Caring UK Weekly - Issue 29

Issue 29 14.10.20

The weekly online newsletter for the care sector

Government should act on home visiting CARE providers have written to the Government calling for a single, nominated and tested visitor to be allowed to visit a family member in care and nursing homes.

The Independent Care Group also wants an end to the confusion over visiting which is putting too much pressure on home managers.

And it wants the Government to cut out the bureaucracy that is preventing the latest Infection Control Fund money reaching the front line of care.

ICG chair Mike Padgham says in a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock: “Many older and vulnerable people have now been in lockdown for seven months, with very little or no contact with their loved ones.

“This is having a detrimental effect on the mental wellbeing of those residents and their families. It is particularly debilitating for those with dementia, for whom the separation has been especially damaging. It cannot go on.”

He added: “We cannot keep residents in lockdown for ever – we have to find a way to reunite them with their families and today we are calling on the Government to take action.

“We can have a nominated family member who could be tested. Once the result was

known and provided they were clear they could then visit their loved one.”

He also called for an end to the confusion surrounding visiting and the situation where different local authorities were giving different guidance.

“We need a firm decision,” he said. “At the moment, some local authorities are saying it is okay for homes to allow visiting and others are advising against.

“In all cases it is only guidance, which puts the final decision on registered managers. It shouldn’t be left to managers, who are already suffering severe pressure, to take this decision – we have to have a clear instruction from the Government, as they have with the six people limit, for example.”

Some weeks ago, the Government announced a second Infection Control Fund of £546m to support care providers in fighting the pandemic, which was welcomed by the ICG. However, there are concerns about the fund reaching the front line.

Mike added: “It is unfair that social care providers have to jump through so many hoops to get access to this vital funding – businesses didn’t face such bureaucracy when they were getting financial help.”

Paintings donated to care home

Brunelcare’s director of nursing and care homes, Sandra Payne, has been recognised with an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Awarded for services to social care and response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sandra has dedicated much of her career to the sector. Qualifying as a nurse in 1986 at the Bath School of Nursing, Sandra worked in acute medical wards and specialised in cardiology at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. She went on to work as a district nurse in south Bristol, before joining Brunelcare in 1993 on a part time basis as her children grew up. Since then, Sandra has gone on to manage one of the charity’s care homes, and lead on clinical excellence, before being appointed director of nursing and care homes in 2019.

A BIG THANK YOU

FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE DOING TO KEEP OUR MOST VULNERABLE SAFE AND HAPPY …

WE’RE IN AWE OF YOUR SELFLESS HARD WORK AND DEDICATION.

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A SUPPORT worker who has dedicated 20 years of care to individuals at Rosewarne in Camborne, Cornwall, has spent a year painting a series of canvas pictures to be installed in the sensory gardens of the home.

Debbie Dyer, 58, plays a vital role in taking care of disabled adults with complex care needs, including giving them medication, assisting them to eat and their daily activities at the home.

After dedicating a tropical underwater mural to the facility previously, the budding artist was keen to devote more of her work.

Debbie said: “Sketching and drawing has always been a passion of mine since I was a child, but it wasn’t until 12 years ago when I went on a painting course that I tried my hand at the discipline.

I’ve been painting ever since.

“It’s lovely to see the smile it brings to the residents’ faces and I’m really thrilled with how they’ve been received.”

The five paintings, including an image of bees in sunflowers, sleepy foxes and badgers and a fairy balancing on a mushroom, were decided on by the residents who completed a questionnaire on what they wanted Debbie to paint.

Jasmine Sutherland, deputy manager at Rosewarne, added: “Debbie’s such a talented artist and a committed carer. We’re lucky to have her amongst our ranks and are grateful for the time she’s spent on the beautiful paintings.

“They really brighten up the place and will look stunning when installed in our sensory garden.”

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Roll of

HONOUR 2020 C A R I N G U K M AG A Z I N E

Have you nominated your lockdown hero?

Nominate your lockdown hero who has gone over and above in these most testing of times in the Caring UK 2020 Roll of Honour.

