthy mind.

Hello, my name is Val Sutton, I was born in Pukekohe and have lived here all my life.

I was very pleased when Ryman decided to build a village here and I was one of the first residents to move into a serviced apartment when the village opened.

The knitting group is always fun, we had a stall at the village craft market to make money for the Ryman charity of the year. We also knitted Peggy squares to make knee rugs for our hospital and resthome residents.

I still attend ladies probus and senior citizens in Pukekohe, I very much enjoy being part of these groups.

Anzac Day On Anzac Day this year we held a service in the village centre with over 300 residents, staff and guests attending.

We commemorated those who fought and gave their lives in the war. Independent resident Daphne Shaw and hospital resident Linton Stuart were our speakers.

Finally, resthome resident Eve Otto read the ode. It was a very moving service.

The village centre was overflowing with residents, their families, and staff members attending the ceremony.

Possum Post | 6

Mother’s Day high tea

Royal wedding

For Mother’s Day this year we held a special high tea for our residents. We decorated the room with big balloons and the tables were decked out in beautiful roses and everything was pink. This was a massive event with 260 people attending!

To celebrate Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, we decided to treat the hospital residents to a special day. Everyone dressed up, even the staff, and they enjoyed special treats such as popcorn and champagne!

Pictured: Residents Colleen Antonievich and Pat Mravivich at the high tea.

Pictured: Residents Neil Webster, Kay Richards and Tim Richards.

Staff Profile

Introducing Elsa

Hello, my name is Elsa Theron, and I am a serviced apartment caregiver at Possum Bourne. I have been working at the village since October 2017.

I am originally from South Africa and have lived in New Zealand for four years. Moving to NZ was very exciting but also difficult.

However, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

I enjoy spending my free time with my husband, daughter and grandchildren.

I used to work in an office environment, and when I came to NZ I changed careers. Being a caregiver has changed my life and it has opened my eyes to the fact that life as we know it

Possum Post | 7

can change in less than a second. It gives me great joy to make a positive contribution to other’s lives.

I enjoy spending my free time with my husband, daughter and grandchildren. I also enjoy a good book, if I get the chance to read, and having a good laugh with friends.

I have two sons, both with wives and children still living in South Africa. I miss them very much and hope to visit them soon or even better, have them come to live in New Zealand with us.

Out & About Several of our serviced apartment residents visited Hunua Range Regional Park. The residents loved the outing, especially the Hunua Falls, which was the highlight for many.

The residents learned lots about the park on this trip; such as the park comprises 14,000 hectares of native forests, which makes it Auckland’s largest forested terrain. The park is also home to a variety of plants, animals and birds including the kokako and the Hochsetter frog!

Although we did not spot one of these animals, we hope that on our next trip, we get to see these amazing creatures!

Pictured: Joan Lussi, Margaret Hunkin, Noeline Lowe, Nora Den Breems and Hilda Lee at the Hunua Range Regional Park.

Upcoming events August

August

ANZ Scam

Jennifer Ward-Lealand

Savvy

presentation

September

September

Colin Paris

Diabetes NZ

Show

talk

7

6

24

18

Lisle Farm Drive, Pukekohe

www.possumbournevillage.co.nz