Tag: reflectionsgreenwich

Dementia Friends – 27th January 2026

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

We were delighted that Andrew, the Services Manager for the Bexley branch of the Alzheimer’s Society, was able to come along to provide our members and some of our working partners, with the recently updated Dementia Friends session.

Dementia Friends aims to increase understanding of dementia, transforming how the nation thinks, acts and talks about dementia, so reducing isolation for those living with the condition. Small every day actions can make a big difference to those living with dementia such as being more patient in shops.

The interactive session was delivered by Andrew in a relaxed and friendly way. Everyone who attended was given one of the new Dementia Friends badges at the end.

Andrew spoke about the Bookcase analogy. This is a simple way of understanding how dementia affects a person over time. To watch a video explaining the bookcase analogy see here [links to YouTube video]

For more information about Dementia Friends or to book a session visit their website: https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk

Janet introducing Andrew to the group.

Andrew going through the answers to the broken sentences exercise. Working in small groups, people had to match the half sentences about dementia on the left hand side of a page with the correct second part on the right. For example Dementia is …….. Not a natural part of aging.

The Alzheimer’s Society has lots of excellent information factsheets and booklets about dementia that can be accessed via their website see here.

Thank you Andrew for an engaging and informative session.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.

Julian Garman – 20th January 2026

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

Julian was back with a fast and fun hour long medley of memorable tunes.

Julian tried out some new equipment and his sound was even better than usual.

The dancing became a bit of exercise, with a few high kicks. Some members are surprisingly mobile!

Yvonne and her colleague from Creative Companion Collaborations were back providing more hand massages.

Team member highlight

Introducing New Team Member Paola. Paola came to the group last time as a guest to see what happened at the Friendship Group. She enjoyed it so much she asked if she could become a volunteer. We snapped her up! Paola is our second retired Occupational Therapist to join our team. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge and is another Reminiscence facilitator. So far she has enjoyed leading Herd Mentality, using it as an opportunity to get to know people. She also loves to take to the dance floor.

The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 3rd February 2026 at 1pm when Jamie will entertain us with his Rock ‘n’ Roll Party Show.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.

Tony Martin – 6th January 2026

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

Happy New Year and welcome back!

Tony energised the room with a great playlist. Yvonne, the lead from Creative Companion Collaborations displayed her hidden talent by joining him for a couple of duets. A nice surprise.

Creative Companion Collaborations were back with us offering free massages to members. Members said how lovely and relaxing they were.

New for this year we introduced the Herd Mentality game. This was led by Peter and guest Paola. More about her next time. As with other board game Call to Mind, it is limited to 6 people playing so that everyone gets the chance to join in.

Group members moving into the Library ready for the entertainment and taking the opportunity to catch up with each other after the Christmas break.

As usual there was plenty of opportunities for dancing. When Tony plays Ring of Fire it always brings people to the dance floor to join in with the actions.

Today we had three visitors. Paola, who is a friend of team member Lucia came to see what the Friendship Group is about. Ella and Jen from Oxleas, came to talk to members to find out what they thought about the diagnosis and post diagnostic support services at the Memory Clinic.

Team member highlight

Introducing Marilyn. Marilyn is a versatile, young at heart team member. She is always cheerful and can be relied upon to help out wherever needed. Regular duties include putting out biscuits on the tables, and wiping down the table cloths at the end of the first hour to ensure they are clean and ready for next time. She loves talking to people, is helpful and friendly and is an enthusiastic dancer.

The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 20th January 2026 at 1pm when Julian will entertain us.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.

Vikki Melrose – 9th December 2025

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

It’s Christmas party time!

Vikki once again came along to our Christmas party ensuring everyone had a great time.

Before the festivities got underway, the team had a rare get together to enjoy lunch together and celebrate another successful year of the Friendship Group.

We were pleased to welcome back Mayor Linda who popped into wish members a Happy Christmas before going onto another event. It is a busy time of year for a Mayor.

We were delighted the ASDA Foundation gave us funding for our Christmas party. A total of 52 members and 12 team enjoyed a sandwich lunch and hot drink.

