In advance of this year’s World Poetry Day – and to celebrate Pam Ayres’ 78th birthday – residents at Friends of the Elderly’s Malvern-based Davenham, Perrins House and Bradbury Court, the residential, nursing and dementia care homes which are collectively known as Friends of the Elderly Malvern, run by Charity, Friends of the Elderly, have enjoyed a Poetry Reading Afternoon Tea.
“The residents love reading and are quite fond of poetry, so we thought they would enjoy a poetry reading afternoon tea, dedicated to Pam Ayres on her birthday,” said Tina Ellenton, the Activities Coordinator at Davenham.
“Poet Pam won the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks back in 1975, and many of the residents remembered her winning performance of the funny ‘Pam Ayres and the Embarrassing Experience with the Parrot’ which made for a lovely reminiscing conversation too.”
Tina arranged for Adrian Tyrer, a member of the Care Team and Dementia Champion at Friends of the Elderly Malvern, to host the afternoon. “Adrian read a wide variety of the residents’ favourite ‘Pam’ poems and a few of his favourites too,” continued Tina. “The residents were laughing and giggling at the hilarious rhymes, it was wonderful to see them all smiling and joking together – and Stan, Adrian’s cute dog, had a great time too as he got lots of fussing and cuddles from the residents.”
Shirley Bradley, the Charity’s Head of Day Care Services also joined the residents for the poetry event. “I have always admired Pam Ayres and her wonderful turn of phrase,” added Shirley. “Trying to decide on my favourite poems to share was tricky, but in the end I read ‘The Battery Hen’ and ‘I am a Bunny Rabbit’ as they are just so funny.”
Bradbury Court resident, 95-year-old Jane Ratcliff, also read a selection of poems from one of Pam’s books. “She’s such a talented lady,” said Jane. “I used to watch her on the television, she always made me laugh.”
“The residents are always teaching me something new,” continued Tina. “One resident told me that when Pam Ayres joined the Air Force, she was posted to Singapore and that’s where she first started performing her poetry to her friends. When she came home, she kept performing in different venues including care homes which is an added reason why we wanted to honour her on her birthday.”
“The residents had a lovely afternoon,” added Jo Bennett, the General Manager at Friends of the Elderly Malvern. “With World Poetry Day taking place this month, it was a great idea to mark it by celebrating Pam Ayres’ birthday. She’s so accomplished having been a writer, broadcaster, comedian and entertainer for over 40 years, she deserves to be celebrated and the residents made sure they did her proud.”
