Bishop makes confirmation wish come true for resident

A SENIOR church figure has helped to make a heartfelt wish come true for an 87-year-old Winchester care home resident.

Bill Lanfear was the centre of attention at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton as the Bishop of Basingstoke, The Right Reverend David Williams, came to perform a rare confirmation service to welcome him as a full member of the Church of England.

Retired engineer Bill spoke of his joy at attaining what he called a ‘state of amazing grace’.

He added: “Being confirmed means a great deal to me. It’s something I have wanted to do for a long time and I was very much looking forward to it.”

The Bishop’s personal visit to lead the ceremony followed a request by The Reverend Karen Kousseff, Rector of St Bartholomew’s Church, Hyde, who leads monthly communion for residents at Abbotts Barton.

In a series of visits and discussions in recent months, Karen prepared Bill for confirmation by strengthening his understanding of faith and Christian responsibilities.

“She has been very good to me,” said Bill, who has lived at Abbotts Barton for two years.

“I can’t praise her enough for helping me towards confirmation.”

Rector Karen said: “It’s lovely and joyful to see Bill confirmed and it’s unusual to have a service like this in a care home.”

The ceremony was attended by more than a dozen fellow residents and featured prayers, hymns, readings and a sermon.

To mark his initiation into full church membership, Bill received the ritual laying of hands by Bishop David, conferring the sacrament of confirmation.

Originally from Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, Bill said he was not brought up in a religious family and was only christened at the age of 21 so he could get married in church. He said confirmation was not something mentioned to him at the time and it only became a heartfelt wish as he got older.

Bishop David said: “Every generation has spiritual needs, something we should always value. People ask many spiritual questions as they get older and confirmation acts as a public statement of faith.

“It’s clear that Bill has sought to live a life committed to faith since he was in his early 20s.

“He, like the other residents here at Abbotts Barton and in care homes elsewhere, contribute massively to our sense of community.”

During his career, Bill was a senior quality engineer for Westland Helicopters in Yeovil and he and his wife Christine came to live in Hampshire 11 years ago. Christine lives in Alresford.

Kirsty Sawyer, companionship team leader at Abbotts Barton, said: “It was wonderful to host and celebrate Bill’s confirmation. We do our very best to help make our residents’ wishes come true whatever these might be.

“In Bill’s case, we are honoured and privileged to have supported him on his spiritual journey and do our bit to help him find his state of grace.”

A 97-year-old lover of dance enjoyed a wish come true when her New Forest care home arranged ballroom dancers to perform for her as a birthday treat.

Maureen Miller said she ‘couldn’t believe it’ when 10 members of Southampton University’s Ballroom and Latin Dance Society arrived at Colten Care’s Woodpeckers to entertain her and fellow residents. The group performed a series of routines including waltzes and a jive in the lounge of the Outstanding-rated Brockenhurst home. To add further Strictly-style fun to the afternoon, four residents were given judging paddle boards and scored each dance out of ten, with the top two pairs coming back and dancing again for the votes of all the residents. The jive won by a unanimous vote.

A resident at Oake Meadows care home in Taunton has celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by family, friends and fellow residents. Margot Komarnicka, known to everyone as Mrs K, marked the milestone with a party and a card from the new King. Born in Worcester and married three times, Mrs K has two children, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. One of her loves was acting and amateur dramatics and another was travel. She headed out on a world cruise from Southampton at the age of 93 and returned at 94. In her 70s and 80s Mrs K was a tour guide, including at Wells Cathedral where she worked between the ages of 84 and 91.

Joyce Ward completed a year-long bucket list of adventures leading up to her 100th birthday. She asked the companionship team at Colten Care’s St Catherines View in Winchester where she is a resident, to help her achieve a list of challenges in the runup to her big day. In the past 12 months her escapades have included horse-riding, speeding around Goodwood Motor Circuit, sailing and most recently a ride on a steam train. She finally celebrated her birthday with an American-themed BBQ at St Catherines View, which was filmed and featured on BBC South.

A WWII soldier has celebrated his 101st birthday at a Surbiton care home. Peter Whiteley was joined by family on his special day at Royal Star & Garter where he lives. Peter served in Burma (now Myanmar) and narrowly survived enemy attacks by Japanese troops. He was later awarded the Burma Star. On his birthday he was joined by his daughter Christine and other family members for a party at the home. Peter attained the rank of Captain, and left the Army in 1946. He soon moved to India, where he lived until 1976, and then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he stayed for a further 10 years. He returned to the UK following the death of his wife Edith. Peter later remarried, and moved to Royal Star & Garter with his wife Colleen in 2019. She died later that year.