News

This week we’re celebrating National Volunteer Week sharing the story of our amazing volunteers at Epsom Village. This amazingly huge display is what the residents have collected to send to war-ravaged Ukraine. The lot includes stationery, toiletries, sanitary and baby items, toys, and on top of that, around 260 hand-knitted and crocheted pieces by our own talented residents.

Team building exercises contribute to establishing a stronger connection between staff members. Pakuranga Park recently organised a fun day for their staff called the Amazing Race, with challenges that involved playing snooker, blind tasting, dressing up and even jumping in the village pool! Staff members really enjoyed interacting with each other in a different setting and there were many moments of uncontrollable laughter…

Shaun Wallace, aka “The Dark Destroyer” from The Chase, is touring New Zealand and we’re so thrilled that his first stop was Remuera Gardens! Did you know that he loves New Zealand and he’s a big fan of… kiwi onion dip? Yesterday Shaun fulfilled one of his dreams: to meet the inventor of our most famous dip, Rosemary Mount, who happens to be one of our residents at Real Living!

If there’s one thing that our residents know how to do well… it is to have fun for a good cause! Real Living Villages raised a whooping $2800 for the Breast Cancer Foundation with the Pink Ribbon breakfasts they held during May. At Epsom Village a sea of pink covered the lounge while the residents enjoyed succulent Eggs Benedict to raise funds for breast cancer.

Hot off the press! Real Living's own Remembrance book for Queen Elizabeth II has just been released! The 50-page booklet includes the beautiful memories that our residents wanted to share after the passing of our beloved Queen on the 8th of September of 2022. The villages have on display several copies of the booklet, a wonderful little read, specially for those rainy days we've been having this year!

Hats off to the Year 8 students from DIO who organised a Mother's Day Concert at Epsom Village to celebrate this special day with our residents. The village was very impressed with the girls' talent when playing classical pieces such as "The Skylark" and "Spring Butterflies". The students got all the residents singing and happily tapping their feet with popular songs like “Dancing Queen” and “Yellow submarine”.

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, to mark the contributions that nurses make to society. Today we would like to pay tribute to this honourable profession by sharing the story of one of them. As a young girl, Nell couldn’t stand the sight of blood, but she studied hard to become a nurse and she devoted her life to this profession. At the end of her career she worked nine years at Mercy Hospice: “I call it my soul work."

Did you know that Remuera Gardens has a Men’s Club with a monthly outing to amazing locations such as Maraetai Beach, the Maritime Museum, or Hallertau Brewery? The Men’s Club is not only a great deal of fun but also the best way for their members to stay active, engaged and connected with their peers.

Don’t miss out Uxbridge Arts Centre’s latest exhibition: Dreaming in Colour. Pat Basse is one of our residents at Pakuranga Park and her work has been exhibited around New Zealand over the years. This exhibition displays a collection of pieces that grew from the artist’s memories as a 4-year-old evacuee during WW2. During these troubled times she found solace in her dreams, and as an adult Pat was able to recreate them in her art. Come to view her captivating paintings at the Uxbridge Centre until the 12th of May.