We want to hear from you if you know someone who has gone above and beyond in 2020 to make a difference and help their residents and colleagues get through these harrowing times.

The Caring UK 2020 Roll of Honour will appear in our January 2021 issue.

Send your nomination to events@scriptmedia.co.uk and we will be featuring some of your stories in Caring UK magazine, and our weekly Caring UK digital newsletter.

Closing date for entries is Friday December 4.

We can’t wait to read your stories ‌ Sponsorship opportunities are also available by calling 01226 734 605

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CARINGWEEKLY

Home’s new mural to lift residents’ spirits A BRISTOL care home has teamed up with a local street artist to create a new nature-inspired mural to lift the spirits of residents, where visits are still restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The location of the new mural is within the vegetable garden of Tramways, a residential care home which supports people with mental health needs and is run by social care charity Milestones Trust.

Kirsty Armstrong, activities coordinator at Tramways, said: “We wanted to engage a talented local artist to reflect some of the peaceful daily activities we have all been enjoying at Tramways, particularly while outside visits have been limited.

All the people we support enjoy the garden for different reasons.

“Our resident cat Jet, who is loved and looked after by all at Tramways was chosen to feature somewhere on the mural too.

“We have had lots of fun trying to get the right photograph to capture his personality. He brings so much joy to the home.”

Residents brainstormed ideas for the mural designed by street artist Gage.

The final piece is inspired by their new-found interest in growing

their own fruit and vegetables, as well as increasing visits from new wildlife spotted in the garden during lockdown.

This included both foxes and squirrels, both of which feature in the artwork alongside fruit and vegetable motifs.

Milestones Trust encourages those it supports to embrace their creativity through many different arts initiatives, as it helps to have a positive impact on their mental health and well-being.

This year, residents at Tramways have also benefited from getting involved in growing their own courgettes, runner beans and cabbages as well as enjoying pies

and crumbles made from their own home-grown fruit.

People supported by Tramways watched the mural being created and some got involved in spraying canvases to create artwork for their bedrooms and communal spaces.

Gage, who has transformed many spaces in Bristol said “I was really excited when Tramways approached me and it was fun designing a piece full of their great ideas.

“We’ve all been affected by the restrictions from lockdown in different ways, but hopefully this new artwork goes some way to lifting people’s spirits and provides a relaxing and inspiring place for them.”

Staff and residents at Borough Care’s Silverdale home for older people in Bredbury enjoyed a carnival day. There was freshly made candy floss, a sweet grab machine, an egg and spoon race and a hoopla stall. Everyone got into the carnival spirit by dressing up in brightly coloured wigs. The day helped bring back lots of happy memories for residents, who remembered enjoying fun times at carnivals and fairs with their families and friends. Activity lifestyle facilitator Lindsay Hadfield said: “The day was a real pick-me-up for everyone during this challenging time.

It was lovely to see people enjoying themselves. There was lots of laughter and smiles all round.” n Resident Lawrence Everton gets in the carnival spirit.

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CARINGWEEKLY

Giant gorilla takes pride of place in home’s garden

A resident and relative in the garden pod at Fornham House in Suffolk.

Group invests in ‘visiting pods’ to keep residents connected to loved ones THE Healthcare Homes Group, which runs 45 care homes across East Anglia and the South of England has invested almost £1million in garden ‘visiting pods’ to help residents maintain contact with loved ones during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The operator, which provides a mix of residential and nursing care for more than 2,000 residents with a range of needs, began introducing the garden visiting rooms in July, providing a safe space for relatives to visit residents while Covid-19 continues to pose a risk across the country.

Having taken a tough decision to cease all but essential or compassionate exceptional visits prior to the national lockdown in March, the team has researched ways to keep residents connected with family members.

The answer has been to create temporary garden structures, which are equipped with a Perspex screen to separate visitors from residents and an intercom to make communicating easy. The rooms are also equipped with heating when required, insulation and nurse call buttons.

Pods are now open in many of the group’s homes, with positive feedback received from residents and relatives alike.

David Smith, group director of estates and property services,

said: “This was a very important investment for us. Covid-19 has posed challenges unlike anything we have seen before, and every effort has been put into ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our residents and staff.

