Photo credit: Bev Lyne
Over 50’s Holiday At Home Based Around A Cruise Ship Experience!
‘I Am Sailing’ was the refrain we regularly sang along to as we set sail on our cruise adventure from the home turf of our Highbridge Hall! We joyfully decorated the hall with all things holiday related including a happy sunshine, seagulls, sea creatures and a sand tray to play in, with, of course, buckets and spades, shells and seaweed!
Over the four days we enjoyed a whole variety of activities. We crafted our own garlands and made an octopus and paper flowers, as well as our own racehorse! We watched footage of holiday memories and learnt about the customs and geography of different countries. We played quoits and skittles, and board games as well as having a beetle drive and ‘playing cards’ bingo. Dominoes was a particular favourite!
We had some wonderful live music to sing along to and a chance to see a wind-up gramophone from the 1920’s in action with the original 78 records! We watched a silent movie and enjoyed some pampering with hand massages and a facial on offer! We had fun learning more about Birmingham and practised our best Brummie sayings like “yam gooin dowwn th’ cut” (canal). The food was delicious and plentiful – fish and chips day was particularly popular!
Our final day saw us enjoying a Captain’s reception with mocktails, a photo booth with fun nautical accessories, more pampering, some great horse racing fun with the horses we made earlier in the week, quizzing and a wonderful sing along to end a really wonderful week!
Through grant funding and amazing teamwork, we were able to offer this experience to our local community free of charge. The response has been incredibly positive and the feedback we received talked of the warmth, the welcome, the friendships formed, the conversations enjoyed. It was a wonderful opportunity to share God’s love and abundant generosity with our community.