While members were having their lunch, there was a surprise visit from Father Christmas and Dominic the Donkey, aka lovely Kath, the Shrewsbury House Manager, seen here with Mayor Linda, who came in on her day off to dress up as Dominic. Father Christmas and Dominic were followed around by Peter with his phone and a speaker playing the Dominic the Donkey song sung by Lou Monte. It’s a catchy song. Father Christmas handed out a small goodie bag to all the members.

As is tradition, we held a raffle from prizes donated by group members. All members were able to buy a ticket and win a prize. We are grateful to trustee Sarah who took a day off work to come and run the raffle table as she has done since we started this tradition.

Once lunch was over, it was time for singing and dancing but not before another tradition of everyone joining in an interactive sing a long of the 12 Days of Christmas led by Janet and the team. Everyone had a lovely afternoon.

The Friendship Group will now take a break until 2026. We look forward to more socialising and fun next year. Happy Christmas.

The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 6th January 2026 at 1pm when Tony will entertain us.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.

Mark Sedgwick – 25th November 2025

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

Another great afternoon with Mark warming up the room.

Christmas came early, with lots of our favourite seasonal tunes.

We were pleased to welcome Jen, the Older People’s engagement lead from Oxleas, and welcome back Gill from the University of Greenwich who has visited us a few times.

Bingo is becoming more popular every week. Regular bingo caller Dave was not able to attend today so elf Tony was happy to step in and get involved.

The Creative Companion Collaborations massage team returned to provide hand, back and even one head massage. This time we had three lovely ladies who came along. Members said how much they enjoyed having a massage.

Once Mark got going the dance floor was packed and the singing loud.

As is tradition with the penultimate session of the year, it was elf week. Our team of wonderful elves did a great job keeping everything running smoothly and bringing enthusiasm and energy to the afternoon. The elves also check if group members have been good this year. Of course, they all have.

Team member highlight

Introducing Pearl. Pearl is our Health & Safety lead. She likes to ensure things run smoothly and she does this very well. She ensures group members register with her at each session and issues them with their name badges. She also ensures the chairs are set out to accommodate everyone including dedicated spaces for our wheelchair users.

The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 9th December 2025 at 1pm when Vikki will entertain us with a Christmas Party performance.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.

Julian Garman – 11th November 2025

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

What an afternoon!! There was so much going on today.

Julian was in top form, playing plenty of powerful well known tunes on his guitar, harmonica and cornet.

Dave has now attracted quite a bingo crew. In our games, everyone gets a small prize whether they win or not. Dave is learning the bingo phrases, though everyone shouts out the phrases as the numbers come up even if he doesn’t know them.

We welcomed two therapists from Creative Companion Collaborations who were giving free hand massages to group members. There was even time towards the end for some team members to have one too. Members reported the ladies were very good and the massages were relaxing. Thank you for coming along ladies.

Karlee, our local ASDA Community Life Champion came along to present us with a cheque for £1,000 from the ASDA Foundation. This money will be used to fund our Christmas party on 9th December. Thank you Karlee so much for nominating our group for this award and for the donation of some biscuits and squash that you brought along today.

We also welcomed Andrew, Service Manager Bexley from the Alzheimer’s Society. He came along to see what happens at the Friendship Group and kindly topped up our supplies of Alzheimer’s Society publications which Helen, our Librarian, gives out to new members. He plans to come back in the New Year to deliver an updated Dementia Friends session for the team and anyone who would like to join us.

As always, great music stimulates the group members to take to the dance floor. I’m sure they will all sleep well tonight.

Team member highlight

Introducing Helen. Helen is our resident Librarian. Since taking on this role her warmth, keenness and willingness means she has also acquired two other roles. She is our Playlist for Life lead and has volunteered to run a reminiscence table with the Call to Mind Game if there is demand. Helen loves all of these roles as she enjoys chatting to group members and finding our more about them.

The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 25th November 2025 at 1pm. Mark will entertain us and the elves will be in town.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.

Jamie Steen – 28th October 2025

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

We were pleased to have Jamie back with us performing his Kings and Queens show featuring big names from the world of music.

Jamie gave us a wide variety of costume and tunes we all knew. As usual he did around 12 outfit changes in an hour! How does he do it!