“Strict health and safety measures are in place across our group which help us to reduce the risk of transmission into our homes, but the impact on wellbeing that social distancing and shielding can have is something we take extremely seriously. We needed a solution, and our garden visiting pods have provided just this.

“The feedback we’re receiving from the relatives and residents across our homes has been simply wonderful to hear.

“Being able to offer a warm, inviting, safe environment for residents to see their loved ones is fantastic and we hope they’ll make a real difference as we continue to navigate our way through this difficult time.”

Many homes have involved residents in the planning or official opening of the new facilities.

Some homes such as Blandford Grange in Dorset have encouraged residents to name their room, which they have called ‘the snug’, and informal opening ceremonies have been held, welcoming the family of a resident to join them in the special occasion.

A member of staff at Melbury Court in Durham has been awarded an HC-One ‘Kindness in Care’ award for diversity in her role and showing residents what kind care really means. Senior home administrator Catherine Murray has kindly taken time out of her busy work schedule over the last couple of months to facilitate the residents in their hairdressing needs. They had been missing out on having a regular haircut and blow dry due to the coronavirus, so Catherine utilised her hairdressing skills to give residents a spruce up. She said:” I get a lot of pleasure taking time away from my desk and spending time with residents.” Catherine was even doing the staff’s hair during the worst of the lockdown.

CHAINSAW sculptor Paul Morris has carved a new masterpiece – a five foot tall gorilla.

The giant ape has taken pride of place among a menagerie of wooden wild creatures at the Pendine Park care organisation in Wrexham where Paul works as part of the gardening and maintenance team.

The grounds were already home to a grizzly bear, giant squirrels, owls and hawks.

Paul wanted to add a bit of colour to brighten up the lives of the residents.

The former art student discovered he had chainsaw carving skills by accident after deciding to make a garden owl for his wife’s birthday.

According to Paul, his trusty chainsaw buzzed into action again after he spotted the gorilla “hiding” in a huge chunk of felled maple tree.

He was inspired to carve the gorilla because Pendine Park proprietors Mario Kreft MBE and his wife Gill are keen conservationists and have been on several gorilla trekking expeditions in Africa.

Paul said: “I see a piece of wood and can just spot the subject staring back at me, in this case, a gorilla for Mario and Gill.

“I started out carving owls, squirrels and the like from wood that would otherwise go to waste. I think it gives residents something to look at and brightens up the garden.

“I then carved the big bear in memory of Mario’s late father who many years ago travelled the world as a bear and lion trainer in the circus.

“The bear now stands on display at the rear Highfield House Care Home and is in a place where residents can

Chainsaw sculptor Paul Morris with his latest creation – a five foot tall gorilla. see it whenever they look out at the gardens.

“I knew Mario and Gill have a real love of gorillas and other great apes so when we had to bring a tree surgeon in to fell an old maple tree that was in as dangerous condition I asked him to leave me a good sized piece for a carving.

“The block he left me was a good five feet high and almost three feet wide and weighed close to a tonne I suspect. I managed to get it to the barn using a big digger we had on hire so it was undercover.

“I asked Mario if I could carve a gorilla and he seemed really pleased.

His only stipulation being he wanted the carving to depict a thoughtful and peaceful gorilla not one that was angry and threatening. I don’t think he wanted a King Kong around Pendine Park.”

Housekeeper retires after 17 years A CELEBRATION party has been held in honour of the head housekeeper at The Old Vicarage in Leigh, near Sherborne, who has retired after 17 years at the care home.

Janet Vincent, who lives locally on her family-run farm, joined the home in 2003 as a carer, before moving on to housekeeping and then leading the department.

Janet was presented with gifts and homemade cards created by residents at the farewell celebration.

Staff and residents gave Janet their very best wishes and enjoyed her

special cake with some glasses of Prosecco.

Home manager Molly Burrows said: “Janet will be missed by all of us. She has worked so hard for the home over the years, rarely taking a day off, despite also working on her family farm and being a devoted grandmother.

“It was wonderful to spend the afternoon celebrating everything she has done for our residents. From everyone at The Old Vicarage, we wish her a splendid and enjoyable retirement.”

