We are all very excited here at the Manor about the 2012 Olympics and especially the opening ceremony tonight. It is broadcast too late for some of the residents but we have already planned an afternoon to enjoy watching the opening ceremony again with everyone in the conservatory!
We couldn’t let the special occasion go by without having our own alternative ‘Valerie Manor Olympics’ which is planned for the 9th August during the afternoon. We are looking forward to spending the afternoon with staff, residents, and friends and families of Valerie Manor who will form teams to take part in our own ‘Olympic’ events including sack races, egg and spoon races and tug of war! Medals will be presented at the end of the afternoon to the winners. 
During the afternoon we will also be having face painting and selling Pimms, cream teas, choc ices and strawberries and cream – there will also be a raffle of Chris’s Olympic Cake! Of course we are doing all of this to raise money for St Barnabas Hospice who do a fantastic job and support the staff, residents and families at Valerie Manor.
Please do visit our Just Giving website if you would like to donate to this good cause as we are spending a year fundraising for them and hope to reach a target of over £1000.
Linda has recently joined the team, and the residents and staff extend a very warm welcome to her.
It is always nice to welcome work experience students to Valerie Manor, and we recently welcomed back a familiar face, who spent time with us last year for her Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. Emily assisted the staff and residents in various tasks – all with a smile on her face! One of the tasks we gave her to do was to discuss with the residents and develop a ‘Fact of the Day’ folder, the idea being to stimulate conversations about memories and experiences, and with Emily’s help we won’t be running out of topics very soon!
We are always happy to assist students obtain work experience during their studies, and when Robert contacted us we jumped at the chance.
As you may be aware in March 2011 we completed our much needed nursing wing extension so we were delighted this year when Horsham Council endorsed us for an award. We were very proud to be one of seven finalists for the Best Community Building in the LABC Building Excellence Awards 2012. Alison and Alan enjoyed the special awards ceremony recently at The Copthorne Hotel, Effingham and were very happy to collect our finalists certificate which is now proudly on display at Valerie Manor.