As always there was plenty of opportunity for singing and dancing. Being the last Tuesday in October team members took the opportunity to dress up either wearing an outfit or something in black, black & white or orange.

Last time we took feedback from the group on any other things they would like to see during the first hour. Bingo was requested by a few people so we dusted off the bingo set and team member Dave took on the role of bingo caller. It was surprising how many people joined in so we will be bring it back again next time.

Team members Tony & Dave sharing a joke.

Team member highlight

Introducing Janet. Janet is one of the founders and the group leader. She welcomes new members on their first visit, giving them a tour of what is on offer. She loves to throw herself into everything that is going on, including the opportunity to dress up. She is enthusiastic and passionate about ensuring everyone, team members included, has a good time. She also provides a listening ear when required.

The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 11th November 2025 at 1pm when Julian will entertain us.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.

Tony Martin – 14th October 2025

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

Shrewsbury House had their heating on – and we had Tony’s tunes to keep us warm..

Tony provide another splendid hour of entertainment.

Team member Tony was on holiday and his popular Cornhole game was missed. However, a darts competition was the next best thing..

We welcomed two guests today. Student nurse Sarah, and Reshma from Greenwich Time to Talk. They both enjoyed their afternoon with us.

As usual there was plenty of opportunities for dancing.

Team member highlight

Introducing Marilyn. Marilyn is our versatile team member helping out wherever needed. She puts out the biscuits, wipes down the tablecloths, chats to people and joins in with the dancing, all done with a cheery smile.

The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 28th October 2025 at 1pm when Jamie will entertain us with his Kings & Queens show.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.

Scott Elvis – 30th September 2025

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

Elvis was in the building!! We rocked the afternoon away with The King.

An hour of dancing to classic Elvis tunes performed by star turn Scott on his first visit to the Friendship Group. He was very popular and he will return.

In the first hour we continued with crafts, word searches and a reminiscence session. In the Library, we played the “Reflections Friendship Group” Spotify playlist that Peter had created from the songs written on the bunting at the previous session. The playlist can be found on Spotify using the Search option.

Elvis has so many well known songs to choose from that the dance floor was continually busy.

Elvis charmed the audience. Some members were especially fascinated by him.

An amazing experience that was shared with us this afternoon, was that one of our members seen on the left, was stationed in Germany next to the barracks that Elvis was stationed at. One day when our member happened to have his camera with him, Elvis came out of his barracks and he took the photo on the right! What a special memory.

Also visiting us today for the first time was local Councillor Raja, seen here with team member Helen. He came along to find out what happens at the Friendship Group. He spoke to group members and joined in the singing and dancing.

Team member highlight

Introducing Lynne. Lynne is our Meeter and Greeter. She is the friendly face members see when they first arrive at Shrewsbury House, with her welcome table in the foyer letting them know about any special news of the day. She puts new members at their ease, so very important, and welcomes back existing members. She is always happy to have a chat to people.

The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 14th October 2025 at 1pm. Tony will give us another sing-a-long with his top tunes.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.

Disco dancing – 16th September 2025

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

We enjoyed a great team led event during the 2nd hour today, as sadly our booked entertainer Vikki was poorly. We wish her well.

The team came to the rescue with 15 minutes of cognitive action songs – Big Fish, Little Fish, Cardboard Box; The court of King Caractacus and the Music Man. We followed this with a playlist of popular songs from the 1960’s and 1970’s which got everyone singing along and joining in the dancing.

As we are agents for Playlist for Life and it was Playlist for Life day during this week, we invited members to each nominate a song that evoked a memory, and write it on a piece of bunting which we displayed in the room. Here is a small selection of tunes that bring back memories for group members. The memories evoked were as varied as the songs.

When Julian played The Locomotion there were no shortage of participants, including Kath, the manager of Shrewsbury House, seen with a striking necklace, who wanted to join in.

You can find out more about Playlist for life and how to create your own songs with memories playlist here.

Team member highlight

Introducing Tony. Tony is one of our 2 Activity Leads. He loves being active and is always happy to thrown himself into the activities of the day and have a chat during the first hour. He is very talented and made a Cornhole Game for the group which is popular. When the music starts you will find him on the dance floor.

The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 30th September 2025 at 1pm when Scott Elvis will be in the building.

Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.