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CARINGWEEKLY

Home is crowned regional winner of competition DEWSBURY care home Ashworth Grange has been crowned the West Yorkshire regional winner of Ideal Carehomes’ annual ‘Gardens in Bloom’ competition.

The contest, which launched in June, encourages both staff and residents to work together to embrace their love of the great outdoors by devising and implementing an exciting revamp for their outdoor spaces that everybody can enjoy during the summer months.

Home manager Paul Rowson said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be crowned the regional West Yorkshire winner.

“All of the credit must go to our amazing residents who embraced the competition with such gusto.

“We are extremely grateful to have had such overwhelming support from our residents families, our staff team and local businesses that generously donated to our garden project.

It really has been a labour of love and we are so glad to see the judges were as thrilled with our garden creation as we are.”

Ashworth Grange residents and staff joined forces to introduce a new fun and enjoyable garden masterpiece.

The team and residents decided on the theme during their monthly resident’s meeting, in which they were able to put forward ideas for things they would like to be included in the final design.

Residents voted to create separate themes across the home’s two gardens to keep things fun and interesting.

One garden features a ‘seaside’ theme which includes lots of brightly

Crewe care village models re-imagine iconic portraits Ashworth Grange resident Joan Johnson soaks up the sun in the garden. coloured traditional red and white striped signs and beach games, wheelchair friendly sandpits, postcard writing station, a fully functional lighthouse and brightly painted boat and even their own mini golf course.

Residents opted for a more ‘classic’ theme in the rear garden which featured a relaxing water fountain, various comfortable seating areas and flowerbeds to admire.

Residents also created their own noughts and crosses game, using hand painted ‘ladybird’ and ‘bee’ pebble playing pieces and a carved log base board.

The home now enters the final round of the competition, whereby Ideal Carehomes’ panel of judges will visit all regional winners in four weeks’ time to decide upon a national victor.

New manager for Crieff home RESIDENTS at Balhousie Dalnaglar care home in Crieff have a new manager with strong connections to the Perthshire town.

Michelle Kinmont brings a wealth of care sector and nursing experience to the 37-bedroom home, run by awardwinning Balhousie Care Group.

She said: “I am delighted to have returned to Balhousie Care Group and to Crieff to manage Balhousie Dalnaglar.

“It’s a beautiful home and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our residents, their families and the staff team.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to work closely with them and hearing their ideas on how we can making our beautiful home even better.

“I’m a real chatterbox and love talking to people. I take any opportunity to talk to our residents and reminisce about the past. Their stories are fascinating to hear. It’s my favourite part of what we do.”

Originally from Perth, Michelle used to live in Crieff. Her previous positions there included nursing at Crieff Cottage Hospital and managing another care home in the town.

She returns to Balhousie Care Group having managed the provider’s Pitlochry care home for two years between 2015 and 2017.

Training as a mental health nurse at Perth College in the 1980s, Michelle spent a number of years nursing in Canada, before returning to Perthshire to be closer to her family.

Michelle plans to strengthen Dalnaglar ‘s links with the local community, which has been a challenge during the coronavirus pandemic.

OCTOGENARIAN ‘life models’ from a Crewe dementia care village have recreated some of the world’s most iconic portraits to celebrate National Day of Arts in Care Homes 2020.

Captured on camera, the portraits are to be used in a fundraising calendar, for which donations will go towards purchasing a telescope for residents to enjoy.

Among the paintings captured include works from some of history’s most renowned artists including Picasso, Van Gogh and Grant Wood spanning from 15th century Northern Renaissance to 1930s Modernism.

Natalie Ravenscroft, experience coordinator at Belong Crewe, who led the project, said: “Many of our residents love art, and keeping everyone active with creative projects is a key part of what we do.

“Due to the ongoing lockdown restrictions we wanted to do something extra special for Arts in

Care Homes day this year.”

Belong colleagues stepped outside their usual roles to become stylists, make-up artists and photographers, working with residents and using recycled materials, props and face paints to bring their characters to life.

The subsequent photoshoot, which took eight hours over the course of two days, saw staff capturing their model’s alter egos for the project.

Natalie added: “There’s been a real buzz around the village – everyone has been excited to see the final result.

“Our models really enjoyed getting dressed up and contributing their ideas.

“Many reminisced about old times from childhood when they used to play dress up or were involved in school plays. It’s been a great success.”

The calendar will be available from November 1.

Nominate your heroes IT’S BEEN a year like no other with unprecedented challenges and demands.

But, as the saying goes when the going gets tough, the tough get going – and nowhere has that been more true than in the care sector.

Day after day, we have received news of selflessness, hard work and dedication up and down the country – carers who have made huge sacrifices to ensure the safety and well-being of their residents.

The pages of our magazine and our weekly digital newsletters have told heartbreaking and heartwarming stories of unity against adversity; love and care conquering the biggest of battles.

In these circumstances, we were so disappointed that we couldn’t proceed with this year’s Caring UK Awards and decided that so many amazing things had gone on during the difficult months of lockdown and beyond, we still needed to recognise these wonderful individuals and teams.

That is why we recently launched the Caring UK 2020 Roll of Honour – this will appear in our January 2021 issue and will pay tribute to the lockdown heroes who have gone over and above in these most testing

of times.

We want to hear from you if you know someone who has gone above and beyond in 2020 to make a difference and help their residents and colleagues get through these harrowing times.

Please send your nomination to events@scriptmedia.co.uk and we will be featuring some of your stories in Caring UK magazine, and our weekly Caring UK digital newsletter.

Closing date for entries is Friday December 4.

There will be a place on our 2020 Roll of Honour for the most inspiring nominees and they will all receive a certificate to mark their achievements.

We can’t wait to read your stories...

THE 2021

CARING

UK AWARDS Thursday 2nd December 2021,

THE ATHENA,LEICESTER We are extremely sad to bring you the news that we have taken the incredibly difficult decision to cancel this year’s Caring UK Awards.

All nominations for this year’s awards will be carried over to next year – and nominees will have the opportunity to update their nominations should they wish to ahead of the closing date.

Thank you for all your nominations and support and we look forward to celebrating your amazing feats in 2021. Thanks too to our sponsors for your continued loyalty and support.

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CARINGWEEKLY

Jelly Drops launches for people with dementia LONDON startup Jelly Drops has officially launched into the UK to help boost the water intake of the elderly and 850,000 Britons living with dementia that have been amongst the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jelly Drops are tasty, sugar-free water sweets, made up of 95 per cent water and electrolytes.

They were developed by 26-year-old inventor Lewis Hornby in response to his late Grandma Pat’s struggle with dehydration due to dementia, for which she was admitted into hospital.

After gaining valuable insights from a month of living in her care home, Lewis worked with doctors, dieticians and speech and language therapists to come up with the concept.

He said: “The initial response to the product has been fantastic. We are very excited to supply the 50,000 people on our waiting list.

“We have seen a huge demand from both care homes and the families of people with dementia.

“It’s incredible to know that we can help those living with dementia and give comfort to their families and loved ones.

“It’s been heartwarming to hear the feedback from our first customers; they enjoy Jelly Drops as much as Grandma did.”

Jelly Drops is supported with a £100,000 R&D investment from the Alzheimer’s Society as part of its new

Innovation Accelerator Programme amongst other investors.

In return, the company will donate one per cent of its profits to the charity.

After 18 months of development and several months of beta testing during Covid-19, the product has officially launches to the UK market.

During this phase, Jelly Drops, has been working with a number of care homes across the UK to test the innovative product.

Apart from facilitating water intake for residents, the product has given both staff and relatives peace of mind – especially within the pandemic, where family and friends have spent an extra 92 million hours caring for loved ones with dementia The teardrop-shaped sweets come in six natural fruity flavours.

Each tray holds 24 Jelly Drops, which equates to a boost of 300ml of water.

Flavours include strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant, orange, lemon and lime.

The unique shape was especially designed to make them easy to pick up, enabling the elderly and those with dementia to boost their water intake independently and with dignity.

They can be snacked on throughout the day, promoting enjoyable social interactions between carers, family members and residents.

MAG launches Ozone generator proven to kill Covid–19 ONE OF the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial laundry solutions, MAG Laundry Equipment, can now offer a generator that has been proven to kill the Covid–19 coronavirus.

In a ground-breaking study conducted by Nara Medical University, it was confirmed that ozone gas can effectively inactivate the virus up to 1 / 10,000 CT (cycle threshold).

In real conditions, it shows that Covid–19 can be inactivated on all surfaces and that ozone can be used in the sanitisation of all environments.

Putting the new discovery into the practise, the MAG Ozone Generator emits ozone through the air to sanitise surfaces and kill bacteria, microorganisms and viruses including Covid–19, while permanently eliminating unpleasant odours.

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microorganisms.

With cycle times from 15 minutes to 72 hours, the generator is suitable for quick cleans and full air-regeneration projects and can be used across all business sectors.

Commenting on the new product, Mark Dennis, managing director of MAG Laundry Equipment, said: “The ability to offer a product that has been proven to kill the Covid–19 coronavirus is a real triumph for us as a business.

“With the UK economy now officially in a recession, it’s important that the Government and businesses look at how people can return to work safely, protect jobs and keep the economy moving.

“The ozone generator could be a key part in that, with the ability to sterilize office spaces, hotel rooms or hospitality venues quickly and effectively.”

Enquiries: More information on MAG Laundry Equipment is available at https://maglaundryequipment.co.uk/

Centenarian Frank Reed with family members in the cinema room at Colten Care’s Newstone House.

Staff ensure Frank, 100, enjoys ‘party of the century’ CARE home staff liaised behind the scenes with the family of a resident to ensure his socially distanced 100th birthday was full of pleasant surprises.

Unbeknown to Frank Reed, several months of planning took place to co-ordinate his centenary celebrations at Colten Care’s Newstone House in Sturminster Newton.

As he left his bedroom after a breakfast checking through dozens of cards and video greetings, he was met with a giant banner opposite featuring his smiling face.

Staff then sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him en masse in the garden, before six members of a luncheon club Frank attends in his village, nearby Marnhull, serenaded him from just outside the front door.

While Frank was on a Skype call with his granddaughter Bethany in Australia, four other family members were secretly ushered into the rear of Newstone House and kitted out in full PPE. As Frank entered the home’s cinema room, he was greeted by the sight of his son Clive, daughter Helen, and their partners, sitting two metres apart and preparing to raise a toast to him wearing facemasks, aprons, gloves and shoe covers, all carefully considered from an infection control point of view.

The family enjoyed a two-hour-long party with bubbly, stout and cake as Londoner Frank opened cards from

the Queen and Fulham FC, the local club where he saw his first match aged eight in 1928 and has supported ever since.

Rebekah Goddard from the home’s companionship team, said: “We were thrilled to make it possible for Frank and his son and daughter to be together for his ‘party of the century’, even if it was social distanced and people had to wear PPE. “Judging by the smiles all round, it was well worth it for Frank and the family.”

On receiving the gift of his blanket, Frank told the assembled staff: “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you do for me, and a lot of other people as well. We are all very grateful for what you do.”

Frank, who has lived at Newstone House for more than three years, was a Staff Sergeant in the Royal Signals during World War Two. He served in both North Africa and Italy and was twice mentioned in dispatches for his bravery.

In civilian life, he was a manager at the Gas Light and Coke Company which later became North Thames Gas. He played a major part in the migration of large swathes of north and west London to North Sea gas in the late 1960s and 70s.

After his retirement in 1980, he and his late wife Joan moved to Marnhull where they nurtured their love of gardening and Frank spent time watching many cricket matches and continuing to follow football.

The sun was shining for the residents of Keate House Care Home as they held a Blackpool themed day. Throughout the morning the residents enjoyed virtual tours of Blackpool illuminations, played bingo and ate rock while reminiscing about their own day trips to the seaside town with their children. In the afternoon residents played the penny slot machines, enjoyed a ballroom dance to the Wurlitzer organ music from Blackpool Tower.

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